On today's podcast, my lawyer friend Marc Zarlengo and I discuss the causes and effects of a country and a Church effectively shut down. We discuss everything from the prophet Jeremiah to Bill Gates' proposal for digital medical certifications for Americans.
Part I: Why the Cancelation of Masses due to COVID-19 is probably a good thing. (If Church history does not interest you, feel free to skip to Part II: How Should I Spend My Sunday when Public Masses Are Canceled?) Many bishops in the world have canceled Sunday Masses for several consecutive weeks due to fear over coronavirus (COVID-19.) You might be surprised to read that I actually agree with their decision on this. First, epidemiologically, COVID has the potential to grow big and rapidly in its reach. Even if COVID stayed small in the amount of infections, many people over 50 years old would be placing themselves in harm’s [...]
Today's podcast is a private and elongated re-do of a public sermon I gave today at a TLM parish in Texas. I speak about the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Orthodox and the martyrdom of St. Josaphat who died for the unity between the two. See map of Catholic Churches on blog below:
"The history of the world from the beginning is but the history of the struggle between the powers of the world, and of hell, against the souls which are humbly devoted to the divine action. In this struggle all the advantage seems to be on the side of pride, yet the victory always remains with humility. The image of the world is always presented to our eyes as a statue of gold, brass, iron, and clay. This mystery of iniquity, shown in a dream to Nabuchodonosor, is nothing but a confused medley of all the actions, interior and exterior, of the children of darkness. This is also typified by the [...]
Myth 1: Catholic means universal, as in what all Catholics believe in the 21st century. Truth: Catholic is that which is believed everywhere, always and by all.Many people believe that the term "Catholic" means universal in Latin. This is true, but the Greek root of this word is even older: As you can see, Catholic means "according to the whole." By whole, that means everything in the Bible and oral tradition (2 Thess 2:15.) It means the fullness of the truth. The modern myth is that "Catholic" means universal—but only today. The problem with this definition is that it falls short of the original Patristic definitions of Catholic. The [...]
I am rarely shocked by what I see in the media, but this one got me: https://youtu.be/npj5MqcNPJU This 60 second video is Dutch children learning to pray to Allah in a small mosque in the Netherlands. So, the full title of this blog post will be “What Muslim invaders could not do against Europe, Europe did to herself.” But it is actually a hopeful blog post with a strong resolution. I want to get a little into the world of Divine Providence to ask why God would allow this. I don’t know the mind of God, but I think I may have a decent answer. Let’s consider that the only [...]
Ten years ago this week, Pope Benedict XVi issued an apostolic letter called Summorum Pontificum that decreed that all Roman Catholic priests could offer "the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite," also known as "the Traditional Latin Mass" that preceded Vatican II. In fact, Pope John Paul II had encouraged bishops to allow their priests to do this, but Pope Benedict went a step further in saying that priests did not need permission from their bishop to do the old Mass in private. Restrictions were to be loosened for this Mass offered in public, too. The Roman Catholic priest was also given permission to give the old absolution in Latin [...]
I have only been a priest for seven years. About halfway through that period, I switched from the Novus Ordo to the Traditional Latin Mass and sacraments. It was also during this time that I stopped saying a line that I was famous for in seminary: “We do not have a crisis of sacraments. We have a crisis of catechesis.” I used to say this because I knew how many people received Holy Communion in this country without knowing Who they were receiving. In fact, I put my money where my mouth was: As a young priest, I taught a Eucharistic class just off-campus of Colorado State University, a school [...]
What do Muslims really believe? Although we hear alarming facts in this sermon, I draw from the Qur'an, world history and secular sources like Atlantic Magazine and Washington Post. Towards the end, I quote Catholic sources like this African bishop as well as TFP’s Rosary campaign to defeat ISIS.
aka Good Shepherd Sunday This sermon recognizes the wolves that have caused the current crisis in the Catholic Church. In this sermon, I also describe the shepherds that God may be currently raising in order to shepherd the Church, as Christ and the early Apostles led and guarded the Church. This Sunday is appropriately called “Good Shepherd Sunday,” due to the Gospel from St. John chapter 10. Today is the eclipsed feast day of St. Catherine of Siena in the old calendar. In line with today's sermon, it is worth noting the seven things that God the Father told St. Catherine of Siena would restore the Catholic Church in times of [...]
