Boston Archdiocese Cheech and Chong Public Relations Firm

A local Boston Catholic has enlightened Boston Bloggers with information relating to a longstanding unsolved mystery: the disastrous stratagem of public relations of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

Our conclusions after watching the train wreck for years was that the media and public relations of the Archdiocese couldn't do a worse job if they were intentionally trying to sabotage the Cardinal's relationship with practicing Catholics.

It turns out that whilst Rasky Baerlein (the outside public relations firm which handles the nightmares of the Archdiocese and its internal communications director Terry Donilon) has been mishandling public relations of the Cathedra, Rasky has been simultaneously working to legalize marijuana.

As God is my witness, I can't tell you what a relief it is to know the head-scratching media relations of the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston is being galvanized by potheads.








"We, the unwilling, led by the incompetant, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing."
~Blessed Mother Teresa, pray for us.

That's America Magazine in the Corner, Losing Their Religion

The Congregation of Cacophony at America Magazine sees the writing on the wall. They are not happy campers In All Things.

Consoling themselves by LCRW's announcement that they plan to take their time responding to the CDF's takeover, dissident cleric James Martin, SJ, tweeted for the sisters this summary of their contribution to his state of his soul:

"Catholic sisters teach me what it means to persevere without the benefit of institutional power.”

The dear sisters taught him how to separate himself from the Mystical Body of Christ. Is this supposed to be a compliment?

He goes on to tell several stories that are completely devoid of sanctifying grace. When he thanks sisters, they thank him - and so on. He strokes their ego and they stroke his. Then he invited others to join the cocadoodle do.

Is the reader supposed to conclude that so long as we leverage leading souls away from the Body of Christ and into perdition with saying please and thank you, we are not in need of reformation and conversion?

The passive-aggressive stuff is really creepy.

The good news is, Fr. Martin just can't be a man. He can't say what he'd like to say. Shocked he is, that his tweets were misunderstood as dissent. He was just trying to be nice. That's all.

BTW, I don't know Martin at all and am using a noteboook, is he on the left or the right in the picture?

Claiming America Magazine is leading people to dissent from the Catholic religion is preposterous. Preposterous I tell you. Just ask Raymond Schroth, SJ.:

Would the condemnation of the nuns and the unfortunate sermon in Peoria have happened if these men blessed with authority believed that the Spirit works in the whole church, not just in Rome or chanceries, and had listened? Really listened.

But, they were listened to. For 40 years. The Vatican let a generation of Catholics listen to logic that contradicts Holy Spirit, without intervention. They now see the rotten fruit. They are changing their course. What we all hope now is that the Jesuits are next on the chopping block.

My favorite story was under the heading 'sign of the times' where they express their opinion about another intervention by the CDF on a dissident priest from Ireland: “individual focus on Father Flannery and inevitably, by implication, on the members of the association, is an extremely ill-advised intervention in the present pastoral context in Ireland.” In the past, Father Flannery has called for reconsideration of the church’s teachings on a variety of issues, including the ordination of women, the ban on artificial birth control and mandatory priestly celibacy.

Be sure to read the comments section on this one. They cite another bastion of orthodoxy the National Catholic Reporter as reporting the priest has be gagged: According to national catholic Reporter, he has now been silenced... "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls..." comes to mind...It is a long winter and getting darker....

We don't mind if their prophets write on subway walls. Knock yourselves out. Potties are another good place. Just keep it out of earshot of Catholics who want to learn their religion.

More Evidence Bertone is a Source of Corruption... at the Vatican and is Being Protected by the Holy Father

This is not good.

For over a decade, as Boston Catholic activists made their way up the food chain asking for intervention on this or that, several influential,high ranking sources began to paint a picture of an unnamed corrupt Cardinal at the Vatican. If we made enough of a media stink to create a scandal, some things could be intervened, but nothing would really change until he was dead.

Questions,like...Does the Holy Father know? Why wouldn't he remove this individual? Is there extortion going on?...were greeted with silence.

As years went by, trust developed, several of my sources here in the US and Rome let thename Bertone fall from their lips. No details on how or why this man continues to be permitted to terrorize and is protected by what is now two pontificates that I am aware of, has ever been revealed.

This letter is a most interesting development, in that it appears to confirm the Holy Father indeed knows and is complicit in protecting Bertone.

This week, we now learn that instead of investigating the source of corruption, the Holy Father has ordered an investigation of the source of the leaks. This outrageous administrative handling of corrupt prelates who terrorize to hold onto their corrupt money laundering scemes, cronyism, or sex scandals continues to this day. To this day, they protect the corrupt by chasing the source of the whistleblowers. We see this manifesting itself here in Boston, which is why we took anonymous whistleblowing to a protected and anonymous blog.

This is not acceptable. Every Catholic should express their outrage that the Holy Father is complicit in silencing those who tell.

Readers here know that I am faithfu, devoted to and love our Holy Father, but the truth about Bertone must be exposed. Hus reign of terror must end.

Sometimes, you cant get rid of an individual because he or she has institutional memory that keeps the organization afloat. You have to bring in someone underneath him to observe, be trained, before you usher them out the door. This has been going on for at least a decade that I know about, and I am sure more. The cat appears to be out of thebag. The time has come to castrate his power. Retire. Do whatever it takes to remove him.

Vigilante's Head to Arizona

Here we go.

After SCOTUS tipped their hand today, thugs gathered in Arizona to protest.

That doesn't look like 'hundreds' to me. Looks like three people.

"One thing that is confusing to me is how does one distinguish who an immigrant is and who is not?" he said.

"Brown-skinned people are usually the first people to be targeted ... as immigrants in this state because Mexico is so close," he added.

That's geography pal. It has nothing to do with the color of skin. How do you distinguish an illegal immigrant? They won't have papers that prove they are legally in the country. People who are legally here produce the papers.

I am so sick of the accusations that whitey is the klu klux klan.

Marine Who Criticized Obama on Facebook Discharged

As a Catholic who believes Obama is dangerously close to transitioning this country from a republic to oppressive dictatorship, I am sensitive to the freedoms being trampled under this administration - but I must say I agree with this.

The Marines acted after saying Stein stated March 1 on a Facebook page used by Marine meteorologists, "Screw Obama and I will not follow all orders from him." Stein later clarified that statement, saying he would not follow unlawful orders.

Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo, the commanding general of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, said in a brief statement Wednesday that evidence supported an administrative board's recommendation to discharge Stein.

Tom Umberg, a former Army colonel and military prosecutor, said Stein persisted even after being warned.

"Screw Obama" I'd even say I'm with him on his first amendment rights up until this point. But to join the military and then say in a public forum that you are not going to follow his orders? We've got a problem son. No can do. If you join, you've got to execute his orders as commander in chief.

Conservative Catholics have to think long and hard giving counsel to their children about serving in the armed forces under a President who does not respect life, the sovereignty of America, religious freedom, people with white skin and whom we suspect (and now know) will issues orders we cannot and should not in good conscience follow.

You have to think long and hard long before joining any branch of our military under a President whose empathy lies with the Taliban. If one has the slightest suspicion that they will have trouble carrying out orders under President who treats our military protecting the sovereignty of America dishonorably, one cannot and should not join in the first place. That's how you protect yourself from carrying out his mad orders.

It's a crucible for a young man who wants to serve his country or wants a career in police or fire departments. But at the end of the day, you can't serve your country if you have to carry out orders you know puts you at odds with your God. If Obama gets in a second term, there is going to be a full-blown assault on the United States led by its own President. Any Catholic parent who has a son thinking about the service should prayerfully discern what is happening to our country and what kind of candid conversations to have long before they sign up to carry out his orders.

I feel sorry for this young man because he joined long before America elected the Jackass and put the Horribles in the White House. But it is what it is and you have to see it through until you can get out voluntarily, giving honor and integrity to the forces that have protected our country since 1776.

Picture Rumored to be taken at the Chancery

As Rod Stewart once said, every picture tells a story, don't it.

Sources tell me that when Carol Gustavson saw it, the yoga class came to an abrupt halt. She rushed out of the building to see if she could recruit him for Fr. Coutier's 'pastoral planning' position to head up parish mergers. Sources say they hung the sign from the bird suspended over the Altar in the Chancery Chapel.

Joan Vennochi's ire is aimed at the wrong target - Part I

Pope Benedict XVI can’t wait to crack down on “radical feminist” nuns. But will he ever really crack down on protectors of pedophile priests?

A Vatican-led investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious cites the nuns’ silence on abortion and same-sex marriage. How bad is that up against the silence of church officials, from parish priests to the Vatican, who ignored and concealed child sex crimes?

That old straw man sure gets a lot of mileage.

The smack down of nuns misleading the faithful and the pedophiles the Church ordained are two separate matters.

Both needed and have received the intervention of the Vatican.

In fact, even innocent and falsely accused priests are removed. Some sit penniless, without a source to defend them against the cowards in the Chancery who defile the law and truth to appease the devil. The silence of bigots and malcontents can be bought with money and the vocation of an innocent priest.

As Joan Venocchi demonstrates, so long as the Church carries on with the mission of the salvation of souls, it will never be enough. Any time they wish to silence Church teaching and salvation, they will build their ridiculous strawman that the Catholic Church is a pimp for sodomization of children so the weak-kneed Bishops and Cardinals will retreat. Throw another priest to the lions.

People who drew oxygen in the same room with a pedophile or even a supervisor of the pedophile is a potential victim of the vigilantes.

Obama has raised an era of vigilantes. It turns out their hope is predicated upon pitting one person against another.

The poor against the people who have the money to employ them. Blacks against people of every other color. Hispanics are loathed as much as whitey. The Arabs against the Jews. The Muslims against Christians.

He has raised a general war against Christianity and Catholicism in particular. We have yet to see the whites of their eyes. If we do not come together to overthrow a second term for Obama - it's going to get mighty ugly. In every conceivable way.

Vennnochi, last I knew, was coming and going weekly in her parish - without the intervention of whatever weakling priest was put in charge of the parish she is in. And so here she is twenty years later, still rebelling against Christ's Church and truth.

God help me. I have such little patience for it. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make my heart unto Thine.

I've been thinking about the upheaval of the leadership of the Sister Simone Campbells in the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. What has gone awry. What the Vatican is trying to lead them and all those they influence away from and thought I should share the most magnificently-written on the theology of obedience to Catholic teaching, dying to ourselves and rising with Christ,nm[p- I have ever read.

It's from Fr. Edward Leen, in his book In the Likeness of Christ and he is talking about the dumbfounded Apostles looking at the Risen Body of Christ, with wounds still fresh from his Crucifixion and the challenge Christ had - and continues to have in all of us - in teaching the Apostles the purpose of dying to His Own Will, how it relates to rejecting sin, dying to ourselves and rising with Christ...and salvation. How it lives in each one of us. Every. Single. Day.

It's long, so I will put it up in parts.

Here's part 1:

They deemed that the Resurrection had a reference to a post-terrestrial life: in a vague kind of way they assumed it to be something that was to take place when the present world should be at an end. They had not grasped that it had a bearing on man's earthy destiny. Their beliefs in this connection were, very likely, those voiced by Martha, the sister of Lazarus, when on receiving the assurance from the Lord that her brother would rise again she immediately understood him to refer to the resurrection at the last day. They had scarecely a conception of any other rising from the dead--still less had their minds entertained any idea of a newness of life to be attained through suffering.

And yet, it is to lead us to this newness of life that God orders all the sufferings and trials He sends us in our earthy pilgrimage. Our Lord draws us towards this risen life by His example after having merited it for us by His Passion. He teaches us that to arrive at the term it is necessary that the concupiscences in us be crucified, and that it is God's love for us that orders and directs the execution. That tendency in us which makes us cleave to the creature to the prejudice of the Creator, which makes us elect perishable things in preference to eternal, must die. Tlo reach the perfect freedom of this life that is all for God, there must be effected in us a detachment from all that is not of God. Pains and sorrow are the instruments of this detachment. it is through them that sinful desires are dulled and concupiscence reduced to a state of quiescence.

The attraction to evil is in us, in consequence of original sin, cannot be made to disappear completely in this life. It continues to exist even in the saints. The repugnance we experience in ourselves to what God's laws desire of us, and to what our own will aspires to, retains us in humility and allows us to distinguish clearly between what we can do of ourselves and what God can accomplish in us by His Holy Spirit. The experience of our own powerlessness in the fight against the evil tendencies in our nature teaches us not to attribute to our own strength but to God's grace, the victories we may achieve in the struggle. The ever-renewed conflict in us convinces us of the necessity of the crucifixion of our wicked nature in order that we may be able to serve God without offending Him.

To live to God we must die to sin, and this death to sin cannot be achieved without its own passion. It was through the Cross that the world was redeemed - it remains that by the Cross and the Cross only, personally born e and endured, each individual enters fully into the redemption and is sanctified. Self must die in order that God may reign in undisputed ways in us. In that lies the whole explanation of suffering in life. It is only over the hilltop of Calvary that we make our way into the brightness of splendor and glowing life of the Garden of Resurrection. The beauty of a body, free from the corruption of sin, and the radiance of a soul filled with God's life is that in which our Calvary finds its explanation and the term in which it issues. The Cross is the way or the means to the Resurrection. Without the one we cannot have the other. If God makes the path of our life converge on Calvary it is only in order that it may lead us into the calm and peace and light of the Resurrection -- of a life in which the germ of mortality, namely, concupiscence, has been successfully combated by the healing virtue of the Grace of Christ, working through sufferings patiently accepted.

But of course, not all sufferings effect in us this wonderful transformation, which is at once an image of Christ's glorious life and a pledge of future immortality. There were three who underwent a crucifixion together on the Hill of Calvary. One of them suffered and blasphemed. Guilty though he was, he rebelled against his fate. He dared to abuse God for tortures he had brought on himself by his own misdeeds. He railed at and cursed Divine Providence for the evil that had come upon him. "And one of those robbers who were hanged blasphemed him, saying "If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us.:. So there are many, who when crushed upon the cross of life, instead of entering into themselves, acknowledging their sinfulness and humbling themselves under the Hand of God revile their Maker for allowing suffering to exist, or at least, for allowing it to befall them. Such men, far from being purified by their passion, plunge themselves into a worse death than that of the body. They sink from one death into one yet more profound.

My dear Joan, Sister Simone Campbell and Sisters in the Leadership Conference of Women Religious,

Even if you only have one toe in the world of reality, one can feel and see this is a reign of the devil. Christ, through His Pope and His Church, is gathering.

Choose wisely.

Obama's Economic Recovery: 50% of College Graduates Unemployed

50 to 75 thousand in the hole and no jobs are available.

College tuition has gone up 25%

The unemployment rate has gone up 1.1 million.

Gas has gone up 83%.

Federal debt has increased 43%.

Our debt per person has gone up $13,000 per year to pay for Obama's spending.

Groceries are 30% higher than when George Bush left office.

6.4 million more people are living in poverty than the era of the Bushies.

Trickle up poverty.

The value of my home has dropped 120 thousand and counting.

More interesting statistics here.

Barack Hussein Obama could well be the worst President in the history of American politics.

The Problem with Patheos

Larry D has put some thoughts together on the problems with Patheos. He says the same things I've been saying...but far more eloquently and with more charity.

For Catholic evangelists to pull together resources of false gods and religions, throw Catholicism into the mix and then take as their credo they do not endorse any one religion?

Would they do that to their own children?

Maybe they do. Maybe they bring all kinds of pamphlets and books from Hare Krishna, demonic worship of wiccans to Catholicism and tell their own children they do not endorse any one religion. If so, they are uncatechized themselves and they know not what they do. God have mercy upon them.

If they know enough not to do that to their own children but they are doing it to the uncatechized who do not have access to mentors and sanctifying grace - that is not going to fly with Christ on the day of judgment, so good luck to them.

His post resonates with me because I recently caught up on reading the blog of solid priest now blogging over on Patheos -and thought to myself: "Ugh, this is mush & pablum".

The mush and cult of personality going on over there is weakening solid catechists and moreover, a solid priest who should know better.

n.b. Be sure to read the comments where the folks at patheos initiate a blogobrawl.

It is a sorry sight.

Boston Archdiocese Finally Puts an End to East Boston "Vigil" at Lady of Mount Carmel Church

The poor souls sitting in an empty building whilst Christ's Body and Blood is beating in the Sanctuary a mile down the street have been pastorally and spiritually cared for after 7 long years of abandonment.

“We understand that those who have opposed the closing of Our Lady of Mount Carmel desired a different outcome,’’ the archdiocese said in a statement. “For the better part of seven years we have permitted the vigil while the petitioners pursued various appeals. The time for this vigil to end has come. We pray that they will choose to join an open and welcoming parish to experience the fullness of their faith through parish life.’’

Strange.

It must have been an oversight the spokesperson failed to mention the most important outcome: moseying on back to valid Catholic Sacraments and The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.

Anyhoo - I certainly hope changing the locks and escorting out squatters is a trend. If we are going to let people squat in our empty buildings, I'd rather see them warehouse and care homeless people.

Guess Who is Not Invited to Cardinal O'Malley's Pentecost Bash

Happy Easter! I write to bring you exciting news and to extend an invitation on behalf of Cardinal Seán O’Malley. Following the example set by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, the Cardinal would like to invite all the ecclesial movements and new communities of the Archdiocese of Boston to join him at the end of the Easter Season for the celebration of the Solemn Vigil of Pentecost at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston on Saturday, May 26^th at 4PM.

The feast of Pentecost is one of the most important feasts in the Church, when we praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit which was poured out into the Apostles and who continues to fill the Church with all the gifts and treasures of our faith. The movements and new ecclesial communities are a more recent manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Church, and the Cardinal has a particular appreciation for the presence and witness of the movements in the Archdiocese of Boston. He sincerely hopes that this Mass on the Vigil of Pentecost will be a moment of blessing and renewal for the Church in Boston. He also hopes to share with you his own words of thanks and support for the important work you do in the New Evangelization.

I am reaching out to you as leaders of some of the communities that are mentioned below, in the hope that those associated with you and with the movement will know that they are invited to join the Cardinal for this beautiful celebration.

Cursillo
Neo-Catechumenal Way
Communion and Liberation
Charismatic Renewal
St. Vincent de Paul Society
Third Orders (Dominican, Carmelite, Franciscan)
Legion of Mary
Focolare
San Egidio
Opus Dei

On the one hand, I've DEFINITELY seen worse.

On the other, this is yet another instance where the Cardinal gives the Latin rite community a good swift fanny ride on the end of his humble sandal.

If it makes the Latin Rite Community feel any better, it appears the Novus Ordo community isn't invited either.

Let's cut to the chase. Rather than just sending out a general invite to practicing Catholics via parishes, his email lists and groups within the Church, the Cardinal has the propensity to divide the Catholic Church into a list of little factions of charisms and then when his list of favorites comes out, other charisms feel alienated.


If you're going to gin up a list and include a Catholic group whose main charism is crackpot liturgical innovations - which the Vatican is in the process of reigning in - one must then include all the other liturgical divisions the Catholic Church has splintered into when the Latin rite was squashed like a bug.

Sometimes, the folks in the Chancery are trying so hard to be luminaries, they forget to abide by a very wise and ancient maxim: Keep it simple stupid.

Blogger Update

Apologies for formatting problems this morning. Bloggers were force-fed a rollout of an updated blogger interface that with annoying bugs. Like you have to manually insert html, can't view the entire width of your post as you compose. It does not apply hmtl where it ought and it applies it where it ought not when one uses the copy and paste function.

It is really a catastrophic flaw because nobody has the time to manually fix hmtl. We'll see how it goes. May have to switch to another blog service.

I was able to trudge through most of the html problems and found the way to reverting back to the blogger template that automatically inserts html. I beg your pardon if future formatting problems show up as I try to work around their buggy update.

Leadership Conference of Women Religious are Shocked..Shocked I Tell You

...according to a Washington Post article today.

Some nuns in the 55,000-member Leadership Conference of Women Religious characterized the disciplinary action announced Wednesday as an “ambush,” but others — including the leadership — said they couldn’t publicly comment on a system that mandates their obedience.

“People are stunned,” said Sister Pat McDermott, president of the 3,500-member Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, based in Silver Spring. “They’re outraged, angry, frustrated, they don’t know where this came from and how to hold it.

Why can't they be bishops?

Obedience doesn't rely on listening to the Mystical Body that Christ died to leave us but rather, listening deeply to the call of the spirit within themselves.

“Whatever we engage with in ministry . . . we check in with others about it, and together as a sisterhood we make decisions,” she said. “To encounter this kind of action that did not come with that contemplative discernment that I, as a woman religious, am used to engaging with in all of my life was deeply disturbing to me.”

That's right ladies, who needs the Institution of the Holy Spirit when the sisterhood can make decisions.Sister Simone Campbell thinks there is a strong connection between Carol Keehan's collaboration in the killing fields and the coup by the Vatican. No flies on that one.From the last quote in the article, it would appear the golden girls are putting on their iron pants:

But Sister Campbell suggested a difficult time ahead: "It's totally a top-down process and I don't think the bishops have any idea of what they're in for."

Given the number of quotes in different articles all over the world, I'd say Sister Simone Campbell is going to be the spokesperson for the rebellion.

Here's another one: It's like a sock in the stomach.

If Archbishop Sartain wishes to lead them out of Dante's Inferno, he best be putting a sock in Sister Simone Campbell's mouth.

By far, the most entertaining reactions are coming out of the National Catholic Reporter, which, by the by, supersleuth Fr. Z uncovered a link between the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the National Catholic Reporter.

Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the pandemonium HERE and HERE.

And, be sure to check out the comments section.

From the bunker, Chittister is recommending they disband and form a secular interest group to retain their influence to mislead souls with canonical survival.

Of all the heartache that 'er I've done. Alas, it was to none but me...

I hope that doesn't happen. But, if it does, so be it.

The overwhelming majority of women who have been forced to listen to and watch and moreover, have their gender and vocation as a Catholic woman caricatured by their antics have one thing to say: Don't let the door hit on the arse on the way out.

It's been akin to the Vatican locking us up with cigarette smokers in a room without windows.

We have been banging on the door of the Holy See, asking them to get these women to put out their cigarettes, for the last 40 years. They have choked a generation of Catholics to death.

"In this way, the Holy See hopes to offer an important contribution to the future of religious life in the Church in the United States," the letter states.

I did not think I would live to see this day.

What a gift!

My God is mighty to save.

He is mighty to save.

Author of salvation.

He rose and conquered the grave.

Jesus conquers the grave.

ADDENDUM: Guess who is completely out of the loop?

Leadership Conference of Women Religious Taken to the Wood Shed

“The current doctrinal and pastoral situation of the LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern.”

A spectacular development.

“Further,” the CDF report said, “issues of crucial importance in the life of the Church and society, such as the Church’s Biblical view of family life and human sexuality, are not part of the LCWR agenda in a way that promotes Church teaching. Moreover, occasional public statements by the LCWR that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the Bishops, who are the Church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals, are not compatible with its purpose.”

The CDF said, “The Assessment reveals serious doctrinal problems which affect many in Consecrated life,” calling it a crisis “characterized by a diminution of the fundamental Christological center and focus of religious consecration.”

They must have the vapors at America Magazine and Vox Nova?

This is priceless.

Investigators cited a speech by Sister Laurie Brink at an annual assembly that argued that religious sisters were “’moving beyond the church’ or even beyond Jesus.”

Thus ending the charade.

Moving beyond the Church and Jesus?

How does something like that come out of your mouth without being absolutely horrified at what you're saying?


I love this:

“I’m stunned,” said Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a Catholic social justice lobby founded by sisters.

Oh, come on lady. Really?

Did you ever think you'd see the day when Cardinal Leveda would take the bulls by the horns?

I'm giddy.

One minor little grievance...

In programs and presentations, investigators noted “a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”

Anyone care to venture a guess as to why the CDF would publish such a forthright assessment of the women religious whilst Cardinal O'Malley has gotten away with a 7 year reign of theological terror with radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith and dismantling the 2000 year old structure of the Roman Catholic Church without so much as a peep from the Vatican?

It isn't from lack of complaints. There's been tens of thousands of complaints filed by Boston Catholics.

How about lining up the Jesuits?

They certainly have their work cut out ahead of them, don't they.

SSPX Have Signed the Preamble

..according to this report.

Whooh-hooh!

Plenary Indulgence (and Prayer Request)

A reckless early morning car crash took the lives of two nineteen-year olds and a twenty-year old here in Boston.

I've been thinking about (and praying for) these kids (and their families) since we went by the wreck on the commuter rail this morning. What their struggles may have been at home, school, in life.. to bring them to be houliganing at 4:30 in the AM and to this end.

Lives cut too short to even have the maturity to overcome their challenges, convert. The spiritual battles. How hard their guardian angels must have worked to nurture, counsel and guide them from this tragic end. The demons who walked away from the wreck satisfied. Victorious. Prowling Morrissey Boulevard to find other souls to seek their ruin.

I was sitting in line for confession, to comply with and obtain for meself the Divine Mercy Plenary Indulgence and once again took up prayer for these children. I've been looking forward to restoring my soul to the day of Baptism for weeks. Minutes away...and out of nowhere came the thought that I should offer up the plenary indulgence for the salvation of one of the souls.

I felt like someone just stole my pocketbook. The chase was on!

I glanced towards the Divine Mercy image of Christ a few feet away thought to myself "I don't think so. Can't do that. I need it. I need the cleansing of the intellect. The graces. But I'll continue to keep these kids in prayer".

I was content again for a nanosecond. Contemplating the fruit of the indulgence within my grasp. But, the swiftness and intensity of the squeezola that followed, I knew that it wasn't just my own rambling thoughts to offer the plenary indulgence - the request was Christ's and so I laid the indulgence at His Precious Feet. Asked the Blessed Mother to use it for one of these children - John, Paul, Samantha - or whomever she sees fit.

If you have obtained or are in the process of obtaining the indulgence, may I humbly ask you to pray over offering it for the salvation of one of the others?

I used to be in the habit of making plenary indulgences and offering it up. It's where the rubber meets the road. A great substantive explanation of plenary indulgence is HERE. They are applicable to souls in Purgatory. The section on indulgences in the Catechism is HERE. Here's some instructions on how to comply and a list of qualifying events. Info on partial indulgences HERE.

There are several in June. I'll remind you.

On Sunday at 3pm, on the final day of the Novena, praying with other Catholics in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I couldn't help but be moved to tears at this great hour where so many of us in communion all over the world were being immersed and immersing ourselves. I felt the tremendous power in the freedom of millions souls.

Catholic religion and the Catholic Church - what a treasure chest of precious gifts.

The Next Pope...

Throughout the course of history, the Catholic Church has been very proactive in the sound business practice of succession planning.

None of us have a crystal ball and there are always surprises, but Vatican super sleuths detect a familiar pattern emerging with Cardinal Burke.



May God grant good health and a long and happy life to Pope Benedict.

In God's time and season, a lot of us would be doing cartwheels if his successor were Cardinal Burke.

Update on the NeoCats

Is their liturgical buffoonery headed for the trash heap?

Hingham "Psychic" Extorts Money from Local Woman

Local 'psychic' tells woman that she needed to pay 16,000, to lift a curse so one of her relatives would not commit suicide.

When seven grand and a ring wasn't enough, the victim called a relative for help.

It made me think about a saying my mother (and all my Irish relatives) would say when I (or anyone else) did something stupid.

You. God. Damned. Fool.

The article describes the woman as 'phony' psychic.

Is there any other kind?

When somebody is operating a shtick as a 'psychic', there are only two possibilities. They are either a shyster and a thief or they are delivering messages through a demon who will manifest its message as the light.

Frankly, your safety and personal well-being is better off with the shyster who will empty out your bank account.

God would never manifest His knowledge of the future to a pagan setting up a gig to give you advice based upon their visions.

Sure there are angelic visions and gifts. All kinds of manifestations of the angelic are manifested in saints and those practicing mystical prayer.

Christ, the Holy Spirit, our guardian angels, the Saints are always present and speaking to us. If we are astute, trusting, paying attention, most of us will encounter something mystical a handful of times in our lives.

There are others who, in surrender, will develop a gift or charism for the edification of the Church and souls seeking salvation through Christ's Bride.

I'm not going to elaborate on legitimate mystics and gifts in this post, but I do want to talk about discernment of the spirit when it comes to people who hang a shingle out saying "psychic" and the spiritual phenomenon of a curse.

The devil's treachery can mirror something angelic. Remember when Moses threw down his scepter at the feet of the Pharoah and it turned into a serpent, the Pharoah's sorcerer did the same?

Unless we are saints, monks, nuns in a monastery spending 24/7 in mystical prayer, the devil doesn't really have to be that clever. Being a lazy force, the demonic will not use any more energy than they have to. How much they use depends upon your state of grace.

For the most part, we don't have to be rocket scientists to discern whether something is angelic or demonic.

For a Catholic, there is nothing more mystical nor more precious than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. That sucks up most of our spiritual attention. We do observe and acknowledge other gifts and phenomenons. But nothing can hold a candle to Transubstantiation, the Reservation of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ and all of the gifts that flow from It.

Here's the skinny on a 'psychic': A woman or bloke who sets up shop to give you messages from dead relatives, tells you whether or not you'll get married, how many children you'll have, who to date - etc. - it is a no-brainer that these individuals are either full of crapola or the devil is using them. Whatever insights, advice or messages they give has an agenda and that agenda opposes God's.

How should a practicing Catholics treat situations or people armed and surrounded by forces of counselors that oppose God?

Treat the people, the building, the locus, like a leaking nuclear power plant.

Don't approach, attend, go into a building or near anybody or anything that you know has been contaminated.

If somebody was teed up and tells you about their experience, disarm their counselor by informing the person they've been snookered. If the person is a Catholic, explain the teachings of the Church, pray with them to free the person's intellect from the counsel.

Let's talk about curses.

Curses are real and powerful. A curse is a bit like a tornado. It starts off very powerful but as it travails along, consumes, it weakens. Curses can go through generations. 99% of the time, you don't know you are dealing with the force of a curse. Like all demonic activity, curses have patterns to them. You might notice abruptly and without explanation, that everything you encounter is in a state of dysfunction. You can't get plans to execute, things around you start breaking, there is agitation in all your work and personal relationships.

A curse doesn't have to be and most times isn't the fruit of a sorcerer or witch from a santanic ceremony. Most times, a curse is the fruit of somebody who uses the force of their hatred. Hatred has a destructive energy and the animus can be hurled like a projectile that comes your way.

There is absolutely nothing to fear with a curse.

Curse, schmurse.

Catholics have immunity from the wiles of the devil: The Holy Sacrifice on the Mass.

In perfect state of Grace, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the reception of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. All the immunity anyone will ever need.

We also protect ourselves from curses with specific prayers. The Breastplate of St. Patrick. There's a prayer in my sidebar if you're looking for another. Immerse yourself, your children, your family, friends into the Blood of Christ with prayer.

Additionally, we have the Sacramentals. Holy water, blessed salt, relics, medals.

Things are getting crazy.

It is sad to see people running to the pagan. Sadder to see Catholic priests, Chanceries, a Vicar General in Boston, offering it to the uncatechized. Good luck to them and the croziers they purchased with the souls of the village idiots.

I have a feeling we have only seen the tip of this spiritual iceberg. The more I see and understand just how precious all the gifts of Christ's Church are to me...to all of us who are called to the Supper of the Lamb.

And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no curse any more; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. And they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads. And night shall be no more: and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Isn't looking very hopeful for SSPX?

Reportedly, they're holding onto their refusal to surrender to the authority of the Chair of Peter.

Despair is the harbinger of many foibles.

Please God, permit us to always recognize when we sever Your Head to spite our own face. Amen.

US Bishops are Now Digging the Bloggers?

This is fun.

Church leaders have been angered by the penchant of many bloggers to call them out on their failures to expound and defend controversial Catholic teachings on moral issues like contraception, homosexuality, and abortion.

Pointing out they are starving their flock to death by carving out a vocation of posting pictures of themselves going from one pot luck supper and swanky event to the next hurts their widdle feelings...but now, they say bloggers have a critical role in defending religious liberty.

I guess we're supposed to feel liberated and edified by this nugget of illumination. They are grateful for the critical role we are playing in liberating their flock from darkness and hell hole they have cast them into.

Fr. Z wonders whether they really mean it. Are we really valued, he questions. he challenges the episcopal luminaries to hold a bloggers confab, powwow, blognic.

A couple of problems with rushing to a meeting to make nice with Bishops.

Playing palsywalsies with the Bishops renders you ineffective.

If you take a tour of Catholic blogosphere when any controversy arises, you can pick out the bloggers who are trying to be valued by the Bishops. They refuse to disclose corruption, ineptitude. Where they once would expose, debunk, call the Bishop out on their failures, their blogs become places where they defend misfeasance and malfeasance by attacking those who will always choose to serve Christ and His Church irrespective of whether our actions will be valued by the interlocutors of the US Bishops Conference.

Maybe it's me...but I'm not looking to feel valued by the Bishops. I know the value of servitude to my Beloved and souls the Bishops and priests have abandoned and left for dead. I've known it all along.

Catholics Will Be Put to the Test in 2012 Election

Secret Service Booty Call

More making whores out of women news from the Obama Administration on the front pages of newspapers today.

The Secret Service?

Think they brought a supply of morning after pills?

Apparently, they took women back to their rooms for sexual encounters, not realizing the women were prostitutes.

It sounds like it was a heck of a party as members of the military are now being implicated.

Shocked, they were, positively shocked, when the women wanted money on the way out the door. Men are certainly not accustomed to that in the United States.

When one individual did not want to pay for the services, there was a lot of commotion at the hotel, and the whole thing imploded.

What the heck happened to the intelligence, self-respect and self-esteem of women?

I couldn't bring myself to follow the degradation of motherhood in the press by the White House but I couldn't help to read this looney article when I saw the headlines: "...

working mom debate obscures value of child care"

Mothering our own children is obscuring the value of dropping your children off at warehouses where strangers will plop them in a crib while they juggle feeding and diapering a dozen or two children.

What a bunch of hogwash.

There are many circumstances - in fact most - when women have no choice but to work to bring money into the house so their children can be successful, have what they need. Thankfully, every one I have ever known has is riveted by the necessity to have to hand their children over to strangers in a warehouse. From the moment they drop them off, to the moment they pick them up, they are acutely aware of the negative impact to their formation, intimacy - the missed moments and milestones.

Can't they see that their greatest gifts are being turned into semen receptacles for men who want to use them to relieve themselves? Force feeding them the crackpot notion they are liberating themselves from mothering their own children.

What madness.

The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general. If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Easter Vigil Homily, April 7th, 2012

Zimmerman

I am not in a place where I can speak with charity about the transition of the law - from justice to the kangaroo courts for imprisoning the innocent defending themselves from the tyranny, anarchy and corruption of our country.

Derschowitz, who would never be known for being politically conservative - his comments are here.

We are in deep sh*t.

Day 6 of Divine Mercy Novena - Bring me the lunatics

Oh no...wait. Forget that one. That's a Carol Novena.

Jesus said: Bring me the meek and humble souls and the souls of children.

Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children,

and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.

Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart unto Thine!

Jesus Said: Bring Me the Pagans (Day 4 of Divine Mercy Novena)

I came across this interesting little gem on EWTN yesterday.

*Our Lord's original words here were "the pagans." Since the pontificate of Pope John XXIII, the Church has seen fit to replace this term with clearer and more appropriate terminology.

Two questions come to my mind...

1. What is unclear about the word pagans?

2. Since Christ is incapable of being inappropriate, how could one ever contemplate or perceive themselves as Christ's editor?!

That's what you call breathtaking narcissism.

Boston Archdiocese Continues Skullduggery

The poison is offered at St. Joseph's in Belmont by Fr. Thomas Mahoney.

Check out this week's bulletin.

Did you know that Hinduism and other 'major religions' (is that what they're calling them now at St. John's seminary?) have a "powerful effect on the culture and daily life worldwide"?

Billions of people around the globe, including the Boston Chancery, are doing meditative exercises based on bupkis, founded by nobody, and this is saving the planet from Catholics who thrust the world into war. The greatest contribution to world peace is to abandon Catholicism and run to your local library to study Hindu.

WORLD RELIGIONS: HINDUISM

Nearly four thousand years old, Hinduism is truly one of the oldest living religions on Earth. It is a fascinating faith with countless sects and practices but no identified founder and no specific formal doctrine. Hinduism and some of its spiritual and meditative exercises, such as yoga and transcendental meditation, are actively practiced by over one billion people around the globe. Not only has Hinduism influenced other major religions, such as Buddhism, Jainism and the Sikh tradition, but it has also had a powerful effect on culture and daily life worldwide. Travel to exotic locations to observe how religions have shaped cultures, changed history, brought us closer together and thrust us into war. World Religions: Hinduism will be presented at Noon on Thursday, April 26^th in the Parish Library. "The study of religious traditions other than our own may well be the greatest contribution we can make as individuals toward the cause of global peace." (Virginia Smith, St. Anthony Messenger Press)

I'll bet you thought the greatest contribution was catechesis of Catholicism and conversion.

Here's something else I'll bet you didn't know. It was twelve apostolic women who started "the Way" - house churches - and THAT was the "basic institution of the infant church" - apparently operating parallel to the Church where the Sacraments were being performed. Somebody had to do something about the impediments of men and Sacraments which do not embody enduring values and virtues necessary in answering the needs and longings of every age.

Twelve Apostolic Women (Joanne Turpin)

Jesus' most loyal disciples proved to be the women who had served him during his Galilean ministry and remained faithful to him even when authorities in Jerusalem sentenced him to death as a political criminal. When "the Way" began to spread across the empire, women often played a pivotal role in the establishment of house churches, the basic institution of the infant church. New Testament women could be considered apostolic in the way they lived and carried out the mission Jesus entrusted to his disciples and to all who would follow later: preaching the Good News through word and deed. All of the women portrayed in this book embody the enduring values and virtues necessary in answering the needs and longings of every age. The stories teach us much about discipleship and show us how we, too, can make ready to follow the Way of the Lord.

Books in the library are available for a loan period of three weeks. The Parish Library is open during business hours and new titles are also located on the library shelf in the gallery. For more information about our library, please contact Christa Lucas.

Upon these bras I shall built my church.

If we play our cards right, we could rent a bus and stampede into the parish library to grab the books off the shelf where we'll learn to "make ready to follow the Way of the Lord." While we're there, we can learn how to personalize the Gospel through MAD Magazine to experience its energy and emotion and reveal our deepest longings and ultimate hopes.

NEW IN THE LIBRARY!

What Jesus Said (and why it matters now)

Have you ever tried to personalize the stories in the Gospels? We can personalize a Gospel story by entering into its conflict, experiencing its energy and emotion, and letting it absorb us. When we connect with the story at this experiential level, it reveals something of our deepest longings and our ultimate hopes.... Personalizing the stories of the Gospels calls us to a deeper understanding of our identity in God and urges us to live out that identity in our everyday lives.

In What Jesus Said, author Timothy Fallon uses a wide range of contemporary examples everything from MAD Magazine and Washington Post articles to Saving Private Ryan and Steve Martin's film, Shopgirl, to help readers experience how God touches us in our own lives.

What do you think ladies?

Shall we dress our men up in suspenders and rubber noses and head over?

Call the pebble Dare? Meet you there?

Day 2 of Divine Mercy Novena...The souls of priests and religious

"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious,

and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use.



Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#2#ixzz1rPPd6nf2

Adoramus Te Christe

Beautifully sung HERE.

We adore you o Christ and we bless you. By Your Holy Cross You have redeemed the world.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured.

I know this is a solemn day, but I came across an article on Crisis debunking a daffy gem from Atlantic Magazine written by Kathleen Townsend Kennedy and thought it was a perfect example to memorialize the infirmities Christ bears in the latest period of His Passion.

The Kennedys, who perpetually use their political careers to demoralize their constituents and live out their family creed to create the image of god and truth as themselves, never fail to disappoint.

Her argument is a heavily nuanced piece of apologetics:

Catholic teaching is responsible for the murder of a gay man in Uganda. We know this because his friend was honored by her father’s foundation (her father was also a Kennedy!)...

In her piece, Townsend continues: how could the Church support that? It goes against the Church’s own age-old tradition. Heck, “What other institution separates men and women and encourages them to live together in monasteries and convents where they can develop deep relationships with those who share their kind of love?”

Can you imagine? How can an institution that promotes monks hate gays? Monks live together. There are no women around. They cultivate relationships. And they “share their kind of love.” They’re practically gay...

“My father grasped, as did John Kennedy and Martin Luther King, that in America the leader who wishes to enlarge freedom’s sphere must appeal to an audience’s religious beliefs as well as to their understanding of American liberty.” My favorite part about King’s I Have a Dream speech is where he extols the fundamental human right to believe that God is gay...

Townsend just thanks possibly gay God that the abolitionists and suffragettes ignored all the misogynist parts of the Bible in order focus on the part that says we are “born to be free.” I’m just thankful they found that part amidst the overwhelming misogyny and gay hating. Selectively quoting Scripture is tricky

Macabre.

How foolish we become when unrepented and rebellious sin severs the connection between our intellect and the truth. And, the worst part of it is, we don't even know we have become a moron.

What is there to say on this day except to segue into the first day of the Divine Mercy Novena and indulgence.

Rirst Day
"Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners,and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

The Chaplet.

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Guilt is a Catholic's BFF

I can't really remember when the crackpot priests began putting guilt through a crucible...was it the 70s?

It took a lot of years of observation to figure out what benefit the Cuenins and the Unnis of the presbyterate and the O'Malleys and Weurls of the wizards in the Episcopal conference were getting from divesting their flocks of God's precious gift of guilt.

Catholics lucky enough to be educated in the tenets of the Catholic Church hold the key to making the sound choices that is the only road to eternal life with Christ - keeping our souls free of sin.

Why would a man waste his time pursuing ordination and the priesthood and then rob people of the divine gift that tells the conscious that we are not in a state of grace?

Maybe they are struggling themselves with sin?

Maybe they are weaklings?

Who knows. If I were running the zoo, any candidate expressing an interest in the priesthood that had the stink of a wimp would never be ordained. They lack critical substance for getting the flock to Heaven, which is the fiat of a priest or bishop.

What I did learn from my observation is the benefits they receive from divesting the flock of guilt: They are the recipients of praise and adoration. Consuming souls is the nutrition for their low self-esteem. It's tough to watch when you can see what they're doing through the eyes of the soul.

Pin guilt on me baby. I want to know, want to be reminded of things that I may lack the sensitivity or understanding to realize are habits or sins I am committing. I want my intellect to smell danger before\as I approach it. I want to avoid and reject sin. Mosey on down the road from any temptation I may be attracted to or am too weak to resist. I want to be on my toes because I never know when I will be face to face with my beloved Christ. I have enough 'splaining to do about the things I already know litter my days of rebellion.

Lent for Catholics, which is drawing to a close, is a period where we are ramping up the discipline for resistance to sin. Giving up chocolate, gluttony, the finer things in life is good company to the period of discipline to resist sin, but most of us do an inventory before Lent of character flaws or things we struggle with and we subtract foibles, add virtues and discipline accordingly. Tomorrow, on Good Friday, we will begin a nine day Divine Mercy Novena and obtain a plenary indulgence for the remission of the punishment of our past sins. A plenary indulgence is a "get out of hell free" card. The restoration of our souls to our day of baptism.

I came across this story of a victory of guilt and wanted to share it to keep all involved in your prayers during our precious Triduum:

Young woman admits lying about her father raping her.

After thirteen years of struggling with guilt, a victory. Her father was released from jail.

The courage to step forward and release herself and her father from the living torment of sin is a beautiful kick off to our Sacred Triduum. Keep them in prayer. Keep the poor suckers being robbed of their salvation by priests and bishops living their vocation as a vampire, feeding their self esteem. It will be better for them had not been born. Pray too for their conversion.

I also wanted to share the following meditation from last month's Magnificat, written by Blessed John Henry Newman. It says everything that needs to be said about these three days when we contemplate the price of our salvation.

"You will die in your sins."

We must consider the force of habit. Conscience at first warns us against sin; but if we disregard it, it soon ceases to upbraid us; and thus sins, once known, in time become secret sins. It seems then (and it is a startling reflection), that the more guilty we are, the less we know it; for the oftener we sin, the less we are distressed at it. I think many of us may, on reflection, recollect instances, in our experience of ourselves, of our gradually forgetting things to be wrong which once shocked us. Such is the force of habit. By it, (for instance) men contrive to allow themselves in various kinds of dishonesty. They bring themselves to affirm what is untrue, or what they are not sure is true, in their course of business. They overreach and cheat; and still more are they likely to fall into low and selfish ways without their observing it, and all the while to continue in their attendance on the Christian ordinances, and bear about them a form of religion. Or, again, they will live in self-indulgent habits; eat and drink more than is right; display a needless pomp and splendor in their domestic arrangements, without any misgiving; much less do they think of simplicity of manners and abstinence as Christian duties. Now we cannot suppose they always thought their present mode of living to be justifiable, for others are still struck with its impropriety; and what others now feel, doubtless they once felt themselves. But such is the force of habit. So again, to take as a third instance, the duty of stated private prayer; at first it is omitted with compuction, but soon with indifference. But is is not the less a sin because we do not feel it to be such. Habit has made it a secret sin.

To think of these things, and to be alarmed, is the first step towards acceptable obedience; to be at ease, is to be unsafe. We must know what the evil of sin is hereafter, if we do not learn it here. God give us all the grace to choose the pain of present repentance before the wrath to come!

Our Savoir is mighty to save. He wills it but it does not happen without repentance, contrition, the remission and release of sins through Sacrament of Penance and the firm commitment to amend our lives. Everything He did was to offer us the chance to accept salvation through His One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

What a gift.

A blessed Triduum to all.

Note to Obama...

Lots of luck trying to kill us. Our specialty is rising from the dead.