Cute gets attention-multiple post day

Cute fish day...

Multiple post day and more to come tomorrow....

The End of Catholic Eire--Front Page of Irish Times for Abortion

And, update http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1127/breaking3.html

selling out to the EU...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1127/1224327143609.html

ANALYSIS: The commitment by Taoiseach Enda Kenny that Fine Gael will impose the whip to ensure the passage of legislation covering abortion in limited circumstances is a clear signal that there will not be any serious conflict between the Coalition parties on the issue.

Kenny’s comments yesterday reflect the broad consensus in both Government parties about the need to deal clearly and decisively with the abortion issue in the light of the European Court of Human Rights judgment and the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway University Hospital.

The vast majority of TDs from both parties have been guarded in their comments since the Savita case. They were determined not to say anything to inflame the situation as they feared being dragged back into the kind of bitterness that characterised debate on the abortion issue in previous decades.

While a number of Fine Gael TDs had expressed reservations at a parliamentary party meeting last October about legislating for abortion, the mood in the party has been tempered by the tragic event in Galway and by the emerging shape of the Government response to the European Court judgment.

The party’s TDs have been reassured by the indications that the legislation is likely to provide a legal framework for existing medical practice in situations where a mother’s life is in danger rather than providing for a wider abortion regime.

and check out yesterday's articles as well

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/1126/1224327096742.html

Fine Gael members and the Labour Party in Eire will push abortion through as the law of the land very soon. This could happen in weeks, not months. Eire had lost its soul, and anyone who thinks otherwise is merely living in deceit. 

The abortion center of Marie Stopes opened a month ago in Belfast and all is ready here for the same type of abortion mills. Malta will be the only country holding out, and that country is also under pressure to change the law. Catholics have only themselves to blame. Only 25% of Catholics in this country go to Sunday Mass and of those, some support contraception. 89% of the Irish claim to be Catholic, but the immigrant population is huge and mostly, except for the Polish people, not Catholic.

The Catholics are responsible for this horrible turn of events. The nation should be in mourning.

From LifeSiteNews on line:http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/government-will-act-speedily-to-legalize-abortion-irish-labour-party

The Irish Times reports that Labour party backbenchers will be “under pressure” from the party to vote for former Socialist TD Clare Daly’s revamped abortion Bill this Wednesday. The Times quoted Labour Senator Ivana Bacik saying, “It will be difficult to oppose Clare Daly’s Bill without some statement of intent to legislate.”

Minister Howlin told the state broadcaster RTE, “We have an expert group now to tell us in very considered detail how [to legislate on abortion] and I have no doubt that this Government will act very speedily in a measured, calm way to provide for that instruction from Supreme Court.”

The report by the government-appointed expert group on abortion will be brought to Cabinet tomorrow and is set to be made officially public next week. In sections that have already been leaked, however, the report presents several options for dealing with the legal situation on abortion, while prioritizing legislation that would legalize “limited abortion.” It recommends an appeal process for women who have been refused abortions and that the minister of health create centers for “terminations” to be committed.

and also http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/irish-bishops-lives-of-mother-and-child-are-both-sacred

Blogging in an unreal world--Advent calendars for dogs

cute dog

Yes, Advent calendars for dogs, presumably because people are not having children. My cats could not understand God, or Advent or fasting and all four of them, even Vladimir, were more intelligent than any dog, especially Gillie, Puddy, and Miho. What is the point?

It is very strange being in a large urban area in the centre of Dublin when the streets are full of Christmas decorations and the stores are advertising the usual for presents. It is odd that all the people on the street in Grafton Street, or St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre are part of this culture where less than 25% of those 89% who call themselves Catholic go to Sunday Mass. Most of the people I see daily are not Irish, by the way. I do not have statistics on minorities in Ireland as to religious observance. The vast majority of the youth I see are from Poland, China, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and other places.

To me, Christmas, as described by Dickens, is in the heart, not in the presents. For those who are not Catholic, nor Christian, Christmas is a time for gathering, having dinner, celebrating something, maybe or maybe nothing. I find it perplexing and disturbing that an entire 75% or more of the Catholic population are living a life separated from God and that the others who are not Catholic or Christian shop anyway. It strikes me as odd that the decorations and sales are there merely for mammon and not for the Babe in the Manger. I have not seen one religious decoration, although I saw an Advent Calendar for sale in a shop with a Hello Kitty theme and chocolate for everyday, which is in opposition to what we had, which were little doors with Scriptural references. No chocolate in Advent in my house.

This coming Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent. I intend to do the Byzantine Fast, which is not hard to do in my situation, but demands attention. That is, no meat on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and no dairy on Tuesday and Thursday. Saturday and Sunday would not be fast days. Part of my fast will be for the thousands I see daily on Johnson Court or Clarendon Street or Duke Street, which remind me so much of the lines of T. S. Eliot: the words applying to London can apply to Dublin.

Unreal City,	60
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.	65
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.
There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying “Stetson!
You who were with me in the ships at Mylae!	70
That corpse you planted last year in your garden,
Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?
Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
Oh keep the Dog far hence, that’s friend to men,
Or with his nails he’ll dig it up again!	75
You! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!”

Thanks to EWTN for this--stirring the pot

Head Coverings in Church Cardinal Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, responded to an inquiry on this subject. While not a formal judgment of the Signatura, it reflects the opinion of the Church's highest canonical official after the Pope. Note in his answer that there is neither a canonical or moral obligation for women to use a head-covering. Even in the case of the Extraordinary Form there is merely "an expectation," whose failure to fulfil does not entail sin. image of original letter 4 April 2011 Dear ________, Thank you for your letter postmarked January 5, 2009, regarding the custom of the chapel veil. I offer you my sincere apologies for failing to respond to your letter, in a timely manner. I had placed your letter with some other papers. and have only recently discovered that I never responded to it. The wearing of a chapel veil for women is not required when women assist at the Holy Mass according to the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It is, however, the expectation that women who assist at the Mass according to the Extraordinary Form cover their heads, as was the practice at the time that the 1962 Missale Romanum was in force. It is not, however, a sin to participate in the Holy Mass according to the Extraordinary Form without a veil. I wish you an abundant share in the strong graces of the Lenten Season. Thank you for the assurance of your prayers for me. As a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, I have need of your prayers, now more than ever. Invoking God's blessing upon you, while confiding your intentions to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I remain Yours devotedly in Christ, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke Archbishop Emeritus of Saint Louis Prefect, Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura Original FAQ from 2004 Canon Law The 1917 Code of Canon Law. canon 1262, stated, 1. It is desirable that, consistent with ancient discipline, women be separated from men in church. 2. Men, in a church or outside a church, while they are assisting at sacred rites, shall be bare-headed, unless the approved mores of the people or peculiar circumstances of things determine otherwise; women, however, shall have a covered head and be modestly dressed, especially when they approach the table of the Lord. When the 1983 Code of Canon Law was promulgated this canon was not re-issued; indeed, canon 6, 1, abrogated it, along with every other canon of the 1917 Code not intentionally incorporated into the new legislation. Canon 6 1. When this Code goes into effect, the following are abrogated:      (1) the Code of Canon Law promulgated in 1917;      (2) other universal or particular laws contrary to the prescriptions of this Code, unless particular laws are otherwise expressly provided for;      (3) any universal or particular penal laws whatsoever issued by the Apostolic See, unless they are contained in this Code;      (4) other universal disciplinary laws dealing with a matter which is regulated ex integro by this Code.  Thus, there is no longer any canonical obligation for women to wear a head-covering, much less the more specific veil. Moral Law Given St. Paul's instructions in 1 Cor. 11:3-16 is there a moral obligation for women to wear head-covering, despite the revision of canon law? Certainly, the moral obligation to dress modestly according to circumstances (e.g. approaching Holy Communion) has not been set aside. Modesty, however, can vary from place to place and time to time. As St. Thomas Aquinas explains, modesty concerns four areas of human behavior, First, "the movement of the mind towards some excellence, and this is moderated by "humility." The second is the desire of things pertaining to knowledge, and this is moderated by "studiousness" which is opposed to curiosity. The third regards bodily movements and actions, which require to be done becomingly and honestly, whether we act seriously or in play. The fourth regards outward show, for instance in dress and the like" [ST II-II q160, a2].  Dress, external behavior, mannerisms, etc. are signs of the person, and become so in the cultural context in which the person lives, and in which it indicates something to others. The Christian conforms to the culture in such matters, unless sin is intrinsically involved (clothing which will have the general effect to tempt the opposite sex). Modesty is humility in dress and mannerisms, an outward sign of the disposition of the inner man. By not standing out the Christian assumes a humble posture toward his neighbors. Whether men and women sit on opposite sides of the church, men wear a skull-cap, and women a veil, as the Jews of St. Paul's day did, is therefore ultimately a matter of modesty, and thus of custom. St. Paul even alludes to this in the Corinthians passage (v.16). When the "approved mores of the people" (1917 CIC, c1262, 2) change, the Church, desiring to be "all things to all men" (1 Cor. 9:22), can conform to those customs. Only the Magisterium is competent to determine which customs can legitimately be practiced, and where custom leaves off and divine law begins. We are always safe in following the Church, rather than our own judgment, for even if the Church makes a prudential error, it is "bound in heaven" (Mt. 16:13-18). A Sign of Subordination Even if wearing head-covering is not a moral obligation, isn't it a fitting sign of the subordination St. Paul speaks of in the passage in Corinthians? First, lets look at what subordination is. It means to be ordered (directed in an orderly way) toward a particular goal or end, sub (under) some other person's direction. A worker is subordinate to his supervisor, the supervisor to his manager, the manager to the owner, all in order that the company run smoothly to achieve its purpose. As persons, as citizens, as Christians, and in many other categories of existence, worker and supervisor are equals, but in working toward the goal of making the company's product they are not. Consider the examples St. Paul gives as to why women should be covered. 1 Cor. 11:3  But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife, and God the head of Christ. 1 Cor. 11:8-12   For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; [9] nor was man created for woman, but woman for man; [10] for this reason a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels. [11] In Christian marriage the husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is head of the Church. This is also St. Paul's message in Eph. 5:21-33, in which he enunciates the supernatural meaning of Christian marriage as a sacramental sign of Christ's union with the Church. St. Paul then goes on in Corinthians to recall the creation of man and woman, pointing out that woman was taken from man, not vice versa. As Pope John Paul II so clearly taught in his catechesis on Genesis, marriage is not only a Christian sacrament, it is a naturalsacrament of the Communion of Persons within the Trinity. What this tells us is that the equality of persons within a communion does not destroy the hierarchical order of the nature in which it exists. In the divine nature the Father is the head, in the Church it is Christ, and in marriage it is the husband. Indeed, in the Christian order the natural order is perfected, since love becomes, or should become, the motive force of all relations. No doubt this is why St. Paul, in his Ephesians discourse on marriage, begins it by saying, "defer to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Eph 5:21). Why, then, would the Church drop the practice of such a fitting sign of the natural order? While, it is certainly still true that the husband has the headship in marriage and the family, I can think of several  possible reasons.  1. Lost significance. As explained above, signs are culture specific. A particular gesture, clothing, expression, conveys a meaning which is widely understood by people of a particular culture. When the culture no longer sees the significance the sign loses its meaning, except to those who have retained the understanding of it. Certainly, the practice of an important sign can re-introduce a particular understanding into a culture, and so an argument can be made for retaining a sign, like women wearing a head covering in church, and teaching its significance. Indeed, this MUST be done in the case of the matter of the sacraments. Rice cakes cannot be used for the Eucharist, even where rice and not wheat is the staple food. The Church must simply teach the meaning of the sacramental sign. The wearing of a veil or other head covering is not a sign of that significance, however, and so when and where it has lost its meaning it can be set aside, as the Church has evidently done. 2. Conflict of meaning. A sign, while remaining valid, may nonetheless suggest a meaning that would be an obstacle for people in a particular culture. Take the case of white vestments. For Western Christians they convey joy and celebration, but in the Far East white connotes mourning and sadness. Should the Church hold onto her custom because of its longevity or conform it to the understanding of Oriental cultures? She chooses to make her liturgical signs understandable in the culture in which they must be "read." In the particular case of head covering, while the truth intended by this sign remains valid, properly understood and in union with other truths, it is easily misconstrued today as a servile subordination of wife to husband or even all women to all men. In the contemporary world, in which the equality of men and women as persons is emphasized, this is a legitimate consideration. We must not use our Christian freedom to hinder souls (1 Cor. 8). Since there is no intrinsic moral obligation to this practice, it can be set aside. As the last canon of the Code of Canon law reminds us, the salvation of souls is the highest law of the Church (salus animarum suprema lex). 3. Liturgical theology. Among the doctrinal truths manifested in the Mass is the hierarchical nature of the Church. The Church, the Mystical Body, is composed of Christ the Head and those who have been baptized into Christ, His members. The visible distinction of offices in the Liturgy, between the ministerial priesthood on one hand and the people on the other, are the sacramental sign of the Mystical Christ, Head and members. Within that liturgical, sacramental order, except for the fact that those who represent Christ the Head must be male, the natural distinction between the sexes and within marriage is not liturgically significant. In baptism "there is no longer male or female" (Gal. 3:28). Thus, we find that in all areas of the Church's life not requiring a distinction of sex, men and women today participate equally in the Church as baptized persons. Personal Piety While it is absolutely clear to me that there is no canonical or moral obligation for women to wear a head-covering in Church, women are certainly free to do so as a matter of personal devotion. They should, however, see it as a sign of subordination to God, as that better suits the liturgical context. Those who wear a covering or veil, and those who don't, should not judge the motives of the other, but leave each woman free in a matter that is clearly not of obligation. Answered by Colin B. Donovan, STLrevised 28 April 2011

Well... Christ never said apostles would be rich

 

From an article on the eight worst degrees for return of investment on the education received....Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? Matthew 19:27

...and if you can get a job in the first place. 

And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28

Religious Studies/Theology

Talk about finding your calling. While devoting your life to the church and dedicating your life to the service of others is laudable, it's not going to leave you with a lot of profit after you earn your degree. Here are three commonly held jobs theological jobs:
RELIGIOUS EDUCATOR
Median Salary: $47,957
30-Year Earnings: $2,828,502
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 75%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 22%
CHAPLAIN -- HEALTHCARE
Median Salary: $51,127
30-Year Earnings: $3,015,174
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 80%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 24%
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Median Salary: $61,811
30-Year Earnings: $3,645,610
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 96%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 29%

• http://salary.com/8-college-degrees-with-the-worst-return-on-investment/slide/6/

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I hope this ends the myth of Catholic Hispanics keeping the Faith

http://www.newsmax.com/Insiders/JamesWalsh/id-63?s=al&promo_code=10DE0-1

The wind and the rain in Eire

I am a rational creature. I am not superstitious or sentimental. I do not believe in most popular private revelations which are not approved by the Church. However, being in Ireland has brought something to my attention.

There is something odd about the weather. I noticed it when I flew into Ireland a year ago almost exactly a year ago to the date I shall be leaving.

Now, I grew up in tornado alley, going into the basement because of tornadoes at least seven times in my life in that area. I lived in a town where people died of tornadoes.

I never felt about the winds and gales in America or England as I do here.

Twice, I wanted to go to a rugby game here in Dublin, but the weather was horrid.

In Cobh, the wind and rain comes in almost daily. The fog is so thick there are fog horns and ships frequently have to line up and wait to go out into the Atlantic, waiting for the fog to lift.

I realize that the Green Isle is green because of the rain. But, the daily onslaught of wind and gales in certain areas is said to add to the suicide rate here. There is a connection between mental health and weather, or climate.

But, this is almost as if the constant onslaught of wind and rain is determined to create an atmosphere of sadness and dread.

Also, the weather keeps people inside and interferes with the growth of community. There is a reason why the southern countries seem to have more community than those in the north.

And, this is extreme.

No winter sports here, as in Minnesota or Wisconsin or Alaska or Alberta. No snow, no ice, just wind and rain.

Just wind and rain. Just wondering.

Catch up time on important developments in Europe

http://www.radicalislam.org/analysis/europe-volunteers-churches-become-mosques

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/un-seek-control-internet_664018.html

and if you do not know this blog...

http://tridentine-mass.blogspot.ie/

Cobh Cathedral with Cardinal Pell and Cappa Magna

Someone on Fr. Z. brought up this beautiful cathedral in Cobh (Cove), and someone answered.  

Why did I not think of sharing this gem

 with you all? 

This is where I went to Confession weekly when I was with the

nuns. It is truly beautiful and here are some photos. 

Photos of TLM from New Liturgical Movement in 2009. Wish I could have been there!

Better than going to the Titanic museums there. 

Another multiple post day

Attention getting dogs today.....

There may be one or two weeks in mid-December when I shall be in places where there is no Internet again (yes, these exist in Eire). I try and post ahead, but in the meantime. I shall post several articles a day.

Hmm just for thought from a comment on another blog today

Margaret Thatchers:  " Socialism is fine until you run out of other peoples' money."

Perfection Series Will Continue on Wednesday

The series on perfection will continue, but I am taking a break from this theme for a day, and am encouraging all to go back and read what I have shared to far. What I am going to do is trace more of the stages in the writings of St. Paul, so that you all can see how these stages develop and reveal themselves.

Having a great spiritual director is becoming a luxury, but it is a necessity. God does give grace directly. If we look at the lives of the saints, very few had, or at least mention their directors, until the mystics began doing so. The martyrs, possibly imprisoned by years, had no one, not even confessors. Go back and look at at the lives of such people as SS. Philip Howard, Anne Line, even Edmund Campion, all denied help in preparing for horrific deaths of one kind or the other.

Errors of Doctrine Found in Conversations with Traditional Catholics

One of my readers, who is a catechist, asked if I would list some of the doctrinal errors found among Traditional Catholics, which I have encountered, both here in Eire, and in Great Britain. I shall list errors which are in the Creed and not in the Creed. I shall list errors here which are in contradiction to the Teaching Magisterium of the Church, especially in encyclicals, which are, as from the Chair of Peter, binding on the faithful.

These are not in order of importance, but merely as I recall them. This is not an exhaustive list.

1. Socialism is compatible with Catholic Teaching.
2. Babies who are not baptized are children of God and heirs of heaven (see 19).
3. Ignorance of the Gospel mitigates all punishment.
4. Civil marriage of same sex couples is ok, but not sacramental marriage
5. God is too good to send anyone to hell; hell is empty, if it exists.
6.Parents are not responsible for their minor children's souls, and therefore not punishable.
7.Tithing or giving money to the Church is not necessary.
8.The three hour fast is obligatory for trad Catholics.
9.Adults are not responsible for their Faith, priests are, or the teachers in the Catholic schools, etc.
10. Grandparents can secretly baptize grandchildren without parents approval or knowledge.
11. Confession alone removes excommunication for an abortion. (See previous blogs on this)
12. Liberal bishops do not have to be obeyed, especially with regard to private revelations.
13. The Novus Ordo is not a valid Eucharist.
14. SSPX confessions and marriages are valid and these can be attended (both need faculties or authority under a bishop of the CC-the Church has not made a public statement on marriages as of yet).
15. One can and should attend invalid marriages in Protestant or Jewish forms, such as that of a fallen away Catholic and unbaptized person for family unity.
16. Canon Law only applies to priests and not the laity.
17. The CCC is too liberal to use.
18. The Church does not dictate custom regarding veils, mantillas and hats for women (Clarification, Canon Law does not dictate, but custom does. However, it is not a sin not to wear a head-covering, although it may be an imperfection.)
19. There is no difference between the soul of an unbaptized baby and a baptized baby or child before the age of reason (denial of Original Sin)
20. Trads should discourage men in following diocesan vocations (This is a serious sin, IMO-Fr. Z is a diocesan priest, as is Fr. Tim Finigan, Fr. Ray Blake and many other Traditional Mass priests.)
21. One can do plenary indulgences for the living, especially fallen away family members.
22. A Catholic or Christian person who abjures Christ to marry a Muslim is not responsible for apostasy.
23. Annulment is wrong, always.
24. Late Confirmation is preferable to earlier as it is a rite of passage (the present Pope encourages early Confirmation)

25. There should never be married priests.

This is an odd mixture of too loose and too strict ideas brought about either by ignorance or stubbornness.

Persecution of Catholics and other Christians steady and increasing....

http://www.persecution.org/

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in these places. Pray for the media of all Western countries to stop ignoring Christian persecution and calling it "sectarian violence". Pray.

http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/11-dead-in-nigeria-church-bombings-3305179.html

http://www.persecution.org/2012/11/25/christians-in-nigerias-northern-regions-plead-for-help/

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/11/mali-islamic-supremacists-arrest-three-catholics-for-refusing-to-listen-to-islamic-sermon.html

http://www.persecution.net/id-2012-10-25.htm

http://www.osservatoreromano.va/portal/dt?JSPTabContainer.setSelected=JSPTabContainer%2FDetail&last=false=&path=/news/internazionale/2012/198q12-Cristiani-in-fuga-dal-Mali.html&title=Christians%20flee%20Mali&locale=en

And in Minnesota....http://www.persecution.org/2012/11/24/minn-city-stops-christians-from-evangelizing-at-christmas-lighting-event/

Lay People-My Challenge to You

Laity, you must change. This is the age of the laity as the priest shortage becomes more and more acute. Even though vocations are up, they are not, in many countries, at replacement level. In my home diocese, in 2015, there will be 15 active priests under the age of retirement for 100,000 Catholics.

This is a pattern repeated in England, Wales, Scotland, Eire, Canada, France etc.

With the lack of priests and the spiritual decadence of the active orders of nuns, it is our age. The welfare of our soul and the welfare of the souls we meet are our responsibility.

God has given us this time and we must seize it. It will not last. We have tremendous graces, with Adoration, daily Mass, confession weekly in some places, which is a blessing. Even the nuns in the convent only had confessions once every two weeks.

So, if the evangelization has fallen into our hands, what must we do?

One, get serious about daily Mass, hours of prayer, Adoration, daily rosary.

Two, free your life from mortal and venial sin. Reach out for purification and perfection. Read my posts.

Three, get beyond your own problems and reach out daily to those who will perish without your evangelization.

Four, sacrifice, more than usual, and accept suffering as Christ entering into your lives.

Five, realize that your baptismal vows demand that you evangelize.

Six, absolutely be a sign of contradiction in the world-think about what that means.

Seven, be responsible for your children, because you are.....

Eight, pray daily with your spouse, you lucky person, as many of us singles pray on our own.

Nine, singles, find out who is in your area to create a small support group. This is essential.

Ten, singles, be contemplatives in the world. You have more time, so give it to God.

Eleven, be absolutely faithful to the Teaching Magisterium and if you are not, get there by being humble and submitting through Faith.

Twelve, be martyrs for the Church. What does this mean? In all places, at all times, stand up for the teaching of Christ as communicated through His Church. Always and everywhere be ready to defend the Church.

Boycott ToysRus

Gender neutral advertising is the name of the game in this toy shop. Boycott and write to the company. This is ridiculous. To be honest, it is not even "real gender neutrality" but idiocy. Androgyny is a great danger to our children. Silly and dangerous.....

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/girls-with-guns-not-dolls-in-gender-neutral-toy-shop/story-e6frf7jo-1226523307879

A brief summary of the unitive state

The feast day in the EF of St. John of the Cross is November 24th. The Low Mass I attended was attended by about 30 people, the regulars, as one said. There were about six young people in their twenties there, excluding the altar server. This is good news.

St. John of the Cross is the great Doctor of the Church who teaches us about mysticism. I highly recommend reading his work but only with the approval or aid of a spiritual director. His experiences were what is called Extraordinary Contemplation, the experience of great mystics. St. Teresa of Avila, of course, is the other Doctor of the Church who explains this type of contemplation.

Mystical experiences are sheer gift, occurring without any effort on our part. This is a great difference between Ordinary Contemplation and Extraordinary Contemplation. Of course, all prayer is gift, but the first type is something to which we can aspire in prayer. Whether all people can and are willed by God to experience Extraordinary Contemplation is open to discussion. The state is seen by some as willed by God for all people. Garrigou-Lagrange would fall into the category of theologians who believe that God is calling all to the unitive state.

The reason one should read these books with the approval of a spiritual director is to avoid deceit in one's life. I shall post more on this again.

Here is St. Teresa of Avila's definitions, from her Life, taken from the Catholic Encyclopedeia. Also, the fruits of the prayer of quiet follow. May I note that only those who are in sanctifying grace and in complete orthodoxy with the Catholic Church can rise to this level of prayer. Many heretics may have gotten to the illuminative stage and lost grace through pride, but none would be able to experience union.

1. incomplete mystical union, or the prayer of quiet (from the Latin quies, quiet; which expresses the impression experienced in this state);
2. the full, or semi-ecstatic, union, which St. Teresa sometimes calls the prayer of union (in her "Life" she also makes use of the termentire union, entera unión, ch. xvii);
3. ecstatic union, or ecstasy; and
4. transforming or deifying union, or spiritual marriage (properly) of the soul with God.

• interior peace which remains after the time of prayer,
• profound humility,
• aptitude and a disposition for spiritual duties,
• a heavenly light in the intellect, and
• stability of the will in goodness.

Contentious Post

If you are in a parish where the priest still is not using the new translation of the NO, leave that parish.

If you are in a parish where the priest skips parts of the Mass or is loose about his rubrics, leave that parish.

If you are in a parish with Communion Services run by women, nuns, lay persons, get out of that parish.

If you are in a parish where Confessions are by appointment only, get out of that parish.

If you are in a parish with altar girls, mostly, get out of that parish.

If you are in a parish where the priests do not give real homilies which have meat, get out of that parish.

If you are in a parish where people dress on Sunday like they are going to WalMart scrums right after Mass, leave that parish.

If you are in a parish where the priest baptizes and confirms everybody and anybody who asks without catechesis or looking into personal lives, leave that parish.

If you are in a parish which has a school which hires lesbians, homosexuals, non-Catholic teachers, leave that parish.

Your immortal soul is at danger and you may not have time to become holy NOW. Your family is affected. I you have children, they are being given bad examples. We do not know the day or the hour and all these things interfere with the virtue of religion and the proper formation of conscience. Move if possible or drive to another parish. Stop giving money to schools which are not teaching Catholic doctrine.

On perfection and orthodoxy

This is a hard saying, but I have been thinking for over a year about the necessity of being a Catholic in order to experience the real love of God and be one with Him. One cannot judge others, but the nature of love is such that it is based on Truth and the fullness of Truth is in the Catholic Church. Being one with the teachings of the Church is like being of one mind with the Beloved, Christ.

If one disagrees with one item of orthodoxy, one is removed from unity with the Catholic Church and therefore, oneness with Christ.

All baptized people are children of God and heirs of heaven. All baptized people are in sanctifying grace. But, there is a catch. As soon as one is at an age of reason and is choosing to be a Protestant, this relationship is broken.

The stages of holiness I have been describing cannot be reached in the fullness without a basis of orthodoxy. Does this mean that no one outside the Church is a saint? Obviously, the Church does not canonize Protestants. That some people outside merit special grace is because of the merits of the Catholic Church. This is part of the mystery of grace.

No one sees God who is not purified of sin and self-will. This is our mission, to cooperate with grace in order to know, love and serve God in this world and praise Him in the next.

The Fourth Step of the Cloister Stair-Contemplation

The first level of contemplation is listening to the Word of God, as we do in Mass, according to St. Augustine of Hippo. Therefore, the laity enter into this first step every time they go to Mass. Hearing is both an active and a passive event. We hear and appropriate what we hear.

Those who teach, such as the Jesuits, or parish priests, are involved in both the active and contemplative life, therefore. However, the laity must take time to enter into the quiet necessary for contemplation. I want to list some of the stages of contemplation, which is the call for all of us whatever our state in life. The difference for us laity is that we must seek after these gifts, unlike the religious in contemplative orders, whose primary work is that of personal perfection.

Please do not read popular, new age books on contemplation. These are deceitful and dangerous, concentrating on the person, the individual, rather than on the Trinity. This is the key. Affective prayer, which is part of contemplation, is praying listening to God, rather than focussing on ourselves. I shall say this in another way. As long as we concentrate on our own problems and grocery list of needs, we shall not enter into contemplation, which is looking, talking to God, or better yet, listening in silence to God.

The danger is concentrating, even in these posts, on one's self. No. The gaze of prayer is the love gazing on the Beloved. The God Who Loves us waits for us to come to Him in love. This gaze is what Mother Teresa noted, which I remembered in another post. This prayer of simplicity is the first type of contemplation, called Ordinary Contemplation.

This is not the mystic state of St. Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross, but is the stage just prior to that state, which is called Extraordinary Contemplation. This higher contemplation is not a topic which I shall cover for several days. The stage of Ordinary Contemplation is what we are all called upon to attain, and those who do, are experiencing God in a way He wants for all person, lay or religious.

To be continued....