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Thursday 30 October 2014

A Note to Disgruntled Reader

Catholicism is the only true religion (The Orthodox included according to Dominus Iesus). There are only two revealed religions, Catholicism and Judaism.

All Protestants denominations are in error, departing from the Truth as given to us by Christ.

The list of heresies in the Protestant denominations include these (not an exhaustive list):
  1. Denial of Christ's salvific action on the Cross of completely taking away the sins of the world.
  2. Denial of the sacraments, specifically the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and Confession.
  3. Denial of the Teaching Magisterium of the Church and the tradition handed down through the working of the Holy Spirit in the one, true, holy and apostolic Church.
  4. Denial of the priesthood as established by Christ (see 2) and denial of the papacy as instituted by Christ through Peter.
  5. Denial of the Immaculate Conception, Mary as Ever-Virgin, and the title, Theotokos, Mother of God. Denial of the Assumption and of Mary's role as Mediator.
  6. Denial of the types of grace, types of sin, and the acceptance of divorce and remarriage, homosexual relations, contraception and even abortion in some denominations.
  7. Denial of the particular judgment, and purgatory
  8. Denial of Christ's Hypostatic Union in some denominations.
  9. Denial of hell in some denominations, and the acceptance of universalism-all people going to heaven
  10. Denial of free will, with a false idea of predestination is some denominations
  11. Denial of the priesthood belonging only to men and the acceptance of false female priests.
  12. Denial of the Judaic tradition by de-emphasizing the Old Testament because of false Bible criticism a la the historical method
  13. Denial that the Jesus of History is the same as the Christ of Faith (see 12)
  14. Denial of the teachings concerning merit and personal holiness as an ongoing process of steps and believing, instead, holding the idea, "once saved, always saved".
  15. Denial of the honoring of the Church Triumphant in the persons of the saints in heaven.
  16. Denial of the Holy Mass as the center of true worship.
  17. Denial that the Church is the only source of sanctifying grace, given through the sacraments. 
  18. Denial in some denominations of the Nicene Creed.
  19. Denial of the apostolic succession of the bishops from the apostles down to the present day.
  20. Denial that the Church has the power to impose both indulgences and, also, punishment in the form of excommunication or interdict.
  21. Denial that the Church created the Canon of the Scriptures and has the only right to determine what is Holy Scripture.
  22. Denial of the authority of the Pope regarding infallibility.
  23. Denial that one mortal sin destroys the life of grace in the soul given at baptism, which would mean that many Protestants are no longer in the Holy Spirit, which they receive at baptism.

Not an inclusive list....

There is no room for Protestant thought in the Catholic Church because, by definition, Protestants are "protesting" some truth held by the Catholic Church, and therefore, denying some truth given to us by Christ Himself while He walked on this earth. To think that the Catholics and Protestants merely disagree on points of doctrine indicates a denial of objective truth given to us by Christ through Revelation and Tradition. These points above are not "disagreements" but falsehoods.

Christ's words on one subject:


So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell youunless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you have no life in you.

400 plus posts

in October...I hope you take time to read them. I am throwing these out like messages in a bottle.

This dates me...I was in grad school at ND in 1979, but I think Sting's voice improved with age.


This is FANTASTIC-Watch, Please

Thanks to R and M...

Check This Out, Europeans

http://www.europeanlifenetwork.org/index.php/about-us

English Translation of Synod Doc from Voice of The Family

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/10/18/0770/03044.html

http://voiceofthefamily.info/wordpress/?p=503

If you have money, send some to these excellent people!

Good article imho

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/will-popes-defense-faith-synod-ease-anxious-minds

A BIG Reminder Today at Mass

Gospel lk 13:31-35

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Christ abandoned the Jews because they rejected Him.

But, He will not abandon His Church.

Get that?

McDonald's Earnings Down-No Wonder!

Horrid Place! Thanks to wikicommons for photo
Well, I can say for sure that the McDonald's in St. Julian's is great, but the one in Valletta is horrible.

I had the absolute worst chicken "big and tasty" I have ever had, eating at Macs in 26 states and two other countries (Dublin Macs are fantastic). The coffee was horrible as well, and the two girls waiting on customers were surly and downright rude.

Will not go there again. Also, I am learning where not to shop, and the nicest people seem to work in chemists (that is drug stores for Yankees). I shall just go back to the places where the customer service is tops.

I find it amusing that if one asks for a bag, as I usually forget my shopping bag, being in a hurry to get to Mass, catching the bus on time and so on, that I get a lecture from the shop-keepers.

Twice now I have been told how fortunate I am that they just happen to have plastic bags and to keep those as I shall not find them any place else. Hmmm. 

I use the plastic bags for garbage, of course, and I have to buy special bags for recycling. I must remember to bring my big Malta shopper's bag, however, when I get supplies.


And, if you come to Malta, one cannot drink the tap water in most places. Buying water is a necessity. I am used to that after four visits.

One very sad thing is that young men and young women do not give up their seats in the buses for very old people. I do. 

I am ashamed that this Millennial generation has no regard for the elderly. 

Obviously, these young people have not been raised to be Catholics with hearts.

And, I see women standing all the time while men sit. Very odd.

A sad day for manners and good will. But, I was given two plastic bags by my very nice storekeeper, Sandra in Valletta, who is so accommodating that I go out of my way to shop at her little establishment, Genail. I have shopped there now since 2011. Her shop is just across from the Church of the Circumcision side door. The Church is one of my favs for popping in and praying when I am in Valletta.

Excellent Place!


BTW,,. although I wish I could eat there daily, Il-Gabanna in Sliema has the best full English breakfast for 5.95 Euros. Two huge sausages, two fried eggs. two pieces of toast, two large pieces of bacon, mushrooms fried in garlic, one entire large fried tomato and a small bowl of baked beans for that amazing price. If I had more money, I would eat there more often.

And the young waiting staff are great! They are friendly and watch out for one's needs.

Love the place. I have not tried Il-Gabanna's for dinner, as that is at this moment outside my budget, and I usually do not go out after dark. It is dark by seven.

I imagine the food is great.

And Il-Gabanna knows how to make real Americano coffee.








The Changing of the Seasons in The Church

The season is changing from summer to winter here now. In fact, the locals tell me it is colder than last year and I know this for a fact, as I was here last year until November 7th. It is much colder, with many more storms and rain.

But, I have also been thinking of my meditation on the Epistle of Jude on the 28th, which I hope you all did not miss. Mortification must now be part of our daily lives, Real penances, not false ones, must be accepted or chosen, or both.

Looking at the Mariners' Forecast reminded me that real penances are not the same as false penances.

First, a look...a one day coming up and some thoughts following:

Weather: cloudy with thundery showers which may be with gusts and hail.
Visibility: good except in precipitation

Wind: North to Northeast Gale Force 4-5 locally Force 5-6
           locally East Northeast at first and overnight

Sea: moderate to rough becoming locally rough.

Swell: Negligible becoming low to moderate overnight

Now, suppose you are a shrimp fisherman and you have to look this forecast up daily. This week would be the changing of the season for sure, which started a few days ago. I have seen a shrimp boat out at sea. Those men must be ready for bad weather now, especially on Saturday. And, most shrimp fishing takes place at night. Gale Force 6 creates difficulties for fishermen. But, one must work. Those men cannot grumble, complain, or choose to do something else if this is their job, their livelihoodNot grumbling is a real penance. Working in the rough seas is part of life. For us Catholics, there are real penances and false penances. We must choose the real ones. And, we must choose mortification. Real penances may be these, a short list:


  1. loosing status and friends because one stands up for the truth;
  2. being misunderstood for being obedient to the Church;
  3. not complaining when those around you either stop being your friends or ignore you because you are a loyal Catholic; 
  4. doing extra hard things, like being silent in a conversation when you want to speak;
  5. giving money out of your need, not merely your excess;
  6. praying more than the normative one hour a day, especially for others;
  7. leaving all you love in order to be with Catholics who will strengthen your faith.
  8. These are real penances. I give up some foods to add to intercessory prayer, but my real penance is when I do not have enough money for more than one full meal a day.
God sometimes, as in my case, chooses the penances for us. Like the shrimp fisherman, I can either grumble or thank God for this complication in my daily life. The season of the Church is changing  and we must change with the Church, accepting more and more suffering. That is the call of the real Catholic.

Repeat Posts from November of Last Year/Look at The Last Line


A Quiet Masterpiece

I have written about this book by Benson before as well-None Other Gods. As I wrote about it a long time ago, and have many new readers, I thought I would tie this book in with the perfection series.

Benson understood, and in my humble opinion, experienced the Illumination State, if not the Unitive. No one could have written with the insights he had without some experience.

This book is the clearest novel I have ever read about the three last stages of holiness-the Dark Night, the Illuminative, and the Unitive States.

The last time I wrote about this book, the Evil One who Hates was beginning his onslaught in Ireland. I had read this book for the first time in Ireland in the convent in the Winter of 2011, and was amazed at the similarities between St. Benedict Labre and the main character, Frank. Now, many people who have read this book have not  understood the way of perfection, and the last three stages of growth in holiness, therefore, missing the point.

The choices Frank makes are those contrary to the world, the flesh, and the devil. His choices reveal his desire for unity with God.

Please buy it, read it, pass it on. I think it is a quiet masterpiece. Also, if you want to understand supertradmum, you will after reading this book.




Coming to A Head

For years, and those who have read this blog know this, I have been recommending Robert Hugh Benson's Lord of the World. The recent Belgian bill on child euthanasia and some things happening in America make me believe that this prophetic book is coming to reality.

The book in on line here http://archive.org/stream/lordofworld00bens#page/n5/mode/2up

I have given away copies of this in the past. I hope my friends read it.

It is one of the Pope's favorite books as the Holy Father mentioned recently.

Short of writing about the End Times, I do write that the Church is entering one of the darkest periods of persecution She has ever seen.

I see it in America. I saw it in Europe. Please read my notes on how to prepare for tribulation. Please read the perfection series.

You and I do not have much time.

Signs?

No daily Mass in the closest parish to me. I cannot get to daily Mass.

No Adoration in most churches in this diocese.

The impoverishment of the Church, resulting in closings and the dilapidation of buildings.

The taking over of Catholic hospitals by the pro-death governments-see Ireland.

The hatred of children and mothers, something many of my friends experience almost daily.

The horrible scenes from Argentina, the Macy's parade shambles I linked here, the porn on EU tv.

The mindlessness of Americans, who simply do not see what is happening to undermine the Constitution, the freedoms of individuals and the Church.

The absolute blindness of Obama Catholics. 

The evils of lax and even seriously sinning clergy. Why is my pp in Las Vegas on vacation, one of the most evil cities in America?

Priests who refuse to do more than the bare minimum.

The political movements in the EU based on Marxism gaining ground.

The rise of "organized anarchy".

The communism behind the US government policies.

The use of military tactics by the police and the ignoring of the Constitutional rights of search-Boston after the bomb, for example.

The breaking down of the religious aspects of the military, separating duty from duty towards God first.

I appeal to the laity to become holy and accept all suffering as God honoring your prayers for holiness.

Those who are suffering now are being prepared for the worst.  BTW, Msgr. Benson pegged the German Church correctly in 1907.

And I add, the putting of homeless people in fema camps and recent developments regarding surveillance.

Repeat Post in Light of Last Week

Repeat Post about Us

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2012/01/cradle-of-modernist-heresies.html

Wednesday, 1 February 2012


The Cradle of Modernist Heresies


In 1983, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, who was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, now Pope Benedict XVI, issued a document under the name of the Declaration on Masonic Associations.  The link is on the name.

In that document, the long history of the condemnation of Freemasonry by the Church, since 1738, was reiterated and clearly defined. The original condemnation of Clement XII, In eminenti apostolatus specula  was upheld.

Since that time, I have had many Catholics, in the United States and in Europe claim that the Church had removed the automatic excommunication on a Catholic who joined the Masons. This is not and has never been so. One has to understand that the Church's condemnation of Masonry is based not merely on the fact that it is a secret organization, but that it upholds several Modernist heresies. Firstly, Cardinal Ratizinger wrote that:

Therefore the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enrol in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.
He went on to state that no bishop had any right to change this. It is interesting that the SSPX press, Angelus Press, has one of the best books on the evils and pitfalls of Masonry. One can find ithere. However, I want to concentrate on a few of the Modernist heresies found in Freemasonry.
The first is indifferentism. This heresy proclaims that all religions are the same and that religion has no place in the public life of a nation or people.Mirari Vos  On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism written in 1832 by Gregory XVI is a forgotten document of the Church.
Indifferentism leads to a relativism about religion, stating that all are either the same, or so subjective as to mean only what a person sincerely believes. This pluralism leads to another aspect that because all religions are relative and the same, these beliefs have no role in the public life, cannot affect politics, or governmental decisions. Of course, as the Catholic Church is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, this heresy is condemned as contrary to both Revelation and Tradition. Indifferentism leads to a denial of the supernatural, as if all beliefs are equal or subjective, there is no hierarchy, no Revelation from God. Also denied in this heresy would be dogma, for the same reasons. It is interesting that in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1907, itself peppered with some Modernist heresies, that this statement from Newman is quoted in the section on indifferentism
No truth, however sacred, can stand against it (the Catholic Church) in the long run; and hence it is that in the Pagan world, when our Lord came, the last traces of the religious knowledge of former times were all but disappearing from those portions of the world in which the intellect had been active and had a career" (Apologia, chap. v). 

The second heresy of many in Masonry is eirenism.This is what I call the forgotten heresy. 

The condemnation of eirenism is found in Pope Pius XII's encyclical, Humani Generis. This great work condemns existentialism, historicism (Gramsci watch), immanentism and other isms. The point of eirenism is, in the words of the Pope: setting aside the questions which divide men, they aim not only at joining forces to repel the attacks of atheism, but also at reconciling things opposed to one another in the field of dogma. And as in former times some questioned whether the traditional apologetics That branch of the science of theology which explains the reasons for the Church's existence and doctrine of the Church did not constitute an obstacle rather than a help to the winning of souls for Christ, so today some are presumptuous enough to question seriously whether theology and theological methods, such as with the approval of ecclesiastical authority are found in our schools, should not only be perfected, but also completely reformed, in order to promote the more efficacious propagation throughout the world among men of every culture and religious opinion.

This heresy clearly seeks after a type of syncretism, a religion of unity, wherein divisions vanish and people come together to worship some sort of agreed upon god. I would venture to say that eirenism leads directly to Worship of the State.

This is the atmosphere of religion and philosophy in the United States at this very moment. The State declares that there is no religious right to conscience, thereby setting up its own standards for so-called moral or ethical behavior. To use an example, abortion is ok because a Supreme Court decision determined it was so, and because further legislation supports it. The State has substituted itself for the Church in matters of conscience. 

Wake up, American Catholics. So, the heresies sleeping in Masonry have awakened and taken over the mind-set of the nation's leaders. Simple and neat.

What is happening and has happened in Catholic education, wherein schools are rebelling against the Teaching Magisterium (look here in California today, this minute) is a direct result of the concepts of eirenism. Schools and other facilities play down differences for the sake of community unity to the detriment of Catholic Teaching. 

It is too late to change this huge momentum, hidden in Masonry by choice, and held in some minds by lethargy and laziness. To take the easiest way out, to placate, to be politically correct is eirenism

The greatest heresy in Masonry is immanentism, which destroys the Revelation of God as Trinity, replacing Him with a vague, abstract presence found in the world. Pope Pius X condemned this in  Pascendi Dominici Gregis.

As Catholics, we do not have much time to read all of these documents, but what is happening today in America, with the attack on the Church from the present administration concerning freedom of religion and freedom on conscience is an attack prophesied by all the documents above. If Church leaders knew their own teaching, they would have seen this coming, or even better, stopped these idealistic heresies from fomenting in the people in the pews. And, as laymen, we only have ourselves to blame if we find ourselves marginalize, persecuted, imprisoned, martyred. See my post below on the stages of persecution and the ideologies which push these heresies. The one I have left for this posting is Freemasonry, which seems to hold many of the Modernist heresies and is able to produce these in the market place as goods.

As one can tell, I taught a history of ideas, history of encyclicals, history of heresies. Nothing has changed in 2012 which was not there in 1732 or earlier. Sadly, the revisionist historians within the Catholic Church look like they have won the day. I honestly feel that we are in the times of Arianism, the greatest heresy which rocked and split the Church. However, the Church prevailed, and will, as Christ promised until the end of time. But, the Lord did not assure us it would be a large, powerful, or influential Church. Perhaps the words of one of the Desert Fathers are applicable. I think, but I am not sure, it was Abba Pambo.

"When asked by a young monk if they were of the greatest generation because they saw and cast out devils, and prayed, fasted, and converted  and healed people, the Abba answered. 'No, we are not the greatest generation. We have obvious power. The next generation will see Christ establish His Kingdom among the Nations, and there will be unity for awhile. But, the greatest generation is the one, which under great persecution, will survive. They are the greatest and the last.'"



Good article on Rorate

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2014/10/surprise-no-vatican-iii.html

Repost on Persecution

Monday, 4 November 2013

On God Disciplining His People

St Oliver Plunkett

A reader wrote this and it deserves a post.

I am deep into reading Pascendi right now and am astounded. That encyclical plus this post of yours calls to mind a question. I wonder if you could instruct a little on God's punishing/chastising His children. I seem to be having difficulty understanding how this works. There is certainly every indication that this is now happening (and will be increasing). I'm having trouble understanding how this works if the majority of Catholics do not even recognize the punishment and even enjoy and encourage the circumstances they're in. How will they learn or benefit from this? How will this be a curative?

We only have to look both at Old Testament history and even recent history to see how God allows evil to chastise those who have become mediocre.

The entire history of the Old Testament, including that of the Maccabees, some of which is on this blog, reveals an awareness by the prophets and some of the leaders, that when very hard times occurred, such as the desecration of the Temple, that God was permitting evil for a reason.

The Hebrews, being easily influenced by the neighboring countries and nations regarding idolatry, were disciplined by God over and over.

One only has to read the eloquent speech of the first martyr, St. Stephen, to see how aware some Hebrews were of their own discipline. Obviously, the forty years in the Wilderness provided ample proof that God needed to purified His People so that they could take over the Promised Land, which was full of child-murder and other horrible sins.

In recent times, Our Lady of Fatima warned us and asked us to pray for Russia. She meant, of course, the great lies of communism and atheism. Sadly, the warnings went unheeded by the majority of Catholics and Russia's errors spread over the Europe, so that, to this day, Marxism is alive and well in the continent.

The tremendous sufferings of the Ukrainians for their faith is only one example of persecution in modern times.

That God gives humans free will indicates that evil will be chosen by some and good by others.

When the real persecutions begin, and I believe we are on the edge of the last stage, (see persecution posts), Catholics will have lost many civil rights. This is already happening regarding those Catholics who do not want to sell bridal dresses for ssm, or cakes, or takes photos of such.

That some Catholics have always gone along with the powers that be will happen again and some of our persecutors will be Catholics. This happened in England under Henry VIII and Elizabeth and even later, up to the killing of St. Oliver Plunkett in 1681.

Catholics were outlawed from certain things in England up until the 19th century. Sadly, the younger generations in the States have not been made to study history in school and so have no clue as to these once commonly known facts, at least among Catholics.

Hard times should cause people to stop and pray and ponder their own sins.

When one is being disciplined, one takes a hard look at one's life and repents. This is the purpose of discipline.

If one does not reflect, one cannot move forward into being purified, which is all explained in the Dark Night series.

So, when God allows evil, Catholics can make heroic choices against such evil. This is happening. Real Catholics do not dispense aboritifacients as pharmacists and lose their jobs. Real Catholics do not teach that ssm is ok, and move out of teaching grade school in some states. Real Catholics do not sing for ssms and, therefore, may get sued or taken to court and so on.

St. John Houghton, thanks to Wiki


That the governments of most nations, if not all, now follow laws against God's natural law, one can expect hard times. 

There are other laws now in place which keep Catholics from living what was the old way of moving between countries freely, as we are members of a universal Church. Movements of peoples are becoming greatly restricted in Europe, to the point where in some countries, seminaries who apply from other countries to study for the priesthood cannot be accepted.

That Nigeria has over 700 seminarians, I am told, will no longer help Europe, as the EU decides who comes in and who does not and missionaries of all denominations are being stopped. I know this. A preacher was stopped two weeks ago and detained by immigration in an EU country just because he was coming to give a series of sermons.

This will happen more and more. The Catholic Church is the only institution in the world which transcends national boundaries and the free movement of Catholics will be more and more circumscribed.

Those Catholics who are paying attention see that they will be marginalized and then fined, and then imprisoned for being Catholics.
St. Philip Howard


When one is under lock and key, one must give one's self totally to Christ. One is in a passive state, without freedoms. St. John of the Cross was imprisoned by his own order. He learned about the Dark Night there. St. Thomas More remarked that he learned lessons in prison he should have learned outside. His remarks on the Carthusians, who went to their deaths singing, show us that the monks were ready because of their chosen lifestyle of the denial of comfort and their discipline of prayer.

We should and can be doing these things now-denial of comforts and deep prayer.

That is what we learn in hard times--to trust in God completely, to become like little children, meek and mild, forgiving those who hate us and moving on into sharing the Passion of Christ.

Will all respond? No, of course not. Will some? Yes. Remember, all the saints were people like you and me. So, too, all the martyrs were just Catholics not willing to compromise the Faith for life.

The Pope Emeritus Benedict told us years ago the Church would be smaller and stronger. Such is the result of hard times. 

Read my play here--it might help.

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