Now, I am on the list for posting this.......

A four post day, as I could not resist posting this....by doing this, I am now on the list. Wow, all the words on one posting......whoa!

Revealed: Hundreds of words to avoid using online if you don't want the government spying on you (and they include 'pork', 'cloud' and 'Mexico')

• Department of Homeland Security forced to release list following freedom of information request
• Agency insists it only looks for evidence of genuine threats to the U.S. and not for signs of general dissent

By DANIEL MILLER

PUBLISHED: 10:32, 26 May 2012 | UPDATED: 18:46, 26 May 2012

Revealing: A list of keywords used by government analysts to scour the internet for evidence of threats to the U.S. has been released under the Freedom of Information Act

The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S.

The intriguing the list includes obvious choices such as 'attack', 'Al Qaeda', 'terrorism' and 'dirty bomb' alongside dozens of seemingly innocent words like 'pork', 'cloud', 'team' and 'Mexico'.

Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats. 

The words are included in the department's 2011 'Analyst's Desktop Binder' used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify 'media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities'.

Department chiefs were forced to release the manual following a House hearing over documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit which revealed how analysts monitor social networks and media organisations for comments that 'reflect adversely' on the government. 

However they insisted the practice was aimed not at policing the internet for disparaging remarks about the government and signs of general dissent, but to provide awareness of any potential threats.

see site for more

This is the list

Blessed Margaret Pole

Today, as I am in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, this is the memorial day of Blessed Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury. She was the last Plantagenet and is a martyr for the faith. She is one of my personal patrons. She was executed in 1541. Blessed Margaret, pray for us today and especially for my English friends and family.

Pay attention Christians in France--you voted for this...

 

And from the Great Spencer on May 27th....France: Muslims stone Christians in church during mass

No one will take much note of this. It is just one story among the thousands that together tell the tale of France's decline and Islamization. Eurabia Update: Here is my translation of "Carcassonne Des fidèles caillassés pendant la messe à Saint-Joseph," by Yannick Bonnefoy in Midi Libre, May 27 (thanks to David):

Carcassonne: The faithful stoned during Mass at St. Joseph

Yesterday at 6:20PM, as Fr. Roger Barthes began to celebrate mass, four youths, aged 14 to 18, broke into the Church of St. Joseph, before launching handfuls of pebbles at 150 faithful present at the service. Immediately, men began pursuing the young troublemakers, but in vain. They managed to vanish into thin air, heading towards the city La Conte.

Interrupted by regrettable unexpected event, Mass was finally able to proceed as planned. Although no one was injured and nothing was broken in the church, located along the Avenue Jean Moulin, the parishioners, many of whom are elderly, were greatly shocked by the disrespectful act of the youths of North African origin....

and from a comment on the website, "North African origin"—read, "Muslim".
Carcassonne has been under Muslim conquest before. In 725, the Wali Ambisa took the city following the Islamic conquest of the Visigoth kingdom of Spain. The city remained in the hands of Muslims until 752, when it was freed by the Franks led by Pippin the Short. 

The Charismatic Leader and the Downfall of the West

On this beautiful sunny morning in Surrey, my thoughts move to darker times in the past and perhaps ahead. I have been reading Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore. If you have not read it, do.


The research accomplished  by the author is compelling, as is the prose. But, what is striking me is the  repetition of history in the attraction of the Charismatic Leader. Now, I put that label in capitals as I want to emphasis not only that this is a type of person who becomes a leader easily in a leadership vacuum and that is an important follow-up on Saturday's post, but the Charismatic Leader is the type people want in a crisis.


The two points provide a framework for what is happening in Greece and even France. Dealing with France first, one may gasp and say, correctly, "Hollande, charismatic? No!" He seems the opposite of the bling-bling Sarkowzy, now fading into the past quickly in this modern age of media hype and un-hype. But, the charism of Hollande is exactly that he is the supposed intellectual next-door, the man of the people, even a populist, if a socialist can be a populist. Hollande's charism is that he reflects the normal man of France. The youth and middle-aged can identify with his manners, his seeming, caring demeanor (a la Clinton, I feel your pain) and even his non-first lady, the first mistress.


Hollande fits the bill for France and really is not Mr. Ordinary. Here is a comment from him before the election: 


Asked about fears that he was too bland to be president, Hollande said: “Everyone says François Mitterrand had huge charisma. But before he was president they used to call him badly dressed, old, archaic and say he knew nothing about the economy … until the day he was elected. It’s called universal suffrage. When you’re elected, you become the person that embodies France. That changes everything.”

Mr. Boring becomes President Charismatic. This does say more about the French about Hollande, but there it is.

The new president embodies the French ideal of the revolutionary, which is a charismatic ideal in France. They love their revolutionaries. The office of the President of France is one for an egotist. Now, Hollande's real ally is the scary Alexis Tsipras, a communist and real Charismatic Leader. He is a true radical and his agenda is more than getting Greece out of an austerity mode. He preaches hatred of the normal means of working with problems by an inflamatory and blatantly false rhetoric.  This past week in France, Tsipras stated. 

"We are here to explain to people in Europe that we have nothing against them. We are fighting the battle in Greece not just for the Greek people but for people in France, Germany and all European countries."

"I am not here to blackmail, I am here to mobilise," he said.


Mobilize who and what?

Now, Hollande is not the same type of charismatic leader as Tsipras, but they are going to work together against austerity measures which are necessary. These socialists, and I think the new man of Greece, the man of the hour, is a communist, don't you, will work against the democratic and capitalist system with which ideologically they disagree. From the same article--

Opinion polls suggest Tsipras's party Syriza could be in a position to lead a coalition government in Greece after a second general election next month. He was in the French capital to meet members of France's far left, including Front de Gauche firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who stood as a presidential candidate in April.

The young and charismatic Greek politician will travel to Berlin to reiterate his message; this is that Greece wants no more austerity and is willing to tear up the country's €130bn (£105bn) bailout agreement if necessary.

His defiance appears to be catching. Before Greece held a general election on 6 May, the 37 year old and his Syriza party were widely mocked as a motley collection of ex-Trotskyists, Maoists, champagne socialists and greens, who appealed to fewer than 5% of voters. After polling more than 25%, the Greeks and the rest of Europe have been forced to take him and his party seriously.

At a press conference at the French Assemblée nationale on Monday, there was a scrum as dozens of journalists from around the world packed into a small wood-panelled room in the parliament building and jostled for the chance to ask Tsipras questions.

Pierre Laurent, national secretary of the French Communist party and president of the European Left party, himself a former journalist, was having no truck with those waving their arms about and huffing and puffing about not being able to address the Greek politician.

"It's me who decides," he said firmly. Laurent added that he was "delighted to welcome" Tsipras and supported his crusade against austerity that was not only "conducting us into a dead end" but was "anti-democratic".

Tsipras does not care about democracy or he is redefining it, as so many Marxists do.

Notice the language of division. Americans, does this type of rhetoric remind you of someone--the most divisive president we have ever had?

Wake up, Europe and America before the EU turns into one great playground for tyrants. and read the book.

A musical timeline, incomplete but fun...

I rarely write about music on this blog, but I love classical music and Gregorian Chant, as well as Medieval music and other types. What I have found is that my tastes have changed over the years. I thought I would share a timeline of my musical tastes for your amusement.

Age 0-3 Mostly Mother's nursery rhymes and a few Marian hymns in Church were my music of choice. However, my favorite tune was a soap commercial on the Bakelite radio in the kitchen. I loved all the nursery rhymes except Bye Baby Bunting, and my brother burst into tears on hearing I'm a Little Teapot, as it breaks at the end. My mom sang songs from World War II, such as Nightingale in Berkeley Square, The White Cliffs of Dover, We Will Meet Again, The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, I'll Be Seeing You...still brings tears to my eyes and I have these memorized. 

Age 4-6 Songs which I could sing became my favorites including Church hymns such as the Dies Irae, which I thought was really cool. I liked the signature tune of My Gal Sunday on the radio. (Not My Sunday Gal) I also liked the music to the Lassie show and Sky King series on television. My favorite was the title song to Robin Hood, yes it was. I had such a crush on Richard Greene. Mom introduced us to Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck and my classical education began seriously. I also loved listening to her records of Offenbach and Puccini, which she had from her teens.

Age 7-9 My uncle and aunt took me to the movies to see all and I mean all, the musicals. I think my favorite was and still is Funny Face.  I saw so many musicals, I could not list them all. I also saw Ben Hur and memorized the music. I was taking piano lessons by this time and wanted to play show and movie tunes....I was also going to the children's symphonies and loved Peter and the Wolf and Amahl and the Night Visitors. But, the best was Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Too cool.


Age 10-13 Movie music and show tunes, as well as Gregorian Chant dominated my musical life, but I also discovered Classical Music for myself in new choices...but the highlights were the music of films, the likes of Maurice Jarre, Lawrence of Arabia, and the music of Mutiny on the Bounty by Bronislaw Kaper. I was a hopeless romantic. But, living on the Mississippi, we had the jazz festivals every year, and that is a leit motif of my entire life. The family had all the Mitch Miller records and we sang as a family for a long time together. Many of the songs are early love Americana love songs which were sad. Family got involved in local symphony yearly for a long time.  Heard The Messiah several times. Sang in choir from age 8 to 16.

Age 14-16 Slowly but surely, I was becoming a teenager and oh dear, I liked the Beatles, the Band, Peter and Gordon, and Bartok, just for the heck of it. Also, I was starting to go to the jazz festivals on the river bank with my friends, and learning the different types of jazz. Cool days in hot Iowa summers.

Age 17-20 I was all into the folk scene, Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkle, John Denver, all who I saw in person. I also went to the Chicago Summer Music Festival on the Lake and saw Chicago, Santana, Grateful Dead all in person.....African and Indian music becoming popular. I bought a Ravi Shankar album.

Age 21 The Lead Zepplin, Moody Blues. Pink Floyd, Traffic era of my life, shared with Berlioz, Shostakovich, Schubert, Mahler, and Schumann. What a weird combination.....

Age 22-26 Bach, Bach, Bach and John Williams. Oh well, and a bit of Southern Harmony Gospel Songs from the 1910 Revival. Great Stuff. More Mozart was appealing as well to me. Chicago Blues...on the waterfront of Minneapolis and at the summer festivals by the lakes....There was so much talent in the Midwest in that time that we were spoiled for choice. Went to polka festivals with my friends. All good, clean fun and bratwurst.

If one grows up on the Mississippi, one grows up with music...

Age 26-30 Popular music faded into new Church music and more opera. I was really into opera and was for a long time, like all the rest of my life! Fell in love with Ralph Vaughan Williams and the English Romantics at this time. Also, William Walton, Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten, especially the War Requiem and other modern British composers. Calypso made a comeback. Danced to disco and Latin music. Had a great time. Saw some fantastic performers in person in Minneapolis, including the Metropolitan Opera on the road. Highlight was seeing Aaron Copland directing the Minneapolis Symphony with Fanfare for the Common Man, July of 1976. Minneapolis Ballet did Rodeo that year, I think.

Age 30-35 Began seriously studying and listening to Medieval religious and secular music, and early Church music, before and after polyphony. More opera, more classical, the Proms, and other good stuff. Also, I was a manager for a Pop's Orchestra in the Midwest and assistant manager for a Symphony Orchestra. Names withheld...got back into Gregorian Chant....and great organ music, like Maurice Durufle and others. Attended organ recitals at the university. Saw Chicago Symphony Orchestra several times with Sir Georg Solti as friend had box seats. I was in heaven. Best was his Mahler. Saw several Mozart operas and others.

35-55 Opera, is there anything else, my favorites being Turandot and The Magic Flute. Saw a lot of opera, but had a baby at about 40 and was back to square one...except for the soap commercial However, I composed about thirty of my own baby songs, including a really good one about dinosaurs. Skip the baby photos.....back to opera and classical music. Sang 18th and 19th century sea-shanties in the car with the kid on long American car trips. Sang Civil War songs and soul music on long American car trips. Sang early Gospel music on long American car trips. Sang Motown songs on long American car trips. Took child to opera and musicals on stage including La Boheme, Beauty and the Beast,  Don Giovanni, Camelot, Die Fledermaus and more on stage. Sang musicals on long American car trips. Son had eight years of violin, so I attended lots of concerts and we saw some excellent soloists on tour. Played violin concertos on long American car trips. Sang at the baseball games--a real American tradition.

56-on Highly influenced by a teenager in the house. What can one do.....techno mostly and some anime movie stuff. Remixes of Chicago Blues. Deja vu. More Gregorian Chant as we found a Latin Mass, thank goodness and joined the choir. More Puccini, Bach and Beethoven to counteract the techno in the next room....Life and music went on. Got music to favorites movies seen as a family, such as LOTR and others. Kid decided he liked same stuff I listen to over one-third of a century ago. It was so weird...

58-Grown up child went to college. Silence, ah. But, I went back to my favorites, and found time to listen and learn. Sigh, no more long American car trips. But, joined choir when son came home and highlight was singing the Byrd Mass for Five Voices. Also, son was part of choir which made a CD of Latin Mass parts and ancient hymns in California. I think I am moving into more and more silence....interesting.

On States' Rights

Early this year, I wrote about the possibility of a civil war in the States. The is always the same reason why individual states get restless and want to secede from the Union. This reason is simple. The United States is a confederate of states which freely agree to be part of the larger union. If any state decides no longer to belong to that confederation, there is a constitutional impetus which may allow such a state to separate. There is no compelling reason for any state to surrender state's rights for the sake of the whole. State rights are enshrined in law.

Now, there are several issues which may push any particular state out of the union. The first is simply state sovereignty. A state can decide as a unite to be part of the union if that state both believes in the sacredness of that union and the viability. For example, if the United States Federal Government went bankrupt, but an individual state was financial sound, there could be no compelling reason for that state to give over state assets to bail out the Federal Government. In the EU, this is the same argument happening over Greece, Spain, and Portugal, for example.

Secondly, moral issues which were once held sacred by the Federal Government are no longer held so by the Executive and perhaps elements of the judicial branch. Civil marriage for same sex couples or abortion would fall into these categories of moral stands taken by some states in opposition to the Federal Government.

Thirdly, a state may not desire to support a particular effort or law, such as Obamacare, and decide not to cooperate with a national mandate.

I am a states' rights advocate. I believe that if the Federal Government oversteps its boundaries set down by the Constitution, or if the Executive Branch becomes too powerful, the states individually, or as a group, have the right to secede from an already faulty union. However, I would hope such a secession would be peaceful and not a repetition of the bloodiest war our country has ever seen.

If you do not think we are divided, take a look at this map. One of the experts on States' rights, J. Layne, writes this,
States' rights is about the states being able to maintain their individual identities in the community of states.  Each state is a unique and sovereign being that has a right to exist and direct itself to prosperity, within the limits it has agreed to in the Constitutional compact.  One of President Washington's U.S. Attorneys observed that the Federal Constitution effectively is incorporated into the state constitutions.  In other words, each state has its government, its laws, its constitution.  The Federal Constitution simply is like an amendment to each state's constitution, sharing power with the federal government.  As such, the federal power is delegated power, and that delegation comes from the people of each state, as James Madison himself admitted in an exchange with Patrick Henry at Virginia's ratifying convention.  And the power that delegates may undelegate.  That's as firm a principle of American freedom as any that can be named.  So it follows from this, or at least the South argued, that each state could undelegate the power it had once granted the federal government.


He added in a private interview that

 States' rights is not about racism.  That is unfortunately what it has often been tied to.  That was an abuse of states' rights.  States rights at its core is about local control.  The states pre-existed the federal government, and they made the federal government.  The federal government is a creature.  The states are creators.  That government which is closest to the people and still able to fulfill its proper functions is the best government.  So that's what states' rights is and should be about, not guaranteeing a state's "right" to do something it and no government may do, which is to enslave or oppress racial minorities.

The Leadership Crisis and the Soul of the Church

I am mourning today two things. One is a personal issue of a lack of male leadership in a family with which I am familiar. The father has taken the quiet, false road of not confronting serious moral problems in his children. The wife cannot argue with him without great disturbance to the family home. It is a question of abdication of parental authority, the blame lying at the feet of the dad.

The second is a national issue, the lack of leadership in the Church in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and other countries in Europe. In a discussion yesterday, I could only think of one true leader among all the bishops in England regarding the upholding of the Gospel and the teachings of the Catholic Church. Now, there may be others, but, like the father in my friend's family, they are silent on many issues which need to be addressed. Silence for the sake of peace creates a false peace, not of God.

I have written about leadership on this blog before. Leadership is both learned and inherited-nurture and nature. However, leadership training in the schools went out in the 1970s with the false idea of equality and the dumbing down of curriculum. Tracks were seen as undemocratic, and socialist leaders in Europe and in America, like Hollande now in France, wanted the same for all, which results in all being the same.

A convenience for an autocratic government of either right or left proclivities is a dumb, mediocre public without leaders.

Who is left to be leaders are merely charismatic persons who know how to play the media game. This is true in Greece right now and happened in the 2008 American presidential election.

In the Church, the problem is worsened by the fact that the criteria for leadership has not been consistent with the needs of the people. For example, the people in the pew need guidance and strong leadership regarding sexual ethics. In England, a few bishops have made statements, but the vast majority are either silent, or confused, or in disobedience to the Teaching Magisterium.

To find a leader in England, that is a prominent bishop in conformity with all the teachings of the Catholic Church and of the same mind as the Pope, is rare.

We shall have at least seven empty sees in the near future. Rome must choose a bishop for at least seven dioceses, including Scotland. There may be more, I am not sure. But, the fact remains that the long list and the short list lack brilliance. We need a Finn, Bruskewitz, Burke, Moran. Dolan, etc. and I am afraid we have two at most right now and none that I can see in London, who fit the bill.

How can the Pope decide who is to be choosen as bishops when the candidates are just not there?

Has there ever been a time in the Church when we needed strong leadership so badly and found none? I think of the fact that all the bishops under Henry VIII except for St. John Fisher went over to Protestantism. That some, most repented and came back under Mary is a good thing, but what happened in the interval was not only scandalous, but severely harmful for the faithful laity. People died for their faithfulness, while the bishops were unfaithful, reaping safety and rewards for their apostasy.

A laity in exile needs leaders even more than a laity in situ.

We are rapidly being exiled existentially and will be legally in no time. The lack of leadership in the Church strikes at the very soul of the Church, especially here in England.

I pray for excellent, not merely good bishops, and I pray for perfect, not merely good, priests.

Pray for Egypt

I have personal good news, but this is universal not so good news.  http://www.theblaze.com/stories/muslim-brotherhood-candidate-wins-run-off-spot-in-egyptian-presidential-election/

REALITY CHECK?????? Obama and Catholics in Chicago????

 A seminarian friend sent this to me today. 

Cynicism check time.

Amid polls showing that his efforts to regulate religious institutions have hurt his image among Catholics, President Barack Obama has begun touting his early ties to the church.

“My first job as a community organizer was with Catholic churches who taught me the power of kindness and commitment to others in neighborhoods,” he declared at a Hollywood fundraiser May 23.

“When I was a young community organizer, I was working with Catholic churches and they taught me that no government program can make as much of a difference as kindness and commitment on the part of neighbors and friends,” he said at a Colorado fundraiser earlier that day.

This new emphasis on his ties to the Catholic Church is a change from Obama’s previous speeches and fundraisers, where he did not mention that, early in his career, he was funded and supported by liberal Catholic officials in Chicago.

His Chicago supporters included a radical Catholic priest, Father Michael Pfleger, who has since been admonished by senior church officials for political advocacy.

Obama’s emphasis on his Catholic ties come as polls show a sharp drop in his support among swing-voting Catholics in battleground states after his February imposition of regulations on churches.

An April poll from Pew reported that Obama’s approval among non-Hispanic Catholics dropped from 45 percent in March to 37 percent in April, while support for Romney rose from 51 percent to 57 percent. That shift could swing the decision in critical swing-states, including Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/05/24/obama-the-born-again-catholic/#ixzz1vu6S0EL8

On Monarchs and the Faith

This article from LifeSiteNews caught my eye after a discussion with two priests on to desire monarchies or to want republics-democracies. I shall copy the entire article here and then make a comment.

Abortion debate jeopardizes 900-year-old Liechtenstein dynasty

Peter Baklinski

Wed May 23 16:22 EST

Abortion

St. Louis IX

LIECHTENSTEIN, May 23, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein has threatened to step down from his royal duties if a citizen-led initiative to limit his vetoing power proves successful. The citizens’ initiative gained momentum last year when the 43 year-old prince threatened to veto the results of a referendum should the majority opt to legalize abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and in cases of fetal deformity.

Speaking to parliament in March, the prince, a devout Catholic and father of four, made it clear that for the Royal Family to continue its vision for the country, it must retain the royal power to veto legislation contrary to that vision.

“The royal family is not willing to undertake its political responsibilities unless the prince… has the necessary tools at his disposal,” said Prince Alois as reported by Agence France-Presse. “But if the people are no longer open to that, then the royal family will not want to undertake its political responsibilities and ... will completely withdraw from political life.”

Liechtenstein, with a population of 36,000 and a land area of 160 square kilometers, has a constitution that empowers the hereditary prince with the royal right of veto. The royal family and their princes have ruled the tiny country as an autonomous monarchy since the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806.

Abortion in Liechtenstein is illegal under current law. According to the Penal Code of 1987, whoever performs an abortion can be punished with up to one year in prison. If an abortion is performed for profit, the sentence is elevated to three years in prison. Abortions are permitted, however, when deemed necessary to prevent serious danger to the life of the pregnant woman or serious harm to her health, when the pregnant woman is under the age of fourteen and has not at any time been married to the man who impregnated her, or when performed to save the pregnant woman from immediate danger to her life that cannot otherwise be prevented.

Now, there are many Catholics who desire monarchies. The subject of a monarchy is more real in discussions here in Great Britain, where there actually is one. The monarch here is a symbol of national unity outside of party politics.

Children of Blessed Karl and Empress Zita

However, she is not a Catholic monarch, and one may argue as to the interpretation of her Christianity, of course, and when monarchies are discussed as an ideal, I try to imagine a real Catholic monarch, such as SS. Louis and Edward, Henry, Vladimir, Edmund, or even Blessed Emperor Karl. And, there are many more kings and queens who are canonized saints. However, we as a global nation have moved away from the training, the formation of Catholic monarchs, except perhaps in Liechtenstein. Would that all monarchs were so Catholic, so determined. Of course, we have the example of Blessed Karl, who offered up his life for his country so that it would not become socialist or communist. This is the heroism of the regal soul.

Blessed Karl, Zita and some of the children

St, Edmund King

In a world of secular leadership, where royal families have become watered down versions of their ancestors with regard to the Faith, can we ever hope for a true, Catholic, traditionalist monarch? I doubt it. What is good in theory may be the lost ideal of the loss of noblesse oblige in Europe. I personally know some people in a European country who are of royal blood. I am good friends of a person whose uncles and grandfathers include dukes and counts. These men and the duchess, who is about my age, are good Catholics. They decry the secularization of the modern world, but because of constitutional changes in their government, they will never have power or influence again. They have even lost influence in the Catholic world. They are, in their own country, in exile.

St. Henry King

Training no longer is passed down, even though attitudes may be in families that such leadership skills are necessary in the world. The qualities of leadership need to be inculcated in royal families. Training, as with the ancient order of knights, is both in the blood and in the discipline of raising children to rule. Much of this has been lost through a century of socialism and communism, bent on ruining the Catholic lines of succession. Also, the selfish pursuits of some monarchs, even emperors, have led to the weakening of their own faith and that of their families. One only look at the state of such families before World War One. That some of the families were persecuted to death, or experienced exile has created at least two saints. However, the impetus for leadership seems to have faded away.

The same is true of so many good families. Communism or socialism  took away their power and now, as the generations stream away from the long traditions of leadership training, their families have lost the strength of centuries of ruling. The realpolitik now is nationalism, or worse, global government. Those who want to change the increasing separation of Church and State, or the re-emergence of a strong, atheist communism, must stop dreaming for the past days of old and look at what is necessary now. I would hope, like the good prince above, that there are some who will grasp the nettle, and become unpopular because they believe in God, the Church and Country.

Perhaps the Traditional movement in the Church can create a new line of royals, one based on the True Faith. Only within the Church is this possible. And, I wonder, can the Novus Ordo produce royal saints? Just wondering.....To be continued.....            

Are you part of the New or Old Evangelization?

A few days ago, I put two maps on this blog of places where Christians and Catholics live. Here is another map of the weather this weekend. Any connection? If we are hot about the Faith, if we love God and that love of God spills over into our daily lives, we are part of the New Evangelization, which is really the old one. Like spreading the fire of love of the INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, which we have from baptism and confirmation, the heat wave spreads and spreads.

I consider the rosary as part of the Old Evangelization. If we all were faithful to saying our rosaries daily for those who need to convert, what a different world this would be. 

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/memorial-weekend-heat-wave/65481 

Yesterday, in my long travels, I  lost my beautiful rosary in one of the several train stations through which I passed yesterday. You'all pray I can get another one. The one I have left is a glow-in-the-dark rosary I have had for a very long time. The other one was a high class rosary. It had red beads and was very beautiful. I pray that the person who finds it uses it with love. I would think that finding a rosary in Euston, or Birmingham New Street, or the other three country stations I have been in, would be impossible. Say the rosary for our young female Islamic girls whom we meet. Some of the most polite and sweetest young ladies I have met here in England are young Muslim girls. God bless them and protect them. There is the New Evangelization and the Old Evangelization.

I think, and some of you may disagree with me, that manners, politeness, not becoming angry at difficult people (especially on crowded trains), spreading joy and love instead of negativity, praising when it is due, especially to young people who have done something in the Faith, and the small everyday peace we can choose to exude, are all part of the Old Evangelization. I firmly believe that manners, for example, a lost art, were created not merely for social interaction but out of the concept of the common dignity of human beings. To be a Christian, is to be gentle and peaceful. This state of being, of course, demands daily conversion and purification within our souls.

I do both the New and the Old Evangelization. The New Evangelization could be praying outside of abortion clinics, real, true catechesis, and being open about one's Faith in the market place, setting up Catholic schools which really are Catholic, home schooling.

We are all, by our baptismal graces, called to evangelize. This call is not an option, but not all of us are warriors. Some are Joan of Arcs, some Little Flowers, some Zitas in the kitchen.

We must all accept our place in the Kingdom of God.

Hope some of you can stay cool in body this weekend, but hot in the Faith. The British do not believe in air conditioning.....and it is hot here as well. Amazing!

When does one leave a parish? A contentious subject...

A contentious subject....I am traveling today, so this is a strange day for posting. At this moment, I am standing in a friend's kitchen, having a quick cuppa before I catch yet another train to go into the heart of London.

I am thinking of a friend who has traveled throughout Africa with a stick, and I feel a bit like that today, except I have no stick.

One of the things I have discussing with Novus Ordo friends is when to stop being upset about all the abuses and/or attitudes of the laity and move to another parish in order to be peaceful.

This is something my parents never had to face, as all the Masses were the same. Perhaps Father, Mulligan might have been hard to get along with and talked too much about money, or perhaps Father John was too fuzzy in his sermons, but we knew that they were good men, and they said the Mass perfectly, with no interesting or surprising deviations.

The largest problem for my friends, with whom I had this conversation, were the laity, who, in this particular parish, did not get involved in anything, and I mean anything, not even coffee mornings, and the fact that when they did get involved, it was in the manner of talking in Church before and after Sunday Mass, very loudly.

Now, one cannot find the perfect parish this side of heaven, but when one starts making a list of things which need to be changed, and are not being changed, and will not be changed, it is time to move. This is a radical way of thinking for most of us who grew up in geographical parishes. We have an inbred reaction which states, "I must stay here", which is sometimes not the right decision.

However, to be part of a community is no longer an automatic response to merely going to Mass in one's parish. And, what is at stake is our immortal souls. I do not want to sound like a drama queen, but we cannot, as some of my friends have done to the detriment of their souls, become complainers and negative about all the things which may be wrong. I am not a believer in putting up and shutting up.
But, I am a strong believer in choosing one's battles. For example, in a parish where I was attending Mass, the priest was not saying all the proper bits of the new translation, seven months or so now into the change. I pointed this out twice, in letters, and finally, going to the assistant priest, I pointed out it was time I wrote to the bishop, and he took care of the situation. Some people in the pew were not happy, as they wanted to continue to use their old missals. Amazing. But, to me that was an important enough issue to address. The abuse has stopped and the Mass is now being said in the correct way. However, years ago, I had to leave a parish, after being involved in both RCIA and Adult Faith Formation, as the liberal laity involved took over the catechetical ministries and those of us who were "orthodox" could not hold onto our positions of either paid or volunteer work. That the priest chose these liberals, who were, actually heretical in their thinking on many issues, including contraception and marriage, did not help the situation. Some of us resigned because of the fact that we could not change the culture in that parish. So, we left the parish and went elsewhere. Sad, but true that sometimes factions occur which cannot be healed or changed. The priest did not want to deal with any doctrinal problems, such as the promulgation of the idea of women priests in faith formation classes and the denial of mortal or serious sin, or the use of contraceptives, etc. The priest may have been changed.

However, I would not move back into that parish, as the list of problems with the liturgy is still too long and as the deanery is covered by a religious order which is lax and liberal, I know what to expect . For my friends who are members of a similar, parish, this is a frustrating situation. I have suggested they find another spiritual home.

I find personally that the TLMs are without abuse. If one can move into a TLM community, that is always my advice, but this is geographically not always possible, even in Britain, where the distances are not like those in the States. I think of my friend, now deceased, who traveled for years to Chicago and back, almost four hours one way, to get to the Traditional Latin Mass. She would bundle her family into the van and go weekly. I would not have been able to afford that, but I am sure she is a saint for her efforts and zeal. Her husband was converted after years of stubborn resistance by her life.

Please God, let me find a regular TLM

One must go where one is fed. And, if the list of serious or irritating abuses becomes a hindrance to peace, Do not sweat the small stuff, but if the big, serious issues get to you, move.

Nothing is an Accident and a Bit of Samuel Johnson in the Mix

I am traveling today and thinking of the people I have met in the past year of teaching, writing, praying, doing whatever one does in Europe on limited resources.


What I have discovered, again, as if I needed reminding, that nothing happens by accident. The people we meet are always significant in our lives, and the places we go bear our little footsteps. God is in charge, of course, and if we are not like little, wonderful St. Therese, the Little Flower, staying within the confines of a very small parameter of families, friends, fellow sisters, in a small area of France, we still are under the great guidance of Providence.


I am grateful for all I have seen and learned and for whom I have met.


A small story from this website illustrates my point most dramatically. Ralph Beyer, the world famous artist who did the lettering at the entrance of Coventry Cathedral and who was influenced by my favorite, hands-down, artist David Jones, ended up working in the renewal of Coventry Cathedral for one reason-he had been imprisoned as a prisoner of war in Britain. When he was imprisoned during the war as an alien, he met the great Nickolaus Pevsner. Let this site tell the story for me.

Beyer was arrested as an enemy alien and housed in the internment camp at Huyton near Liverpool, which proved to be a stroke of remarkable fortune. Among the inmates was Nikolaus Pevsner, the writer on art and architecture. This acquaintance would later be renewed with decisive consequences for Beyer's career. Beyer's internment was short-lived: after three months he was able to join the Royal Pioneer Corps, in which he served throughout the war.

In 1950 Beyer moved to Cambridge to work first as a jobbing lettercutter, then, briefly, for the ex-Gill apprentice David Kindersley, who by then had set up his own workshop at Barton. It was in Cambridge that Beyer came across a magazine article with a photograph of a painted inscription by the poet and artist David Jones. Jones's very personal lettering recalled the naive early Christian catacomb carvings which had interested Beyer's father. Perhaps in a freer, less formal approach Beyer could use the lettercutting skills he had laboriously acquired and achieve something of the expressive intensity he had seen in the calligraphy and graphic work of Rudolf Koch, whom his father had championed.

In 1953 Beyer set up in London as a freelance inscriptional carver. Among the more routine jobs were two which allowed him to try out his new ideas: an inscription and line carvings on a slate altar, and cast concrete lettering around a church porch, both in the East End of London. In 1955, thanks to Pevsner, he was introduced to Basil Spence, architect of the projected new Coventry Cathedral. This would lead to the defining commission of his career, and one of the most significant works of hand lettercutting of the twentieth century.

Nearly all the lettering in Coventry cathedral was executed or designed by Beyer. The largest Artworks are the eight 'Tablets of the Word' on either side of the nave, and the huge metal floor inscription by the main entrance. Beyer's Coventry lettering, like the cathedral itself, was controversial. Nicolete Gray praised Beyer for his courage, and for departing from tired formulae, but criticised what she saw as a lack of 'seriousness' and any 'new and meaningful organization of his variable forms'.

After Coventry there would be other significant commissions among the lettercutter's staple of plaques, memorials, signs and commemorative stones. One of Beyer's personal favourites was a series of inscriptions in the Paul Tillich Park, New Harmony, Indiana, USA, some sandblasted, some hand-cut.

for Pentecost....

To all my friends and readers, there are NO accidents in God. Just as Beyer met Pevsner and was influenced by Gill and Jones, so we meet and are influenced by others for good, always for good if we are in God's Grace.

God bless you all, as I move my way through the outskirts of London. For Carol and Chris.

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
Boswell: Life

On Devotions and Ritual--Musings and Thoughts

A comment on another post brought up the question of rites in the Church as connected to local custom, or to devotion. Now, the Rites, which are enshrined in history and the earliest evangelization in the Church from the Apostles, are the approved ecclesiastical translations or versions of the Mass, including the Mass of St. John Chrysostom (and influences of St. Basil), which is used by several of the Byzantine communions, such as the Ruthenians and Ukrainians. Now, a Mass, the Liturgy of the Church, is not the same as a devotion. Devotions, such as the rosary or novenas, or individual prayers, have been associated with the Mass, but not part of the Mass. These properly belong before or after the Liturgy.

In the New Mass, which has just been promulgated, a clearer interpretation of the Latin has been given to the public. Hopefully, the thousands of aberrational additions, which occur daily in the world, and I see a few of these in Great Britain, will be cleared away through obedience to the new translation. A community cannot decide what it wants to do here and there. There is a logic and a ritual sense to every part of the Mass.

Of course, as a Latin Mass attender, when I can find one where I am, I prefer the ritual which has been the Mass of the Ages.

I think the confusion is the idea of inculturalization, which many of us feel destroyed not only the solemnity of the Mass, but changed the entire approach to the Mass. Too much culture is not the same as the Rites. What is the difference, one may ask? I think the answer would lie in one's understanding of Tradition. Tradition in the Church is that which has been handed down. The Church, that is the hierarchy, decides what is Tradition and what is not. Being a Catholic means trusting in this Tradition, obeying the limits and enjoying the freedom within that Tradition. Being all things to all men does not mean adding bits and pieces to a set form. That the form may have developed organically does not mean one confuses devotion with ritual.

As noted above, the Byzantine Liturgy is a written form, just as the Tridentine Mass is a written and approved form. I have been to many, many Byzantine Divine Liturgies, as a Byzantine myself, approved by the bishop as I was living in an area for several years which did not have an approved Latin Rite. I attended both the Ukrainian and Ruthenian Divine Liturgies. These were the same except for the language and the chants, as the Mass is the same. A language difference is not a devotional difference. A difference in chant modes is not a devotional difference. The Divine Liturgy is a formula of prayer and worship which has been revealed through the Tradition of the Church, and it is not a local difference added by the laity. And, as one partially from Eastern European background, I can assure one that the Byzantine Liturgy transcends nationalities.

The new Ordinariate Mass, which is in the making, will reflect the Anglo-Catholic heritage of the Church in England, but it will not include devotions, but that which is intrinsic to the Liturgy. One may call this Mass national, but it transcends that definition, as the Ordinariates are found worldwide. The Anglican Usage is also a form which I have attended, and the form is a ritual not devotional. There is a logic which forms ritual.

One of the grave errors following Vatican II has been the disrespect of the Eucharist with too many cultural invasions into the solemnity of the Mass. We all can list our nightmare scenarios.

Now, granted the topic was not such a horror as wild dancing, drums, or various types of feminist processions, but a beautiful prayer. The problem is not the devotion itself, but the change in the Liturgy to suit various groupings. This mindset, that the laity have a right to insert or change the set forms of the Liturgy, is the problem. The New Mass allows us all an opportunity to pull back from these aberrations to a set ritual. Perhaps the insertion of one prayer seems trivial, but the form of the Mass is compromised.

Now, if such permissions are granted locally, I think this begs the question as to whether we have a unified vision of worship or not. I have lived in many countries. I am distressed by the insertion of local customs into the Liturgy. This is one reason why I love the TLM. The Liturgy should be above and beyond my personal preferences for devotions. It should remain objective and not subjective, like the work of sublime revelation and art that it is. One must be able to judge the difference between devotions and parts of the Mass or Divine Liturgy intrinsic to the Sacrifice of Our Lord in the Eucharist.

Confirmation Series Two

As Confirmation is one of the Sacraments of Initiation, one of the questions asked of people who are getting married is whether they need to be confirmed first. Here is the Canon Law to set the record straight. 


from the 1983 Code of Canon Law: Text and Commentary

The text of the law:

Canon 1065 - 1. If they can do so without serious inconvenience, Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation are to receive it before being admitted to marriage.

2. It is strongly recommended that those to be married approach the sacraments of penance and the Most Holy Eucharist so that they may fruitfully receive the sacrament of marriage.¹

^{Part of the reason for this is that Confirmation is a Sacrament of Initiation.} 

^{Here is the section to be examined today.} 

SECTION TWO
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER ONE
THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION
ARTICLE 2
THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION




1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.⁸⁹ For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."<sup>90




This unity has not been safeguarded in recent years, but the present Pope has made statements encouraging earlier Confirmation. Confirmation is the completion of Baptism. I would wonder why anyone would not want to enter into this completion. Such gifts are needed as well as a sharing in the Divine Life of Christ.</sup>

I. CONFIRMATION IN THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION
1286 In the Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission.⁹¹ The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God.⁹² He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him "without measure."⁹³


Even in the beginning of Christ's ministry do we see Him giving us a sign of the importance of this ministry. I hope I do not have to remind readers that it is a heresy to believe that Christ did not know who He was until this time-a Modernist heresy condemned, as Christ always knew He was God and Man and Messiah.


1287 This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people.⁹⁴ On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit,⁹⁵ a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost.⁹⁶ Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age.⁹⁷ Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.⁹⁸


How wonderful that the Holy Trinity wants to come to us in the Indwelling of the Trinity into our souls. This great mystery allows us to have the chance for perfection in grace. Without these graces, we remain unable to reach our goal of eternal life and the more immediate goal of the Kingdom of God on earth, as members of the Catholic Church. I am reminded that the preaching, the catechesis is part of the process, a necessary part. 


1288 "From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church."⁹⁹


The entire history of the Church has been the process of conversion, and new life given through the Apostolic Succession of the bishops and priests, down to the present age. When we are confirmed by the Bishop, or the appointed priest, we are assured of the continuity of teaching which is found in its fullness in the Catholic Church alone. This continuity is a great source of joy and the source of community for the Church. One might add that Protestant confirmations are therefore invalid and not sacramental, not efficacious. 


1289 Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing highlights the name "Christian," which means "anointed" and derives from that of Christ himself whom God "anointed with the Holy Spirit."¹⁰⁰ This rite of anointing has continued ever since, in both East and West. For this reason the Eastern Churches call this sacrament Chrismation, anointing with chrism, or myron which means "chrism." In the West, the term Confirmation suggests that this sacrament both confirms and strengthens baptismal grace.


There should be no confusion as to charismation or confirmation as terms as these mean the same in that the outward sign of the sacrament is efficacious and does what it signifies. The laying of the hands, and the anointing with chrism impart sanctifying grace. We are body and soul and need these signs, which are the sacraments and not merely symbols.


to be continued....