“Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough.”
One of the unknown connections between so-called "transgender" surgeries and forced sterilizations in early 20th century American history is the targeting of children with mental-health problems. Many people are now familiar with Miss Chloe Cole (top right.) She is a young woman born in 2004 who went on puberty blockers at age 13. She had a double mastectomy at age 15. She is now suing Kaiser Permanente of California. The beginning of the lawsuit filed reads thus: "This case is about a team of doctors (i.e., the Defendants) who decided to perform a mutilating, mimicry sex change experiment on Chloe, then a thirteen-year-old vulnerable girl struggling with complex mental health [...]
Should You Recall Past Sins?
Should you recall past sins? The basic answer to this is one that most of you already know: Do not beat yourself up about sins you have confessed because those sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. (Or, if you are an adult convert, your sins were washed away in baptism.) Keep in mind in St. Luke chapter 15, we have the Prodigal Son parable: After a significant stint of sin, he returns to the Father and he is planning on saying, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your [...]
The Life and Death of St. Cecilia As Told By St. Alphonsus
St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr, has always been most celebrated in the Church of God; even from the fourth century a Church has been dedicated to her honor in Rome; and honorable mention is made of her, not only in all the martyrologies, but even in the Canon of the Mass. In the eighth century there was a report that Astulphus, King of the Longobards, had carried off the body of our saint from Rome; but she appeared, in a vision, to Pope Paschal I, assured him that the report was false, and encouraged him to seek her relics. The holy pontiff found them, in the cemetery of Prætextatus, Prætextatus, [...]
The Ladder of Divine Ascent for Lay People
One of the greatest works of the early Desert Fathers is The Ladder of Divine Ascent. It is considered to be a masterpiece of ascetical theology, but it is primarily for monks. Thus, I was surprised when a married man with children started telling me about how this is one of his favorite books. This layman (about my age) usually does one hour of mental prayer a day and lives very impressive asceticism. (He was not bragging to me, but he admitted he and his family try to make their home a little monastery.) Nevertheless, I still wondered if The Ladder of Divine Ascent should be the goal of the [...]
A 60 Year Old Pastor’s View of Priesthood in America.
My article earlier this week is called Are Young Priests More Orthodox? In it, I explained that young guys enter seminary pretty conservative, but slowly become more liberal after ordination. I asked a 58-year-old Catholic Priest friend in the South of the United States for feedback. (He belongs to a different Southern diocese than the one featured in the picture above.) I half-expected him to tell me I was too cynical, so I was surprised that he texted back 21 points much more critical of the American bishops' interactions with their priests than anything written in my blog two days ago. I asked him if I could use it in [...]
Are Young Priests More Orthodox?
Are young priests more orthodox than previous generations? The good news is the answer is "yes," as proven in the below study. But this means only one of two things: Either younger priests are truly more conservative than older priests -or- the diocesan priesthood in America liberalizes many or most. The above is a picture of the Theological College, the Catholic seminary producing priests across the street from Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington DC. One of the research groups at CUA is called The Catholic Project which recently published a study on how American Catholic priests self-identify as either orthodox or progressive. The title of the study is [...]
Argentine Bishop Sounding Like Viganó
Archbishop Emeritus Héctor Aguer of La Plata, Argentina recently wrote about cancelled clergy. His letter is especially important in light of recent news on Bp. Strickland. Rorate Caeli had the full translation, so I reproduce it here: 1. Priests cancelled. I am not dealing now with what is happening at the international level, but with a phenomenon that is becoming more and more frequent in Argentina, in various dioceses. "Cancelled" is equivalent to a displacement to non-existence when counting the official number of priests who serve as clergy in a particular (diocesan) church. They are deprived of the means to exercise the ministry and are disavowed before the faithful. They [...]
St. Thomas on the Resurrection of the Body
I only recently discovered a treasure from St. Thomas Aquinas called the Compendium of Theology. I first wrote a commentary on his book here a month ago. St. Thomas continues the richness of his teaching today on the resurrection of the body in chapters 151-168. I was going to comment on it like last time, but the teaching of the Angelic Doctor will stand alone today. This is what you and I have to look forward to in both body and soul if we make it to heaven: CHAPTER 151 REUNION WITH THE BODY REQUISITE FOR THE SOUL’S PERFECT HAPPINESS We should note that the disquiet of the will cannot be [...]
Why Do Rad-Trads Keep “Guessing” Everything Right?
Why do trads keep guessing the outcomes correctly in nearly every issue happening in current events? I usually point out that conservatives and traditionalists understand truth better than liberals and leftists because we put evidence ahead of identity politics. I still think that’s the main reason why we keep “getting it” on so many current events in Church and State. But today, I want to explore some additional reasons. After talking to many traditional Catholics over the past three years, I can say with confidence that over well over 90% of them refused the COVID vaccine. That number may be above 95%. The vaccine is just one of a dozen [...]
Miracles and Saints of the Catholic Church
So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”—John 4:48. This line is typically seen as a reproach from Our Lord Jesus Christ, but perhaps it is a pledge, namely, that we weak human creatures need to see miracles to believe. The following is a brief but powerful compilation of [mostly] modern miracles and saints that gives great evidence to the Catholic Faith. It was put together by my brother's godfather. Miraculous, visible proof; events not explainable by science; A miracle is a sensibly perceptible effect, surpassing at least the powers of visible nature, produced by God to witness to some truth or to [...]