O Crux Ave, Spes Unica!
With the death of my mother, and amidst praising God for what seemed like a very good death graced to her, I have done a lot of thinking about the Cross and the Resurrection. While it is true that many saints indicate that those closest to Jesus seem to suffer the most on earth, we also must remember that everyone (regardless of religion) will face much pain and suffering and death on this planet. If everyone suffers, then why is Christianity so unique? It is unique because it is the only world-religion that allows us to praise God in the fiery-furnace, in the storm, even from the cross. That might [...]
Commandments and Traditions
The Gospel found in the Traditional Latin Mass for the Wednesday of the third week of Lent includes this excoriation from Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Pharisees: Then came to Him from Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees, saying: "Why do Thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread." But He answering, said to them: "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said: 'Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death.' But you say: 'Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth [...]
Pachamama and the Plagues of Egypt
Have we already forgotten the men who put a Pachamama idol in the Vatican? Have we forgotten the bishops and Cardinals who were complicit in this First Commandment violation through their resounding silence? As we will see, there are Biblical patterns that make sense of the fact that the people currently promoting pagan worship in the Catholic Church are the same ones overturning traditional worship. First of all, consider the fact that the word "Paschal" (Easter) has the same roots as "Passover." The Oxford Dictionary explains that "Paschal" was originally Middle English from the Old French taken from the ecclesiastical Latin paschalis. This word came from the similar Greek and [...]
Regaining Purpose After Lockdowns
The Journal of the American Medical Association has an article titled "Addressing the Long-term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and FamiliesA Report From the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine." Regarding this article, the Richmond Times-Dispatch ran the stats from this on "Deaths among children and teens." Notice the upsurge of suicides and other poisonings (intentional or unintentional, often unknown to even the medical examiner) during lockdowns: The Richmond Times-Dispatch then comments on the above stats of children and teens: "Deaths of American children and teens spiked between 2019 and 2021, the result of increased car wrecks, shootings and drug overdoses, according to a Virginia Commonwealth University survey [...]
Good Catholics Need to Tackle the Hard Topics More
Here's seven reasons why we conservative and traditional Catholics must be more "political," not less, for "political" issues are more connected to evangelization than most people realize: 1. The Social Reign of Christ the King. Traditional Catholicism is built on the notion of no separation of Church and State. (Yes, you read that correctly.) That doesn't mean that we want a Catholic version of an Islamic Theocracy. Nor has the Catholic Church ever believe in forced-conversions (not even in the days of the Inquisition.) But just as nature abhors a vacuum, so do politics. Absent a group of leaders remaining under the Standard of Christ, we will be under the [...]
The Denial That Sin Exists
To say that an unnatural sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance is no sin at all is tantamount to denying Christ was ever crucified, for He died to save us from our sins. In fact, the notion that mortal sins are not sins at all is essentially asserting that sin does not exist at all. Such is tantamount to apostasy or even atheism. Traditionally, the Catholic Church has taught that for a moral act to be just, the object and intention and circumstances must all be good. If only one of those is missing, the entire act is evil. Heretics of moral theology of the past 70 years [...]
Mental Prayer to Heal Narcissism
Remember that the narcissistic person appears arrogant on the outside, but lives with tremendous inadequacy and insecurity on the inside. This is why the narcissist lives on the supply of validation of self and also the degradation or manipulation of others. Is there any hope for such people? I received an anonymous email from "two narcissists who married each other." One of the spouses wrote: "Long story short, we use a combination of plain old Catholic religious practices, health practices, and deliverance prayers. I do not think most people should give up on a narcissistic spouse. Maybe get away for safety if needed, but never give up hope." On the [...]
Durable Power of Attorney Documents
There are many legal documents online similar to the one I created below. However, even Catholic modifications to the average durable power of attorney documents miss the two main aspects of euthanasia: 1) Artificial Nutrition and Hydration. Even the Vatican website (published several years before Pope Benedict XVI's semi-resignation) admits that artificial nutrition and hydration is always part of ordinary care in end-of-life decisions, provided the body can assimilate food and hydration (be it oral or artificial.) As most of you know, the Catholic Church always requires ordinary care (food and water) but not always extraordinary care (eg a ventilation machine) in order to preserve life. For example, intubation and [...]
Grey Rock Vs. Yellow Rock (a Narcissism Follow-Up)
After appearing on Dr. Taylor Marshall's show to discuss Christian Boundaries against Narcissists, I got numerous emails similar to this: "My spouse is a narcissist. I can't divorce him. I can't always grey-rock him. What else can I do?" (That is not a direct quote of anyone, but it is a summary of numerous emails I received.) In this video, Dr. Ramani explains how to go low-contact with a narcissist in your life. She says, "Low-contact is exactly what it sounds like: Really only the most essential contact... Low-contact is tight: Only essential communication, nothing but the facts. No emotion and only when necessary... Grey-Rocking is something that can be [...]
What Happened to All the Good Priests?
Several years ago I was at a dinner in Florida and a bunch of us were discussing Church history in the 20th century, especially the state of the priesthood. It was a light-hearted discussion about the topic, "What happened to all the good priests in the 20th century?" After typical answers for awhile, an older Polish gentleman chimed in, "Maybe they all died in the World Wars." The levity departed from the room at the profundity of his answer. Everyone got silent because he seemed to have said something unexpected, but accurate. Even the man who said it seemed surprised at the potential accuracy that had just come out of [...]