Public Witness to Christ in Woodstock - The Corpus Christi Procession

St. John Bosco in Woodstock, VA has a large Hispanic community. Some of their customs are absolutely beautiful and enrich the parish and the town. This Corpus Christi procession is one of them. The artistic work that goes into this project illustrates the respect and love they have for Jesus. And it offers and opportunity for the Hispanic and non-Hispanic members of the parish to work together to glorify God.

Sunday Meditation: Love is not rude!

Regular readers know that I like the Epoch Times -- a lot! The June 17-24 issue had a great article on The Steep Price of Declining Civility. I think most would agree that we see that almost every day, the behavior on social media being a good example. Rudeness is just the tip of the iceberg, though. The riots in our cities, school shootings, assassinations of political figures -- they all show the "steep price" of a culture entering chaos!

O Lord Give Us Holy Priests! Preserve us from the wolves supporting AUSCP

Examine this picture carefully.  It's from the website of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP) who just ended their annual confab in San Antonio on the very fashionable River Walk. See any roman collars? See many young men?  The theme was "Sex and Spirituality Pastoral Considerations." I had to laugh when I saw that, but not surprised. Dissident and heretical clergy always seem to have one thing on their minds: sex, sex, and more sex. 

On This Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Let Us Pray for Peace...

...in our families, our parishes, our communities, and our world. Pray the rosary for peace.

 

Cui Bono? Wars Make a Lot of People a Lot of Money! They Also Destroy Liberty!

As Scripture says, "Love of money is the root of all evil." There is so much money in war. Is it any wonder that the default position of many in government is endless war? That isn't what the Founding Fathers envisioned. In fact, James Madison, often called the Father of the Constitution, considered war the greatest enemy. "No nation," he said, "could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." Haven't war and terrorism been the twins used to reduce our freedoms? The Patriot Act after 9/11 is a 342 page document expanding activities of the FBI and CIA. It violates many of the rights articulated in the Bill of Rights. Are we really willing to trade our freedom for a false feeling of safety?

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart - Prayer for the Day to Be Repeated Often!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You. 

George MacDonald and the God of Patience

I'm a big fan of George MacDonald (so were G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis). Recently I came across a quote from MacDonald's novel, There and Back:

"God is the God of patience, and waits and waits for the child who keeps him waiting and will not open the door."

The novel is a fascinating study of family life, unhappy marriage, sacrificial love, friendship, rejection, regret.... If you want a thought-provoking story about life and character, read it. Take it on vacation. Let the sound of the waves, like the heartbeat of the earth, be the background music for your thoughts. Seeing the quote reminded me of the novel which can be read or downloaded online. (Go here.) 

What Do You Want of Me Lord?

When the Blessed Mother appeared to the three little children at Fatima in 1917, Lucia asked, "What do you want of me?" The lady responded telling the children to pray the rosary every day and come to the cova on the 13th of the month. They were simple requests. She gradually led the children to become little victim souls suffering for peace and the salvation of "poor sinners." She showed them a vision of hell with the dying falling into the abyss "like snowflakes." Anyone who believes there is no one in hell, judges the Blessed Mother to be a sadistic monster who terrorizes children. Hell is real. Let's not go there and let's try to save as many "poor sinners" as we possibly can!

What's the Answer to the World's Mess? Don't Ask Me!

This post was inspired by a comment about the bombing in Iran that I didn't approve for two reasons. It was too long and included multiple links. I appreciate all those who comment on the blog, but I've reached the point that I won't post comments that go on and on and include link after link. I don't have time to check all those links for one thing. Sometimes I agree with the person commenting as I mostly did with this one. Nevertheless, it went into my spam folder. 

Enemies of Christ in Roman Collars

A hero in a roman collar!

The other day I gave a talk to the core team of the Defend Life Face the Truth Tour. During the blazing hot days this week, these warriors of the Church Militant will be standing at busy intersections holding signs showing the graphic reality of abortion. They will receive thumbs up, honks for life as well as obscene gestures and screams. The really rabid pro-abortion zealots may even attack them. And in the past, these truth tellers have even been arrested. (They won the lawsuit against the police department.)

One of the things I mentioned briefly during my talk was the reality that there are traitors in roman collars. In the early days of the pro-life movement there was a real chance of passing a human life amendment to protect all lives from the moment of conception until natural death. That amendment wasn't deep-sixed by the feminists but principally by one priest -- Monsignor (later Bishop) James McHugh. As head of the USCCB's pro-life office, he had many contacts with laity fighting for life. It is an understatement to say he was not helpful, but actually threw roadblocks in the path to saving the unborn.