http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/german-bishops-will-defy-vatican-on-divorced-remarried-receiving-communion
The Protestant mind-set looks at "concrete reality" and gives in.
The Catholic mind-set looks at God's Will for human kind and challenges all.
Thursday 28 November 2013
Eighteen Post Day
...just in case you want to read something instead of watching television or movies......and I am somewhere with wifi all day.
God bless you all!
God bless you all!
The Hatred of Joy
Some people learn this lesson in families with loved ones who experience depression and want others to experience their sadness, attempting to manipulate others into their state of mind and spirit.
Some people learn this in dysfunctional families which exhibit great negativity and criticisms.
Some people learn that there are those in the work place who want others to be unhappy because they are unhappy.
Those who are in sin or darkness do not want Christians to have hope in God. They do not want anyone to feel real joy. Some Bible passages indicate how we are to respond to questions as to why we are joyful. Note verse 15 of 1 Peter 3 below. St,. Peter understood what it was like to live among the grumpy and hateful. He was martyred.
Remember, the demons from hell want you and I to be miserable with them for all eternity and will use others in their clutches to try destroy our faith. This is why it is so important to have good Catholic, orthodox friends-for support against the spirit of the age.
The hatred of joy is the hatred of the good and the beautiful. I think of the saints who were so beautiful and joyful, such as St. Gemma Galgani, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Philip Neri and more, like the Carthusian Martyrs, one of whom is St. John Houghton.
To be joyful in the face of negativity and gloom is our call in the world today.
Douay-Rheims
8 And in fine, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing, but contrariwise, blessing: for unto this are you called, that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.
11 Let him decline from evil, and do good: let him seek after peace and pursue it:
12 Because the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears unto their prayers: but the countenance of the Lord upon them that do evil things.
13 And who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good?
14 But if also you suffer any thing for justice' sake, blessed are ye. And be not afraid of their fear, and be not troubled.
15 But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you.
16 But with modesty and fear, having a good conscience: that whereas they speak evil of you, they may be ashamed who falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17 For it is better doing well (if such be the will of God) to suffer, than doing ill.
The Pope on Persecution-Thank God for His Awareness!
This is important, readers....
"Times of Persecution Mean the Lord Is Near"
November 28, 2013 (Zenit.org) - part of the sermon from Zenit..my boldface type.
Speaking on the final battle described by Jesus, the Pope said that there is an underlying temptation that will be faced by all which he called “the universal temptation”: the desecration of the temple, the desecration of faith.
“What does this mean? It will be like the triumph of the prince of this world: the defeat of God. It seems that in that final moment of calamity, he will take possession of this world, that he will be the master of this world,” he said.
An example of this desecration of faith can be shown in the book of Daniel who is condemned to death for adoring God. This desecration has a specific name: “the prohibition of worship.”
“[There] religion cannot be spoken of, it is something private, no? Publicly it is not spoken about. Te religious signs are taken down. The laws that come from the worldly powers must be obeyed. You can do so many beautiful things except adore God. Worship is prohibited,” the Pope said.
“This is the center of this end. And when this arrives in its fullness - to the ‘kairos’ of this pagan attitude, when this is fulfilled - then yes, He will come: ‘And they will see the Son of man come on a cloud with great power and glory.’ Christians who have suffered in times of persecution, in times of the prohibition of worship are a prophecy of that which will happen to all.”
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis called on the faithful to be loyal and patient. The times of persecution mean that that the victory of Jesus Christ is near.
more at the site linked above...................
“What does this mean? It will be like the triumph of the prince of this world: the defeat of God. It seems that in that final moment of calamity, he will take possession of this world, that he will be the master of this world,” he said.
An example of this desecration of faith can be shown in the book of Daniel who is condemned to death for adoring God. This desecration has a specific name: “the prohibition of worship.”
“[There] religion cannot be spoken of, it is something private, no? Publicly it is not spoken about. Te religious signs are taken down. The laws that come from the worldly powers must be obeyed. You can do so many beautiful things except adore God. Worship is prohibited,” the Pope said.
“This is the center of this end. And when this arrives in its fullness - to the ‘kairos’ of this pagan attitude, when this is fulfilled - then yes, He will come: ‘And they will see the Son of man come on a cloud with great power and glory.’ Christians who have suffered in times of persecution, in times of the prohibition of worship are a prophecy of that which will happen to all.”
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis called on the faithful to be loyal and patient. The times of persecution mean that that the victory of Jesus Christ is near.
more at the site linked above...................
Live hangout for watching the comet today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q03I1B_yrPg&feature=youtu.be&a
UPDATE: The comet broke up into little pieces and is gone.....about one hour ago, at 1:47 or so. Someone can verify the time for me.
UPDATE 2: This morning (EST), Battams succinctly summarized the latest images he saw: “Based on a few more hours of data, comet #ISON appears to be… well, behaving like a comet!”, he wrote on Twitter.
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/106832/zombie-ison-behaving-like-a-comet-stunned-astronomers-say/#ixzz2m4mO6UUd
UPDATE: The comet broke up into little pieces and is gone.....about one hour ago, at 1:47 or so. Someone can verify the time for me.
UPDATE 2: This morning (EST), Battams succinctly summarized the latest images he saw: “Based on a few more hours of data, comet #ISON appears to be… well, behaving like a comet!”, he wrote on Twitter.
NASA issued a status update this morning saying it’s unclear if this leftover is debris or an actual nucleus, but added that “late-night analysis from scientists with NASA’s Comet ISON Observing Campaign suggest that there is at least a small nucleus intact.” NASA, as well as Battams, pointed out that comet has behaved unpredictably throughout the 15 months scientists and amateurs have been observing it
Read more: http://www.universetoday.com/106832/zombie-ison-behaving-like-a-comet-stunned-astronomers-say/#ixzz2m4mO6UUd
Be Grateful!
Speak about goodness and beauty, if you can...do not complain...lessons we all need today.
Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly.
Henri J. M. Nouwen
Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly.
Henri J. M. Nouwen
Some of us live this............
St. Matthew vi. 25.
JESUS said, Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? And why are ye anxious for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore be not anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Happy Hanukkah
May you all have peace in your lands, in your families.
Psalm 26
26 The psalm of David before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?
2 Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen.
3 If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple.
5 For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle.
6 He hath exalted me upon a rock: and now he hath lifted up my head above my enemies. I have gone round, and have offered up in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing, and recite a psalm to the Lord.
7 Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee: have mercy on me and hear me.
8 My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O Lord, will I still seek.
9 Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O God my Saviour.
10 For my father and my mother have left me: but the Lord hath taken me up.
11 Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right path, because of my enemies.
12 Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to itself.
13 I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord.
Thanksgiving Request
All of you Americans who can get to Mass today, please remember those of us who will not be able to attend Mass, either because there is none in our areas, or because the public transit is not "on" today.
God bless you on Thanksgiving.
God bless you on Thanksgiving.
Wake up, Britain....and the world
LONDON, November 25, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The UK's National Director of Health and Wellbeing warns that there is an increasing and potentially catastrophic HIV epidemic in homosexual men in every part of the world.
Speaking at the British HIV Association's Autumn Conference earlier this month, Professor Kevin Fenton said that despite an increasing number of tools to combat HIV infection, the incidence and prevalence of the disease in MSM (men who have sex with men) is increasing rather than decreasing globally......
Dr. Fenton noted with some bewilderment that statistics show that, in the developed world, the US has the highest rate of new infections, the UK has highest overall number of infected men, and several central European countries have the highest rate of increase in numbers of infected men.
Dr. Fenton laid the blame for the MSM HIV epidemic squarely on the two most obvious characteristics of homosexual sex: anal intercourse and promiscuity.
More here....
Belgium Now Allows Death for Minors-Adults Can Kill Their Kids
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/11/28/belgium-introduces-death-penalty-without-trial-for-minora-or-euthanasia/
This is horrible. Parents can get rid of their own sick children.
Hollande said today that he wants to legalize euthanasia for the elderly. Death stalks the EU.
This is horrible. Parents can get rid of their own sick children.
Hollande said today that he wants to legalize euthanasia for the elderly. Death stalks the EU.
Church of England Report Out
http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5193/archbishops-publish-report-on-human-sexuality
And a snippet here...
Nothing about chastity, nothing about Natural Law....
And a snippet here...
The recommendations do not propose any change in the church’s teaching on sexual conduct. They do propose, however, that clergy - with the agreement of their Church Council - should be able to offer appropriate services to mark a faithful same sex relationship.
The group does not propose an authorised liturgy for this purpose, but understands the proposed provision to be a pastoral accommodation which does not entail any change to what the church teaches. No member of the clergy, or parish, would be required to offer such services. It could not extend to solemnising same sex marriages without major changes to the law.
The report notes that the church’s teaching on sexuality is in tension with contemporary social attitudes, not only for gay and lesbian Christians, but for straight Christians too.
The report notes that the church’s teaching on sexuality is in tension with contemporary social attitudes, not only for gay and lesbian Christians, but for straight Christians too.
In relation to candidates for ministry, it recommends that whether someone is married, single or in a civil partnership should have no bearing on the assurances sought from them that they intend to order their lives consistently with the teaching of the Church on sexual conduct.
Nothing about sin, about homosexual conduct being severely disordered.....Nothing about chastity, nothing about Natural Law....
A Holiday Comment
This happened many years ago. Sometimes, we can only pray.
I did not know what to say.
A woman who had been married for many years told me that she thought her husband was more religious than he turned out to be. She was raised in a family which treasured the Mass and other sacraments.
She expressed that she wanted to have family prayer, at least family monthly confession with the children, daily rosary. None of this happened because her husband did not want it to happen.
She had tears in her eyes in explaining that she would have had a more outwardly religious and inwardly spiritual family.
She knew that her own life changed to accommodate the wishes of her husband. Her children had fallen away.
She knew that when two become one flesh, the spirits join as well. It had been hard for her not to be discouraged. She had to give up her dreams of how to raise her children in a Catholic family.
She discovered that her husband, although a good man, did not seek perfection. He did not have a domestic church in the family. Dad's are so important as the spiritual leaders of the family.
He did not want to press religion on his children, even though they went to so-called Catholic schools.
I did not know what to say.
Women, marry someone who will bring you closer to God. Men, marry a virtuous woman, and as Fr. Chad Ripperger states in one of his talks, if she is ugly and virtuous, marry her. If you marry a selfish person who does not have God as a priority in his or her life, your life will not only be miserable, but you may slide back, be less holy, be conformed to the stronger personality who may not be centered on Christ and His Church.
I did not know what to say.
It is hard to know if a person will lead you closer to God or away from God. Those people I know with the best marriages come from TLM families, or families which chose the newer Catholic colleges to which to send their children-colleges like TAC, Thomas More, and Wyoming Catholic.
When religion is a priority, this decision should be obvious.
I did not know what to say, but as I had known this woman for years, I had seen her fall away from a more religious focus, as I also knew her own family well. We socialized in the same groups when I was younger. Her comment had saddened me. I could not help her, only pray. What was the saddest thing for me to see was the fact that she became more like her husband instead of being strong, and bearing the Cross of Christ. These decisions are hard and real. I cannot judge her, but, she is not the same person I knew so long ago.
And, when one compromises in one thing, other compromises become more easy. One's conscience is affected.
If one puts God first in one's life, all other decisions should follow.
Do not let anyone take you farther away from God, not even your spouse. If one must suffer in a relationship, so be it, but pray for strength not to lose ground and to remain faithful.
I did not know what to say. For many years, I have prayed, but we all have free will.
Saying "no" to God by putting relationships first instead of turning the suffering into a grace, cooperating with God, is what many people cannot do. Saying "yes" to God means standing firm, praying, doing penance. It means being different. A good priest told me recently that his family was embarrassed by his religious life. This is a result of him seeking the pearl of great price.
When one is offered the opportunity to suffer, one can say yes or no. One can choose comfort first. One can choose people, even family, over God.
One can choose to ask God how to deal with shattered dreams. But, one must never compromise one's faith.
I do not know how the story of this family ended or will end. All I know is that God comes first. Compromise brings confusion and death to the soul. One of the nuns at Tyburn told me last spring that she could not bring Catholicism to a sibling. She had to walk away. This is one of her crosses.
God sometimes makes us choose. I am still saddened by this good lay woman's giving up of a standard, of lowering her own goals for holiness in order to obtain family peace. God is creative. But, He will not overcome our wills by force.
Peace cannot be bought at any price. False peace involves deceit. I pray today for this family and for other families which have compromised for the sake of a false peace.
I think of my friend P., who is in heaven. She is the woman I wrote about a long time ago, who gave God her life for her pagan husband. She died suddenly on an early Wednesday morning, and on the Thursday, her husband went to the priest for confession after years of hating God, the Church, his wife's holiness. On the Friday, at P's funeral, the husband made his First Holy Communion.
We all knew that P. was in heaven and that God had taken her promise seriously.
In these turbulent days, some are called to heroism in the Faith. Do not compromise, but pray and fast.
If you can be strong and silent, do it. If you must speak, do it. But, remember, we are all responsible for our own salvation.
If you idolize a spouse or another person, you will become like that person. If your God is Christ, you will become like Him. Those who put Christ first become the Face of Christ for others.
For my single female friends who have not found spouses, I say this. It is better to be single and pursuing holiness, than married and falling away. Perhaps your singleness is a protection, a gift, which you have not appreciated. There are worst things than loneliness, such as the loss of one's soul.
Please, do not compromise.
God is God.
Matthew 10:34-39
Douay-Rheims
34 Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword.
35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's enemies shall be they of his own household.
37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it
Repeat Post-Noise is Rebellion
While in the monastery last year, I lived with the nuns in the silence of the day. I have tried to cooperate with grace and cultivate an interior silence outside the convent. Some of the great Benedictine writers have distilled Benedictine's writings. The great saint is very strict on silence. Here are some points.
1) Silence involves a "radical renunciation", as one is renouncing self and others in order to be silent.
2) Noise is "rebellion" and the author of noise is the evil one. Noise is rebellion because one is filling up the void in one's spirit which is necessary for God to fill. Noise does not merely distract one from God, but actually makes one closed to God's working in one's spirit.
3) There is virtue in refraining from giving one's opinion. There is virtue is listening to opinions. Not all knowledge is equal in value and, in fact, most of our knowledge is not necessary to our salvation. Reality shows on television, for example, merely clog our time and our ability to hear God speak in the quietness of our hearts.
4) St. Benedict states that even excellent conversation about spiritual things should be avoided, if possible. One can get too much information and input without processing this information in the heart and mind and soul.
5) Silence allows for this processing and for healing. Without silence, the deep parts of our spirit cannot be reached and we go through life unnecessarily burdened with the past.
When I was in Ireland, I was burdened by the number of people who live in the past. One attractive lady told me that she would never marry an Irishman who lived in the past, and that so many do. Why? Too much talking and too much activity stops healing.
6)When we talk, say the Benedictines, we lose focus. How true. Focussing on God takes energy. When we talk, we dissipate that energy. We lose ground in our journey towards God.
7) And, this is so important--we need to feel and sense the VOID in us. Many people keep too active and too noisy in order to fill up the voids in themselves. The opposite must be true in order to gain heaven. We must face all the voids and let God enter into those holes in our lives. Firstly, only He can satisfy the longings of our hearts and, secondly, only He can heal those causes of the voids, some of which are sins.
8) Lay people ask me frequently, how can I have more silence? Here are the answers: a) do less, simplify your lives; b) do not have a television or a radio, or if you do, keep them only for emergencies; remember St. Elizabeth Ann Seton's vision of the streets being vacant in the villages and families being inside staring at black boxes, as if mesmerized. Remember what Thomas Merton said, which I have quoted here before on this blog that television is the opposite of contemplation. And that the very energies of passivity which most men use in watching television are the very energies which God gave us for contemplation. Watching television, simply, is idolatry.
More next post...
and thanks to my Benedictine mentors for these thoughts..........
How To Create a Peter Pan
Many women with whom I speak have discussed with me the number of men who are not acting like men, but like boys. Many reasons have created this huge group of Peter Pans. Sadly, I know that many women are not able to follow the call of marriage and raising children because of the lack of the Protector Males.
I have many posts on Peter Pans, Protectors and Predators-just follow the tags.
However, I have been thinking about why there are so many Peter Pans.
I can share, after some observation and thought, how to create a Peter Pan.
1) Never allow your sons to learn how to do any work around the house. Do not let them learn how to cook, or use tools, or do garden work.
2) Never allow your male children to endure suffering. Coddle them, feel sorry for them, and give in to their weaknesses.
3) Never make your sons work without pay.
4) Be rude and mean to women, including your wife, if you are the husband. This creates Peter Pans.
5) If you are the mom, treat your sons like your husband instead of like sons. They will never grow up respecting women, which is a sign of a Peter Pan. They will want to marry moms instead of helpmates.
6) Never allow your sons to fail and then to get up and try again.
7) Never allow your sons to do hard things on their own,. Micro-management creates Peter Pans.
8) Let them watch lots of tv and do lots of gaming. Let your sons think that entertainment is more important than work. Peter Pans do not learn to work.
9) Never protect your wife and daughters. If you do, you will be making a Protector Son, instead of a Peter Pan.
10) Always shield your sons from physical pain of any sort. Of course, Peter Pans never learn to deal with physical pain.
Maybe some dads who are readers will not like to do these things and will honestly raise sons to be Protectors.
My female friends and I would be astounded! I am sure that TLM and home schooling parents create Protectors.
What do you think?
Not The Nine-O'Clock News (really)
Well, after several weeks of shock and moving about, I can share what happened to a point concerning my stay in Europe.
The reason why I am sharing this is that I am now beginning to engage an immigration lawyer through my son in Europe to get back.
I was detained and locked up for nine hours, finger-printed, searched, my things searched and interviewed because I was visiting England too many times. I was also not allowed to see my son during that time and he was not allowed to speak with immigration. I was not allowed to go stay with the nuns at Tyburn, which were my plans, and I was forced to spend a huge amount of my own money to stay two nights in an airport hotel. I did not have my passport for three days.
I was told over and over that I had broken no laws, and yet, I was treated like a prisoner. When I asked why I was being treated like a criminal, I was told that all people, right or wrong, were treated the same. Even multiple security guards, some ex-police, apologized to me, saying this should have never happened.
Since the Spring of 2011, I had been visiting my son every six months.
The woman in front of me, a non-English speaking Muslim from Turkey had been doing the same thing, visiting her daughter, since 2008. She was let in. I was not.
In order to go back, I have to apply for residency, which will almost be impossible. I need several miracles.
Please pray for these. Only the very rich get residency if they do not have a parent or grandparent who were British citizens. Most of the EU countries now follow the same rules.
The rules are becoming more and more restrictive, and the fact that I had residency for years and have a natural born English citizen for a son does not count.
White Mums do not count.
EU rules and the fact that Great Britain is copying American immigration policies have caused this sort of discrimination to the poor, even poor mums.
Please pray for me. As you know, my sem son and I are very poor, which is one reason why this country could treat a person with a lack of respect.
The rules for non-EU people moving in and out of Europe are being changed as we speak.
I know that God wants me in Europe. There are reasons for all things in His Divine Plan.
Miracles needed. I am praying to Bishop Alvero del Portillo for intervention, so please join me. No one on this side of the pond, at this point, is helping me sort this out. Also, there seems to be a lack of expertise on European immigration law. And, if there is one mistake, the papers are refused, as I know of an entire family, including parents, from Uganda, who came to the States for the ordination of their son and were turned away at the airport because there was one error on their visa applications. I want to be at my son's ordination.
http://www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=7547
I shall keep you posted.
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