The Great Divide

Daily, I am made aware of the growing divide between those who think like Catholics, rational thinkers who pray and study the Faith, and the pagans with whom we live side-by-side

 Even our vocabularies vary to a degree which makes conversation almost impossible.

The false definitions (heresies) of the being and roles of men and women have clouded the minds of so many that real discussion on ssm seems impossible.

When groups lose the ability to discuss any issues rationally, culture, then civilization breaks down irremediably.  We can see this with regard to certain religions which cannot, simply cannot discuss the details of the faiths. We can see this with certain political groups, discussion regarding abortion has been shut down for years.

Now, some Catholics find themselves unable to discuss ssm with members of their families or, worse, even their pastors. Another area of non-discussion may be contraception. And, yet another, liturgical abuses.

One cannot discuss hell, heaven, or purgatory with some Catholics, even priests. And, one cannot discuss irregular marriages, fornication, modesty, and even the occult.

Real Catholics have been and are increasingly marginalized even in some parishes.

In the Soviet Union, certain ideas and religious ceremonies could not be discussed. One would be put in jail or sent to the Gulags if one spoke openly about God, Christianity, and so on.

This marginalization marks the beginning of the second to the last stage of persecution. The last stage is the criminalization of Christianity.

Happy Find

Many, many of my short stories, plays and poems have been now taken out of boxes, and I intend to put some on the blog in the near future.

Again, if anyone wants to help me with the list of books missing, which I posted a few days ago, please let me know. I read several books at one time and will get back into my schedule next week.

Some of my chapel things are "out", but I do not have a separate room for these at this time. Of course, the icons seem to be the easiest things to move about and I have about ten in my small room in an icon corner, to remind me to pray for my readers. Again, thanks to all who contributed to the mobile, recusant chapel.

I shall get back to both the encyclical and the lovely little Maritain book on prayer next week, after I dislodge myself from the basement, where I am going through boxes, but almost finished, thanks be to God! God has given me so many graces this week. One especially I want to share for all of you, as so many of you have written to tell me of very hard times in your lives.

We are all under attack from the Evil One, but God is allowing us, like Job, or Tobia, who we are reading about this week at daily Mass, in order to purify and grow in our Faith.

The particular grace we can develop through suffering is great patience. Amazingly, as a person who grew up with this sin and wanting things to be just so and "now", I have recognized that the virtue of patience grows like a flower out of humility. One cannot be impatience and humble at the same time.

The sin of impatience comes from pride. It is rooted in the idea that things, like bus schedules, or people, or events, must happen according to a perfection which is not found on this earth. Patience really means "suffering" with others and because of circumstances without murmuring or complaining. Patience means letting others be first in all things. Patience means concentrating on one's own sins instead of the sins of others.

I think the greatest lesson for me recently, in the past four months, has been to look towards God constantly, daily, and know both intellectually and experientially that the Trinity dwells within, and to concentrate on my own sins, rather than getting upset about the sins of others.

One good little prayer I would like to share--when encountering sin, and we shall more and more in this land of pagans and apostates, turn and say "God, show me my own sin and forgive me, giving me grace for this moment."

English: Jenney Grist Mill, Plymouth Massachusetts
Date 1 February 2013, 14:11:25
Source Own work
Author John Phelan

I am convinced that the key to holiness is this daily, hourly, minute practicing the Presence of God, which becomes not merely a "practice", but a realization of the God within. Patience demands that one turns one's thoughts to God constantly, quietly.

Impatience grows like a weed out of pride. It causes us to look at the sins of others instead of our own sins. To be patience means that one recognizes one's own imperfections and sins, running to the Cross and concentrating on the great mercy of God through Christ.

Another hint for the hard times, which I have learned recently, is to realize that one deserves punishment and suffering and that joy comes from this realization. Yes, I lost stuff in the move, but, yes, I deserve the bad things which happen to me because of my own sin.

This attitude also brings peace. Again, one of my favorite prayers, which I say every Friday as part of my third order prayers is the Litany of Humility. We cannot understand the suffering of Christ, the suffering of Mary and their great humility without letting God work this virtue into the fabric of our beings in this life. If we do not become humble now, we shall in purgatory, but without the merit.

Great joy comes from these situations and states in life which cause us humility, if one embraces suffering, and does not expect a lack of discomfort now, on earth. Being in time, we work out our salvation in time, with God's grace. This means using the gifts of times and circumstances for grist for developing virtue.

Get ready for hard times by practicing patience and longsuffering.

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.From the desire of being loved... From the desire of being extolled ... From the desire of being honored ... From the desire of being praised ... From the desire of being preferred to others... From the desire of being consulted ... From the desire of being approved ... From the fear of being humiliated ... From the fear of being despised... From the fear of suffering rebukes ... From the fear of being calumniated ... From the fear of being forgotten ... From the fear of being ridiculed ... From the fear of being wronged ... From the fear of being suspected ... That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I ... That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease ... That others may be chosen and I set aside ... That others may be praised and I unnoticed ... That others may be preferred to me in everything... That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930), Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X

---

Will The Real Jeb Bush Please Stand Up?

Illogical--one cannot hold these two ideas at the same time....

Mr. Bush was explicitly opposed to same-sex marriage for years, but in recent months, since he has been considering a run for the presidency, he has made a wider range of statements — saying same-sex marriage is an issue that should be decided by the states, for instance. This winter, as gay couples began to wed in Florida, Mr. Bush also struck a conciliatory tone about those marriages.

“We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to respect the rule of law,” he said in a statement to The New York Times in January. “I hope that we can show respect for the good people on all sides of the gay and lesbian marriage issue — including couples making lifetime commitments to each other who are seeking greater legal protections and those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty.”

Mr. Bush reiterated in the “Brody File” interview on Sunday that his views about same-sex marriage are based on his Catholic faith. “I think traditional marriage is a sacrament,” he said. “It’s at the core of the Catholic faith.”




http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/05/17/jeb-bush-takes-tougher-stance-against-same-sex-marriage/

Looking in the Mirror

Some Catholics do not understand that the normal way to receive grace from God is through the sacraments. Of course, God is not bound by any one or any thing, but He has given us the Church for our sanctification.

Another common fallacy is that one can gain merit while in mortal sin. This false idea clouds the thinking of many Catholics I have met recently.

The CCC reminds us that sin "... results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil." The more one sins, the less discernment one has to judge good and evil.

If one is living in sin, such as taking part in an invalid marriage, or fornication, or homosexual relations, one's knowledge of good and evil becomes dimmed.

If one is not baptized, that person has a much harder time understanding the nature of grace, sin, and even natural law.

Grace builds upon grace. If one turns towards grace and cooperates with this gift, God responds generously.

What we saw in Ireland two weeks ago and what we shall witness here will corporate or social sin.

The CCC notes, "Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a "social sin."

Persecution always accompanies corporate or social sin because the culture turns against goodness and truth. Sin does not like to look at itself in the mirror. Sinners who have freely chosen a life of sin do not want to recognize goodness, God's Law, Christ's call.

They want to surround themselves with sinners so that their sin becomes acceptable. Such is the push for ssm, as well as the passing of the abortion law so many years ago. Sin creates more sin, and an atmosphere of tolerance.

We should be disgusted with sin. We should be righteously angry with laws which protect gross sins.

When we look in the mirror, what do we see-truth, goodness, beauty in the Lord, or deceit, evil, ugliness?

Our nation will be looking in the mirror soon. I am afraid of the new image of America which will be seen.

This has been my whole life

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/top-catholic-archbishop-american-christians-increasingly-subject-soft

Must Read!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2015/06/04/leaked-tisa-documents-reveal-privacy-threat/

Yay!

http://minutemennews.com/2015/06/johns-hopkins-psychiatrist-transgender-is-mental-disorder-sex-change-biologically-impossible/

Sigh, again.....

I have been so happy to be able to get to daily Mass now in the place where I am temporarily and guess what? Not only was the Mass illicit, but the Eucharist was invalid.

The priest changed several parts of the Mass and the words of Consecration. Man....all those people were cheated.

I shall have to find another Thursday Mass.  Lord, send us holy priests.

Note to a commentator

The person who wrote to me about Clear Creek:

Could you please write to me again and check the email address you sent, as it is not working, or maybe I am copying it incorrectly. But, I tried several times. UPDATE--still cannot get it to work on Thursday night.

Thanks,

STM

detachment mark two

It is clear we had a robbery. The most expensive things in the storage are gone. I am assuming when the movers moved things from the house to the storage things went missing then. I was already in Europe when things were moved, and all the boxes were marked for overseas shipping, which did not happen because of some circumstances at the US end. I was already in the EU, expecting things, when the arrangements fell through.

I always find it difficult to think of people stealing from the poor. But, sin is always with us and part of the human condition. This is the third robbery we have incurred since 2000. I do not want to share at this time the list of things gone missing, but these were our only valuable, and most valuable items.

However, STS has told me that he is very detached from our things, which is good, as some are now so detached from us by circumstances that we shall never see these things again.

I am reminded of St. Teresa of Avila's famous incident. She was moving from one monastery to another and had her belongings in sacks on the back of a donkey. As the little group was crossing a stream, the water turned into a rushing torrent and took the poor donkey and worldly belongings of St. Teresa far away.

She then uttered her now famous saying, "It is no wonder, God, that you have so many enemies, the way you treat your friends."

She was bolder than I. I have been so humbled by all of this that I am grateful for what I do have, and what can be given back to STS. As it is the 500 anniversary year of the great Doctor of the Church's birth, it is fitting that we think of her today and always, when we need the faith to bear up when there is little consolation.

Still, if anyone wants to help with the books, please do.

Book Begging Again

After the long inventory, I have come to the discovery that at least ten to twelve boxes are missing. This is a mystery of life, and one I accept.

However, if anyone would like to replace the missing volumes I mentioned on the other post, I would appreciate it. At least one of the missing boxes contained such spirituality.

The next job is to repack, as I have sorted out books. I need to get some to Clear Creek, and am praying for someone to help me do this. Please join me in prayer for this intention. I am not sending that many there-no more than eight or so smallish boxes, at this time.

Giving away things has been fun. I love homeschooling families and know what they need. Thankfully, some stuff could be used.

Here are a few of the books I am begging readers to consider getting for me. Thanks for considering.




Teresa of Avila Interior Castle

The Philokalia--The Complete Text.  Vols I and III

Garrigou-Lagrange Providence

Garrigou-Lagrange The Trinity

Garrigou-Lagrange The Priest in Union with Christ

Garrigou-Lagrange The Love of God and the Cross

Marmion Union with God

Marmion Christ: The Ideal Priest

Benson Lord of the World

Raissa Maritain We Have Been Friends Together

Raissa Maritain Adventures in Grace

I lost some hard bounds of these. Never mind....

Thanks for considering.

Also need The Three Ages of the Interior Life, is anyone wants to get it for me.

UPDATE: found my first edition, 1931 Fulton J. Sheen Old Errors and New Labels

The man was a prophet.

Also, update, I shall be where I am now for three months. 

Wow! A Sign of Worse To Come

http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/cultural-cleansing-of-christian-males/

Pat Buchanan is GREAT!

But if the founder of Christianity is the Son of God, then Christianity is a superior religion. What Ryan and those faculty and staff seem to be ashamed of, uncomfortable with, or unable to defend, is the truth for which Saint Louis University was supposed to stand.

But simply because they are cowardly, or politically correct, why should that statue be going into the SLU art museum? Why should not they themselves depart for another institution where their sensitivities will not be assaulted by artistic expressions of religious truths?

According to the Religion New Service, “State Sen. Ricardo Lara, an openly gay Los Angeles Democrat, wants to replace a bronze statue of Serra with a monument honoring Sally Ride, the nation’s first female astronaut. Lara said Ride would become ‘the first member of the LGBT community’ to be honored in Statuary Hall.”

Warfare

All of my closest friends are under spiritual attack. Sometimes this warfare "gets physical". I cannot describe how badly I feel that so many are experiencing the onslaught of evil which is ratcheting up prior to the SCOTUS decision. I am praying for all of my readers even though I cannot answer all of your emails. I am exhausted at this time.

If this court does what I think it will do, America as a country "under God" will be dead.

Today, on the street where I am temporarily, many houses sported American flags. Sadly, this symbol becomes more and more sinister in my view. This country is being changed by those who hate Christ so quickly, I can hardly keep up with the events pushing the agendas of the enemies of God.

Make no mistake--some people choose to become enemies of God. They choose fame, status, money, or whatever for the Kingdom of God. They choose their own wills and not God's Will.

A country which consistently chooses paths away from God's Plan will end up destroying itself from the inside, and, mostly likely, incurring the wrath of God from the outside.

The list of empires which fell through unethical, immoral, even depraved lifestyles would be a long list. Abortion itself cries out to God for punishment. But, the unnatural sins of those who to live in homosexual relationships will not be ignored by God.

Many years ago, we all were given warnings to pray against sin. Few heeded the words of Our Lady and her chosen saints-Lucy, Jacinta, Francisco, Faustina, Therese, John Bosco, and so on. Daily, I am reminded that we all waste time on trivia instead of getting ready for the final battles of Good against evil.

The war has been won by Our Lord Jesus Christ, but the battle for souls continues until the Second Coming of Christ.

Some old people said to me recently, "This country is no longer my country. I hardly recognize America."

God recognizes the good and the evil. He will not be mocked, however, by the arrogant, even Catholic politicians, who think they can hold positions concerning ssm contrary to the Church.

Obedience is the most important virtue, not humility, as obedience helps one become humble step-by-step. And, those who obey God's laws and His Church will be saved by their humble acquiescence to God's Will for us.

As I go through my books and sort things out, still looking for a necessary document, which is mysteriously missing, (please pray--this is not an optional thing at this time), I am reminds of the great minds which have gone before us to light out way to truth. The Early Church Fathers, the Doctors of the Church, the great theologians, poets, essayists, moral and mystical teachers fill by boxes. I am extremely grateful that God led me to so many wonderful people in my life to show me the way to purgation.

I am very, very grateful for His graces, which have been many in my life. But, all men and women are given graces to turn to Him, to repent, to study, to learn, to pray, to become one with God. All.

Too many have turned away, only looking at themselves instead of God.

Keep God as the Center of your entire life, your day, your decisions.

Look at Christ. And pray for the endurance which we shall all need in days to come.

Please keep me in your prayers.

Magical Thinking AGAIN

I have written about magical thinking in the Church.

One example from past articles has been the misconception that sacraments can be given to the dead.

No.

But, something which has come to my attention in the past six months has been the fact that in some dioceses, not all, The Rite of Christian Burial is being allowed for known apostates.

Recently, a young woman committed suicide in another state after many years of living away from the Church. In fact, some of her relatives, who are truly orthodox, said she may not have even been baptized by her parents long ago.

Yet, the priest in the home parish said a funeral Mass "for the parents".  The Rite of Christian Burial is for Christians. If the woman had been a practicing Catholic and mentally unstable, and committed suicide, there would be room for doubt and a funeral could be appropriate. But, to hold large funeral for a young woman who did not want to be a Catholic and never lived an adult life as a Catholic seems to be not only hypocritical, but an insult to the dead.

She decided to fall away, or perhaps never did practice past her teens, so she chose not to be a Christian.

Why a funeral? The person who is dead gets no graces after death. Death ends the journey to heaven, hell or purgatory.

The parents should have been mourning the death of a soul long before the day of death--when a child grows up and falls away from the Church, choosing to live in a pagan lifestyle, that is a choice.

Magical thinking clouds truth.

For those who are faithful and fight the good fight daily, this confusion as to the reality of apostasy means that we have a hard time helping people fast, do mortification, pray daily, for those fallen away.

The priest made matters worse, imho, by giving in to the parents'desire for comfort. Funerals occur for three reasons: to say goodbye formally and allow grief to be shared; to give the body to God in respect for the tabernacle of the soul; and to pray for the dead person.

Magical thinking disregards not only sacramental theology, but common decency.

How far some clerics have fallen from the true understanding of death. This young woman chose a radically different lifestyle from her family. No amount of the trappings of the funeral Mass can change her decision made long ago to reject Christ and His Church.

Why, why do people choose lies? This situation was a running away of pain and suffering, which should have been faced while the woman lived.

Did anyone try to evangelize her? No, her pagan ways were accepted by her parents. "Everyone goes to heaven."

No, not everyone goes to heaven.

Perhaps the young woman repented at the last moment of life, That is possible, always, but a funeral Mass seems presumptuous.

Those diocese which have rules that a person be practicing member of a parish seem to be more obedient to reality and Church teaching on free will.

Years ago, many years ago, a grandmother who had fallen away from the Church for most of her life, came back because her grandson phoned the priest and asked him to go to the hospital. She was reconciled to the Church and she received the Last Rites.

Sadly, she did not have a Catholic funeral, as her children had fallen away, but her death was "in the Lord" and "in the Church". Her grandson acted by doctrine and good faith, not in magical thinking.

We need to be Catholics, not mushy minded relativists or universalists, and that warning must be applied to priests as well as the laity.

A Re-Discovered Jewel

Among the books I am sorting out in a friend's basement, I have found one of my favorite books, which I think is out of print. Prayer and Intelligence by Jacques and Raissa Maritain. This little book refers to the spiritual and physical life which leads to perfection.

I decided to share some of the pearls from this little book and set aside the encyclical on the Mystical Body of Christ for now.

The first section defines the relationship between Sacred Doctrine and the soul. Over and over again on this blog, I have written that one must be completely dependence on God's action in the soul and use our intellect and all our faculties "with a view to our sanctification and that our neighbour."

We must dedicate ourselves, and consecrate our intellect to the service of God.  We must move our will by our consecrated intellect to know and love God, and then to know and love our neighbor. What is behind the purification of the intellect was stated in my perfection series--and that is prayer.

Prayer leads to the purification of the senses and the spirit, as also noted by the Maritains in this book, the process leading to the clarification and purification of the intellect. One must leave the sensory world in order to grow more perfect. The Maritains state here that the intellect grows more perfect "in proportion to its emancipation from sensory image.

Prayer allows the Spirit to share knowledge with us and only prayer, "by supernaturally rectifying our faculties of desire enables us to convert the truth into practice."

Interesting is the point the Maritains make that "Prayer, particularly in the case of intellectuals, can only preserve a perfectly right direction and escape the dangers which threaten it, on condition of being supported and fed by Theology.

Of course, the Maritains mean orthodox theology.

They go on to note that the study and knowledge of Sacred Doctrine shorten the spiritual journey. Sacred Doctrine "saves the soul from a number of errors, illusions and blind alleys."

And, here is a key point--"In relation to the purgative life, it (knowledge of Sacred Doctrine) possesses an ascetic virtue which succeeds in detaching the sould from the degradations and trivialities of self-love. "

For those in the illuminative state, or life, the purfication that it beings simplifies the gaze of the soul and turns it from the human self to God alone."

I shall comment on their explanation of Sacred Doctrine and the Unitive State later....

Why Don't People Not Believe in Hell?

I am so sorry that so many people do not believe in hell. I have come to realize lately that the vast majority of people who go to Church on Sunday, or even some at daily Mass simply do not understand God's Wrath or Justice. The cult of psychology has trumped doctrine.

The priests of this land must begin to preach about the Four Last Things. They must. Here is part of St. Faustina's vision of hell.

" Today, I was led by an Angel to the chasms of hell. It is a place of great torture; how awesomely large and extensive it is! The kinds of tortures I saw: the first torture that constitutes hell is the loss of God; the second is perpetual remorse of conscience; the third is that one’s condition will never change; the fourth is the fire that will penetrate the soul without destroying it, a terrible suffering, since it is a purely spiritual fire, lit by God’s anger; the fifth torture is conditional darkness and a terrible suffocating smell, and despite the darkness, the devils and the souls of the damned see each other and all the evil, both of others and their own; the sixth torture is the constant company of satan, the seventh torture is horrible despair, hatred of God, vile words, curses and blasphemies. These are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture where one form of agony differs from another. I would have died at the very sight of these tortures if the omnipotence of God had not supported me. Let the sinner know that he will be tortured throughout all eternity, in those senses which he made use of to sin. I am writing this at the command of God, so that no soul may find an excuse by saying there is no hell, or that nobody has ever been there, and so no one can say what it is like. I, sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence. I cannot speak about it now; but I have received a command from God to leave it in writing. The devils were full of hatred for me, but they had to obey me at the command of God. What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw. But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell. When I came to, I could hardly recover from the fright. How terribly souls suffer there! Consequently, I pray even more fervently for the conversion of sinners. I incessantly plead God’s mercy upon them. O my Jesus, I would rather be in agony until the end of the world, amidst the greatest sufferings, then offend You by the least sin. (Diary 741).


Here are some awful paintings of hell. I think we should look at these and try and evangelize those who are in darkness.

http://filesmystery.blogspot.com/2011/04/paintings-of-hell-by-korean-artist.html

Very interesting and why not in the msm?

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/05/28/julian_assange_on_tpp_only_5_of_29_sections_are_about_traditional_trade_essentially_every_aspect_of_a_modern_economy.html

Another buzy backson day

Sorry for not blogging until much later today...organizing my life.

I need some help, like Rabbit's relations.

Another amazing!

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/01/exclusive-rand-paul-slams-establishment-republicans-declares-victory-over-nsa-thanks-matt-drudge-as-bulk-collection-shuts-down/

AMAZING!

Two priests in a diocese where I am visiting gave talks on the coming persecution of Catholics. I was surprised, as I have known both priests since the 1970s and would not have thought they would be on track, but they are.

God is inspiring many to see and get ready for what is coming.

Praise God!