http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=740
Bishop Mark Davies--the laity must speak up for true marriage.
And, as I reported a few days ago on this blog, Cardinal Burke to visit England.
Filial Appeal is on this blog last week or so.
Friday, 20 February 2015
February Sky News
Five planets are visible now.
Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are visible now in the night sky. Mars and Venus will have a conjunction on February 21, 2015. Check out the websites on the sky for details.
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury
and Orion is still visible..http://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/winter-circle-highlights-brightest-winter-stars
Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are visible now in the night sky. Mars and Venus will have a conjunction on February 21, 2015. Check out the websites on the sky for details.
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury
and Orion is still visible..http://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/winter-circle-highlights-brightest-winter-stars
Well, so much for standing up for the Judeo-Christian foundation of our country
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/obama-islam-has-been-woven-fabric-our-country-its-founding
This man is an embarrassment abroad and so is Biden. They have no concept of Europe or the Faith which created Europe. O's words are an insult not only to the dead in France and elsewhere, but to the daily harassed Jewish community.
http://www.france24.com/en/20150219-obama-war-islam-ugly-lie-extremism-summit-white-house/
http://www.france24.com/en/20150219-video-chadian-army-clashes-with-boko-haram-nigeria/
http://www.france24.com/en/20150218-cemeteries-vandalised-french-towns-tracy-beat/
and a good development, imo
http://www.france24.com/en/20150215-poland-kicks-off-unprecedented-military-spending-spree/
This man is an embarrassment abroad and so is Biden. They have no concept of Europe or the Faith which created Europe. O's words are an insult not only to the dead in France and elsewhere, but to the daily harassed Jewish community.
http://www.france24.com/en/20150219-obama-war-islam-ugly-lie-extremism-summit-white-house/
http://www.france24.com/en/20150219-video-chadian-army-clashes-with-boko-haram-nigeria/
http://www.france24.com/en/20150218-cemeteries-vandalised-french-towns-tracy-beat/
and a good development, imo
http://www.france24.com/en/20150215-poland-kicks-off-unprecedented-military-spending-spree/
"Asked to Serve"?
Obama. "We need a civilian army the same size as our standing army". Do you remember this quotation? I do....Read carefully, very carefully. Those with large outstanding college debts will be the first to be "asked to serve."
Get ready...Obama, July 2, 2008 in Colorado Springs, CO: ... president I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots and make that increased service a vehicle to meet national goals, like providing health care and education, saving our planet and restoring our standing in the world, so that citizens see their effort connected to a common purpose.
Get ready...Obama, July 2, 2008 in Colorado Springs, CO: ... president I will expand AmeriCorps to 250,000 slots and make that increased service a vehicle to meet national goals, like providing health care and education, saving our planet and restoring our standing in the world, so that citizens see their effort connected to a common purpose.
People of all ages, stations and skills will be asked to serve. Because when it comes to the challenges we face, the American people are not the problem – they are the answer. So we are going to send more college graduates to teach and mentor our young people. We’ll call on Americans to join an energy corps, to conduct renewable energy and environmental clean-up projects in their neighborhoods all across the country.
We will enlist our veterans to find jobs and support for other vets, and to be there for our military families. And we’re going to grow our Foreign Service, open consulates that have been shuttered and double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011 to renew our diplomacy. We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we’ve set.
We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded. We need to use technology to connect people to service. We’ll expand USA Freedom Corps to create online networks where American can browse opportunities to volunteer. You’ll be able to search by category, time commitment and skill sets. You’ll be able to rate service opportunities, build service networks, and create your own service pages to track your hours and activities.
This will empower more Americans to craft their own service agenda and make their own change from the bottom up.
Connected to one part of my vision in 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-house-of-lords-criticises-eu-and-britain-for-sleepwalking-into-crisis-as-moscow-and-nato-remain-on-diplomatic-collision-course-10058141.html
Modesty and Manners
When one uses the word "modesty", one immediately thinks of dress. But, modesty is more than dress and dress is only one manifestation of modesty or the lack of it.
In the Roman world, and to Augustine, modestia would be discretion. The root for the word modesty is modus, or measure. Temperance would be the main virtue for the secondary virtue of modestia.
A person living a temperate life, exhibiting the discipline of temperance, (and here I refer to previous posts on the cardinal virtues), would be a humble person, living outside of excesses of food, drink or the gaining of status or money.
Likewise, in dress, modestia would be a temperance, a discipline of discretion, knowing what is appropriate for any occasion. How one speaks, carries themselves, dresses and acts in general would be guided by temperance, a virtue we are given in the sacrament of baptism, and strengthened in confirmation.
What I have noticed since returning to the States, in a few months away, is that more and more adults lack discretion, or appropriateness, and are not teaching their children appropriate, measured behavior. Children moving up and down the aisles at church is not measured behavior, nor it loud talking and running around in shops.
This lack of manners is entirely the parents', or in some cases, the grandparents' problem, Less than two weeks ago, a friend of mine in New Jersey took me out to dinner. The young people talked so loud that we could hardly hear each other. And mothers were loudly correcting children in public, to no avail.
The dinner setting became more unpleasant when very loud teens entered the restaurant. And the public use of the cell phone, with again, loud private conversations could have been embarrassing for some people to overhear.
Modesty comes from humility and the recognition that one is not the only person in the universe. Modesty flows from consideration for others. Manners were developed in the Western world from the Golden Rule of Christ, to love others as one's self. That rule is no longer followed.
The lack of discretion also affects those who have no boundaries in their lives and tell people they hardly know all types of details of their lives. This lack of boundaries, is, again, directly related to bad parenting. Emotional and psychological boundaries are learned in the home, early on.
Boundaries protect us from being manipulated, used, and help us create our own personalities. Families which do not allow the creation of the unique individual frequently are dysfunctional, perhaps involved in emotional incest or other abuses.
Montessori teaches the respect for the very young child. In families where this respect is missing, boundaries cannot be built or maintained. Montessori had the great insight that the main role of the young child was the creation of the adult he was going to be. Sadly, serious sins of the parents stop the normal maturation of children, making them stuck in an earlier age as an adult.
Manners are connected to this maturation and when I see a lack of manners in a family, the lack of discretion, I know there most likely are boundary problems as well. Sometimes men do not grow up because of incestual mothers, who, after an unhappy marriage, transfer their "love" and needs to the sons. The same can be found in incestual fathers, who no longer love their older wife and want merely to "love" a younger version. This type of emotional incest is just as bad as physical incest.
Some Peter Pans were raised in such a way as to not find out who they are, and they are stuck in never-neverland. To find out who one is requires respect, detachment of the parent, time and space alone, and profound humility on the part of the parent.
Modesty and manners are learned at home, and the Catholic home must maintain such a measure of respect among the family members. Modesty and manners may be connected to the growth of the individual, and the lack of such indicates that inside could be an emotional pygmy, someone stymied by unreal expectations and false love.
A few months ago, a woman came to me unable to separate from her adulterous husband. She lacked a sense of her own integrity. Outside of that relationship, she did not know who she was. Her entire identity was based on another person's approval or disapproval. She is stuck. She is a Peter Pam.
Manners and modesty are missing in her family, as one can tell by the way the women dress in that family. Sadly, only real honesty and repentance, as well as healing, can free her and others like her from the lack of adult perception of who she really is.
In the talk about pornography lately, it is clear that the search for porn may be connected to the lack of emotional boundaries. A man or women chose fantasy instead of reality in their lives as they lack a concept of who they are.
God has an answer to all problems, and such a small thing as manners, the showing of respect and boundaries in a family, can lead to whole and holy children. Those who chose not to follow the way of God ignore the minor virtues, which are connected to the major ones.
One more point. Some adult parents want to be "rescued" from unhappiness by their children. They want to live successful lives through their children, as they feel like failures in some way. Only a person can rescue themselves from these dark and dismal feelings of inadequacy. One cannot get into a rescue mode of always being available for trivial matters. Manipulation is a sign of the lack of boundaries.
Modesty and manners are not merely dress or the tone of voice, but a sign of the individualization of the child, the one who knows who he is and loves himself, as we all are called to do.
One cannot love one's neighbor unless one loves one's self accepting one as one is in truth and humility.
In the Roman world, and to Augustine, modestia would be discretion. The root for the word modesty is modus, or measure. Temperance would be the main virtue for the secondary virtue of modestia.
A person living a temperate life, exhibiting the discipline of temperance, (and here I refer to previous posts on the cardinal virtues), would be a humble person, living outside of excesses of food, drink or the gaining of status or money.
Likewise, in dress, modestia would be a temperance, a discipline of discretion, knowing what is appropriate for any occasion. How one speaks, carries themselves, dresses and acts in general would be guided by temperance, a virtue we are given in the sacrament of baptism, and strengthened in confirmation.
What I have noticed since returning to the States, in a few months away, is that more and more adults lack discretion, or appropriateness, and are not teaching their children appropriate, measured behavior. Children moving up and down the aisles at church is not measured behavior, nor it loud talking and running around in shops.
This lack of manners is entirely the parents', or in some cases, the grandparents' problem, Less than two weeks ago, a friend of mine in New Jersey took me out to dinner. The young people talked so loud that we could hardly hear each other. And mothers were loudly correcting children in public, to no avail.
The dinner setting became more unpleasant when very loud teens entered the restaurant. And the public use of the cell phone, with again, loud private conversations could have been embarrassing for some people to overhear.
Modesty comes from humility and the recognition that one is not the only person in the universe. Modesty flows from consideration for others. Manners were developed in the Western world from the Golden Rule of Christ, to love others as one's self. That rule is no longer followed.
The lack of discretion also affects those who have no boundaries in their lives and tell people they hardly know all types of details of their lives. This lack of boundaries, is, again, directly related to bad parenting. Emotional and psychological boundaries are learned in the home, early on.
Boundaries protect us from being manipulated, used, and help us create our own personalities. Families which do not allow the creation of the unique individual frequently are dysfunctional, perhaps involved in emotional incest or other abuses.
Montessori teaches the respect for the very young child. In families where this respect is missing, boundaries cannot be built or maintained. Montessori had the great insight that the main role of the young child was the creation of the adult he was going to be. Sadly, serious sins of the parents stop the normal maturation of children, making them stuck in an earlier age as an adult.
Manners are connected to this maturation and when I see a lack of manners in a family, the lack of discretion, I know there most likely are boundary problems as well. Sometimes men do not grow up because of incestual mothers, who, after an unhappy marriage, transfer their "love" and needs to the sons. The same can be found in incestual fathers, who no longer love their older wife and want merely to "love" a younger version. This type of emotional incest is just as bad as physical incest.
Some Peter Pans were raised in such a way as to not find out who they are, and they are stuck in never-neverland. To find out who one is requires respect, detachment of the parent, time and space alone, and profound humility on the part of the parent.
Modesty and manners are learned at home, and the Catholic home must maintain such a measure of respect among the family members. Modesty and manners may be connected to the growth of the individual, and the lack of such indicates that inside could be an emotional pygmy, someone stymied by unreal expectations and false love.
A few months ago, a woman came to me unable to separate from her adulterous husband. She lacked a sense of her own integrity. Outside of that relationship, she did not know who she was. Her entire identity was based on another person's approval or disapproval. She is stuck. She is a Peter Pam.
Manners and modesty are missing in her family, as one can tell by the way the women dress in that family. Sadly, only real honesty and repentance, as well as healing, can free her and others like her from the lack of adult perception of who she really is.
In the talk about pornography lately, it is clear that the search for porn may be connected to the lack of emotional boundaries. A man or women chose fantasy instead of reality in their lives as they lack a concept of who they are.
God has an answer to all problems, and such a small thing as manners, the showing of respect and boundaries in a family, can lead to whole and holy children. Those who chose not to follow the way of God ignore the minor virtues, which are connected to the major ones.
One more point. Some adult parents want to be "rescued" from unhappiness by their children. They want to live successful lives through their children, as they feel like failures in some way. Only a person can rescue themselves from these dark and dismal feelings of inadequacy. One cannot get into a rescue mode of always being available for trivial matters. Manipulation is a sign of the lack of boundaries.
Modesty and manners are not merely dress or the tone of voice, but a sign of the individualization of the child, the one who knows who he is and loves himself, as we all are called to do.
One cannot love one's neighbor unless one loves one's self accepting one as one is in truth and humility.
Do you all have bug out bags?
Get one for each person in your family, and enough food for a disaster.
Some people have been snowed in and needed help getting food.
Some people have been snowed in and needed help getting food.
Thoughts on St. Joseph
http://www.opusdei.org/en-us/dailytext/saint-joseph-a-teacher-of-the-interior-life/
God decided how St. Joseph's life was to be lived. He obeyed God in all things. Perhaps, when he became engaged to the beautiful Mary, Joseph thought he would have a "normal" life of a workman, with a loving wife bearing him many children, as was the custom of the Jewish family. Perhaps, he had dreamt of grandchildren, and even the establishment of the House of David, as something more than a distance, happy memory. Little did he dream that the Messiah would be placed under his special care and that the Mother of God would be his charge. I am sure Joseph, a truly righteous man, had given his life to God years before he met Mary. God chose him from all time to be the protector of the Holy Family. Let us to to him with all of our temporal and spiritual needs. He was in union with God, illuminated by grace, and a great lover of the Trinity, learning from Mary, to whom was given the first understanding personally in her own body and soul the great mystery of Three Persons in One God.
Thursday, 19 February 2015
Who Wants the Apocalypse?
I taught Islam for several years at the college level. One of the things which was clear was that the Muslims await the coming of the Mahdi, revealed in the hadith, as the messiah who will bring many centuries of peace before the end of the world.
The Sunnis and the Shias (Shiites) disagree as to the nature and timing of this Mahdi, but they are in agreement that he will come.
Some texts state that he will fight against the anti-Christ. One can see the lifting of Christian ideas in these prophecies, which came centuries after Christ and the writing of the book of Revelation, about 100 A.D. The Koran is a mixture of the Torah, the Catholic Bible, and Arabic customs.
Some believe that the Mahdi's coming depends on the cleansing of the world of Christians. Part of the Shia prophecy of the coming of the Mahdi is the complete destruction of Syria. Does this look familiar?
According to some Islamic writings, the entire world will be Muslim under the Mahdi, and this has to happen before the end "resurrection of the dead." The Baha'is, who follow a religion established in the 19th century, also believe in a type of Mahdi-Messiah, who will come and bring peace, but under the Baha'i "faith".
If you followed my recommendation on this blog twice of watching the movie Khartoum, you will understand the coming of the Mahdi and one who claimed to be him in the past, Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah.
Of course, there is only one Messiah, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. But, those Muslims who await the End Times, are pushing for the purification of the world of Christians in order to establish the era of peace with the coming of the Mahdi. This is the impetus, imo, of the surge of violence in the "religion of peace".
The Sunnis and the Shias (Shiites) disagree as to the nature and timing of this Mahdi, but they are in agreement that he will come.
Some texts state that he will fight against the anti-Christ. One can see the lifting of Christian ideas in these prophecies, which came centuries after Christ and the writing of the book of Revelation, about 100 A.D. The Koran is a mixture of the Torah, the Catholic Bible, and Arabic customs.
Some believe that the Mahdi's coming depends on the cleansing of the world of Christians. Part of the Shia prophecy of the coming of the Mahdi is the complete destruction of Syria. Does this look familiar?
According to some Islamic writings, the entire world will be Muslim under the Mahdi, and this has to happen before the end "resurrection of the dead." The Baha'is, who follow a religion established in the 19th century, also believe in a type of Mahdi-Messiah, who will come and bring peace, but under the Baha'i "faith".
If you followed my recommendation on this blog twice of watching the movie Khartoum, you will understand the coming of the Mahdi and one who claimed to be him in the past, Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah.
Of course, there is only one Messiah, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. But, those Muslims who await the End Times, are pushing for the purification of the world of Christians in order to establish the era of peace with the coming of the Mahdi. This is the impetus, imo, of the surge of violence in the "religion of peace".
An exorcist on a recent movie
http://www.pattimaguirearmstrong.com/2015/02/an-exorcist-and-his-deliverance-team.html
The links at the bottom of the article are excellent.
The links at the bottom of the article are excellent.
Most important post of the day
http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2015/02/misunderstandings-on-foundations.html
On Father Ripperger
Some of you know I belong to the Third Order of the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother.
In case you do not know about the founder, or his website, here is a little bio.
and more of his books may be found here.
In case you do not know about the founder, or his website, here is a little bio.
Fr. Chad Ripperger was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming. After completing a Bachelor’s in Theology and a Bachelor’s in Philosophy at the University of San Francisco, he completed a Master’s in Philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, TX. He then attended seminary and completed a Master’s in Theology at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut. After joining the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, he was sent to Rome and completed his Doctorate in Philosophy at the University of the Holy Cross. Upon ordination he spent a year in a parish in Omaha, Nebraska and then was assigned to St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska, the diocesan seminary for the Diocese of Lincoln, NE. After teaching 4 years at the diocesan seminary, he taught for 6 years at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton NE, which is the main seminary for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in the United States. He spent 3 years as a pastor in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho until he began the work of founding the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, a semi-hermetical community of priests dedicated to exorcism work.
He has published a comprehensive manual on human nature entitled: Introduction to the Science of Mental Health, Sensus Traditionis Press. He has also published over a dozen articles on a variety of topics. His most recent books are: The Binding Force of Tradition and Magisterial Authority...
and more of his books may be found here.
Back to Augustine
St. Augustine, in Civ. XIX.17, as the scholar G. R.Evans points out in the Introduction to my copy, "exhorts his readers thus: 'If you wish to be armed against temptations in the world, let the desire for the heavenly Jerusalem grow in your hearts." By contrast, 'a household of human beings whose life is not based on faith is in pursuit of an earthly peace belonging to this life.'"
Writing at the end of the Roman Empire, watching the destruction of the entire social economic, and political structure which formed him in his classical education, and allowed him to live in peace while becoming a Catholic, St. Augustine had the advantage of seeing how God, indeed, punishes great sin, and humbles the proud.
Can one imagine an unsophisticated group of people, the barbarians of his day, destroying almost a thousand years of culture and civilization?
Readers, you can imagine this as it is happening in Europe and will happen here. It has begun.
In June of 2008, I had three days of visions. I was wide awake. One of these was confirmed exactly by another person who had a similar dream hundreds of miles away. Some of the others are coming true in Europe.
In one vision, on the third day, I saw three armies sweep across the globe. Two poured into America from the north--the Chinese and the Russians, after America had experienced some sort of catastrophe which left it vulnerable. Some of these images I put into my novels.
A third army, of Muslims, came out of Italy and into the entire continent of Europe. Only a few nations held out against them-Poland, France, and, ironically, England.
One reason I am revisiting the City of God this week and in the following weeks is that we are living in the same times as the great Augustine. We shall watch the destruction of Western Civilization, even in America.
Only those who work for the City of God and understand that the City of Man belongs to satan, will be saved.
Years ago, I also taught St. Anselm. I also studied in depth Nicholas of Cusa. Both of these men, among others, knew the writings of St. Augustine and used them. Nicholas of Cusa, as Evans reminds us, notes that there are angels over the seven churches in Revelation. These angels inform the bishops.
However, as there are demons in the City of Man, the demonic influences can now more and more be plainly seen in the Church. Some bishops are listening to the fallen angels in the City of Man.
More than ever, we need a body of prayerful, active people, willing to build the City of God now.
The Church has seen horrible times before, but this is different.
To be continued...
Writing at the end of the Roman Empire, watching the destruction of the entire social economic, and political structure which formed him in his classical education, and allowed him to live in peace while becoming a Catholic, St. Augustine had the advantage of seeing how God, indeed, punishes great sin, and humbles the proud.
Can one imagine an unsophisticated group of people, the barbarians of his day, destroying almost a thousand years of culture and civilization?
Readers, you can imagine this as it is happening in Europe and will happen here. It has begun.
In June of 2008, I had three days of visions. I was wide awake. One of these was confirmed exactly by another person who had a similar dream hundreds of miles away. Some of the others are coming true in Europe.
In one vision, on the third day, I saw three armies sweep across the globe. Two poured into America from the north--the Chinese and the Russians, after America had experienced some sort of catastrophe which left it vulnerable. Some of these images I put into my novels.
A third army, of Muslims, came out of Italy and into the entire continent of Europe. Only a few nations held out against them-Poland, France, and, ironically, England.
One reason I am revisiting the City of God this week and in the following weeks is that we are living in the same times as the great Augustine. We shall watch the destruction of Western Civilization, even in America.
Only those who work for the City of God and understand that the City of Man belongs to satan, will be saved.
Years ago, I also taught St. Anselm. I also studied in depth Nicholas of Cusa. Both of these men, among others, knew the writings of St. Augustine and used them. Nicholas of Cusa, as Evans reminds us, notes that there are angels over the seven churches in Revelation. These angels inform the bishops.
However, as there are demons in the City of Man, the demonic influences can now more and more be plainly seen in the Church. Some bishops are listening to the fallen angels in the City of Man.
More than ever, we need a body of prayerful, active people, willing to build the City of God now.
The Church has seen horrible times before, but this is different.
To be continued...
Misunderstandings on Foundations-Something Out of Nothing
Over the centuries, women and men who have founded communities or orders, had a place. St. Francis was allowed to take San. Damiano, when he was still a lay person, which he was for many long years until his order was established. He was alone for a long time as well.
Marie Adele Garnier, the foundress of Tyburn, was given a house by a benefactor when she only had herself and one other young person adoring Christ in the nearby church in Paris. Again, she was a lay person for a relatively long while before she was allowed to make vows. Many years passed before she applied for Benedictine recognition, under the guidance of Dom Marmion. The Church has an established, conservative order of this process. One does the work of God first, before having an order blossom out of that work.
A friend of mine in Europe set up an Association of the Faithful, approved by Rome, for men to pray, work, and study. His wealthy parents bought him the extensive property. He is, individually, poor. He lives a simple lifestyle within his new order. I know three religious hermits who were given places to live. They are individuals, not a community. Without the benefactors, they could not have become hermits. The three live according to God's call and the fruit of their work is obvious to those who go to them for spiritual direction. I have not shared this on this blog, but I do spiritual direction and never charge. So, it should be. Without two benefactors, I would not have seen my son at Christmas, a son I had not seen in 15 months.
Some foundresses were wealthy and used their own money. Some were poor and were given places by generous benefactors who only wanted daily prayers said for their souls.
St. Etheldreda, being a princess with her own land, was abbess over a double monastery of men and women, the land of which included parts of Ely and Ely Place in London. Not too many wealthy people start orders or houses of prayer in the 21st Century. Not too many princesses follow Christ in the radical Gospel.
Several modern stigmatists lived in small cabins, and their local communities helped them survive, washing their clothes, taking turns sitting with them, and so on. Some were very poor and individuals, not in communities. Only one 20th century stigmatist actually has an lay order started after her--Marthe Robin. These extraordinarily holy people were not left alone. But, one does not have to earn such support. God is in charge.
People do not understand Divine Providence. I suggest they read the series I did on this subject. Just use tags or the search bar.
Communities or gatherings of people need a place. We are not disembodied spirits. Mary was given a house by Joseph and later, by John. The only saint I know who did not have a permanent home, outside of the Fools for Christ of Russia, is St. Benedict Labre. He did not want to set up a house of Adoration, a place for Jesus to be in the neighborhood.
The idea that members of a community or a future order can exist without benefactors seems to be a new idea. Even Father Z, a lone priest on line, has hundreds of benefactors. If I did not have someone paying for this Internet connection, I would not be blogging. God bless this benefactor, and those who sent me bedding and towels, so that I can be warm, pray and blog. God bless the person who is sending me a gift cert so I can buy food. This is the way of Catholics supporting those in need. It has always been so until the lies of socialism and the middle-class Calvinism crept into the minds of some Catholics. The idea of the "worthy poor" did not come out of Catholicism, but out of Victorian England. None of us are worthy of anything, and those who have are not more worthy than those who do not have.
Such members of the Church, sadly, have fallen into middle-class ideas of religion which do not take into account giving without return. These are new days, and the coming tribulation means secret places for God to rest and even priests to hide. The Catholics will be marginalized, fined, and those enemies of God will try, as in England years ago, to destroy the Church in America. We need places "under the radar" as one of my dear friends told me last night.
The old days are very quickly passing away, as most of the young people I speak with and write to know. They can see the sea-change. Things will get worse very quickly and the days of setting up anything for God will be ended. We need to act now.
I suggest people read the foundations of orders and shrines, as I have for a long time. Benefactors helped almost all the new foundations, begun mostly by lay people, who then moved to new orders created by them. Most of the old orders have become corrupted. I know Carmelites and their third order members who believe in women priests and even contraception. New ideas and new disciplines are necessary. Adoration chapels should dot the entire landscape of America and Europe. These are needed in these times.
Lay communities morph into orders, if that is God's Will.
God does not follow business plans, but has His Own Way of creating something out of nothing, so that no one can take credit for His Plans. Such is the way of humility. Without humility, people think it is their work and not God's and sometimes, He uses the poorest of the poor in order to show forth His Glory. Marie Adele Garnier had bad health, and was a governess before she was called to adore Christ in the Eucharist. She was poor. Now, her order has ten houses across the globe. This all took time, and benefactors.
I am living in a diocese now where the bishop most likely would be open to such a project. He has done this before. Not all bishops would be open, but I am open to this happening elsewhere, as long as the local bishop approves. That is another consideration. One sets up a discipline for Adoration and presents it to a bishop. Only he can approve private Adoration in a house.
Marie Adele Garnier, the foundress of Tyburn, was given a house by a benefactor when she only had herself and one other young person adoring Christ in the nearby church in Paris. Again, she was a lay person for a relatively long while before she was allowed to make vows. Many years passed before she applied for Benedictine recognition, under the guidance of Dom Marmion. The Church has an established, conservative order of this process. One does the work of God first, before having an order blossom out of that work.
A friend of mine in Europe set up an Association of the Faithful, approved by Rome, for men to pray, work, and study. His wealthy parents bought him the extensive property. He is, individually, poor. He lives a simple lifestyle within his new order. I know three religious hermits who were given places to live. They are individuals, not a community. Without the benefactors, they could not have become hermits. The three live according to God's call and the fruit of their work is obvious to those who go to them for spiritual direction. I have not shared this on this blog, but I do spiritual direction and never charge. So, it should be. Without two benefactors, I would not have seen my son at Christmas, a son I had not seen in 15 months.
Some foundresses were wealthy and used their own money. Some were poor and were given places by generous benefactors who only wanted daily prayers said for their souls.
St. Etheldreda, being a princess with her own land, was abbess over a double monastery of men and women, the land of which included parts of Ely and Ely Place in London. Not too many wealthy people start orders or houses of prayer in the 21st Century. Not too many princesses follow Christ in the radical Gospel.
Several modern stigmatists lived in small cabins, and their local communities helped them survive, washing their clothes, taking turns sitting with them, and so on. Some were very poor and individuals, not in communities. Only one 20th century stigmatist actually has an lay order started after her--Marthe Robin. These extraordinarily holy people were not left alone. But, one does not have to earn such support. God is in charge.
People do not understand Divine Providence. I suggest they read the series I did on this subject. Just use tags or the search bar.
Communities or gatherings of people need a place. We are not disembodied spirits. Mary was given a house by Joseph and later, by John. The only saint I know who did not have a permanent home, outside of the Fools for Christ of Russia, is St. Benedict Labre. He did not want to set up a house of Adoration, a place for Jesus to be in the neighborhood.
The idea that members of a community or a future order can exist without benefactors seems to be a new idea. Even Father Z, a lone priest on line, has hundreds of benefactors. If I did not have someone paying for this Internet connection, I would not be blogging. God bless this benefactor, and those who sent me bedding and towels, so that I can be warm, pray and blog. God bless the person who is sending me a gift cert so I can buy food. This is the way of Catholics supporting those in need. It has always been so until the lies of socialism and the middle-class Calvinism crept into the minds of some Catholics. The idea of the "worthy poor" did not come out of Catholicism, but out of Victorian England. None of us are worthy of anything, and those who have are not more worthy than those who do not have.
Such members of the Church, sadly, have fallen into middle-class ideas of religion which do not take into account giving without return. These are new days, and the coming tribulation means secret places for God to rest and even priests to hide. The Catholics will be marginalized, fined, and those enemies of God will try, as in England years ago, to destroy the Church in America. We need places "under the radar" as one of my dear friends told me last night.
The old days are very quickly passing away, as most of the young people I speak with and write to know. They can see the sea-change. Things will get worse very quickly and the days of setting up anything for God will be ended. We need to act now.
I suggest people read the foundations of orders and shrines, as I have for a long time. Benefactors helped almost all the new foundations, begun mostly by lay people, who then moved to new orders created by them. Most of the old orders have become corrupted. I know Carmelites and their third order members who believe in women priests and even contraception. New ideas and new disciplines are necessary. Adoration chapels should dot the entire landscape of America and Europe. These are needed in these times.
Lay communities morph into orders, if that is God's Will.
God does not follow business plans, but has His Own Way of creating something out of nothing, so that no one can take credit for His Plans. Such is the way of humility. Without humility, people think it is their work and not God's and sometimes, He uses the poorest of the poor in order to show forth His Glory. Marie Adele Garnier had bad health, and was a governess before she was called to adore Christ in the Eucharist. She was poor. Now, her order has ten houses across the globe. This all took time, and benefactors.
I am living in a diocese now where the bishop most likely would be open to such a project. He has done this before. Not all bishops would be open, but I am open to this happening elsewhere, as long as the local bishop approves. That is another consideration. One sets up a discipline for Adoration and presents it to a bishop. Only he can approve private Adoration in a house.
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luke 6:30-35
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