A Life in Pilgrimage
If I met me, the question I would ask me is: What do you do all day? As I said on a recent podcast, the hermit-thing isn't a total farce or lurk. I keep mornings entirely for prayer and exercise. Doing the old Divine Office means a few hours of Psalms in Latin every day. Perhaps because I didn't learn the old Roman Breviary in seminary (for we did the Liturgy of the Hours—something we traditionalists now call the Liturgy of the Minutes—since it is so short!) I didn't carve enough time out of my day at the beginning of my religious life for both several hours of prayer and daily exercise. Or perhaps I just get cabin fever in my condo-hermitage. Either way, I go walking and praying as one event most days. A large part of my day [...]
Where Does Donor-Money Go?
Peregrino Hermitage Limited (PHL) is my 501(c)(3) charity approved by the State of Colorado and Archdiocese of Denver. The latter provides me with health insurance and dental insurance. However, as I am not in parish life, I must raise my own salary for room, board and ministry expenses. "Ministry expenses" include that which is necessary to teach the Catholic faith online to tens of thousands of Catholics (and non-Catholics) every month. Except Zelle donations (which go to my personal account) all your donations to PHL on my Donate Page (whether online or via snail-mail checks) go to my charity and are tax-deductible. A certain percentage of those donations obviously goes into savings for PHL. But as far as annual expenses, the following (coordinated to the above pie-chart) shows the breakdown for 2022: Food, travel, missions 54%: Every morning I have fine tea [...]
What’s In a Habit?
When I left diocesan life, but obviously remained a priest, it was time to design a habit. One question I got a few times was "Why don't you just model your habit after one religious order or another?" It's a pretty innocent question, but I would have to explain to people that it would be the equivalent of "stolen valor" in the military. The Franciscan habit is not just a way to look pious or homeless. The Dominican habit is not just a way to look clean or erudite in learning. The Carmelite habit is not just a way to look deep or quiet. All of these habits carry the spirituality of the founders, much as a Green Beret uniform carries a different code than the Navy SEAL uniforms. A uniform describes what you sacrifice for, what you believe, and [...]
New Orleans Flashback
In the Spring of 2017, I was on loan to a TLM-parish in the diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana. Gibson is in the bayou and I often point out I had alligators as closer geographic neighbors than humans. But I often spent time in New Orleans when I got lonely in the swamp. One day, I was walking near the horse track in New Orleans before Mardi Gras. I think it was the Monday before Mardi Gras, but you have to understand that "Mardi Gras season" in NOLA begins in January, and lasts for months. Now, even the homeless (and the street-people with homes) get tired of seeing certain costumes among tourists, especially tourists who dress up like priests or nuns. That's the background to where this story begins. I re-discovered it on Facebook from what I posted on 27 Feb [...]
Production Update
Happy Easter, Christ is Risen! Christ is Truly Risen!As you know, I was taking care of my mother medically and sacramentally before she fell asleep in the Lord. I thank you all so much for the prayers for the repose of my mother's soul. To keep up my normal life of prayer this Spring of 2023, I could only keep up on my website, not the videos or podcasts, at least while helping my family and others locally. However, most of my productions are coming back this Spring. The following items are quite boring and long-winded, so I put the following topics in order of importance, starting with the most important on my production schedule: Thank you to all who support me spiritually and materially. As you know, I receive health-insurance from my Archdiocese as a priest in good [...]
Interview with Polish Catholic Newspaper
I was interviewed by Nasz Dziennik, a large Catholic production in Poland. A writer named Beata asked me political and religious questions regarding my recent article called Good Catholics Need to Tackle the Hard Topics More. Here were her questions and my answers: Beata: Were Catholics too easily persuaded that they meddle too much in politics? Who and how is working on it so that we would think so? Me: The Catholic Church in the United States was exploding with baptisms and vocations before Vatican II. Since the Council, we lose four Catholics for every Protestant convert that comes to us. Our clergy are afraid to lose more people, so usually they go for the lowest-common denominator in spirituality. It usually becomes something like, "Jesus is your friend and doesn’t care what your political beliefs are." Ironically, many evangelical Protestant pastors [...]
The Maniturgium On the Mother of a Priest
My mother died yesterday. Her name is Claire Nix and her maiden name is Donnelly. She was 100% Irish but born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. I'm going to write more about her death later this week. When referring to death, the Apostle Paul says someone "fell asleep in the Lord." That might sound like overly-pious language to most Catholics today, but it is more theologically accurate if we really believe Christ has conquered death, as we know He did on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We especially are reminded that "Christ has trampled down death by death" during Holy Week, as the Eastern Rite Liturgies exclaim. In fact, the Eastern Rite Liturgies (both Catholic and Orthodox) refer to their deceased as those who "fell asleep in the Lord." The Western response to that might be: "But [...]
Lenten Outreach 2023
The second-lesson in the TLM today is: Thus says the Lord God: Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before My eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord: though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land, says the Lord almighty.—Isaiah 1:16-19. Wednesdays at the third largest Planned Parenthood in the world is mostly a time of prayer for me. On my pro-life team is some of the best sidewalk counselors I have ever met, including Kevin Williams. Kevin bounced back from cancer surgery the [...]
Why Apostolic Catholicism?
Notice: There will be few forthcoming blogs and podcasts and videos this Spring for three reasons: 1) I am assisting my mother in what seems to be her last days on earth. 2) I was locked out of my YouTube channel for thought-crimes against the left. 3) My pro-life trial from three years ago in New Jersey is delayed until April or May 2023... All of these things seem to have piled up in a way that is far outside my control at this point. Most of the lies repeated about me online have something to do with this or this, both of which I disprove in the above links. But there comes a point where you have to wonder if my enemies are lying about me not because they think I'm actually a bad person, but rather because they [...]
Two Curve Balls
The above map is found at my parents' place. Two days ago I sent out this Telegram alert: "My mom appears to be in her final week on earth. This is going to be difficult for me to navigate with the pro-life trial on Friday in NJ. Please pray for my whole family, including extended family coming into town, but especially that my mom receive the graces God wants to give her at the end of her life." Today, I sent out this Telegram alert, explaining basically the exact opposite: "Sorry to have you join me on my emotional roller-coaster this week, but I PROMISE you I did not expect this to be my next Telegram to you after the last one above. Basically, both items changed: 1) Three friends and I finished the miraculous Novena to the Sacred Heart [...]