Missing in Action, but not Really

Life can be a real challenge at times. I ended up at the ER Saturday the 24th with a high fever. They thought it was one thing which is turned out not to be and sent me home with a prescription for antibiotics. Things went from bad to worse. I was so sick by Tuesday I could hardly walk and my husband called an ambulance. I was admitted back to the ER with a temperature of 102.6 and a mystery disease. Lab tests were normal. I mentioned I'd had a tick bite so they started testing for various tick borne diseases.

Is the Honeymoon Over? Please, Pope Leo, say it ain't so!

One of Francis's worst moves was appointing a woman, a nun, to oversee all the religious congregations in the Church, both men and women. That was just one of his innovations, essentially changing canon law.

It is the responsibility of the clergy, not women religious or laity (neither men or women) to teach, GOVERN, and sanctify. Religious sisters and laity can cooperate in the work, but canon law prohibits their playing a juridical role. Check out this article:

Pope Leo XIV and the Prefect

Joseph Ratzinger in his book, Democracy in the Church: Possibilities and Limits, spoke of the "absolutely inadmissible de facto separation between the power of order and that of government" which relegates the sacraments to the "magical" and  ecclesiastical jurisdiction "to the profane."

Archbishop Vigano also weighed in with a reality check about Pope Leo's early days.

It is normal and humanly understandable that more than a decade of open persecution of Catholics by the one who presented himself as their Pope would lead many of us to desire a truce, hoping that Our Lord would give His Church - if not a new Pius X - at least another Benedict XVI. 

But this legitimate desire - certainly animated by good feelings and love for the Church - cannot transform itself into a virtual reality in which, even against all evidence, everything must necessarily be read as a confirmation of what we would like, and not of what is really happening. We cannot build for ourselves a "virtual church" with a "virtual papacy" that we love and serve in a consoling but unreal fiction. 

The confirmation of a notorious heretic to the Cathedra of Saint Gallen in Switzerland; the appointment of a nun as Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in line with the appointment of a Prefectess by Bergoglio; the repeated references to the heretical documents of his predecessor and to Vatican II; the declarations on ecumenism and synodality, and finally the acceptance of climate fraud; all place Robert Francis Prevost in evident and disturbing continuity with his predecessor, and it will certainly not be the stole and mozzetta that will change reality.

Along with this, we have evidence of a new crackdown on the TLM (Traditional Latin Mass). In Charlotte, the bishop has banned the Mass of the Ages from all diocesan churches. He's relegated it to a Protestant church in Moorefields only two Sundays a month. 

Steve Bannon interviewed Liz Yore about what's happening. Check out the interview here.

I couldn't help thinking of Antonio Gramsci as I listened to the interview. Gramsci developed a theory of Communism that replaced violent overthrow of western cultures with  infiltration and the slow march through the institutions. If you're interested read more about Gramsci here.

It looks like enthusiasm over Pope Leo was premature. Let us pray for him, but have no illusions.

More Reasons for Hope! The Young are Standing up for the Faith!

Young voters and young Catholics are increasingly more "conservative". I use that word in the sense of conservation, upholding what in the past has made the secular culture and the Church strong. 

We've known for several years that seminarians and young priests are increasingly more orthodox, a great sign for the future. A major survey in 2023 by Catholic University of America indicated that "progressive" priests are going extinct. Alleluia for that! A bit from the article:

“Simply put, the portion of new priests who see themselves as politically ‘liberal’ or theologically ‘progressive’ has been steadily declining since the Second Vatican Council and has now all but vanished,” the report asserts.

Michael Matt Reflects on Pope Leo XIV: "He is Signaling Something Completely Different!"

 

 Let us hope so! For more see the websitea.

SNAP = Scurrilous, Nasty, Avaricious and Pernicious. They Advocate for Themselves

Latest target of SNAP, a crime syndicate masquerading as a victim advocacy group!

SNAP [Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests] claims to be a victim advocacy group. What they really are is a corrupt organization best personified by an octopus. Their tentacles reach out to attach sticky pads to often innocent victims and suck them dry to fill up the SNAP treasure chests. Groups like this do not help real victims. In fact, they use victims as cover to gird themselves in a faux legitimacy, using the faces and stories of victims to fill their coffers. Perhaps we need a network for those abused by SNAP!

Evolution vs. Evocation by Fr. Tom Collins

This unpublished letter to the editor of the Richmond diocesan paper (See below.) set me thinking. Evolution has never made sense to me. Does it make any sense to you to believe that a personal God sends His Son to be born of a woman whose genealogy includes non-human ape-like creatures? Really? Does that make any sense? Jesus, the Son of God, Himself was born from a family tree that included animals who literally lived in the trees. 

Ridiculous! 

The theory of evolution makes perfect sense, however, when one considers its founder, an agnostic. If you don't believe in God, you'll fall for anything. I don't have time to go into it here, but Darwin was dishonest. Much of his hypothesis on natural selection was based on work by Patrick Matthews. (Source) He even plagiarized terms coined by Matthews. 

Historical Misrepresentation: How Many "Heroes" Were Really Villains...?

...and how many villains were really heroes? These are serious questions. As they say, the winners write the history. So always look at the reports from biased contemporaries with a jaundiced eye. Politicians who win don't make trustworthy critics of their political enemies. Neither do the losers for that matter. A little time is necessary to evaluate the real impact of movers and shakers. 

May: A Time for Remembering Our Childhood and Honoring Our Lady

 

I love to bring in my spring flowers to honor Mary. It reminds me of all the May processions of my childhood.  Mary please inspire us with a great appreciation for the beauty of the created world that we might express deep gratitude to your Son.

To Teach the Children

 

Today is the feast day (in the traditional calendar) of St. Jean Baptiste De La Salle, founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and patron saint of teachers. He founded free schools for the poor and teachers institutes to train those who would form the minds and hearts of little ones. His apostolate, like that of St. John Bosco later, was often attacked, especially by those who thought the poor should be raised only in trades and manual labor. His congregation focused on "lay" brothers who were not going to be priests, but whose work was to be in the classroom. 

Camp Kreitzer is Going to the Dog

Not Scooby!

It's been a few years since we had a dog, and probably wouldn't have one now except for 
the fact that one of our daughter's four dogs is jealous of her baby. Scooby, a little yorkie poo, doesn't like the little one to sit on Mom's lap. He also gets into it with the other three dogs, especially Rocket, a male miniature dachshund. So Scooby has moved in with the two old folks whose quiet life seems to be good for him -- except for one thing -- he doesn't get enough exercise. Five or six calm walks a day don't make the grade and Scooby is an escape artist. 

If you open the door even a little, he's out and gone down the road. It's amazing how fast those little legs can go. We were doing fairly well avoiding the escapes until the past few days when he darted by me twice rejoicing in freedom. I certainly was not rejoicing as I took off after him thinking, "Old age and road races don't go together." On the other hand, I had a chance to visit with several neighbors who participated in the rescue.