Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Why Catholics Pray for Piety (and should refrain from vulgarity)



TTC reader Mark Docherty writes:

Here I am agreeing with Shea... I guess there's a first time for everything.

"Early in my conversion, I swore off allthebadwords. I was oh so pious, and this was part of the piety, and this had to be the way. This went on for years, until a good priest explained to me my error. Actually he not so much explained it as he demolished it. He demolished it to the point of me realizing that honoring these non-curse words with the same or more ‘esteem’ as the real offenses was actually a sinful act in itself. Elevating man-made structures to the level of God. A violation of not the Second Commandment but the First. https://nonvenipacem.com/2016/04/01/language-as-a-wmd/




Anything jump out at you?

A priest demolished him from the pursuit of piety by explaining he should exchange holiness for swear words.

Any questions for Mark?

I have one.

Was the priest drunk when he told you that?

I was so upset that a priest would do this, I couldn't think straight enough to properly respond. I prayed for guidance and when I opened up the 54-day Rosary for that day, it was devoted to praying we receive... the gift of piety!

Exactly Lord! It's a GIFT. Piety is a gift! Thank you!!

Here was the meditation for the day:

The Gift of Piety: A special gift of the Holy Spirit; it perfects the virtue of religion, which is the practice of justice toward God. It produces an instinctive filial affection for God and devotion toward those who are specially consecrated to God. As an infused gift of God, it is ready loyalty to God and the things of God, arising not so much from studied effort or acquired habit as from a supernatural communication conferred by the Holy Spirit. This gift enables a person to see in God not only one's sovereign Master but a loving Father, according to the teaching of St. Paul: "Everyone moved by the Spirit is a son of God. The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out 'Abba, Father!'" (Rom 8:14-15). It engenders in the soul a filial respect for God, a generous love toward him, and an affectionate obedience that wants to do what he commands because it loves the one who commands. (Fr. John Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary)

So here we have a priest who encounters a soul being infused by this gift (no doubt through prayer and the Sacraments), and he rushes over to rob him of it.

I see you are prayerful and your soul is transforming. I'm a priest and I'm here to help.

Here's your list of swear words kid.


We sure are surrounded by deranged prelates aren't we?

Mark, you seem like a humble, smart, catechized Catholic. Why on earth wouldn't you recognize the stupidity of this advice? Ugh.

Before I was a blogger, I had an avocation of St. John, the beloved - spending free time in front of the Eucharist and in mystical prayer. Some day I hope God calls me back to it. I used to occasionally ask God in prayer to 'give someone else a turn and let me just go back to lounging around Your Feet, holding Your Head in Gethsemene, Dancing at Cana, listening to the Beatitudes, hanging with the Saints and Angels, praying for intercession. It's the better path. A higher avocation.

I digress.

So what's wrong with Catholics recommending we talk like longshoremen and putanas because it isn't mortal sin?

Every time I read a Catholic suggesting this, it reminds me of the theses priests use to make an all-about-me-circus out of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: "The GIRM doesn't forbid it."

We are all familiar with that, right?

If the Romans didn't anticipate every stupid innovation a priest could think of and list them as prohibitions in the Roman Missal, it is permissible.

You won't find anything saying its a mortal sin to have a clapping for lust and fornication Mass, so it must be ok to do, right?

Jesus only told married heterosexuals they couldn't sleep around so homosexual sex and single people hooking up isn't committing adultery, right?

There's actually nothing in the Bible or Catechism that says its a mortal sin to poop on the front steps of town hall. It might be a venial sin, at best, so if you feel the urge to do it, don't you worry your pretty little head. Right?

I think you get my drift.

Nevermind that our fiat is reserving the Divinity of Christ in our animus. You don't swear in front of Him for the same reason you wouldn't swear in a boardroom or in front of your grandmother or a Holy priest -- or the Pope for that matter!

It draws the soul away from holiness.

It's a manifestation of a lost temper. An animus that has leaped away from God and become agitated. It is NOT the by-product of God.

There's a reason we never see the Holy Family swearing in the Bible.

St. Michael at the Annunciation? No swears.

The Apostles: Didn't swear.

It lacks charity and respect for the people you subject to it.

Your children pick up on it and it affects the company they keep.

It's offensive.

It's ill-mannered.

It lacks class.

And people want to be around a woman and mother with a potty mouth about as much as they want to be around somebody who hasn't changed their underpants for a month.

We've all occasionally let one slip. That doesn't make it right.

Let's clean up our acts.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Is Phil Lawlor still scratching his head?




Is the Vatican, under Pope Francis, moving away from teachings of John Paul II on life and marriage?

I mean, come on.

The king is in the-all-together.

Where is Phil going with this?

Let's put into the deep.

St. John Paul II's writings were not personal opinions, they were faithful to 2000 years of Church Teaching.

Consequently, Pope Francis is leading away from the teachings of Christ.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Pope Francis Suggests Priests Apply Muddled Thinking in the Sacrament of Confession



This one really hits home for me because I was a victim of this malady for so many years when I was rebelling against Church teaching on contraception.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, people whose minds are muddled from sin seek out priests who will enable the behavior.    We find out where they are and drive to their parish to listen to their lies so we can keep on doing what we're doing without guilt.

The secular culture hates guilt because it drives you crazy until you stop the bad behavior.

If you have an affinity to be attracted to ordained men who will relieve you of guilt, your soul is so far gone it has affected your intellect.  The only fix for that is the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist.

Most of the priests I would go out of my way to use as a shepherd would not absolve the use of contraception.    I could never quite get comfortable with it, but I continued to put my salvation in their care.

The one thing that saved me was the consistent voice of St. John Paul II.   With the Pope constantly articulating Church teaching, I eventually knew I was being lied to.

I still went to the bad priests to hear the lies but each time St. John Paul II spoke about contraception, my skepticism grew.

I remember the last time a priest tried to tell me he wasn't going to absolve me.  I interrupted him with "Don't you dare try to tell me...etc.    He obliged and absolved me and  I walked out of the counterfeit church for good.

I think this is why the disordered nonsense coming out of Pope Francis is so disturbing to me.   Our people are being hoodwinked from the Chair of Peter.  

Just listen to this irrational bag of lies he is selling:

“The Church today needs to grow in the ability of spiritual discernment,” the pope told the Polish Jesuits, whom he met with during his visit to Krakow as he led a week-long Catholic festival called World Youth Day.

“Some programs of priestly formation run the risk of educating in the light of overly clear and distinct ideas, and therefore to act within limits and criteria that are rigidly defined in advance and that set aside concrete situations: this must be done, this mustn’t be done,” the pope said during the July 30 meeting he had with some 30 Jesuits.

Francis said that priests who weren’t taught the “wisdom of discernment” during their formation years, later “find themselves in difficulty in accompanying the life of so many young people and adults.”

“And many people leave the confessional disappointed. Not because the priest is bad, but because the priest doesn’t have the ability to discern situations, to accompany them in authentic discernment,”
express remorse to God for your lack of faith, your fall to temptation - and receive the gift of Sanctifying Grace to help resist temptation.

If a person is confessing a sin in the confessional, they know the behavior is an offense to God and the proper response to the activity is to receive Sanctifying Grace.

There's a spark of Sanctifying Grace already at work and we now have a Pope who is asking priests to throw a wet blanket on it by deliberately befuddling them and withholding absolution.

That's what the Holy Father is talking about here. If there was ever a statement that defines the trajectory he is imposing upon the people we love, this is it. What harm could ever be done by absolution and the power in Sanctifying Grace? What on earth would ever posses the man to instruct priests to obstruct it?

Oh, we are discerning all right.

You can take that to the bank.

Shea Just Proved His Theological Problems (One Last Shea post)

I know I'm encouraging others to leave Mark and Simcha by the side of the road and press the pedal to the medal in Christendom, but I think it's important to point this out.

The few handfuls of people in comboxes repeating the allegations that Mark and Simcha were innocent victims of Donald Trump supporters were practicing the terrible habit of encouraging others to jump off of the cliff.

When you encourage a person to continue their flaws on full speed ahead, eventually they self-destruct.

This isn't charity. You are doing that person a disservice.

Case in point: Mark posted an article in which he alleges that there are no scriptural prohibitions on vulgarity, the Church is only concerned with taking the Lord's name in vain, ergo please feel free to practice vulgarity because it's at best only a venial sin. He opines that people who do not say "fart' or 'sh*t' are puritans and thin-lipped little pharisees.

The man is clueless at how this practice leads the soul away from holiness, how it affects the company willing to subject themselves to it, how this leads to bad choices and more importantly, the lack of respect for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament within our soul.

It's a bad case of mystical bankruptcy.

He actually uses a reckless moment of St. Thomas More to position the practice as saintly. And he doesn't even get the point of what St. Thomas More is saying, which in effect is, when one lieth with the doggies you will get up with fleas.

St Nicholas punched somebody in the nose.  This doesn't mean evangelists should promote pinching people in the nose.

Not every moment of every saints life bears an imprimatur.

This is Mark's theological downfall: He sees bad behavior, finds a way to defend its practice and the next thing you know he's writing a thesis on how saintly it is to light your farts on fire, shack up with your homosexual lover, talk like a putana in the public square or vote for a murderous tyrant - and promote these activities to readers as part of the Magisterium. When everybody else in Christendom has been doing the exact opposite for 2000 years.

Duly note: Shea's article is not new. He confesses its something he wrote 'some time ago'. Consequently, the article lays accountability for Simcha's behavior - and ultimate firing - squarely upon the stupid advice in Shea's article!

The moral of this story is, if you want your flaws and sins to be patronized as part of some kind of subvert magisterium, keep-a-reading his stuff.  Look how well it worked out for Simcha.

Ordered souls did not want their fellow Catholics strung along with perversions of Church teaching. It had nothing whatsoever to do with "Donald Trump".









ACNN Exclusive: Trump confirms he personally fired Mark Shea



Ok, Mark Shea is in the rear-view mirror but this was just too fun not to post.

Did Soros Give the Bishops Cash in Exchange for Pope Francis to Play a Political Puppet for the Democratic Party?





I suspected something like this when secular media reported Boston's Jack Connors was leading Pope Francis around by the nose.

Parading Pope Francis into Cuba to praise leaders of the violent communists stunk to the high heavens.

For readers outside of Boston, here's more background on Connors.

In December of 2014, I said this:

I bet money was funneled into Church coffers somewhere.


The Pope's praise of violent dictators included positioning a Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in revolution square, giving the appearance of veneration of the portrait of Che.

At the time, Cardinal O'Malley affirmed the veneration of Che was deliberate. Here's what he said:

"Today we had the privilege and the joy to attend Pope Francis' Mass in Havana in the Plaza de la RevoluciĆ³n under the picture of his fellow Argentine Che Guevara. Hundreds of thousands of people from Cuba, and from beyond, gathered with the Holy Father for this great event," Cardinal O'Malley said.

Please.

Only a nice payment of cashola to bishops could be behind this outrageous use of a Pope and worse, the Holy Sacrifice of Christ.

I am not saying Pope Francis knew about it, but there are reports of his direct participation in setting it up. I've done very little diligence on the substance of these emails but from what I've read, Cardinal O'Malley is not mentioned as being involved in the payoff. But whether they knew and helped arrange it doesn't mitigate their outrageous participation, statements and silence on human rights of babies being murdered.

Some of the statements made by Pope Francis at the time also stunk of a George Soros infomercial. Claiming Trump wasn't Christian, overlooking the connection of the murderous regime of Obama to Christians and the unborn, instead reporting the Pope called Obama from the plane on the ride home to give Obama his well-wishes.

Then, just at the time of discovery that unborn children were being hacked alive to harvest body parts and Congress was contemplating continuing to fund them, Pope Francis stood in front of Congress and deliberately withheld any discussion on the human rights of the unborn.

I'm sorry to say it, but this also had the stink of a corrupt monetary agreement. More digging needs to be done.

When macabre evidence that human beings are being dissected alive and the idiots paying for it are in front of you, who would instead prepare a discussion on invented concerns about the weather? Say not one word to influence the murdering regime to stop paying for it? Say absolutely nothing?

It was as bizarre as a pope being ushered into a bunker in Auschwitz and as we are all glued to our televisions waiting for him to say something about the killing of the Jews, watch him give a speech about littering and air pollution.

Here is another creepy development: Pope Francis administration appears to be collaborating with communists in the appointment of bishops.




There are even reports that the Holy Father is denying the existence of the counterfeit church erected by communists and the decades of persecution.

Another thing I am suspicious the Bishops were given cash for, is the political publicity stunt they pulled at the Mexican border with the Blessed Sacrament.

The evidence of a political payoff to bishops has been made public, and any way you slice it we have a front row seat to Judases taking his handful of cash.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

The Gift of Understanding (A terror of demons!)

The Gift of Understanding: The infused gift of the Holy Spirit given to the mind for grasping revealed truths easily and profoundly. It differs from faith because it gives insight into the meaning of what a person believes, whereas faith, as such, merely assents to what God has revealed. This gift produces three principal effects in those who possess it. They are enabled to penetrate to the very core of revealed truths, without ever fully understanding their meaning; they are confirmed in their belief by acquiring great certitude in the revealed word of God; and they are brought to the knowledge of a greater number of truths by drawing numerous conclusions from revealed principles. (Fr. John Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary)

This was today's meditation in the 54 day rosary.

This gift always floors me. I love reading things written by people endowed with this gift and I'm always floored when it's at play in my own life.

It's a supernatural gift that works covertly. Telling us when something doesn't jive with Divine laws, His guidebook for salvation.

It's such kryptonite when we tune into it.

I've mastered it's practice in theology but sometimes struggle with realtime insights with people

I always feel it tapping me on the shoulder about a person, but can't hear the specifics.  Or sometimes I can and overrule it because I like the person or think God's work is lurking in the adventure.  I get the sense it the vibes of the Holy Spirit but my head is too much in the world to hear "something is wrong here, pay attention, dig deeper", "danger ahead!", "time to get out of Dodge" or "keep your hand on this plow".

I can always hear loud "I tried to tell you" when I'm standing in some pile of rubble!

Understanding is my most powerful gift and at the same time, my greatest challenge.


The meditations in this 54 day Novena are outstanding and so helpful in drawing upon the gifts.

I don't mean to sound sexist, but I'm not sure men are typically endowed with this gift, which is why so many priests can recite theology but can't seem to figure out its application.   This is our greatest contribution to the Church, family, community.

I'm wowed when I hear women saying the "role" of motherhood in the Church makes them feel inferior.

What is better than the role of an intercessor between God and His people?

We have direct access to know where the power of God.  Our role is in the miracle department of Christ's Church.  We bring the empty bottles of wine to Christ's attention and respond when our priests and bishop and pope wonder what business it is of theirs.

I can't believe my eyes when I see women sell this gift for getting their feet washed or some other trivial task.

Women are selling their gifts for pennies on the dollar.

I'm frustrated when ordained men undermine our role by reductio ad absurdum.  But even that insufferable nonsense is more tolerable than their inability to listen.

Usually when I write something about this, all my male friends will remind me they are equally endowed, which they are.  But that is because my gifts don't threaten their ego and I am not threatened by theirs.  But this is a huge  problem in the world of priests and bishops.

We've got to somehow get past this Rubicon.

Changes are possible.

For years in Boston We fought like cars and dogs with Chancery staff.  This is the main reason why we turned to blogs to free a parish from somebody or something that was harming them.

The last few times I reached out to them about something, I wouldn't exactly say they didn't try a few old tricks, but there was listening with far less defensive nonsense, errors acknowledged and real resolutions were promised.

The parable of the unjust judge can happen and will happen if we remain tenacious.

But we need a whole boatload of understanding.  Everywhere!




Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Cardinal Burke Says the Pope Does NOT Consider Him an Enemy



Here is my favorite part: He said the Pope is encouraged by his candor!



"I have never been, and I am not presently, the enemy of the Pope," the American cardinal said. Although he has made a number of public statements that have been critical of the Pope's public statements, Cardinal Burke stressed that he will always remain loyal to the Pontiff.

Cardinal Burke reported that he had told Pope Francis, in a friendly conversation: "Holy Father, the only way I can serve you is by speaking the truth in the best and clearest way possible." He said that the Pope replied: "That's what I want."

I absolutely believe this.

The accusation we are pope haters is about as credible as the accusation we're 'republicans'.

The Holy Father has told people we love to listen to heretics when making prudential judgments about how to respond to temptation. They have embraced that advice and are being robbed of their salvation.

Any and every Catholic who takes their baptismal vows seriously, who loves Christ and loves their relatives and friends is going to stand in the public square and blow a trumpet. At a deafening decibel level until they wave a white flag in surrender, or it collapses on its own. As it always does.

We may hate the effect of a person who is causing great harm, we may do everything in our power to stop it, but we do not hate the person. We don't take a shine to him, but we don't hate him!

Cardinal Burke also re-affirmed that he/we will never be part of a schism.


“Absolutely not,” he said. “I will never leave the Catholic Church. No matter what happens I intend to die a Roman Catholic. I will never be part of a schism.

“I’ll just keep the faith as I know it and respond in the best way possible. That’s what the Lord expects of me. But I can assure you this: You won’t find me as part of any schismatic movement or, God forbid, leading people to break away from the Catholic Church. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the church of our Lord Jesus Christ and the pope is his vicar on earth and I’m not going to be separated from that.”


Love this man!

We are going nowhere.

Staying with the Eucharist, Sacraments and Deposit of Faith. Hanging on to everything we can to preserve the Inheritance that belongs to the next generation.

A New Day Dawning Catholic Blogosphere



There's a lot of great commentary out there about the changes taking place at the Register and blogosphere, so I won't repeat them.

I will say that while I'm sorry the changes will result in a loss of income for two Catholic families, I am very happy about the positive ways it will change our ability to evangelize the people we love. Ultimately, these are changes to the efficacy of the truth and salvation of our people. These changes will help us shepherd our people to the fiat of living each day in a state of Sanctifying Grace and I am so happy about this outcome, I could do a cartwheel.

And I am really happy for the folks at EWTN. The rift with faithful Catholics has widened over the years and it had a negative impact upon Mother Angelica's mission to preserve our families from the hostility within. I truly believe these changes happened with her intercession.

Lots of people contributed to this outcome. People who tried to reach out privately to EWTN, Catholics who were forced to point out the errors on blogs, Austin's, Steven, John Henry and Jason's articles over the last few months.

I couldn't agree more with this comment from Fr. Heilman.

I see an amazing group of devout Catholics who have been beat up by a powerful progressive movement for 50 years, finally seeing some cause for rejoicing. The ship is turning ... slowly ... but it is turning.

Alleluia.

UPDATE:

My general advice going forward would be to pay as little attention to Mark and Simcha as possible. Chances are, their behavior is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. They've got to keep up the feud, keep blaming others for the outcome they caused and bearing false witness to make themselves relevant and I think the less relevant they become, the more outrageous that conduct will become.

Case in point, Mark's latest post.

In it, he caritcatures Simcha's 'a bawdry d*ick joke' (gross, but it must be said) as similar to the Scriptural writings of St. Paul. He continues with the flaw of painting Catholic prolife activists as salacious and bloodthirsty and efforts to topple the infiltration of Mother Angelica's apostolate as politically-motivated while painting Simcha as a person who wouldn't harm a fly.

She does none harm. She says none harm. She thinks none harm.

But there was a plethora of evidence to the contrary.

EWTN is is refuge from the hostility Church teaching faces in our parish, communities and in the public square. The enemy had set up camp within it and were launching grenades at faithful Catholics for years. She and husband conducted themselves with viscous conduct. True, not quite as vicious as Mark, but it was vicious. Vulgar and vicious. They were teaching that conduct to others and we were encountering it in our parishes, community and the public square.

This was contrary to Mother Angelica's reasons for building. the refuge from it. As a result, the Register began to lose their base of readers. That, combined with their refusal to stop it for years did significant damage to the Register. The broken trust and hostility was going to go one way or the other. Many of us had given up hope it was gonzo. Like thousands of other aposolates we have had the misfortune to lose.

I believe one of the main reasons for this 180 degree turn-around was Shimek's article. If they need a scapegoat for their own accountability, they can blame Shimek.

Fr. Longnecker explains the same reasons I have been articulating in a different way.

I think we ought to put things in perspective. First of all, I think Mark and Simcha’s main problem is that they forgot some of the basic rules of writing. I’ve always understood that a good writer writes primarily for his audience–not for himself. This doesn’t mean one has to pander to the audience and simply feed the monkeys. It does mean that you keep your audience in mind so that when you challenge them you challenge them in a way they will be able to hear and understand. In other words, you build up trust with your audience. People should come back to your blog or your column because you are going to inspire, entertain and challenge them, but if all you do is inspire or entertain or challenge they will soon look elsewhere.

If I’m right about this, the release of Mark and Simcha doesn’t have as much to do with their behavior as people, but with their behavior as writers. They’re both good writers, but maybe they forgot that to be a writer you are in a position of respect with your audience. If you know your audience is conservative religious people, then it’s not too smart to use profanity, go on ceaselessly about how dumb and hypocritical they are and how stupid their pet projects are. Criticize by all means, but criticize in a smart and specific way. It is possible to criticize with wit and charity–although in the present political climate I admit that this is increasingly difficult.

In my opinion Mark and Simcha were released not because they are bad people or bad writers or bad Catholics but simply because they were no longer successfully connecting with their audience.

I hope in a few days, they'll start thinking and acting rational and go on to make changes and recover. The only other choice they have is to continue to pass out the koolaid WITHOUT the sponsorship of EWTN. That will be like talking to a refrigerator.

They have our prayers but it is time to put our energy into building a new Catholic blogosphere.

A reader pointed us to a great summary on angelqueen:

Still ranting in irrational outbursts, smearing and anathematizing Catholics. Tough case.

Part of the problem may have been a failure to understand how the teaching on abortion applies to politics as well as a failure to grasp Catholic sensibilities in Catholic culture. Fortunately, there is a cure for that problem. It’s called a Catholic education. There is still time to look into that.

cardinalnewmansociety.org/program/the-newman-guide/
cardinalnewmansociety.org/program/higher-education/

The abortion issue in this year’s presidential election in the United States requires an exercise of reason and rational prudential judgment, not the knee-jerk emotionalism of the NeverTrumpers’ virtue signaling. There are still Catholic colleges and high schools which teach enough about natural law and Thomistic philosophy to find one’s footing in the exercise of reason and prudential judgments in the world of reality. That would provide a good remedy for these anti-Catholic outbursts. Conversion should include embracing the Catholic teachings on natural law and prudential judgments on the abortion issue in politics. That is essential for becoming an informed, sound, and educated adult Catholic. It might also provide some help in avoiding accusations about a lack of charity in future exchanges on this controversy.

And that's the way it is.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Petition urges Pope Francis to Stop Harmful Sex Ed Program



Our friend Judie Brown and John Henry have organized a petition to Pope Francis to intervene on the harmful sex ed initiative coming from the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Please sign and pass along to your networks.

Thanks to Judie and John Henry for staying on top of this one.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Shea's Post-Mortem Conspiracy Theories




A lot going on there.

Still can't own up to the fact that nothing but his own conduct is responsible for this ending.

Of course people forgive conduct. That doesn't mean your qualified to continue to run a Catholic Apostolate at EWTN.

Simcha Fisher's Vulgarity Worsens After Shea Was Let Go from the National Catholic Register


I think it's fair to say that everyone was surprised that the Register retained Simcha.

Maybe they hoped Simcha would clean up her act. Unfortunately, it seems she's chosen the route of escalating her rhetoric to something you'd expect from a back-alley ghetto prostitute.

Fisher is the most vulgar women I have ever encountered.

That is saying a lot.

I was born in Roxbury and grew up in Boston. I did go to Catholic school, so I was a little protected from the foul-mouthed fishwives and ruffians, but we saw it all.

Apologies up front for the vulgarity but I believe the National Catholic Register has more cleaning house to do and her vulgarity should be under their noses.


She wasn't done yet:


The lady is a tramp.

And here is the worst part: she is conditioning other women to talk this way.


..and this woman who came onto Fr. Heilman's facebook page and repeated Simcha's rhetoric, almost verbatim:



Shocking.

Fr. Heilman is the priest who is running the Holy League, leading us in today's Lepanto.

Can you imagine talking like a putana in front of this holy man?

This is not the kind of leadership that has any place in Mother Angelica's apostolate. They've got to finish the job.












Saturday, August 20, 2016

Priest says: "It's my fault"



Outstanding reading.


I am a weak spiritual leader who has led us to a place where “conservatives” cannot get elected or stay in office without making horrible compromises. I take the blame on this one.

I sat by and allowed sappy, effeminate, profane liturgies demoralize and deaden the hearts of our Catholic men (and many Catholic women). I remained mostly silent as feminists stripped our men of their dignity as husbands and fathers and spiritual heads of their households. I remained mostly silent as men slipped into the soul-deadening addiction of internet pornography. I remained mostly silent as liberal ideologues captured the attention of our youth. I remained mostly silent when our own Catholic leadership watered down and compromised the values and principles and morals of a once solid bedrock of faith in a tempted world. I remained mostly silent as our beloved Catholic Church was turned from a powerhouse of prayer and supernatural grace into one among many secular non-government organizations.

Please - do yourself a favor and read this devastating confession. All of us have been there.

Yes. We all let it get too far.

But we are making up for it now.

Way too late but better late than never.

N.B. Fr. Heilman had a post on Indulgences which I'm having trouble finding but will post when I do.

This is something powerful which I - and I suspect all of us - are out of the habit of doing.

The gift of indulgences to souls in purgatory adds tremendous spiritual power to your prayer life. (As does offering a Mass seeking the intention for their release.)

I don't know where this priest came from but we sooooo needed this kind of leadership.

Incidentally, I believe he helps men to organize the Holy League in their community? More info to follow.

Friday, August 19, 2016

It has finally happened: The National Catholic Register has Cut Mark Shea Loose



Late last night, Fr. Richard Heilman (Christendom's Special Forces priest!) posted that he had it on good authority that the Register had cut Mark Shea loose. Here's the post for those of you with Facebook accounts.

As we are all aware, over the years, many Catholics have written about Mark's conduct and accordingly, the inappropriateness of Mother Angelica's apostolate sponsorship of him.

As Mark and Simcha's behavior worsened, more Catholics chimed in, especially over the last few months or so.

A few days ago, Jason Jones wrote a devestating op-ed at LifeSite and Mark responded with..wait for it...an article about how sorry he was Jason was mad at him, and proceeded into a screed defending his behavior with further slanderous accusations against the prolife movement. Same old - prolifers are unfaithful to Church teachings on the poor, death penalty, etc., explaining his license for his toxic conduct.

Poor Zmirak took the last bullet for the cause, but at the end of the day, it apparently was the final straw.

The Register released a statement a short time ago:

Official Statement: The Register is no longer publishing blogs or commentaries submitted by Mark Shea. Mark’s writings at the NCRegister.com or published in our print edition were within our editorial guidelines. However, his writings and engagement on other forums were irreconcilable with our editorial vision or standards of charitable discussion.

This is a very interesting development.

A few weeks back Austin Ruse wrote an article at Crisis about Simcha when she claimed St. Maria Gorretti didn't die to save her viriginity.
, Simcha's main vile argument was St. Maria Gorretti's preservation of her virginity was shameful to rape victims. This post isn't the place to theologically respond, but suffice it to say God has a plan for each of us and preserving one's life by submitting to a rapist fulfills that plan for most of us. God's plan for St. Maria Goretti was martyrdom which was an act that resulted in the salvation of the soul of her would-be rapist. It had nothing at all to do with the Church claiming submitting to a rapist is a sin. It most certainly is NOT.

Simcha's theological blindness does not even spare this saint's innocent and magnificent gift to the Church.


The Stream also published a very articulate article written by Steven Herreid, "ProLife Catholics deserve better writers at the National Catholic Register".

Register's editor Dan Burke (who impressed me as a gentleman) responded in the comments section and spoke with a few Catholics, mostly to explain Shimek had been let go prior to his infamous last post at the Register and had published the article without permission. But in further discussion, he also took the position that Shea and Simcha's offensive conduct was not occurring at the Register (something I don't think was entirely true but their writings there were certainly tempered). He tried to make the point it was acceptable practice to hire enemies of faithful Catholics so long as their writings at the Register didn't include this conduct.

Many responded with comments that no doubt gave them food for thought. At the time, I felt we got the message through.

I wrote about the dust up here.

At the end of the day, Shimek was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. They are cleaning house. A significant victory for Catholic Blogosphere.

Several Shea/Simcha followers were appalled to hear Catholics had been praying the Register would cut Shea (and Simcha) loose. I made a valid attempt to explain that our elation at this development was about the return of orthodoxy in Mother Angelica's apostolate, not rejoicing over Mark's termination. When they could not elicit any shame in Catholics who are very pleased the Register is cleaning house, they showed their tail.

One of them, on a priest's facebook no less said "Bl*w Job swastika to all of you".

When I expressed my disgust and asked her to get a hold of herself, she repeated the vulgar sexual phrase over and over.

Another called a priest an a**hole.

No good deed goes unpunished.

I don't think anyone could be any more thrilled this dynamic will have to move on from EWTN.

Of course, Simcha is still hanging on by a thread.

The writing is on the wall.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

The Mark Sheat Show: The Saddam Hussein of Blogosphere.



Is there any faithfully-practicing Catholic left in Blogosphere who hasn't called out Mark Shea's fatwa?

It's nearly unanimous: Shea is a bigger horses ass than Donald Trump on his worst day.

He must be feeling his foundation starting to crumble again - he's responded to the rock Jason Jones has just flung between his eyes.

He's dusted off the crack pipe.

He says he supports prolifers. Absolutely. It's just that as the arbiter of blogosphere for the CDF, when he pronounces a war as unjust, or when the government turns over evidence for him to make a judgment on how they got info out of mass murderers, etc., when people disagree with his pronouncements, they're in a state of moral sin.

He's got parts of the Catechism we are not privy to. He's the magisterium for the parts that have never been published.

Accordingly, he was appointed to set our priorities and we're screwing them all up. Prolifers say "Who cares" about the "rag heads", "kick all the Mexicans and their brats"...

I won't bore you with any more of his screed.

It is seriously the rant of a mentally and spiritually ill person.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

54 Day Rosary for Our Nation


I'm a day late posting this, but I assume we read the same resources and you've already started the 54 day Rosary!

Who could say no to Cardinal Burke?!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Fr William Barrocas, lover of lovers



creepy

Pope's Heretic on Infallible Teaching on Ordination Accuses Fr. Z of Fomenting Insurrection and Schism



Is this chick for real?

Once again, no good faith could ever be found in a Pope who looks for credentialed people to draw conclusions on infallible teaching on ordination and cherry picks an individual with a public history of using heresy to push an agenda of invalid matter for ordination.

Isn't it just like the nutty women we have been dealing with for forty years to deflect the stink of deception they are dishing out by accusing whistleblowers?!

There's not a lot to add to Fr. Z's outstanding expose of her bizarre screed, except that it is another delivery of turds sponsored by the Pope.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Good reading on the 'deaconess commission' treachery



Here and here.

Imagine if you will the Pope finding the hundreds of thousands of complaints on the decades of flaming heretics in the Society of Jesus and 'assembling a 'committee' to 'study' it.

Ya.

He wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. Because he's not going to do anything about it.

So taking the initiative of setting up the smoke and mirrors has a purpose.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Here is something fun for your Sunday morning.



From the National Catholic Reporter:

Women "Deacon" Commission: A grand jury going nowhere.

The pope has settled on the lesser issue perhaps because it only involves spinning wheels and once again sprinkles the air with uplifting stardust that only looks as if it means something real.

You've got that right.

..the special commission strikes me as another balloon that pleases the crowd but pops as it goes out of sight.

Hoot Hoot!

Here's where the grand jury potentially hits a brick wall. The pope has already stood by JPII's stout rejection of female priesthood.

Hello smoke and mirrors.

I see nothing of the kind in a well-intended exploration with competent researchers that I'm guessing will go nowhere. With one perhaps unintended consequence. It keeps the crisis of women's actual entitlements front and center.

Does this scream "We are pathetic creatures without relevance", or what?

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Ireland's Seminary Found to be a Homosexual Brothel. Action Plan: Consult Pope advisory to expel faithful men from seminary.



Filled to the rafters with sexually-active homosexuals, seminarians who expected to be surrounded by support for a faithful, prayerful, celibate vocation were tossed out.

However, the issue will put fresh focus on concerns that the Vatican’s investigation of Maynooth, ordered by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, has had little practical effect. In previous years some Maynooth students claimed the college operated an informal ‘litmus test’ to sift out seminarians considered excessively conservative.

Six years later, they are still giving it the jerk around.

Here's something completely different:

A number of Maynooth student priests who were reportedly asked to take time out of seminary because they were ‘too conservative’ are to return to the college in the autumn after interventions by a number of bishops, it has been claimed.

The Irish Catholic understands that of 10 diocesan seminarians who were due to return to Maynooth

With the help of some bishops, they are marching right back in to take back the territory.

It's about time. Forty years later.

Isn't it interesting that when a pope is elected who attempts to institute tossing faithful seminarians to institute a Mapplethorpe priesthood, the bishops finally draw the line in the sand and march back to the front.

Check out this Mick on the make:

However, Msgr Hugh Connolly, President of Maynooth, rejected the claim, insisting that there has been “nothing out of the ordinary in terms of usual action between students, dioceses and the seminary in making a decision on what is the best next step for a particular student”.

That's right. It was a complete coincidence that all the prayerful heterosexuals were ushered out.

The God-forsaken heretic in charge of the see gave this explanation:


This is not the first time the issue has provoked controversy. Some years ago, seminarians were reportedly suspended for wanting to kneel during the consecration at Mass. In 2012, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said “it is not just that the number of candidates is low; it is also that many of those who present are fragile and some are much more traditional than those who went before them”....the archbishop warned there is “a danger that superficial attachment to the externals of tradition may well be a sign of fearfulness and flight from changed realities: and that is not exactly what we need”.


Guess what? I think we're all done being 'fragile'.

Forty years later, when we get off of our knees and come out of Adoration, with loins girded, we are coming to drive out the snakes.

“We are very proud of all of our students,” Msgr Connolly insisted. “They are admirable young and older men who are taking a counter-cultural stance. Whether they are conservative, middle of the road or progressive theologically is irrelevant really as long as they are answering the call of the Gospel in a faithful way.”

This is a man who thinks seminarians who encourage people to break commandments are 'answering the call of the Gospel in a faithful way'.

Can anyone tell me what this dangerous spiritual predator is doing running a seminary?

My email to Monsignor below. Send one yourself!

-----Original Message-----

To: President
Cc: michael.mullaney ; Paul.Prior ; michael.collins
Sent: Sat, Aug 6, 2016 8:10 am
Subject: Dangerous Spiritual Predator

+IHS

Monsignor Connolly,

You said:

“We are very proud of all of our students,” Msgr Connolly insisted. “They are admirable young and older men who are taking a counter-cultural stance. Whether they are conservative, middle of the road or progressive theologically is irrelevant really as long as they are answering the call of the Gospel in a faithful way.”

So you think if the theological perspective of a seminarian encourages our people to break commandments, they are 'answering the call of the Gospel in a faithful way'.

What blarney!

However, Msgr Hugh Connolly, President of Maynooth, rejected the claim, insisting that there has been “nothing out of the ordinary in terms of usual action between students, dioceses and the seminary in making a decision on what is the best next step for a particular student”.

I'm sure it was a complete coincidence that all the prayerful, celibate heterosexuals have been ushered out our seminaries for 40 years!

But, amen I say to you: The glory days of turning the Catholic priesthood into a gay club for men are coming to an end.

You had a good run.

It's taken 40 years, but the miracle has happened. The bishops have found their spine! Loins are girded and our men are marching back into our seminaries to take back the vocation of Christ's royal priesthood.

Iss Fahr rih mawh naw druch-hyay-sav.

I am thrilled that the movement has begun in my Ireland!

In Christ,


Thursday, August 4, 2016

Anyone know what happened to Fr. Paul Nicholson?



He stopped sending out emails a few weeks back, his facebook account content on youtube has vanished.

I've been immersed in a home project and hadn't followed how things settled after the post-Voris dust up, but I thought he found some folks to help him with production of his videos and seemed to be plugging along. If that fell through, he doesn't need anything sophisticated. He can still deliver content with a computer and a youtube channel. Fr. Mike Schmitz does this very effectively and it's very a very simple platform to operate. If he needs help doing it, we'll be happy to pull a few people together to set it up.

The last post on Facebook that I recall was something about don't criticize the bishops, don't worry about what they say - yada yada - and I remember posting the same comment I keep repeating until I'm blue in the face: Nobody is worried about the bishops or the pope for that matter, what we are worried about is the daily onslaught of heresies coming out of this pontificate are now being repeated by our children and we are not going to stop asking them to cease and desist in the public square because of the baptismal promises we made to Christ.

I don't think others were very receptive to the idea that we should forfeit the salvation of the people we love and not worry about the pied pipers leading them to hell right in front of our eyes because we have some kind of imagined duty to spare the reputation of these wolves. We have absolutely no intention to use silence to give credibility to their counterfeit church. They'd have better luck asking us to look the other way while they ordain and shuffle pedophiles.

I have no idea if these convictions threw a monkey wrench in what he feels called to do for spiritual direction during these times. I certainly hope they have nothing to do with his retreat. His contributions through his internet apostolate were outstanding.

If you're out there Fr. Nicholson, we miss you, we love you, we are praying for you and we hope to see you back soon.


Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Another Day, Another Charade Involving Heresy from Pope Francis




In May, Pope Francis remarked that the Catholic Church should study whether women could be “reinstated” as deacons — a proposal that could introduce a role for women in the Catholic clergy that has been open only to men for centuries.

On Tuesday, he made good on that comment, made last spring to a gathering of nuns. The Vatican announced the members of the new Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women, whose examinations may weigh both church tradition and also possibly take stock of contemporary views and needs among Catholic clergy and worshipers.


Here's a statement from the class clown who has been strategically placed on (yet) another rope-a-dope 'committee':

Seven men and six women will serve on the committee. They include priests, nuns and professors; several live in Rome, but one, Phyllis Zagano, teaches at Hofstra University in New York. Zagano has written a book entitled “Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church.”

“The dignity of women to be recognized as able to minister as part of the ordained diaconate — to recognize that dignity is world-changing,” Zagano said in an interview with The Washington Post shortly after she learned she had been tapped for the committee. “I think it really speaks specifically to the way the church views women. My hope for the commission would be that it would make a decision.”

Oh, it will 'make a decision' all right. Pass out St. John Paul II encyclical explaining infallible teaching and adjourn.

And be sure to stay tuned. Right after the horses backsides complete this coddiwomple, they will study whether pigs can fly.

Monday, August 1, 2016

Another Article on the Shea-Fisher-Shimek Scandal at EWTN




A good read.

The response of the Register's Editor Dan Burke in the comments section is interesting.

He wanted to set the record straight that he pulled Shimek's article before the uproar in Christendom. He said he was shocked to read Shimek's commentary published at EWTN.

I've hear great things about Dan which makes the tempest all the more puzzling.

Why would you hire Christendom's Amanda Marcotte and Charlie Sheen and then claim you are shocked by their published articles at EWTN?