Housekeeping Note

I just realized that some of the Perfection Series posts have the tag "perfection" and some "perfection again". I am not going to go back in the near future and correct this by adding both to the posts. Sorry, but if you want the entire series, including all the Doctors of the Church to this point, you will have to click on both tags.

Apologies. But, such is life in the blogosphere...

On St. Peter and the Transfiguration-- a lesson in not being afraid of the future, not holding on to the past

Continuing my thoughts today on the readings of the day, I am grateful to my excellent grade school, high school and college teachers, who taught me how to read the Bible. I was fortunate in that "us kids" had our own and I loved mine, done by the Maryknoll Sisters with gorgeous illustrations. My son used it until I got him another one and now it is with some home schooling family.

Another beautiful Bible I lovesd when young was the Taize Bible(Jerusalem Bible translation, but I just would look at the paintings), as the illustrations were so hauntingly symbolic and beautiful. Children and young adolescents, as well as teens, learn through art, just as we all do, if we take the time.

That is one reason I use art in my posts, as I cannot write everything a reader can see.

St. Peter made a huge mistake today in the reading. It is comforting that the Evangelist let us see that Peter grew into his perfection, as we must, and was not automatically "with it".

Peter states, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” Luke 9:33

Luke notes that Peter did not know what he was saying. Duh.

However, I think Peter was trying to do three things, which we try to do to avoid the road to perfection.

Peter was fighting the New Covenant and wanting to hold on to the Old Covenant. A sign of God's Presence in the desert had been the Tent with the Law and the Ark of the Covenant. Now, Peter was smart enough about his Scripture, as all Jewish men were at the time, but he missed the point.

He did not want something new. He wanted to hang on to the familiar.

How many times do we do this? We want to play god and plan out every detail of our live, based on past experiences. We are afraid to try some new way.

Peter wanted his old way of religious worship. The temple, the tent, etc.

He understood that he was witnessing a Theophany, but he wanted to keep it, save it in the old and not move on into the new.

He was frightened of the Cross. What does the Scripture say that Elijah and Moses and Christ were discussing? The Gospel today states clearly that "they were speaking of his passing". That means, the man who symbolized the Law and the great prophet, and Christ, the Son of God, were discussing Christ's Passion-the New Covenant.

Peter got this part, but he was scared. Surely, Christ was not going to suffer? Surely, Christ was not the Lamb of God? As a man who knew his Scripture, Peter was getting worried. Why?

Peter, like all Jewish men, knew this passage: Peter knew that Elijah was going to bring in a new age.

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD,
6: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Peter also knew that John the Baptist was not Elijah.  This had been settled.

John 1:19
And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 
20: And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21: And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not.
Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23: He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

So, Peter might think that this Elijah appearance was the real deal. And, he would have remembered the famous story of Elijah raising the widow's son from the dead.

1st Kings 17:17 to 1st Kings 18:40

Poor Peter was being forced out of his comfort zone.

He had to understand that Christ was the promised Messiah, that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. 

Other ideas of suffering from Isaiah 53 may have creeped into Peter's consciousness.

No wonder he wanted to hang on to the old and not face the new.

How many times do we want to hang on to what is known to us in religion instead of being open to the unknown? Peter had not known Christ like this. But, Christ wanted these three apostles to see Him in order to strengthen them before the Crucifixion.Christ revealed Himself at the Transfiguration in His Glory, but not with the marks of His Passion.

His Glorified Body was yet to be revealed.

Obviously, when Peter denied Christ, this denial was serious sin, as he has seen Christ as the Son of God.

Thankfully, he repented and was forgiven and went on to rule the Church in wisdom and grace (with a little help from St. Paul).

Peter was a man who seemed to have had to learn things the hard way.

Let us cooperate with grace. 

Let us pursue perfection.

The Way of Perfection in the Life of Abram and the Example of the Pope

The Pope is an example for all of us, speaking of prayer and contemplation today as part of this "going up the hill". The road of suffering for him will not be seen by us. His going into silence and prayer should be example to all of us as to our priorities at this time. We must prioritize and see our limitations.

I think he is telling us that the new evangelization must start in silence, with our own purification  In fact, today with the reading of the covenant of Abram and God, it struck me that my two posts on the stars were timely today. He was promised descendants as many or more than the stars in the sky.

We are his people, we are his descendants in Faith. He is our father, and shows us the way of trust. I do not think that people realize how much Faith Abram had in his horribly pagan land, surrounded by people of nasty man-made religions. His example is one we should keep before us in the days to come.

Abram was asked to enter into a intimate relationship with God and he had to completely trust in God, who told him how to take the animals of sacrifice and place these on the ground.  The walking of Abram and God as the Pillar of Fire and Smoke, is the making of a love relationship. When I was a child, my children's Bible had a magnificent picture of Abram in the dark, walking behind the Pillar of Fire through the path of the dead animals. Now, more than 50 years later, I remember that painting. I wish I had a copy, as Abram has always captured my imagination. I have written more than one poem on him and his life.

The way of perfection starts with purification and the first dark night of the soul, which is foreshadowed by Abram being in darkness in today's reading.

His being in a great darkness and chasing away the vultures, is like the later saints we know talking about getting rid of sin and interior desires while in the dark night.

The reward for his perseverance is Abram's covenant with God, and the vow is that the person who does not keep the covenant is stating that he would be split like the animals if he would break the covenant.

God is making Himself vulnerable and takes the Death of the breaking of the covenant on Himself, through His Son.

This is the first hint to Abram that God loves him so much that He would suffer for him AND his descendants.

So, the first reading is a foreshadowing of the Passion of Christ which is the New Covenant with the Body and Blood. The Passion of Christ is the fulfillment of this covenant of Abraham.

This covenant of Abram is the Old Testament and the new covenant is the New Testament.

Christ was Present in the Trinity, in that covenant with Abram. Just as the Trinity came and visited Abram later, so too, is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit making a covenant with our Father in Faith.

We are the stars.....made bright through the Passion of Christ.

Later on,  Abram would be asked to sacrifice his only son, only to prove his faith. God gave us His Son as a Sacrifice to prove His Faith in us, through the Covenant.

More on today's readings later.............

The Law, the Prophets, the Love-a personal mediation

I have been told recently by some priest friends, that the Sunday Gospels for Lent are among the oldest liturgically scheduled readings in the Church. Today's and last Sunday's on the Temptation have been read on these respective Sundays for over a thousand years according to two priest friends. How wonderful.

The Transfiguration was always a mystery to me until I saw it in terms of Love. Christ, Who is about to walk to Golgotha and endure pain for us, is giving his disciples a glimpse of His Glory, so as not only to encourage them for the days to come (and is this not timely today?) but also to show how much God loves them by sending His Only Son for this purpose.

Moses and the Law and Elijah and Prophecy point to Christ as the Messiah, the Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the One, True Prophet and One, True Priest, as well as being the Son of God.

How these monotheists must have been shocked at this revelation, that Christ is God, as well as the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We have been given The Trinity in baptism and we walk in God. So, too, Peter, James and John walked in the Trinity, two to death and one to exile. So, we are warned, as well as loved today. Christ in His Glory points to our own final glorified bodies united with our souls at the end of time, but only after sufferings and trials.

Love is always the answer. Love. And, why did the disciples keep silent? Were they afraid? No, I think it is that when we have a love experience, we cannot find the words to describe this. And, love is so sacred, it really is hard to discuss it, or, rather, Him.  Silence protects the Love in our hearts. The monastic orders know this. Silence is like a protective shield guarding the Love of Christ in our beings. Let nothing dilute that Love today.

The paintings show turmoil and fierce movement. Why? When the Divine, when God reveals Himself in our lives, He interrupts the doldrums  the ordinariness of our lives. We are thrown into the happy, yet disturbing chaos of love. Those of us who have experienced this interruption have been changed. How happy we are when love changes our lives..........how wonderful to have this glimpse of immortality. Listen to Love.

	Luke 9:28-36

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

A post of gratitude

Thank you, Pope Benedict XVI, for your years given to us

April 19th, 2005-February 28th, 2013

Part 52: DoC: Bernard of Clarivaux and the Perfection of Love

From St. Bernard of Clairvaux on Love from Sermon 83 on the Canticle of Canticles.

Love is sufficient of itself, it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in its practice. I love because I love, I love that I may love. Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountain head, flows back to its source, always drawing from there the water which constantly replenishes it.

Of all the movements, sensations and feelings of the soul, love is the only one in which the creature can respond to the Creator and make some sort of similar return however unequal though it be. For when God loves, all he desires is to be loved in return; the sole purpose of his love is to be loved, in the knowledge that those who love him are made happy by their love of him.

The Bridegroom’s love, or rather the love which is the Bridegroom, asks in return nothing but faithful love. Let the beloved, then, love in return. Should not a bride love, and above all, Love’s bride? Could it be that Love not be loved?

Rightly then does she give up all other feelings and give herself wholly to love alone; in giving love back, all she can do is to respond to love. And when she has poured out her whole being in love, what is that in comparison with the unceasing torrent of that original source? Clearly, lover and Love, soul and Word, bride and Bridegroom, creature and Creator do not flow with the same volume; one might as well equate a thirsty man with the fountain.

What then of the bride’s hope, her aching desire, her passionate love, her confident assurance? Is all this to wilt just because she cannot match stride for stride with her giant, any more than she can vie with honey for sweetness, rival the lamb for gentleness, show herself as white as the lily, burn as bright as the sun, be equal in love with him who is Love? No. It is true that the creature loves less because she is less. But if she loves with her whole being, nothing is lacking where everything is given. To love so ardently then is to share the marriage bond; she cannot love so much and not be totally loved, and it is in the perfect union of two hearts that complete and total marriage consists. Or are we to doubt that the soul is loved by the Word first and with a greater love?

Words for the Papabile from St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Part 51: DoC

If I remember, the subject of my discourse

to your Excellency was to be Consideration. And certainly

the matter to which I have referred is important and requires

much consideration...To me it is a very small matter that I should be judged by

those who call good evil and evil good,

who put light for darkness and darkness for light....So then, in choosing men,

select not him that willeth, nor him that runneth, but

but such as hesitate or refuse; even put

pressure on these, and compel them to

come in. The Spirit may rest in such,

I think, as are not of a

shameless forehead,

but are modest, and have the fear of God who fear nothing but God, and hope for

nothing from God....who stand up

manfully for the afflicted and judge in

equity the meek upon earth; men who are of orderly life,

proved holiness, ready to obey, meek in suffering, submissive

under discipline, stern in censuring, who hold the Catholic

faith, are faithful in their stewardship, lovers of peace and

concord, consistent in maintaining unity ; men upright in

judgement, prudent in counsel, discreet in commanding,

careful in planning, strenuous in action, modest in speech ;

tranquil in adversity, devout in prosperity ; as regards zeal,

sober-minded ; prone to pity ; in leisure time not idle ; given

to hospitality, but not too convivial ; careful in business affairs,

but not anxious ; not covetous of another man s goods, nor

lavish of their own ; everywhere, and under all circumstances,

circumspect ; men who when bidden, and necessity requires,

would not decline to serve as ambassadors for Christ, nor

unbidden would aspire to the office, nor make their modest

excuses a plea for obstinate refusal ; who when sent do not

go after gold, but follow Christ; who do not regard their

commission as so much gain, nor look for reward, but seek

fruit ; who in the eyes of kings are as John, to the Egyptians

are as Moses, to fornicators as Phinees, to idolaters as Elijah,

to the covetous as Elisha, to liars as Peter, to blasphemers as

Paul, to traffickers as Christ ; who do not despise the common

people, but teach them ; do not flatter the rich, but frighten

them ; do not oppress the poor, but cherish them ; do not

dread the threats of rulers, but despise them ; do not make

a great to-do when they enter on their work, nor show signs

of anger when they leave it; who do not rob the churches, but

improve them ; do not empty men s pockets, but refresh their

hearts, and correct their offences ; who take care of their own

reputation, and do not envy another man his ; who zealously

cultivate prayerful habits, and in everything rely more on prayer

than on their own industry and labour ; whose coming bringeth

peace, whose departure we regret ; whose speech is edifying,

their life righteous, their presence a pleasure, their memory

blessed ; who to the individual are amiable not in word, but

in deed, while they command the respect of the world at large,

not by their arrogance, but by the discharge of their duties;

from On Consideration

More and more...prayers, please, now

http://goo.gl/VC0qr

Prayers needed here immediately

and here

http://goo.gl/syfiw

And, why would anyone wait 33 years to make an allegation of this kind?

And, why would anyone make these allegations days before the Pope resigns?

Sorry, I am suspicious.

Comet Ison will be a new sky event this year

http://waitingforison.wordpress.com/comet-ison-whats-the-big-deal/

Here are two links about Ison....great stuff!

Here is part of an article found here:

http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112754503/comet-ison-to-put-on-a-show-in-2013-122712/

Ison has been traveling for millions of years from the Oort cloud to reach Earth. The comet’s surface is very dark, and it is a few tens of miles across.

Whitehouse says if you jumped into the air while on the surface of the comet, you could leap 20 miles up, and it would take you over a week to come back down.

By the end of the summer next year the comet will become visible in small telescopes and binoculars. A few months later, by October, it will be passing Mars and the surface will shift, with the surface of the rock responding to thermal shock.

As the comet passes the orbit of Earth, the gas and dust geysers will gather force, and the space around Ison will become brilliant as the ice below the surface turns into gas and erupts. Once this happens, it will be reflecting the light of the sun.

By late November next year, the comet will be visible to the unaided eye just after dark in the same direction as the setting Sun. The comet’s tail could stretch like a searchlight into the sky above the horizon.

Ison will then swing rapidly around the Sun, passing within two million miles of it, which is closer than any planet ever does. The comet will be able to be seen to an “unaided eye” for months.

When Ison gets close in its approach to the Sun, it could become intensely bright, but at this point it will be difficult and dangerous to see without special instruments.

OK, for all the Burke fans..............

Photos by http://orbiscatholicussecundus.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/raymond-leo-cardinal-burke.html

Late February and Early March Night Sky

I have found another great website for news on the upcoming sky events. Check out this site, which I have used before and the second one, which is new to me.

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury

I shall  do more later in the week.       http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/  

When I was in Malta earlier this year, the sky was fantastic. The English sky has been so cloudy where I have been staying that sky watching has been almost impossible. Right now, we are having sleet.

Look for Jupiter in Taurus. Great light in the sky.....

The Eagle Nebula

More from Vatican Insider....on undue influence from America and other places by false and misleading news; that is an understatment

Here...............
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/conclave-cardinali-stati-uniti-estados-unidos-united-states-22584/

In the U.S., 74% of Americans express a favourable view of the Pope’s work although this figure has dropped since April 2008 (83%) and is lower than the highest approval rating earned by John Paul II (93%). The most controversial issue is still the sex-abuse scandal in the Church: Only 33% of Americans judge the Pope’s efforts to combat this as good or excellent, while 63% said it was unsatisfactory. Peoples’ opinion of the Church’s relations with other religions, however, is more positive, with 55% saying “that Benedict has done a good or excellent job in promoting relations with other religions.”


And here......
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/22592/

The Holy See’s Secretariat of State has issued a statement condemning attempts to condition cardinals ahead of the Conclave, through the publication of “news reports…which are often unverified or not verifiable, or even false, even subsequent damage to people and institutions.” 

The statement issued by the Vatican Secretariat of State and published by Vatican Radio goes on to say: “The freedom of the College of Cardinals, which alone, under the law, is responsible for the election of the Roman Pontiff, - has always been strongly defended by the Holy See, as a guarantee of a choice based on evaluations solely for the good of the Church.” 

“Over the centuries, - the text continues - the Cardinals have faced multiple forms of pressure exerted on the individual voters and the same College, with the aim of conditioning decisions, to bend them to a political or worldly logic.” 

“If in the past it was the so-called superpowers, namely States, who sought to condition the election of the Pope in their favour, today – the statement reads - there is an attempt to apply the weight of public opinion, often on the basis of assessments that fail to capture the spiritual aspect of this moment in the life of the Church.”

New Poll: well, we might as well join in

I have no knowledge of such things, but am interested in my readers' ideas. So, here is a new poll for you.

Have fun.

UPDATE: THE COMMENTS ARE GREAT.

Some very interesting ones so take a look! And, if you vote other, make a comment, please...

Another Goodie from Whispers in the Loggia and Thanks

22. 02. 13. - 13:47GTT

Churchbells will ring for Benedict XVI

The "Pummerin" bell rings on rare events such as holidays, New Year’s Eve, the death and election of a pope, the archbishop of Vienna, the priest of St. Stephan’s Cathedral, the president of Austria or the mayor of Vienna.

The bell also rang at the requiem for Otto Habsburg, the son of the last emperor of Austria, who died in July 2011. When Pope Benedict XVI is going to resign on 28 February, the "Pummerin" will start ringing on 20.00 and finish after 15 minutes.

On the same day, Nuncio Peter Stephan Zurbriggen will hold a mass for the pope at 19.00. The ringing of the bell will be followed by an evening of prayers "for a good new pope".

From the moment of the pope’s resignation from office until the election of a new one, the pope is not mentioned in the Eucharistic prayers any more.

http://www.austrianindependent.com/news/Culture/2013-02-22/13303/Churchbells_will_ring_for_Benedict_XVI

Would some nice reader get one of these for me, please?

http://www.chantcafe.com/2013/02/the-edmund-capion-missal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheChantCaf+%28The+Chant+Caf%C3%A9%29

Wisdom from Archbishop Chaput

Asking a Christian to keep his religion out of the public square is like asking a married man to act single in public—Abp Charles Chaput from Terrence Prendergast this morning......

About those rumours yesterday, one may as well read novels on the Jesuits sinking the Titanic

from THE SECRETARY OF STATE of the VATICAN

 Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 

The freedom of the College of Cardinals, which is responsible for providing, under the law, the election of the Roman Pontiff, has always been strongly defended by the Holy See, as a guarantee of a choice that was based on evaluations addressed solely to the good of the Church.Over the centuries, the Cardinals have faced multiple forms of pressure exerted on the individual voters and the same College, which had as its goal to influence decisions, bending logic of political or worldly.If in the past were the superpowers, namely the Member to seek to rely on his conditioning in the election of the Pope, now you try to put into play the weight of public opinion, often on the basis of assessments that do not capture the 'typically spiritual aspect of time that the Church is experiencing.It is regrettable that, with the approach of the time of the start and the Conclave Cardinal electors shall be bound in conscience and before God, to express freely their choice, multiply the dissemination of often unverified or not verifiable, or even false, even with severe damage to people and institutions.Never before in these moments, Catholics focus on what is essential: pray for Pope Benedict, pray that the Holy Spirit enlighten the College of Cardinals, the future Pope to pray, trusting that the fate of Peter's boat is in the hands of God

http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/30543.php?index=30543&lang=en

Love, Beauty and Art, Truth and Goodness, from the Pope

The Pope's speech this morning from Vatican Radio:

At the end of this very spiritually intense week, only one word remains: Thank you! Thank you for this community of prayerful listening, that has accompanied me. Thank you, above all, to your Eminence for these beautiful "walks," in the world of faith, the world of the Psalms. We were amazed by the richness, the depth, the beauty of this universe of faith and we are grateful for the Word of God that you have spoken to us in a new way, with new strength.

"The art of believing, the art of praying" was the theme. I was reminded of the fact that the medieval theologians translated the word "Logos" not only as "Verbum", but also as "ars": "Verbum" and "ars" are interchangeable. For the medieval theologians, it was only with the two words together that the whole meaning of the word “Logos” appeared. The "Logos" is not just a mathematical reason: the "Logos" has a heart, the "Logos" is also love. The truth is beautiful and the true and beautiful go together: beauty is the seal of truth.

And yet, starting from the Psalms and from our everyday experience, you have also strongly emphasized that the "very good" of the sixth day - expressed by the Creator - is permanently contradicted by the evil of this world, by suffering, by corruption. It’s almost as if wickedness wills permanently to spoil creation, to contradict God and make its truth and its beauty unrecognizable. In a world so marked even by evil, the "Logos," the eternal beauty and the eternal “art”, must appear as a “caput cruentatum.” The incarnate Son, the incarnate "Logos" is crowned with a crown of thorns and nevertheless is just that: in this suffering figure of the Son of God we begin to see the deepest beauty of our Creator and Redeemer; in the silence of the “dark night” we can, nevertheless, hear the Word. And believing is nothing other than, in the darkness of the world, touching the hand of God, and in this way, in silence, hearing the Word, seeing love.

Your Eminence, thank you for everything and let us continue to "walk" even further in this mysterious world of faith, to be increasingly able to pray, to ask, to proclaim, to be witnesses to the truth, that is beauty, that is love.

Finally, dear friends, I would like to thank you all, not only for this week, but for the past eight years, in which you have borne with me, with great skill, affection, love, faith, the weight of the Petrine ministry. This gratitude remains within me and even if this visible exterior communion is now ending - as Cardinal Ravasi has said - the spiritual closeness, a deep communion in prayer, remains. In this certainty let us go forward, confident in the victory of God, sure of the truth, of beauty, and of love. Thank you all.

Video Here on the Proper Title for Benedict XVI

http://papastronsay.blogspot.co.uk/

"His Holiness, Benedict XVI, Bishop Emeritus of Rome."

The Fever of Blogging-Roman Fever

Some of you may want to know why I am blogging so much. I know all the blogging days for faithful, traditional Catholics, those of us who write on the real teachings of the Church, are numbered.

I am writing as much as I can while freedom reigns. The Pope may not be the only one who resigns "soon." Many of us will be worn down and tired. This seems inevitable for some. Some of us will be asked not to blog. Some of us will face legislature on blogging.

Please copy some of my posts, as you can use these for home schooling or for reflection later. There are laws on paper ready to be passed that would restrict some topics on blogs and the Net. This laws are both in some of the States and in Europe. Missouri has had one introduced already. This is a fact, not rumour.

I am not into conspiracy theories or anything but facts and research. I shall never be irresponsible in what I post.

However, there many be things which will be disturbing and I shall only post what is for the readers' immediate needs.

We are entering into new times for the persecution of the Church. There may be schisms-this is not a new idea and one which many of us who have lived in America has seen coming for decades. The heresy of Americanism, that is, that Rome does not understand the American experience, is alive and well among many bishops. But, the American situation is repeated in Europe and other continents.

I grew up in this atmosphere of disobedience and cynicism in my diocese, which has one of the highest pay-outs for sexual abuse by priests. There is, of course, a connection, between disobedience in liturgy and disobedience in other areas, moral areas.

Priest who do not teach certain moral truths which are part of the Teaching Magisterium will become more strident.

If you disagree with the Teachings of the Church, repent, change, now. If you are attending banned prayer meetings, stop. Your immortal souls are in danger.

If you are in groups which do not have a connection to dioceses or do not have chaplains appointed by dioceses, stop going. Your immortal souls are in danger.

If you are reading private revelations already either condemned or cautioned by Rome, stop. Your immortal souls are in danger.

Pay attention, pray and most importantly, get into an orthodox group of people or create one in your area asap. Do not be isolated. You will regret this isolation. If you are a younger family, adopt an older person to care for and watch over.

You will need support in the days to come.

Those who deny this are either absolutely naive, or do not care if this happens, or worse, on the wrong side of Truth.

Sadly, families will be divided.

We do not need private revelation to teach us the signs of the times. We only need to be rational and intelligent. We need to know the real teaching of the Church. We need to study and pray and reflect.

Look to Rome and pay attention.

St. Catherine of Siena and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us.

From today's Mass readings:

	Deuteronomy 26:16-19

Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.

  ‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’


And why I am doing the perfection series...........

	Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’