QuickPod: The Urgency of the Pro-Life Movement
The subtitle of this talk is: "A pro-lifer's C+ for God is better than an abortion doctor's A+ for Satan." It's a talk I gave at the Trump Miami Hotel this weekend at a pro-life gala for a Crisis Pregnancy Center on why we must "Just Do It" in pro-life decisions while avoiding perfectionism. https://youtu.be/T6wcPL_8pbw?si=Kw-rlMcSu85olHNO
Is Fr. Jim Altman a Sedevacantist?
A sedevacantist is defined as a Catholic who believes there has not been a valid Pope since 1958. Fr. Jim Altman is not a sedevacantist. I know Fr. Altman in real life. We have mutual friends who are sedevacantists and we admire them, but we are not in that camp. To recap: Sedevacantist in Latin means empty-chair. Sedevacantist in English means one who believes no valid Pope since 1958 due to modernist heresies in them. If you were speaking exclusively Latin, you could accurately call Fr. Altman "a sedevacantist" due to his recent video on the papacy. But while speaking English, it would be entirely dishonest and a false-accusation to call Fr. Altman "a sedevacantist" because of his recently-explained stance on the Chair of Peter. Why isn't it sufficient to imply the Latin for sedevacantist when speaking English? Because we [...]
The Infiltration of the Jesuits
Recently I have been finding myself wondering a lot where the cracks came in the Catholic Faith before Vatican II. The Jesuits are generally held as the thermostat—not the thermometer—for the Catholic Church at large (for better or for worse.) So, back when the Jesuits were orthodox, where did the cracks in their faith first appear? The Jesuits by the late Fr. Malachi Martin SJ answers this. As I read his 1986 production The Jesuits, I discover that his book is a worthy predecessor of Dr. Taylor Marshall's 2019 book Infiltration. That is, what started happening slowly within the Jesuits a little after 1850 is exactly what Marshall says happened to the Catholic Church at large, also a bit before Vatican II. Let's look at some of the reasons which corroded the greatest religious order in the Church. First, there [...]
VLX Special: Mental Prayer for Families.
This is a talk I gave to a women's confraternity in my city regarding leading children in mental prayer. (But it's probably the best guide I've done for adults on Gospel Meditations.)
Fatima’s First-Saturday 15-minute Meditation
For those who heed the message of Our Lady of Fatima, the first Saturday devotion includes three things: 1) The reception of Holy Communion after Confession (within 8 days before or after) 2) Praying five decades of the Rosary. 3) Spending 15 minutes in meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary. This last one seems confusing in debates between good Catholics. Some believe this means meditating on all fifteen decades of the Rosary for a quarter hour. However, this would probably not be "meditation" according to Our Lady's definition, as you would only be spending one-minute on each mystery! The clearest answer comes from the late Father Dooley, an American priest who ministered in Massachusetts in the first half of the 20th century. Fr. Dooley wrote a book published in 1950 called Rosary Meditations for Fatima Saturday. Fr. Dooley's introduction [...]
RCT 25: He Descended Into Hell.
The Roman Catechism of Trent p. 64-68. The Creed, Article V, Section A. On Holy Saturday, Christ emptied the Limbo of the Fathers. Only in the general-sense of “infernus” did Christ “descend into hell.” His suffering did not continue on Holy Saturday, as taught by the 20th century heretical Jesuit, Fr. Von Balthasar SJ. See also: Taylor Marshall on St. Thomas' four levels of the underworld: https://youtu.be/oP8_Cx0Osd0 "First Things" journal on errors of Von Balthasar: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2006/12/balthasar-hell-and-heresy-an-exchange
Two Forgotten-Accounts of Canon 188
Canon 188 in the 1983 Code of Canon Law reads: "A resignation made out of grave fear that is inflicted unjustly or out of malice, substantial error, or simony is invalid by the law itself." This means if an attempted papal-resignation were done under duress, it would be invalid. Keep in mind as you read this that some crimes can be proved, even if the victim denies it. This is true in both criminal law and canon law. There has been much written on Can. 188 over the past decade by a few traditional Catholic authors. But I believe many Catholics have forgotten two of the most important accounts given not by the friends, but by the enemies of the late Pope Benedict XVI as to how he is reported resigned under duress. I will now report two LifeSite News (LSN) [...]
Was St. Magdalene the Sister of St. Lazarus?
Was St. Mary Magdalene the biological sister of Lazarus who Christ raised from the dead? Most of the early Fathers believe so. In fact, the 16th century Jesuit, Fr. Lapide, reveals the ancient dispute of the Fathers. Ultimately, however, he comes down on the side of the affirmative to that question. Here, we will just copy-and-paste that great scholar's clear and profound words without any commentary, except Lapide's own commentary on Sacred Scripture and the early Fathers: Ver. 36.—And one of the Pharisees desired that he would eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down to meat. Ver. 37.—And behold a woman in the city. Behold, a wonderful thing, and a wonderful example of penitence. A woman called Mary Magdalene.—S. Luke viii. It is questioned whether this is the same woman who is mentioned by [...]
Who’s Your savior—The State or The Savior?
One headline I saw last week read “Biden says new covid shots ‘that work’ may be on the way for all Americans.” This is probably funny to most of my readers but the notion that a new injection “that works” obviously implies the last shot did not work. At all. Actually, it worked perfectly: It reduced the world's population as Bill Gates promised it would. And many of us lost a loved one who didn't listen to us. But why is a certain segment of leftists still blinded to this obvious truth? I think of when Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, trying to figure out the Truth (but still ashamed to admit he knew Him—hence coming to Him at night.) Our Lord said to him: “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can [...]
The Mass Was Never a Means of Evangelization
Thirty years ago this month, I attended World Youth Day (WYD) in Denver, CO with Pope John Paul II. It took place days before my 15th birthday. Some estimates believe one million people showed up to the events at the old Mile High Stadium (see above photo) and the final Mass at Cherry Creek Reservoir (see below photo.) My own mother was one of the chaperones for WYD '93 and my little brother (12 years old at the time) was one of thousands treated by Denver General Paramedics for dehydration at the final reservoir Mass. This was a special event for my family since Denver is where we were born and raised. I also attended WYD in Paris in 1997 as a 19 year old, just before beginning a premature study-abroad at University of Paris that same year. As I [...]