Catholics of Fitchburg, Massachusetts: Support Father Thien Nguyen's efforts

As I mentioned in a previous post, The Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, Bishop of the Worcester Diocese, has issued the following statement:

"In response to Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum, Reverend Father Thien Nguyen, pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, has generously invited Reverend Father David Phillipson to offer the Extraordinary Form Mass (the Traditional Latin Mass) every Sunday at 8am, beginning on June 28th and also on Holy Days according to the Traditional Calendar.

Father will hear confessions at 7:30am before Mass, and the Rosary will be prayed aloud at that time. Father will also hold spiritual conferences and traditional devotions, and administer the Sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. For more information, visit the parish website at www.immaculateconceptionfitchburg.com. Immaculate Conception Church is located at 59 Walnut Street in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The parish will also continue to keep its regular schedule of Masses in the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo Masses)."

Although still under construction, the website for Immaculate Conception parish is now up and running. Let's all support Father Nguyen, who is a real gift to the Church. And let us pray:

Immaculate Mother of God,
Queen of the Apostles,
we know that God's commandment of love
and our vocation to follow Jesus Christ
impels us to cooperate in the mission of the Church.

Realizing our own weakness,
we entrust the renewal of our personal lives
and our apostolate to your intercession.

We are confident that through God's mercy
and the infinite merits of Jesus Christ,
you, who are our Mother,
will obtain the strength of the Holy Spirit,
as you obtained it for the community of the Apostles
gathered in the upper room.

Therefore, relying on your maternal intercession,
we resolve from this moment to devote
our talents, learning, material resources,
our health, sickness and trials,
and every gift of nature and grace,
for the greater glory of God and the salvation of all.
We wish to carry on those activities which especially
promote the Catholic apostolate for the revival
of faith and love of the People of God
and so bring all men and women
into the Faith of Jesus Christ.

And if a time should come
when we have nothing more
to offer serviceable to this end,
we will never cease to pray that there will be
one fold and one shepherd, Jesus Christ.

In this way, we hope to enjoy
the results of the apostolate
of Jesus Christ for all eternity. Amen.

St. Vincent Pallotti (1795-1850), pioneer of organized Catholic action and founder of the Society of Catholic Apostolate, also known as the Pallottini, or Pallottine Fathers.

The coming chastisement

Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi (19th century, Italy)

Blessed Taigi was praised by Pope Benedict XV in her beatification on May 20, 1920 as being an exemplary wife and mother amid poor and trying circumstances. She was frequently in ecstasy, worked miracles of healing, read hearts, foretold deaths, and saw visions on the coming of future events. She foretold the first two world wars of this century. Eighteen years after her death, her body remained fresh and in a state of perfect preservation as if it had been just buried the day before. The following is her prophecy on the three days of darkness:

"God will send two punishments: one will be in the form of wars, revolutions and other evils; it shall originate on earth. The other will be sent from Heaven. There shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting three days and three nights. Nothing can be seen, and the air will be laden with pestilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of religion. It will be impossible to use any man-made lighting during this darkness, except blessed candles. He, who out of curiosity, opens his window to look out, or leaves his home, will fall dead on the spot. During these three days, people should remain in their homes, pray the Rosary and beg God for mercy." "All the enemies of the Church, whether known or unknown, will perish over the whole earth during that universal darkness, with the exception of a few whom God will soon convert. The air shall be infected by demons who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms.""Religion shall be persecuted, and priests massacred. Churches shall be closed, but only for a short time. The Holy Father shall be obliged to leave Rome."

Marie-Julie Jahenny - Nineteenth Century:

"The crisis will come on all of a sudden and the Chastisement will be worldwide."
The Ecstatic of Tours - Nineteenth Century"Before the war breaks out again, food will be scarce and expensive. There will be little work for the workers, and fathers will hear their children crying for food. There will be earthquakes and signs in the sun. Toward the end, darkness will cover the earth. When everyone believes that peace is assured, when everyone least expects it, the great happening will begin. Revolution will break out in Italy almost at the same time as in France. For some time the Church will be without a Pope."

Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified - Nineteenth Century:

"All states will be shaken by war and civil conflict. During a darkness lasting three days the people given to evil ways will perish so that only one-fourth of mankind will survive."


Sr. Elena Aiello (20th Century - 1954)

Our Lord: "The world is flooded by a deluge of corruption. The governments of the people have arisen as demons in human flesh and even though they speak of peace, they prepare for war with devastating weapons that can annihilate whole peoples and nations."

"So ungrateful have they become towards My Sacred Heart and abusing My graces they have converted the world into a scene of crimes. Innumerable scandals carry souls to their ruin, especially the souls of the youth. They have given themselves, without restraint, to the pleasure s of the world which have degenerated into perversions."*

"The bad example of the parents produces, within the families, scandals and infidelities, instead of the practices of virtue and of prayer. The home, source of faith and holiness is stained and destroyed."

"The willfulness of men does not change and they stubbornly continue in their sins. The punishments and afflictions God sends to make them become reasonable, are severe, but men are enraged as if they were wounded beasts, and harden their hearts against the grace of God."
"The world no longer merits pardon, but deserves fire, destruction and death. There must be much penance and prayers by the faithful to mitigate the deserved chastisement which is no detained by the intervention of My dear Mother, who is Mother of all men. Near at hand is the scourge that will cleanse the earth of evil! Divine Justice clamors for satisfaction for the many offenses and evils which cover the earth. No more can be tolerated. Obstinate men, hardened in their faults, do not turn to God."

"The people do not subject themselves to the Church and despise the priests because there are so many among them who are the cause of scandals."

Our Lady:

"Satan goes furiously through this disordered world, and soon will show all his might. But, because of my Immaculate Heart, the triumph of Light will not delay in its triumph over the power of darkness, and the world, finally, will have tranquility and peace." Good Friday ---1961
"My daughter, Rome will not be saved, because the Italian rulers have forsaken the Divine Light and because only a few people really love the Church. But the day is not far off when all the wicked shall perish, under the tremendous blows of Divine Justice."

"Listen well to what I have to tell you and announce it to everyone. My heart is saddened by the many afflictions which threaten the world. The justice of our Heavenly Father is gravely offended."

"Men continue to live willfully in their sins. The wrath of God is near at hand. The world will be visited by great misfortunes, by bloody revolutions, by terrible hurricanes and floods of rivers and seas."

"Raise your voice until the priests of God heed My messages and advise men that the time is near and if they do not convert and return to God through prayers and sacrifices, the world will be involved in a new war. The dictators of the world, infernal creatures, will destroy the churches, profane the Holy Eucharist and destroy the most cherished and holy things. In that new pitiless war, much that men have constructed will be destroyed."

"Clouds with lightening rays of fire and a tempest of fire will pass over the whole earth and the punishment will be the most terrible ever known in the history of mankind. It will last 70 hours. The wicked will be crushed and eliminated. Many will be lost because they stubbornly remained in their sins. The hours of darkness are near ... some nations will be purified while others will disappear entirely."

"I am bending over the world and detain the justice of God, otherwise, these things would have already happened. Prayer and sacrifices are needed. Men must return to God and to My Immaculate Heart, Mediatrix for men, then, at least, part of the world will be saved."

"Speak out loudly. Propagate these words everywhere as a true echo of My voice. Make known because it will help to save many souls and impede much destruction of the Church and world."

"Russia will march upon all the nations of Europe, particularly Italy, and will raise her flag over the dome of St. Peter's. Italy will be severely tried by a great revolution and Rome will be purified in blood for its many sins, especially those of impurity. The flock is about to be dispersed and the Pope will suffer greatly."

* As explained in this Blog post, I recently came across a Catholic Blogger and attorney who called for legal recognition of "differing types of relationships." And because I stand with the Church, I have received numerous emails attacking my person, my character and this Blog which is faithful to the Magisterial teaching of the Church. I have been accused of spreading hate (see the comments section of this post) because while I love the homosexual sinner, I oppose the sin itself and the aberrant lifestyle. My beliefs are consistent with the teaching Magisterium as outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For this I have even been attacked by some Catholic Bloggers.

But I will not be intimidated. I will, by the grace of God, stand with Holy Mother Church until the end. Viva Christo Rey!

Paul.

Words of warning and encouragement from Our Lady

Our Lady to Fr. Stefano Gobbi (taken from the book To the Priests: Our Lady's Beloved Sons):

Message # 548, August 5, 1995, Feast of Our Lady of the Snows
Along the road of my messages, I am bringing you to the understanding of that which is written in the Book which is yet sealed. Many pages of what is contained in the Apocalypse of Saint John have already been explained to you by me. Above all, I have pointed out to you the great battle which is taking place between the Woman clothed in the sun and the Red Dragon, assisted by the Black Beast, namely, Masonry.

I have also revealed to you the subtle and diabolical snares set for you by Masonry, which has entered into the interior of the Church and has established the center of its power there where Jesus has established the center and the foundation of her unity. Do not be disturbed, because this forms part of the mystery of iniquity, which the Church has known from her very birth. In fact Satan - who drove Judas, one of the twelve, to become the traitor - has entered even into the Apostolic College.

In these times of yours, the mystery of iniquity is on the point of manifesting itself in all its terrible power.

Message # 560, December 31, 1995

I am the great sign of Divine Mercy -For this, I am manifesting myself, in so powerful and extraordinary a way, through my apparitions, my numerous weepings, and the messages I give to the heart of this little son of mine, whom I myself am leading along all the roads of the world, in search of sinners, of the sick, of those who have fallen, of the straying, of the despairing, of those who are succumbing to the seductions of sin and evil.

Message # 561, January 1, 1996, Feast of Mary, the Most Holy Mother of God

Now the events will follow one upon the other in rapid succession, toward their complete unfolding. My secrets will be revealed to you by the very events through which you have been called to live.

Because of this, seeing with motherly concern all that is now awaiting you, I once again invite the Church and all humanity to enter into the safe refuge of my Immaculate Heart. Only here will you be protected and consoled by my very own self. Only here will you find peace and will you cross with joy the bright threshold of hope.

Because in the safe refuge of my Immaculate Heart, which the Most Holy Trinity is offering to you as an ark of salvation in these last times, you will await, in confidence and in prayer, the return in glory of Jesus, who will bring His Kingdom into the world and make all things new.

Message # 562, January 19, 1996

How can you take shelter in the painful hours of the great trial, which has now come for the Church and for humanity? Where can you find refuge in the tremendous squall which is shaking heaven and earth because of the hatred which is spreading everywhere; of the violence which is exploding; of the evil which is being committed; of the sin which is being exalted; of the impurity which is submerging the whole world?

You are all being called to find assistance and protection in the heavenly garden of my motherly love. For thus it will become ever clearer and clearer to the Church and to humanity how my Immaculate Heart is the sure refuge, which the Most Holy Trinity has prepared for your salvation, in the hour when justice will become manifested in all its divine power.

I am the Mother of Love and of Mercy.

At the moment when the world will be set free from the Evil One and the earth purified by the painful trial which, in many ways, has already been foretold to you, my Immaculate Heart will be the place where all will see fulfilled the greatest prodigy of Divine Mercy.

Thus the Holy Spirit will pour out upon the world His Second Pentecost of grace and of fire, to prepare the Church and humanity for the return of Jesus in the splendor of His divine glory, to make all things new.

This is not a message of "doom and gloom." Unless of course you are an unrepentant sinner. It is a message of hope. For those who really love the Lord Jesus (John 14: 15), it is an exciting time. We say along with the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation: Maranatha! - Come, Lord Jesus!

Amen.

The White House fly infestation: a spiritual component?

As reported by The New York Times (see here), the White House is suffering from a fly infestation. This story came out during the same week that President Obama decided to extend federal benefits to homosexual "couples." In Hebrew, Ba'al Zebub is translated as "Lord of the Flies." We read in 2 Kings 1:2-3, 6, 16 how King Ahaziah, after seriously injuring himself in a fall, sent messengers to inquire of Ba'al Zebub, the god of Ekron (a Philistine city) whether or not he would recover.

The prophet Elijah condemned King Ahaziah to die by Yahweh's words since he had sought counsel from Ba'al Zebub rather than from Yahweh Himself. Ba'al Zebub is none other than the Devil, the Prince of demons (see for example Mark 3:22).

Is there a spiritual component to the White House fly infestation? While some will no doubt dismiss the very idea (such people usually dismiss supernatural realities altogether), we should all reflect on the words of the world's leading exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, in his book An Exorcist: "..I have seen with my own eyes, that houses suddenly became infested with flies, flying ants, repulsive insects (such as scorpions or other unidentifiable pests), which just as suddenly and completely disappeared after we sprinkled holy water throughout the rooms or exorcized the place." (pp. 156, 157).

Just as Ba'al Zebub was allowed to test Israel's faithfulness to God, so too in our time the Prince of demons roams about seeking whom he may to devour. Is the White House fly infestation evidence of demonic presence and influence there?

Praise God!

S. Introibo ad altare Dei
M. Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem


Press release from The Most Reverend Robert J. McManus, Bishop of the Worcester Diocese:


"In response to Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum, Reverend Father Thien Nguyen, pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, has generously invited Reverend Father David Phillipson to offer the Extraordinary Form Mass (the Traditional Latin Mass) every Sunday at 8am, beginning on June 28th and also on Holy Days according to the Traditional Calendar. Father will hear confessions at 7:30am before Mass, and the Rosary will be prayed aloud at that time.

Father will also hold spiritual conferences and traditional devotions, and administer the Sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. For more information, visit the parish website at www.immaculateconceptionfitchburg.com. Immaculate Conception Church is located at 59 Walnut Street in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The parish will also continue to keep its regular schedule of Masses in the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo Masses)."

I just spoke with Father Nguyen five minutes ago and he told me the website is currently under construction.

Praise be Jesus Christ!

Vatican: Lefebvrites "do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church."

Neither does the "Saint Benedict Center" in Richmond, New Hampshire. In a letter written by Fr. Edward Arsenault, Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, to Mrs. Terri O'Rorke, Father Arsenault makes this clear:

"I write to you in reply to your letter dated May 24, 2007. I share your concern about the ongoing controversy and difficulties with the Saint Benedict Center. As you know, the Saint Benedict Center has no permission or authority to exercise any Ministry on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church in New Hampshire. Bishop McCormack has and will continue to do all that he can to encourage people to refrain from participating in any of the spiritual exercises at the Saint Benedict Center.

For my part, I will continue to make it clear that Saint Benedict Center has no affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church in any way. Please know that I will continue to pray for you and all those who are affected by difficulties that have been created by the Saint Benedict Center."

Related reading here, here and here.

The myth of "homosexual love"

Dutch psychologist Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, Ph.D., a specialist on homosexuality, writes:

"The term neurotic describes such relationships [same-sex] well. It suggests the ego-centeredness of the relationship; the attention-seeking instead of loving...Neurotic, in short, suggests all kinds of dramas and childish conflicts as well as the basic disinterestedness of in the partner, notwithstanding the shallow pretensions of 'love.' Nowhere is there more self-deception in the homosexual than in his representation of himself as a lover. One partner is important to the other only insofar as he satisfies that other's needs. Real, unselfish love for a desired partner would, in fact, end up destroying homosexual 'love'!" (Gerard J.M. van den Aardweg, The Battle for Normality, Ignatius Press, 1997, pp. 62-63).


"Van den Aardweg says that the claim that homosexuality is normal is one of those statements that are "so foolish that only intellectuals could believe them." It is like saying that anorexia nervosa is healthy. And he denies that homesexuality is caused by the genes, or the structure of the brain; the evidence shows that it is acquired. Nor is it a necessary result of effeminacy; it is the child's "self-perception as masculine or feminine" that makes the difference. It is caused by pressure to develop an opposite-sex role. Often mothers do not view or treat their sons as "real men," and fathers do not view or treat their daughters as "real girls." (From the Catholic Insight book review of "The Battle for Normality." Read the entire book review here.

Related reading here.

"The first novelty of biblical faith consists, as we have seen, in its image of God. The second, essentially connected to this, is found in the image of man. The biblical account of creation speaks of the solitude of Adam, the first man, and God's decision to give him a helper. Of all other creatures, not one is capable of being the helper that man needs, even though he has assigned a name to all the wild beasts and birds and thus made them fully a part of his life. So God forms woman from the rib of man. Now Adam finds the helper that he needed: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). Here one might detect hints of ideas that are also found, for example, in the myth mentioned by Plato, according to which man was originally spherical, because he was complete in himself and self-sufficient. But as a punishment for pride, he was split in two by Zeus, so that now he longs for his other half, striving with all his being to possess it and thus regain his integrity. While the biblical narrative does not speak of punishment, the idea is certainly present that man is somehow incomplete, driven by nature to seek in another the part that can make him whole, the idea that only in communion with the opposite sex can he become “complete”. The biblical account thus concludes with a prophecy about Adam: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24).

Two aspects of this are important. First, eros is somehow rooted in man's very nature; Adam is a seeker, who “abandons his mother and father” in order to find woman; only together do the two represent complete humanity and become “one flesh”. The second aspect is equally important. From the standpoint of creation, eros directs man towards marriage, to a bond which is unique and definitive; thus, and only thus, does it fulfil its deepest purpose. Corresponding to the image of a monotheistic God is monogamous marriage. Marriage based on exclusive and definitive love becomes the icon of the relationship between God and his people and vice versa. God's way of loving becomes the measure of human love. This close connection between eros and marriage in the Bible has practically no equivalent in extra-biblical literature." Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est, No. 11).

Sanguis martyrum semen Christianorum

Our brothers and sisters who gave their supreme witness are waiting for those of us who will follow in their footsteps. Revelation 6:11.

Related reading here.

The solution is simple...

Mankind is facing so many problems today. Sin has been enshrined as a good. As Father Albert Hebert, S.M., once said, even the "great pagan juridical systems admitted the fact of wrong-doing and their legal systems prescribed punishment for it. It is only in our day that there is such a widespread denial of the existence of sin and moral laws. This makes God appear as the Creator of evil, and God hates this blasphemy, pride and hypocrisy on the part of His creature man....Today, persons great and lowly commit sin, deny it and even blasphemously call it virtue. For example, active homosexuals and lesbians call their practices 'love' and demand the legal status of normal married man and wife.."

It is because sin has been enshrined as a good, because so many people have turned away from the Merciful Heart of Jesus, that there is no peace today. Many will argue that I'm being "too simplistic," or that there are other reasons for the breakdown of peace we are experiencing across our culture and throughout the world.

But when Faustina Kowalska's confessor told her to ask Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image which she had previously been shown, Jesus spoke to her while she was in prayer:

"The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls...These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross. These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy...

Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy..." (Divine Mercy in My Soul, Notebook I, 299, 300).

If we want peace, we will only obtain it through Our Jesus of Mercy. We must confess our sins regularly and dwell in the shelter of the two rays which emanate from His Merciful Heart. There is no peace in attempting to legitimize sin. There is no peace apart from Our Jesus of Mercy.

The choice is ours. But not for much longer. "...before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice.." (Notebook III, 1146); "My daughter, Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fount of My mercy; let them profit from the Blood and Water which gushed forth for them." (Notebook II, 848).

We have two ways before us: Love and mercy which produce peace and tranquility or hatred, sin and unforgiveness which lead to despair, violence and war. The choice, as always, is ours to make. A way of life and a way of death as the Didache teaches.

Choose wisely.

A land threatened in its peace...

"A land threatened in its peace and unity. This people has, in fact, become separated and divided. It has borne the weight and the bloody trial of a fratricidal war, and still today, great is the danger which threatens its tranquility and peace."

-Our Lady to Father Gobbi, Seoul, Korea, October 31, 1996.





My father served as a Tank Commander in Korea. He always believed that Korea would once again become a threat to world peace. And I agreed with him. There is more at work here than sabre-rattling. There is a spiritual component. Will North Korea be permitted to strike the United States with a nuclear weapon as part of a chastisement?

Photo taken in 1952 by Camille "Joe" Melanson and showing North Korean women (prisoners of war) being sent to internment camps. Many of these women would cut their wrists and write in blood on the train windows.

Related reading here.

A dying civilization

In 1926 Oswald Spengler, in his classic work entitled "Decline Of The West," issued a salutary warning to the Western nations and a diagnosis of the disease which was beginning to slowly destroy them like a cancer:

"You are dying. I see in you all the characteristics stigma of decay. I can prove that your great wealth and your great povety, your capitalism and your socialism, your wars and your revolutions, your atheism and your pessimism and your cynicism, your immorality, your broken down marriages, your birth-control, that is bleeding you from the bottom and killing you off at the top in your brains - can prove to you that these were characteristic marks of the dying ages of ancient states - Alexandria and Greece and neurotic Rome."

One of the most significant signs of this decay is the fact that homosexuality and lesbianism are both on the increase and this perverse "lifestyle" is being redefined as a simple variant of normal sexuality while unjust laws are attempting to legitimize same-sex "marriage." Even some Catholics are in support of such "laws," which really are not laws but acts of violence which harm the common good. It was Dr. Abram Kardiner who warned that homosexuality reaches pestilential and plague proportions in morally rotting societies during the final stages of total collapse.

America, and the other Western nations, have forgotten this profound truth:

"Whoever strikes against God strikes down himself. The atheist denying God degrades himself. The atheist exalting himself above God sinks below the level of animate and inanimate beings. Liberation from God is enslavement in creatures. Absolute humanism is the sure road to absolute despotism. Denial of God as truth begets the imprisonment of man in the self-imposed darkness of his own myths...We will only profoundly appreciate the satanic nature of atheism when we realize that denial of God is not merely an indifferent Nay-saying to God, but a kind of blasphemous joy at hating God and a thrilling decision to unite men in a community of enduring hate for the purpose of banishing God from the hearts of men." (Father Vincent P. Miceli, S.J., The Gods of Atheism, p. 461).

America will only survive if it returns to the Living God. Apart from Him there is only enslavement. An enslavement here on earth which will continue throughout eternity in hell. For that is what hell is: self-will, eternal despair.

Related reading here and here.

The darkness spreads...

Mr. John Ansley, in the comments section of my previous post, has responded to a Catholic Blogger (and attorney) who wrote the following: "We need differing sets of laws that recognize the different dynamics of differing types of relationships." (See the comments section of this Blog post).

Mr. Ansley correctly noted that, "This sounds like nothing more than an attempt to justify same-sex 'marriage,' whether under this name or the euphemistically labelled 'civil unions' or 'domestic partnerships.' But the acceptance of any of these contentions will redefine the concept of marriage in total disregard for its true nature. If this happens, law loses its foundation in the natural order and right reason and thus its legitimacy. As St. Augustine says: 'that which is not just seems to be no law at all' (De Lib. Arb. i,5).

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in its document titled 'Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons,' had this to say: 'The inevitable consequence of legal recognition of homosexual unions would be the redefinition of marriage, which would become, in its legal status, an institution devoid of essential reference to factors linked to heterosexuality; for example, procreation and raising children. If, from the legal standpoint, marriage between a man and a woman were to be considered just one possible form of marriage, the concept of marriage would undergo a radical transformation, with grave detriment to the common good. By putting homosexual unions on a legal plane analogous to to that of marriage and the family, the State acts arbitrarily and in contradiction with its duties.' (No. 8).

It would appear that Renee is dissenting from this authoritative teaching when she asserts, 'We need differing sets of laws that recognize the different dynamics of differing types of relationships.' How unfortunate."

Indeed. In No. 8 of Considerations, the CDF explains that, "Differentiating between persons or refusing social recognition or benefits is unacceptable only when it is contrary to justice. The denial of the social and legal status of marriage to forms of cohabitation that are not and cannot be marital is not opposed to justice; on the contrary, justice requires it."

As I explained here, the retreat from truth is necessary before the reign of Antichrist. There is a preparation. Many are "intellectualizing" themselves into dissent and apostasy from the true Faith. The battlefield is in the mind. The attack is intellectual and psychological: "Especially important is to avoid conversations with the demon... The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, Damien, and powerful. So don't listen..." - Father Merrin - The Exorcist.

Related reading: Perfect possession.

Religion without dogma

There are many who would prefer a religion without dogma. A religion made in the image and likeness of man. You know, a religion where you wet your finger and stick it in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. A religion where one might roll the dice or take a vote to determine whether or not one believes, say, in the Trinity or that Jesus Christ is Lord.

This is really the choice "modern man" (talk about a chimera) must make. As Archbishop Fulton John Sheen explained so many years ago: "The modern man must decide for himself whether he is going to have a religion with thought or a religion without it. He already knows that thoughtless policies lead to the ruin of society, and he may begin to suspect that thoughtless religion ends in confusion worse confounded. The problem is simple. The modern man has two maps before him: one the map of sentimental religion, the other the map of dogmatic religion. The first is very simple. It has been constructed only in the last few years by a topographer who has just gone into the business of map making and is extremely adverse to explicit directions. He believes that each man should find his own way and not have his liberty taken away by dogmatic directions. The other map is much more complicated and full of dogmatic detail. It has been made by topographers who have been over every inch of the road for centuries and know each detour and each pitfall. It has explicit directions and dogmas such as, 'Do not take this road - it is swampy,' or 'Follow this road; although rough and rocky at first, it leads to a smooth road on a mountaintop.'

The simple road is very easy to read, but those who are guided by it are generally lost in a swamp of mushy sentimentalism. The other map takes a little more scrutiny, but it is simpler in the end, for it takes you up through the rocky road of the world's scorn to the everlasting hills where is seated the original Map Maker, the only One who ever has associated rest with learning: 'Learn of Me...and you shall find rest for your souls.'

Every new coherent doctrine and dogma add to the pabulum for thought; it is an extra bit of garden upon which we can intellectually browse; it is new food into which we can put our teeth and thence absorb nourishment; it is the discovery of a new intellectual planet that adds fullness and spaciousness to our mental world. And simply because it is solid and weighty, because it is dogmatic and not gaseous and foggy like a sentiment, it is intellectually invigorating, for it is with weights that the best drill is done, and not with feathers.

It is the very nature of a man to generate children of his brain in the shape of thoughts, and as he piles up thought on thought, truth on truth, doctrine on doctrine, conviction on conviction, and dogma on dogma, a very coherent and orderly fashion, so as to produce a system complex as a body and yet one and harmonious, the more and more human he becomes. When, however, in response to false cries for progress, he lops off dogmas, breaks with the memory of his forefathers, denies intellectual parentage, pleads for a religion without dogmas, substitutes mistiness for mystery, mistakes sentiment for sediment, he is sinking back slowly, surely, and inevitably into the senselessness of stones and into the irresponsible unconsciousness of weeds. Grass is broad-minded. Cabbages have heads - but no dogmas."

OOOOOO, The Barracuda told you so!

Sarah Palin told you so (see here), I told you so in many posts (see here and here for example). And Rush Limbaugh (taking on the liberals with half his brain tied behind his back) told you so.

Socialism is here. Are you a Catholic? Did you vote for Obama? When Pope Pius XI said, "no one can be at the same time a good Catholic and a true socialist" (Encyclical Letter Quadragesimo Anno: On the Reconstruction of the Social Order), did you think he was joking?

The fish is more than a dish. What a pity we have to settle for Obama/Biden.

2012...

Prayer to the Holy Spirit for the intercession of Pope John Paul II

O Holy Trinity,

we thank you for having given to the Church Pope John Paul II,

and for having made him shine with your fatherly tenderness,

the glory of the Cross of Christ and the splendor of the Spirit of love He,

trusting completely in your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary,

has shown himself in the likeness of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has pointed out to us holiness as the path to reach eternal communion with You.

Grant us, through his intercession, according to your will, the grace that we implore,

in the hope that he will soon be numbered among your saints.

Amen.

"If only you knew what makes for peace"

Our Lord wept over Jerusalem and said, "If only you knew what makes for peace" (Lk 19:42). And now we do know (those of us who Christian in more than name). Only a life lived in conformity with the mind of Christ as shown to us by His Catholic Church can bring true peace. By contrast, "Pride inflates man; envy consumes him; avarice makes him restless; anger rekindles his passions; gluttony makes him ill; comfort destroys him; lies imprison him; murder defiles him...the very pleasures of sin become the instruments of punishment in the hands of God." (Pope Innocent III, On the Misery of the Human Condition).

It is our duty as Catholics to remind others of these truths and to expose those who are promoting sin or error. But often we will find ourselves being criticized (even by other Catholics, whose commitment toward Catholic teaching is, at best, questionable) for doing so. This should never deter us. When such people accuse us of "negativity," we should recall the words of Dr. Dietrich von Hildebrand: "..the rejection of evil and of sin is a response which is purely positive and morally called for, and it possesses a high moral value. One cannot truly love God, without hating the devil. One cannot really love the truth, without hating error. One cannot find the truth and grasp it clearly as such, without seeing through errors. Knowledge of truth is inseparably linked with knowledge of error, with the unmasking of error.* All talk about the superiority of 'yes' over 'no,' about the 'negativity' of rejecting that which should be rejected, is so much idle chatter." (The Cult of the 'Positive').

* "I would maintain that fear of error is simply necessary to the genuine love of truth." (John Cardinal Newman, Grammar of Assent).

Fr. Felix Sarda Y Salvany explains in his work "Liberalism is a Sin," that, "..the wolf has always been called the wolf; and in so calling it, no one has ever believed that wrong was done to the flock and the shepherd...In his Introduction to the Devout Life, that precious and popular work, he [St. Francis de Sales, a Doctor of the Church] expresses himself: 'If the declared enemies of God and of the Church ought to be blamed and censured with all possible vigor, charity obliges us to cry wolf when the wolf slips into the midst of the flock and in every way and place we may meet him.'" (pp. 97, 100-101).

Pope John XXIII said essentially the same thing: "...as long as we are journeying in exile over this earth, our peace and happiness will be imperfect. For such peace is not completely untroubled and serene; it is active, not calm and motionless. In short, this is a peace that is ever at war. It wars with every sort of error, including that which falsely wears the face of truth; it struggles against the enticements of vice, against those enemies of the soul, of whatever description, who can weaken, blemish, or destroy our innocence or Catholic faith." (No. 93).

I have often been criticized for speaking the hard truths. For exposing error and for calling it what it is. So be it. I'm not interested in popularity contests or being a friend of the world. Simply put, I choose not to be a coward. I agree with Pope Leo XIII who said, "To recoil before an enemy, or to keep silence when from all sides such clamors are raised against truth, is the part of a man either devoid of character or who entertains doubt as to the truth of what he professes to believe. In both cases such mode of behaving is base and is insulting to God, and both are incompatible with the salvation of mankind." ( Sapientiae Christianae, AAS 22 (1889-90) 390, PE, 111.14).

How about you dear reader? Aren't there enough chicken-Catholics in the world?

Meditation: Galatians 1:10

President Obama: Comparison doesn't necessarily give rise to conflict

Marcello Pera, professor of the philosophy of science at the University of Pisa, in an essay entitled "Relativism, Christianity, and the West," writes, "To argue that the model of Western democratic institutions and rights is better than the Islamic model does not imply taking any particular course of action. One could say that the West is better than Islam and still tolerate Islam, respect Islam, dialogue with Islam, ignore Islam, or even obstruct Islam, clash with Islam, among the many possible stances. According to the old proverb , it's one thing to say, another to do. To rephrase this proposition in logical terms, there are no formal implications between 'is' and 'ought' (ab esse ad oportere non valet consequentia, as one says in Latin). The dominant culture in the West, however, thinks the opposite, and reveals its prejudices through a major flaw in reasoning. It thinks that 'ought' descends from 'is.' According to this way of thinking, if a person maintains that the West is better than Islam - or, to be more specific, that democracy is better than theocracy, a liberal constitution better than sharia, a parliamentary decision better than a sura, a civil society better than an umma, a sentence by an independent tribunal better than a fatwa, citizenship better than dhimma, and so forth - then he or she ought to clash with Islam. This is an error of logic that compounds the error of believing that our institutions have no right or basis to be proclaimed as universal. The consequence of these two errors is that today the West is paralyzed twice over. It is paralyzed because it does not believe that there are good reasons to say that it is better than Islam. And it is paralyzed because it believes that, if such reasons do indeed exist, then the West would have to fight Islam.

I personally reject these positions. I deny that there are no valid reasons for comparing and judging institutions, principles, and values. I deny that such a comparison cannot conclude that Western institutions are better than their Islamic counterparts. And I deny that a comparison will necessarily give rise to a conflict. I do not deny, however, that if an offer to dialogue is responded to with a conflict, then the conflict should not be accepted. For me the opposite holds true. I affirm the principles of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and respect that are characteristic of the West today. However, if someone refuses to reciprocate these principles and declares hostility or a jihad against us, I believe that we must acknowledge that this person is our adversary. In short, I reject the self-censorship of the West. This self-censorship - much more than the universalist claims of Western institutions...is something that I find unjustified and dangerous."

President Obama does not understand that a comparison of Western institutions to their Islamic counterparts (and acknowledging the logical conclusion that Western institutions are superior) need not necessarily give rise to conflict. Speaking in Cairo, the President asserted that, "Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail."

But why should this be so? Mr. President?

President Obama: "Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism.."

Islam, the president assures us, "..is an important part of promoting peace."

Really? As explained in an excellent article entitled, "Islam: A History of Oppression, Violence and Fanaticism," "...Muhammad, the leader of Muslims, claimed that he was a 'prophet,' and in the name Allah, he ordered his followers to kill the 'infidels,' non-Muslims; in particular, Jews and Christians."

The founder of Islam ordered his followers to kill non-Muslims. And President Obama considers Islam "an important part of promoting peace"?

I'm not a fan of Ann Coulter. But she raises a valid point as liberals attempt to portray pro-lifers as "domestic terrorists" because of the murder of late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller:

"According to recent polling, a majority of Americans oppose abortion -- which is consistent with liberals' hysterical refusal to allow us to vote on the subject. In a country with approximately 150 million pro-lifers, five abortionists have been killed since Roe v. Wade. In that same 36 years, more than 49 million babies have been killed by abortionists. Let's recap that halftime score, sports fans: 49 million to five. Meanwhile, fewer than 2 million Muslims live in America and, while Muslims are less murderous than abortionists, I'm fairly certain they've killed more than five people in the United States in the last 36 years. For some reason, the number "3,000" keeps popping into my head. "

While President Obama has now referred to Islam as "an important part of promoting peace," his administration hasn't taken such a rosy view of the pro-life community. See here.

"...that the Mohammedans will come again.."

"Are we not to fear, during this period, that the Mohammedans will come again, working out their sinister schemes against the Latin Church? During this period, many men will abuse the freedom of conscience conceded to them. It is of such men that Jude the Apostle spoke when he said: 'These men blaspheme whatever they do not understand; and they corrupt whatever they know naturally as irrational animals do... They feast together without restraint, feeding themselves, grumbling murmurers, walking according to their lusts; their mouths speaketh proud things, they admire people for the sake of gain; they bring about division, sensual men, having not the spirit.'

During this unhappy period there will be laxity in divine and human precepts. Discipline will suffer. The Holy Canons will be completely disregarded, and the clergy will not respect the law of the Church. Everyone will be carried away and led to believe and to do what he fancies, according to the manner of the flesh. They will ridicule Christian simplicity ; they will call it folly and nonsense, but they will have the highest regard for advanced knowledge...As a result no principle at all- however holy, authentic, ancient, and certain it may be, will remain free of censure, criticism, false interpretations, modifications, and delimitation by man.

These are evil times a century full of dangers and calamities. Heresy is everywhere, and the followers of heresy are in power, almost everywhere. Bishops, prelates, and priests say that they are doing their duty, that they are vigilant and that they live as befits their state of life. In like manner therefore they all seek excuses. But God will permit a great evil against His Church; Heretics and tyrants will come suddenly and unexpectedly; they will break into the Church while Bishops prelates and priests are asleep. They will enter Italy and lay Rome waste; they will burn down the churches and destroy everything." - Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser

"If you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." - President Barack Hussein Obama. Full article here.

Dianne Williamson: An expert on lunacy?

Worcester Telegram & Gazette columnist Dianne Williamson, referring to the murder of late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller, writes, "..it's nothing short of far right-wing terrorism. While anti-abortion [read pro-life] groups were quick to denounce the killing, a quick check of the online comment sections of this newspaper shows that there's no shortage of lunatics in our own backyard." One of the comments she cites: "You live by the sword you die by the sword...How did those babies feel when he did his procedures on them?" But it was Jesus who said to Peter [after Peter cut off the ear of the servant Malchus in the Garden of Gethsemane], "Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword." (Matthew 26: 52). Unborn babies might be killed with a scalpel or a suctioning device and not a sword. But the principle remains the same. This isn't to justify Dr. Tiller's murder. It's only to re-state a spiritual principle which Jesus Himself taught. And as for describing a late-term or partial-birth abortion as a "procedure," such a word is actually inadequate to describe these truly heinous acts. Hardly the stuff of lunacy.

And what are we to make of Ms. Williamson's assertion that Dr. George Tiller's murder is "nothing short of far right-wing terrorism"? The American Heritage dictionary defines terrorism as "The systematic use of terror, violence, and intimidation to achieve an end." Systematic means characterized by purposeful regularity. How long has it been since an abortionist was killed by someone who opposes the murder of the unborn? Ten years. And Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz has described the shooting as "an isolated incident" (see here).

Here in Central Massachusetts, we may or may not have "lunatics in our own backyard." But one thing is certain, Dianne Williamson appears to be somewhat of an authority on lunacy. When she's not practicing psychiatry without a license, she's hard at work ignoring reality when it doesn't suit her agenda. Click here for photographs of murdered unborn babies who suffered through late-term abortions at the hands of "health-care providers" such as Dr. George Tiller.