Nice reminder on how to get a plenary indulgence for a soul in purgatory

http://www.the-pope.com/purg.html

Oppsie, an ICBM!

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/03/04/russia-test-fires-intercontinental-ballistic-missile-report-says/

Superb Vortex

News from the Putin Front

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-04/putin-says-no-need-yet-for-russia-to-send-troops-to-ukraine.html

and what about this?

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jeremywarner/100026745/so-russia-is-going-to-abandon-the-dollar-as-a-reserve-currency-good-luck-with-that-one/

One evil leads to another evil

The first chipped humans are IVF fetuses....http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2014/03/barcoding-human-embryos.html

I grew up with clam chowder without bacon

Ingredients 

Original recipe makes 8 servingsChange Servings

• 3 (6.5 ounce) cans minced clams
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 3/4 cup butter

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 quart half-and-half cream
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil.
3. Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

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Fasting and Abstaining

Too many Catholics do not fast or abstain. We are facing one of the greatest times of tribulation the Catholic Church has ever seen. This time can be shortened by fasting and abstinence.

In the past, through His prophets, God warned of punishment and purgation because of national sins. God also told His People that such tribulation could be ameliorated by prayer, fasting and abstinence.

And, yet, the vast majority of Catholics do not do any fasting or abstinence.

Why?

People fall into categories of those who are just plain lazy and those who are greedy. I wrote about the forgotten sin of gluttony in Advent.

As a reminder for abstinence, here is the Vatican rule found here.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19660217_paenitemini_en.html

III. 1. The law of abstinence forbids the use of meat, but not of eggs, the products of milk or condiments made of animal fat.

2. The law of fasting allows only one full meal a day, but does not prohibit taking some food in the morning and evening, observing—as far as quantity and quality are concerned—approved local custom.

IV. To the law of abstinence those are bound who have completed their 14th year of age. To the law of fast those of the faithful are bound who have completed their 21st year and up until the beginning of their 60th year.

The evil of fast foods also interferes with people's sensitivity regarding eating.

Do you realize that your parishes could be fasting and abstaining to avoid persecution?

Do you know that your families could be fasting and abstaining?

Again, on Being Lay

Many times, I have written on the role of the laity in the Church.

Too many trads are not acting like lay people, but acting like clerics.

We do not have the same call, the same vocation, as the priests or bishops.

We do not have the same work to do. Our work is to make holy the workplace, the home, the public sphere.

Our job is not to meddle with things which are not our responsibilities.

I am convinced that one reason why the Church is weak is that the laity want to act like priests and do priestly work instead of lay work. This not only reveals the sin of pride, but a denial of the necessity of the lay life.

One reason why there is so much evil in the world is that the laity has not gone out and evangelized. Instead of taking the Gospel into the world, beginning with the domestic church, people want to change things which are not their responsibilities.

Two areas come to my mind immediately as areas where the laity is not letting go of issue which are none of their business, but the business of bishops and priests.

One is the issue of the so-called dedication of Russia to the Immaculate Heart, and the second is the decision regarding Medjugorje.

These are decisions for the hierarchy. The Pope and the bishops decide and act on such things, not us.

While too many people are writing and doing work to push certain aspects of these topics, the real work of the laity suffers.

When is the last time you spoke of Christ and His Church to someone at work?

When was the last time you invited someone to attend Mass with you or with your family?

When was the last time you tried to get a lay community going in your parish?

When was the last time you prayed at home with your family and made time for your spouse to pray daily?

Are you tithing?

Are you going to daily Mass and weekly Adoration?

When was the last time you took part in faith formation for the laity in your parish?

The work of the laity is strenuous and demanding.

Let the priests and clergy do their work, and do your work. If the laity were really doing the work God has called us all to do, the Church would be stronger.

Another Great Article from New Liturgical Movement

http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/index.html#8453815553273278570

Important Note from New Liturgical Movement on 1965 Missal

http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2014/03/just-say-no-to-65.html#.UxVLgeNdXlM

Patron of Youth

We need role models who are lay people, regardless of rank or status. St. Casimir, like St. Edward, is called "confessor" as he was willing to stand up for the Faith in public-to confess his faith.

However, this role model died at the very young age of 23 or 25, depending on the source, after being persecuted by his father, and misunderstood by his family. He was a true intellectual genius of sorts as well as being a young man of peace and charity.

To be a prince is not to be a person who can choose one's life. Casimir was able to become holy in a short period of time, being blessed at such a young age with graces of charity and piety.

We need young saints. We need role models who are in the world but not of the world.

St. Casimir is one. His dates are October 3, 1458 – March 4, 1484. He is the patron saint of both Lithuania and Poland.

A Prophetic Papal Voice

We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. I do not think the wide circle of the American Society, or the wide circle of the Christian Community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the Gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist. This confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence. It is, therefore, in God’s Plan, and it must be a trial which the Church must take up, and face courageously…

We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ. With your and my prayers, it is possible to mitigate the coming tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectually renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from the shedding of blood? This time too, it will not be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared and trust in Christ and in his Holy Mother and be very, very assiduous in praying the holy rosary.

Thanks to a reader. There is a confusion as to the source, so I share an article on this quotation itself. Attributed to Blessed John Paul II from a talk he gave to the American bishops in September, 1976.

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/john-paul-ii-said-what-now

Update on Ukraine

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/10674512/Kremlin-issues-ultimatums-to-Ukrainian-forces.html

I am not surprised. Are you?

http://news.sky.com/story/1219922/russia-and-china-in-agreement-over-ukraine

"It's impossible to be optimistic at the moment. We're not in any position to be optimistic about the security situation and what is happening in the Crimea."

The crisis has had a huge knock-on effect on global stock markets, with Moscow's stock exchange plunging as much as 10% on Monday morning.

Russia's central bank raised its rate to 7% from 5.5% as the ruble hit an historic low against the dollar and the euro.

The New Eden Part Two

Abraham before the Trinity, St John’s Psalter, (England, c. 1270-80)
Cambridge, St John’s College Library, MS K.26, fol. 9

All of us who are baptized and in sanctifying grace have the Indwelling of the Trinity.  All.

I have written about this many times in the perfection series.

The Scriptures refer to this truth, as does the Teaching Magisterium of the Church. Here are just a few of the passages from the Bible referring to the Indwelling of the Trinity. There are many, many more.

John 14:17

Douay-Rheims 

17 The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you.

1 John 3:24

Douay-Rheims 

24 And he that keepeth his commandments, abideth in him, and he in him. And in this we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Ephesians 2:22

Douay-Rheims 

22 In whom you also are built together into an habitation of God in the Spirit.

1 John 2:27

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

27 And as for you, let the unction, which you have received from him, abide in you. And you have no need that any man teach you; but as his unction teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him.

Now, Abraham walked and talked with God, as did the other patriarchs. The saints walk and talk with God.

We are called to do the same and if we are in sanctifying grace, God is with us. Do we pay attention?

What blocks our relationship with the Trinity is sin and the tendency to sin. In other words, selfishness stops us from being with God 24/7.

The Dark Night of the Soul cleanses us from all those blockages to realizing the fullness of the Trinity within us. And, as I have noted in the perfection series, the great saints show us what it is like to live in the Illuminative State and, finally, the Unitive State, both states which only come after purgation.

Some of us experience purgation for a long time. Abraham had a long life of purgation and we know his many sins. Sarah sinned as well, but they never gave up on their covenantal relationship with the Trinity.

The exterior visit of the Trinity with Abraham provides an analogy for us. 

Abraham gave God all, and made time to be with Him. We must do the same, daily.

Without the life of the Trinity, we are dead.   But, if we are alive in sanctifying grace, our bodies and our souls become a New Eden, as God walks and talks with us in "the cool of the day". We do not need to hide, as God wants us to find Him, and He wants to be found by us.

Such is our call as Catholics.

To be continued....                           

Why Did The Trinity Come to Abraham? The New Eden

One of the most famous encounters with God in the entire Old Testament is the meeting of our father in the faith, Abraham with the Trinity.

Here is a reminder of the passage. Genesis 18:12 DR

And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near him: and as soon as he saw them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground. 

Abraham had been a friend of God for a long time. He had followed God into the new land from Ur. He had made a covenant with God. He had lived his entire life on the promises of God and not on the wealth or status of his family.

He had taken a huge chance in following the God Who Is One.

But, now, suddenly, this God Who walked with Abraham came to him as the Three Persons of the Trinity.

Astounding. Very few would see the Trinity or know the Trinity before the Birth of Christ.

It seems that David did in his psalms.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, of course, knew the Trinity intimately.

Why did the Trinity come to Abraham? It was not merely to warn the man and his people of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was not merely to prophesy the coming pregnancy of the promised child, Isaac.

There is more to this historical fact than prophecies or warnings, as important as these are in salvation history.

The Trinity came to Abraham for three reasons as I understand the text.

The first is that God so loved Abraham that He wanted to reveal Himself as He is to His friend. The Trinity is not only revealed to Abraham, but to us, his descendants in the faith. This meeting prepared future generations for the Incarnation and Pentecost.

Second, God wanted to test His friend and see how faithful Abraham actually was. Did this friend of God really trust God? Did this friend of God, who spoke with God, ask enough? I think not. I think Sodom and Gomorrah could have been saved if Abraham would have asked for more-for five good men.

He did not have enough faith, enough trust in the mercy of God. That mercy would be fully revealed on the Cross.

Third, God came to be with men. He came to be with us through this encounter. He ate with men. He talked. He walked, He haggled. He made promises. He judged. He destroyed.

God loved us so much He did not want to wait to reveal Himself.

I call this meeting the New Eden. What Adam and Eve threw away, Abraham and Sarah obtained-friendship with God. Abraham and Sarah may be analogous to the fallen first parents. Only, these parents trusted in God. They obeyed, not perfectly, but, try they did. They prefigure the New Adam Christ, Who is Perfect Obedience, and the New Eve, Mary, Who is Perfect Human Obedience.

How amazing that God came to be and to do on earth, and prepare all of us for His Coming again at Christmas and at Pentecost.

But, God will come again on the Last Day. This is also part of the history of this meeting.

God was preparing us for the final tribulation and purification of the world.

We are Abraham, as we were spiritually in his loins, as the Apostle tells us.

Abraham was considered "righteous" for his faith in God. He was holy.

He is St. Abraham. And he was told of one of the greatest times of judgement the world had ever seen.

God was spiritually preparing Abraham for purification, to become a great saint.

Pay attention. 

To be continued....in Part Two.

I also warned friends against bitcoin

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303801304579410010379087576?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303801304579410010379087576.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Mt. Gox, once the dominant exchange for bitcoin trading, on Friday said more than $470 million of the virtual currency vanished from its digital coffers, kicking into high gear a search for the missing money by victims and cybersleuths

......

The price swings have hit some investors hard. Fortress Investment Group FIG +1.40%LLC on Friday recorded an unrealized loss of $3.7 million from its purchase of $20 million worth of bitcoins last year. The asset-management firm held $16.3 million worth of bitcoins at the end of 2013, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mt. Gox halted customer withdrawals three weeks ago, saying a "bug in the bitcoin software" allowed some users to alter the ID on transactions and fraudulently claim that bitcoin transfers hadn't been sent. Other exchanges also had problems but were able to provide patches so activity could resume.

Mt. Gox didn't recover, and it shut down operations Tuesday.

The defunct exchange is the target of an investigation by the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. The scope of the probe isn't clear, but prosecutors have subpoenaed the company, ordering it to preserve certain documents, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Mt. Gox also faces lawsuits from customers. On Thursday, a customer who claims to have $25,000 worth of bitcoins tied up at Mt. Gox filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the exchange. Gregory Greene, who filed the claim with an Illinois District Court, is seeking damages, an injunction, restitution and other remedies.

Big Brother

http://www.examiner.com/article/report-obamacare-provision-will-allow-forced-home-inspections-by-gov-t-agents

A Belle Wether

Some things I have known for a long time. Part of this is that I am very sensitive to the spiritual world. Part of it is that I am a poet and poet have antennae for movements. Part of it is that I take my Church seriously and when a Pope, when not a Pope, in 1963, warned of a pruning of the Church and I read this years later, I took this warning seriously.

I notice things. Some of us are weather vanes or bellwethers, the leading sheep in a flock which causes the others to follow.

One does not choose such a life, as it is painful. The life of the prophet is one of sticks and stones. And, the prophet is never accepted in his or her own town.

I warned of the dangers of the man who is now president in 2004. I warned my students of the ACT in 2009.  I warned friends of coming wars involving Russia and China as early as 2008.

None of my ideas are "rocket science", but merely reactions to history and the present dangers. One also listens to the saints, the angels, one's own gut reactions.

Now, we are quickly sliding into chaos, as exemplified by the absence of our so-called leader from an important meeting, and the sending of a rabbit to another important meeting on Tuesday.

Never before in the history of America have the citizens lacked brilliant, honorable leadership as we do now.

Never before in the history of the Catholic Church in America have we lacked brilliant and bold leadership at the top as we do now.

We all shall suffer from this lack of leadership.

This crisis is of our own making. How many parents encouraged their sons and daughters to become priests and nuns? How many parents encourage their sons and daughters to become excellent civil servants and good politicians?

I have written about the death of noblesse oblige on this blog before. Nobility in leadership seems dead on two continents as the narcissists and self-seekers run the show.

Sadly, the ideology of communism never left Europe, and my Gramsci articles have not been well read. These warned people of the coming crisis. Few seemed to care or realize that his writings have been seriously used by the powers that be.

Does anyone think that the Church will be suddenly triumphant under either complete chaos and anarchy or strict communism?  Dream on. The remnant is very, very small.

The main line Catholic media has deserted us, and we have one or two Catholic voices which speak the truth.

But, these men are labelled trouble-makers and are marginalized. Such were the saints.

If you are not preparing for chaos, you are purposefully being dull. You shall be held responsible for the souls in your care if you are ignoring the signs of the times.

Putin pre-planned this

but did Obama as well?

http://www.ft.com/home/us

and did you know this? I did.

Tilo Yung

66% of Russian gas exported to the EU transits Ukraine pic.twitter.com/XHB4lMw5GQ

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