A Critique of JFK's View of Catholicism in American Government

If you noticed, I have Mirror of Justice on my blog list. It is a great site. One of the most important questions of our day, a theme of this blog, is the freedom of religion in the market place, including politics. From a speech given this Autumn at Notre Dame, as noted in full on the blog at right, by Prof. Michael McConnell, the entire question of the freedom of the Catholic Church to express Her True Teachings is here expressed most eloquently. The site shows the provocative end of the speech, but here is a quotation from the body also on the site:


The Bishops’ statement was a critique—not an embrace—of the
idea of strict separation. It describes Jefferson’s famous paraphrase of
the First Amendment, the “wall of separation,” as a “misleading metaphor.”
 It offers an extended—and cogent—criticism of the
Supreme Court’s decisions in  Everson v. Board of Education
 and Illinois ex rel McCollum v. Board of Education.
 It describes those decisions as “victories of secularism,” and concludes with the “hope and
pray[er] that the novel interpretation of the First Amendment
recently adopted by the Supreme Court will in due process be
revised.”
The Bishops affirmed what they called “our original American
tradition of free cooperation between government and religious bodies—cooperation involving no special privilege to any group and no
restriction on the religious liberty of any citizen.”
 Cooperation, not separation, is the term the Bishops used, and their insistence on neutrality (“no special privilege”) and the primacy of free exercise (“no
restriction on religious liberty”) were a far cry from Kennedy’s “absolute separation.”


Many good Catholics are confused about the Church's teaching on separation of Church and State and this entry on the blog from the Notre Dame Law Review is worth reading.

Plea for funds for St. Michael's Abbey

 http://www.farnboroughabbey.org/index.php

Can some readers help the monks with a new heating system? See online above. And, if you have never experienced a winter in an English monastery, I suggest you do and then send money!

Part Three: Cults and Post-Modernist Christians

As some of you know, this blog is a continuation of my previous blog of several years. At that time, 2007, 2008, 2009, I was taken up with the intrusion of Post-Modernist thinking in the politics of America. To most, that is now obvious and painful. Now, I am more aware of Post-Modernist thinking and ergo, acting, among faith-groups in America, notably, our Protestant brethren and liberal Catholics. Post-Modernism is a term which covers a multitude of ideas, but the main ones I track are narcissism, individualism, self and group delusion and manipulation. Attached to these characteristics are the hatred of the class structure, leading to a hatred of the lower and working classes, with a consciousness encircled by a false elitism (see blog below).

Post-Modernism in religion has become Post-Modernist Christianity, which, because relativistic, is anti-moral, or at best, amoral, anti-dogmatic, anti-authoritarian, anti-communal, anti-rational, and self-destructive. The Post-Modernist Christian looks like a Post-Modern atheist, with a difference. They deny the Transcendent. The Post-Modernist atheist makes himself into the Transcendent, while the Post-Modernist Christian denies the Transcendent. The Protestant denominations are imploding with the pressure of the denial of the Transcendent. The Old Covenant Law and the order of Love of the New Covenant become merely deniable transcendence, undermined by the rules of literary deconstruction, or the cynicism of the capabilities of the human mind and soul, the latter which does not exist.

As a trained Phenomenologist, who came to her senses and reverted back to Thomism, I can say that the Post-Modernist, Deconstructionist in religion and philosophy differed (no pun) on the role of the mind, reflection, memory, understanding, will, experience, and perception. (With hats off to the great St Ignatius, who taught us discernment with regard to memory, understanding and the will, one can only be grateful in being given the grace to be a Catholic).

Point: the Post-Modernist Christian is about to enter the age of power, as the Post-Modernist atheists give up and retreat back into their comfortable, usually academic positions, and leave the political arena to those who think they are idealists, but are really Post-Modernist Christians.

These men and women have taken over the imaginations of Western European politics and the movement is being sucked into the abyss which is American politics, with a few, definite exceptions.

The Post-Modernist Christian may claim Christianity as his or her faith, but in reality, this person has abandoned all ideas of the Transcendent. Just as Phenomenology falls into literary criticism, Post-Modernist Christianity falls into self-deception, which is, simply, hypocrisy.

These PMCs may or may not be pragmatists, which I think, to a point, the Post-Moderns Atheists are.

This lack of pragmatism, especially in politics, leads to "waffling", "flipping", "indecisiveness" and "superficiality", all in quotations as these have been applied to certain political and governmental figures in Europe and in America. Dare I say that the Post-Modernist is prone to cultism and irrational, contradictory religious beliefs? Can I say that the Post-Modernist Christian believes in the true absence?

The difference between the PMC and the PMA is in the subconsciousness, or in the soul. The PMA is a deceived idealist liberal who has freely chosen his stance against hierarchies, creeds, etc. with a disdain for those who believe in such. The PMC still thinks he is a Christian, but has lost all semblance acting like a PMA while thinking he is a Christian. Hypocrisy.

You see, hypocrites do not know they are hypocrites, at least on the conscious level, which is why they hated Christ so much. He was forcing them to look at themselves and their lack of faith. They were PMCs. The only difference was that they believed in their own hierarchy, their own power structures. But, unlike the PMAs. the PMCs have lost belief in the very vocabulary they use daily. They repeat words, as in the Mass, but the words are not efficacious for them. However, if such PMCs are priests, they are committing sacrilege, by saying the words of Consecration without belief. This is why there are liturgical abuses, as these men may change the form in order not to commit sacrilege. To be continued...

I wish he had not done this. Cardinal George apologizes.

Are we the Church Militant? What does that mean? Are we prophets in the public square?

I wish Cardinal George had not apologized for his comment regarding the gay movement in Chicago. It is sad that anti-Catholicism is the acceptable prejudice in Illinois and other states, especially within the more militant parts of the gay movement. The apology undermines the Cardinal's strong stand against the lewd behaviors which take place in the annual parade and the language of hatred which comes out of the gay community towards Catholics. The KKK was and is anti-Catholic. The gay movement is anti-Catholic and increasingly so. Catholics must stand up against verbal and political abuse because of the agenda which the gays have had, pushing for civil rights for a lifestyle which is "disordered". Sin has no rights, and I feel sad and let down that the Cardinal felt he had to apologize for a historically correct comparison. The hatred of anti-Catholicism may have been more obvious in the 19th century, but the prejudice is alive and well and couched in subtle, political terms which confuse people. Catholics will lose civil rights in all areas of civic life if the gay agenda is not seen for what it is-an attempt to change the entire culture concerning marriage, child-rearing, and even changing the definitions of perverse sexual behavior. The Catholic Church is the only religious institution willing to teach and protect natural law philosophy. The apology was apparently to stop a demonstration outside the Cathedral in Chicago. Lame. Why not let a demonstration occur? What is the Cardinal afraid of-confrontation? We live in the Age of Nice and no one can criticize, we cannot use metaphor or strong language to point out truth. We all have to be so nice. Being tolerant is the highest compliment a person can be given in the States and elsewhere.

Where is courage and truth in this diocese? (see blog below on black and white rhetoric)

Send these guys to stand in front of any demonstration outside a Church in Chicago. http://papastronsay.blogspot.com/2012/01/ukrainian-christmas-in-carols-and-horns.html

To be holy, be honest with yourself...and your roles as parents

Today is the Feast of the Holy Family in Ireland and in the TLM. For a family to be holy is not rocket science. I am going to rant and rave today as I have listened to two conversations in the last two days of families, married couples, young people, blaming priests for their lack of holiness and for falling away from the Faith.

I said that on the day of our death, at our particular judgement, God will not say, "Oh, enter into heaven because you could not help it that Father Google was a bad shepherd," or, imagine Jesus stating, "Poor adult Christian, you committed all those sins because you did not read, or listen, or pray."

(Photo is of Blessed Louis Martin, father of Doctor of the Church, St. Therese, the Little Flower).

Not a chance that we shall get off the hook. As adult Catholics, the acceptance or denial of our Faith is in our own hands. We live in the age of information. We have The Catechism of the Catholic Church and most of the encyclicals of the past 125 years free online. We have EWTN, books, Catholic stores, newspapers, journals, blogs, etc. all about the One, True, Holy, Apostolic Church. Families are holy if parents are holy, not if priests are holy, although that helps. My Faith was passed on to me by my parents, not the schools I attended (all private and Catholic), not the governments and their programs. Do not blame the Pope, the Cardinals, the scandals, the lack of vocations. Lay people, look at yourselves.

Part Two on Cults and Catholics...on Modernist Heresies and Why Evangelicals Voted for Santorum

This post will set the cat among the pigeons. But, as a Catholic, one must state certain truths and throw them out into the marketplace at least for discussion. My question is this: What is the Catholic Church's stand on Mormonism as a cult and do Catholics as well as Evangelicals have a duty to consider politicians who follow cults rather than religions?

Now, in a secular society, an atheist, or a practical atheist, that is one who acts like an atheist, gets voted in without any discussion. In addition, we in the States have had at least fourteen provable presidents who were Masons, the arch-enemies of the Roman Catholic Church and the advocates of the heresy of indifferentism, which states that one can get to heaven without religion or God, that all religions are the same and that morality is the only judge of salvation and which states that religion has no voice in the public square. The other heresy which the Evangelicals in Iowa were voting against when they voted for Santorum is and I quote Pope Pius XII in Humanae Generis--Another danger is perceived which is all the more serious because it is more concealed beneath the mask of virtue. There are many who, deploring disagreement among men and intellectual confusion, through an imprudent zeal for souls, are urged by a great and ardent desire to do away with the barrier that divides good and honest men; these advocate an "eirenism" according to which, by 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.

Try and Google eirenism. It is the forgotten heresy here condemned, and interestingly enough, the reason why Evangelicals voted for Santorum rather than for Romney. Look at this, Catholic voters, please.

Nine popes have condemned indifferentism and this is the great doctrine of the Post-Modernist. At least two condemned eirensim.  Masons also hold these views, and were partly condemned by the Church  accordingly. Later, I shall outline the overlaps between Masonic beliefs and rituals and Mormonism.

Now, where does the idea of "cult" come into all of this? In August of 2001, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that Mormon baptism was not valid as the Mormons do not believe in the Trinity as Christians do; that is, that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are Three Divine Persons in One God. The statement, written by then Cardinal Ratzinger and then Archbishop Bertone clarified the fact that Mormons were not Christians. As an RCIA coordinator, this was an important point I had to share with converts from Mormonism. The document noted that this was not a heresy, but so different from mainline Christianity as not to be Christian.

This leaves us with one choice in the matter, that the Mormon Church, not being Christian, is a cult. This not a statement of prejudice, but one of fact. Religions, by the way, are carefully defined in Domininus Iesus, the bugbear document of the liberal Catholics. However, I digress.

We as Catholics, and the Evangelicals have four choices if Mormonism is not Christian. It is a false "religion" that is, not revealed by God, it is paganism, it is secular humanism mixed with atheism, or it is a cult. Judging by the common definition of a cult, that is, and I like wiki's definition here, The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre, we do not have much choice.


Normally, a cult is begun by a charismatic leader, who can manipulate others into following him-  Charles Manson, Aum Shinrikyo, Claude Vorilhon, Joseph Di Mambro, David Koresh, Joseph Smith Jr., Pope Michael, or Brigham Young. As the Catholic Church was founded by Christ Himself, who is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the RCC is not a cult.


Where does that leave us as conservative Catholics trying to make sense out of voting? Pray for discernment and follow the teachings of the Catholic Church always and everywhere. If Romney can distance himself from some of the more weird aspects of Mormonism, the better, as he seems a good man.

How many wars have been started because of oil...

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ffcf3450-3890-11e1-9ae1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1iltwYsZ4

from Rorate Caeli a disturbing or at least interesting statistic

"Curiosities: the February 2012 consistory will be the first one not to include a residential Cardinal from either Africa or Latin America since the small June 1977 Consistory - the last Montini Consistory, in which only 5 Cardinals were created, including Cardinals Ratzinger (Munich) and Gantin (Justice and Peace). / There will be 107 voting Cardinals on the eve of the next consistory, 21% of whom will be Italians. With the new Consistory, there will be 125 voting Cardinals, 24% of whom will be Italians, the highest percentage since the mid-1970s." from Rorate Caeli

The Vatican pundits should chime in and tell us if the high number of Italians in the consistory is a good or bad development. Note the dates here--this is a return to the pre-Blessed John Paul II organization. I am very interested, as this present Pope has started to reform the Church, especially with regards to the Liturgy, and those of us who follow this do not want to see a departure from that renewal.

Zenit and the world getting wiser about the erosion of religious freedom

Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide (Oxford University Press) is a book being reviewed on Zenit today. It is about time people realize that the so-called Arab Spring, now being labelled Arab Winter by some journalists, is leading to a dark ages of scientific, religious, and academic suppression. I am going to try and get this book. If anyone has read it, please make a comment.

Part One: On cults among Catholics...relativism and Gnosticism again

I am getting more concerned about the existence and prevalence of cults, and, importantly, the appearance of a new acceptance of cults. Cults were big news in the 1980s and 1990s, when some people rushed off to the Moonies, or when international groups waiting for comets and the alien space ships committed suicide. I do not have to go into detail, as there were several infamous situations. I lost a friend to the Moonies and I have another friend who was rescued from a cult years ago. Another friend of mine had to help the children of a woman who got so involved in Scientology that she neglected to feed her children. That group broke up her marriage. My heart has been broken by the friends of mine who have suffered manipulation at the hands of cult-leaders. I have tried to help by love, praying for the healing of the scars of abuse, in some cases.

My concern is that cults are proliferating with prophecies of the end times, with the problems in established religions, and with the popularity of New Age ideals. Cults are usually defined as religious worship or a community surrounding a charismatic leader with bizarre teachings. This covers many groups today which have not been labeled as cults. In Ireland, there seems to be more than enough self-professed seers who are not "real" visionaries, as the Church would define, and there are groups which pander to wealthy, religious families in order to sustain certain hidden, sometimes, extravagant lifestyles. One thinks of Christina Gallagher.

My concern is that Catholics are not immune to cultic thinking. I have good friends who follow private visionaries to the point of not reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or the encyclicals, or even the Bible in some cases. Now, these people are intelligent and good, but lacking in discernment, chasing yet the next elocutionary or visionary on the scene. I have warned friends in America about this. This is not to say that many people are not in tune with the signs of the times, and have some discernment over an above common sense. What I am concerned about is that these private revelations are becoming more important than the teachings of the Church,

I had a long discussion with an excellent priest from New York on this point last year, as I was trying to steer some friends away from certain private revelations and from being so caught up in the phenomenon. He said that something was missing in their spirituality, some type of understanding of the deep and long history of mysticism in the Church -- that their search for experiential Faith indicated a lack of catechesis. I could not agree more. The problem is that these people are frequently on their way to holiness, but get side-tracked by private revelations, some, even most of these revelations or visions, not affirmed by the Catholic Church. In fact, I think that some of these experiences tend to divert attention from the affirmed messages, such as at Fatima, and lead people into confusion.

My rule is this. If the Church approves something, I shall look into the revelations, maybe. If the Church has not approved something, I can use my time in better ways, such as studying the teachings of the Church and reading the greats such as SS. John of the Cross, or Teresa of Avila. I can wait and maybe some current visions will not be approved in my lifetime. It does not matter. My second rule is that if there is a whiff of disobedience to either bishops or priests, or even the Tradition and Revelation of the Church, the seers are wrong. Obedience and meekness mark a holy man or holy woman.

My concern centers on why intelligent people seem to need these things. My answer is that it is a form of the oldest heresy in the Church, Gnosticism. For centuries, some have wanted special, private knowledge to affirm their Faith. They have needed to identify with certain groups, or to pursue holiness in a way outside the ordinariness of the lay life. Gnosticism is a form of pride. Gnosticism is also connected to the great Modernist heresy of our age, relativism. One can just accept one's own opinion of what is real religion, or approved visions, or philosophy, whatever. Gnosticism and relativism have entered the Church again.

I can admit freely that I am an ordinary Catholic, albeit traditional, trying to work with grace and the Sacramental Life of the Church to get to heaven. Simple really; prayer, rosary, daily Mass, frequent Confession, spiritual director if I can find a trad one, and so on. If I just read, outside the encyclicals and catechisms, Aquinas and Benedict XVI for the rest of my life, that would be sufficient. Of course, the Divine Office and the Bible are essential. By the way, I highly recommend the Navarre Bible. Fantastic.

When Padre Pio was declared  St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I read more about him than I did before he was declared a saint. He provides an example of approved and obvious holiness as well as spiritual gifts and elocutions. I am concerned at the number of good Catholics straining after private revelations, as there is simply no need with the wealth of saints and the Tradition, the Teaching Magisterium of the Church given to us, not to mention the Traditional Latin Mass, the greatest gift to the Church for our growth in holiness.

My online mentor...who keeps me sane about the American political scene

Several journalists today have finally seen the true political bias of the present administration in the US as tyrannical. LOL. Sorry, but this was obvious to many of us in the run-up to the 2008 election. The best blog on my favorite topics of narcissism and ugly self-interests in money and politics is Dr. Sanity. The woman is brilliant and as she has political savvy as well as psychological insight, follow her during this campaign. You will learn about yourself and your fellow voters, as well as those who are trying to destroy the Constitution and are succeeding bit by bit. When Dr. Sanity disappears, we shall be in big trouble, as she is a really astute gal and prophet for these troubled and complex times. http://drsanity.blogspot.com/

And for those of you who are waiting to read another Supertradmum critique of Gramsci, watch this space.

Let the great John Donne speak for me today...

XX. MEDITATION.


THOUGH counsel seem rather to consist of spiritual parts than action, yet action is the spirit and the soul of counsel. Counsels are not always determined in resolutions, we cannot always say, this was concluded; actions are always determined in effects, we can say, this was done. Then have laws their reverence and their majesty, when we see the judge upon the bench executing them. Then have counsels of war their impressions and their operations, when we see the seal of an army set to them. It was an ancient way of celebrating the memory of such as deserved well of the state, to afford them that kind of statuary representation, which was then called Hermes, which was the head and shoulders of a man standing upon a cube, but those shoulders without arms and hands. Altogether it figured a constant supporter of the state, by his counsel; but in this hieroglyphic, which they made without hands, they pass their consideration no farther but that the counsellor should be without hands, so far as not to reach out his hand to foreign temptations of bribes, in matters of counsel, and that it was not necessary that the head should employ his own hand; that the same men should serve in the execution which assisted in the counsel; but that there should not belong hands to every head, action to every counsel, was never intended so much as in figure and representation. For as matrimony is scarce to be called matrimony where there is a resolution against the fruits of matrimony, against the having of children,[285] so counsels are not counsels, but illusions, where there is from the beginning no purpose to execute the determinations of those counsels. The arts and sciences are most properly referred to the head; that is their proper element and sphere; but yet the art of proving, logic, and the art of persuading, rhetoric, are deduced to the hand, and that expressed by a hand contracted into a fist, and this by a hand enlarged and expanded; and evermore the power of man, and the power of God, himself is expressed so. All things are in his hand; neither is God so often presented to us, by names that carry our consideration upon counsel, as upon execution of counsel; he oftener is called the Lord of Hosts than by all other names, that may be referred to the other signification. Hereby therefore we take into our meditation the slippery condition of man, whose happiness in any kind, the defect of any one thing conducing to that happiness, may ruin; but it must have all the pieces to make it up. Without counsel, I had not got thus far; without action and practice, I should go no farther towards health. But what is the present necessary action? Purging; a withdrawing, a violating of nature, a farther weakening. O dear price, and O strange way of addition, to do it by subtraction; of restoring nature, to violate nature; of providing strength, by increasing weakness. Was I not sick before? And is it a question of comfort to be asked now, did your physic make you sick? Was that it that my physic promised, to make me sick? This is another step upon which we may stand, and see farther into the misery of man, the time, the season of his misery; it must be done now. O over-cunning, over-watchful, over-diligent, and over-sociable misery of man, that seldom comes alone, but then when it may accompany other miseries, and so put one another into the higher exaltation, and better heart. I am ground even to an attenuation and must proceed to evacuation, all ways to exinanition and annihilation.

On the intention of the Holy Father and the Ordinariate

Out of Bishop Kevin Vanns' statement on the Ordinariate Portal seen at the right here, one comment struck me as all important for those Anglicans coming in through the English Ordinariate, or the American one. It is of the utmost important that the communities who come in together, those parishes and priests, are given the support of the dioceses to stay as one with there own local church facilities. This is not always happening in England, and I, for one, am concerned about this. Here is the paragraph from Bishop Vann:

Not many years after the establishment of the Pastoral Provision by Pope John Paul II in 1981, its lived reality proved to be a blessing and a part of the life of the local Church of Fort Worth – where life long Catholics and priests, and priests and individuals and communities who came through the Pastoral Provision have lived and worked together to proclaim the Kingdom of God and built up the Body of Christ.

This idea of staying together is being eroded in some dioceses. Let us pray together that the Vatican intention is fulfilled today under the Anglicanorum coetibus.

If this system is not successful because of shortsightedness or obstruction, (both a lack of shared vision with the last two Popes), I cannot see an easy reconciliation with the SSPX, who could easily come in as a personal ordinariate, that is, if  the offer was accepted.

Here is a paragraph from another article on the Portal today, which is important and eloquent, by William Johnstone.

It is ecumenical in a cultural sense as well. Rather than forcing Anglicans to deny their heritage – and no one who has attended choral evensong can fail to be impressed by the glories of the Anglican tradition – Pope Benedict is encouraging some of the distinctive aspects of the tradition to be retained. They are treasures that can contribute significantly to the universal Church. In a similar way, the fruits of communion with Peter will breathe new life into this heritage. This is what it meant by a “mutual exchange of gifts”.


Read the entire article. 

Open Letter to the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Malta

I wrote this open letter to the Knights of St. John, the Knights of Malta. There is a crisis of liturgy happening in Malta at this time, more developments which I am tracking and will share on this blog. Some of you might think, who cares, as it is such a small nation and what effect will events or attitudes there have on me? Malta is the gateway to the East. It is only 220 miles of so from Libya. The Great Siege was a miracle of grace in its victory. . One cannot walk over those tombs day after day in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, and not be moved by the bravery and commitment of so many men. I am not stating that they were all saints, as we know from history, but we need the intercession of those who stand before God in Heaven.

Dear Knights of St. John,

For two months, when I visited Malta, as I attended Holy Mass, I daily walked on the marble which covers the dust of the great heroes of Malta. With the limited knowledge of Latin that I know, I read of the deeds, charity, and deaths of the old and even the very young who died for a cause greater than themselves. As I prayed for those holy souls who still needed mercy and to those saints who intercede for Malta, I felt as if the dead were reaching up from those vaults into the life that is the Church and pleading for a renewal of the vital energy which they commanded when on earth. Those Knights gave of themselves in sacrifices which modern men and women rarely conceive. Their lives were reflected in their deaths. Some died on the battlefield, some in the hospitals of the Order, some in the peace of their palaces. Yet, their days of violence and prayer produced fruit which lasted throughout the centuries, until this present day. What impressed me was their love of the Church, the Bride of Christ, and their love of the Pontiff, the Bridge between Christ and us, the Pope.

These men were not afraid. Their fearlessness to stand up for the Faith, in a manner which now seems foolish and over-zealous to some, is needed as much today as in the days of the Great Siege. The Church is under the greatest siege She has ever seen since those days of bloodshed. The persecution is more subtle, but as dangerous and as deadly as then. As our dear Pope recently stated, the Enemy is within. The Enemy of the Church is a protean being which changes like a chameleon to capture the hearts and minds of the Faithful, turning goodness into mediocrity, and labelling sin as normal. One of the greatest evils is the mindless disobedience to Rome in matters regarding the Liturgy. Holy Mother Church has been given the Pearl of Great Price. This Pearl in the Tridentine Mass, the Traditional Latin Mass offered up for centuries in the very Co-Cathedral which houses the dust of those who died preserving that heritage. Today, I wonder whether the Knights of St. John realize that the real resurrection of the Faith, in Truth and Beauty can only happen with the renewal of the Traditional Latin Mass? The holiness of the past cannot be relied upon in story or in fiction. The past is only a primary structure, a foundation for the future. If those who followed the brave and the bold settle for what is less than perfect, settle for the easy and the mediocre, the building which is the Kingdom of God on earth cannot stand.

Why do I make this connection between the Knights and the Traditional Latin Mass? The ancient words of Consecration, the silence of the Canon, the unspeakable Beauty of the Chant created a sublime experience for all,even those who were illiterate. Today, we in the Church are in great need for a challenge to the ugliness of sin. We need chevaliers who would die for the Glory of God. For me, and for our present Pope, this Glory is seen in the Liturgy which feeds the mind, the heart, and the soul in ways which are not even understood. Yet, the Knights of St. John, whose Patron is the Greatest of Men, as Christ Himself stated, and who is the Greatest Prophet, those very Knights fail in the prophetic role which Pope Benedict XVI has presented to the world. The motu proprio of July 2007, Summorum Pontificum  is not only ignored, but blatantly suppressed in Malta. Why? And, where are the champions who would be obedient and see the necessity for this Great Gift in the face of a crumbling culture? I challenge the Knights to renew their allegiance to Rome by championing this one Gift-the Tridentine Mass. 

One might say to me, who are you to challenge the Knights? It is not my challenge, but that of the Church. The old Latin phrase, lex orandi, lex credendi, how we worship is how we believe, is the reason that Pope Benedict instituted the motu proprio. He merely carried out the words of Vatican II, in The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy section 36, that Latin was to be maintained but the vernacular allowed. 

Why the Traditional Mass is so important is not merely that the Church wishes to preserve the sacred language of ritual, but that the People of God are lifted out of the ordinariness of the daily life of sin and anxiety into a Mystery of Faith which defies explanation. The great mystery of Transubstantiation was one of the causes for which the Knights of old died. Rather than deny the True Presence, rather than deny the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity and His Representative on Earth, the Pope, they fought to the death. And, here, in the Co-Cathedral, we have a testimony to their awareness of the Truth and their courage to defy convention and ease, acceptance and perhaps, slavery, facing what few in our times would even consider, that is to die for Truth and Beauty.

If I seem presumptuous in challenging the Knights, it is because I passionately love the Church, and the Tridentine Mass. I am convinced that Malta, like a child dying from malnutrition, needs the New Evangelization called for by Blessed John Paul II. And, I am convinced that the Traditional Catholic Mass will lead to the revitalization of real Faith among the Maltese, who, like the Church of Ephesus, are being addressed by Christ, Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp-stand from its place. Revelation 2:4-5

Knights were made for battle, not for honors or status, or pageantry. The battle is raging. 

On Layclerics...

Today, I was discussing the teaching of non-clerical Eucharistic Services to seminarians. Many years ago, when I was in the Diocese of Calgary, I had an extremely interesting discussion with Bishop Frederick Henry about such things, as some people, who were laymen and laywomen working with youth in the high schools, were pushing for Eucharistic Services without priests. These services, normally labelled Communion Services, are intended to provide the Holy Eucharist to a congregation on a Sunday when the priest is absent. Bishop Henry was adamant that such things lead to the undermining of the priesthood and the reverence of the Sacrament.

He was and is correct.

Many bishops have moved away from such quasi-clerical lay services for many reasons, the main reason which is the confusion it causes those attending. Nuns or laypeople who hold up the Host and say, "This is the Lamb of God" and so forth are acting in the place of the priest in such a way as to undercut the vocation and sanctity of the priesthood. I am totally against seminarians doing such pseudo-liturgies, and I think that the laity conducting such, especially EMHCs, is simply wrong. In some dioceses, layman and women who are not EMHCs have conducted such services. It is all wrong.

One of the greatest errors of the Post-Vatican II wave of abuses has been the clericalization of the laity. Laypeople have great work to do without prancing about the altar and leading Communion Services. The New Evangelization should be the main work of the lay person in the marketplace. Having lots of babies is another thing the laity should be providing for the Church. That America and other countries have such a priest shortage is no excuse for the clericalization of the laity.

One person said to me, "Then, what does one do without priests and no Masses?" My answer was that if parents have been so selfish as to discourage vocations and if they have contracepted, creating the shortage of priests, no Mass is a logical consequence of this lack of generosity. Consequences, the lost concept of irresponsible parenting...Why should not the laity have consequences from their own life choices? No priests, no Mass, no Communion. Why do seminaries and parishes make up for a deficit which is natural and possibly, a cause of suffering which might lead to conversion among the laity?

Communion Services simply should not be allowed under any circumstances except in war. That those who teach our young men to conduct such services do not even see that they, as teachers, are undermining the priesthood, is ironic. Obviously, the permanent deacon would be the person of choice if a priest is unavailable, but why go to such lengths to provide Holy Communion outside of Mass, when the laity will not continue to encourage their boys to become priests? Is there a one-to-one correlation between dioceses which have these services and low vocation statistics?  The fact that these services are being taught indicates a lack of sensitivity as to what a lay person is. We have enough to do without pretending to be clerics.

Existential Star Wars (In French) from my son..

Did Christ engage in black and white thinking?

During these political times, I have been pondering the idea of black and white thinking. This led me to look at the words of Christ, Who does seem to use black and white rhetoric. Can we make a distinction between black and white rhetoric and black and white thinking? It was extremely important to the Jews that Christ spoke to the Pharisees and Sadducee in absolutes, as that was part of their rhetorical style of teaching. Ron Paul says things which alienate the larger part of the Republican structure, but most people who have come over to him like his way of speaking in black and white terms--the straight talker, like George Bush, or Davy Crockett. Some people who would never vote for him demand that his language be seen as raising issues in absolute terms in order for those issues to be taken seriously. If you make a black and white statement, people may tend to respect you even if they do not agree with you. You would seem like a honest person.

As a teacher, I moved away from such statements and moved into the Socratic Method, which is based on questions, an approach which Christ also used as part of the Rabbinic way of teaching.

But, black and white rhetoric is not the same as black and white thinking. We live mostly in areas of tepid grays. Such b and w thinking is the fallacy of the false dilemma. We must say that as human beings our truth is limited by our perceptions, and our checks and balances, which is Revelation and Tradition in the Catholic Church, help us understand and clarify the grays. These "checks and balances" are one reason I am Catholic. We have a reasonable religion, unlike some based on fear or emotion, which allows for discussion and understanding our Faith to a point.

One of the reasons there are such divisions in the American culture is because of black and white thinking-I saw this last year in the disputes in Wisconsin regarding the budget repair bill. Even such movements as the occupy and anarchist movements are begun and inflamed by black and white thinking. So, how as Catholics do we fall into the fallacy of false dilemma? Christ did say "He that is not with me, is against me: and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth."Matthew 12:30 But, Christ, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life does offer only one alternative to salvation. He is God.

What we must do is put on the Mind of Christ. Too many Christians do not think like Christians. They think like pagans or secularists or practical atheists. Americans talk and think big, compared to older cultures, which appreciate subtlety in rhetoric. This is an art, but how is big talk or subtle talk in keeping with the Mind of Christ? We must communicate slowly and carefully so that we can understand the thought of those whom we are evangelizing, or even convincing to our political position. Have we lost the art of communicating the Mind of Christ, and if we are not thinking like Christ, can we communicate the Good News? In good Socratic Method, I am asking more questions here than answering. 


I think the answer is simply becoming like Christ, living in and with Christ, allowing Him, as Ignatius states, to take all one's memory, understanding, and will. Only in the mystery of allowing the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit purifying the mind and imagination, the memory, and the will, do we grow in holiness. The dying of self, or to self, allows us to think and act like Christ. Then, the dilemma is solved. We can speak in black and white terms, but think without judging. This does not mean that we tolerate evil, but that we love beyond the actions of individuals. Therefore, we can communicate the Mind of Christ. To be continued..as one cannot confuse this Love with tolerating any type of evil. "But I have against thee a few things: because thou sufferest the woman Jezabel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat of things sacrificed to idols." Revelations 2:20

OK, one good thing out of the English fishwrap

http://ordinariateportal.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/tablet-funding-urgently-needed-for-ordinariate/

The English Ordinariate needs money. The great sacrifices which these new priests have endured may include the loss of housing, pensions, and other means of income for themselves and if married, for their wives and children. I add my space to the appeal. These men are dedicated, hard-working priests, deserving our support.

Please respond, if you can.

Two for one and how the Present Potus is not really elitist..

Among my younger friends, in light of the Iowa Caucus, which not only proved to be extremely interesting, but a lesson in grass-roots democracy, there is a continual discussion on the Catholic Traddies position on monarchies. As there are blogs dedicated to this subject, I am not going explain the Church's position, as much as extrapolate on the death of elitism in the United States, partly as a logical consequence of the democratic process, but also as a sign of the death of the West.

Elitism is the idea that some people, whether by wealth, or birth, or education, or just plain merit, are called to serve in governments, education, businesses and so on. In my generation, where private schools had tracks and when it was considered normal to follow in the footsteps of ancestors who served the public, elitism was a word rarely heard. Leadership training was "in" and I got it, as did my peers, from the nuns, priests, and laypeople who were our teachers. If we were in private schools and went to Catholic colleges and universities, we were expected and trained to not only be grateful for all the benefits we received, but to give back to society. In a sense, the ideal of noblesse oblige was part of the Catholic ethos, as we knew we had the Truth and needed to share it in the marketplace. The Oxford Dictionary defines this phrase in part, as privilege entails to responsibility. 


Now, as sons and daughters of the King of All, and as sons and daughters of the Queen of Heaven, we had a sense of responsibility to spread the Good News decades before the "New Evangelization". That this did not happen can be the subject of another post, but the point was that we were called to convert, in any manner which our individuals careers or vocations demanded. We were not to waste time, but were trained to be good stewards of time, money, education, etc.


What has happened in the States is that the "meritocracy" ha,s created the a new elitist class of those who have  risen to the top by their own efforts or "luck" BUT without the sense of noblesse oblige. In other words,(and those who know me, and my students from the past, understand that I have this bee-in-my-bonnet about Post Modernists "heretics", whether formal or material, and their narcissistic take-over of politics in the States at all levels) the "me" crowd took over. A narcissist by definition cannot connect with noblesse oblige, as the happy world revolves around him. (This blog never has inclusive language.) "Bob's World" or "Charlotte's World" is recreated continually, and the society accepts this more and more as the norm. This is one of the reasons why the "gay agenda" has been so successful in America and elsewhere, as most people do not either see the idolatry of self, which is narcissism, or they do not know how to deal with it. And, it is so much easier to stay in the toddler stage of life rather than grow up. I believe that because America is still an "adolescent" nation, less than 250 years old, that this absorption of narcissism at all levels of the culture seems normal.


If anyone wants further reading, just go back to de Tocqueville, who I taught for years, and is a prophet for our times. Here is the problem of today's elitist class-it is made out of money. Here is our friend, de Tocqueville--What is most important for democracy is not that great fortunes should not exist, but that great fortunes should not remain in the same hands. In that way there are rich men, but they do not form a class.

Why, you ponder, why should we not have leaders from the new financial classes rather than a hereditary monarchy or hereditary nobility? The new elites lack noblesse oblige. They have been trained to make money, be successful, "be all you can be" without the sense of service. One of my favourite holy men is Blessed Karl of Austria, who gave his life as an offering to God for his country. The cause for his wife, Empress Zita, was opened on December 10th, 2009. 

I am not denying that history has not seen truly evil, nasty and selfish lords and ladies. What I am elucidating is the fact that there was in the West a long tradition of service connected to the monarchies and aristocracies. Russia was converted by the Great Vladimir, for example, despite the fact that his own brothers were each a "piece of work" to say the least.That this noblesse oblige was passed down to the "lower classes" of Catholics in the past, who understood that all the grace and benefits of being Catholic needed to be shared, was a marvel of Catholic, elitist education. Bring it back. Down with narcissistic Post-Modernism.

Hello and Thanks for All the Fish

Welcome back to my blog. I was active for several years in 2007-2009 and now I am back. I say "Thanks for all the fish" because I feel like I am on a different planet than when I was blogging not that long ago. At that time, I was living in Ventura, Ca., and then, Iowa. Now I am in Europe. The viewpoint is refreshingly and disturbingly different, of course.

If I am going to help all of us understand the political or religious events around the world, pertaining to the Traditional Mass, the Post-Vatican II and Post-Modernist movements, there is no place better than sitting in a small room in Ireland or on a veranda in Malta overlooking the detritus of Western Civilization as it crumbles before my eyes.

I hope my former students and colleagues will find this blog useful. If not, I know that there are hundreds of fantastic blogs out in the blogosphere to help us all maintain some sanity. May God bless us all and may the patron saint of the Internet, St. Isidore of Seville, who, as patron, is also a complicated topic, bless all my commentators.