Felt like looking at daisies today...

Minds working ....

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/shaking-dust-off-your-feet.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/dusting-dust-off-your-feet.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-manifesto-on-pursuit-of-virtue-and.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/05/on-evil-humans-and-our-decisions.html

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-do-we-walk-away-from-evil-and-when.html

Today Mr. Voris picked up on a theme I have been writing about for months....

Pay attention to where the spirit is blowing...

Information wanted

I had Marist teachers a long time ago and except for one priest, they were all liberal plus. Can any reader inform me of the orthodoxy of the Marist High School in Chicago, which on paper, has a fantastic religion set of courses, but, of course, that cannot tell me the reality of the religion there?

The Song Is in The Singers

http://guildofblessedtitus.blogspot.com/2014/05/from-office-of-readings-today-sing-to.html

Several significant posts today

Please take time and read these. Time is short. The Time of Mercy is coming to an end soon, within my lifetime and I am older than most of my readers, or at least 50%. If you are a Gen-Exer or a Millennial and you are not preparing for international persecution of yourselves and your children, simply for being Catholic, you are stuck in a false sense of security. The old organizations in the Church either must begin talking about these times, or these organizations are either useless or worse, in collusion with those who want to spread apathy and deceit.

Ask yourselves if you are discerning, and if not, why not? See this post

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/why-catholic-cannot-discern.html

The Holocaust took a very short time to organize. Again, I suggest watching this movie, which you can find here. If you do not believe there is anyone in hell, watch this movie.

Westering

I have just reread The Red Pony, by John Steinbeck, after many years. One of my favorite books, this little masterpiece bellows of a truth lost among the American people.

The last chapter, which is an add-on and does not even refer to the ponies in Jody's life, centers on the Grandfather, the father of Jody's mother.

He had been the leader of a wagon train. He had traveled west with the pioneers, and when he came to the ocean, he had to stop.

The sadness of the Grandfather morphs into pain as his son-in-law does not love him or his stories of  "westering".

Now, I understand "westering". It is in my blood. Some of my ancestors went on the Oregon Trail and ended up in Oregon. Some had to stay in Iowa, and some went on.

My grandmother, on my dad's side, got smallpox and was left with an aunt in Iowa. She survived, but her entire family, bar one brother, went on to Oregon.

In those days, it took months to go west and find the pass through the Rocky Mountains. She went out in the 1930s in a car with my aunt who is a nun, and still living, in her nineties. They went out to see my great-grandparents on that side before they died. I never met them, of course.

Two women in a car following the trails of their ancestors....

Westering is either in the blood, or not in the blood.

Westering is a push to find the unknown, to discover new things no one else has ever seen or done.

Westering brings out the best in people, or the worst, and the strong survive.

Grandfather states that the men have gone soft. Steinbeck published this book in 1945. He knew the men of America had gone soft.

Something had happened.

Spiritually, when men have a goal bigger than they are, they rise to the occasion.

Westering can be spiritual, like the journey into perfection of the saints. SS. Edmund Campion and Thomas More were real men.

Their westering was interior.

When I read The Red Pony, I can feel the blood of my ancestors rising and saying to me, "Keep going. Never stop. Reach your goal."

On the road to perfection, one must have the blood of those who went west, those who had that goal, and worked hard to get it.

Westering may be a gift, that gift of never being satisfied or complacent. This gift is one which never compromises or stints when facing a problem.

I thank God for my ancestors, for those who settled in northern Iowa, in St. Louis, and those who went on to Oregon and California.

I pray they found rest when they met the ocean.

I pray they are with God, the real goal of our travels.

An Anxiety Put Down

Using Newman these past few days for meditation and devotional reading, I was delighted to read his own comment that he meditated  better with a pen in his hand.

I was greatly relieved after reading this, as I meditate better when typing. Many of my blog posts are meditations on the Scriptures or, recently, a combination of study and contemplation on the Attributes of God. Writing helps me pray and prayer helps me write.

Why this is so, I do not know. Perhaps it is the way some minds work; in other words, writing out something is part of the process of meditation or active contemplation.

I have been worried about this for a long time, but as this was true for a saint, I can relax, as one who is aspiring to be a saint, I have found a model in writing. I am so glad Newman wrote this for me and others to ponder.

Twice I started theses on Newman and have not, for good reasons, not sloth, not been able to finish these. I have been studying him off and on for over 30 years, but only really read this phrase today.

Amazing how when one is ready for certain knowledge, it can just leap off the page of a book one has read before.....

The second idea I want to share from Newman is the thought of his that all sin is actually blasphemy. This point stunned me today.

Here he is on this point: "O my God, can I sin when Thou art so intimately with me? Can I forget who is with me, who is in me?" The fact that we Catholics through baptism have the Indwelling of the Trinity means that when we sin, we sin against God within us.

Think on that....

This great man needs another miracle in order to be canonized. Please pray for one and pray for me to be included in his intercessions before the Throne of God.

This was seen as coming...

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=21306

The Bureaucratic Mind vs. Our Lady of Walsingham

Christendom is dead, which is a huge shame. In the days when being a Christian meant something in Europe, the open borders of the Catholic countries allowed those who were suffering under tyrants to go abroad and keep the Faith.

Such were the foundations of Douay, Valladolid, the Venerabile, and St. Omer opened in order to create "Seminary Priests", who would go back to England and serve the Catholics under the horrible laws of Elizabeth I.

Among the great seminary priests was St. Edmund Campion.

Three hundred priests, according to some records, were back in England by the end of Elizabeth's reign.

Here is a map from an interesting website found here.

We have a new problem in Europe now, which is the drastic new laws driven by the bureaucrats, regarding the entry of those who want to be priests, or want to be missionaries in Great Britain. The EU will make it more difficult to re-evangelize Europe from the outside.

Such families which helped the Catholic Cause in the past have died out or are dying out.

The mind of the bureaucrat apprehends numbers and political correctness.

I weep for my adopted country. I love the great heritage of the martyred seminary priests.

Will Catholicism die out in this fair country, Mary's Dowry?

Remember that Pope Leo XIII stated that when England returns to Walsingham, Mary will return to England.

Pray to God that I can return and work in the vineyard of England for the glory of God. This is on my heart and mind daily. My dear son is there already, being trained to work for the Kingdom of God. God has put this great love of this little island on our hearts, and in our minds and souls.

A nice article may be found here, and my play is listed again below.

http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/pbristow/dowry.html

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

Note

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/cardinal-mueller-lcwr-stands-in-open-provocation-of-holy-see/

The Post-Christian Countries of The World

It is one thing for a nation to have never been Christianized, such as China or Japan, but it is another thing for a nation to totally lose its Christian identity, after having one for over a thousand years or more.

To have not been converted is a different state than one of apostasy.

Christ said this:

Matthew 11:21-23

Douay-Rheims 

21 Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.

23 And thou Capharnaum, shalt thou be exalted up to heaven? thou shalt go down even unto hell. For if in Sodom had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in thee, perhaps it had remained unto this day.

Now, what can be worse than the destruction of the four towns as recorded in the Old Testament? In Genesis, Sodom and Gomorrah as well as Admah and Zeboim, were destroyed because of the sin of sodomy. Christ's reference to Tyre could have been a historical note on Alexander the Great's razing of the city, but an irony on Christ's part, as this was a Gentile city with Jewish inhabitants and people responded to His mission there.

Sidon was another Gentile city with some Jews of wealth, like Tyre. This city was the home of Jezebel, the worst queen of Israel, and an idolater. 

Christ visited the areas around Sidon and Tyre as noted in Mark 3:8 and Luke 6:17.

Mark 3:8

Douay-Rheims 

8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan. And they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, hearing the things which he did, came to him.

Christ emphasized to the Jews of the cities mentioned, Capharnaum, Corozain, and Bethsaida, that He worked more miracles for them than in those other places and yet, these so-called faithful cities did not convert. 

One could substitute modern cities for these names in the "Woe" passage above. 

London, Paris, Cooperage, Brussels, Madrid, or Lisbon, wherever Christianity was strong in the past and now is no longer.

Do readers honestly think that God will ignore the sins which cry out to God for vengeance? Abortion, sodomy and denying the fair wages to the poor, as well as not caring for the widow and orphan....

A Manifesto on The Pursuit of Virtue And Presumption

1 Corinthians 9:24

Douay-Rheims 

24 Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain.

Those who follow this blog know I like to read Suarez. The Catholic Encyclopedia online uses him to explain the sin of presumption.

Presumption is here considered as a vice opposed to the theological virtue of hope. It may also be regarded as a product of pride. It may be defined as the condition of a soul which, because of a badly regulated reliance on God's mercy and power, hopes for salvation without doing anything to deserve it, or for pardon of his sins without repenting of them. Presumption is said to offend against hope by excess, as despair by defect. It will be obvious, however, to one who ponders what is meant by hope, that this statement is not exact. There is only a certain analogy which justifies it. As a matter of fact we could not hope too much, assuming that it is really the supernatural habit which is in question.
Suarez ("De spe", disp. 2a, sect. 3, n. 2) enumerates five ways in which one may be guilty o fpresumption, as follows:

1. by hoping to obtain by one's natural powers, unaided, what is definitely supernatural, viz. eternal bliss or the recovery of God's friendship after grievous sin (this would involve a Pelagian frame of mind);
2. a person might look to have his sins forgiven without adequate penance (this, likewise, if it were based on a seriously entertained conviction, would seem to carry with it the taint of heresy);
3. a man might expect some special assistance from Almighty God for the perpetration of crime (this would be blasphemous as well as presumptuous);
4. one might aspire to certain extraordinary supernatural excellencies, but without any conformity to the determinations of God's providence. Thus one might aspire to equal in blessedness the Mother of God;
5. finally, there is the transgression of those who, whilst they continue to lead a life of sin, are as confident of a happy issue as if they had not lost their baptismal innocence.

The root-malice of presumption is that it denies the supernatural order, as in the first instance, or travesties the conception of the Divine attributes, as in the others. Theologians draw a sharp distinction between the attitude of one who goes on in a vicious career, precisely because he counts upon pardon, and one whose persistence in wrongdoing is accompanied, but not motivated, by the hopeof forgiveness. The first they impeach as presumption of a very heinous kind; the other is not such specifically. In practice it happens for the most part that the expectation of ultimate reconciliation with God is not the cause, but only the occasion, of a person's continuing in sinful indulgence. Thus the particular guilt of presumption is not contracted.

We cannot take for granted out salvation. We cannot presume to enter repeatedly into areas of serious sin without this affecting us. Are your friends and families in serious moral sin, living in darkness and not repenting even after you have tried to help them see the truth of their souls?

Do not presume.

We have become lax in our attitudes towards friends and families. I do not know why this has happened. Sometimes, families and friends become idols.

Sometimes people are in unhealthy relationships of deception.

I shall quote St. Paul from two out of several epistles which include this subject:

1 Corinthians 5:11-13

Douay-Rheims 

11 But now I have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or a server of idols, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat.

12 For what have I to do to judge them that are without? Do not you judge them that are within?

13 For them that are without, God will judge. Put away the evil one from among yourselves

Philippians 4:8

Douay-Rheims 

8 For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy, whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline, think on these things.

And, Christ said this:

Matthew 10:35-36

Douay-Rheims 

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.

Jesus said this for a reason. Some families are full of practicing Catholics and some are not. Until we are healed and free enough not to be affected by the sins of the families, we may have to stay away from serious sin; we must be careful not to lose our own souls.

I have been pushing Christian and Catholic communities on this blog for a long time for many reasons. One is that one needs "friendships in the Lord" to stay strong in this world. Without support, we shall go under.

The early Catholic communities understood the necessity of daily support in the face of a pagan society.

What is the difference now?

Many Catholics do not understand that this persecution is not merely the type of pain which involves being taken to court for being a Catholic, but it could be being dragged down by the sins in families. We must not place ourselves in positions of being severely tempted until we are purified enough to stand against familial sins.

For example, some people continue in unhealthy and even, sinful relationships with parents and even siblings. Of what do some of these sins consist?  I can make a list of things which drag people down.

The first ones can be cooperation with evil regarding gluttony and drunkenness, eating too much and drinking too much. Catholics need to pay attention to these family sins. If this is the norm in a family, one might have to avoid family members who insist on gluttony and drunkenness, especially on days of certain sport events.

The second area is the toleration of adulterous and relationships based on fornication. Catholics must not ignore these sins, but address these. If you cannot see the damage this does your own soul, think of your children. Do not pretend that people that live in mortal sin act the same way as those in sanctifying grace. They cannot until they repent and come to God and His Church. 

The third area is the not attending Sunday Mass and tolerating this when visiting. Why do Catholics allow those in mortal sin to affect their children and give bad example? One grandmother I spoke with was unhappy when the grandchild said plainly, "I do not have to go to church because.....does not."  And, if the grandparents do not go to weekly church, and you keep visiting them on Sundays so that your children see this bad example, what they see could affect the children. 

Parents are responsible for the mortal sins of children who are young and not protected by such temptations or confusions.

If you are in sanctifying grace, and are not strong enough to keep your immediate families from the sins of relatives, you must choose not to put your children in danger.

The fourth area may be such things as deep deception regarding manipulation of souls in families. One must be free of the sins which others inflict on one's souls. Freedom means freedom from other people's sins and many sins, such as incest, are passed down in families.

Especially if we have children, we are obligated to protect those in our own households.

I have other quotation which may help some:

1 Corinthians 7:14

Douay-Rheims 

14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife; and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband: otherwise your children should be unclean; but now they are holy.

But, notice, St. Paul says nothing about the believing wife or husband saving an entire family. That is not her job or his job until his or her house is in order. He has this to say of bishops, but any father of a family should adhere to his advice.

1 Timothy 3:2-7 DR

2 It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher,

3 Not given to wine, no striker, but modest, not quarrelsome, not covetous, but

4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all chastity.

5 But if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

6 Not a neophyte: lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil.

7 Moreover he must have a good testimony of them who are without: lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.


So, why do men not pursue Catholic, moral Christian friends, and instead settle for the evil either in work fellows, or the evil in families?

I think there are several reasons, but I shall highlight two.

One, too many Catholic men want to be liked by their friends and families. They lack bravery to stand up to evil and call it for what it is. Perhaps they have given in to deception. They would rather be pals then brothers in Christ. 

Two, too many Catholic men do not pursue Catholic male friends because they are afraid of "being found out". In other words, if they let guys get close to them, these men might find out that they yell at their wives, or ignore their children, or drink too much, or have truly bad relationships with parents. We need to be "found out" for our own salvation. 

Do you think children are blind to the sins of aunts, uncles, even grandparents? Are you causing scandal to your children by making them socialize with unbelievers living in mortal sin? 

What about friends or family who never give to charities and who only live for their own, even small, pleasures? These types of people will not bring you to God except through you doing prayer and penance for them. One can become cynical hanging around narcissistic and selfish people. 

If you do not speak the truth to siblings or parents, who will? If you continue to have close relationships with those who have turned their backs on Christ and His Church, is it not presumption to think you are not affected as well?

They, perhaps, the family members or friends, do not want to change. Perhaps they think they have time to change. Perhaps they cannot see the knife-edge of death and life set before them to choose, now. 

C. S. Lewis wrote this: 

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose that you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn't you then first discover how much you really trusted it? ... Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief. 

If you are not risking your faith for your families and friends, you are not living the Gospel and you may lose your soul. The early Church understood the need for communities.  Without these friendships in the Lord, the Church would have died, succumbing to the pagan society of the time. But, the Church thrived., because the brethren came together and supported each other in virtue. 

We know nothing of the families of SS. Joseph, Paul, and all but a few of the apostles. We know nothing of the families of many of the great saints, except for a few, like the Martins, or St. Etheldreda's family, or St. Basil's. Some saints came from holy families and some did not.

Some of the saints had to come to God without their families and friends. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's parents were atheists, and did not convert because their son was holy. The father of St. Damien of Molokai never spoke to him after he decided to become a priest. St. Barbara's father was involved in her martyrdom. Some saints had to walk away from families and friends who were living in sin, and repeated mortal sin is called "living in sin."

Do not lie about the need for Catholic friends, first. Stop making excuses for the lack of Catholic friends. 

Your souls may be at stake, if you idolize those involved in evil. Love them, pray for them, do penance for them, but do not follow them.