More Evidence of the "effect" of Pope Francis upon the Church and family.

A plethora of Catholic writers could spend 24/7 citing examples of 'the Pope Francis effect' and we still wouldn't be able to keep up with it.  To some extent, all the theological bases have been covered and you wonder how much more we can say.

I often wonder, is he finished now?

Is there anything else in the queue really worth the all the labor it takes for effective theological deception?

When I do a reconnaissance of damaged consciences of relatives and friends from Pope Francis atomic bombs, he's scorched the two most important foundations of the family - sacramental marriage and contraception.  

He's drawn the line at transvestites and genital mutilation, but has, quite literally, explained he sees fornication and sodomy as virtuous and salvific and those living in sacramental marriages are in a state of mortal sin.

He's vilified the magnificat.

He's asphyxiated the sanctity of life by erecting and encapsulating the pagan god of environmentalism over it.  

He's blistered the practices necessary for sanctifying grace as antiquated.  

He's censured conversion of the nations with the one world religion hogwash.

He's licensed local wizards and harlots to teach erotica.

He's bamboozled the diabolically-disoriented into into receiving the Eucharist in a state that will cause the inner spiritual turmoil that drives us to disembowelment.

He's positioned the infidels over the territory of holy orders and we are awaiting their suffocating smoke.

I'm sure there's more where this all came from.  Every time I think he's completely devastated the vineyard, he finds a new territory!

 As we await the next bomb, I think its critical for Catholics to report what is happening on the parish and school levels.     That is how we will be able to effectively control the fires.

My assessment of the current status is, parishes are broken down into the following:

• 1. most pastors whose consciences were formed during the St. John Paul II pontificate and are simply going to wait this pontificate out.  
• 2. a small group who'd love to set up the counterfeit church but pussyfoot around, leaving just enough ambiguity to build a defense if called to the chancery
• 3. a small group of wussies who would love to uphold church teaching but cave to pressure
• 4. a small group of full-fledged lunatics

We can prevent family members from being sucked into the riptide of #2 and #3 by tarring and feathering #4.

You would be surprised how quickly word gets around that antics are public fodder for the blogs, and how effective the excoriation is in preventing pastors in #2 and #3 from trying it in their own parish.   They know the winds from Rome are eventually going to change course.  At the end of the day, they are careerists who are not going to fall on their sword for a cause.

Here is the kind of effective article I'm referring to.

Some poor slob has children who are watching Fr. Sissypants witness to the virtues of sodomy and they begin to tell Daddy the Pope said it's ok and natural and moral law he is teaching is some antiquated foolishness.

He gets Fr. Sissypants to correct the error.

Pope Francis sells secularism and immorality as virtue and the gay couple teaching immorality is virtue marches back to leadership positions to the applause of theological misfits in the pews.

Hatred and revenge is executed against Daddy and Daddy's children are irreparably harmed and likely robbed of salvation.

We have been experiencing this for decades on the local levels in places where chanceries have fallen to heretics, but we always had the Chair of Peter to at least make what was happening locally, questionable - offering the hope that some day they will again see the light.

Though we don't have that anymore, what we do have is each other.  We've got to build those voices on the local level and in the public square to build some kind of  bridge over these dangerous waters.  It is not as effective as having a Pope who teaches them faithfulness and truth but it is something - and we can save a multitude with this bridge.

Master, Doth it not concern Thee that we perish?

Boston Catholics took a leave of absence from the madness of the world to receive St. Padre Pio's heart this week. The intentions of TTC readers was among my long list of intercessions, so if something pulls through, remember to thank him!

I think anyone who visited would say the spiritual encounter has left us a bit overwhelmed.

It was standing room only for the Mass at the Cathedral last night, with hundreds waiting outside to venerate and ask for Padre Pio's intercession.

And what a Holy Sacrifice it was. There is nothing like a Mass filled to the rafters with zealous lovers of Christ. Every prayer is deafening and seems to echo right into the heavens. Sanctifying Grace is palpable.

I read this post and a few others earlier in the day, so chaos caused by this papacy was very much on my mind.

The evening reminded me of that moment in Scripture when the Apostles were being tossed around in the boat while trying to navigate through the storm and Christ finally wakes up to see He's in the boat with wussies and calms the sea.

"What is WRONG with you people?!! Where is your faith?!!!!



I consider my faith to be rock solid right up until the moment Christ does something dramatic to show me His Presence or Power.

There we all were standing in the Cathedral knowing what disappointment we all are to Him and each other but at the same time, every single one of us knowing how much He loves us and how much we all love each other. How absolutely magnificent It is. In spite of it all.

We are so rich.

A friend was telling me he did a little research on incorruptibles and came across St. Rita's story. Another powerful and incorruptible saint, she levitated and opened her eyes during her beatification (and several times since).

Powerful Mass. Thanks brothers. Deo Gratias.

What a wow-this-stuff-is-real moment that must have been.

We were in the presence of the heart who could read hearts, whose love for Christ and His people converted and absolved millions. A man who biolcated, levitated, bore the wounds of Christ. There is no question that power touched the heart of every person who came to see him.

And we were all stunned. Rendered speechless and struggling to hold back tears of gratitude.

Coincidentally, this was yesterday's reading from our 54 day Novena:

DIVINE CONNECTION

The Gospel story Pope John Paul II sets as the foundation for his new millennium appeal is the "Call of the First Disciples" (Lk 5:1-11). This is the classic scene in which Jesus tells Peter to "Put out into deep water (duc in altum), and let down the nets for a catch." Peter's response is: "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
They proceed to catch the maximum amount of fish their nets can hold. Peter, filled with awe and wonder once he realizes he is in the presence of divinity, does not feel worthy to be called. But Jesus says, "Do not be afraid, from now on you will be fishers of men."

Why does the Holy Father choose this particular Gospel reading as the basis for his new millennium master plan? Because Peter's words - "We've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything" - could not speak any more directly to the modern tsunami-like wave of secularism rolling across our planet, as well as our endless parade of parish programs that are mostly done as though God were not there (etsi Deus non daretur).

In other words, the story of the great catch is meant to show that when we try to move only under our own natural power without God (we've worked hard), we will flounder in the chaos of darkness (all night) and come up empty (caught nothing) every time. Jesus asks us to get in sync with him (to obey him) and not be afraid to set aside our superficial (man-powered) tendencies, as we enter the depths of a supernatural (God-powered) life.

Everything in the religious order - sacraments, devotions, teaching, scripture, moral discipline, preaching, etc. - is meant to bring us to this deeper state of being, to this Divine Connection. Jesus calls it "abiding" (Jn 15:4). The Latin for this is maneo which means "to remain" or "to stay" or "to endure" (or like the Marine Corps' semper fi). This Divine Connection, this conformity to love, this participation in the Divine Life of God is the very power of the Holy Spirit and is referred to as being in a state of grace. (Excerpt from Church Militant Field Manual).


Cardinal O'Malley mentioned when he was a seminarian, he asked to visit Padre Pio and he was told Capuchins do not go to see Padre Pio. He felt a little like the visit of St. Padre Pio's heart was like a valentine from Heaven.

But it felt deeper than that, almost like our Cathedral and everyone in it was lifted up to Heaven to visit St. Padre Pio.

Can One Commit Adultery When a Partner Pressures You?

I was really dumbfounded when Jeff Mirus said:

In this case, the continuing sins involved in the irregular union on the part of the repentant spouse would seem to be venial—on the grounds that full consent of the will to the moral evil of continued sexual relations is lacking. The sins would be rendered venial by either a very real confusion about the best course or the compulsion inherent in the particular situation, or both

.’

So if your husband wants you to break one of the ten commandments, you're only committing venial sin because you're breaking them to keep the relationship.

What if your husband wants you to help him embezzle funds from his employer?

What if he wants to abort your child?

Rorate covers the theological misunderstandings much better than I can.

In this scenario the possibility of confusion about the best course is excluded ex hypothesi, since it is stipulated that the person in question recognises the sinfulness of the relationship. The question is thus whether full consent of the will to sexual relations is lacking. But this full consent is clearly stated to occur. The consent is the whole point of the scenario. The person in question is described as continuing sexual relations in order to prevent their partner in adultery from leaving. Acting for that reason means knowing what you are doing – continuing sexual relations – and choosing to do it in order to obtain a goal – the continued presence of the partner in adultery. Knowing what you are doing and choosing to do it in order to obtain a desired goal is what fully voluntary action consists in. There is no exculpating infringement of the will or lack of voluntary consent in the scenario. There is a fully voluntary choice to do a wrong action, made because doing the action has a result that the agent wants to obtain. Making choices of this kind is what sin is.

This was the very first lesson on sin God provided to us.

Here's what happened when Adam tried to persuade God his wife pressured him into it:

The man said, “It’s the fault of the woman you put here with me. She gave me some fruit from the tree. And I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent tricked me. That’s why I ate the fruit.”


17 The Lord God said to Adam, “You listened to your wife’s suggestion. You ate fruit from the tree I warned you about. I said, ‘You must not eat its fruit.’

“So I am putting a curse on the ground because of what you did.
All the days of your life you will have to work hard.
It will be painful for you to get food from the ground. 18 You will eat plants from the field,
even though the ground produces thorns and prickly weeds.
19 You will have to work hard and sweat a lot
to produce the food you eat.
You were made out of the ground.
You will return to it when you die.
You are dust,
and you will return to dust.

Adam was tossed out of Paradise with Eve.

That's all we ever need to know about whether caving to pressure from a loved one closes the door on our salvation.

Phil Lawlor Questions Whether Pope Francis is Deliberately Undermining the Chair of Peter

OpEd here.

If he had stated clearly, in a formal document, that divorced and remarried Catholics might receive Communion, Pope Francis would have been ignoring the strong resistance that he had encountered at the Synod, and thus undermining his claim to be speaking on behalf of the world’s bishops. He would also have been contradicting the teaching of St. John Paul II, who was quite clear in stating, in Familiaris Consortio (#84), that divorced and remarried Catholics must live as brothers and sisters if they wish to approach the Eucharist, because "if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church's teaching about the indissolubility of marriage." The logic of that magisterial statement is compelling. And if Pope Francis reversed the policy set by Pope John Paul II, it would seem clear that a future Pontiff could reverse the policy set by Pope Francis, so that no papal statement would be regarded as conclusive.

Instead, as Royal observes, Pope Francis has chosen to “finesse this process, through accompaniment, discernment, all those words that have no clear limits.” He says that the matter is clear, but does not provide clarity. With his approval, the Argentine bishops say that divorced/remarried Catholics may only receive Communion under certain limited circumstances, but do not specify what those circumstances might be. Everything is left to the discretion of the pastor; the guidance from Rome is that there will be no guidance.

That's right.

If it's one thing the Holy Father has been consistent about it is slithering around clarity, truth and what he's doing with the heretics he's summoned to the Vatican to help execute his ideas.

As much as we don't want to acknowledge the source of the stink of deception all over this papacy, I think we can all stop wondering if the smoke is deliberately being blown into our family and homes.

The Holy Father has an outcome he desires and HE is taking the actions to bring about that outcome.

Who knew surrounding our families with heretics who misguide them could be deliberate.

Oh wait....WE DID!!!

Robert Royal Article on the Latest Papal Lipstick on the Pig Move

I'm sure you've all read the big news.

Pope Francis has personally confirmed it was his intention to direct priests to give Communion to people living in a state of perpetual sin.

So now we know. We knew before, really, but didn’t have explicit confirmation. The long, agonizing slog, however, is finally over: from Pope Francis’ invitation to Cardinal Kasper to address the bishops in Rome in February of 2014 to the pope’s letter last week to some Argentinean bishops affirming guidelines they had developed in a joint document that, in “exceptional cases,” people divorced and remarried (living in an “adulterous” relationship as we believed for 2000 years in Western Christianity), may receive Holy Communion. This whole affair is bizarre. No other word will do.

I didn't realize people were still waiting for confirmation!

Bizarre is a pretty strong description coming from Royal. Accurate but nonetheless, strong.

And when I read this, it did not go unnoticed that he recently announced he was closing comments!:

I say this in sorrow, but I’m afraid that the rest of this papacy is now going to be rent by bands of dissenters, charges of papal heresy, threats of – and perhaps outright –schism. Lord, have mercy.

We've got a problem. And it isn't a little one!

UPDATE

A few more worthy commentaries

Jeff Mirus is back to defending the indefensible.

He seems to get the public witness loses hundreds in a parish:

The key question is: Which is more important, the potential scandal which could weaken the commitment of others to the Church’s teaching on marriage, or the need for the (venial) sinner (caught in a no-win situation) to be spiritually nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ?

But then scurries right back to marginalizing the Holy Father's catastrophic error:

A final point worth mentioning is that the Church’s prudential judgment about this matter can legitimately change with cultural conditions. For example, in a culture which generally respects the permanence of marriage, the potential scandal might be far greater than in a culture which generally denies the permanence of marriage (in which case it may be difficult to erode that concept any further).

Ed Peters does a decent job calling the position into question.

Long story made short, Catholics who have entered marriages subsequent to mere divorce are objectively disqualified from being given holy Communion (CCC 1650, 2384), whatever might be their subjectively reduced culpability for their state. This is a crucial point: two canons (and the values behind two canons) come into play every time a minister and recipient meet over the Host. Yes, Amoris seems to miss this point and the Buenos Aires Directive clearly misses it. Still.

And finally, this post at Rorate.

In the document, which intends to provide the clergy with some criteria in relation to the eighth chapter of the exhortation, the Argentinean bishops assert that, on the basis of Amoris laetitia, the divorced and remarried, can be admitted to sacramental Communion even if they are in a common-law marriage, with no intention of practicing chastity. Pope Francis expressed his appreciation of this proposition, by writing to the prelates that “the text is very good and explains Chapter VIII of Amoris laetitia in an excellent way. There is no other interpretation. And I’m sure it will do good.” This triggered off immediate controversy and the pontifical letter mysteriously disappeared from the site, in such a way that many began to have doubts about its existence, until the Osservatore Romano confirmed its authenticity.

“There is no other interpretation”. Pope Francis’ position on the divorced and remarried - already expressed on his return flight from the Isle of Lesbos, at this point, seems definitively clear. Yet if this is his thought, why commit it to a footnote in Amoris laetitia and to a private letter not intended for publication, instead of stating it in a clear, explicit way? Perhaps in this way, the contradiction of the perennial Magisterium of the Church would be public and formal, whereas the intention is to arrive at changing the Church’s doctrine in an ambiguous and surreptitious way?

The impression is that we find ourselves faced with a manipulation of information which creates precisely those tensions and divisions inside the Church that the Pope complained about in his discourse at Santa Marta on September 12th:“[…]ideological, theological divisions that lacerate the Church. The devil sows jealousy, ambitions, ideas, but to divide! […]Divisions make you see this part, this one against the other. Always against! There is no oil of unity, the balsam of unity”.(Zenit)

Divisions however, have their source in the two-forked language of the Devil and are defeated most of all by the truth: the truth of the Faith and morality, but also the truth of language and behaviour, which means renouncing all lies, falsification and reserve, following the teaching of the Gospel “[...] let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of the evil one.” (Matthew, 5 v 37)

A lot to digest. We have certainly crossed the Rubicon.

Spot-on analysis of the stages of sin.

From Monsignor Pope.

If this cold once penetrates the soul when (as so often happens) the soul is neglectful and the spirit asleep and if no one (God forbid) is there to curb it, then it reaches into the soul’s interior, descends to the depths of the heart and the recesses of the mind, paralyzes the affections, obstructs the paths of counsel, unsteadies the light of judgment, fetters the liberty of the spirit, and soon—as appears to bodies sick with fever—a rigor of the mind takes over: vigor slackens, energies grow languid, repugnance for austerity increases, fear of poverty disquiets, the soul shrivels, grace is withdrawn, time means boredom, reason is lulled to sleep, the spirit is quenched, the fresh fervor wanes away, a fastidious lukewarmness weighs down, brotherly love grows cold, pleasure attracts, security is a trap, old habits return. Can I say more? The law is cheated, justice is rejected, what is right is outlawed, the fear of the Lord is abandoned. Shamelessness finally gets free rein. There comes that rash leap, so dishonorable, so disgraceful, so full of ignominy and confusion; a leap from the heights into the abyss, from the courtyard to the dung heap, from the throne to the sewer, from heaven to the mud, from the cloister to the world, from paradise to hell (Sermon 63.6b on the Song of Songs, “The Fox in the Vineyard”).

And that's the way it is.

Kasper's Discussion on the De Facto Schism in the Church

I recently came across this article which affirms Kasper's revelation that the Holy Father has been directly involved in the deliberate sabotaging of Church teaching we have been experiencing during his pontificate.

Even a blind pig finds a truffle once in a while.

in the Church there is a "schism of fact" between the hierarchy and the Catholic community. And I said, blaming the same to a group of cardinals and bishops who had become in recent years the rigorista minority who had always been in the whole of Catholicism; But from now on, without the backing fortunately the successor of Peter.

...

Fortunately, choosing to emerge Francisco has provided the model of the Church as "mother", because it has bowels of mercy, is more ready to welcome, accompany, discern and integrate it to condemn. And, of course, it is good; but that, contrary to what his detractors may think, it is not silly or prudish nor lax.

Oh, it's coming from bowels all right.


Proof of this is that it has the lucidity and courage required to accept that theirs is to cure, not to condemn; host not exclude; propose, not impose; announce, not silence; forgive, not disavow. And, with regard to sexual morality, he understands that it is time to recognize self-critically that "the message of the Church on marriage and the family" has not been "a clear reflection of the preaching and the attitudes of Jesus while it is proposing a demanding ideal, never lost compassionate closeness fragile, like the Samaritan woman or adulteress "(" Amoris laetitia ", 2016).

As you can see, Francisco does not neglect or forget the doctrine or so -called "non - negotiable truths" of the previous pontificates. Rather, it reads and receives from the centrality corresponding own right, the axiom of mercy. Proceeding in this way, stands on the site that belongs to the so-called "natural moral law" and provides an ecclesial alternative, being inclusive, has more future than his critics and detractors believe; who, incidentally, does not command parade, as was done in the recent past, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The "schism in fact" of the Catholic Church can dissolve like sugar in water. And not only because it decreases the number of their supporters (sometimes not always confessable reasons) or its anchorage in the rigorista extrapolation, but above all, by the coldness, authoritarianism and theological inconsistency with which they have defended such "truths non-negotiable ".

You know what this analysis forbears?

He's talking about the seven homosexual apostles diligently demoralizing our loved ones for the past fifty years. The author is pointing out what is painfully obvious. The fifty years of brainwashing led to a majority in the episcopate and the Holy Father is working with them to create policies that openly formalize their demoralization as an alternative fiat for salvation.

This sentence is a bit chilling isn't it:

Welcome is the decline of the "master" that has sponsored Church and has been blindly partisan analyzes in black and white juxtaposition between truth and falsehood and condemnation of any discrepancy almost always perceived as breaking off.


I actually don't share the author's confidence that this diabolical force in the Church has or ever will overcome the Master of Truth.

My gut instincts are, those of us who took shelter in apostolates like EWTN and Catholic blogosphere have given them a good run for their money.

I think they were relying upon the sissification of men in the Church and the reluctance of well-heeled Catholic writers to publicly report corruption and wrongdoing of the hierarchy.

I earnestly believe they were counting on the usual suspects to defend the indefensible, as they have been doing for the last 50 years. But, the mounting evidence was just too much to embark on that crusade.

Look, I've been working in Church Militant for decades and I can say with conviction that shutting down nonsense on the parish and diocesan level has been nearly effortless in the past 1 1/2 year or so. There is an element of listening, honesty and right actions that I've never experienced before.

All I have to say to the majority is, buckle up buttercups.

Diocese of Orange Claims Doubt is Important Role in Our Belief and Practice of Truth

Surprisingly, doubt plays an important role in one’s pursuit of the truth

It's hard to believe there isn't an editor with their finger on the pulse of Sanctifying Grace who wouldn't read through this submission and see the glaring theological buffoonery, but here we are.

Do you believe, with absolute certainty, that Jesus is the Son of God? Are you confident that evidence of His life on earth, and His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into heaven, is completely irrefutable? Is your belief in God’s love for humanity and God’s forgiveness for human sins perfect and true, down to the very core of your being?

If so, then your faith may be on shaky ground.

Right. Because there's nothing more earth shattering to faith than believing with absolute certainty in Christ, His Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension.

This poor soul has no business writing for a Catholic periodical. He not only lacks knowledge of the fruit of Sanctifying Grace, he sees the fruit as the course to avoid on the road to purification and sanctification.

For centuries, theologians have maintained that pure, absolute conviction, the total absence of doubt in religious and spiritual matters, is anything but a sign of faith.

So much for the theological virtues at the Annunciation.

Furthermore, doubt itself may be essential to a life of Christian faith.

Doubt is the obstacle to Truth. It's the outward manifestation of a sickness in the soul that needs to be cured or a wound that needs to be healed. In practice, doubt prevents people from right judgment and right actions.

Doubt stems from poor catechesis and formation that leads to lack of trust.

We may see doubt on a person's journey of faith but it is never a good thing.

You know what the real problem with this article is?

When a parent, evangelist, priest, bishop, Pope hear a person express doubt, there is NO DOUBT that God has sent us a person walking around with a ball and chain, and we hold the keys to their freedom. With absolute certainty, we respond by supplying that person with the information they need to kick their doubts to the curb.

Yet this author doubts catechized evangelists in a state of Grace!

Then something happens in his life, a relatively inconsequential event or a tragic catastrophe, that undermines his “perfect” understanding of God. Doubt enters the picture, and since God is perfect, the Christian believes he must be flawed. So he tries to flee from doubt – as quickly as possible. After all, perfect faith is the absence of doubt, right?

Wrong.

Ugh!

Every one of us experiences disappointment or frustration when fervent prayer seems to go unanswered by God or something happens in our lives that makes us feel God has abandoned us. Even Christ felt abandonment.

While it doesn't necessarily signal a serious crisis in our faith, its safe to say the sooner we get rid of it, the better!

If it rises to the level of questioning whether Christ is the Son of God, you've got a spiritual emergency on your hands. It's time to hit up the Sacraments, call on Our Lady with the Rosary and do some spiritual readiing. Bishop Fulton Sheen is a good go-to guy in a crisis of faith.

And whatever you do, stay away from diocescan newspapers!

Church Ladies Ride Brooms

The great majority of our parishes have a group of miserable women who run everything.

The bear gives a great example of how they conduct themselves:

Convert mom. Two kids. She brings doughnuts. One of the old people (who make up the bulk of the Bear's dying parish) bitches at her, saying, "It's not doughnut Sunday."

The oldest kid says, "Why don't we go to the Vine. People are nice there and they have doughnuts every Sunday."

Good question. They have better music, better sermons, you never hear a word about global warming, everybody's friendly and they have freaking doughnuts every freaking Sunday. And most of their congregation does not consist of old jerks.

Doughnuts every Sunday? The Bear's so there.

This has nothing to do with doctrine, Vatican II or Pope Francis, It has everything to do with a dysfunctional parish driving people to a Protestant chain congregation. The Bear's parish is so hollow and so doomed. And the Bear does not care. The future does not lie with the Laurence Welk generation.

Anyone who wants to help is, frankly, abused. They don't want help. They want to sit in their sand castle as the tide rolls in.

BOOM!

A shining example of why young families don't feel comfortable or welcome.

Fr. james Martin is being awarded for building bridges to fornication and sodomy

What a guy.

If I ever won the lottery, I would put a private detective on these priests so fast their heads would spin.

Catholic Theology 101: Can inanimate objects receive mercy?

Seems like a stupid question, but here we are!

I have red oak floors in my house that sometimes take a beating, like when I move furniture or the house is full of guests.

Does my floor get the blues when people are trampling upon it?

Are Catholics obliged to perform acts of charity for their hardwood floors?

How about my refrigerator? Does it know when its empty, feel neglect when it hasn't been cleaned for a few weeks?

You would think the answer would be fairly obvious that oak wood floors and refrigerators don't have the substance to have hurt feelings, have emotions or thoughts or a soul, so consequently they do not have the substance to receive acts of mercy.

For Catholics who have been crying out to the Holy Father for mercy and experiencing his willful deafness for the plight of the family and unborn, hearing his plea to the world to give mercy to objects incapable of receiving this great gift, this is really out there with Shirley McLaine.

Repetitive Sin

Stop it!

That is all!

Admittedly, I kept refreshing the browser to find substance of the article before I realized that was all it said!

Sometimes that's easier said than done but let us face it: we have the tools, which no doubt was Father's point!

So often we talk about Church teaching without really ever getting into the challenges of its practice in our daily lives.

For a few weeks, I've been visiting a local parish I hadn't been to in a while. The priest's homilies goes over the main spiritual points in the Gospel and literally says, how do we put this into practice in our daily lives and gives concrete examples of challenges and remedies. So helpful during the week when we are faced with thoughts and temptations in daily life.

Real spiritual food for your journey.

You forget what you're missing when you settle into a parish selling mediocrity, or worse, putting yourself into the near occasion of sin.

Ironically, I left the same parish several years back because it was a near occasion of sin. It actually had two doctrinally-sound priests but then a retired priest joined the rotation of the Sacred Liturgy whose shtick was just way too distracting from the journey of mystical prayer.

The priests homilies were not just terrible, they were spiritually misleading. With my children grown, this isn't the emergency it used to be so I tried to dance around it by checking the schedule of scheduled celebrants and when it wasn't posted and I got stuck with Father Woodstock, I would tune him out and pray the Rosary. When he looked around for affirmation of his foolishness, I would catch his eye and shake my head no.

What really got under my skin was the way he disrespectfully mishandled the Divinity of Christ. After Christ is nailed to the Cross, during elevation, he would roughly lift Christ three inches from the table and within seconds would literally throw Him back onto the Altar. You could literally see Christ flying in the air back onto the Altar. When all the drab and dizzy dames surrounded the Altar as 'Eucharistic Ministers', he would dip his own hand into the ciborium like he was reaching into a bowl of goldfish at a superbowl party, and roughly put Christ into empty ciboriums.

When it came time for reception of the Eucharist, he would huff and puff and snort with disgust when people tried to receive Christ without subjecting His Divinity to pieces falling on the floor. He would pretend he couldn't lift his arm to get Christ onto your tongue. I held my ground through his antics, forcing him into an ugly showdown if he wanted it, but he would finally concede. I mentioned it to the good shepherd of the parish and tried to avoid him as much as I could. They don't always post the schedule, so I would occasonally have the misfortune of suffering through it.

One day while giving out Communion, he ran out of Hosts and went over to the the woman standing beside him, roughly grabbed a fistful from her ciborium and plunked some in his own. About three fell onto the floor. I was sitting a few feet away on the aisle up front, I jumped off of my knees, reached for Christ on the floor to consume Him and gave the priest the stink-eye.

I heard Christ calling on my way home: You're all done with this circus baby!


It turned an hour of mystical prayer into the near occasion of sin.

I'm a big fan of anticipating near occasions of sin to avoid repetitive sin.

Avoiding near occasion of sin and controlling thoughts are two of the best weapons when our flaws and weaknesses spin us into situations we can't manage.

The mind really tells us a lot about our spiritual state. Concupiscence is so easy to detect and yet we sometimes let our mind wander like a runaway train into the wild west. If you're living a life that strives to keep your soul in a state of Grace to keep concupiscence sealed, it is rarely big sins we are fighting, but rather the gradual slide into things that affect the efficacy of sanctifying grace. Selfishness, pride, anger, gossip, sins of omission.

The rants in our head when our family, people we love, colleagues, acquaintances, vendors, merchants, strangers, bloggers, commenters, priests, bishops, cardinals, pope are doing harmful things. Letting bad habits lead us away from holiness.

I was reminded how I entertain myself with rants in my head during a few challenging situations this week at work and in my family. With the help of the best and most effective tools we have to stop repetitive sin, the Sacraments and Rosary, I was able to recognize what I was doing and stop it within 60 seconds. Had a good laugh.

There's always plenty of material to make us laugh at myself. LOL.

Having Mother Teresa's quotes around this week was a huge help too.

I think this is my very favorite:

Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right there where you are — in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society — completely forgotten, completely left alone.

and this:

We are at Jesus' disposal. If he wants you to be sick in bed, if he wants you to proclaim His work in the street, if he wants you to clean the toilets all day, that's all right, everything is all right. We must say, "I belong to you. You can do whatever you like." And this is our strength, and this is the joy of the Lord

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

St. Teresa of Calcutta

I got up early to watch the Canonization Mass of St. Teresa of Calcutta on EWTN. I was none too happy to hear Fr. Tom Rosica giving color! I guess Joan Chittister was busy?

Good grief.

I really get the feeling our great friends at EWTN don't have a clue what's going down in catechisis outside of their own refuge. I doubt they know he uses 'salt and light' to push immorality down the throats of our people.

EWTN was truly the place I went to hear faithful Catholicism for at least a decade when things were really bad here in Boston. For many years, it was going 24/7 in the background as I went about my day (much like Turner Movie Classics is now!). It is such a gift to the Church!! Over the past few years, I've felt like it was yet another ministry that was infiltrated by theologically-somphomoric converts launching attacks at catechized Catholics who were more fully explaining why the position they take is inconsistent with our theology. The fact that it went on so long left a bad taste in my mouth, so I haven't turned it on.

If we wanted to see Tom Rosica, we'd turn our televisions to cnn. We tune into EWTN because we expect to hear faithful priests and lay people giving color.

Later, they had Ray Flynn on. I've not always agreed with Ray's politics - we've had a few scuffles! But he is truly faithful to the Magisterial teachings of the Church, a prolife Catholic who also has consistently given service to the poor, a kind and generous man and I was thrilled to see him adding his perspective.

I bet they don't know about Fr. Tom Rosica's antics! I am fairly confident that high-level people were NOT aware of the offensive content of Mark and Simcha. Might be worth putting some stuff together on Fr. Rosica and sending it on up the foodchain!

In any event, what a glorious day in the Church. I loved Mother Teresa, loved the way she loved and taught with consistency. Loved her kindness and gentleness, her humility. I loved that the heart of her ministry was about the people right in front of us, in our own home and world. Loved the tender relationship with St. John Paul II. I loved how uncomplicated her messages were, how easy it is to put the love of God into practice.

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love

"It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start."

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action."


"Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home."

Great love can forgive great sin.

We're mostly on our game when we walk out the door, but at home trying to rush through the madness of chores and keeping a roof over our heads, it's more relaxed and spontaneous. When we kick our shoes off at home, it's a lot harder to stay on our game with the people who matter to us the most. This is the ministry I love the most, what I find to be the most fruitful, the most rewarding. I've put great emphasis in my life into trying to be game-on inside of my home.

This is not to say I've always succeeded! It is a good practice to take an inventory of the people in our lives and remind ourselves how to help the struggling. Having Mother Teresa's quotes fly by my facebook page, I was more aware of my failings last week. How many times I see conduct and not the pain and battle behind it in our comings and goings in the world.

Mother Teresa was always on her game in that respect. Whether it was a person suffering in poverty or a wealthy and powerful world leader, she saw the human suffering and knew just what to say, when and how to say it.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, ora pro nobis!

Patience is a form of the moral virtue of fortitude

Love this meditation from the 54 day Novena:

Fruit of Patience: A form of the moral virtue of fortitude. It enables one to endure present evils without sadness or resentment in conformity with the will of God. Patience is mainly concerned with bearing the evils caused by another. The three grades of patience are: Lowest: to bear difficulties without interior complaint, Middle: to use hardships to make progress in virtue, Highest: to desire the cross and afflictions for Christ's love, to have something to offer up, and to accept them with spiritual joy. (Fr. John Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary)

The meditations are among the best spiritual food I've encountered in a long, long, time.

It's like a mini retreat and the fruit of the Rosary is just so magnificent. So many holy people remind us not to let a day go by without saying the Rosary, especially if we're working in God's vineyard. I continuously talk to God and pray throughout the day so I feel plugged in, but I confess to not keeping up with the daily Rosary. Its the best 20 minutes of my day, so why I let it go by the wayside is beyond me.

And ohhhhhhhhh the stupid things we do.

Speaking of stupid things, the Holy Father continues to give Catholics plenty of things to write about.

Phil Lawlor gives readers a more articulate article on the paganism in Rome than my cryptic post of yesterday.

again—I stress the point because I don’t want to be caught up in the wrong argument—I am not disputing the Pope’s argument that Christians should exercise greater care for the environment. What troubles me is another, more specific aspect of this message: the assertion that care for the environment should be understood as one of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

It's actually worse than that as the Holy Father went so far as to say not turning off lights is a sin - and here is the real kicker - which can be absolved by recycling and carpooling.

Even Jeff Mirus has conceded the Pope is confusing pagan ideas with Catholic theology.

This is a great article to read again and again.


Dear God, please help us through this insufferable buffoonery of a papacy. That is all.

Let the Democrats kill the babies and just take care of the sidewalks, will ya?

Sins against sidewalks can be absolved if you don't step on the cracks.

You know exactly what I'm talking about!!!