Very Cool Saint of The Day for Monday

For all my friends in Ireland...happy feast of St. Tassach

St. Tassach

Irish saint, born in the first decade of the fifth century; died about 497. He was one ofSt. Patrick's artificers. When St. Patrick founded the Church of Raholp he placed St. Tassach over it as a couple of miles northeast of Saul, County Down, ultimately merged into the Diocese of Down. Tassach's rule is forever memorable for the fact that he was selected by the national Apostle to be with him in his last moments and to administer the Holy Viaticum to him. This event is thus chronicled in "The Martyrology of Donegall"; "Tassach of Raholp gave the Body of Christ to Saint Patrick before his death in the monastery of Saul". His feast is on 14 April.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14463a.htm

And, here is an interesting site on him....I would love to go to Donegal, wouldn't you?

http://www.welovedonegal.com/st-asicus.html

Will post later

When I get over this virus....sorry, Dear Readers.

hello world

I cannot access my old email account. I shall have to get some help. Please pray about this.

Thanks and will try and get some posts up. Am also ill with a virus, and there was a bat in my room last night.

sigh....so goes the life of a member of the Church Militant.

STM

WOW! A certain sem helped me get out of this sticky wicket before going on his retreat.

Praise God...now, pray I feel better.

Well, serious problems

My password has been messed with and I cannot access my account after I close my computer. Please pray I can get this sorted out somehow.

STM

Question? I know the answer, do you?

What happened to our independent State Militias? These no longer exist, except maybe in one or two states.

For Palm Sunday

Pueri Hebraeorum - Tomás Luis de Victoria

If any readers feel like praying for me

Here is a litany for private use:

Litany of St. Bernard

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, have mercy on us.
God the Holy ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.*
Queen, conceived without sin,*
St. Bernard,*
St. Bernard, who, in giving thyself to God, drew many souls to him,*
St. Bernard, prodigy of the eleventh age,*
St. Bernard, ornament of the clergy,*
St. Bernard, terror of heretics,*
St. Bernard, oracle of the Church,*
St. Bernard, light of bishops,*
St. Bernard, most humble,*
St. Bernard, burning with zeal for the glory of God,*
St. Bernard, most ardent for the honor of Mary,*
St. Bernard, most beloved son of the queen of angels,*
St. Bernard, most pure in body and mind,*
St. Bernard, perfect model of poverty and mortification,*
St. Bernard, most ardent in charity to all,*
St. Bernard, who feared God and not earthly powers,*
St. Bernard, whose whole exterior breathed holiness,*
St. Bernard, whose very look spoke of God,*
St. Bernard, flower of religious,*
St. Bernard, who never lost sight of the presence of God,*
St. Bernard, angel of Claravallis,*
St. Bernard, always absorbed in God,*

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.


Let us pray:

O great saint! who, from the very dawn of life, turned all the powers of thy soul, and the noble affections of thy pure and loving heart, towards thy creator; angel clothed in mortal flesh, who appeared in this valley of tears as a bright lily of purity, to shed around thee the good odor of Christ, to show to all the beauty of virtue, and to point out to thousands the way to heaven--O pray for us, that, truly despising all terrene objects, we may live to God alone. Amen

I guess there are still some "protectors" around...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/nevada-cattle-rancher-wins-range-war-federal-government/story?id=23302610

Miserliness is not love

Three charities in this parish have asked for money for Holy Week. All three tend to the homeless in the area where I am staying. These three charities only received to date this year, from this wealthy parish, the price of airfare to France from Chicago.

I cannot understand the blindness of the People of God. If I were in charge of formation in seminaries, I would make every seminarian stay three nights in a homeless shelter, or outside with the homeless.

Why are we ignoring those who are the most vulnerable.

Here is Bernard of Clairvaux on how self-love interferes with virtue. We should give when it hurts us to give.

It is said correctly that it was by holy Fathers that this way of life was organized; they 
did not abrogate the Rule, they merely moderated its severity on account of the weak, so that 
more men might be saved. At the same time, I would hate to think that these holy Fathers would 
have commanded or allowed the many foolish excesses I have noticed in several monasteries. I 
am astonished that monks could be so lacking in moderation in matters of food and drink, and 
with respect to clothing and bedding, carriages and buildings. Things have come to such a pass 
that right order and religion are thought to be promoted, the more concern and pleasure and 
enthusiasm there is regarding such things. Abstemiousness is accounted miserliness, sobriety 
strictness, silence gloom. On the other hand, laxity is labeled discretion, extravagance generosity, 
talkativeness sociability, and laughter joy. Fine clothes and costly caparisons are regarded as 
mere respectability, and being fussy about bedding is hygiene. When we lavish these things on 
one another, we call it love. Such love undermines true love. Such discretion disgraces real 
discretion. This sort of kindness is full of cruelty, for it so looks after the body that the soul is 
strangled. How can love pamper the flesh and neglect the spirit ? What sort of discretion is it to 
give everything to the body and nothing to the soul? Is it kindness to entertain the maid and 
murder the mistress? For this kind of mercy let no one hope to receive the mercy the Gospel 
promises through the mouth of Truth, to those who show mercy: "Blessed are the merciful, for 
they shall receive mercy." Rather, he can expect that penalty called down by holy Job on those 
who are cruelly kind. Speaking in prophecy, rather than merely giving vent to his feelings, he 
said: "May he go unremembered; let him come to grief like a sterile tree." He then shows how 
such a punishment was deserved by adding: "He feeds the barren childless woman, and does no 
good to the widow."

EXCERPTS FROM THE APOLOGIA TO ABBOTT  WILLIAM OF ST.-THIERRY

By St. Bernard of Clairvaux: A Palm Sunday Hymn

O Sacred Heart now wounded...

1.            O sacred Head, now wounded,

                with grief and shame weighed down,

                now scornfully surrounded

                with thorns, thine only crown:

                how pale thou art with anguish,

                with sore abuse and scorn!

                How does that visage languish

                which once was bright as morn!

2.            What thou, my Lord, has suffered

                was all for sinners' gain;

                mine, mine was the transgression,

                but thine the deadly pain.

                Lo, here I fall, my Savior!

                'Tis I deserve thy place;

                look on me with thy favor,

                vouchsafe to me thy grace.

3.            What language shall I borrow

                to thank thee, dearest friend,

                for this thy dying sorrow,

                thy pity without end?

                O make me thine forever;

                and should I fainting be,

                Lord, let me never, never

                outlive my love for thee.

On Training the Laity for Holy Week

I have just come back from an NO Mass for Palm Sunday. The liturgical music was fine, including Latin singing of the Sanctus and Agnus Dei.

However, the reading of the Passion was the worst I have ever heard. The two women who took part as narrator and various parts obviously could not read what was on the text in front of them. They skipped words and used colloquial phrases instead of what was in the Scripture.

The rushed through the text, ruining the solemn mood of the day. I cannot understand why they were chosen, or why they are lectors.

If the laity must be involved in the reading of the Passion in Holy Week, these people must be trained and literate. They represent the Church on the altar of God during the most holy of all weeks.

To have women reading is another problem and twomen's voices sound so inappropriate. I shall not venture into their dress, except to say that one was in jeans.

We have lost the sense of worship and solemnity. God forgive us. At least one of Christ's nails must be caused by the liturgical sloppiness and disrespect of our times.

Laity must be trained if they are taking part in this great week.

Dealing with suffering

This is a list of things people do wrong when faced with suffering. The second list is what they can do with suffering with is valuable.

What not to do with suffering:

complain.
doubt
be angry
blame others
blame circumstances
blame God
blame the Church
complain more
forget to pray
forget to go the Church more often
do not listen to cynical friends
do not fall into self-hatred
do not fall into self-pity

What to do when suffering:

beg God to show you why
beg God to reveal your sins
beg God to reveal your predominant fault
beg God to take the suffering for repararton of your sins
offer the suffering for the sins of others, especially family members
be patient
be calm
be resigned
read the lives of the saints
read the perfection and Dark Night series on this blog
praise and thank God for the opportunity to be purified
be thankful again and again and again

Traveling and The Lack of Civilization

I am not a traveler by nature. There are, to my knowledge, no gypsies in my past, although I do have good friends who know they have gypsy ancestors. My ancestors proved to be daring and active, but not loose and fancy free, which most people judge those who are itinerants are.

This is so far from the truth that I must comment on itinerants today.

Most of those I have met who are homeless are either suffering from addictions or vets. Vets have been and are treated very badly by our society, which has benefited from the sacrifice of so many vets who suffer.
Why America is treating her vets so badly is an indication that the narcissists rule all.

The Catholic Church in some dioceses do not have support from the wealthy or the middle-class to help the homeless. The diocese of Davenport has not had a Catholic Charities for years.

I shall soon find out about others. This situation of not caring for the homeless is a scandal in the Church.

Pray for our vets. A nation which has homeless is not civilized.

Challenge to Priests

The ignoring of the old is getting to me. Priests are not reaching out to the elderly in their parishes in many places, and old people are falling away from the faith.

This is never talked about. Everyone is so taken with evangelizing youth that there is little or no care for the old.

The old are neglected spiritually. They cannot get to the sacraments. Many are losing their faith as they struggle with pain, the loss of children, the loss of their children to the world, the flesh and the devil, and the loss of support in the faith.

Daily, I am meeting old people who cannot manage their homes, their money, their shopping and no one in the parishes care.

Their children may live thousands of miles away and be fallen away from the Church so far as to not care about their Catholic parents.

I am shocked by the neglect.

I challenge priests in the parishes to pay attention, not talk down to their elderly, speak of the last four things clearly, and visit them.

The old need to see the love of Christ.

Updates welcomed

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26971363

Read this and I am travelling today

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/10/us-cybersecurity-internet-bug-idUSBREA3804U20140410

Evil and May Lead to One World Religion

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/10/301432378/gospel-of-jesus-wife-papyrus-not-a-forgery-harvard-says

By denying the Gospels, one denies the one, true, apostolic Church.

By deny the Gospels, one denies the Incarnation and the Divinity of Christ.

By pushing this news, a link to Islam and other religions is created. See how a one world religion can easily be established....

Spring is here

Chipper Jones at camp yesterday...

The Forced Acceptance of Sin

Roe v. Wade allowed Americans to accept serious sin. The Lambeth Conference in England allowed Anglicans to contracept.

The courts are ruling for sin over and over and over. Catholic Churches in England may leave the entire civil marriage, that is the signing of the registries, to the State.

Catholic schools and Catholic churches must not accept government money. I have said this for years.

The Catholic Church will be a remnant. Priests will disappear. I have written about this on this blog on the two postings on false marriages.

As one priest said in England at Mass, the passing of the ssm law in Great Britain will change to life of all people, all Catholics.

Are you ready? Are you getting you children ready for the onslaught of evil and the great persecution of the organized Church?

see all my posts on this topic...

The Error of World Peace

This morning I attended a children's Mass with a very large school.  During the recessional, I was startled by the words of the song. The children have been brainwashed to want world peace more than the Kingdom of God.  Think of this. The new world order has become more important than this kingdom of God-this phrase-world peace- is more important than these words of Christ:

I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled? DR Luke 12:49 

Christ did not come for peace, folks, but for the establishment of the Church.  The peace of God does surpass all understanding, but this means that one must join into the Church Militant. The peace comes with humility and grace, and is not an "outside" peace, but an inside peace.

I believe that this generation of children in Catholic schools, Anglican schools, and other religious schools have been taught to want world peace, and not to work for the Kingdom of God.

The only world peace which will come will come through only two means.

The first is through a false world government which would overcome all nations. 

The second is through the real Kingdom of God, the peace which comes to those who trust in God first, and who carry on the Truth of the Catholic Church.

Think on this, folks. Your children and your grandchildren have been prepared to turn against the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. This will happen if you do not teach them otherwise.