Weetabix and Chopsticks

http://www.climber.co.uk/categories/articleitem.asp?cate=5&topic=11&item=768

Wow, a six post day, as horrible news has been posted, that Weetabix has been bought out by a Chinese company. My son, who uses chopsticks almost daily, and who is not the man in the photo, may have to switch to porridge, which I eat daily. This all seems so weird.....

Sarkozy's one-liner, which I think won the debate...

"You want less rich, I want less poor."


However, Sarkozy has a problem in that Bayreau, the former centrist to the right, has come out in support of the socialist, Hollande. However, Sarkozy gave a brilliant talk today on the financial state of Europe. He seems more presidential than Hollande, and more responsible in economic matters than the idealistic socialist. Read this for the importance of this election, folks. And, read this article, which is like mine a few weeks ago.

UPDATE: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/278412e6-9538-11e1-8faf-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fworld_uk%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct#axzz1tzVEtROy

and watch video on this site....as France goes, so goes Europe.

Thanks to the Popes, Socialism is Condemned

May I add to this discussion on socialism and Catholicism, that all these ideas are found in the encyclicals of the great Popes for over one-hundred years. In addition, I think that many Catholics feel guilty about the poor and their own prosperity, and fall into socialism as a way of assuaging their own guilt. Charity is the call of the Catholic, not misplaced socialist feelings. I am very concerned, visiting friends in Malta, Ireland, France and England, that the socialist agenda has contaminated the Catholic psyche. Capitalism is practically a dirty word among some Catholics. I also discovered that some Irish in the republican movement are hard-line socialists and against the Catholic Church. If one studies the republican movement in Ireland, one sees this betrothal of socialism and republicanism early on, even by the middle of the 19th Century. I am grateful to these great popes for my lists. Popes Pius IX, X, XI, XII, Leo XIII, Benedict XV and XVI, John Paul II...Here is a great place to find little snippets from these wonderful, Godly men.

I did not look at this link for my list, but it is great and includes some of the same points, as we both get our information from the Teaching Magisterium of the Church.

I have written these posts for M., S., C., G., J.,  and others with whom I have had this discussion. Tomorrow, I shall move from criticisms to the concrete solution against socialism; the Catholic Church and the real community of Faith.

Socialism is not Catholicism; List Continued

Eleven: socialism destroys nationalism, cultural differences and the organic growth of a civilization, by imposing rules and ideals which deny religion and religious freedom. At first, socialism seems to be tolerant, but any group denying power to the State becomes a threat.

Twelve: socialism creates a bloated government, as all the projects and programs which should be in the hands of individuals or the Church, are taken over by government. Government then needs to suppress rights and privileges in order to protect and increase its own bureaucracy. Therefore, socialism is against grass-roots political movements and local government, which may contradict the socialist State.

Thirteen: socialism creates false dichotomies and false "wars" within society, by creating the language of class hatred and envy; such false hatred and wars as between haves and have nots, the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, agricultural interests and those of the city, the workers and the academic elite, the blue collar and white collar workers, the Church and the State, etc. Then, the State claims that it is the only institution which can solve the problems creating by these false wars. Such heresies as Liberation Theology, Black Liberation Theology, etc. thrive in a socialist milieu.

Fourteen: socialism in denying initiative, Point Four, destroys creativity in the liberal arts, which are not utilitarian. Education becomes a way of creating good citizens and the dependent underclass instead of a way to teach people how to think. As religion is suppressed, so are the liberal arts which feed religion in a mutual encouraging of the studies of language, literature, history, the arts, philosophy, etc. Educational systems exist for the State and not for the individual.

Fifteen: socialism creates the cult of the leader or the cult of personality in leaders, on purpose, as those people are the only ones who supposedly can overcome the false wars created by the false dichotomies listed above. A cult of personality is needed in a socialist state which rewards mediocrity in leadership and undermines true, thinking leaders. There are many examples of this in various socialist and wannabee socialist states today.

Sixteen: socialism fears the Kingdom of God within, as it is a spiritual reality and also an institutional reality, as Christ instituted His Church on earth. Therefore the Church is the single-most enemy of the socialist State. The window of St. Joseph of Arimathea is above, a rich man who brought the Gospel to Britain. His knowledge of the Kingdom of God crossed the lines of empire, wealth, missionary activity, etc. all things a socialism government cannot but desires to control.

Seventeen: socialism, as utilitarian, uses other political, even religious movements to gain power and then discards those fair-weather friends once it is in power. For example, in the name of tolerance, a socialist party may appeal to immigrants, minorities, etc. especially against the hierarchy of the Church, as in the case of using the Islamic vote in France, while all the time not believing in the spiritual life or spiritual history at all and merely taking advantage of those in need, either perceived or real, in order to gain power. The irony is that as socialist really do not believe in the spiritual reality, but only the material, they sometimes underestimate the power and zeal of those they use.

Eighteen: socialism denies the need or pursuit of personal virtue, as all virtue resides in the State and the glorification of the State. The State becomes God, and therefore only those virtues which uphold the State are valuable.

Nineteen: progressivism, the heresy which believes that men and women are improving in body and mind, merely because of history and evolution, is a core belief of some socialists and part of the materialistic point of view. As there is no such thing as Creation by God, humans will change and improve under some type of utopian government, similar idea to Point One, but more sinister, and more pragmatic, as this leads to the Darwinian idea of the best of the species being preferred. Also, connected to Point Eight.

Twenty: socialism encourages conformity and tolerance of all things, including immoral and amoral behavior, such as homosexuality, and this tolerance becomes the rule, as religion is downgraded, As the philosophy of socialism is materialistic, denying a spiritual reality or the spiritual goal of the afterlife, by emphasizing the here and now, all behaviors are acceptable as being pleasurable. The State means the goal of all activity and therefore, personal morals and personal ethics are not important. The emphasis on pleasure also is connected to Point Nine, as those pursuing pleasure do not have time to work, and be creative.

I am adding one more, which is connected to several points above.

Twenty-one: socialism, as completely materialistic, denies the efficacy of suffering. Suffering is always bad and it is the duty of the State to control happiness and contentment, so that no one who is useful suffers.
Personal holiness through suffering is denied as a goal, as there is not spiritual life, only the material.

One Cannot be a True Socialist and a Catholic

OK, I know that Faith is a gift and that wanting to understand the teachings of the Church is also a grace. However, I am still trying to convince some acquaintances and friends as to the fact that one CANNOT be a true socialist and a Catholic. Those who are strong republicans, as in republic, not GOP, fall into these common logical fallacies regarding socialism. Here are a few bullets, which I hope help those who are either confused, or worse, working for socialist parties. This is not an exhaustive list. I have typed this list many times, and the Internet has gone down and destroyed my work several times. I am trying to rewrite these important points.There are twenty points. I shall write out ten and then another ten.

One: socialism is based on the false idea of a kingdom of man on earth, normally called utopianism. This false ideal denies Original Sin.

Two: socialism assumes that God does want all people to live in an equal status. We are not equal in property, money, assets, by God's Will.

Three: socialism teaches that property and assets belong to the State and that the State can appropriate private property. Not so, several Popes have stated that the Church supports private property.

Four: socialism destroys personal initiative. Obviously. Without personal goals, even material ones, people do not strive for excellence.

Five: socialism states that the individual person is only materialistic and that all goals of a government are for material welfare, denying the soul and the ultimate goal of eternal life.

Six: personal charity is the rule of the Church, not governmental charity. It is the duty of every Catholic to personally help those in whatever need and not assign charity to governmental projects, programs, etc.

Seven: socialism denies that the family is the center of social life. The State becomes the central focus of life and the family rights and privileges become subservient to the State. This leads to legislation regarding family planning, education, abortion and so on.

Eight: socialism is utilitarian (which is connected to the utopian ideal) and the weak and the vulnerable are no longer considered important if they cannot support the State. This may seem opposite to the ideal that the State wants to create a society of dependence, the next point, but the two are both held as ideals.

Nine: socialism creates an underclass of those completely dependent of the State, which is a type of slavery. As these people totally depend on the State for all their needs, they will not be critical of the State.

Ten: socialism creates its own elite, while hating and undermining other hierarchies, such as the Church, which it sees as a threat to its materialistic gospel.

To be continued.....

Another Courageous Bishop-Pray for Him and Others Like Him

Courageous Priest, a great website, has this Bishop highlighted this week. “If this goes through there is nothing to stop the government requiring faith communities to cover abortion in their insurance packages,” Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone told Vatican Radio.

“This is, I think, a pivotal moment in the United States and in the life of the Catholic Church in the United States,” Bishop Cordileone said.

Thanks to Courageous Priest for this photo

Follow-up on May Day Baskets....

No one commented on my May Day custom of passing out May baskets on May 1st. I looked up the American custom with which I grew up and found out that the "European settlers" or early "immigrants" brought it to the States. But, from where? If any other Americans, or British friends did this, please let me know if you have any information on such a gentle, small token of friendship. My background is Luxembourg and Czech, while other families in the neighborhood were German and English. It was done in my Catholic school, as well.

Missiles? Not in my backyard....

Bloggers in England are responding to the government's plan to place missiles in residential areas in London during the Olympics. Some bloggers and radical websites have stated that they live in neighborhoods where the missiles are to be placed and did not know until they received pamphlets in their doors. There has been no consultation as to this plan.

second link is source

"Yesterday my girlfriend brought home the leaflet," resident Brian Whelan told Euronews. "I was absolutely shocked. I couldn't believe that this would be announced in such a flippant way. Just a leaflet put through the door - some posters put up. I don't think that's any way to tell people you are putting a missile base on their roof."

"We don't really know if it will make us feel safer or more of a target," an employee of Madison's, a local restaurant was quoted by The Guardian as saying.


Residents won't need to wait until the Olympics to see the system in action. The leaflet says the batteries will be deployed with dummy missiles for a national Olympic security exercise Wednesday.


And that's not all. The Defense Ministry states there are, in fact, several locations that could be used to deploy surface-to-air missiles, though a final decision is yet to be made.


"As announced before Christmas, ground-based air defense systems could be deployed as part of a multilayered air security plan for the Olympics, including fast jets and helicopters, which will protect the skies over London during the games," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.


It's all part of the Defense Ministry's 1.2 billion-euro Olympic Security plan. The Defense Secretary had previously confirmed that Typhoon fighter jets, helicopters, two warships and bomb disposal experts would all be deployed to London as part of the plan. That's alongside 13,500 troops to be dispatched to safeguard Olympic events throughout the city.

BBC news

Opinions are divided as to the necessity and wisdom. I must admit, that the photos made by media computer guys look like London would be made into a war zone--but maybe it is already. Comments?

For my sisters in Germany, England, France, Spain, Greece, Italy, America, etc. Catholicism brings dignity to women-but not all religions do so....

Some of my liberal acquaintances, who think that sharia law would be a good thing, as so off-base as to make conversations laughable, if these were not so serious. Here is news from one of the areas of Russia. What do you think, as the need for law based on Christianity becomes more acute in so many places of the world? From the great Spencer....


ACHXOY-MARTAN, Chechnya — Chechnya's government is openly approving of families that kill female relatives who violate their sense of honor, as this Russian republic embraces a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam after decades of religious suppression under Soviet rule.

In the past five years, the bodies of dozens of young Chechen women have been found dumped in woods, abandoned in alleys and left along roads in the capital, Grozny, and neighboring villages.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov publicly announced that the dead women had “loose morals” and were rightfully shot by male relatives. He went on to describe women as the property of their husbands, and said their main role is to bear children.

“If a woman runs around and if a man runs around with her, both of them should be killed,” said Mr. Kadyrov, who often has stated his goal of making Chechnya “more Islamic than the Islamists.”

In today’s Chechnya, alcohol is all but banned, Islamic dress codes are enforced and polygamous marriages are supported by the government.

Some observers say Mr. Kadyrov’s attempt to impose Islamic law violates the Russian Constitution, which guarantees equal rights for women and a separation of church and state....Also, take a look at this video, which is very interesting. Watch to the end.

More nonsense from The Tablet....

An author in The Tablet, Linda Woodhead, asks for a syncretic religion, instead of the one, true, holy and apostolic Church. She examines the abandoning of what she calls "traditions" for what she describes as "real religion" and what I would describe as new age hodge-podge.

A few quotations from her article shows us a person who believes in some sort of religious faith, but not The Faith. "everyday, lived religion--is thriving and evolving, whilst hierarchical, dogmatic forms of religion are marginalized." Tell this to the millions of Muslim converts and Evangelical converts in the world, who prize doctrinal statements and laws, as well as some types of hierarchical structure.

Woodhead states as well, that the new Catholics who loved the visit of the Pope in England do not follow the teachings of the Church. Ummm, how does she know?

Here is her lame excuse to this syncretic happy, Utopian view--"So why continue to insist on clear-cut categories? It is because it suits us: it suits those still running the major world religions; it suits those who fear fundamentalism and love to create monsters so that they can fear them; and it is because the media love a sharp,simple profile."

Thanks to the Hermeneutic of Continuity

Where does The Tablet find these people? Obviously, she is a relativist with regard to religion and does not believe in the Revelation of Christ regarding the institution of His Church on earth. She also does not believe in absolute Truth, Who is a Person, called Christ.

Not another whine in The Tablet?

In the April 28th issue of The Tablet, which should not be sold in any Catholic parish, but is, as I have just discovered today, Phyllis Zagano writes on the disciplining of the LCWR, which has been in the news and on the blog, among many others. She writes, that "The general public--Catholic and non-Catholic alike--will view this latest foray as an attempt by a hierarchy whose influence is waning to silence women and to bar them from the halls of power more permanently. That the halls of power have moved from social media seems both the cause and the promise of the Vatican's actions. Overall, popular opinion clearly favours the women Religious whose ministry is better known and more widely accepted than the pronouncements of a hierarchy apparently blind to the moral shortcomings of too many of its own." Ummm, public opinion probably does not care a hoot about this issue, no offense.

This woman has just accused the hierarchy of both vanishing and not being in a moral position to correct anti-life, pro-abortion,pro-homosexual women who have scandalized the Church for too long in America and other nations. She also claims that the tension between the Vatican and the LCWR, which of course, has to do with obedience to the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church, (get this),  "reflects the the distinctions between the ways in which men and women perform ministries in the Catholic Church" This is crazy gender-related pseudo-theology. In addition, Zagano states that  "The women are chided in the document as too devoted to social service and not devoted to matters of interest to the CDF--specifically questions regarding women priest, homosexuality and abortion."

Well, being that the CDF is concerned about defending the Faith and the LCWR is concerned with immoral activities and blatant disobedience to the sisters and nuns own vows, I would assume there is a clash of interests. So the liberal disagreement between pastoral theology and doctrinal theology rears its ugly head. The divisions in the Church are there and persons like Zagano do not help the situation.

On May Baskets and Iowa

When I was a child growing up in Iowa, it was the custom to make May baskets and place them on people's porches in the neighborhood. My mother helped us create these baskets and we ran around in the heat of the Midwest and put these treasures on the neighbors we knew and with whose children we played.

I was never quite sure as to the religious or secular history of this custom. By the time I was in high school in the late sixties, the custom had passed, although we as a family would bring baskets to the two grandmothers. The nuns at school told us as children this all was in honor of Our Lady.

These baskets were not elaborate, and usually the flowers were picked in the fields and parks in the neighborhood-violets, daisies, daffodils, even dandelions.

If anyone else grew up with this custom, please let me know on this blog.

Canterbury in Bloom on May Day

Thanks Wiki

I am visiting the beautiful city of Canterbury today, and prayed at the spot where St. Thomas Becket was murdered. I am reminded that the time is coming upon us again, when bishops and archbishops may have to take severe and holy stands against the government encroachment of Church rights. There are many, many people who not only do not want the Church to have rights, but
do not believe that the institution created by Christ on earth for our salvation legitimately has rights, both separate and intertwined with the State. I also visited the Anglican parish church of St. Dunstan, where part of the pieces, the relics of St. Thomas More are located under the Church. Twenty some years ago, I actually saw those relics, when the place was open, and put my hands on the grating in front the the holy remains. One cannot do that now, and I was fortunate to have been there on the day when this could happen.

That these two saints died for the jurisdiction of the Church over certain matters of morality and order, make us ponder our own positions today, especially on this May 1st, when "occupier" threaten the age-old systems of order in Europe and America.

In addition, the American window, dedicated to those who fought in World War II is as beautiful as ever. I prayed for my dad, a veteran. At both places, I prayed for seminarians and those who are about to go into the seminary, especially. I also prayed for those who have yet to discern their vocation in life either priestly or lay. SS. Thomas Becket and Thomas More, pray for us.

Propaganda Check

Marxist language lookout. Watch the media today, as the occupy movements spread class hatred and Marxist jargon across the world. These anarchists say they are against greed as they break into downtown jewelers and steal .

On finding a good spiritual director...

I could write a book on trying to find a good spiritual director. I have had good ones and excellent ones. But, in England there is a twofold problem. The first is that priests are surprised when one asked them to consider this. They are not in the same frame of mind as many American priests who have been trained in various types of spirituality and know that there are people in the parish who want direction. In Great Britain and Ireland, this apparently does not happen. Parishioners I have discussed this problem with have not even heard of a lay person having a spiritual director. In my mind, if a Catholic layperson is in any type of ministry, such as being an RCIA director, or a teaching of religion, that person must have a director, or, at least, a regular confessor.

Secondly,  the older priests, who should be excellent in spiritual direction tend to be the more liberal generation, some of which do not have a clue about the spiritual life of perfection. Some of the older priest deny venial sins,  which is a detriment to following the life of perfection. Without a sense of sin, the life of virtue and the stages of the mystical life.  The younger priests, fifty and under, are much better, have better training in these things...To be continue...

On the Doctrine of Laundry

One thing I cannot do in Europe is hang out clothes. I have helped my sisters in Christ hang out clothes in England, Ireland, France and London, which is not exactly England, and there are at least six ways of hanging out the same towels, shirts, sheets, and so on.

I do not offer anymore, and I decline, as the dear ones take everything down which I have hung up and start over, with many directions as to wind speed, direction of the wind, hours of sunlight, various levels of mist and even rain, and creasing. I give up. My mother and I hung out clothes together for over fifteen years and I can assure you that the Iowa way is just not done in the above countries. Of course, as it is 98 degree Fahrenheit in the shade most of the summer, the stuff dries in an hour without wind directions or speed taken into consideration.

Nuns doing laundry in the ocean?

The biggest contentions happen over shirts-does one put the pegs on the shoulder or on the bottom hem? Notice the two ways in the photos provided here by scientists studying laundry hanging habits, supported by a grant from PG, Proctor and Gamble, which is looking for "new innovations", a redundancy from the website.

Some of my friends live in neighborhoods where they are not allowed to hang out laundry. We lived in one like that for awhile and bought a phenomenal German washer-dryer, which I could time to go on the laundry cycle and then into the drying cycle while I slept. Cool.

In parts of Scotland, some friends of mine told me that the laundry froze on the line and the trousers were brought in and left by the fire to thaw out.

I do not mind lesson on wind and sunlight, but why do people feel so strongly about such things? I do not have strong opinions on hanging out laundry. If I were in the process and someone offered, I would just say "Great, thanks" and let them get on with it.

The Irish can be divided into two groups of laundry hanger-outers. The first is those who want to save on clothes pegs and want everything connected. The other group wants everything spread out and not touching. The first group places the open shirts to the outside of the line, and the second group places the opening of the shirts to the inside of the line. There are permutations on these themes. In addition, there are those Irish, a third category, like my friend Kathleen, who could care less and are just glad to get it out before the rain starts up again. She is a woman after my own heart.

In England, there are those who put out knickers and other items of underwear and those who do not. The do nots should take a walk in the neighborhoods of Rome to see centuries of underwear hanging techniques--all perfected in a Catholic environment. It is interesting, and be it far from me to criticize someone's sensibilities. In America, in the Midwest, we are not so squeamish, as our men do not notice anything on a line and prefer to ignore female chores in general, especially on Saturday, when hours of football, baseball, basketball, etc. take up all their attention. "Laundry, what laundry? Oh, you mean those six baskets on the steps. Sorry, it is tied in the ninth inning, it is the fourth down, it is the Final Four of the women's Iowa basketball championship, it is a tiebreak and ...."

Living in London, in West Kensington, I had the choice between an airing cupboard, or the dryer. Simple. Sigh. I give up and will just stick to writing, which can be done in as many ways as there are people. I wonder how the nuns in the Vatican hang up laundry. Maybe the Catholic community needs guidelines on washing lines. Does the Pope care if his cassocks are up, or down on the lines in the Vatican?

I have purposefully avoided the topic of hanging out laundry in the winter, another contentious subject.

On the life of the virtues-more in the series on perfection

I want to apologize to the blogging friends who wanted me to organize all the past postings on perfection. As I am fighting an old computer and off and on Internet, I hope you can wait until I have more peaceful access to both.

The old fashioned teaching which I grew up with and which was taught in the pre-Vatican II Church included the emphasis on the practice of the virtues, which I have mentioned here and do so again today. One of the great misunderstandings of Catholics in the pew is that the avoidance of mortal and venial sins are enough to gain heaven, with a few meritorious acts attached. Not so. The great teaching of the Church includes the idea that the life of the virtues and the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be part of the life of a Catholic in order to gain heaven. Purgatory is exactly that, purgation, and the end of the time in which to develop, practice the virtues. The gifts of the Spirit help us perfect the virtues. When was the last time you heard any teaching from the pulpit on the necessity of the virtuous life? Throughout the ages, many, many spiritual guides have helped us with these ideas, which are not new.

If I can oversimplify the process, it would be like this: first, the introduction of the soul into the life of sanctifying grace, which informs actual grace and gives us,  (happens at baptism), the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity; second; the intellect and soul must cooperate with grace in the development of the virtues-the soul needs the intellect and the will to live in the life of sanctifying grace. Third, the virtues must become habits, not merely something we think of doing now and then. Without this practice of the virtues, there is a chance of losing our salvation. We develop a disposition to and in developing the virtues. A person who is in the natural order, without grace, may seem to be practicing natural virtues, but without grace, a person is not actually an heir of God, a co-heir of Christ, and therefore, going to heaven. This is one of the great heresies of our day, the idea that just being good gets one to heaven. Being good may be natural for some people, and the supernatural order of grace, that is directed to our final end, can be ignored. We are united to God by grace.

The development of the life of the virtues is the necessary step. The Indwelling of the Holy Trinity occurs in baptism and confirmation, and some theologians equate the phrase "the Kingdom of God is within" with that mystery the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts, which help us develop the virtues, and then exhibit the gifts of the Spirit. Grace introduces us into the life of the Trinity.

to be continued....

Abuses continue in the Church--update: including TODAY

In my travels in England, and I am writing a book, I can share that I have witnessed either liturgical abuses or abuses by the laity in every Ordinary Form Mass since I have returned. When in France, I only attended the EF, therefore I was not bombarded by these problems. If anyone in power in any parish, such as a PP or a Bishop, please correct these problems, which I see daily. I may have to write letters on some of these. And, I have only been back in England four weeks.

1) The continued use of elements of the now illegal NO translation, including the persistence of the old acclamations, old opening and closing prayers, old Gloria, and other such aberrations.

2) Repeated problems with Eucharistic Ministers giving blessings to the faithful at Communion time.

3) Priests not announcing at marriages or funerals that only Catholics can receive Holy Communion. This is a huge problem. Everyone, even those who have been away from the Church, and Protestants, go up for Communion.

4) Lack of following guidelines on catechesis in Confirmation preparation, as young people who are not practicing Catholics and do not attend Sunday Mass are put forward for the sacrament.

5) Laity abuses include immodesty, mostly in middle-age women, which is shocking. Women also wear blue jeans on the altar on Sundays, as well as during the week.

6) Laity abuses include talking loudly and consistently before and after Mass.

7) Lack of Confessions offered. In most places, one has to ask for the sacrament.

8) Now, I must state that these things seem to be worse in some dioceses and missing in others. That the bishop sets the tone is obvious.

I am to the point where I cannot go to a NO without wondering or worrying if it will be legal and reverent. I really need to move and find a place which has the regular Latin Mass, which is hard. Most places in England which have a Sunday Mass, do not necessarily have a daily TLM. Pray for me as I am now avoiding daily Mass in at least one local parish, as the problems are grating and not being addressed by the PPs.

By the way, there is a EF in Malta today, where there has not been a TLM since the first week of November. The Summorum Pontificum is still not followed in that nation.

PS The TLM scheduled for three weeks in Malta was cancelled today, or rather, changed to a NO in Latin because someone in the curia changed his mind and stopped it. I am not making this up. Abuse and the taking back of a permission which was granted and a firm stand against the Summorum Pontificum is the unofficial, but real, stand of the curia in Malta. 

On magical thinking and Catholics

I must write on the difference between magical thinking and belief in devotions. There are many Catholics, and sadly, many are Charismatics, who believe if someone does something, either with medals, cards, holy water or holy salt, that there will always be a one-one correspondence to a spiritual occurrence. Most of the time, these ideas are held by lay people, and not priests, who having been trained in sound thinking, realize the limitations of sacramentals, which are there to encourage the faithful in devotion.The idea behind magical thinking is that if one either does a certain activity, or if on repeats a certain ritualistic action, a certain good, or in the case of nasty people wanting to curse someone, an evil outcome will occur.

While not denying that certain actions do bring about grace, and these are called the Sacraments, which are efficacious, in that something happens when the material events occur. For example, Catholics know that when the water is poured over the person's head in baptism with the Trinitarian words given to us by Christ, that Original Sin is taken away, sanctifying grace enters the person, and that person becomes a child of God.

Magical thinking would make things or events into sacraments, that is, turn certain activities into efficacious events, when these are not.

If one is in mortal sin and wears a Miraculous Medal, if one does not repent, the medal will not stop one from going to hell. The idea that a medal, in and off itself, with keep one from hell is simply not true. For the believer, for the person who honors Mary in the heart, the medal represents an existing spiritual reality, that is, love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

How to separate real supernatural thinking from magical thinking is difficult, in that humans want to control their lives and the lives of others with things. This is a common problem, as we all want to play God and be in control.

Real religion tells us that we are not in control, and that our wills need to be conformed to the Will of God. No amount of magical thinking, wearing medals, novenas, and prayer meetings will necessarily save us, if our minds and hearts, and our souls are not conformed to Jesus through the Teachings of the Catholic Church. We can only be saved through Jesus Christ and the merits of the Catholic Church.

A sign of a false religion is frequently the reliance of exterior pity, or externals talismans. For example, if one believes that if they have a rabbit's foot, good luck will happen. Or, if one says a certain number of prayers, then one is holy, or if one faces in a certain direction for prayer, one gets more merit. Not so.. The only way to God is through Christ and His Church. Nothing external can make one holy, or even a place holy, unless this is determined by the Church. Shrines are merely superstition if not approved by the Church, or if there is not a long history of devotion attached to such, which usually means the Church has approved the place, the spring, the chapel, etc.

Our family always marked the top of the doorway on January 6th with the initials of the three Kings and the year's date. However, even though this pious custom invokes those three saints to bless people going in and out, it is not a given that burglars will not enter the house and steal things if I leave the door open by mistake, which happened. The natural act of leaving a door open led to theft, and that it was not worse could be attributed to the Three Kings, but such a cause and effect would be magical thinking.

The only efficacy we know for sure lies in those sacraments of the Church and the bona fide indulgences given and approved by the Church authorities, using bishops, sometimes the authorities in Rome. I caution Catholics not to fall into magical thinking. Be pious, use the sacramentals approved by the Church and stay away from spurious items and unapproved prayers. Make sure what you use has been approved by some bishop somewhere.

Just a reminder, there is no such thing as a good witch, as cute as Glinda was in the movie.

On trads and vocations

A commentator today on Father Z's blog drew attention to a report from Paix Liturgique, which, as I am moving back and forth between France and England for reasons of visiting, journalism and study, I am particularly interested in sharing. Here are some fascinating statistics highlighted in the study online,.

Two diocesan seminaries are always at the top of the list, ahead of many interdiocesan seminaries: those of Toulon and Paris, each at over 70 seminarians and both on the increase [2]. Naturally, this figure and increase are proportionately far more remarkable for the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon than for Paris. These results are undeniably due its bishop’s orientation: Bishop Rey, who comes from the Communauté de l’Emmanuel and is quite open both to the New Evangelization and to the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. In Paris, the enrollment figures for Parisian seminarians had exceeded 100 at their peak under Cardinal Lustiger, fell to 54 in 2007, and are now undergoing a measurable upswing (74 in 2011, of which 62 are from Paris). It should be noted that the Parisian seminary now seems to be open to “all tendencies,” meaning to the most traditionalist among postulanIt must be noted that the current stability, after a slow increase, is less significant than the overall proportion: over 15% of French seminarians are generated by hardly 5% of practicing Catholics—those who have access to the traditional liturgy every Sunday. Yet for our part we believe that the number of young people intending themselves for the extraordinary form would likely increase if only the right means were provided. According to the good old principle that one loves only what one knows and practices, there is no doubt that the more the extraordinary form is offered at the parish level, the more young people who until then were ignorant of it will discover it and, should the case arise, be in a position to choose the extraordinary form when they go to seminary.
If more parishes were opened up to the celebration of the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, if satisfaction were given to the desire of the faithful, and if this liturgical form were made more available for those who do not know it to discover it, then the number of “Summorum Pontificum” seminarians would undergo a considerable increase. This would have an immediate influence on the diocesan vocations curve. Why not do so?And, I give the sensible result of the study first, so that you can put the rest of the letter in perspective.... And so, to finish, we express a wish that seems also to be common sense: that the extraordinary form of the Roman rite may find its rightful place in the celebrations of the Year of Faith that is about to begin.

[1] 20,000 seminarians in formation would be needed to make up for the dearth of priests. In this regard see Fr. Thierry-Dominique Humbrecht, L’avenir des vocations (Les Plans sur Bex, Switzerland: Parole et Silence, 2006).

[2] After these come interdiocesan seminaries totaling about 50 seminaries (Lyons and Toulouse), then those of Orleans or Issy-les-Moulineaux with about forty seminarians, then the many seminarians numbering about thirty candidates (Lille, the French seminary in Rome, the “Séminaire des Carmes” in Paris, Vénasque, etc.).

Note the connections....


Among the “smaller” dioceses, one cannot fail to point out the case of Vannes, which has about 30 seminarians, and Bayonne, which now boasts about fifteen seminarians, even though it had only two in 2009. It should be noted that in Vannes (Bishop Centène) as well as in Bayonne (Bishop Aillet, named late in 2008) the bishops may be considered to be fully in synch with Benedict XVI’s pontificate, and that this is not without some impact on the dynamism of local vocations. One may without exaggeration estimate the proportion of French diocesan seminarians who are directly sensitive to the Reform of the reform that Benedict XVI desires, including the motu proprio, at 30%. And to these diocesan seminarians must be added all those who choose to go the way of so-called traditionalist seminaries.

Thanks, to haribo, who drew this source to my attention. My comment included the fact that more NO women contracept than EF women, a statistic not scientifically proven, but learned from experience. Women talk about these things. And, family size, on average, is obviously larger among trad mums and homeschooling mums, both conservative groups giving vocations to the dioceses and religious orders, such as the FSSPs.

My other point is that the spirituality of the EF leads to a different, more God-centered life, which leads a young man to want to say the EF.