Detachment from Vice Is Attachment to God
When you see "a Theology of Attachment" as the title of this article, you probably think I'm going to tell you what to give up for Lent. It's too late for that. Rather, I'm simply going to compare that which Satan clung to and that which Mary clung to. (And yes, I know I just ended a sentence in a preposition, but remember what GK Chesterton wrote: "A preposition, I may remark in passing, is about the best thing in the world to end a sentence with.") Satan's Attachments: St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "But [satan] desired resemblance with God in this respect---by desiring, as his last end of beatitude, something [...]
The “New Evangelization” Has Officially Failed.
Mr. Eric Sammons of Crisis Magazine tweeted the above graph and commented: "From a high of 172,581 new converts in 1999, we only had 72,212 in 2022—a 58% decline." In other words, the Catholic Church in the United States boasted 173k converts in 1999 but that number dropped to 72k in 2022. Obviously, a drop in 58% of converts-per-year is a catastrophic loss for a Church that claims to be missionary. Furthermore, the Pew Study center released the above graph on the Catholic Church. It reveals that for every convert welcomed into the front door of an American Catholic parish, over eight Catholics leave through the back door. How strange, [...]
Duress or Necessity in Civil Law
Even some pro-lifers do not understand why we with Red Rose Rescue do counseling to abortion-minded couples not only outside the abortion center (where I go every month) but also occasionally inside the abortion center (which I have only done twice in my life—both times resulting in arrest, even though our actions on the inside of the killing center were always peaceful and respectful.) Because I have never blocked entrance to an abortion mill (something my friends who are more courageous than me have indeed done) I have only been charged in the past with trespassing. However, some pro-lifers believe this is imprudent and even increases buffer zones for the [...]
Respect of Egos Part 2: Discernment and Obedience
Part One: Respect of Egos was about St. Thomas Aquinas' warnings against "respect of persons" which I consider to be an avoidance of "Respect of Egos." This leads into today's article on having fortitude of character. Many of you are probably familiar with the Milgram experiment in 1961 where normal Americans involved in a psychological experiment were pressured into delivering lethal doses of electricity to other Americans involved in that experiment. At least, they believed these were lethal doses of electricity... but they were not. The experiment (linked above) was rather a test on the would-be electrocuters to determine how many people would deliver a lethal dose of 250 volts [...]
Respect of Egos Part 1: St. Thomas Aquinas
This is a two part series on the "Respect of Egos." It is easy to misunderstand St. Thomas Aquinas' condemnation of "respect of persons." The notion we are to avoid "respect of persons" obviously does not mean we should disrespect anyone. Nor does it mean that we are supposed to treat everyone the exact same. Rather, in his section on Respect of Persons, St. Thomas Aquinas essentially teaches that the true Christian is to honor his neighbor in proportion to his level of virtuous living, not his social status. In the above link, St. Thomas Aquinas writes about how we are indeed permitted to prefer one person over another. The [...]
Thank You to Donors
The above is a picture I snapped at Ave Maria University while traveling to a funeral in Florida. Normally these updates go in my Life-Update section, but I wanted to express my deep and heartfelt thanks to those who sacrifice for me, either by finances or by time in prayer. Here's some points on where your money is going: I pray or read several hours a day. This usually includes Mass, mental prayer, Rosary and the old Divine Office. I still receive health insurance from my Archdiocese. However, all my income still comes from you who read my site and listen to my pods. This is because I am not [...]
Christ the High Priest and Teacher
p/c Caminante Wanderer. The three munera, or duties, of the priest are to teach, sanctify and govern. Since the 1990s, the "teach" aspect of the priesthood has been relegated to the laity. The "sanctify" aspect of the sacraments remains somehow with the priest, but is treated as shallow magic-tricks at most Nordo parishes. Finally, the "govern" aspect of the priesthood is relegated entirely to the bishop as an unchecked juggernaut CEO of positivistic-obedience in areas he is taken seriously. In places the bishop is not taken seriously, he's seen as just a cover for child-abuse and Democratic funding. I want to write about the most under-rated munera of the priesthood, [...]
“The Only Arms Which Will Remain For You.”
p/c Fr. Palma on X. There is a mysterious line from Our Lady of Akita which continuously haunts me. If what happened in Akita, Japan is a genuine apparition, then the Mother of God said the following: "The only arms [weapons] which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son." I believe that means the Rosary and the Sign of the Cross with be the best (and possibly only) prayer weapons during a certain dark time of Church history which would probably come upon man in the 21st century. Many Catholics believe Akita is the rosetta stone to understanding Fatima. If true, the [...]
Five Hidden Pitfalls to Catholic Social Media
Catholics (including myself) often justify our presence on social media by evangelization, teaching and Church reform. But do the advantages really outweigh the benefits for even the most astute apologists online? Besides the big pitfalls of porn and bullying, there are some other smaller hazards to Christians on social media. I'm not speaking of simply manners, but things that will affect people's salvation. Let's look at five other hidden pitfalls to social media: Fake Romances, Fake Friendships. Many marriages have been broken up when a spouse meets another person online. Sometimes that spouse commits adultery with the new squeeze met online. But sometimes the married person leaves for a person [...]
Traitors’ Last Ditch Effort in Church and State
I have to admit I didn't have it in my bingo cards that 2025 was going to be the big year when hundreds of thousands of mainstream Catholics wake up to the corruption that a few of us have known about for years in certain Catholic organizations. I'm quite thrilled to see how many Catholics are now standing up against the imposters in Rome, the corruption of the USCCB and the criminal activity of Catholic Charities that some of us have been sounding the alarm about for years. (Notice I wrote that above-linked article exposing "Catholic Charities" of Galveston-Houston last year before Trump was even in power to defund that [...]