Drought

A drought exists where I live. Please pray for rain for the Midwest.

Cults, Sects, Denominations, Church

Christ established an institution on purpose. This institution is the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.

The Church is universal, not confined to any small or large group of people, such as a deviant group or national church.

Schismatic religions frequently show the characteristics of cults. One of the things I have been concerned about recently has been the increasing cultic feel to some TLM groupings. Of course, other groupings, such as the Pius V or Old Catholics, which have separated themselves from Rome, are obvious deviant groupings.

But, some of the characteristics of cults seem to be seeping into some TLM communities.

The movement into cultic behavior proves to be extremely dangerous, not only to the Church at large, but to the individual soul.

A person who falls into cultic thought has separated themselves from what Christ established.

Let us be clear from the start of this discussion, that all Protestant denominations are heretical. To equate Protestant "churches" with the Catholic Church reveals a naivete which can cause a person to compromise one's conscience. The false ecumenism of so many liberals in the Catholic Church has glossed over the horrible denials of truth in the Protestant denominations.

A denomination may split off into a sect. Some people define denominations as sects, but for my purposes in explaining problems of splinter groups, I see a sect as a subgroup of a denomination. For example, the Bruderhof is a sect, a smaller offshoot of the larger Hutterite grouping, and the larger set of Anabaptists.

So, one sees, a denomination or a heretical "church, such as the Anabaptists, or Hutterites, breaking into or inspiring other groups, such as the Bruderhof.

Size does not, however, determine whether something is a sect or denomination, which is why some people use both terms for the same description or definition of a splinter group. However,  from a historical perspective, one can define the denominations of Protestants historically organized, such as the Lutherans or Calvinists, from the spin-off groupings.

Catholics define sects and denominations according to heretical beliefs. Therefore, a complete denial of the sacraments, as instituted by Christ, would be a step away from Lutheranism.

When does a sect become a cult? Or, when does a subgroup in a larger community become cultic?

Cults form from a desire for Gnosticism, an esoteric, hidden knowledge which no one else shares except those in the cult. Or, a cult can develop when a leader claims special knowledge and demands a complete separation from the larger "church", also imposing cultural laws which become legalistic.

Those who seek out cults may want the security of an outward, external form to reassure them of salvation; such are the many people who follow false seers, who want additional spiritual information regarding God, the Church, the future.

Obviously, anyone who teaches anything contrary to the Teaching Magisterium of the Church can create a cult.

I personally see the followers of Maria Divine Mercy, Vassula Ryden, the Pius V Society and the Old Catholics are not only heretical but cultic in their desire for hidden knowledge. I also suspect some people who follow Medjugorje of cultic thinking and behavior.

Once a group has been either condemned or warned against, Catholic endanger their immortal souls by following the new Gnosticism.

This tendency to Gnosticism is, in my opinion, creeping into the TLM groups in some areas.

Signs of cultic thinking in TLM groups may be listed:

1) an overemphasis on the personality of the priest;

2) an insistence on complete conformity of prayers not in keeping with the Catholic Church's guidelines or customs; in other words, not following the 1962 Missal and liturgical guidelines of that time;

3) a refusal of adults to take responsibility for their own salvation, relying on outward expressions, rather than inward conversions with the emphasis on outward expressions which even deviate from the liturgical rules from Rome;

4) an insistence of ignoring all teaching post-Vatican II and the ignoring of the reading of the encyclicals and Catechism of the Catholic Church;

5) a holier than thou attitude towards the last three popes, which indicate hubris and a lack of humility;

6) severe criticism of those who attend the NO, and worse, a denial that the NO is valid, which would be a heretical viewpoint;

7) the politicizing of the TLM by continually placing it in a certain party or an insistence on political uniformity among members of the TLM parish; in other words, a false ideal of Church and State; for example, the insistence on monarchism as the only valid organization of government;

8) the idea that the Mass is the only thing necessary for salvation;

9) the inability to discuss any position or issue concerning the group, as if the group itself held some sort of "infallibility" and cannot be criticized;

10) the refusal to get involved in parish activities outside the TLM;

11) anti-intellectualism -a sure sign of cultic thinking-and the continual insistence on experience;

12) a looking in on itself continually as a grouping, instead of a reaching out to others.

to be continued...

Interesting. Any Millennial Comments?

http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/apr/20/millennial-urban-young-marketing-profile-graduate

This is so cool

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/12/07/fascinating-discovery-shows-unborn-babys-cells-go-to-moms-brain/?utm_content=buffer62bd8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

And some people wonder why I want to live in the same continent as Supertradson....“The cells of an unborn child will stay in the mother for decades… essentially forever,” said a researcher from Thomas Jefferson University. “There’s a lot of evidence now starting to come out that these cells may actually be repairing tissue.”

What is a broken heart?

Someone told me that his heart was broken. A relationship that he wanted to "go somewhere" ended abruptly. The lady walked away, after a prepared, stilted speech. The man, shattered, is struggling to forget and move on.

A broken heart hurts. This is a metaphor for the pain of either a grief, such as death, or unrequited love, or some sort of tragedy.

But, God calls us to break our hearts. For God, a broken heart is a contrite heart, a heart repentant.

Psalm 34:16 states, The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart: and he will save the humble of spirit. DR

Some other translations, other than this, the Douay-Rheims, uses the term "brokenhearted". 

Self-will and self-love must be broken. This discipline proves to be a balancing act for a parent, who must break the will of the child, but not the spirit.

Too often, when our wills are broken, our spirits are as well. God does not want a broken spirit, but the carnal part of us broken, the part under the spell of sin and death.

Purity of heart means that the heart has been broken so that the Love of God can stream into the heart.

A heart not broken has no room for God and His Love.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sacred_Heart_Holy_Card.jpg

Those who have followed my blogging since early 2007 know how much I love the poetry of John Donne.

Here is on of my favorites.

 Batter my heart, three-person'd God

Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you

As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;

That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend

Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.

I, like an usurp'd town to another due,

Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;

Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,

But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.

Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,

But am betroth'd unto your enemy;

Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,

Take me to you, imprison me, for I,

Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,

Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

Watching Deer

From my window today, I can see a herd of white-tailed deer. These animals have at least two "guards" which stand a bit away from the outside of the herd and look up periodically while the others are eating the new grass.

These two deer warn the others if danger seems near. The large white tails flash up and away the deer run.

Rabbits have "guard rabbits" as well, frequently at the opening of the warren and usually an "alpha rabbit". If danger comes near, the guard rabbit thumps loudly and warns the others.

If animals have guards, why not people? Who, now in the world, guard us and warn us from danger?

I have not heard any priests from the pulpit speak as "guards" nor any politicians.

There are some bloggers who are guards and one famous television person, but guards are few.

The guard deer cannot take eyes off the road, the edge of the small valley where the others eat without fear. They cannot "rest" but must pay attention.

The prophets of old, including St. John the Baptist, were guards for the People of Israel.

Christ established His Church and gave us leaders, guards who understood spiritual warfare.

Where are they now?

Do fathers guard their families? Do brothers guard their sisters? Do the clergy guard their flocks?

We can learn much from Nature. We can learn how far sinful, selfish humans have "let down their guard."

Some people will perish for the lack of guards.

When I pray, I pray for protection. My Guardian Angels watch over me.

Angels do not rest, do not need rest. They watch in joy and love. We could learn something from them, as well.                                                

Fears of Antisemitism Rising

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/471559/Fearing-Ukraine-s-anti-Semitism-Jewish-reidents-look-for-Israel-refuge

On Peacocks and Abstinence

sort of...Father Ray Blake Clarifies Fast for This Friday in Easter Week

"It seems to be disputed, the Octave of Easter is still Easter Day, so that would indicate 'meat', yet by feria sexta I have surfeited so much on suckling lamb, bacon, peacock brains, sausages, larks tongues, terrines foie gras etc so I tend to eat some really good fish, a plate of roasted truffles, or asparagus, something that is entirely non-penitential, though it is surprising how fickle human nature is that even a plate of anchovies or fried sprats looks good at that stage of the party!"

from his comments on his blog....http://marymagdalen.blogspot.co.uk/

Peacock Recipe from

Stuffing ingredients

• Bread
• Egg
• Onion – diced
• Apple – diced
• Garlic – diced
• Bacon – diced
• Rosemary sprigs
• Parsley – chopped
• Pepper – freshly ground
• White wine
• Chicken stock cube

Method

Gently sauté onion, bacon and garlic

Allow to cool

Tear bread into postage stamp sized pieces.  Combine with other dry ingredients.

Whisk chicken stock cube into a cup of water, then whisk in egg and add glass of white wine

Pour stock liquid slowly over dry stuffing, mixing continually until moisture satisfactory.

Stuff bird lightly – DO NOT PACK TIGHTLY

Insert several sprigs of rosemary into stuffing

Tie legs together

Roasting the bird

(3.5 kg unstuffed weight)

• Pre-heat oven to 165C
• Dust large oven bag with flour
  layer onion pieces and celery in bottom of bag
• Rub bird outer skin with butter
• Season with pepper and salt
• Drape with rindless bacon
• Place bird into bag, on top of onion and celery layer
• Seal bag, then make four or five small vent holes in top of bag
• Cook for 3 hours
• Open/remove bag (save juices) and brown for 15 minutes
• Remove from oven and let stand 10 or 15 minutes
• Make gravy using oven juices & gravy powder
• Carve and serve

 http://aussiehunter.org/simple-easy-dinner-recipes/roast-peacock-recipe/

The Disappearance of the Pioneer Spirit: the Dumbing Down of Women

Memorial to Etheldreda

I have been writing and trying to create community for over 15 years in this area and in other areas.

Today, I had an epiphany as to why communities of Catholic simply may not happen.

One reason: the disappearance of the pioneer spirit.

What do I mean by the pioneer spirit and its disappearance?

Many of us were raised to cook, can, have vegetable as well as flower gardens, bake bread, wash clothes, iron, sew, knit, crochet, embrooider, raise children by taking care of brothers and sisters as babies, clean, organize, even build things.

We built play houses, doll houses, trains out of wood which we painted rather badly, go-carts, etc.

We organize neighborhood circuses, plays, sports games of all sorts.

We got paid for summer jobs, like baby sitting, cutting grass, weeding and so on.

We had grandmothers who could literally do anything, and some who not only could do all things physical, but stood in the kitchen talking of history, religion, music, art. Women in my family sang, play piano and other instruments in the home, as well as being in choirs in the Church.

My great-grandmother wrote and published the first Czech magazine for women in America, while having six children and keeping house for a famous husband, who entertained Benes and Masaryk in the kitchen.

Hey, all stay-at-home moms.....

But,  they were only some of millions of American women who came from both poor and wealthy families and settled in the prairies, starting many times from scratch, new homes, new lives.

They could organize other people, sell things, and raise productive children. They knew how community was built by going to Church and having people in , by helping neighbor women have their babies, and by having wakes for the dead in their homes, dressing the dead after taking care of the old, the sick and the dying.

What happened? We keep talking about the emasculation of men, but we forget that strong, independent capable women tamed the prairies along with those now missing strong men.

Women's roles have been dumbed down and marginalized. The opposite to what most feminists think happened and the results are tragic.

I was raised to organize a house, a family, people. Women did that in the sphere of their home life.

They were not wimps. They took authority given to them by the fact that they were mothers and wives, aunts and sisters.

Community starts in the home with good marriages, but also with women who know the role they have in the society and in the Church.

Too many women have become wimpy, subservient to the point of losing sight of what God has called them to do.

I do not know about other families, but the women in mine down to my generation, and even the next were and are strong and capable.

Too many TLM men chain their wives to the duties do to the men only and not to the larger organization.

Why? Is this fear? Women organized women, the sacristy clubs, the Forty Hours devotions, the making of baskets for the poor, the child care groups, and in my younger days, home schooling coops.

What has happened?

Women were called by God to do great things in the sphere of their influence. They no longer to these things.

Community comes from strong women as well as strong men. I have met no weak women in the Bruderhof.

None.

Quite the opposite. Do you think Margaret Clitherow or Ann Line were wimps? Do you think Etheldreda and Hildegard of Bingen were namby-pambies?

Until lay men and lay women grow up and take authority over the lay spheres of influence, the homes, the culture, the society, we shall continue to slide into decay. And, there will no longer be any hope for communities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Speeds_plan_of_Ely_1610_from_Dorman_1986.jpg

There is a huge misunderstanding in some trad circles as to the role of women. Some think women are like children, needing to be dependent on their husbands.

That is a sick way of looking at marriage, which is the mutual interdependence of two adults, who each have a character of their own and can do things in their spheres of influence.

Think about this....can we have communities today, or has the time passed? Until women learn to grow up and be women and not children in Catholic families, community will not be possible.

A note: St. Etheldreda was in charge of one of the largest monasteries ever seen on British soil It was a double monastery, and her charge included Ely Place in London. Her monastery lasted 200 years.

A great saint, a great lady, a strong lady....