If you have not taught your ninth graders de Tocqueville, do it now. If there was ever a time when this prophetic piece needs to be understood, it is now.
The tyranny of the majority is upon us, killing freedoms and forcing America into gross conformity.
http://tocqueville.org/
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
More good words from Francis
Our commitment does not consist exclusively in activities or programmes of promotion and assistance; what the Holy Spirit mobilizes is not an unruly activism, but above all an attentiveness which considers the other “in a certain sense as one with ourselves”.[166] This loving attentiveness is the beginning of a true concern for their person which inspires me effectively to seek their good. This entails appreciating the poor in their goodness, in their experience of life, in their culture, and in their ways of living the faith. True love is always contemplative, and permits us to serve the other not out of necessity or vanity, but rather because he or she is beautiful above and beyond mere appearances: “The love by which we find the other pleasing leads us to offer him something freely”.[167] The poor person, when loved, “is esteemed as of great value”,[168] and this is what makes the authentic option for the poor differ from any other ideology, from any attempt to exploit the poor for one’s own personal or political interest. Only on the basis of this real and sincere closeness can we properly accompany the poor on their path of liberation. Only this will ensure that “in every Christian community the poor feel at home. Would not this approach be the greatest and most effective presentation of the good news of the kingdom?”[169] Without the preferential option for the poor, “the proclamation of the Gospel, which is itself the prime form of charity, risks being misunderstood or submerged by the ocean of words which daily engulfs us in today’s society of mass communications”.[170]
200. Since this Exhortation is addressed to members of the Catholic Church, I want to say, with regret, that the worst discrimination which the poor suffer is the lack of spiritual care. The great majority of the poor have a special openness to the faith; they need God and we must not fail to offer them his friendship, his blessing, his word, the celebration of the sacraments and a journey of growth and maturity in the faith. Our preferential option for the poormust mainly translate into a privileged and preferential religious care.
Some particularly good sections from the Apostolic Exhortation
The problem is not always an excess of activity, but rather activity undertaken badly, without adequate motivation, without a spirituality which would permeate it and make it pleasurable. As a result, work becomes more tiring than necessary, even leading at times to illness. Far from a content and happy tiredness, this is a tense, burdensome, dissatisfying and, in the end, unbearable fatigue. This pastoral acedia can be caused by a number of things. Some fall into it because they throw themselves into unrealistic projects and are not satisfied simply to do what they reasonably can. Others, because they lack the patience to allow processes to mature; they want everything to fall from heaven. Others, because they are attached to a few projects or vain dreams of success. Others, because they have lost real contract with people and so depersonalize their work that they are more concerned with the road map than with the journey itself. Others fall into acedia because they are unable to wait; they want to dominate the rhythm of life. Today’s obsession with immediate results makes it hard for pastoral workers to tolerate anything that smacks of disagreement, possible failure, criticism, the cross.
83. And so the biggest threat of all gradually takes shape: “the gray pragmatism of the daily life of the Church, in which all appears to proceed normally, while in reality faith is wearing down and degenerating into small-mindedness”.[63] A tomb psychology thus develops and slowly transforms Christians into mummies in a museum. Disillusioned with reality, with the Church and with themselves, they experience a constant temptation to cling to a faint melancholy, lacking in hope, which seizes the heart like “the most precious of the devil’s potions”.[64] Called to radiate light and communicate life, in the end they are caught up in things that generate only darkness and inner weariness, and slowly consume all zeal for the apostolate. For all this, I repeat: Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the joy of evangelization!....
Spiritual worldliness, which hides behind the appearance of piety and even love for the Church, consists in seeking not the Lord’s glory but human glory and personal well-being. It is what the Lord reprimanded the Pharisees for: “How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (Jn5:44). It is a subtle way of seeking one’s “own interests, not those of Jesus Christ” (Phil 2:21). It takes on many forms, depending on the kinds of persons and groups into which it seeps. Since it is based on carefully cultivated appearances, it is not always linked to outward sin; from without, everything appears as it should be. But if it were to seep into the Church, “it would be infinitely more disastrous than any other worldliness which is simply moral”.[71]
94. This worldliness can be fuelled in two deeply interrelated ways. One is the attraction of gnosticism, a purely subjective faith whose only interest is a certain experience or a set of ideas and bits of information which are meant to console and enlighten, but which ultimately keep one imprisoned in his or her own thoughts and feelings. The other is the self-absorbed promethean neopelagianism of those who ultimately trust only in their own powers and feel superior to others because they observe certain rules or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style from the past. A supposed soundness of doctrine or discipline leads instead to a narcissistic and authoritarian elitism, whereby instead of evangelizing, one analyzes and classifies others, and instead of opening the door to grace, one exhausts his or her energies in inspecting and verifying. In neither case is one really concerned about Jesus Christ or others. These are manifestations of an anthropocentric immanentism. It is impossible to think that a genuine evangelizing thrust could emerge from these adulterated forms of Christianity.
Great selections from Evangelii Gaudium
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/26/pope_issues_first_apostolic_exhortation:_evangelii_gaudium/en1-750083
Pope's First Apostolic Exhortation can be seen in part at the link above and selections below.
“As the bishops of the United States of America have rightly pointed out, while the Church insists on the existence of objective moral norms which are valid for everyone, ‘there are those in our culture who portray this teaching as unjust, that is, as opposed to basic human rights. Such claims usually follow from a form of moral relativism that is joined, not without inconsistency, to a belief in the absolute rights of individuals. In this view, the Church is perceived as promoting a particular prejudice and as interfering with individual freedom’. We are living in an information-driven society which bombards us indiscriminately with data – all treated as being of equal importance – and which leads to remarkable superficiality in the area of moral discernment. In response, we need to provide an education which teaches critical thinking and encourages the development of mature moral values."
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/11/26/key-quotes-from-evangelii-gaudium/
Pope's First Apostolic Exhortation can be seen in part at the link above and selections below.
“As the bishops of the United States of America have rightly pointed out, while the Church insists on the existence of objective moral norms which are valid for everyone, ‘there are those in our culture who portray this teaching as unjust, that is, as opposed to basic human rights. Such claims usually follow from a form of moral relativism that is joined, not without inconsistency, to a belief in the absolute rights of individuals. In this view, the Church is perceived as promoting a particular prejudice and as interfering with individual freedom’. We are living in an information-driven society which bombards us indiscriminately with data – all treated as being of equal importance – and which leads to remarkable superficiality in the area of moral discernment. In response, we need to provide an education which teaches critical thinking and encourages the development of mature moral values."
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/11/26/key-quotes-from-evangelii-gaudium/
United States Will Close Vatican Embassy
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Obama-administration-plans-to-close-Vatican-embassy-in-shock-move--233288751.html
Can you believe this? Another sign of the times.....I find this disgustingly rude and this move will cut off necessary communications with the hub of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church is being marginalized, dear readers.
Actually, this news is making me teary, and I am not an emotional person.
from my article on another blog...this is a slap heard round the world.
The Obama Administration has just announced the future closing of the American Vatican Embassy.
This is a shock to many, including me, although the scorning of the Church from this government has been obvious. That intimate communications between perhaps the nation which is the world's leader and the hub, the center of the largest religion in the world, will be compromised.
But, this administration does not care about dialogue with Faith. This move is not for the silly reason given-security. The reason is the marginalizing of the one, true, holy and apostolic Church.
Marginalization is a step on the way towards out and out persecution. This were outlined a few years ago by Father Joseph M. Esper over a few days on EWTN in 2012. Father was reiterating findings from social psychologists who studied the movement of persecution in Germany which led to the killing of over six million Jews in a systematized manner, all legal, all supported by millions of people.
Marginalization is the next to the last step before laws are passed to outlaw the target group and begin fines, imprisonment and finally, death.
I am grateful for one thing. This administration is showing its true colors of its hatred of the Catholic Church in America. The Church is the one institution standing up to the abortion mandate, same-sex-marriage and other moral issues which in the past would have been shared with good Christian leaders.
We have moved far beyond those days. In this post-Christian era, the Church will increasingly be targeted as anti-American.
Antonio Gramsci, who I have studied in great detail, wrote clearly in one of his letters from prison, that the only group of people who understood what the atheist communists were actually doing in the kulturkampf was the Catholic Church. He cited several popes including Leo XIII, as understanding the great enemy of Christian, Western culture and civilization.
The removing of the embassy will be a rude rebuke, a slap-in-the-face to the Vatican, to the Church.
As an American, I am ashamed and horrified. But, this is merely one sign of the times....
Can you believe this? Another sign of the times.....I find this disgustingly rude and this move will cut off necessary communications with the hub of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church is being marginalized, dear readers.
Actually, this news is making me teary, and I am not an emotional person.
from my article on another blog...this is a slap heard round the world.
The Obama Administration has just announced the future closing of the American Vatican Embassy.
This is a shock to many, including me, although the scorning of the Church from this government has been obvious. That intimate communications between perhaps the nation which is the world's leader and the hub, the center of the largest religion in the world, will be compromised.
But, this administration does not care about dialogue with Faith. This move is not for the silly reason given-security. The reason is the marginalizing of the one, true, holy and apostolic Church.
Marginalization is a step on the way towards out and out persecution. This were outlined a few years ago by Father Joseph M. Esper over a few days on EWTN in 2012. Father was reiterating findings from social psychologists who studied the movement of persecution in Germany which led to the killing of over six million Jews in a systematized manner, all legal, all supported by millions of people.
Marginalization is the next to the last step before laws are passed to outlaw the target group and begin fines, imprisonment and finally, death.
I am grateful for one thing. This administration is showing its true colors of its hatred of the Catholic Church in America. The Church is the one institution standing up to the abortion mandate, same-sex-marriage and other moral issues which in the past would have been shared with good Christian leaders.
We have moved far beyond those days. In this post-Christian era, the Church will increasingly be targeted as anti-American.
Antonio Gramsci, who I have studied in great detail, wrote clearly in one of his letters from prison, that the only group of people who understood what the atheist communists were actually doing in the kulturkampf was the Catholic Church. He cited several popes including Leo XIII, as understanding the great enemy of Christian, Western culture and civilization.
The removing of the embassy will be a rude rebuke, a slap-in-the-face to the Vatican, to the Church.
As an American, I am ashamed and horrified. But, this is merely one sign of the times....
Thoughts After Some Conversations with Converts
Among young Catholics of a certain age and among some slightly older converts, there is a huge confusion as to objective and subjective truth. For some reason, mainly the pushing of relativism in the educational systems for over 40 years, most younger Catholics cannot think rationally or logically (not quite the same think) concerning the Teachings of the Catholic Church.
I have written on this before on this blog-follow the tags on thinking like Catholics, etc.
But, the problem does not merely make discussions or teaching difficult for the orthodox, catechist, but makes conversion difficult, as many people want to come into the Church for emotional reasons.
That there is a huge confusion on the application of doctrine to individual moral cases seems so widespread that one can hardly imagine such a large group of Catholics who have never be taught to think like Catholics.
Protestant thinking invaded the Church over 40 years ago with the weakening of the teaching of catechism and the introduction of charismatic renewal, with the emphasis on emotional religious experience.
But, lately, I am concerned at the number of young converts who are not being challenged in RCIA or in personal catechesis to think rationally.
The problem becomes compounded by the acceptance of so-called emotional conversion experiences which take the place of a slower, methodical approach.
Some dioceses in the States are moving to a two-year RCIA format. To me, this is excellent, as one cannot cover the doctrines of the Church with people who are coming out of absolutely no Christian background or who have been brainwashed by relativism in less than a year, and two years would be better.
If a convert has been reading the Doctors of the Church, or the Early Church Fathers a la Newman, the conversion classes could be shortened. Good priests who do the teaching one on one can make such decisions on an individual basis.
The worst catechized are the college and university students who have converted in that setting and have been accepted after cursory courses.
How can we change the entire thinking structure of a person to think like a Catholic?
I am convinced we need to go back to St. Thomas Aquinas, to the Socratic Method of question and answer and demand a real digestion of the CCC. Also, as I taught Mystagoia in the past, the Church should require that extra year, and not make it optional.
The Church is weakened by those who convert and do not understand the basics. I am talking almost daily with converts who have never heard basic teachings on sacramental theology, the meaning and definition of grace, or the ideas of salvation in and through the Catholic Church only.
There are few who understand the huge difference between objective criteria and subjectivity.
Can we pull back on the numbers games and slowly bring in people who will not be confused, or who fall away once they come to understand what should have been introduced along the way in RCIA or private catechesis?
Here are some past posts on thinking like a Catholic....
10 Jul 2013
To think like a Catholic is to see the reality of the world through the Eyes of God and not one's own eyes. If you have lost the gift of discernment or wisdom given to you in baptism through sin and compromise, pray for such.
13 Apr 2012
Too many of the courses are based on a particular professor's private interests instead of a Catholic world-view. Our priests, bishops and cardinals need to learn to think like Catholics and in too many cases, this perspective is ...
13 Nov 2013
Too many people think America will not become like the broken big brother of Europe, too ... The City of God is not a millennial-type of utopia, but the spiritual city to which we, as baptized Catholics, all belong. But, it must be ...
13 Nov 2013
I have met too many people who are leading Catholics astray by a false emphasis on feelings and experiences, and I have many articles on such here on this blog. ... I cannot trust him, as he is thinking like a Protestant.
18 Nov 2013
Think like a Catholic, pray like a Catholic, and live daily life in the counter-culture which is true Catholicism. God gave us His Son, Who established the Church on earth to help us in our salvation. Do not waste this great grace.
15 Nov 2013
Who is stopping the marginalization of Catholics from discussions in the public sphere? Who is stopping the core curriculum, which is brainwashing? Who is preparing their children to think like Catholics even under stress?
07 Aug 2013
There is a huge campaign in the States at this time and some Catholics are allowing themselves to join the group which is calling a prominent person a name. Let me explain something. Arguing a moral point should never include a reference ... I think these are sins of hatred. Logic was required in private Catholic high schools in the States, at the freshman or .... Let's get back to being like Jesus....Yes, by challenging the present fear of offending. 8 August 2013 16:42.
17 Jul 2012
One piece looks like bones, and another is in the shape of a small crustacean. I was thinking of how my dwelling is built with the ruins of another ancient time of ancient creatures which were once alive. Will there be any ...
21 Nov 2013
We are blessed as Catholics to have both the gift of faith given to us in baptism, and The Faith, passed down to us through the Teaching Magisterium of the Catholic Church. I would like to ask you, dear readers, in these last ...
15 Feb 2012
Because I am thinking of the Catholic use of the media today, here is Campion's Brag. If you remember, he printed this up at Stonor House, and distributed it, among other places, at the parish in Oxford. Brave, brave member ...
11 Apr 2012
Traditional Catholic Blog .... from the pulpit on such matters. He's likely to come off as some Mooslim-like perv who gets excited at the thought of a women's ankle, or sound like an old gay queen in the process. If there's no one ill dressed in the church, why lecture. If someone has got on long tailored shorts in hot weather in church in a tourist area, they'll think they are being singled out for persecution and they may never darken the church door again. Not a good thing.
28 Apr 2013
... knew Catholic doctrine and we today don't. Besides, in times of crisis and distress, when we are not thinking clearly, it is precisely the things we have memorized that come most readily to our aid when we need them. ...The suggestions you make are wonderful, and I have spent a great deal of time with websites like Catholic Icing, Catholicmoms, and A Shower of Roses to get inspiration and mentoring on this journey. It is of great comfort to me to hear of someone ...
16 Nov 2013
Traditional Catholic Blog ... Fair-weather friends tend to be those who only want to be friends if they can gain something from the relationship, or think that what they are gaining are material benefits. I have found out recently that I have been dropped by middle-class minded people who are not interested in understanding or ... These nuns radiate the love and grace of God, and shine like little, hidden saints. They promised to pray for me. I was very touched by their real ...
12 Jul 2012
Here are my reasons why liberal Catholics, especially and some trads have fallen into the trap of the "single vocation", which I do not think exists, except for the above calls. One, selfishness. Our individualistic, selfish and.... I do agree with you, that the single life is not a vocation but in rare circumstances, yet I and some friends like me are really really uneasy with (or perhaps lack the courage for) the dating site concept. I now wonder, are we culpable of not seeking ...
02 Oct 2013
If you are a Catholic and a socialist, you are not thinking like a Catholic. One needs to repent of holding on to false ideologies of all kinds, if one is going to follow Christ in the teachings of His Church. One cannot pick and ...
15 Nov 2013
Think about the travels of SS. Francis, or Dominic, or Catherine of Siena, or Francis Xavier, or Isaac Joques. The Catholic Church is the only institution in the world which has always transcended boundaries. Missionaries, nuns and priests, brothers and sisters, have travelled the world in the past without problems on entry or stay. Convents could set ... Please join me in prayer, as, like St. Paul, I feel called to Europe to work for Christ and His Church there. I have a great ...
25 Jun 2012
Some of these wreckovations are politically, ideologically motivated by "Catholics" who either think like Protestants or Marxists. Still, like a worn-out mantra, people decry the use of beauty in church architecture, vestments, ...
16 Jan 2012
I also think there has to be good reason for not having children. The grand example are two of my favorite Catholics, Jacques and Raissa Maritain, who on the Isle of Wight, as Benedictine Oblates, took a vow of celibacy "for ...
10 Sep 2013
Perhaps Catholics have never read the Decree Against Communism, written in 1949 by Pope Pius XII and reconfirmed in 1962 by Bl. John XXIII. .... Labels: Gramsci, heresies, rabbits, socialism, thinking like Catholics ...
18 May 2013
The Renaissance and the Reformation have shaped the modern western individual, who is not weighed down by external burdens like merely extrinsic authority and tradition; people feel the need to “belong” to institutions less and less (and yet .... The purpose of this contribution is to help Catholics find a key to understanding the basic principles behind New Age thinking, so that they can then make a Christian evaluation of the elements of New Age they encounter.
19 Apr 2012
Many great writers already quoted on this blog, including Garrigou-Lagrange, believe this is not a call only for those special mystics who are obviously given such graces, but for all Catholics. .... I think perhaps the relationship of those who live by the private revelations, those people I have met in abundance in both the Midwest of America and in Ireland and England, indicated that they do fall into a community of people who live ...... Wear Your Tribulation Like A Rose.
30 Nov 2012
Think that the FSSP is a compromising order (I really do not like this one) 5. Think ... I know many good Catholic trad priests who have told me the faculties are not given to SSPX priests and that the Confessions are not valid.
16 Sep 2013
16) (= "to speak to the heart" or "to oneself"), mean "to think." The heart .... Labels: love, marriage, thinking like Catholics ... I think that it is a great book, but the last part from the Makarian Homilies is the best bit of the comment.
08 Jan 2013
The European friends of mine cannot understand wanting to be in charge of your own space. They are think like socialists, even the Catholics. What shocks me is their blind trust in their governments, and worse, the feeling of ...
02 Jun 2013
These good people are self-deceived into thinking that the externals of faith mean they are saved. Interior disposition is ALL in .... to TwitterShare to Facebook. Labels: catholic teaching, magical thinking, thinking like Catholics ...
12 Nov 2013
Are you acting as if your children will not need to be different, special, super-Catholics and saints in the days to come? Do you think they will face a world like yours and mine growing up? Are you forming saints? I see too ...
02 Feb 2013
All I know is that I don't "get" them and would like to understand more - how is that they are so "switched on" and single-minded about TOB? It's interesting, too, that the "TOB" camp promotes the YOUCAT to Catholic youth, ...
04 Dec 2012
I am truly concerned about the present youth who cannot and will not think objectively. If you have ... Now, we shall see the triumph of the Prince of Darkness, unless Catholics begin to think like Catholics-objectively.
16 Nov 2013
He said that right now in these difficult times, many Catholics were not paying attention to building the Kingdom of God, but asleep, busy about other, less important things. Like the unjust judge, they were ignoring not only the ...
04 Jun 2013
I have written about this many times, but one more time will not hurt....in fact, this post is another contradiction of more magical thinking ... Labels: catholic teaching, magical thinking, private revelations, thinking like Catholics ...
02 Dec 2012
Most people I know could not function like that, traditional Catholics or otherwise. 3 December 2012 04:40 · Supertradmum said... Matthew, one of your comments accidentally got deleted. Please re-post. Thanks. I think it was ...
08 Sep 2013
One would think that it, and its author, never existed. Fortunately, it was written in a manner which is ideal for spoken-word production. It is clear, forthright, concise, descriptive, it is like a mountain stream in a desert, with a reputation of miraculously curing spiritual blindness. Rev. Hugh Thwaites ... Hugh Thwaites SJ, Humani Generis by Pope Pius XII: This encyclical concerns false opinions which threaten to sap the foundations of Catholic Teaching. It corrects the false ...
Monday, 25 November 2013
Boycotts List Three
More Boycott Information from LifeSiteNews:
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/22/new-planned-parenthood-donors-include-gq-bob-evans-hotels/
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/03/22/new-planned-parenthood-donors-include-gq-bob-evans-hotels/
“As a direct result of the commitment, action and prayers of pro-family people, at least 282 corporations have stopped funding Planned Parenthood,” he said. “This should serve as a testament to those who think it impossible to change corporate behavior.”
New boycott targets include Advance Publications (magazines such as Bon Appetit, Details, Glamour, GQ, Self, Vanity Fair, and Vogue), Ameriprise Financial, Arthur Murray (dance studios), Bikram’s Yoga, Bob Evans (restaurants), Danone (Dannon products), Fresh Enterprises (Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, Canyons Burger Co., and La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill), and NACCO (Hamilton Beach and Proctor Silex products; Kitchen Collection and Le Gourmet Chef stores).
Other new boycott targets include Pernod Ricard (alcoholic products including Absolute, Ballantine’s, Beefeater, Chivas Regal, Kahlúa, Malibu, and Royal Salute), TD Bank Group, UBS (financial services), and Wyndham (lodging including Baymont, Days Inn, Dream Hotels, Hawthorne, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Microtel, Night, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge, TRYP Hotels, Wingate, and Wyndham; eatery: Planet Hollywood).
Some of the corporations continuing as boycott targets are: Adobe, AOL, Bank of America, Bayer, Chevron, Darden Restaurants (eateries including Olive Garden, Red Lobster, etc.), eBay (PayPal, etc.), Laureate Education, Marriott Hotels, Midas, Nike, Select Comfort (Sleep Number bed), Southwest Airlines (Jet Blue, etc.), Starwood (lodging including Four Points, Sheraton, St. Regis, W, Westin, etc.), Wells Fargo, and Whole Foods.
The Boycott List includes a “Dishonorable Mention” section, which identifies nonprofits that are associated with Planned Parenthood and/or its agenda.
If you do not read Canada Free Press, you should...
Between his reduction of our nuclear arsenal, the purging of our military of fighting Generals and Admirals, and the building up of America’s enemies, there can be no other conclusion but that Obama is setting America up for a major military defeat.
Why am I so upset over another “blunder” by Obama? Because this one sets up a nuclear war, THAT’S why. It allows Iran the “right” to enrich uranium. THAT, alone, dear reader, means that Iran is now a legitimate threshold nuclear state. In other words—Iran will remain just months away, maybe even less, from building a nuclear bomb with which they intend to bomb the heck out of Israel. Their second nuclear bomb ‘s intended target is—the United States of America.
So what’s changed? Only that the Obama Administration now approves of Iran having the capability of building a nuclear bomb. In fact, Obama even backed off on some of the sanctions that had, in fact, weakened Iran. After this agreement, Iran will be strong, not weak, AND have nuclear capability.
ABJECT SURRENDER BY OBAMA
Consider this from the Weekly Standard: “This interim agreement is badly skewed from America’s perspective. Iran retains its full capacity to enrich uranium, thus abandoning a decade of Western insistence and Security Council resolutions that Iran stop all uranium-enrichment activities. Allowing Iran to continue enriching, and despite modest (indeed, utterly inadequate) measures to prevent it from increasing its enriched-uranium stockpiles and its overall nuclear infrastructure, lays the predicate for Iran fullyenjoying its “right” to enrichment in any “final” agreement. Indeed, the interim agreement itself acknowledges that a “comprehensive solution” will “involve a mutually defined enrichment program.” This is not, as the Obama administration leaked before the deal became public, a “compromise” on Iran’s claimed “right” to enrichment. This is abject surrender by the United States.”
more here
Meeting of Minds and Spirits
A few days ago, I wrote that most Catholics I am meeting in the Midwest, including some trads, are asleep about the coming times, and indeed, already manifested times of persecution.
I am concerned about this state of unawareness. Michael Voris, on his Vortex today, speaks of the same problem with great eloquence. His use of a quotation from Blessed John Paul II highlights the need now for vigilance.
One of the reasons I did the perfection series over the past several years is that this is the time to cooperate with grace. Now, while we still have access to the sacraments, we must take advantage of grace.
Without grace, many will be swept away. Without grace, we all can fall into sins which take us away from God.
Without grace, we are damned.
Please listen to Michael's video today and read my post linked below.
It seems to me that too many American Catholics cannot see what is happening.
Here is also a link of a priest who I have quoted on this blog about the stages of persecution. The priest at Mass recommended his books. I have seen Fr. Esper on EWTN, and read his information on the stages of persecution, but I have not read his books.
http://www.maranathacatholicbks.net/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=1610&keyword=esper+joseph+rev&searchby=author&offset=0&fs=1
http://www.catholicjournal.us/author/joseph-esper/
http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/11/living-in-land-of-nod.html
A reminder of some teaching from the Catholic Encyclopedia
Invincible ignorance, whether of the law or of the fact, is always a valid excuse and excludes sin. The evident reason is that neither this state nor the act resulting therefrom is voluntary. It is undeniable that a man cannot be invincibly ignorant of thenatural law, so far as its first principles are concerned, and the inferences easily drawn therefrom. This, however, according to the teaching of St. Thomas, is not true of those remoter conclusions, which are deducible only by a process of laborious and sometimes intricate reasoning. Of these a person may be invincibly ignorant. Even when the invincible ignorance is concomitant, it prevents the act which it accompanies from being regarded as sinful. The perverse temper of soul, which in this case is supposed, retains, of course, such malice as it had. Vincible ignorance, being in some way voluntary, does not permit a man to escape responsibility for the moral deformity of his deeds; he is held to be guilty and in general the more guilty in proportion as his ignorance is more voluntary. Hence, the essential thing to remember is that the guilt of an act performed or omitted in vincible ignorance is not to be measured by the intrinsic malice of the thing done or omitted so much as by the degree ofnegligence discernible in the act.
It must not be forgotten that, although vincible ignorance leaves the culpability of a person intact, still it does make the act lessvoluntary than if it were done with full knowledge. This holds good except perhaps with regard to the sort of ignorance termed affected. Here theologians are not agreed as to whether it increases or diminishes a man's moral liability. The solution is possibly to be had from a consideration of the motive which influences one in choosing purposely to be ignorant. For instance, a man who would refuse to learn the doctrines of the Church from a fear that he would thus find himself compelled to embrace them would certainly be in a bad plight. Still he would be less guilty than the man whose neglect to know the teachings of the Church wasinspired by sheer scorn of her authority. Invincible ignorance, whether of the law or fact, exempts one from the penalty which may have been provided by positive legislation. Even vincible ignorance, either of the law or fact, which is not crass, excuses one from the punishment. Mere lack of knowledge of the sanction does not free one from the penalty except in cases ofcensures. It is true then that any sort of ignorance which is not itself grievously sinful excuses, because for the incurring ofcensures contumacy is required. Vincible and consequent ignorance about the duties of our state of life or the truths of faithnecessary for salvation is, of course, sinful. Ignorance of the nature or effects of an act does not make it invalid if everything else requisite for its validity be present. For instance, one who knows nothing of the efficacy of baptism validly baptizes, provided that he employs the matter and form and has the intention of doing what the Church does.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07648a.htm
more later
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07648a.htm
more later
Boycott List Two
Sears supports the United Way and the Susan G. Komen Foundation, both of which indirectly support Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation. Additionally, it has a perfect 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which tracks the promotion of the homosexual and transgender political and social agenda in the workplace. This indicates a corporate stance tilting away from the biblical teaching on human sexuality, marriage and family.
Sears is a discount department store that also owns Lands’ End and Kmart. It is a committed supporter of the homosexual and transgender political agenda and supports same-sex marriage. It also indirectly assists Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation, through its support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. While Sears uses “Christmas” in its seasonal advertising, its recent support of unwholesome entertainment raises concerns. http://reviews.faithdrivenconsumer.org
Starbucks still and strongly supports ssm. Many sites follow this stand.
Howard Schultz, the outspoken CEO of global coffee chain Starbucks, calmly but firmly defended his company’s support of same-sex marriage last week at a shareholder meeting.
Read more: Starbucks CEO Defends Gay-Marriage Support at Shareholder Meeting | TIME.com http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/25/starbucks-ceo-doubles-down-on-gay-marriage-support-telling-shareholder-to-sell-stake-if-he-doesnt-like-views/#ixzz2lfZYRn9F
And
As a note, Pepsi supports Planned Parenthood and has for a long time. Coca Cola supports many big gay pride parades both here and abroad.
Catholics have a duty not to give money to companies who will pass your money on to such groups.
This is a second short list. You can find all the information about companies on line. Feel free to add to this list in the com-box.
Sears is a discount department store that also owns Lands’ End and Kmart. It is a committed supporter of the homosexual and transgender political agenda and supports same-sex marriage. It also indirectly assists Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation, through its support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. While Sears uses “Christmas” in its seasonal advertising, its recent support of unwholesome entertainment raises concerns. http://reviews.faithdrivenconsumer.org
Starbucks still and strongly supports ssm. Many sites follow this stand.
Howard Schultz, the outspoken CEO of global coffee chain Starbucks, calmly but firmly defended his company’s support of same-sex marriage last week at a shareholder meeting.
Read more: Starbucks CEO Defends Gay-Marriage Support at Shareholder Meeting | TIME.com http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/25/starbucks-ceo-doubles-down-on-gay-marriage-support-telling-shareholder-to-sell-stake-if-he-doesnt-like-views/#ixzz2lfZYRn9F
And
As a note, Pepsi supports Planned Parenthood and has for a long time. Coca Cola supports many big gay pride parades both here and abroad.
Catholics have a duty not to give money to companies who will pass your money on to such groups.
This is a second short list. You can find all the information about companies on line. Feel free to add to this list in the com-box.
Which Stores Are You Boycotting This Thanksgiving? List One
Some quotations from watchdog sites regarding those businesses which support abortion, contraception or ssm. Please boycott these businesses and tell them why. The first one, Kohl's has changed its policy and responded to consumers. God bless that company.
Kohl’s has improved its ranking for wholesome entertainment and demonstrated its pro-life commitment by cutting support for Planned Parenthood. from Faith Driven Consumer
Kroger partners with United Way and Susan G. Komen, which give to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation. Additionally, it has an 85 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the inclusion of homosexuality in the workplace, and is a significant supporter of the homosexual lifestyle through sponsoring and promoting events. from Faith Driven Consumer
The Gap Inc. directly supports abortion through donations to Planned Parenthood and has a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which tracks the promotion of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender political and social agenda in the workplace. High scores on this scale indicate a strong tilt away from a biblical view of sexuality, marriage and family. The Gap Inc. is a leading clothing retailer in the United States and also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy. While Gap excels in corporate philanthropy and responsibility, its wholesome entertainment rating has declined recently. Gap’s recent support of Planned Parenthood and its perfect rating from the Human Rights Campaign – indicating a strong support of the homosexual and transgender political agenda, including same-sex marriage – point to a need for significant improvement before it can be considered a faith-compatible company.from Faith Driven Consumer
Some Macy’s affiliates have donated to Planned Parenthood as well as to United Way, which indirectly supports Planned Parenthood in some localities. Additionally, Macy’s received a 90 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which tracks the promotion of the homosexual and transgender political and social agenda in the workplace. These stances indicate a tilt away from the biblical worldview on issues involving life, sexuality, marriage and the natural and traditional family.
Macy’s is one of the largest department stores in the nation. Although Macy’s has responded to the urging of biblically minded Christians to use “Christmas” in its advertising materials, it has recently sponsored unwholesome entertainment on television. In addition, Macy’s now actively campaigns for the homosexual and transgender political agenda and has a whole section of its website devoted to gay “pride” and history. from Faith Driven Consumer
Hershey’s partners with United Way, which indirectly supports Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation. Hershey’s also has a relatively high 85 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the inclusion of homosexuality in the workplace and supports the homosexual agenda through various efforts, including its homosexual employee resource group called PRISM. It also has not been transparent in the past concerning labor exploitation policies.Given Hershey’s strong, direct support for homosexuality and indirect support of Planned Parenthood as well as the lack of transparency in labor practices, there is much work to be done for it to move in a more faith-friendly direction. Faith Driven Consumer recognizes Russell Stover Candies to be the more faith-friendly option for purchasing chocolate.from Faith Driven Consumer
JC Penney has donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and United Way, both of which indirectly support Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider. It has also received a nearly perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index -- indicating strong support for the homosexual and transgender political and social agenda -- a stance that leans away from the biblical worldview on sexuality, marriage and family. Here, JC Penney has come out in support for same-sex marriage.
JC Penney is a leading department store that in recent years tried to appeal to new consumer markets but in the process alienated its core, natural base of traditional and faith-based consumers. A series of changes at the top ranks of leadership have led to instability and ongoing uncertainty for the retailer as it struggles to figure who it is. JC Penney has come out in support of same-sex marriage and can become a more faith-compatible company by moving toward an inclusive embrace of those who value the pro-life cause as well as the natural and traditional family.from Faith Driven Consumer
Kohl’s has improved its ranking for wholesome entertainment and demonstrated its pro-life commitment by cutting support for Planned Parenthood. from Faith Driven Consumer
Kroger partners with United Way and Susan G. Komen, which give to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation. Additionally, it has an 85 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the inclusion of homosexuality in the workplace, and is a significant supporter of the homosexual lifestyle through sponsoring and promoting events. from Faith Driven Consumer
The Gap Inc. directly supports abortion through donations to Planned Parenthood and has a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which tracks the promotion of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender political and social agenda in the workplace. High scores on this scale indicate a strong tilt away from a biblical view of sexuality, marriage and family. The Gap Inc. is a leading clothing retailer in the United States and also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy. While Gap excels in corporate philanthropy and responsibility, its wholesome entertainment rating has declined recently. Gap’s recent support of Planned Parenthood and its perfect rating from the Human Rights Campaign – indicating a strong support of the homosexual and transgender political agenda, including same-sex marriage – point to a need for significant improvement before it can be considered a faith-compatible company.from Faith Driven Consumer
Some Macy’s affiliates have donated to Planned Parenthood as well as to United Way, which indirectly supports Planned Parenthood in some localities. Additionally, Macy’s received a 90 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which tracks the promotion of the homosexual and transgender political and social agenda in the workplace. These stances indicate a tilt away from the biblical worldview on issues involving life, sexuality, marriage and the natural and traditional family.
Macy’s is one of the largest department stores in the nation. Although Macy’s has responded to the urging of biblically minded Christians to use “Christmas” in its advertising materials, it has recently sponsored unwholesome entertainment on television. In addition, Macy’s now actively campaigns for the homosexual and transgender political agenda and has a whole section of its website devoted to gay “pride” and history. from Faith Driven Consumer
Hershey’s partners with United Way, which indirectly supports Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the nation. Hershey’s also has a relatively high 85 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the inclusion of homosexuality in the workplace and supports the homosexual agenda through various efforts, including its homosexual employee resource group called PRISM. It also has not been transparent in the past concerning labor exploitation policies.Given Hershey’s strong, direct support for homosexuality and indirect support of Planned Parenthood as well as the lack of transparency in labor practices, there is much work to be done for it to move in a more faith-friendly direction. Faith Driven Consumer recognizes Russell Stover Candies to be the more faith-friendly option for purchasing chocolate.from Faith Driven Consumer
JC Penney has donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and United Way, both of which indirectly support Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider. It has also received a nearly perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index -- indicating strong support for the homosexual and transgender political and social agenda -- a stance that leans away from the biblical worldview on sexuality, marriage and family. Here, JC Penney has come out in support for same-sex marriage.
JC Penney is a leading department store that in recent years tried to appeal to new consumer markets but in the process alienated its core, natural base of traditional and faith-based consumers. A series of changes at the top ranks of leadership have led to instability and ongoing uncertainty for the retailer as it struggles to figure who it is. JC Penney has come out in support of same-sex marriage and can become a more faith-compatible company by moving toward an inclusive embrace of those who value the pro-life cause as well as the natural and traditional family.from Faith Driven Consumer
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