The Elephant in the Church....

In Notebook 2 from 1929-1933, Gramsci, using R. Michels and Max Weber, writes a long entry on the fact that bourgeois, socialist and Marxist parties have been formed around a charismatic leader. Gramsci also refers to Yves Guyot's idea of the religious orders taking their names and charisms from such men-Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, etc. Gramsci even refers to the anarchists and the anarcho-syndicalists, still alive and well today in Italy as seen in the troubles last Autumn, as groups, oddly organizing sometimes around a person of charism, despite the fact that these groupings are anti-authoritarian.

He goes on the write that the "basis of these parties is faith and the authority of a single individual. (No one has ever seen any such party; certain expressions of interests are, at certain times, represented by certain more or less exceptional personalities. During certain periods of  'permanent anarchy', due to the static equilibrium of the conflicting forces, a mans represents 'order'....there always is a program...which is general precisely because its only aim is to repair the exterior political facade of a society which is not undergoing a real constitutional crisis, but only a crisis arising out of the inordinate number of malcontents who cannot be easily controlled because of their sheer numbers and because of the simultaneous, but mechanically simultaneous, display of discontent across a whole nation...."


This is what Europe saw in the rioting of the past Autumn and early Winter of 2012

Gramsci also refers to "doctrinaire" parties, such as "free market or protectionist parties or parties which proclaim rights of freedom and justice..."

Basing his discussion on Michels, Gramsci notes that Mussolini at the time falls into this category of charismatic leader of a party. We now can add Hitler, Mao, and many others to this discussion.

For the purposes of a Catholic political discussion, we must note that Gramsci is both right and wrong on two accounts, as he finds that communism is the only answer to what he sees as faulty political analyses of Michels and the need for a system which acknowledges class struggles-the fixation of the Marxist.

Firstly, because Gramsci eschews religion as a reality for social change and for social unity, he wants political organizations to take the place of a religious philosophy underlying all; for example, we as Catholics would start with a Natural Law philosophical position and move to an ethical or moral position of government based on Christian principles and the Christian definitions of State and individual (Maritain has an excellent book on this subject-The Person and the Common Good-which I read many years ago, but is still valid for discussion. 


That the Marxist only has a material and in Gramsci's case, a historical view of humankind, and the individual, the spiritual goals of men and women are only considered in terms of a vague morality. Here is Gramsci in Notebook 4- "Clearly, neither materialist nor idealist monism, neither matter nor spirit, but historical materialism, i.e. activity of people (history) .. i.e. applied to a determinate organised material (material force of production), to nature reshaped by people. Philosophy of act (praxis), but not of the pure act, on the contrary, of the impure, i.e. the real, act in the profane sense of the word.." .And, again.."In this way we also arrive at a fusion, a making into one, of 'philosophy and politics,' of thinking and acting, in other words we arrive at a philosophy of praxis." And in Notebook 8, "Where, in a philosophy of praxis, everything is praxis, the difference will not be between moments of absolute spirit, but between structure and superstructures; it will be a matter of establishing the dialectical position of political activity as differentiation in the superstructures." (some quotation marks are changed or missing from my transcription).


Man becomes the only meaning to his own destiny and the only goal of history, which he created. Unlike the Catholic, who sees the Incarnation of the God-Man, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, as the culminating event of human history, combined with the Resurrection from the Dead, as the changing event of all history, Gramsci cannot believe in the spiritual reasons for history-that is-the renewal of the world and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. Man is the creator of his own destiny. And politics becomes the only force for change-that is, political action tied to the Marxist ideology. Some critics disagree with the Marxist ideological underlay to Gramsci's ideas of praxis and history, but these are intertwined and used interchangeably. I am not going to get into the discussions about whether Gramsci's ideas vary from traditional Marxism here. But, I want those in the Church to understand where the financial and social thinkers of Europe have imbibed these ideas and are creating or destroying, the new Europe accordingly.


Now, there is one "party" which has for all time a charismatic leader, who is not a political king but King of the Universe and that is Christ. Sadly, as the Marxist can only think and work in materialist terms, the spiritual nature of the Kingdom, that is, the changing of men's hearts to those of love and consideration for their neighbor, is not a reality.


Secondly, the problem with his analysis of other philosophers of politics or history is that he uses the same framework of class struggle, not believing at all in noblese oblige, or the requirement of the rich to help the poor while recognizing differences. I find it interesting that Gramsci is so optimistic, so hopeful as to political change based on an intellectual change, rather than a change in the spirit. He used the word spirit, but by that does not mean an eternal life in each individual but some sort of movement of man, not unlike those of the progressivists, whom he criticizes. This second error, of ignoring the eternal spirit, means that political struggle and cultural change is all important, is the only way for humans to live in peace. His ideas are utopianism in another disguise, and as such, fall into the heresy of wanting a perfect system on earth, which is not possible.


Once someone denies the spiritual and only works in the material, this utopianism is the only goal of all activity. Of course, I am looking only at the Notebooks and some of the Letters, hardly a complete philosophical system is created therein. But, the effect of such notes and references has been a cultural revolution in Europe and now in America, which needs addressing.


Modern secular humanism substitutes the same ethical framework. The Post-Moderns would find a home in Gramsci, perhaps even the late Christopher Hitchens, who had an ethical outlook without the framework of religious dogma. This type of atheism is popular in Europe and increasingly so in the States. But, what I find most disturbing, and what I am trying to address, are the Catholics who are "practical atheists" in that they believe the same premises as the secular humanists and Gramsci, but call themselves Catholics.


Now, the reason this discussion is so important for me is that too many discussions concerning socialism or communism center only on the economic structures and not the philosophical structures of atheism and secular humanism. Those in the Church need to engage a conversation at this level-of showing that the individual and his rights are at stake not merely because of economic structures, but because of the denial of the Incarnation as a force in history and in the world. This is not to fall into Liberation Theology, which sees Jesus only as a material Messiah, but to stress the recreating nature of Catholicism as a force in politics and cultural renewal from the spreading of the Gospel message. Unless the larger view is established in the minds of priests, bishops and cardinals, as well as the laity, the Church will lose many souls and nations to a more organized social restructuring. The Church can do the restructuring, but only with open eyes and a clear message of evangelization. This cannot be merely a softly, softly approach, but one of passion and conviction, which so many Catholics eschew.

Many years ago, the post office lost my copy of Enthusiasm by Ronald Knox, which would come in handy here as another critique of fanaticism, both spiritual and material, which we are dealing with in the socialists and communists of Europe. If someone wants to buy me another copy, I would appreciate it. The socialist and communist agendas must be examined in the light of Catholic heresies, held by a large majority of Catholics in Europe. Catholic Churchmen in America must stop playing footsy with any type of socialism and communism, which happens too often, even in seminaries.

Are we spreading the joy of Christ in the world? Are we evangelizing? Do we expect exciting things to happen because Christ is in our lives??

The priest who has been giving the sermons this week at St. Joseph's in Dorking is an excellent homilist. Father Terry Martin manages to give ideas in a short manner which one can mull over the entire day. Yesterday, Father exclaimed that when the Resurrected Jesus enters our lives, exciting things happen and we are never the same. True and simple. What exciting things one may wonder, but the life of joy and the life of the virtues would be exciting in this day and age of sadness, gloom and general lack of virtues. The point Father was making is to be open to Christ changing us, giving us grace, and inviting us to join in His Life.

This morning, the message was connected, but emphasized our duty to go out and change the world by our Christian commitment. The world needs us to bring Christ into a morass of paganism and depression. Father noted that the apostles and disciples were grieving at the loss and manner of the death of their Beloved Jesus when Mary Magdalen brought news that He was and is alive. What confusion this must have caused, noted Father, but the message of Life brought hope and joy to all, as it does to us. The command to preach to all nations, to carry the joy of the Resurrection out into the world, needs to be taught from the pulpit, as did good Father Terry this morning and all week.


Mark 16: 9 - 15 (thanks to ewtn website)

---

9 Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.10,She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.14 Afterwards he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

Mayor Boris Johnson Crosses Christians on Homosexuality

I actually enjoy watching the London Mayor's Question Time, as he is very entertaining. However, I am not happy about this action, reported on LifeSite News. Here is the entire article.

London mayor sued for pulling ‘Ex-Gay and Proud’ adverts from London’s buses

Hilary White, Rome Correspondent

Fri Apr 13 11:17 EST

Faith

LONDON, April 13, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party mayor of London, is being sued by a Christian organization whose bus advertisements for overcoming same-sex attraction he ordered pulled.

Saying, “Not gay, ex-gay, post-gay, and proud! Get over it,” the nixed slogans were the work of the Core Issues Trust, a Christian organization that helps churches minister to those who want to overcome their temptations to homosexual behavior. The ads were also backed by the group Anglican Mainstream, a worldwide organization of Anglicans who seek to restore traditional Christianity to their communion. The ads were due to run for two weeks on London’s iconic red buses, starting from Monday. Now, however, the group is reported to be instructing lawyers to launch a suit.

The campaign was cleared by industry regulator the Advertising Standards Authority. It was intended to be an answer to a similar pro-homosexual ad campaign that said, “Some people are gay. Get over it,” sponsored by the homosexualist lobby group Stonewall.

Core Issues co-director Mike Davidson responded to Johnson’s action, saying, “I didn’t realise censorship was in place.”

“We went through the correct channels and we were encouraged by the bus company to go through their procedures. They okayed it and now it has been pulled.

“It is of deep concern that there can only be one point of view and that is the point of view of individuals who are determined to push through gay marriage and apparently believe that homosexuality cannot be altered in any possible way. That is not a universally held view.”

Johnson reacted after a chorus of rage from homosexualist campaigners, who argue that homosexuality can only ever be a natural life-long variant of human sexuality, the cornerstone of the homosexualist political schema. The far-left Guardian newspaper reports that the mayor, who is facing an election next month, contacted the paper to announce that he had banned the ads “within two hours of their contents becoming public,” to stave off a political backlash from the homosexualist lobby.

“London is one of the most tolerant cities in the world and intolerant of intolerance. It is clearly offensive to suggest that being gay is an illness that someone recovers from and I am not prepared to have that suggestion driven around London on our buses,” the Guardian quoted the mayor as saying.

The incident illustrates the growing reality that even to assert that there are some people afflicted with unwanted same-sex attraction who do not want to live the homosexual lifestyle, is now regarded as “anti-gay.”

Lesley Pilkington, a Christian psychotherapist, who is under investigation by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy for her therapy for homosexuals, told LifeSiteNews.com that she is not surprised that Johnson would get “cold feet,” over such an ad.

“On the one hand, it’s shocking, such a lack of freedom of speech, but on the other, I’m not too surprised,” she said.

“Boris Johnson is very concerned to get re-elected, and there is such a lot of intimidation on the part of gay activists. You just don’t say the kind of things this bus campaign is saying if you want to get reelected as mayor.”

“I think people don’t understand just how political it is in the UK,” she said. “Anything to do with the gay activists’ agenda, particularly with the marriage campaign, is political dynamite.”

The climate right now, she said, is immensely hostile to anyone who opposes the homosexualist political agenda. She recounted the story of a Christian Conservative Party MP, David Burrowes, who received death threats after he signed a petition to retain the current legal definition of marriage.

Pilkington said that the traditional reserve of British political debate is a thing of the past on these issues, and there is growing tolerance for overtly anti-Christian rhetoric. And it is having the desired effect; Christians, she said, are responding by remaining silent: “There’s just such a lot of fear.”

Mrs. Pilkington related the story of a conversation with a Catholic bishop, Philip Tartaglia of Paisley, Scotland, who gave the keynote address at a conference in Oxford on religious freedom.

The bishop had asked Mrs. Pilkington why there is such a lot of political power behind the homosexualist political movement. She replied that, while it is “good to have an intellectual discussion” on the impact of equalities and hate crimes legislation and related issues, “at the end of the day what it’s about is intimidation and bullying and fear” by homosexuals to silence opposition.

“People are afraid, so they agree rather than face opposition that is aggressive. So people who have the information, those who know about the dangers of the homosexual life, don’t speak out.

“The bishop totally agreed with me, saying that he was glad that I as a psychotherapist could say that, but he couldn’t. People would expect him to say what I said but he couldn’t say it.

“My question is why can’t he say it? Why should that silence him, people saying ‘you would say that,’ when in fact he doesn’t.”

Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics

It is interesting when reading Marx, Gramsci and other communists, that the Church is referred to as the greatest conservative force in the world for values which form the social structures.

How did the Church in the West move away from this heritage of conservatism? The latest crisis in the Church in Austria, in which a Catholic Cardinal moved away from the conservative position on morals as taught by the Church, demonstrates how far the leadership, that is cardinals and bishops, have left this conservatism for a supposed pastoral yet blatantly relativistic stand concerning many issues. Cardinal  Christoph Schönborn, the cardinal archbishop of Vienna has publicly created a scandal concerning the gay lifestyle of so-called Catholic gays. 


That the writers who despised the conservative Church of the 1920s-1930s saw the Church as a power which could conserve society and appeal to the spiritual rather than material life of people demonstrates that some Church leaders have fallen from a great height of virtue and the teaching of virtue to the acceptance of a sinful status-quo.


I repeat that Church leadership needs to be intellectually keen, skillful, and clear in the market place. Seminary training is not preparing the next generation of priests to deal with a godless world, a world of atheism and communism. Too many of the courses are based on a particular professor's private interests instead of a Catholic world-view. Our priests, bishops and cardinals need to learn to think like Catholics and in too many cases, this perspective is missing or, at best, naive.


When Gramsci writes that history is pushed, even created by an intellectual group, outside of the class system, he is correct in so far that the flux of history moves with political and revolutionary ideals, although not entirely so. That the leaders of the Church seem not to understand what Gramsci and other revolutionaries know, even the Saul Alinksy group of grass-roots activism, is that people want and need a system of thinking, a political philosophy which is great than themselves in order to work for an ideal.


The Catholic Church has The Ideal, the real deal in Christ's Redemptive Action on the Cross and the historical reality of the Resurrection. And yet, what we laity are witnessing is a horrendous lack of Catholic philosophical teaching which allows people to understand why dogmas and doctrines are held by the Church. Those in the media spot the soft-underside of the anti-intellectualism in the Church, which I know from experience, is still the educational basis for priestly formation in America. Thankfully, this anti-intellectualism is not as widespread in Europe, but last week we witnessed an example of a cardinal betraying the teaching of the Church because of false intellectualism. Schonborn did not respond like a Catholic, but like a politician in his decision. To be politically correct is NOT to be the conservative Catholic one needs in leadership at this point in history.


Gramsci and others like him saw the rise of Thomism and Scholasticism in response to the Marxist intellectualism which has taken over the thinkers, economic and social, of Europe today, and soon, America, as something to address.  Those who were following the trends in the Church saw Maritain and his like as addressing the universal, philosophical questions of politics and social issues, so missing from today's Catholic hierarchy, outside the Pope.


Where are the modern Fathers of the Church? Where are the Augustines, Aquinas-es, Mores and Bellarmines? Missing. I venture that the low level of graduate seminary training in the States, which is basically anti-intellectual, because it is very Protestantized, has ruined, or prevented the establishment of an intelligent clergy capable of defending, and more so, spreading the Gospel in a world of pagan philosophy and communism.


Unless we argue for the Faith at this level, the Church will be farther marginalized. The pastoral approach to the Faith does not work in a world of intellectuals who continue to challenge the lack of leadership in the Church. Maritain and Gilson had to address the tyrannies of Europe, communism and socialism, and apply Neo-Thomism to those great irreligious movements, recognizing that those who believed in such held their beliefs as religious people and considered themselves "martyrs" for the cause. Even today, many Gramsci scholars continue to "canonize" him as a saint of the material order. 


The Neo-Thomists were criticized for their involvement in political questions. But, this is what the Church needs now. If a cardinal, bishop, or priest are not conservative, they are not Catholic. Catholicism gives us a world-view which is all encompassing. Those who step outside this world view are heretics at worst and intellectually lazy at best. Gramsci saw communism as the ideology which would create a new world structure which was all encompassing through consensus. He saw that this ideology was all inclusive, that is, informing all levels of finance, culture, education, family life. He called Marxism the means to an "integral, practical civilization". The Truth is that this is what Catholicism provides. Unless our churchmen really believe this and compartmentalize the Faith as they have been doing, bad seminary training will continue and the Church is daily weakened from within. 


I actually had some Catholics say to me two weeks ago, "Isn't communism dead in Europe?" I could not believe the naivete of this question. We are desperate need of Catholic intellectuals who are also priests, bishops, and cardinals. We need, as Catholics, to stop being stupid.

Check out Dr. Sanity--the genius of bloggers

People with this malignantly narcissistic defect completely reject the needs of the individual and enslave him or her to the service of their IDEAL. Eventually, the enslavement--whether religious or secular--snuffs out human ambition, confidence, energy, self-esteem, and life. These mindlessly malignant "do-gooders" do far more harm than good and their ideologies can lead to genocidal practices and unbelievable atrocities on a grand scale, all in the name of an IDEAL or GOD.

At least the selfish narcissist is limited in the chaos and havoc he wreaks. But, the "really destructive maniacs of this world" are the ones who do it for your own good.

The Night Sky in Chavagnes

When one is in the south of England, one cannot see the number of stars that one can see in the countryside, especially the countryside around Chavagnes. During two nights, I saw the Space Station twice, and a number of deep sky objects not normally seen in more built-up areas.

As it is raining today, and the area needs rain, I most likely will not be sky gazing. Here is a bit on the April sky. Remember the Lyrids, the great meteor shower of the Spring, coming up towards the end of the month on the 22nd. See my post below as well. There was another numinous moment for me last week, seeing Mars and hearing the Nightingale at the same time. From Keat's Ode...

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! 
    No hungry generations tread thee down; 
The voice I hear this passing night was heard 
    In ancient days by emperor and clown: 
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path 
    Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, 
        She stood in tears amid the alien corn; 
                The same that oft-times hath 
    Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam 
        Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

The Catholic Church Cannot Be on the Defensive--Never!

I have been listening to leading Churchmen, such as Cardinal Pell and Cardinal Dolan and I think the inadequacies of some of their statements, as good as these men are, reflect a lack of understanding of the place of the Church in the world today. This may sound like a simple statement, but let me quote Gramsci on this point, in his reference to Catholic Action in Notebook 1 of 1929-1930

C.A. (Catholic Action) marks the beginning of a new epoch in the history of the Catholic religion: it ceases to be a totalitarian world view and becomes only one part and must have a party. The various religious orders represent the reaction of the Church (community of the faith or clerical community), from the bottom or from the top,against the disintegration of the world view (heresies, schism, etc.).: C.A. represents the reaction of the apostasy of entire masses, that is, the reaction against the abandonment of the religious world view by the masses. It is no longer the Church that defines the terrain and the means of struggles, it must accept the terrain imposed upon it from the outside, and use arms stolen from the arsenal of its adversaries (the organization of the masses). The church is on the defensive; I other words, it has lost the autonomy of movement and initiative, it is no longer an ideological world power but only a subaltern force.

Now, obviously, the man underestimates the power of the Church as he can only see it in terms of facism and totalitarian power, and not in a spiritual light. However, his point must be seriously understood by those in power in the Church in America, and in Europe, who cannot understand the type of ideological view expressed here. What I mean is that Gramsci clearly understands the falling away of the people and that the political power of the Church is weakened because of that apostasy.

This is more clear in Europe than in the States. So-called Catholics are more socialist than Catholic and even more communist than Catholic in their world view, defining all, even the individual, in terms of economic struggle and materialism. This is a loss of the Catholic world view. Catholics no longer think like Catholics and Gramsci can claim that the Church has lost Her ability to create Europe and even the States into a spiritual realm, wherein God is King. Now, the fact that Cardinals respond to questions on television in debates or in interviews and do not refer to this larger issue of the lack of power over creating the “terrain” is highly significant. Once the Church is merely one more institution among many, once the Church only appeals to a certain group of people, such as the poor and not the rich, once the Church is on the defensive, She has lost ground.

The thing which Gramsci does not understand is that one does not and cannot define the Church purely as a material hierarchy, without reference to the City of God. We do not see the Church as on the defensive, that is, merely responding to crises, but on the offensive, in the New Evangelism and in the command of Christ to preach, teach and convert all nations.

However, in some situations, the Cardinals respond as if the Church is on the defensive by either pandering to one political party or another, or by ignoring the universality of the Gospel message. Americanism as a heresy has taken its toll on the attitudes, albeit unknown even by those who hold these attitudes, of many priests and bishops. In other words, Gramsci's prediction that the Church has to use the arsenal of its adversaries, that is, the appeal to the masses, sadly seems the case in much of the discussions about religious freedom in the States. The social justice issues become little gods instead of part of the larger teaching based on the Catholic definition of the individual, and not on socialism.

The Church in the States and, indeed, in Europe, including England, must not be on the defensive, but on the offensive. This is not hard, if one truly believes in the Gospel and in the City of God, the Kingdom of God. Either we believe or we do not. Too many so-called Catholics are socialists or Marxists, and therefore, not Catholics.

Now, Gramsci may not have been thinking is such deep terms, as he denies the spiritual reality of the Church and sees the world in material terms. Much socialism and communism is short-sighted, that is, without the long view of history, although Gramsci tries.

The Catholic Church, as the institution created by Christ, God-Man Himself, has the long view, to put it succinctly. The Church brings eternity down to earth, through Her teachings and Her sacramental life.

Christ is present now. That is what is missing in both Gramsci's criticism and those views of the churchmen who do not refer to the Revelation and Tradition of the Church in their presentations. The Church is independent of any national or political ideology. The Church needs to re-create cultural and national identity by Her definitions, as given by God, and not men.

Where Can We Get Strength for the New Evangelization? Infused Love Part One....

St. John of the Cross makes an interesting point that it is only after the Dark Night of the Soul that a Catholic moves from meditation to infused contemplation. Father Gabriel, whose book I have been quoting on this blog, states that St. John is clear concerning the strength and courage one gets when one has experienced the "secret, peaceful and loving inflowing of God." One point is important here--that of Garrigou-Lagrange's emphasis and that of Father Gabriel as well--that any person who has a life of recollection is called to this life of infused grace and knowledge of God. However, as all the saints warn us, activity interrupts and ruins this life of the Spirit. Agitation, stress, being concerned about many things as Martha was, instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus and loving Him, stop the natural flow which comes and brings us into this life of infused contemplation. Sometimes we cannot help events which cause us stress. But a good spiritual adviser, which is like finding cold water in a desert these days, can help.

Another huge problem for the modern pilgrim are the temptations to New Age heresies and Eastern Religions, which take us away from the Truth of the Interior Life, although seeming to do the opposite.

The true signs of this level of infused contemplation may astound some. These are a simple faith and a focus on loving God.

The infusion of Divine Light comes when the soul is ready and open. I warn some who think this type of union with God can occur outside of prayer. The answer is no. Work and study do not take the place of prayer and people who say, "My prayer is my work" are just plain wrong. Time must be set aside. Energy and listening for God must be a focus. The moments when infused prayer becomes infused love cannot be missed. St. John laments those who miss the opportunity because of bad advice.

Simplicity demands discipline and guidance. Would that we all had a good and experienced director.

Prayer for Seminarians and Those Discerning a Vocation; Also, Pray for Those Older Men Who May Be Called

from Papa Stronsay website

Please pray for seminarians everywhere. Also, pray for those men who feel or even discern they have a vocation, are older, and may not know what to do. I know several single, prayerful older men who thought of the priesthood years ago but never pursued the vocation. Pray for them.  Pray for women to see the beauty of the traditional orders.

Prayer of Blessed John Paul II for Vocations to the Priesthood and Nuns, for All Dioceses and Orders

Lord Jesus, as You once called the first disciples to make them fishers of men, let your sweet invitation continue to resound: Come follow Me!

Give young men and women the grace of responding quickly to your voice. Support our bishops, priests and consecrated people in their apostolic labor.

Grant perseverance to our seminarians and to all those who are carrying out the ideal of a life totally consecrated to your service.

Awaken in our community a missionary eagerness. Lord, SEND WORKERS TO YOUR HARVEST and do not allow humanity to be lost for the lack of pastors, missionaries and people dedicated to the cause of the Gospel.

Mary, Mother of the Church, the model of every vocation, help us to say “yes” to the Lord who calls us to cooperate in the divine plan of salvation.

Amen

The Church is in dire need of workers for the harvest. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest. Matthew 9:38

No Jewish "Braveheart"?

Yet another controversy involving Mel Gibson has stalled or possibly stopped the filming of his Maccabees movie. Read this article here. You can figure out the politics of the cinema world.

If Ascot can have a dress code, why not Catholic churches?

I attended a wedding earlier this year in Ireland. The bridesmaids wore strapless dresses and no jackets. The bride, not a "small girl", wore a dress with straps, but the front was so low, I was embarrassed.

Nothing was said. There was no dress code for this parish.

Some of the female guests wore dresses only suitable for the club. Too tight, too low...

Famous English person....

On Easter Sunday, one Eucharistic Minister wore tight blue jeans. Another wore baggy blue jeans. On Easter Sunday morning!  Why do  parishes not have dress codes? I realize, and I have written about this before, that priests are shy about explaining to women that they are immodest or at least, dressing improperly for Mass or a sacrament.

If Ascot can have a dress code, why cannot Catholic churches? Here is the new Ascot dress code in brief.

What happened to the idea of being beautiful and not ugly? Why is ugly so popular? Why do women think they have to be sexy to be attractive? Notice in the dress code below that shorts are not allowed. A man wore shorts yesterday to Mass. I am amazed at this. Most women this morning at Mass were wearing very tight pants. Some only had tights on, stuck in boots, with shorts or a mini-skirt over the tights at Easter Mass.

Two young ladies were showing their midriffs. And, this is in England, in the countryside, not in New York!

I wear a hat to every Mass and I always wear dresses or skirts.

This is not hard to do and is not any more expensive and probably less expensive than buying jeans.

ROYAL ENCLOSURE DRESS CODE

• Dresses and skirts should be of modest length defined as falling just above the knee or longer
• Dresses and tops should have straps of one inch or greater
• Jackets and pashminas may be worn but dresses and tops underneath should still comply with the Royal Enclosure dress code
• Trouser suits are welcome. They should be of full length and of matching material and colour
• Hats should be worn; a headpiece which has a base of 4 inches (10cm) or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat
• Strapless, off the shoulder, halter neck, spaghetti straps and dresses with a strap of less than one inch (2.5cm) are not permitted
• Midriffs must be covered
• Fascinators are no longer permitted in the Royal Enclosure; neither are headpieces which do not have a base covering a sufficient area of the head (4 inches / 10cm)
• 
  

  GRANDSTAND DRESS CODE

  • A hat, headpiece or fascinator should be worn at all times
    
  • Strapless or sheer strap dresses and tops are not permitted
    
  • Trousers must be full length and worn with a top that adheres to the guidelines above (i.e. strapless or sheer strap tops are not permitted)
    
  • Jackets and pashminas may be worn but dresses and tops underneath should still comply with the Grandstand Admission dress code
    
  • Midriffs must be covered
    
  • Shorts are not permitted

  
  

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2128292/No-cravats-fascinators-miniskirts-Ascot-sends-racegoers-strict-new-dress-code-complete-style-guide.html#ixzz1rl0DyuTk

Bring back the femininity of the 1950s

We have lost the idea of the feminine and modesty is not taught. Please, priests, help us with this. Women need to teach modesty and womanly dress to their girls. And, some of those ladies who are the most immodest now are the over-forties. Give it up, girls.....Look your age.

For Easter Wednesday, a Poem of St. John of the Cross

Poem of St. John of Cross--The Soul that Suffers with Longing to See God I live, but not in myself, and I have such hope that I die because I do not die. 1. I no longer live within myself and I cannot live without God, for having neither him nor myself what will life be? It will be a thousand deaths, longing for my true life and dying because I do not die. 2. This life that I live is no life at all, and so I die continually until I live with you; hear me, my God: I do not desire this life, I am dying because I do not die. 3. When I am away from you what life can I have except to endure the bitterest death known? I pity myself, for I go on and on living, dying because I do not die. 4. A fish that leaves the water has this relief: the dying it endures ends at last in death. What death can equal my pitiable life? For the longer I live, the more drawn out is my dying. 5. When I try to find relief seeing you in the Sacrament, I find this greater sorrow: I cannot enjoy you wholly. All things are affliction since I do not see you as I desire, and I die because I do not die. 6. And if I rejoice, Lord, in the hope of seeing you, yet seeing I can lose you doubles my sorrow. Living in such fear and hoping as I hope, I die because I do not die. 7. Lift me from this death, my God, and give me life; do not hold me bound with these bonds so strong; see how I long to see you; my wretchedness is so complete that I die because I do not die. 8. I will cry out for death and mourn my living while I am held here for my sins. O my God, when will it be that I can truly say: now I live because I do not die? The Works of St. John of the Cross Copyright ICS Publications. Permission is hereby granted for any non-commercial use, if this copyright notice is included.

Santorum Ends Campaign; this blog supported him and publishes his letter from his office

Thank you. For your support, for your encouragement, and for your prayers for our family, especially Bella. You may have heard that we were able to bring her home from the hospital last night.

She has pneumonia, but like her Dad, she's a fighter. It's in the blood.

Today I announced that I am suspending my campaign for the President of the United States. This has been one of the hardest decisions Karen and I have ever had to face together. And it has been hard in large measure because of you. I know that my candidacy has offered you a way to fight for your convictions, and I do not want to let you down.

Since I first ran for Congress in a Democrat-majority district in Pittsburgh, I have fought for struggling families. I have fought for the unborn. I have fought for those losing hope in the American Dream.

And during this Presidential race we have fought hard. Together. You have been with me every step of the way. Every volunteer, donor, friend and family has given sacrificially of their time and their treasure. We are humbled and thankful.

We literally started this campaign in our kitchen with family and a few friends. The way that you make decisions. We believe America is the land of opportunity, and decided to do what we can to protect the hope that our forefathers sacrificed to give us a future for our children. A future of freedom secured through our sacrifices today.

Over 160,000 of you contributed to the campaign. Like you have for your children, we have sacrificed almost everything we have to ensure that this hope and dream is not lost with another four years under Barack Obama. Our average donation has been only $73.10. Few races in history have so many people give so modestly to preserve liberty.

We have been outspent in most states 5-1 or even 10-1. And we still won, or we've come incredibly close. Iowa and the three-state sweep. An over 20-point win in Louisiana. Only a few votes short of victory in Michigan and Ohio. We have made history. There has been no other Presidential comeback race like ours.

Our good friends in Texas have been working non-stop to make sure that they have a say in the choice of our nominee, but without the state changing its delegate allocation to winner-take-all, I do not see a path forward that does not risk our shared objective of defeating Barack Obama in November. I want to thank them for their valiant efforts.

I am planning to do everything in my power to bring a change about in the White House. But our campaign has debt, and I cannot be free to focus on helping defeat him with this burden. I am asking you to consider one more contribution of $25, $50 or even $73.10.

From the start of this race I have offered a unique voice in the debate. One that the party and the country needs to hear. I have been your voice. I have been positive. I have been willing to stand for issues that some believe are controversial and would prefer to sweep under the rug.

We have carried the torch. High. Together we have fought for the principles that this country was founded on; that made this country great. Without fighting for them, this country cannot continue to be great.

And we have fought fair. I am proud of the race we have run. We talked issues. We avoided character attacks. We have run almost entirely positive ads.

I want to continue to be your voice. Please CLICK HERE to contribute $25, $50 or even $73.10. We have had miraculous days of almost $1 million from supporters like you that allowed us to be competitive and win key states. We need you to step up again.

When I ran for the Senate in 1994 and defeated a sitting incumbent Senator, I asked the people of Pennsylvania to Join the Fight. They did.

I know you will. God bless you, and please keep us in your prayers. And know that we keep you in ours.

Working hard for America,

Rick Santorum

Stained Glass Windows for Sale in Paris

Check out this blog, which I have on my blog list.
http://vidimus.org/blogs/news/gothic-windows-for-sale-in-paris/

The Western Crisis in Education Reflects the Decay of Parental Involvement and the Agendas of the Politically Correct

There is and has been a crisis in education in Europe, which is increasing because of political correctness. Those of us who have been educators for years in America, especially those of us involved in higher education, have seen the rot set in since the 1990s, a logical decline owing to Deweyesque social engineering in the class room.

Returning to England last year, after a hiatus of 15 years, I was shocked, and the word is not too strong, at the level of ignorance among youth and even 40 somethings in the general populace. This ignorance applies to general skills, to the point where I help young people in stores make change, even when it is shown to them on the screens of their tills. The level of speech is blatantly lower and the giving up of the use of a standard English has created a society wherein people simply do not communicate.

Now, the teacher's unions are against entrance testing for phonics. Now, I do not agree with heavy central government interference with schooling. But the schools have failed the students and are failing still here in Britain. Few youth and 40 somethings read outside of those in education or academia. Few can speak "good English" and few can write well. I am not one who blames the computer for all of these ills, as an excellent teacher can use the computer after skills are taught for greater skill building.

However, something must be done. As I have explained to my seminary friends in the States, the level of their "theology" at the graduate level is what I had in high school-no kidding-and the level of reading and writing in Britain for the school leaver is low. Even after primary education, a spokeswoman for Education has statistics which caused her to state yesterday that, Standards of reading need to rise - at the moment around one in six children leaves primary school unable to read to the level we expect”


The fact that excellence has not been encouraged and that teachers usually teach to the lowest common denominator in classrooms are well-established facts in Great Britain, Ireland, America and even France. Trades have not been taught since the 1970s, as the politically correct version of education cannot bear to be honest about various gifts and talents among the students which should lead to tracking and the training of those who have such skills. Oh no, we cannot possibly have classes which teach practical skills, or, even IT, as in Ireland, where the level of IT skills resembles that of 1990 in the States.


Too many young parents tell me that they do not have time to read to their children or to encourage gifts. Why? Education helps the parents, who are the primary educators of their children, but the socialist and communist agendas have brainwashed three generations of parents or more into believing that it is the duty of the State to educate primarily. 


All state governments are based on a political philosophy and an idea of the individual. In 2012, the rule of the mob, clearly prophesied by de Tocqueville, has created this crisis in education. We need tests, we need different levels of skills to be taught, we need higher standards, despite the cries of those who hate Western Civilization and wish for its fall. We need an educated people to withstand tyranny. We need adults who can think. 


Sadly, the big governments seem to have to interfere as the teachers are so liberal, nay, radically leftist, that they do not want anything but the lie of the classless society. That this has happened in the countries mentioned here as well as in America does not bode well for the future of the West.


And, one reason why there is so much unemployment in Ireland and England is that the students have not been taught the skills necessary for the jobs which are available. There are many, many jobs and not the skilled labor force to fill them. Duh....who is too blame for this but the education systems.


When I brought up the excellence of Finnish schools in a conversation with French and English teachers, my points were not considered seriously. Why there is a blindness as to how to create success and an insistence on pursuing policies and teacher training in England which has obviously failed is a mystery to me. Every real teacher wants the best for his or her students. I want my students to love to learn, to want to learn and be self-motivated. I want them to learn how to think.


The present systems are not interested in any of those goals and have lost the tools of learning-a la Dorothy Sayers great article I have used for twenty years in parent meetings and at the university level. Here is sample from her famous article, written long ago and never more true than today:

The modern boy and girl are certainly taught more subjects--but does that always mean that they actually know more? Has it ever struck you as odd, or unfortunate, that today, when the proportion of literacy throughout Western Europe is higher than it has ever been, people should have become susceptible to the influence of advertisement and mass propaganda to an extent hitherto unheard of and unimagined? Do you put this down to the mere mechanical fact that the press and the radio and so on have made propaganda much easier to distribute over a wide area? Or do you sometimes have an uneasy suspicion that the 

product of modern educational methods is less good than he or she might be at disentangling fact 

from opinion and the proven from the plausible? Have you ever, in listening to a debate among 

adult and presumably responsible people, been fretted by the extraordinary inability of the 

average debater to speak to the question, or to meet and refute the arguments of speakers on the 

other side? Or have you ever pondered upon the extremely high incidence of irrelevant matter 

which crops up at committee meetings, and upon the very great rarity of persons capable of acting as chairmen of committees? And when you think of this, and think that most of our public affairs 

are settled by debates and committees, have you ever felt a certain sinking of the heart? Have you 

ever followed a discussion in the newspapers or elsewhere and noticed how frequently writers fail 

to define the terms they use? Or how often, if one man does define his terms, another will assume 

in his reply that he was using the terms in precisely the opposite sense to that in which he has 

already defined them? Have you ever been faintly troubled by the amount of slipshod syntax 

going about? And, if so, are you troubled because it is inelegant or because it may lead to 

dangerous misunderstanding? Do you ever find that young people, when they have left school, 

not only forget most of what they have learnt (that is only to be expected), but forget also, or 

betray that they have never really known, how to tackle a new subject for themselves? Are you 

often bothered by coming across grown-up men and women who seem unable to distinguish 

between a book that is sound, scholarly, and properly documented, and one that is, to any trained 

eye, very conspicuously none of these things? 

I blame parents, who chose a certain lifestyle rather than the priority of educating their children. A house and mortgage with both parents working becomes more important than education. A vacation or two becomes more important than discipline in the home. Things, gadgets, whatever, become more important than learning and the love of learning.

If every parent in England, France, Ireland just had the classics on the shelves of the homes, like I did growing up in a semi-rural area, the children would be encourage to read.

If every parent discussed ideas and current events with their children, which would mean that they would have to read and become discerning, the level of rational discourse would naturally rise. I know many families which never discuss anything. These are the families which no longer eat together or walk together or have time for each other's growth.

Thanks to Wiki for photo

The death of the family is the death of an educated populace and the government cannot take over the role of the parent without the subsequent destruction of freedom, of democracies or even benevolent monarchies (a myth of my monarchical friends). Even a monarch needs an educated people. Even the great Popes knew this fact, and the encyclicals of our present Pope reflect this need, not only of catechesis, but the teaching and learning of reason.

Department for Education spokeswoman

Visiting Britain in the Rain

As a visitor to England, I am aware that I have been spoiled by excellent weather elsewhere and coming back to the rain and gloom is a bit of a shock. However, when I was in Ireland a while ago, it really did rain everyday, and that is not the case in England. In fact, there has been a hosepipe ban in many parts of the eastern and southern parts of England. After the rain of today, I wonder if it is still "on".  Many people love the temperate climate, which is changing back to the more continental climate England saw in the Middle Ages, before the Atlantic Drift, (North Atlantic Current), shifted closer to the coastal lands. It is moving out farther again and the summers are hotter and the winters colder here.

Temperate climates are the most popular for many people, especially those who hate the cold, like myself. However, I must admit the rain today literally dampened my spirits and I was wishing I was back in sunny Malta, which I visited last year. Sigh. At least Summer is on the way. On the positive side, the flowers and trees are blooming, creating a gorgeous Spring in the "green and pleasant land" of England.