Monday, November 26, 2012

Stephen Kent, in an essay entitled “A need for pro-active ethics,” writes, “Ethics are based on values. Values arise from foundational beliefs, the primary ones being the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life as God’s creation. What advances this ideal is good, what hinders it is wrong.”


Which is why it is most unfortunate that the Worcester Diocese [Massachusetts] continues to raise monies for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, an umbrella organization which funnels monies to various groups promoting abortion, contraception and even sodomy and same-sex “marriage.” Any diocese which claims to be committed toward defending the sanctity of human life while raising monies for CCHD is not being honest.

Writing for The Recorder, Father Robert Markovitch of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit in South Deerfield, Massachusetts notes that liberalism is a religion with two sacraments: sex and death. And the over-arching belief system of this religion is evolution. Fr. Writes, “This belief system has consequences. They are: that the most intimate moment of a man and a woman becomes, as a norm, a place for two people to use each other as things; that deep in a woman is a womb, a chamber where death may be dealt; that the best sport for most is sex; that the heart is wasted sentiment worthy of no attention; where the full openness to the sex act closes off human friendships; that all pain can be avoided by substances and higher volume stimulation; and last, but not least, when the existence sport sacrament is exhausted, the answer is gift of a hundred pills from a government-imposed affordable ‘health care’ plan - the final sacrament and solution.”

And there are many within the Church who secretly yearn for such a religion. This should not really surprise us. One of the most important signs of the latter days is the great number of Catholics who will abandon the true faith. Numerous seers have indicated that along with the general indifference toward religion which will prevail just prior to the arrival of Antichrist, there will be a complete degeneration of morals, a degeneration which will resemble that of the pagans before the dawn of Christianity. Reverend Gerald Culleton explains that, “After the birth of Antichrist...the false doctrines were to multiply and spread to such an extent that even Catholics would doubt many of the articles of faith, resulting in their perversion, this to apply not only to the laity but even to many priests and some of the hierarchy. The zeal of these latter will be greatly affected by this lack of faith. There will be dissentions among the clergy. Many will be proud, selfish, unjust, covetous, and even forgetful of vows made at ordination regarding chastity. Many will even offer Mass and confer the sacraments sacrilegiously. When the zeal of the clergy fails they will see the faithful leaving the churches and turning to the world....Because of these defections Catholics will be severely punished, for only by chastisements can God bring back to the minds of His people a realization of their dependence upon Him. As a consequence, widespread persecution of priests and people will come upon the Church in order that faith and love of God may be revived, for as surely as night follows day, so will civilization crumble and the world become steeped in the darkness of ignorance, hatred, misery and vice when God, who is the Light of the World, will no longer rule in the hearts of His people.”

Fr. Culleton notes that, “..many people will seem to honor God but this will be chiefly lip service and not based on real faith and love.” Such people will be unwilling to recognize evil because they will have succumbed to the love of pleasure. Truth will be deserted and replaced with false doctrines (what Saint Paul refers to as “Doctrines of Demons”) which the multitudes will fully embrace.

And that time is now. Today, more than in any other period of human history, people actually want to be deluded. And this satanic delusion is leading us toward open - and very soon even physically violent - persecution. Which is why Fr. Markovitch asserts, in the essay referred to above, that: “We have a changing situation in America, where people who once had freedom of religion and association must now pay for contraception for everyone as if it were a right, even when consciences are violated. Priests and Religious Brothers and Sisters must now use their financial means to fund something condemned by the 2,000-year-old Catholic faith. This is a state of oppression worthy of a socialist dictator.”

And I might add: a Universal Dictator. One the Sacred Scriptures refer to as the Man of Sin. He who is about to reveal himself to the world.





Monday, November 19, 2012

"Only a robustly, unapologetically evangelical Catholicism..."

It was Jacques Maritain who said, “Christianity must inform or, rather, transpenetrate the world; not that this is its principal aim (although it is an indispensable secondary end), and not in order that the world become right now the kingdom of God, but in order that grace may be more and more effective in it, and in order that man may better live there his temporal life.”


If grace is to be more and more effective in the world, if a new Christendom is to arise from the ashes of our morally-bankrupt, sin-sick society which subjects mankind to constant and ever-growing threats of degradation and destruction, then saints will have to arise in the midst of our broken world. These saints will be, according to St. Louis de Montfort in his classic treatise True Devotion to Mary, “..like thunder-clouds flying through the air at the slightest breath of the Holy Spirit. Attached to nothing, surprised at nothing, troubled at nothing, they will shower down the rain of God’s word and of eternal life. They will thunder against sin, they will storm against the world, they will strike down the devil and his followers and for life and for death, they will pierce through and through with the two-edged sword of God’s word all those against whom they are sent by almighty God.” (True Devotion, 57).

Such disciples will not be “part-time Catholics” or “Chicken-Catholics,” devoting only one hour a week to their Creator and Redeemer while retreating in fear from any and all conflict during the spiritual battles ahead. St. Montfort insists that, “..we know they will be true disciples of Jesus Christ, imitating his poverty, his humility, his contempt of the world and his love. They will point out the narrow way to God in pure truth according to the holy Gospel, and not according to the maxims of the world. Their hearts will not be troubled, nor will they show favor to anyone; they will not spare or heed or fear any man, however powerful he may be. They will have the two-edged sword of the Word of God in their mouths and the blood-stained standard of the Cross on their shoulders. They will carry the crucifix in their right hand and the rosary in their left, and the holy names of Jesus and Mary on their heart. The simplicity and self-sacrifice of Jesus will be reflected in their whole behavior.” (True Devotion, 59).

George Weigel, weighing in on the supreme crisis which faces the Catholic Church in the United States in the wake of President Obama’s re-election, asserts (correctly) that: “..the opportunity embedded in this crisis..is nothing less than to be the Church of the New Evangelization, full-throttle. Shallow, tribal, institutional-maintenance Catholicism is utterly incapable of meeting the challenges that will now come at the Catholic Church from the most aggressively secular administration in American history. Only a robustly, unapologetically evangelical Catholicism, winsomely proposing and nobly living the truths about the human condition the Church teaches, will see us through the next four years. Radically converted Christian disciples, not one-hour-a-week Catholics whipsawed by an ever more toxic culture, are what this hour of crisis..demands.” (The crisis of a second Obama administration).

Sadly, the militant evangelical Catholicism described by George Weigel is not encouraged - or even tolerated - in some corners of the Catholic Church here in the United States. In some dioceses, the Cult of Softness has all but crippled an authentic, militant evangelization and replaced it with a sacharrin-spirituality which sugar-coats sin while leaving Zebulun and Naphtali in the shadow of death.  As part of the Ecclesia Militans, I am persona non grata in my own diocese - the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts.  New Age advocates, dissidents who rail against the Magisterium and those who engage in radical homosexual agitprop are welcome.  But an orthodox Catholic who vigorously promotes and defends the teaching of the Magisterium is deemed "rigid" and "too pre-Vatican II."

This is our moment as Catholics: We can choose to take a courageous stand for the Faith of our Fathers, witnessing to Gospel truths with the whole of our lives and even unto death; or we can fall back into the shadows and thereby cooperate in the spiritual destruction of a once-great nation.

Along with the Church’s other martyrs, St. Thomas More was confronted with the same choice. While remaining a loyal servant of the King, he chose to be God’s servant first. Will we?

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Bishop Robert McManus, poor catechesis and the re-election of Barack Obama


An Associated Press article written by Rachel Zoll and entitled "Catholic Bishops stay course on gay marriage fight" notes that, "Obama won the overall Catholic vote, 50 percent to 48 percent...White Catholics supported Romney, 59 percent to 40 percent.  However, Latino Catholics went for Obama, 75 percent to 21 percent."  Which only serves to highlight the fact that the Republican Party needs to reach out to Hispanic voters and that the Catholic Church in the United States has done a very poor job of catechizing the faithful.

In a speech given on March 21, 2009 in Detroit, Archbishop Charles Chaput, having been asked to examine what the November 2008 election and its aftermath can teach Catholics about American culture, the state of American Catholicism and the kind of Pauline discipleship necessary today, said that, "November showed us that 40 years of American Catholic complacency and poor formation are bearing exactly the fruit we should have expected. Or to put it more discreetly, the November elections confirmed a trend, rather than created a new moment, in American culture."

Nowhere is this poor formation in more evidence than in the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts.  A couple of weeks ago I wrote Bishop Robert J. McManus about his promotion of New Age advocate and noted dissident Sister Joyce Rupp.  I asked His Excellency if he truly believes that it is appropriate to promote the writings of an angry feminist who rails against the Church's hierarchy and the Magisterial teaching of the Church while advancing idolatry.  I also asked why Joyce Rupp is welcome within the Diocese when I am not. I received absolutely no response whatsoever even though my tone was highly respectful.  Obviously charity is a strong suit in the Bishop's brand of Catholicism.

In this week's "Catholic" Free Press (a sort of peekaboo Catholicism if you will), His Excellency is once again promoting the "Catholic" Campaign for Human Development - CCHD.  In a message published on page 6 of this sad publication, the Bishop writes, "Through CCHD the Catholic Church is working to continue its tradition of care for the poor.  Please help the efforts of CCHD to break the cycle of poverty.  Fight poverty in America.  Defend human dignity.  Support CCHD in our diocesan collection on Novermber 17 & 18..."

The problem? CCHD is an organization which was inspired by radical agitator Saul Alinsky, a Marxist who dedicated his Rules for Radicals to Lucifer, whom he called "the first radical." It  is an umbrella organization and/or a front for various groups which dissent from the Church's authentic teaching. Especially in the area of sexual morality.


According to American Life League's Michael Hichborn, "..no less than fifty organizations (one-fifth of all CCHD grantees from 2009) are, in some capacity, engaged in pro-abortion or pro-homosexual causes."

For a number of years, there has been concern with the grants that CCHD distributes. There have been specific complaints that a significant portion of the grants have been given to organizations working in direct contradiction to Church teaching.

In 2009, American Life League joined with several other concerned organizations to form the Reform CCHD Now Coalition. In March of 2010, the coalition sent a report on CCHD to each bishop, showing that, in 2009–2010, 51 out of 237 groups receiving CCHD funding either directly or through coalition membership promoted abortion, birth control, homosexuality, and/or Marxism. Thus, 21% of the groups funded by CCHD were involved in such work.

As a result of this activity, CCHD conducted an internal effort to revamp its grant process and ensure that all grantees adhered to strict guidelines. The results were published in a CCHD Renewal Document.

2010–2011 Grantees

In January, 2011, CCHD published its list of 2010-2011 grantees. At that time, American Life League reviewed the list and was disappointed to see that many of the offending organizations were still on the list and, in fact, others have been added.

The attached report documents that, of the 218 organizations funded by CCHD, 14 are directly involved in activities contrary to Church teaching and 40 are actively involved in coalitions with such activities. Thus, 54 groups (24%) funded by CCHD are involved in anti-Catholic work.

The number, and percentage, of offending organizations has actually INCREASED in the last year —from 51 to 54 groups and from 21% to 24%.

These 54 organizations received a total of $1,863,000 of the $7,608,000 distributed in CCHD grants in 2010-2011."

The number and percentage of offending/dissenting organizations receiving CCHD monies has actually increased since 2009. In 2011, 14 organizations funded by CCHD are directly involved in activities which are contrary to Catholic teaching and another 40 are actively involved and associated with coalitions in support of such activities.

Small wonder that same-sex "marriage" has been most warmly received in New England.  Not only has there been poor catechesis but groups which actively undermine the Church's moral teaching have been funded by CCHD.  Things have gotten so bad that Barry Kosnin of the American Religious Identification Survey (2008) said that, "The decline of Catholicism in the Northeast is nothing short of stunning."

Because so many of our priests have failed to preach the faith and to take a courageous stand against the Culture of Death and the Cult of Softness, Barack Obama - champion of both - has been re-elected and can continue to wage his war against Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in particular.

And there will be judgment.





Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Americans choose the Way of Death...


The Didache, also known as The Teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles, tells us that, "There are two Ways: a Way of Life and a Way of Death, and the difference between these two Ways is great.  The Way of Life is this: Thou shalt love first the Lord thy Creator, and secondly thy neighbor as thyself; and thou shalt do nothing to any man that thou wouldst not wish to be done to thyself...Commit no murder, adultery, sodomy, fornication, or theft.  Practise no magic, sorcery, abortion, or infanticide..."

Once again, a majority of Americans (including sadly a large number of those who are so morally blind that they still consider themselves to be Catholic or Christian) have voted for a president who fully embraces the Culture of Death promoting abortion through all nine months of pregnancy up to and including what is known as "partial-birth abortion" - which is really infanticide.  A president who has also embraced the Cult of Softness with its agenda to promote sodomy and to re-define marriage.  A president who is committed toward attacking the religious freedom of the Catholic Church with his contraceptive mandate.

Americans have voted for self-destruction.  It was Abraham Lincoln, in a speech given on January 27, 1837, who forewarned: "At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time, or die by suicide."

The spirit of Antichrist is rising everywhere.  A new television program entitled "666 Park Avenue" is currently enjoying popularity.  Last week, I stood in line at the bank behind a young man sporting a baseball cap which read 666.  Just this morning a car with a Rhode Island license plate passed me on Route 2 from Athol to Gardner, Massachusetts.  The number?  6664RI!

Last night, around 11 PM, I was awakened with the knowledge that Mitt Romney had lost the election (I didn't follow the results at all).  And I was given a Word of Knowledge:  America has opted for sin and the Way of Death.  As a result, severe chastisements are coming upon this sin-sick nation.  California will soon be stricken with massive earthquakes and the weather is about to turn even more violent than anyone is prepared for.

Remain in the faith my friends.  Pray every day to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Destruction is coming upon this nation which has forsaken God.
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