Sweden is a Nation which Hates Families

Chart is American Statistics for Home Schooling Excellence

Homeschooling is illegal in Sweden, and if you are a Catholic, this could be a matter of religious freedom. For over a hundred years, Popes have declared the parents as the primary teachers of their children, with the necessity, the duty of passing the Faith on to each child. In a country where public schools teach sex education and anti-natural law concepts, such as the pc idea that having a gay life-style is ok, Catholic parents would have to educate their children at home if there were no alternative private schools.

In one case, here, Sweden took away a child who has not been with his parents for one year. Parents who want to leave Sweden and educate their children at home in another country are not allowed to do so.

This is tyranny. No State owns a child. Now, Ireland and the EU want to pass so-called child protection and child rights acts which would undermine the authority of the parent even more. Could anything be more damaging to religious freedom than the inability to teach one's own children the Faith? Persecution is the name of the game. HSLDA, (and I have another link on the side on this blog), claims the United States is in danger of copying European draconian laws on homeschooling. The Obama Admin, as seen in the post listed on the side, does not support home schooling. Look at this selection from an article on WND:

The conflicts in Sweden are getting as contentious as in Germany, where a long list of families simply have fled their home country instead of face the crushing fines, jail sentences and even destruction of families that government officials demand.

It was in a dramatic case just last year, involving the Romeike family, that a U.S. immigration judge granted political asylum in the U.S. because of the persecution they would face in they return to Germany. The Obama administration is appealing that ruling, seeking to send the family back.

Donnelly said what happens in Germany and now Sweden needs to be noted in the United States because of the habit officials have of adopting controversial European actions.

Dated but typical and all well above average for most States in America

And, for the doubters, take a look at these scores from the HSLDA site. 

Voris on The Issue-not merely religious freedom, but a chance to condemn, nationally, contraception

Apostles to the Slavs and Patrons of Europe

Without Ss. Cyril and Methodius, I might not be Catholic. My ancestors came from the same areas, including Moravia, where the two "equal to the Apostles" preachers, philosophers, translators, missionaries came. The first ancestor to come to America, to Iowa, on the Czech side, was my great uncle, a missionary priest. Like Ss. Cyril and Methodius, the priest brought the Gospel and Sacraments to the far regions. Several key events of the Apostles of the Slavs in their missionary work was the creation and translation of the Bible, using the Cyrilic alphabet, named after St. Cyril, as well as the translation of the Mass of St. John Chysostrom into that Slavic language; in addition, many more Moravians, Bohemians, and others became Catholic because of the baptizing of Prince Borovoi and Princess Ludmilla. My grandmother's name was Ludmilla and I had a great-uncle Methodius. I pray for all the Czech people today, and especially for my old friend, Filip. From the Eastern rite prayer of the feast, which is on a different day, here is a chant:

Apolytikion of Sts. Cyril and Methodios in the Fourth Tone

Cyril and Methodius, inspired by God, you became Equals-to-the-Apostles by your life. As you were teachers of the Slavs, intercede with the Master of all, that He may strengthen all peoples in the true faith; that He may grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls!

And, as I use the Monastic Diurnal and the 1962 Missal, Happy St. Valentine's Day to all as well.

The Ruling Class as the Societal Norm is the Class of Subjectivity and Utilitarianism

Gramsci noted in his prison notebooks, a new edition which came out last year, and in other earlier editions, that the ruling class will create the norms which society itself creates subjectively and in various groupings, after the quiet overthrow of religion and other class distinctions. As I have noted before, Gramsci benefited in his life, outside of his prison days, of course, from the Western life-style of an intellectual. However, he did not see his own inconsistencies, as his own well-being depended largely on the capitalism of Western Europe and the music, art, and literature of that culture. His idea of hegemony, which merely means ruling class, is that the ideas of the dominant culture, or political will becomes the lords and masters of the masses. History will see this momentum.  He foresaw the failure of a violent Marxist take-over, and therefore came up with this mode of revolution in changing the education and then cultural mores to move along Marxist principles. A slow removal of the norms of Western civilization, especially in areas of morals and religious thought, can be removed from the public life merely by the agreement of the culture itself, having various groupings coming into agreement through common goals.

I must correct myself, as I made an error in an earlier posting that Gramsci created the phrase "the long march through the institutions", a phrase of Rudy Dutschke, a liberation theology-type revolutionary, who coined the phrase. The ideals of Gramsci inspired this phrase, however, and I am happy to retract the error. 


The point of all of this is that we are now seeing in America the result of these revolutionary ideals and the hegemony of society, which now dictates, through Washington and other means, such as the media, a culture which denies natural law philosophy and the normal Western moral norms for the godless, relativistic and subjective pursuit of power and complete autonomy. Of course, the great enemy of the ruling class, which basically is the same as de Tocqueville's Tyranny of the Majority, is the Catholic Church.

Follow up on Marriage Post...

Once a King or Queen in Narnia, always a King or Queen.


This post comes out of a response to the one on marriage below. In my years working in RCIA, I recognized that the catechesis on the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation had been woefully inadequate for years, both in America and in England. One of the misunderstandings among people is that one can "undo" the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. No, once a Catholic, always a Catholic. One can chose to be lapsed, an apostate. But, the theology of the Sacraments is clear. One receives an indelible mark, lasting forever, on the soul. Now, we physical beings have a hard time understanding spiritual concepts outside of lame, material metaphors or images. However, this indelible mark, as mysterious and invisible as it may seem, signs us for life and for eternity. It is a real efficacious sign, not an metaphor. All the Sacraments are efficacious. These actions from Christ Himself do something, not merely represent something. 


Eternity is a very long time. In the Catholic Encyclopedia, the term character is used to describe this mark.  If any one shall say that in three sacraments, viz. Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy orders, there is not a character impressed upon the soul, that is a certain spiritual and ineffaceable mark [signum] whence these sacraments cannot be iterated, let him be anathema (Concil. Trid. Sess. ult., can. vii). (and see the motu proprio listed below in the post on marriage).


And, if one denies it, one is, as seen above from the Council of Trent, excommunicated. The apostate, as I indicated below a few days ago, no longer has to make a formal, public declaration of apostasy. The "ineffaceable" sign changes us in the eyes of God, and should, change how we see ourselves. 


If we truly believe in the doctrines concerning the Sacraments, we can understand the ramifications in the denial of our Baptismal character, not to mention that of Confirmation.


Baptism changes us forever, giving us God's Life, Sanctifying Grace and taking away Original Sin. We become Children of God, then, as seen in the CCC. I have provided the links.

We are irrevocably changed, forever, in Baptism. To state otherwise is heresy. To live otherwise is to chance giving up Eternal Life for Eternal Death. We should thank God for our parents who saw fit to have us baptized and cooperate with grace. What a gift!


In addition, to think that the Sacraments are not doing anything spiritual is to fall into subjectivity and relativism. Father James V. Schall wrote on the Pope's visit to England in an excellent article here.


Part of the article dealt with false sincerity, which covers up, denies Truth. Father wrote,  We all become isolated in our own subjectivity. No one has to or can agree with anyone else on any grounds but sympathy or compassion. In such a world, "equality of opportunity" becomes the equality of doing whatever we want. We insist that the public order has no other purpose but to support us to do what we want. Since there is no truth, this latter "what we want" becomes the only truth. The only sin is to affirm that this view is false and destructive to everyone concerned, even those who rejoice in doing whatever is it that they want.

Benedict concludes his remarks to the English bishops by saying that "Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others—on the contrary is serves their freedom by offering them the truth." We are not free if we do not live in truth. The slavery to sin is much worse than political slavery, which is bad enough. We cannot be what we are except in the truth of what we are. When we exercise our "right" to do what we want, when we sympathize with lives of disorder, we lock ourselves and others into a world of self-centeredness in which the only law that counts is the one we give ourselves, whatever it is. 

Bless the Lord all birds of the air...The little Benedictine bird, in her black feathers, has just sung one of the Hours.

This morning I was awakened by the song of the Thrush commonly called the Blackbird. Like the American Robin, Turdus migratorius, this Turdus merula is a harbinger of Spring, and both birds are among my favorites for their early morning choral melodies. The songs of the Blackbirds and American Robins, to me, are part of Vigils, the early morning Hours or, technically, Night Hours, before Lauds, said in monastic settings much earlier than the 6:30 hour at which I heard the singing. The Blackbird sings in the dark, before dawn, whereas the American Robin sings just as Dawn arrives. When I lived in Missouri, I heard hundreds of Robins in the Dawn. This morning, the moon was shining while the Blackbird sang.


This bird reminds me in turn of one of Shakespeare's craziest and most humorous play, A Midsummer Night's Dream in which the Blackbird is mentioned. As I have aged, I have warmed up to this play more and more, as it shows the "battle of the sexes" as well as the unity of love which crosses and crisscrosses our paths in a multiple of manners. The entire story is framed in the harmony of marriage, as opposed to the disharmony of courtship and carnal love. As Valentine's Day approaches, (and I started this little series of meditations on love, and included chickens below), I now acknowledge the small, but growing Morning Chorus as sign of our love and all creation's love for God, our prayers going "up like incense before the Lord" in the darkness just before dawn, rather than in the evening, as the psalmist states. Vigils takes the place of Matins in the more traditional orders, whereas in some breviaries, Matins and Lauds are combined. Here is a quotation from St. Benedict: As the Prophet saith: "Seven times a day I have given praise to Thee,"this sacred seven fold number will be fulfilled by us in this wise if we perform the duties of our service at the time of Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline; because it was of these day hours that he hath said: "Seven times a day I have given praise to Thee." For the same Prophet saith of the night watches: "At midnight I arose to confess to Thee." At these times, therefore, let us offer praise to our Creator "for the judgments of His justice;" namely, at Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline; and let us rise at night to praise Him.


The little Benedictine bird, in her black feathers, has just sung one of the Hours.

Pascendi Part Two: Gramsci and America

Time for a Gramsci post. That Obama is the heir to Gramsci I have been trying to point out since 2007. However, few have listened, and the younger generation, I am told, simply do not care about Gramsci (see post below, http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2012/01/on-this-post-post-modern-generation.html).

However, the recent events in the past two weeks prove my point that the Marx, Alinksy, Chomsky, Gramsci influences on this Administration hold firm. I want to highlight only two points I wrote about before on this blog-the idea of immanentism, condemned by several Popes and a key Gramsci idea, and the idea of hegemony of the mind.

I am doing this series on Pascendi (http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2012/02/series-on-pascendi-dominici-gregis-part.html) and if there are seminarians out there who have read this great encyclical, do so now. You will need the information now and in days to come. If you understand the ideology of Gramsci and his ideas, you will be able to counteract the messy theology of social justice wafting across the Church in the States like poisonous gas.

But, first, let us look at the document's discussion of the heresy of immanence and then, Gramsci's use of the term. Pope St. Pius X writes that,  Concerning immanence it is not easy to determine what Modernists mean by it, for their own opinions on the subject vary. Some understand it in the sense that God working in man is more intimately present in him than man is in even himself, and this conception, if properly understood, is free from reproach. Others hold that the divine action is one with the action of nature, as the action of the first cause is one with the action of the secondary cause, and this would destroy the supernatural order. Others, finally, explain it in a way which savours of pantheism and this, in truth, is the sense which tallies best with the rest of their doctrines. 


In this small section, one can see that those agnostics or atheists who believe in a type of divine immanence place it firmly either in man or men, or in the movement of history, as some sort of power which is not of the supernatural order, but purely natural or human. Gramsci would see this power as a freedom from the rules, or laws of the Church, and place all power in some sort of historically based movement, almost like an evolutionary political utopian vision which grows within a people and a particular time period. As I noted in the post before this one, there is a momentum in this movement, the immanence no longer being ascribed to the Divine, but to humans, or to history. The denial of God and the denial of the Church allowed Gramsci to place immanence in the material-as he is a true materialist, as is Marx. All activity moves towards a goal of human freedom, almost like a utopian anarchy, except not quite. The "not quite" are the elite leaders, be they from the working class or be they from the academic class, the elite are part of this momentum towards freedom from all constraints.

The immanence is not a supernatural one, but caught in a context of history and even economic determinism.

This section from Pascendi should be memorized: Hence we have that distinction, so current among the Modernists, between the Christ of history and the Christ of faith, between the sacraments of history and the sacraments of faith, and so on. Next we find that the human element itself, which the historian has to work on, as it appears in the documents, has been by faith transfigured, that is to say raised above its historical conditions. It becomes necessary, therefore, to eliminate also the accretions which faith has added, to assign them to faith itself and to the history of faith: thus, when treating of Christ, the historian must set aside all that surpasses man in his natural condition, either according to the psychological conception of him, or according to the place and period of his existence. Finally, by virtue of the third principle, even those things which are not outside the sphere of history they pass through the crucible, excluding from history and relegating to faith everything which, in their judgment, is not in harmony with what they call the logic of facts and in character with the persons of whom they are predicated. Thus, they will not allow that Christ ever uttered those things which do not seem to be within the capacity of the multitudes that listened to Him. Hence they delete from His real history and transfer to faith all the allegories found in His discourses. Do you inquire as to the criterion they adopt to enable them to make these divisions? The reply is that they argue from the character of the man, from his condition of life, from his education, from the circumstances under which the facts took place - in short, from criteria which, when one considers them well, are purely subjective. Their method is to put themselves into the position and person of Christ, and then to attribute to Him what they would have done under like circumstances. In this way, absolutely a priori and acting on philosophical principles which they admit they hold but which they affect to ignore, they proclaim that Christ, according to what they call His real history, was not God and never did anything divine, and that as man He did and said only what they, judging from the time in which he lived, can admit Him to have said or done. 


I hope this sounds familiar to many sems and university students, as you are getting this heresy rammed down your throats, as I did in some theology classes. The last part of this section describes the new Marxists, who would not used violence to overcome, but supplant Catholic definitions, which are objective truth, which subjectivism and material immanence. Thus, Western democracies would be destroyed by a new hegemony of the mind, my second highlighted point here.

This hegemony of the mind is a force against the domination of religion and the Church in the culture. The authority of the Church was to be undermined, slowly but surely, through historical movements of the human mind and activity, changing the culture incrementally, and creating crises to destroy religion. Does this sound familiar?

I grew up in the shadow of Alinksy's "rules for radicals". One of the main rules is never let a crisis go to waste. We have a crisis in the States concerning religious freedom and the Gramscians in power will not let it go to waste. Destroy religion and capitalism will fall naturally--this is the way of Gramsci.  To be continued.

The Death of the American Imagination

Many years ago, I taught a class which the students called the "isms" course. It was really a history of ideas and a history of the councils of the Church, but we had fun defining and identifying all the isms. I am reminded by my stay in Ireland that there is a lack of understanding among Catholics, whether lay or priests, that socialism has been condemned by the Church for over 150 years or so. A Catholic cannot be a socialist, and if one is a Catholic and a socialist, it means that there is a deep misunderstanding of the evils of this political and economic system. The Popes in the past have shown us that the definitions of the individual and the State in a socialist philosophy contradict the Catholic idea of a person, personal rights and responsibilities, and the nexus of freedom and rights-natural law.

I cannot tell you how many conversations I have had here and in England concerning socialism as supposedly being acceptable to the Catholic Faith. Today, I shall quote one of the many Popes who have condemned this tricky and insidious system. Here is Pope Pius XI in Quadragesimo Anno: But what if Socialism has really been so tempered and modified as to the class struggle and private ownership that there is in it no longer anything to be censured on these points? Has it thereby renounced its contradictory nature to the Christian religion? This is the question that holds many minds in suspense. And numerous are the Catholics who, although they clearly understand that Christian principles can never be abandoned or diminished seem to turn their eyes to the Holy See and earnestly beseech Us to decide whether this form of Socialism has so far recovered from false doctrines that it can be accepted without the sacrifice of any Christian principle and in a certain sense be baptized. That We, in keeping with Our fatherly solicitude, may answer their petitions, We make this pronouncement: Whether considered as a doctrine, or an historical fact, or a movement, Socialism, if it remains truly Socialism, even after it has yielded to truth and justice on the points which we have mentioned, cannot be reconciled with the teachings of the Catholic Church because its concept of society itself is utterly foreign to Christian truth.


Here is the rub. The view of society and the view of the person which is held by most Christians in America is out and out socialism. And, the current arguments in the Church over social issues reveal this confusion. One cannot be a good Catholic and a socialist. I am reposting this, as it is crucial to the understanding of the decay of the West. The individual is no longer respected, but only seen as the proverbial cog in the machine. Once a philosophy of the idolization of the State and State power takes over the imagination of a people, there is a momentum which is hard to turn back. A few strong voices, mostly Catholics such as Patrick Buchanan, have tried to show the demise of individual responsibilty connected with the bloating of government power. Sadly, many Catholics have fallen into the socialist trap via bad interpretations of Catholic social justice. I am concerned that the current administration is moving so fast that by next year at this time, we shall literally have lost several main freedoms in the Bill of Rights. The three which are on the line are freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms. This is not hysteria, but a cold evaluation of the takeover of the American imagination. Our imagination was based on English Common Law, Greek democracy, and the Enlightenment ideals. However, our American imagination was also based on Christianity, the Ten Commandments, Christian natural law philosophy, and the years of human rights justification as taught by the Holy Roman Catholic Church based on Tradition and Scripture. Such rivers of influence are all at odds with socialism. 

One may never do evil so that good may result from it

A painful family event in these days is the marriage outside of a Catholic or a Christian service of sons and daughter of practicing Catholics. Some of my friends have absented themselves from either the so-called marriage, civil marriage of a son or daughter to another person, either baptized or un-baptized. Some parents have gone and witnessed such non-marriages. In light of Valentine's Day, I felt it necessary to help clarify the situation, which I had to deal with in RCIA several times.

Firstly, when one attends a marriage, one is a witness to that marriage, not merely a guest. Especially a parent being present is a statement of agreement and support of the bond. One cannot be in person in silence, as silence is consent.

Secondly, the Church has made some rules in Canon Law much clearer in recent times to help us, the laity, as well as the clergy, sift through these problems.

Thirdly, if one is a baptized Catholic, that person is under Canon Law from baptism until death. There are no exceptions.

Lastly, Canon Law specifies that a Catholic cannot marry an unbaptized person without permission of a Bishop, which will be examined at the end of this entry. This is called "disparity of cult" and is a huge problem.

The motu proprio of Pope Benedict XVI, Omnium in mentem clarified many points, a few which I shall outline here. The publication date was in December of 2009. I was aware of this having been involved in RCIA, which demands that the coordinator asks pertinent questions regarding the marital states of those wanting to come into the Church. Such problems which arise are then sent to the Canon Lawyers in the marriage tribunals or, if the priest in the parish is aware of the laws, to the priest.

Firstly, a person can no longer formally leave the Church, as in a formal apostasy. The ruling clears up private and public apostasy. If one is a lapsed Catholic, one is an apostate and incurs the penalties. Can. 1364 §1. Without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 194, §1, n. 2, an apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication; in addition, a cleric can be punished with the penalties mentioned in ⇒ can. 1336, §1, nn. 1, 2, and 3.


One must consult a Canon Lawyer, better if he is a priest, if one has been away from the Church, as one may need the special faculties of a priest who can lift such an excommunication, specifically in the case of a woman who has undergone an abortion. Not all priests have this faculty. Confession, of course, is required. By the way, not all parish priests know the laws. The humble ones admit this and get the information. The lay person must be aware of some basic rules, all for the sake of souls. Eternity is a really long time.

Secondly, the fact that Canon Law covers a Catholic from baptism to death means that there is not a period of time when one can claim "immunity". However, the status is such that a person who has contracted a civil marriage may remarry in the Catholic Church after being reconciled. The problems occur if one has been married before in a Protestant ceremony. In most cases, an annulment is required.

Thirdly, the authority to whom one must apply for  marriages is the Bishop, or priests to whom the Bishop has given permission to grant the dispensation for a mixed marriage. "Marriage between two baptized persons, one of whom was baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it after baptism, and the other a member of a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the Catholic Church, cannot be celebrated without the express permission of the competent authority". 

Fourthly, it must be discussed whether all Christian marriages in other denominations are truly Christian. A reminder that not all congregations which call themselves "Christian" are. For example, Mormons are not Christian, nor are independent churches which baptize in the Name of Jesus only. The lack of a true Trinitarian Baptism, which constitutes the Sacrament, is missing in both cases. In addition, some Christian denominations now allow such practices as words or practices from Hindu or Native America wedding services to be part of the vows, which would invalidate the Christian marriage, as it is no longer Christian but something New Age. This does happen more than one would think. A parent should not witness such a New Age wedding ceremony.

Lastly, the question of disparity of cult was clarified. Here is the ruling: "A marriage between two persons, one of whom was baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it, and the other of whom is not baptized, is invalid". So, as now it is clear that a parent cannot witness a civil union or a union under disparity of cult, it remains for the individuals involved to try and discuss such matters rationally and calmly, being open to the Church's laws which are for the good of our souls.

May I add, especially in England, where this is more common, that woman are not priests. Anglican orders are not valid. One can be confused on both of these issues, but both Pope Leo XIII and Blessed John Paul II wrote documents clarifying both situations. These are found here and there.

This is more common than one would think. I admire and applaud those parents who have not attended, or rather, witnessed such invalid marriages of their baptized offspring. We cannot be complicit in sin or evil and I am afraid that the English are very bad at these types of decisions, so as not to upset family members, who are entering into sinful lifestyles. We cannot judge the degree of ignorance, but we can teach and be witnesses to the Truth, for the sake of the immortal souls of the sons, daughters and those witnessing. The CCC has an excellent section on formation of conscience. Here is the link. And, a few quotations. ...charity always proceeds by way of respect for one's neighbor and his conscience: "Thus sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience . . . you sin against Christ."⁵⁷ Therefore "it is right not to . . . do anything that makes your brother stumble."⁵⁸

Faced with a moral choice, conscience can make either a right judgment in accordance with reason and the divine law or, on the contrary, an erroneous judgment that departs from them.

Man is sometimes confronted by situations that make moral judgments less assured and decision difficult. But he must always seriously seek what is right and good and discern the will of God expressed in divine law.

To this purpose, man strives to interpret the data of experience and the signs of the times assisted

May I add that Catholic weddings must occur in a Church. No beach weddings, please. And, lax priests who allow this are just plain wrong.

Sadly, not all priests follow the laws. I had one priest tell me he did not want to be bothered with such things. This attitude and willful ignorance impedes the laity in striving for holiness. And, as a reminder, those who have been in cohabitation, that is living in sin, must go to Confession and live chastely before the wedding. A person who is in mortal sin cannot get grace in the Sacrament of Marriage. I shall pray for all who read this.


I dedicate this to my brave two friends, who did not go to a sibling's and a son's wedding.

With apologies to those who hate Valentine's Day

Are my friends in Kent aware that some of the earliest poetry regarding St. Valentine's Day is from John Gower of Kent? Here is a snippet (1400, after Chaucer) in which the Dame Elizabeth Brews writes to her cousin about his wanting to marry her daughter:
 And, cousin mine, upon Monday is Saint Valentine's Day and every bird chooses himself a mate, and if it like you to come on Thursday night, and make provision that you may abide till then, I trust to God that ye shall speak to my husband and I shall pray that we may bring the matter to a conclusion.


And, we have Chaucer's earlier famous line from The Parlement of Foules (1382):
For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day  Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

I guess the Medievals were not chicken about giving valentines. Sorry, had to say that....Take the poll on the side...Will you give or get a valentine?

Praise God for Those Who Answer His Call-A Hermit and the Extraordinary Form

See my post below from last Sunday. 


Fr. David celebrates a Sung High Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Staholmog, Co. Meath.

Sunday: 1pm, 
First Friday: 11am and 
Holy Days announced: 1pm or 11am where no conflict with parish celebrations.

Santorum and Sharia and Religious Freedom

I had posted this in January, but "it got deleted'. I post it again now, as Santorum is the only candidate who has spoken against the idea that sharia law is incompatible with our Constitution. Good article from Politico here. We must discuss this in the States at all levels of government. It is too bad that his win in Iowa came so late, as it originally caused his campaign to lose momentum. It is picking up now.

"We need to define it and say what it is. And it is evil. Sharia law is incompatible with American jurisprudence and our Constitution."

Santorum, invoking New York Rep. Peter King’s hearing this week on the alleged radicalization of American Muslims, said that the vast majority of Muslims don't want to it either.

"They left because of Sharia law," he said, referring to why he believes Muslim immigrants left their home countries to come to the United States.

Santorum added, "Sharia law is not just a religious code. It is also a governmental code. It happens to be both religious in nature an origin, but it is a civil code. And it is incompatible with the civil code of the United States."

Santorum, a devout Catholic, warned about Sharia at CPAC last month, and his latest comments set up a stark contrast between his world view and President Obama's efforts to court support in the Muslim world.

Santorum had gained momentum coming out against the efforts of the Obama camp to restrict freedom of religion and conscience. This is one reason why his poll numbers are soaring. Romney can't really say much as his Romneycare has the same restrictions of conscience. Catholics need to pay attention to detail.

Another big posting day...so many important issues are coming to a head for us Westerners and Catholics.

Santorum Moves

From Creative Minority Report


Rick Santorum: Frontrunner!

Even when Rick Santorum surprised in Iowa, he was never considered a top contender because he never really budged in the national polls. But there is no doubting that Rick is a contender now after sweeping three states last week.

But now something incredible is happening. There were two national polls yesterday that showed Santorum now second to Romney in one and in a virtual tie for first. But the really interesting thing was the dailies on those polls showed a huge momentum shift toward Rick in the past few days. And now comes this bombshell.

Riding a wave of momentum from his trio of victories on Tuesday Rick Santorum has opened up a wide lead in PPP's newest national poll. He's at 38% to 23% for Mitt Romney, 17% for Newt Gingrich, and 13% for Ron Paul.

A fifteen point lead! Now it is one poll and PPP, but you couple that with the other polls and it is easy to conclude that we have a new frontrunner in this race.

Rick Santorum!

Lies and Political Illusions

Just in case any Americans are stupid enough to accept the so-called compromise, look at this reference given by Margaret on Father Z's blog. Chilling reminder of the deceitfulness surrounding us at this time.

An article entitled “Nothing But Squid Ink” at NRO’s Corner is pointing out that the “proposed regulations” just WENT INTO LAW YESTERDAY. Unchanged. Not even with Obama’s fig leaf compromise included. Money quote from the OFR.gov PDF file (p. 19): “Accordingly, the amendment to the interim final rule with comment period amending 29
CFR 2590.715-2713(a)(1)(iv) which was published in the Federal Register at 76 FR 46621-
46626 on August 3, 2011, is adopted as a final rule without change.” (my emphasis)

Those who have time check out the original source and make comments, please.

On being a soldier of Christ from the CCC

If the Pope called a Crusade, would anybody come?

III. The Effects of Confirmation

1302 It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.

1303 From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!";¹¹⁵
- it unites us more firmly to Christ;
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;¹¹⁶
- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross:¹¹⁷

Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.¹¹⁸

1304 Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the "character," which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.¹¹⁹

1305 This "character" perfects the common priesthood of the faithful, received in Baptism, and "the confirmed person receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly and as it were officially (quasi ex officio)."¹²⁰

Do we need reminders of our Confirmation duties and gifts? It is not an option for a confirmed Catholic to sit on the fence, do nothing, or worse, chose error over Truth.

We have power, and can you imagine for one moment what a different world it would be if all the confirmed Catholics lived the full life of grace, never compromised, and were soldiers for Christ in the world? 

On Purgatory and Living in the Darkness of Our Individualism

Once St. Macarius of Egypt found a human skull while walking in the desert. When Abba Macarius touched the skull with a palm branch, a voice came from the skull. When the elder asked, "Who are you?," the skull answered, "I was a pagan priest and lived in this place. Abba Macarius, have pity on us who are in eternal torment, and pray for us, for your prayer brings us comfort." The elder asked, "What comfort comes to you from my prayers?" The skull answered, "When you pray for us, light appears, and we begin to see one another."

Do not be immersed in the worldly....

When is grace with us? When we do not offend this benefaction, do not despise this gift. Who then in offending this grace can preserve it and not be deprived of it? God has granted thee absolution of sins, how then can a good mood or action of the Spirit abide with thee, if thou dost not retain it by good deeds? The cause of all good things lies in the grace of the Spirit always abiding with us. It leads us to every good thing, and when it leaves us, we remain abandoned and we perish. Let us not leave it! It depends on us whether it remains with us or not. It remains when we take care for the heavenly; it leaves when we are immersed in the worldly." St. John Chrysostom

A Series on Pascendi Dominici Gregis: Part One

Every time I read the great Encyclical, Pascendi Dominici Gregis, by Pope St. Pius X, I am amazed at how prophetic it was and how timely it is today. I would like to quote a few sections which apply directly to the politics of several nations in the West and within the Church

We make no delay in this matter is rendered necessary especially by the fact that the partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church's open enemies; they lie hid, a thing to be deeply deplored and feared, in her very bosom and heart, and are the more mischievous, the less conspicuously they appear. We allude, Venerable Brethren, to many who belong to the Catholic laity, nay, and this is far more lamentable, to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, feigning a love for the Church, lacking the firm protection of philosophy and theology, nay more, thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church, and lost to all sense of modesty, vaunt themselves as reformers of the Church; and, forming more boldly into line of attack, assail all that is most sacred in the work of Christ, not sparing even the person of the Divine Redeemer, whom, with sacrilegious daring, they reduce to a simple, mere man.

In the recent past, Pope Benedict stated that the grave problems involved enemies within the Church. These are those who do not obey the Teaching Magisterium of the Church in matters of correctly forming their consciences to conform to Tradition and Revelation, as in the matters of contraception and abortion.

The saintly Pope Pius X writes that the Modernists,  are wont to display a certain contempt for Catholic doctrines, or the Holy Fathers, for the Ecumenical Councils, for the ecclesiastical magisterium; and should they be rebuked for this, they complain that they are being deprived of their liberty. Lastly, guided by the theory that faith must be subject to science, they continuously and openly criticise the Church because of her sheer obstinacy in refusing to submit and accommodate her dogmas to the opinions of philosophy; while they, on their side, after having blotted out the old theology, endeavour to introduce a new theology which shall follow the vagaries of their philosophers.

We can see this in the so-called pro-choice Catholic politicians, or in the Catholics who maintain that civil unions for homosexuals do not contradict either natural law or the Church's teaching. And, the brilliant Pope continues, Concerning immanence it is not easy to determine what Modernists mean by it, for their own opinions on the subject vary. Some understand it in the sense that God working in man is more intimately present in him than man is in even himself, and this conception, if properly understood, is free from reproach. Others hold that the divine action is one with the action of nature, as the action of the first cause is one with the action of the secondary cause, and this would destroy the supernatural order. Others, finally, explain it in a way which savours of pantheism and this, in truth, is the sense which tallies best with the rest of their doctrines.

This is the great error in the thinking of the leaders in the United States, who contradict natural law on the basis that somehow, God is working in some sort of false progressivism (the Star-Trek heresy) which holds that we, in 2012, are smarter and holier than the 2,000 years of Christians who have gone before us. Arrogance stands firm against the Church. Of course, when natural law is ignored or twisted into some type of relativism, the supernatural order in a nation erodes and, finally, is destroyed. We have had plenty of warning, over a hundred years, in fact, to get ready for the onslaught on religious freedoms we see today. This encroachment of Modernism did not suddenly happen. The date of this Encyclical is 1907.

The prophetic nature of this document will even more clearly be seen in my second part which I shall post in a day or two, on the nature of Church and State relations. But, look carefully at the inspiration in this section: God was trying to get our attention 105 years ago. Who was paying attention?

For we are living in an age when the sense of liberty has reached its fullest development, and when the public conscience has in the civil order introduced popular government. Now there are not two consciences in man, any more than there are two lives. It is for the ecclesiastical authority, therefore, to shape itself to democratic forms, unless it wishes to provoke and foment an intestine conflict in the consciences of mankind. The penalty of refusal is disaster. For it is madness to think that the sentiment of liberty, as it is now spread abroad, can surrender. Were it forcibly confined and held in bonds, terrible would be its outburst, sweeping away at once both Church and religion. Such is the situation for the Modernists, and their one great anxiety is, in consequence, to find a way of conciliation between the authority of the Church and the liberty of believers.

More to come...

On the Coming of St. Valentine's Day

Father Z, on his wonderful blog, is correctly full of righteous anger and disgust concerning Valentine Day's commercial icky and stupid promotions. I, for one, want to use the upcoming day to thank Jesus, the Second Son of the Blessed Trinity for dying and rising to set me free from sin and eternal death. Thank you, God, for being Love. May the real spirit of St. Valentine's Day be in our hearts and minds. And, here is the link to Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, Deus Caritas Est as a little valentine for all on the blog-a link and some photos of beautiful English roses.

For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. John 3:16

Assassination Plot of Pope Hits Press, but Is It True?

The past two weeks, I feel like we have been living in a chapter of Lord of the World, by Robert Hugh Benson. Now, to top off the attacks on the Catholic Church in America and Ireland, a leading cardinal has revealed a plot to kill Pope Benedict XVI to the Vatican. An investigation may have occurred in the Vatican.

In today's Telegraph, Nick Squires scoops Cardinal Paolo Romeo's claims of an assassination plot. A believable source had led to a serious inquiry, at least on the part of the Telegraph. Note that:

The extraordinary comments were written up in a top-secret report, dated Dec 30, 2011, and delivered to the Pope by a senior cardinal, Dario Castrillon Hoyos, a Colombian, in January.


Now, there is denial all around. But, Squire writes that: Cardinal Romeo also named Benedict's XVI likely successor as Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan – meaning the papacy would return to an Italian after the German Benedict and his Polish predecessor, John Paul II.

He allegedly told his contacts in China that Pope Benedict could not stand Tarcisio Bertone, his Secretary of State and the Vatican's second most senior figure, amid reports of bitter power struggles going on within the Holy See.

However, the Vatican is now denying such a report or investigation. 

The Vatican's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said the report was "so incredible that we cannot comment on it".