VLX 159: Mt 27:20-26. Pilate Scourges Jesus
-STV: https://spiritustv.com/@padreperegrino -Donate: https://www.padreperegrino.org/donate/ -Telegram: https://t.me/padreperegrino -Gospel: Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified!” And he said, “Why? What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let Him be crucified!” So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” Then [...]
On The Indefectibility of the Catholic Church in this Crisis
Perhaps the only reason that a true Catholic with a good will and a functioning intellect would fear coming to the same conclusion on the papacy as Archbishop Viganó did would be the indefectibility of the Catholic Church. Fr. John Hardon SJ explains that indefectibility essentially promises that the Catholic Church "will always remain the institution of salvation, founded by Christ. This affirms that the Church is essentially unchangeable in her teaching, her constitution, and her liturgy. It does not exclude modifications that do not affect her substance, nor does it exclude the decay of individual local churches or even whole dioceses." But could that decay include the Pope? Of course, it could not include a valid Pope. What then is going on in Rome? Mr. Matthew McCusker at Lifesite News points to several pre-Conciliar theologians who show that indefectibility [...]
Catholic Numbers Tank Globally
Before Vatican II, numbers of Catholics across the globe were exploding. Consider just a few stats regarding American Catholics as listed in the Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: In 1930, the USA had 27,000 priests, but by 1965 that number nearly doubled, bringing the total number of American priests to 58,000. In 1930, the United States had 20,203,702 Catholics. By 1965, that number had sky-rocketed to 45,640,619. This means Catholics were not just reproducing, but making many converts. By 1965, American priests, nuns and lay people had built the world's largest conglomerate of hospitals, universities, high schools, grade schools and charitable organizations ever seen in the history of a young country. After Vatican II, Index of Leading Catholic Indicators reveals the following about the Catholic Church in the United States: In 1965, there were 1.3 million infant baptisms, but by [...]
RCT 48: Divinization (Theosis)
The Roman Catechism of Trent (RCT) p.143-146 The Creed, Article XII, Section C.
The Co-opting of Two Female Saints in “Dilexit.”
Jansenism was a heresy found over the past 400 years that put the emphasis on God's justice instead of God's mercy. Jansenism is a bit like a mix between Calvinism and Catholicism. Because of St. Margaret Mary and St. Therese's teaching of total trust in God, they are both often credited with putting the final nail in the coffin of Jansenism. Indeed, that heresy was particularly strong in France in the 18th and 19th centuries. Those two female saints are rightly credited for nearly ending Jansenism. However, modernism is the major heresy that threatens the Church today. For the past 50 years, modernists have often labeled traditional Catholics as "Jansenists." That appellation seems to fit the bill since we rad-trads are supposed to talk and act like gloomy Calvinists. In the past, Jansenists (and allegedly traditionalists today) put the emphasis [...]
St. Teresa of Ávila on Edifying Speech
St. Teresa of Ávila (top left) had much to say on holy speech, but it was summarized by an anonymous Jesuit (a loyal son of St. Ignatius of Loyola, top right) in a book now called Practical Meditations. I know this is a short article for the second half of this week, but I found every sentence extremely convicting, so, I hope you do, too. He summarizes her as writing: Speak little, especially when you are with many people. Never praise yourself, your knowledge, your good actions, or your birth, unless you have reason to hope that it may be of use, and then do it humbly, remembering that these are all the gifts of God. Never excuse yourself, unless there is some strong reason for doing so. Avoid all disputes, and especially in things of little consequence. Speak to [...]
Dogma Evolves As Well As a Species
p/c Nordic Biosite Dr. David Hillel Gelernter Ph. D is a Jewish man who is professor of computer science at Yale University. At one point, he believed in Darwinian evolution. But in 2019 he wrote a groundbreaking article called Giving Up Darwin that reveals his reversal on this. It is probably my favorite proof against species-based evolution because it is neither biological nor theological, but rather mathematical. I encourage you to read the entire article, but one excellent paragraph reads thus: "Do the numbers balance out? Is Neo-Darwinian evolution plausible after all? Axe reasoned as follows. Consider the whole history of living things—the entire group of every living organism ever. It is dominated numerically by bacteria. All other organisms, from tangerine trees to coral polyps, are only a footnote. Suppose, then, that every bacterium that has ever lived contributes one [...]
VLX 158: Mt 27:15-19. “I Have Suffered in a Dream.”
-STV: https://spiritustv.com/@padreperegrino -Donate: https://www.padreperegrino.org/donate/ -Telegram: https://t.me/padreperegrino Gospel: Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”
Heresies Always Start Small
The Council of Nicea teaches that God the Son exists as one substance (homoousian) with God the Father, even though they are different persons of the Blessed Trinity. The word homoousian is Greek for consubstantial in Latin (which you say or sing every Sunday or Feast day at Holy Mass during the Creed.) To deny the persons of the Trinity being consubstantial is to deny both the Divinity of Christ and the Blessed Trinity. This fact of orthodox Catholicism seems obvious to most Catholics today who have taken even one week of Christology classes at a Catholic University or seminary. But in the fourth century, the heretic Arius denied this, and brought most of Christendom with him. That heretic had several opponents, but the most formidable was St. Athanasius (top left.) In fact, the divide was so pronounced that 4th [...]
Stop Compromising on These Two Commandments!
Featured image above shows two stained glass windows in the "Mary Keane Chapel" at the "La Salette Shrine" in Enfield, New Hampshire. There is a little-known but Vatican-approved apparition called Our Lady of La Salette. Catholic Straight Answers explains the basics: "On Saturday afternoon, September 19, 1846, two children– Maximin Guiraud (age 11) and Melanie Calvat (age 14)– were tending sheep for their employers near La Salette in the French Alps. The effects of the French Revolution which had terrorized the Church, the blood spilt during the reign of Napoleon, the increasing secularization of social thought, and the rising political turmoil enveloping Europe had taken a serious toll on the faith of the people. In the parish of La Salette, fewer and fewer people attended Mass and the sacraments were neglected. Cursing had overtaken praying; licentiousness, purity; and greed and [...]