Fox News Joins Persecution of Christians

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2013/09/23/Craig-Jones-Fox-Sports-gay-marriage

Quotation Summing Up The Perfection Series

"We shall never learn to know ourselves except by endeavoring to know God; for, beholding His greatness, we realize our own littleness; His purity shows us our foulness; and by meditating upon His humility we find how very far we are from being humble." Teresa of Avila

Statistics on Irish College Students

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/20-percent-of-Irish-college-students-are-atheist-only-37-percent-are-Catholic-219386881.html

Read and weep.

Read and catch up

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/series/glenn-greenwald-security-liberty

http://rt.com/news/brazil-roussef-nsa-usa-278/

Snippet from article............

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff lambasted US spying on her country at Tuesday’s UN summit, calling it a “breach of international law.” She further warned that the NSA surveillance, revealed since June, threatened freedom of speech and democracy.

“Meddling in such a manner in the lives and affairs of other countries is a breach of international law and as such it is an affront to the principles that should otherwise govern relations among countries, especially among friendly nations,” Rousseff declared.

“Without the right to privacy, there is no real freedom of speech or freedom of opinion,” Rousseff told the gathering of world leaders. “And therefore, there is no actual democracy,” she added, criticizing the fact that Brazil had been targeted by the US.

“A country's sovereignty can never affirm itself to the detriment of another country's sovereignty,” she added. 

From France 24--Prayers Needed

Nuns, orphans trapped in Syria's Maalula: church

AFP - Nearly 40 nuns and orphans are trapped inside a convent in the Syrian Christian town of Maalula, where regime troops are battling rebel forces, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate said Tuesday.
The famed town, where residents still speak Aramaic, the language Jesus Christ is thought to have spoken, has been the scene of clashes since earlier this month.
"The Mar Takla convent is living through painful days because it is in the middle of the zone where fire is being exchanged, which makes getting supplies difficult and dangerous," the Damascus-based Patriarchate said in a statement

More here

http://www.france24.com/en/20130924-nuns-orphans-trapped-syrias-maalula-church
.

Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham

O Mary, recall the solemn moment when Jesus, your divine son, dying on the cross, confided us to your maternal care. You are our mother, we desire ever to remain your devout children. let us therefore feel the effects of your powerful intercession with Jesus Christ. make your name again glorious in the shrine once renowned throughout England by your visits, favours, and many miracles.

Pray, O holy mother of God, for the conversion of England, restoration of the sick, consolation for the afflicted, repentance of sinners, peace to the departed.

O blessed Mary, mother of God, our Lady of Walsingham, intercede for us.

Amen.

I wanted to be in Walsingham today, but had to change my plans. This is the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham. If you want to learn more about Our Lady and the history, read my play here.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/06/walsingham-drama-in-three-acts.html

and more information...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/04/the-martyrs-of-walsingham.html


Continue to pray for a House of Adoration there. The house is still for sale.

http://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/17463066?search_identifier=2d43b978d76d437ed9001f65faefe874

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/08/ah-someone-was-thinking-of-me-in.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/05/cast-your-bread-upon-waters-for-after.html

Interesting....Russia is interesting

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/20/us-russia-koran-idUSBRE98J0YW20130920

Try and find a Bible in Saudi Arabia, where Mass is forbidden.

St. Thomas Aquinas on Hell (in part)

99. God's mercy and justice towards the damned

Article 4. Whether the punishment of Christians is brought to an end by the mercy of God?

Objection 1. It would seem that at least the punishment of Christians is brought to an end by the mercy of God. "For he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). Now this applies to every Christian. Therefore all Christians will at length be saved.
Objection 2. Further, it is written (John 6:55): "He that eateth My body and drinketh My blood hath eternal life." Now this is the meat and drink whereof Christians partake in common. Therefore all Christians will be saved at length.
Objection 3. Further, "If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire" (1 Corinthians 3:15), where it is a question of those who have the foundation of the Christian faith. Therefore all such persons will be saved in the end.
On the contrary, It is written (1 Corinthians 6:9): "The unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God." Now some Christians are unjust. Therefore Christians will not all come to the kingdom of God, and consequently they will be punished for ever.
Further, it is written (2 Peter 2:21): "It had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than after they have known it, to turn back from that holy commandment which was delivered to them." Now those who know not the way of truth will be punished for ever. Therefore Christians who have turned back after knowing it will also be punished for ever.
I answer that, According to Augustine (De Civ. Dei xxi, 20,21), there have been some who predicted a delivery from eternal punishment not for all men, but only for Christians, although they stated the matter in different ways. For some said that whoever received the sacraments of faith would be immune from eternal punishment. But this is contrary to the truth, since some receive the sacraments of faith, and yet have not faith, without which "it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). Wherefore others said that those alone will be exempt from eternal punishment who have received the sacraments of faith, and professed the Catholic faith. But against this it would seem to be that at one time some people profess the Catholic faith, and afterwards abandon it, and these are deserving not of a lesser but of a greater punishment, since according to 2 Peter 2:21, "it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice than, after they have known it, to turn back." Moreover it is clear that heresiarchs who renounce the Catholic faith and invent new heresies sin more grievously than those who have conformed to some heresy from the first. And therefore some have maintained that those alone are exempt from eternal punishment,  to the end in the Catholic faith, however guilty they may have been of other crimes. But this is clearly contrary to Holy Writ, for it is written (James 2:20): "Faith without works is dead," and (Matthew 7:21) "Not every one that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of My Father Who is in heaven": and in many other passages Holy Scripture threatens sinners with eternal punishment. Consequently those who persevere in the faith unto the end will not all be exempt from eternal punishment, unless in the end they prove to be free from other crimes.
Reply to Objection 1. Our Lord speaks there of formed faith [Cf. II-II, 4, 3] "that worketh by love [Vulgate: 'charity'; Galatians 5:6]": wherein whosoever dieth shall be saved. But to this faith not only is the error of unbelief opposed, but also any mortal sinwhatsoever.
Reply to Objection 2. The saying of our Lord refers not to those who partake only sacramentally, and who sometimes by receiving unworthily "eat and drink judgment" to themselves (1 Corinthians 11:29), but to those who eat spiritually and are incorporated with Him by charity, which incorporation is the effect of the sacramental eating, in those who approach worthily [Cf.III, 80, 1,2,3]. Wherefore, so far as the power of the sacrament is concerned, it brings us to eternal life, although sin may deprive us of that fruit, even after we have received worthily.
Reply to Objection 3. In this passage of the Apostle the foundation denotes formed faith, upon which whosoever shall build venial sins [Cf. I-II, 89, 2] "shall suffer loss," because he will be punished for them by God; yet "he himself shall be saved" in the end "by fire," either of temporal tribulation, or of the punishment of purgatory which will be after death.

Article 5. Whether all those who perform works of mercy will be punished eternally?

Objection 1. It would seem that all who perform works of mercy will not be punished eternally, but only those who neglect those works. For it is written (James 2:13): "Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy"; and (Matthew 5:7): "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."
Objection 2. Further, (Matthew 25:35-46) we find a description of our Lord's discussion with the damned and the elect. But this discussion is only about works of mercy. Therefore eternal punishment will be awarded only to such as have omitted to practiceworks of mercy: and consequently the same conclusion follows as before.
Objection 3. Further, it is written (Matthew 6:12): "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors," and further on (Matthew 6:14): "For if you will forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offenses." Therefore it would seem that the merciful, who forgive others their offenses, will themselves obtain the forgiveness of their sins, and consequently will not be punished eternally.
Objection 4. Further, a gloss of Ambrose on 1 Timothy 4:8, "Godliness is profitable to all things," says: "The sum total of aChristian's rule of life consists in mercy and godliness. Let a man follow this, and though he should suffer from the inconstancy of the flesh, without doubt he will be scourged, but he will not perish: whereas he who can boast of no other exercise but that of the body will suffer everlasting punishment." Therefore those who persevere in works of mercy, though they be shackled with fleshly sins, will not be punished eternally: and thus the same conclusion follows as before.
On the contrary, It is written (1 Corinthians 6:9-10): "Neither fornicators . . . nor adulterers," etc. "shall possess the kingdom of God." Yet many are such who practice works of mercy. Therefore the merciful will not all come to the eternal kingdom: and consequently some of them will be punished eternally.
Further, it is written (James 2:10): "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, but offend in one point, is become guilty of all." Therefore whoever keeps the law as regards the works of mercy and omits other works, is guilty of transgressing the law, and consequently will be punished eternally.
I answer that, As Augustine says in the book quoted above (De Civ. Dei xxi, 22), some have maintained that not all who have professed the Catholic faith will be freed from eternal punishment, but only those who persevere in works of mercy, although they be guilty of other crimes. But this cannot stand, because without charity nothing can be acceptable to God, nor does anything profit unto eternal life in the absence of charity. Now it happens that certain persons persevere in works of mercy without having charity. Wherefore nothing profits them to the meriting of eternal life, or to exemption from eternal punishment, as may be gathered from 1 Corinthians 13:3. Most evident is this in the case of those who lay hands on other people's property, for after seizing on many things, they nevertheless spend something in works of mercy. We must therefore conclude that all whosoever die in mortal sin, neither faith nor works of mercy will free them from eternal punishment, not even after any length of time whatever.
Reply to Objection 1. Those will obtain mercy who show mercy in an ordinate manner. But those who while merciful to others are neglectful of themselves do not show mercy ordinately, rather do they strike at themselves by their evil actions. Wherefore such persons will not obtain the mercy that sets free altogether, even if they obtain that mercy which rebates somewhat their due punishment.
Reply to Objection 2. The reason why the discussion refers only to the works of mercy is not because eternal punishment will be inflicted on none but those who omit those works, but because eternal punishment will be remitted to those who after sinning have obtained forgiveness by their works of mercy, making unto themselves "friends of the mammon of iniquity" (Luke 16:9).
Reply to Objection 3. Our Lord said this to those who ask that their debt be forgiven, but not to those who persist in sin. Wherefore the repentant alone will obtain by their works of mercy the forgiveness that sets them free altogether.
Reply to Objection 4. The gloss of Ambrose speaks of the inconstancy that consists in venial sin, from which a man will be freed through the works of mercy after the punishment of purgatory, which he calls a scourging. Or, if he speaks of the inconstancy of mortal sin, the sense is that those who while yet in this life fall into sins of the flesh through frailty are disposed to repentance by works of mercy. Wherefore such a one will not perish, that is to say, he will be disposed by those works not to perish, through grace bestowed on him by our Lord, Who is blessed for evermore. Amen.

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/5099.htm

Partial Answer to A Priest on Noise in The Mass

Mary and Martha-thanks so wikimedia

http://blog.adw.org/2013/09/pastoral-perspectives-on-silence-in-church/

A smart friend of mine sent me this article. Take time to read it. Not only is it shocking, but it shows the depth of the falling away of the sense of Fear of the Lord and persistence of people centered worship. Humanism is alive and well in the Church.

I am only going to correct a few of the errors I see in this priest's thinking. I have not read the comments, either, but only the article.

First, large Churches existed from day one and from day one, contrary to popular belief, the Masses were mostly solemn high Masses. Small, intimate Masses only happened after the Church was heavily persecuted, and the simplicity of the Liturgy corresponded either to the need for hiding, or for the need of the displacement of the Mass from the urban areas to the country. Catholicism, as we see in Revelation, was urban from the start and the Mass would have been ornate. Contrary to Protestant belief, the Mass was more complicated and an expression of "high liturgy" for many reasons, including the main one, which was that the Bishop presided.

Now, the idea of silence was already common in both pagan and Jewish liturgical celebrations. We see St. Paul reminding the women to be silent in Church, not because they wanted to read, but because they were gossiping about who was getting married, who was pregnant again and who got a new donkey.

The ideal of silence in the Liturgy has, for centuries, been connected to Fear of the Lord, and the understanding of Transcendence.

This sense of Transcendence was part of the congregations sense of the sacred. God was God and duty plus appropriate worship was due to Him. The idea of respect would have been prevalent in the early Christian times, as the people were used to hierarchies and the appropriateness of behavior.

Which leads me to my second point. The moderns have no sense of appropriateness in dress, speech, eating, drinking, praying and so on. They have no sense of the sacred. How this happened is a combination of many things, including the changes in the Liturgy, but I blame the entire cultural shift in the past thirty years to the ideal and, indeed, idolization, of CASUAL.

Being casual is equal to sincerity, and sincerity is not a virtue. As I noted a few posts ago, one can make a heresy out of sincerity. Being casual indicates several psychological  problems, such as a lack of boundaries and a certain type of narcissism which allows a person to think that they never need to conform to outside, cultural values.

This priest is also confused on then nature of our relationship with God. We are creatures, sons and daughters of the Most High, owing God worship which is due to Him because He is God and because we are not gods.

That people go to Church on Sunday for community is the another point I want to cover. Wrong, wrong, wrong,
as community should be happening daily, during the week, with people building community. Some of you may remember that after many frustrating Sundays in parishes where the noise level was worse than in Marks and Spencers, it dawned on me that the reason why people talked so much before and after Mass, was that they did not have real relationships during the week. If there was real community, as in the old TLM days, people would not need to talk on Sunday, as they would be fraternizing, helping each other out and so on during the week.

One last point-when do people listen to God? If we do not have silence in our lives, we cannot hear God. and there are times when the entire community should be listening to God.

I can write more and maybe I shall, but not tonight. God bless this priest and may he learn to love God more than people. We love people because we love God, not for their own sakes. This idea is missing in this article.

A Reminder of What We Are Up Against in The Media

Reminder of Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky

1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have."
2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people.”
3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.”
4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.”
5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.”
6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.”
7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.”
8. “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.”
9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.”
10. "The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition."
11. “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.”
12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.”
13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.”