Forgiveness Makes You Invincible
And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on His right and one on His left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide His garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at Him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”—Lk 23:33-35. We often [rightly] associate Christ's forgiveness of His enemies with the above chapter from St. Luke. As Christ is undergoing the most exquisite torture of the Roman Empire, He maintains [...]
“Catholics Shall Have No Weapons.”
Featured image The Battle of Le Mans, p/c In the Vendee. Most of you know about the Resistance of the Vendée, a group of fervent Catholics who valiantly fought with weapons against the leaders of the French Revolution. This is partly because the French Revolution was killing priests and nuns, as well as doing other unspeakable atrocities. From a human point of view, the Vendée lost the war. But traditional Catholics will always honor them as martyrs for the faith. Later, the French Revolution became the precursor to every communist revolution from Cuba to Cambodia. As I have written before, I estimate that communism killed 14x the amount of people [...]
Is Homeschooling the Ideal?
Since however the younger generations must be trained in the arts and sciences for the advantage and prosperity of civil society, and since the family of itself is unequal to this task, it was necessary to create that social institution, the school. But let it be borne in mind that this institution owes its existence to the initiative of the family and of the Church, long before it was undertaken by the State. Hence considered in its historical origin, the school is by its very nature an institution subsidiary and complementary to the family and to the Church. It follows logically and necessarily that it must not be in opposition [...]
The Second Commandment by St. Alphonsus Liguori
Many good Catholics today have now become acutely aware of sexual sins (the Sixth and Ninth Commandment) as well as the First Commandment (partly due to public violations of this like the worship of the Pachamama statue near the Vatican a few years ago.) In light of this, I believe that the most underrated of all Commandments is the Second Commandment. Keep in mind that the Ten Commandments given on Sinai come in order of importance. Thus, the misuse of the Holy Name of Jesus is one of the worst sins one can commit. We look to the doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori, to consider the weight of [...]
Archaeologism Part II: Not Real Archeology
In Archaeologism Part I, I demonstrated that Popes from 1786 to 1947 condemned the heretics projecting Protestant notions of liturgy onto the early Church under pretext of "archeology" or "Church history." This modernist fad is also called "antiquarianism." Realize first that Pope Pius XII basically warned the faithful not to believe the Holy Spirit was less active in guiding the Church of the Middle Ages than the Church of the Primitive Ages. Secondly, he wanted us to realize the Holy Spirit does not change His directives in liturgy or doctrine. But on top of this, I personally believe the modernists executing "archaeologism" (saying the early Church had no complex rites, [...]
Archaeologism Part I: The Synod of Pistoia
Before looking at the Synod of Pistoia, let's define Archaeologism (also called antiquarianism.) Unam Sanctam defines it: Archaeologism is not so much a heresy as a fad, a certain approach to Catholic liturgy and practice. Its distinguishing characteristic is an excessive value placed on those Catholic practices which came earlier in historical-chronological succession. For the archaeologist, first is always best. A practice or prayer of the patristic Church is “better” or “purer” than a practice of the medieval Church. Consequently, the goal of any true liturgical renewal ought to be to return to the practice of the first Christians, inasmuch as possible. The modern Church ought to imitate the apostolic [...]
Does a Priest Need a Lay Person at His Mass?
p/c Notre-Dame De Fontgombault Several years ago, as I was switching from the new sacraments to the ancient Roman sacraments, I stopped at a parish in Tampa one afternoon. I asked the parish secretary if I could offer Holy Mass there. She asked who was going to attend my Mass. I said I was alone. She looked bewildered. No youth group? No family of origin traveling with you? The parish secretary only thought of the Mass in anthropocentric terms: If no one was there to receive Holy Communion, why would this priest show up at her parish and try to offer Mass alone? It was as crazy to this lady [...]
Better to Attend a Parish That Lacks Truth? Or One That Lacks Love?
Should you attend a parish that promotes truth or charity? The obvious answer is both. But what if you had to choose? I ask this parish-based question because I have been hearing horror stories lately on some unbelievably mean things that traditional priests have said in the confessional to lay people. Also, we just saw more priest-child scandals explode from the past in the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) world. But the question I am proposing here doesn't have to do with such scandals. Obviously, one must avoid like the plague any parish with a groomer priest. I am talking about something slightly more nuanced than the following dilemma but here's [...]
Bill Maher Admits Abortion is Murder.
Recently on his show, Bill Maher shocked his audience in admitting that pro-lifers are correct: "They think it’s murder—and it kind of is." The audience enters a nervous silence. Then he adds a shocking line: "I’m just okay with that." The audience enters another nervous silence, not sure if he's joking. But he is not. He adds: "There’s 8 billion people in the world. I’m sorry, we won’t miss you.” Wow. Bill Maher ADMITS abortion is “murder” and that he is “okay with that.” “I can respect the absolutist position. I really can... They think it’s murder—and it kind of is. I’m just okay with that. There’s 8 billion people [...]
God: Spes Única Mundi
p/c R.P. at Holy Ghost. The pre-55 Easter Vigil's 12th Prophesy (sung before Holy Mass) ends with a prayer naming God as the "Only Hope of the World" (Spes Única Mundi.) I went to that very long vigil on Saturday night at a traditional parish in my area and then on Sunday Morning, I offered my own low Mass in my hermitage. Later that day, I started wondering if I was too heard on modernism. Ultimately, my conclusion was: Yes, in personal conversations. No, in my online apostolate of Church reform. One of the reasons I came to the latter conclusion was thinking about how slowly many of the Eastern [...]