Challenge to The Laity

Mediocrity kills education, business, the health systems, the Church...I taught the play Amadeus for years at the college and university level. Some of my students "got it"

Salieri turned his back on God when the composer did not get the fame and fortune he desired. He wanted to be the best, but God gave talents superior to Salieri to someone else. Salieri refused to be purified and scorned God, choosing evil.

Salieri knew that he was mediocre and, therefore, thwarted Mozart's success.

Pure evil...

Remember Salieri calling himself the patron of the mediocre?

Those who are mediocre hate those who are gifted and reaching for perfection.

Such is the ideal of satan-to ruin the road to perfection for all men and women; he encourages mediocrity.,

Whether the play is really "truth" or not does not matter, as the main idea resonants in this day and age.

Those who are superior in any way, daily, are shut down, marginalized, condemned.

This is the message of the Common Core Curriculum. My parents had trigonometry and calculus in high school.  Gone are the days of classical education in this country.

Cooperate with the purification of the Dark Night and allow God to give you the graces of the Illuminative State.

Why? Because the Church needs holy lay people. Quit moaning about poor clerical leadership and become the saint God has called you to be.

We are no longer children past middle-twenties. There are no excuses in wallowing in a long adolescence spiritually.

And, the many, many young saints, I have highlighted on this blog, put us older ones to shame. Mediocrity cripples the Church and may even destroy the presence of the Church in certain areas.

Read this from Garrigou-Lagrange:

When the liturgy recalls these words during Advent and at the beginning of Lent, it addresses not only souls in the state of mortal sin that are in need of conversion from evil to good, but also many Christians already in the state of grace who are still very imperfect and have to be converted from a relatively mediocre to a fervent Christian life. On Ash Wednesday it recalls to them Joel's words: "Now, therefore, saith the Lord: Be converted to Me with all your heart, in fasting and in weeping and in mourning. And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God; for He is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil." (7) These words are so much the better understood in proportion as the soul that hears them is more advanced and, although in the state of grace for many years, feels the need of a more profound conversion, the necessity of turning the depths of its will more completely toward God. The laborer who has plowed a furrow goes over it a second time to force the plow deeper and turn over the earth which must nourish the wheat.

Do not turn your back away from suffering or complain about suffering. See this time of purification as the great preparation for the Illuminative State.

How desperately does the Church need saints  now. Do not keep saying, "If only we had holy priests."

If only we had holy lay people.

A repeat of Garrigou-Lagrange quoting Lallemant:

"Such people ordinarily direct their lives by the common feeling of those with whom they live, and as the latter are imperfect, although their lives are not disorderly, they will never reach the sublime ways of the spirit, because the number of the perfect is very small. They live like the ordinary run of people, and their manner of governing others is imperfect.

"The Holy Ghost waits some time for them to enter into their interior and, seeing there the operations of grace and those of nature, to be disposed to follow His direction; but if they misuse the time and favor which He offers them, He finally abandons them to themselves and leaves them in their interior darkness and ignorance, which they preferred and in which they live thereafter amid great dangers for their salvation." (16)

Coming Tomorrow-A Russian's View

A friend of mine was raised and lived in Russia most of her life. She has been talking to me about what is really happening in the Ukraine and in Russia.

Some of you may be surprised, as some of the trads believe in a new Putin. Sorry, there is no new Putin...

Once a KGB man, always a KGB man.

Stay tuned...

St. Paul and His Thorn

Over the last two-thousand years, theologians have tried to decipher what St. Paul meant by this phrase on boldface type below.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Douay-Rheims 

7 And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me.

8 For which thing thrice I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee; for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

10 For which cause I please myself in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ. For when I am weak, then am I powerful.

Some claim it was an opponent, but most Catholic commentators in the past, note that this was a physical disability, or illness, of some sort.

Now, having endured the second worst winter of asthma in my life, and still not free from this keeping me up almost all night, I can identify with the Great Apostle to the Gentiles. One can pray and ask to be delivered from a physical oppression, but God does not always answer these prayers. 

The same has been true of many saints. Padre Pio and John Vianney were allowed by God to be oppressed by many outside enemies, even those in their own dioceses and, in Padre Pio's case, his own order. They also had trouble sleeping as the demons were allowed to keep them awake at night. 

Too many Catholics believe that if one is suffering, it is not God's Will.

Think again. 

Excuses for low output today

Have eye problems-not serious-but keeping me off the computer today.

Prayers please.


STM

A Real Leader -- Yea, Bishop!

http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/3103/Pittsburgh-Bishop-Says-%E2%80%98No%E2%80%99-to-Common-Core-in-Diocesan-Schools.aspx

Posting an oldie while I am recuperating

Feast of St. Benedict, March 21

St. Benedict, Pray for Us

On this day, in the Tridentine Calendar, the Benedictines celebrate the Feast of St. Benedict. His gifts to Western 
Civilization are enormous, including the Rule, the monastic system we take for granted, and the European-wide establishment of schools. As a Benedictine at heart, I have nothing but admiration and praise for this man, who is 
one of the Patrons of Europe, along with SS. Cyril and Methodius. Pray to him for humility this Lent. He has in his 
rule a list of goals for those who aspire to that virtue. One is considering one's self inferior to all others. For some, 
this is not hard, as one may feel like a failure in life and see one's inadequacies. For others, this is a challenge, to 
see the worth of those around them. I highly suggest reading the Rule for Lenten reading.There is also a daily 
reading from the Rule on this website, for those who do not have the time to sit and read the entire book, although
 it is very short. Here is today's reading:

Chapter 42: That No One Speak After Compline

Monastics ought to be zealous for silence at all times,
but especially during the hours of the night.
For every season, therefore,
whether there be fasting or two meals,
let the program be as follows:

If it be a season when there are two meals,
then as soon as they have risen from supper
they shall all sit together,
and one of them shall read the Conferences
or the Lives of the Fathers
or something else that may edify the hearers;
not the Heptateuch or the Books of Kings, however,
because it will not be expedient for weak minds
to hear those parts of Scripture at that hour;
but they shall be read at other times.

If it be a day of fast,
then having allowed a short interval after Vespers
they shall proceed at once to the reading of the Conferences,
as prescribed above;
four or five pages being read, or as much as time permits,
so that during the delay provided by this reading
all may come together,
including those who may have been occupied
in some work assigned them.

When all, therefore, are gathered together,
let them say Compline;
and when they come out from Compline,
no one shall be allowed to say anything from that time on.
And if anyone should be found evading this rule of silence,
let her undergo severe punishment.
An exception shall be made
if the need of speaking to guests should arise
or if the Abbess should give someone an order.
But even this should be done with the utmost gravity
and the most becoming restraint.

Prayers, please

Slight complication in the second eye op.

Prayers, please and more later.

STM

Bishops' Comments? Any?

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/03/20/two-dozen-chicago-high-schools-to-offer-free-condoms/

Sad Our American Leaders Are So Pathetic...

http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-russia-faces-more-sanctions-g8-suspended-085807123.htmlAr

Really, who would you rather have as leader of this country?

Sigh, my conversations are boring

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/20/technology/security/drone-phone/

"Hi, can you pick me up from the surgery now, please?"

"Hi, would you be able to take me to a follow-up appointment?"

"Hello, can you pick me up, please, as I cannot drive with a bandage over my eye?"

"Hi, and thanks for all your help today."

May be a false alarm, as one reader noted.

Here is another link. Comments?

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/truth-about-wireless-phones-and-national-do-not-call-list

Readers, use the tags and labels

Those are there to help you find other posts on the same subject and previous discussions.

Leadership Crisis Time Again

Bishops are silent about Nigeria. Bishops are silent about the gay marriage debates. Catholic politicians are silent or support abortion. Priests talk about the Gospel passages in terms which have nothing to do with the details of our lives. Priests talk as if they are living in a vacuum.

I never, ever, hear a sermon from the pulpit on any topic which is undermining the Church's freedom in America. I have never heard a warning from the pulpit on the days to come, and preparing for such times.

Week after week, priests talk about spirituality as if it is separate from real life. Our spirituality must be that of the martyrs. Tough and strong, courageous and zealous spirituality must be taught now.

We are living in terrible times leading to persecution, and I have not heard one sermon in the States on how to become holy and prepare for strife. Not one.

Why? Why are the leaders of the Church at all levels avoiding talking about the signs of the times?

Even young people who are completely secular can see the decay of civilization and the marginalization of religion in the workplace and public square.

And, yet, not a word from the pulpit. No bishops' letters on preparing for hard times.....

Sorry, I do not want to hear about drives for money to build new assembly halls for the Church, or for the redecoration of the school, or for air conditioning.

No. I want to hear about how to be a remnant Church in a sea of unbelief.

I have written on this subject. Father Z and others have as well-the fact that we Catholics find ourselves surrounded by pagans seems to be a taboo subject.

Why?

And, some priests actually think we are heading for a time of glory and the coming of the Church Triumphant again.

The evil of false prophecies from Medjugorje has infected some priests' imaginations. These are in denial about the coming persecution. Why?

Because too many false prophets and false apparitions over and over and over speak of good times to come and the priests believe these messages? Have priests been stifled by their bishops? Have they tried to speak of the times?

We are in the last stage of Stage Four of persecution and rapidly moving into Stage Five.

If Catholics lose the Faith, or even commit suicide in the very hard times to come, what will those priests in la-la land say then?

Will they keep talking about trivia? Why are priests wasting time talking about trivia-bake sales, fish suppers, fund-raising, when we are facing the darkest time the Catholic Church has ever seen?

Please, priests, talk about building real community relationships. Talk about becoming saints and training children to become saints.

We do not have much time.

I heard two sermons on coming persecution in Europe.  I heard one on this subject in St. Kevin's Latin Mass Chapel last summer. Bravo! And, I heard one is a church in Surrey last spring.

The priests had the courage to say the Catholics were going to face persecution.

I have heard nothing of the kind in America. Nada.

A crisis in leadership-when the shepherds are asleep, the wolves scatter the sheep.

Man, Evil in The Words

Being in and out of places yesterday, getting ready for today's op, I had to endure some horrible music in a shop by some singer I do not know.

The words were pure evil. The lyrics extolled "diversity", being gay, accepting people of all sorts of sexuality, and confusing this with the acceptance of different races. The worst part involved a stanza in which the singer sang about sitting in church as a child and hearing hate.

Amazing. A song equating Christianity with hate, equating all Sunday worship with prejudice.

Ironically, from history, we know that the Christians led the fight against slavery, not the non-religious.

Get ready for more of this brainwashing, folks. And, parents, are you paying attention to what you children are hearing?

Millenials Contra Mundum

Recently, I have talked with Millenials about the signs of the times.  They all agreed that "things are bad" and they do not trust the government of the United States. These bright sparks hate the intrusion of the government in their private lives, as most of this generation are introverts, not extroverts, for the first time in American history. They will not stop using social media, as their lives and relationships are not confined to their immediate surroundings. They have friends across the world. Therefore, they accept they have little privacy. But, they feel like things are going to get much worse. Unlike their parents, who are living in bubbles of unreality, these youth see the decay of civilization and the encroachment of Big Brother.

They are more savvy then their Gen-X parents and are making moral decisions basically from what they learn, as they, mostly, were taught very little at home and nothing in school.

They know how to find research and many get their news outside the main-stream media and not from sites they think give "disinformation" on purpose. NONE of them watch television, or very little.

One young lady, to whom I was speaking, told me that there is an entire sub-culture of networks for news, which does not include Alex Jones, or Russ, or others their elders may watch.

Interesting. This same young lady told me that she is re-discovering spirituality from her ancestors' past- in her case, not Christian, but Native American. I find this intriguing that the materialism is not on their radar-relationships are.

Those who are extremely computer savvy, find news and share the bits with others worldwide. What is sad, is that few of these Millenials have local communities. They do not.  In fact, many have only one sibling, or are only children.

However, they are looking, seeking, not satisfied with the world they inherited from their parents. They no longer care about status or competition in the world. Half of their generation are unemployed and those who are working seem grateful for work. They are not smug or self-satisfied.

A new world order faces them and they hate it. Some have fallen into cynicism, but many just do not know where to turn for truth.

Some of their friends have dulled their imaginations through clubbing, (I wrote about the evils of clubbing last summer), and drugs. But, many do not desire to deaden themselves to reality.

The field is ripe for the harvest, in my opinion. And, these youth are too sophisticated for such half-way measures which are dated and immature, such as Life Teen. They want to be challenged intellectually, not pandered to by emotional nonsense.

They want more. They may not know exactly what they want, but they are thirsty for God.

We are the ones who must respond to this generation of seekers. Do not let them down. Do not discourage their journeys. Pray for the Millenials.

Sem's soutane

Anyone want to help with a sem's purchase of a soutane? Let me know.

Ta muchly.

Pray for me and "mine"

Some nasty people following me on the blog again...sad they have nothing else to do.

The Church Militant needs more warriors, folks.

About time---someone is brave enough to end this travesty

http://www.archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/ukip-will-disestablish-church-of-england.html

Answering A Small Question

Someone asked me, "How will the Church be persecuted?'

One only has to look at the Nazi and Communist regimes to answer this question.

First, no collections would be allowed. Then, no laity would be allowed to give loans or grants to the Church.

Second, bulletins and newspapers which are Catholic (and most likely, bloggers) would not be able to use what is deemed to be hate speech. In other words, references to homosexual acts as sin, or abortion as sin, would be illegal.

Third, fines would be inflicted on those publications not conforming.

Fourth, Catholic publishers, writers, teachers, religious and priests would be imprisoned for not supporting gay rights, ssm, abortion and so on.

Fifth, priests would be targeted for not blessing or marrying gays. These priests would be fined and, finally, imprisoned.

Sixth, priests would be arrested for using "hate speech" from the pulpit and hate speech could be anything the government decides it is.

Seven, oaths would be inflicted on the laity to support government policies contrary to the Catholic Faith. Those who refused these oaths would be fined and, finally, imprisoned.

Eight, Catholic publications would be forced to conform to the false teaching of the government and fined otherwise or imprisoned.

Nine, children will be taken away from parents who home school.

Ten, churches will be sold to pay fines.

to be continued...

Not a Wimp

St. Joseph paintings and statues annoy me and have for years. He most likely did not have curly locks and a face like a sheep.

Any man who God would have chosen to raise His Son, and protect the most precious woman ever created, would have been a young, strong man.

Any man to get up in the middle of the night and flee to Egypt would have been more like a resourceful Midwest Man than a goopsy 1960s hippie type. Hey, these guys trust in God and keep their powder dry.

(I claim that phrase for the Cavaliers, btw).

If St. Joseph were alive today, he would be wearing Carhartt.

A carpenter must be strong to lift wood, saw, and work all day in the heat and cold. St. Joseph was also an descendant of King David, who was Mr. Macho King of Israel, as we know.

We need new paintings of this great Foster-Father of Jesus which show St. Joseph as he most likely was-a real man, a protector.  Maybe artists made St. Joseph look weak because he was chaste his entire life.

But a chaste man is not necessarily a wimpy man.

Look at the strong, celibates, like Padre Pio, Pier Giorgio Frassati, and all those kings, like David mentioned above, like SS. Wenceslaus, Edward, Edmund, Louis, and Stephen. These men rode horses, fought, speared, shot arrows, led other men into battle. And, they prayed.

Iconography should reveal the characters of the saints, like St. Joseph being a great protector.

Not a wimp, he.......

Joseph and Baby Jesus, by Jason Jenicke

The Mysterious Will of God

When I was unceremoniously and stupidly sent to Malta outside of my plans (a trip which, though short, had a silver lining), I fell into deep shock and prayer regarding God's Will for me. Thankfully, I know and have had it confirmed by more than one person, that it is God's Will that I am to go back England. Like one holier than I, St. Paul, I have been stopped by powers that remain unseen.

God has a perfect will and plan for us and a permissive will, which allows evil things to happen. This permissive will forms the mystery of suffering and the allowance of evil, from the free choices of men and women. However, behind those choices lies the great deceiver, satan. God does not create evil, but He allows all of us our free will to choose. Some people choose good and some choose evil.

Here is St. Paul on his efforts to get back to Thessalonika; 1 Thessalonians 2: 17-18  

But we, brethren, being taken away from you for a short time, in sight, not in heart, have hastened the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. For we would have come unto you, I Paul indeed, once and again: but Satan hath hindered us.

So, readers, here is my plea to you. Please pray that all the hindrances that keep me from returning are removed. 

Thank you, STM.