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Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Partial List of Podding and Community Posts

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/AcropoliumInside.jpg/640px-AcropoliumInside.jpg
Many myths exist about the early Christian communities. The Protestants wrote tons of false history on these "home churches" in order to undermine the hierarchical structure and church worship of the first several centuries.

But, the writings of the Early Church Fathers and the Doctors of the Church show a different story.

What we shall experience as the remnant Church may not at all resemble the early Church, which was centered from the earliest days on the basilica and the cathedral. The apostles were the bishops. The bishops organized the dioceses. These things are not "accretions".

However, as we face the destruction of Western Civilization, our world will more resemble the wrecked societies and cultures, the burnt cities and cathedral ruins of Western Africa after the onslaught of the enemies of the Church in the Seventh Century.

We may not have cathedrals, basilicas, schools, as those could be ruined or taken over by the Modernists, just as the Arians took over diocese after diocese in the Third and Fourth Centuries.

The one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church will witness the attack of many enemies. It is obvious we are heading for schism in the States.

So, what should our remnant Church look like and what can we do as Catholics now?

One may check the links at the end of this post, but here are a few ideas for now.

1) Moving close to other Catholics who are strong. NOW.

2) Building loving relationships which can endure persecution.

3) Realizing that one will not be able to endure great suffering alone or in a family isolated from others.

4) Developing a prayer life which is independent of the Mass, Adoration and other sacraments, as we very well may not have these.

I have at least 290 posts on community and podding.

Check these out for review.

16 Jul 2014
Responding to The Remnant. Posted by Supertradmum. This is a bit late, but better late than never. In the May 20th, 2014 issue of The Remnant, Father Celatus has. a list of issues, comments and events which he claims are ...
30 Jan 2014
Second, the remnant is saved by grace, by election, that is chosen by God, and are those who have kept the Ten Commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is baptism. Third, the remnant is those who ...
13 Feb 2014
There, people will find excellent confessors before the Sunday morning Mass, the sermons are orthodox and hard-hitting. The Mass is beautiful. I believe the remnant will last because of the Byzantine and TLM communities ...
30 Sep 2013
After slightly less than three months, I am leaving Ireland for the third time. This visit has been the best of the three. If there is a next time, I would love to visit the Galway area. Ireland changed while I was here, and formally ...

02 Feb 2014
This series will be called "February 24, 303." This was the day which witnessed the largest and worst persecution of Catholics in Rome, called after Diocletian asked the Oracle of Apollo approval for such an empire-wide ruling ...
04 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 XI. Posted by Supertradmum. In the times of the Great Persecution, the army was re-organized to become even more faithful to the emperor. The financial life of the empire was re-organized with new taxes.
11 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 XV. Posted by Supertradmum. The Romans had done persecutions before. What was the difference? Diocletian helped calm down the stress of financial difficulties. He increased taxes, built up the army, ...
04 Feb 2014
In the last analysis, the Great Persecution of Diocletian was a huge failure. If as many as 20,000 Catholics were killed in the Roman Empire, in all the provinces, the spread of Catholicism outweighed the death of the martyrs.
01 May 2014
Second, the remnant is saved by grace, by election, that is chosen by God, and are those who have kept the Ten Commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is baptism. Third, the remnant is those who ...
27 Feb 2013
At this time, on this day in history, we should all return to Augustine's City of God. If any book of the Classical Period would give us perspective on the events of today, it is Augustine's critique of Rome and his understanding of ...
19 Aug 2014
In Sermon 96, the great Doctor of the Church preaches on persecution, a reality in his day and the need for holiness. As in the City of God, Augustine in this sermons talks about two worlds, the world of the good and the world ...
21 Aug 2014
This eighth sentence, which goes back to the starting-point, and makes manifest the perfect man, is perhaps set forth in its meaning both by the circumcision on the eighth day in the Old Testament, and by the resurrection of the Lord after ... as it is said of the soul of the Church by the mouth of the prophet, “All the beauty of the king's daughter is within;” for outwardly revilings, and persecutions, and disparagements are promised; and yet, from these things there is a great ...
01 Mar 2013
Our last pope, Benedict XVI, is a great Augustinian scholar. I am sure he will have time to read this Doctor of the Church in the next two months, with this room with a view, if Benedict so desires.

05 Feb 2012
Crivelli's Agatha and Augustine are a strange juxtaposition of saints. but I have been thinking of both of them today. The painting fits into my theme today of youth, love and sacrifice. ... And though I cannot do this fully in this life, yet let me improve from day to day till I may do so to the full. Let me know You more and more in this life, that I may ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as ...
03 Sep 2014
Catholics who trust in politics rather than Divine Providence will wake up one day realizing they had chosen a false god. There is a fema camp two hours from where I am today. ... Possidius, in his life of Augustine, tells how the bishop restored property donated to the church by one of the wealthy townsmen who, despite having no further legal claim to the land, asked for it back on behalf of his son. Augustine returned it, and refusing a large sum which the man sent for ...
20 Jul 2012
That they all were priests, then bishops, handing down the priesthood through Ordination to our own day is one of the great blessings and treasures of the Church. The Old ... St. Augustine started a community of celibate men.

11 Jan 2013
“Assyrian wickedness served as God's scourge for the Hebrews[26]'' is St. Augustine's comment on this text. And our Lord himself ... Marveling at these deeds, since his life was no more exemplary than the lives of the other monks, the superior asked him one day what was the cause of these miracles. He replied that he ... Do not get stuck on your favourite aspects of the spiritual life if these are contrary to the guidance and teaching of the Church. You will not be holy.
21 Jul 2012
It is in fact the case that not only the flourishing Church in Asia, which was once the vibrant heart of the Church, but also the Church in North Africa vanished entirely beneath the tempests of Islam. Of course, the force applied ...
21 Feb 2012
I have many Christian friends who want to ignore what is happening in the Middle-East and Africa, to their own peril. Some of my posts have followed certain trends. See below. The great Spencer sent this note on the move to ...
26 Dec 2012
They then set fire to the church," said Usman Mansir, resident of Peri village, near Potiskum, the economic capital of Yobe state. Mansir specified that a branch of the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) was the ...
28 May 2012
... 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.
07 Dec 2013
What would have become of us if we had been born in Asia, in Africa, in America, or in the midst of heretics and schismatic? He who does not believe is lost. He who does not believe shall be condemned. And thus, probably ...
13 Feb 2014
A martyr is specifically a person who dies witnessing the Faith of the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ. In other words, those Christians in Africa and in the Middle East who are actually being killed because they are Christians ...
02 Feb 2014
An agnostic, this scholar notes that in the unsettled economic times of the late 240s, the Church had grown and was beginning to be accepted in some circles as a force in society. But, alongside of that fact, was the hardening ...
30 Jan 2014
Fifth, the remnant has always really been small, contrary to romantic history of the Church. Sixth, the one ... They did not become Shinto as in Japan or muslims as in the mideast and north Africa over the centuries. PS....when ...
03 Feb 2014
Europe, the Middle Eastern provinces, Africa, including Egypt, all saw the imposition of the laws against Catholics. The great ... We know that the Church spread throughout the continents because of the Christian diaspora.
17 Nov 2013
All those dioceses up and down the Levant in the early days of the Church are gone. All those great basilicas and cathedrals which served the huge Catholic communities in Northern Africa are long gone. ... You can also, of course, say that the mindset of the churches has something to do with it...in my parish, which is run by Dominicans, we always have men enter the priesthood. Our province of Dominicans has 70 men in formation at the House of Studies in D.C.
07 Sep 2013
Prosperous cities of northern Africa completely disappeared after the destruction by the Vandals. Where there were villas, ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do ...
04 Feb 2014
Christianity spread quickly throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East. Further persecutions would continue in all ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, ...
24 Aug 2014
We see daily the increase of those who hate Christianity wreaking havoc on communities in the Middle East, Africa. and through suppressive laws in all Western countries. The culture of ...... The Church Must Not Be Defensive
27 Aug 2014
No Angela of Foligno, no Augustinian martyrs of Africa...and more. One woman's prayers began all of this. ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, or do ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 V. Posted by Supertradmum. Diocletian re-introduced the draft, or conscription. The Persians had attacked the empire, but were successfully defeated. However, Diocletian, being an uber-organizer, seized ...
03 Feb 2014
Aurelius, Aetius, Gaius, and Lucius are sitting at cena, talking about the latest news concerning the February 24, 303 law. The wives are in the culina, with the maids, getting more wine for the evening's conversation.
04 Feb 2014
This would be a sequel to http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/february-24-303-ix.html) The "Villa of the Vineyards" was the talk of the city. Builders and artisans worked day by day restoring the old ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 VI. Posted by Supertradmum. With the ruins of the churches in Rome and in all the provinces, in the cities and in the countryside, with the destruction of the Scriptures and libraries of the cathedrals and ...
08 Feb 2014
If you missed February 24, 303. Posted by Supertradmum. Please take a look at these if you missed them... . http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/new-series-this-week-february-24-303.html
04 Feb 2014
What most people do not know, because the history of Western Civilization stopped being taught in most high schools in the 1980s, is that Diocletian came into power with an agenda because of the serious economic ...
02 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 III. Posted by Supertradmum. Moving from the established fact that totalitarian states guard the status quo by eliminating threats, and that such resulting persecutions are legal. one can state that such times of ...
02 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 IV. Posted by Supertradmum. Anxiety and stress, one terrorist attack of any medium size and a financial downturn could set off persecution. The Irish classical scholar, E. R. Dodds wrote Pagan and Christian ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 VIII. Posted by Supertradmum. A reminder in this series that the Great Persecution occurred throughout the entire Roman Empire. Europe, the Middle Eastern provinces, Africa, including Egypt, all saw the ...
03 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 VII. Posted by Supertradmum. Diocletian was seen as a "saviour", a reformer of good, old fashioned Roman values. He was successful in targeting a few groups which were increasingly seen as threatening ...
03 Feb 2014
Diocletian retired and left his empire's laws against the Catholics on the books. In fact, after he abdicated on May 1, 305, some of the provinces saw less persecution. However, in the eastern one, under Galerius and Maximian, ...
02 Feb 2014
February 24, 303 II. Posted by Supertradmum. from Mosiacarum et Romanarum Legum Collatio 6.4, qtd. and tr. in Clarke, 649; Barnes,Constantine and Eusebius, 19–20. "the immortal gods themselves will favour and be at ...
16 Mar 2014
Quoting United Nations figures, it says some 300,000 people have fled their homes over the past year. "Even if the government can't stop the attacks, at the very least, it can meaningfully assist the people who have been most devastated by them," says HRW's Africa director Daniel Bekele. Boko Haram was founded in ...... Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics. Too many Church leaders do not think, or do not think as Catholics click here ...

02 Feb 2014
Sunday, 2 February 2014 .... 24 For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. 25 Behold I have told it to you, beforehand. 26 If therefore they ...

12 Feb 2014
Read my last February 24, 303 post. http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/february-24-303-xv.html. Why tribulation? Here is Garrigou-Lagrange on the final stage of purification just before the ...
18 Jul 2012
Most French Muslims hail from the country's former colonies in North and sub-Saharan Africa. There is also further evidence that mosques are being erected at a much faster rate than Catholic churches. Mohammed ...
21 Jul 2012
Contrast the state of our society today and its past with the state of the Islamic culture that is spread out through various countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. This is very ...... The Church Must Not Be Defensive.

30 Aug 2014
Many Catholic young people have asked me "Where can I find a Catholic lay community?" I have one answer. At the foot of the Cross... Those who love Christ and are willing to suffer for Him in their daily lives form your ...
30 Jan 2014
To insist on an Easterner from New York understanding and living a Midwest lifestyle can be a sign of the lack of love, and the lack of spiritual foundation of a community. Some of us fit into certain cultures better than others.
30 Jan 2014
The two communities wherein I was involved from age 23 to age 30 plus, were communities wherein people actually sold their houses when houses came up for sale next to another community house and people created ...

13 Jan 2014
I especially remember one young man and his wife who were very keen on community, but could not get anyone interested in their Catholic family, their town, or their parish. If there is a community there in his small town, ...
30 Jan 2014
It is sad that the very leaders who could be helping the laity form base communities have either sold out to the secular world-view or have made idols of their own communities so as not to reach out any longer. Compromise in ...
31 Jan 2014
The only thing about the community idea that prairies me is how quickly these things can turn into cults. Years ago the Dc diocese had a big problem with the Mother of God community. People are still talking about that one.

04 Feb 2014
I have been "restless" and your community series and Feb 24 series are something I have thought about. Live in AR and Catholics are 6% of population - maybe a little more now. Grew up in Iowa in a Catholic county , school ...
12 Feb 2014
Wednesday, 12 February 2014 ... too old for this. God has a place, but it has not been shown to me yet. Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest. Labels: community, February 24, Men of the West, persecution ...

31 Jan 2014
Community builds on the first and second conversions. Only when one is dedicated to the life of perfection, can one succeed in community. First, a conversion to Christ and then a conversion to the baptismal promises and the ...
21 Jun 2014
If you are in Louisiana or Nebraska , pray that you run into those who are interested in podding. I am not going to be a hub for podding on this blog, but ask that you trust in the Holy Ghost to lead you to those men and women ...
13 Feb 2014
Happy confirmation from, of all saints, St. Etheldreda on the podding post. To have a pod is to have an ark. http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2014/02/last-post-on-community-podding.html.
02 Mar 2014
Check out this map if you are considering podding. Posted by Supertradmum · http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/03/01/where-in-the-u-s-are-there-heightened-protections-for-religious-freedom/.
17 Feb 2012
The blogging community has characteristics different than other groups already. Firstly, the people in the group are technically savvy to a certain degree, have time to blog and post, and want information. This narrows the ...
10 Feb 2014
Reminder to myself from myself through a brother-That is "community". Posted by Supertradmum · James Toups ‏@Toupsfamily Feb 9. "This seeking of perfection, and the desire to love God, is THE call of our life." via @ ...
29 Jan 2014
Go where there are solid, orthodox priests. Plan to either set something up now or go.....if you are not thinking of these possibilities, you are not looking, seeing, hearing the signs of the times. Read my posts on community, as


St. Louis Cathedral in Tunisia in 1899, no longer a church.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/St_Louis_Cathedral_-_Carthage_-_Tunisia_-_1899.jpg/800px-St_Louis_Cathedral_-_Carthage_-_Tunisia_-_1899.jpg

Another Good Bishop

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishop-stands-by-priest-who-removed-married-homosexual-couple-from-parish-m

Good Pro-Life News

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/uk-bishop-urges-general-mobilisation-to-defend-life-and-family

Watch And Pray


http://wdtprs.com/blog/2014/09/sspx-officials-met-with-card-muller-prefect-of-cdf/



Makes It Harder for Me To Hope

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/11115385/Property-prices-London-ranked-the-worlds-most-expensive-city.html

Not Just OK City

http://www.aleteia.org/en/religion/article/archbishop-says-oklahoma-city-has-been-targeted-by-dark-forces-5277270549725184

Repost Thinking of Anne and Philip Howard

Friday, 30 March 2012

Poem for Anne, Countess of Arundel

St. Robert Southwell, poet and martyr, became chaplain to Anne Dacre, Countess of 
Arundel. Recently, I discovered that she was a poet in her own right. I have written a poem about her, and here it is.



Poem on Anne Dacre Howard March 29th, 2012


Woman of youth, married in unlove, but learning
the ways of God through countless sorrows 
and the movement of uncertainty


Lady, who lived and wrote without comfort
like a small animal hidden in a field of corn
unable to reach the grain for her children


How are we to understand your incessant
wanderings, your loss of home and honor
covenanted to the old Church, the Pope


and the glory of Rome? Those who rest
in peace wonder at your persistence of
memory and kindness, wonder at


the love for the sick and the poor
when you yourself suffered such
and did not mind the memory?


Woman of Faith, who lost her found
love too early, fought stories and fables
who was told lies, but understood


the treachery of the times to translate
hatred into love and propaganda
into prayer. We, who are gasping


for breath in a new age of disturbing
hatred of the good, look to you for
guidance and intercession.


Anne, whose son never saw his 
father and whose husband never
saw his son, but embraced the Son


of God, and a title of immortality
for fading riches, Anne, remember
us in our complacency and help


us to gather our wits, to be ready
in poverty or loss of self in order
to be Church Militant.


Anne Howard, pray for us. 

Do You Know Your Own History?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Mapspreadofxity.jpg/600px-Mapspreadofxity.jpg
Look at the dates for the spreading of Catholicism in the early Church. Within a comparatively short period of time, the Faith spread. Today, we know that all the early churches mentioned in Revelation have disappeared. The same is true with the churches in Northern Africa. I have written on this before today.

This map shows us two things. One, this map shows us how fast the Faith spread and two, how fast it disappeared in later times in some places.

Meditation Map....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_centers_of_Christianity

The Good, The Bad and The......Suspicious


The early Catholic communities stood out in the ancient world as different. We are fast approaching a time when we shall stick out, if we are truly living out our Catholic call to bring people to Christ and His Church.

I am amazed at the good people I meet in my travels and the saints I have met. God is raising up a remnant of holy people. The only problem is that there are so few.

But, I am hopeful that more and more will respond to God's call to become saints. Daily, I meet people who have made that decision. Today, I met two.

Sometimes one is surprised where one meets real Christians-in the store, in the beauty salon, in the doctor's waiting room.

Sometimes God encourages us by having us bump into people who pray daily, read Scripture daily and, most importantly, repent daily.

I am so, as the Protestants say, "edified" by these chance meetings. It is as if the light of God shines out and calls people to each other.

Someone know is terrified of strangers. He cannot believe that there are good people out there. He has fallen into cynicism. Cynicism is the new main sin of the young. They are so jaded by the news, by dysfunctional families, by scandals in the Church that they have become doubtful of good.

I call them the New Suspicious Ones. God bless them. I pray that they will become open to light and life in their worlds.

My son and I say that the Church is our home. This is so true. To have the Church as your primary home is to believe that God is calling people daily into His Sheepfold.

Do not pass up opportunities for grace in even chance relationships.

God is good.

The Bad do not trust anyone, neither God nor people. I am not saying, of course, that we do not need prudence or discernment. We do, as satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

But, the Bad cannot see any good. Some despair. Please pray for those who fall into cynicism and despair.

They need to look towards the Loving God for assurance.

My readers are good people, very good people, and I am grateful for all of you. We become good by conforming our minds and hearts to the Mind of Christ. There is no other way.

The early Catholic community became a world-wide Churchs because of one thing-Love. This love is only found in Christ and in His Church in the fullness of grace, through the beauty of the sacraments.

Let us love one another.


Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Interesting coincidence?

Today, (I read the transcripts), Michael Voris is saying prepare. I am saying prepare.

Get it?

Now. This photo could be in the future in Washington, or London, or Rome...

On Enduring Suffering


Fountains Abbey was a thriving monastic foundation in 1538, founded in 1132 (I wrote a book about Fountains in 1980-1981).

By the Winter of 1539, it was a ruin.

Not only were hundreds of monks turned out onto the roads to die or find shelter, but hundreds of lay people who had good lives working with the wool industry begun by the monks ended up in poverty, or only kept their jobs by leaving their Faith.

Many thousands of Catholics suffered under the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Many died, not only by martyrdom, but through starvation and homelessness.

Think.....think of watching this level of suffering the Church, men, women, children endured.

One thing the members of the remnant, and I write directly to you, need to know is that we cannot fix, change, or end the suffering we see around us.

We may affect the lives of some people, very few, but the days of great spiritual deeds are changing, perhaps ending..

We must live with a new perspective. This is it-that we do and shall live among those who suffer greatly, and we shall suffer as well, but in a different way.

We shall NOT be able to end suffering in a large scale manner until some pope calls for a worldwide fast and mortification.

What do I mean?

Example: years ago in England, I needed to phone the main exorcist at the time in England to deal with an infestation in a house which was owned by some people I knew. The exorcist told me that not only could he not come, as he was overwhelmed with people exorcisms, and did not have time for infestations, but that I would have to learn how to deal with these when I came across this

Dealing with this meant suffering the infestation and not addressing the demonic presences. Nothing could be done and nothing had been done for 500 years.

That others knew about this who were non-exorcist priests or lay people and who tried to deal with it meant nothing. In fact, those priests made the matter worse.  Only the true authority, the exorcist, had the power to do so. There are thousands of houses, buildings, sites in the world which are full of demons. We no longer have the priest exorcist man-power to deal with these problems, and lay people cannot.

This is an example of living in a world wherein more and more people are and have chosen to enter into occult activities and are causing demonic influences in their lives and in the lives of those around them. They have chosen a way which affects other people. Many innocent people suffer and will suffer because of the sins of those who choose evils of different kinds.

The recent Satanic Mass in Oklahoma is another example, but with a difference, as the bishop asked many remnant members to fast. I did for eight days. But, this fasting did not stop the evil from happening.

We remnant members are increasingly and will live in hostile territory, not merely hated by those who we see around us, who hate Christ and His Church and, therefore us, but hated by those we cannot see.

I told someone weeks ago that we are now living and working in enemy territory here in the States.

The remnant will not be able to fix things unless there will be a universal call to holiness and even, perhaps, a crusade.

Can you see this happening now in our overly politically correct world?

The call to personal perfection means that we shall be isolated in our endeavors and maybe, literally alone, which is why last year I asked people to pod. Some are responding, but too few.

Time is short for freedom of movement and for getting holy. Maybe months

Like so many years ago, having to live in a house full of demonic evil for a while, I had to endure suffering, so, too, the remnant will have to learn how to endure

We Americans have been "get up and go" people, "fix it" people. Some things we may not be able to fix.

We shall suffer. And, what is worse, we shall watch those in this country and other countries suffer and even fall completely away from the Faith.

I have seen over the years in teaching and working in the Church that the older generations, the BBers and their parents, are better at suffering than the GenXers and Millennials, most of whom were purposefully not allowed to suffer. Many did not learn how to share, coming from families of one or two. Many have had no religious training at all. We may have to watch them suffer.

Endurance in times of tribulation demands learning how to live in the life of virtues while surrounded by unpleasantries, pain, loss. But, to live in denial, or to turn against suffering, and slip into the life of carpe diem would bring about death to the soul. Some will fall away.

Now is the time to become perfect, cooperating with grace.

Yes, we shall see many people suffer and not be able to do anything but pray. Remember, entire Catholic countries were persecuted to the point that only a remnant of Catholics survived.

Get ready, now.

sonnetLXXIII

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. 
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
   This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
   To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.



Rant Three


Review point: Unless a psychologist or psychiatrist has training in Thomistic theology and philosophy, he or she will not be addressing the real source of healing.

And, one more rant.

Many, many years ago, I came across Theophostic healing. It is NOT based on Catholic ideas of sin and guilt, and it is dangerous.

It emphasizes the emotions and not the will. Sin is in the will, not in the emotions. 

There are people involve in this so-called healing technique who use medical and psychological terms incorrectly. Few if any have professional training.

Catholics should avoid these types of ministries.

We have two-thousand years of dealing with pain and sin. The sacramental life and the traditional means of counseling and spiritual direction as taught by the saints form a solid heritage.

The studies of Father Chad Ripperger must be a starting point for anyone who thinks they need healing.

The way to perfection, the journey to holiness is old, tried and true.

Those who have followed the perfection series have seen the wisdom of the Doctors of the Church and Garriou-Lagrange.

With Fr. Ripperger, with a good Thomistic counselor, with an excellent spiritual director or even a confessor, one can be healed.

STM Rants Again Two


Years ago, a person and I were in a meeting about healing and deliverance ministries. It was clear to me that most people on this team were out of order, not pursuing holiness, and some were involved in heterodoxy and heresies. She and I left and never returned. We had been asked to come by a famous priest. The entire situation was not only not in order according to Catholic tradition, but heretical in practice.

Someone mentioned that it was more important to serve people than to be perfect, as we had no right to let people suffer.

I contradicted this strongly. Not only do we have a right to let people suffer, but a duty.

It is not the duty of the laity to decide on necessary ministries and set these up.

And, yes, many people suffer for many reasons, including obsession, oppression and possession.

It is not the business of the laity to tackle these problems unless one is trained and on a diocesan team under a priest exorcist, who is in turn, under a bishop.

Years ago, I met a woman whose husband had been a famous Protestant exorcist. He ended up divorcing his wife and running off with someone else. People were surprised. I was not.

The evil one deceives Protestant and Catholics about working in ministries without dealing with personal sin, the predominant faults, and venial sin.

Another person I know kept going back to a faith healer for years. I asked them to stop and think why they were not being healed by this Catholic. They were paying for spiritual direction and for healing sessions. It was fake, and someone was getting money for not healing.

No one except a professional, certified counselor in psychology or psychiatry can charge.

It is an evil thing to charge for such ministries.

I had to learn a long time ago to let some people suffer in my life. Some students who did not work failed my classes. Some who were lazy earned "Ds". Some had to take the class over again out of sloth. They suffered.

Catholic moderns do not want anyone to suffer, and step in to fix spiritual problems they have no business fixing.

Hubris. If a person is not working on holiness, that person is not only deluded but doing much damage.

The Church is suffering from a lack of priests, a lack of exorcists. This is a sign of the times.

Yes, thousands, if not millions of people are now plagued with obsession, oppression and even possession.

The occult is big business.

Sometimes, we have to let people suffer, and not step into a situation in conflict with the long tradition of the Church.

The Church is always our safety net. But, even some priests are acting out of order. I was shocked at a Mass where the priest walked around with the Monstrance and was letting people touch it for healing.

This is wrong. This is an incorrect usage of Adoration. It may even be a sacrilege.

We are healed spiritually through confession, the anointing of the sick if we are really in danger of dying, and through daily Mass, frequent Adoration and mortification.

I am totally against healing Masses.

to be continued....






STM Rants Again


No lay person, absolutely no lay person, should be doing ministries of deliverance or on exorcist teams, or involved in healing ministries unless the following is true.

1) The person has had professional training and much education. These ministries are not for the anti-intellectual.

2) The person must be disciplined in fasting and mortification, able to do such for days.

3) No one with children at home should be involved in these things.

4) Only those who are completely orthodox should be involved.

5) No Protestant training or spirituality can be used. Heresy is deceit.

6) And, most importantly, unless on has gone through purgation and has destroyed egotism should they be ministering to anyone else.

7) If someone wants to do these things, they are most likely NOT called.

8) The person should be under a priest for spiritual direction for years.

9) No new converts should be involved and no one under the age of 18.

I cannot emphasize enough that most healing Masses are rife with serious problems, including a lack of obedience to Holy Mother Church.

Avoid these.

It is my opinion that unless one is in the Illuminative Stage of holiness that no one has the right to pray over another person except a mother and father over their own children, as they have been given this authority.

Without personal holiness, one is open to deceit from the world, the flesh and the devil.

Simply, if one has not gone through the Dark Night, and faced one's own sins and imperfections, one does not have the proper disposition or grace to help others.

Period.

to be continued...


St. Padre Pio' s Suffering


Padre Pio suffered much in his life. He was not allowed to say public Mass or hear confessions for many, many years.

But, another one of his sufferings was the attribution of prophecies which he never said or wrote concerning the end times.

The author Desmond Birch did research into the supposed prophecy of St. Pio on the three days of darkness.  What he discovered is that Padre Pio never referred to this either in speech or in writing. The Capuchin Order is also on record for saying that this reference on the three days of darkness was never made by St. Pio.

The book for this information is here Trial, Tribulation, & Triumph.

We all know that there is a lot of false information on the Net.

If something is not authenticated by Holy Mother Church, it is not to be considered authentic.

Our safety is in the Church. And, remember, the prophecies of saints are not doctrine, dogma or infallible, and are open to interpretation.

It is interesting that some of those who hold with the false attribution of this prophecy to Padre Pio are also in disobedience regarding Bayside, which has not only been not approved, but condemned as not being from God. One reason I do not follow the priest, Fr. Gruner, who is suspended from his own diocese, is that he supports Bayside.

One is either an obedient Catholic or not. A reminder:

I, the undersigned Diocesan Bishop of Brooklyn, in my role as the legitimate shepherd of this particular Church, wish to confirm the constant position of the Diocese of Brooklyn that a thorough investigation revealed that the alleged "visions of Bayside" completely lacked authenticity.
...Therefore, in consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I hereby declare that:
1. No credibility can be given to the so-called "apparitions" reported by Veronica Lueken and her followers.
2. The "messages" and other related propaganda contain statements which, among other things, are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, undermine the legitimate authority of bishops and councils and instill doubts in the minds of the faithful, for example, by claiming that, for years, an "imposter (sic) Pope" governed the Catholic Church in place of Paul VI. 
 November 4, 1986




Cold First Day of Autumn

I must admit this has been the coldest summer and the coldest first day of Autumn I have experienced in the Lower 48. Tonight, it will be 40 degrees F and we have already seen several nights in the 30s.

I missed Summer, 2014. Now, as I am thinking over the past year, the dominant impression for me is one of being cold.

Some of my siblings hate the cold and one loves it. It is odd how people in the same family can react differently to climate or weather.

Needless to say, it is going to be a long winter for people here.



I wonder how people survived in the prairie days.


Prince William Attends Catholic Mass in Malta

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29300350

from the BBC