A corporal work of mercy.

A corporal work of mercy.
Click on photo for this corporal work of mercy!

Sunday 30 November 2014

No pope should ever visit a mosque, period!

No pope should ever kiss another religion's "holy" book because there is no other Holy Book other than the Bible. While we cannot know what was in his mind when he did it or if he even thought about the implications, that photo to this day would have potentially aided the now non-existent "Devil's Advocate" to stop or slow the canonisation of John Paul II.

No pope should ever visit a mosque. Benedict XVI did this in his visit to Istanbul, once known as Constantinople. While in the Blue Mosque, he stood holding his pectoral cross, He did not bow his head, nor did he pray in contemplation. He could be seen moving his lips, perhaps invoking the Lord's Prayer or a blessing to convert the Mohammedans, one can only hope.

No pope should ever pray in a mosque with head bowed and eyes closed as Pope Francis did. By doing this, one is creating scandal and affirming heresy. Islam has been called the "worst Christian heresy" and has been condemned by many Saints. While modernists suggest that they "profess" the God of Abraham, at best they have a distorted and false view of the Triune God and at worst they worship the ancient god of the moon (hence the crescent) which was the norm throughout Arabia.

Did I write, "no pope should ever visit a mosque?

There would be an exception as was pointed out by a reader on Twitter. He could visit a mosque to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He could do the same in a Synagogue as St. Stephen did in the Temple of Jerusalem. He could visit a Hindu temple, no doubt as St. Thomas the Apostle did in India two thousand years ago.

However, that is the problem.

This Pope and all others since Vatican II have all visited mosques and synagogues and not proclaimed Christ and we all suffer for that today, especially the Moslems and Jews and Hindus and all others who do not hear from our Popes that there is no salvation outside the Church and no other Name on which we can be saved.

Pope Francis, left, bows to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I during an ecumenical prayer at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul on Saturday.

On other note, when we go to greet our host in his house can we dress for the occasion?

Friday 28 November 2014

Too much chant?

At Southern Orders, Father Alan MacDonald muses about the amount of chant in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. I left a comment there which I reprint below.



The fundamental problem is the 1967 document, Musicam Sacram. This document, in its desire to remove the strictness of the Read, Sung and Solemn Masses, put forward the practice of "progressive solemnity." Sing what you can without regard to the previous structure. It encouraged that the whole Mass be sung but sanctioned that one could sing what one could manage.

The second problem and perhaps the worst of it was the permission to actually substitute the Sung Proper (Introit, Offertory and Communion) with a hymn.

Up to that point (and remember, this was not the manufactured (quoting Pope Emeritus Benedict) liturgy of Paul VI but the slimmed down "tridentine" rite; the Proper had to be said (in a Read Mass) or sung (chanted melismatically or in psalm tone or in polyphony). That wretched document and that one paragraph is where we can point to for the destruction of the chant and the propers.

It also admonished choirs who sang all the Propers without the people. The people have no business singing the Propers, that is the domain of the choir/schola; the people's part was the Ordinary.

Until we get over this idea that the people must sing everything we can never restore these liturgical sung texts.

In the EF Masses which I lead and conduct on a typical Sunday, the people sing the following:

Processional Hymn in English
Sprinkling Rite
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Agnus
Sanctus
Marian Antiphon
Recessional Hymn

Until that is revoked and the Propers (said or sung) in the Ordinary Form with the restored Offertory chant (now only permitted if sung) are mandated, we will not see a restoration of the sacred liturgy.

On a further note, it is incumbent upon every layman or laywoman working in the Extraordinary Form to follow the rubrics and norms and to humble themselves to them. If you are not able to man up to that then stop doing it. We don't need the errors of those who destroyed the liturgy in from 1964 to 1967 and then again in 1969 to creep in to the venerable rite. If you can't do the rite, right, then don't do it at all!


http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_instr_19670305_musicam-sacram_en.html

Thursday 27 November 2014

Roberto de Mattei: "You must defend the Faith received in baptism against heresy..."

Over at Toronto Catholic Witness, Barona has translated from Polish this article.

BREAKING NEWS: Report from Warsaw on the Conference, "The Synodal Earthquake", featuring Roberto de Mattei: "you must defend the Faith received in baptism against heresy...the synod....a ceasefire..."

The compass and guide for us simple faithful should always be the sensus fidei. One must defend the faith received in baptism against heresy, both in theory and in practice. We also have an obligation to deepen our faith " appealed Professor Roberto de Mattei during the Warsaw conference, "The Synodal earthquake" 


The following is a translation of a report on the Conference,"The Synodal Earthquake", November, 25th at the University of Warsaw. Special guest presenter was the renowned Italian historian, Professor Roberto de Mattei. 

Read all of it at Toronto Catholic Witness.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Homosexualists target Catholic Bishops!

This is a stunning campaign. It is filled with evil, lies and distortions from the homosexualist lobby which has even infiltrated the Vatican as we have seen from the Synod on the Family. Now, they have in their sites, specific bishops.

The individual afflicted with same-sex attraction suffers from an intrinsic disorder and must be pastorally cared for as a human person.

The homosexualist movement is nothing more than Hell unleashed as in the days of Sodom.




In Synod-Related Effort, Homosexual-Rights Activists Target Eight U.S. Bishops (16663)

A coalition of well-funded groups is lobbying against prominent bishops in hopes of changing Church doctrine and practice.

 10/15/2014 Comments (51)
Facebook/Human Rights Campaign
Synod-related Human Rights Campaign poster
– Facebook/Human Rights Campaign
ROME — The start of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family has triggered a wave of activism from well-funded LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) activist groups in the U.S., who are targeting “outspoken” Catholic bishops in hopes of changing Catholic practice and moral doctrine.
“Most important is the opportunity to create a precedent for change,” the Human Rights Campaign said in its pamphlet on the synod.
The LGBT group has announced an activist effort targeting eight bishops in a pamphlet that labels them as “the best of the worst Catholic bishops across the country.”
Its campaign will target Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., the president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore and Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill.


Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/in-synod-related-effort-homosexual-rights-activists-target-eight-u.s.-bisho/#.VHOgcQ3NfVR.facebook#ixzz3K6aRfbTM

New Prefect of Divine Worship!

The Holy Father has appointed the new Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, he is Robert Cardinal Sarah of Guinea in Africa. It seems now that this African will tell us a little about "what to do" in spite of some that wish they would not. Perhaps in this appointment, Pope Francis has sent a little message to a certain German and to the rest of us, the first being, "you were wrong" the second, "I have heard you."

His Eminence has distinguished himself throughout his priestly life. 

Courtesy of Rorate, here is a quote from Cardinal Sarah:

The spirit of the Council has at times been understood in a wrong way, as, for instance, in the temptation of making use of the criteria of the world to engage in dialogue with the world. I think in particular of liturgical deviations, of the downsizing of salvation to a temporal messianism, to an understanding of the Christian life as a sort of humanitarian commitment, to the foundation of social actions inspired by dialectic, and therefore losing the originality of the Christian message. But "opening up to the world" does not mean abolishing the contradiction between the Gospel and the world, nor to tone down the Christian message. It is rather to present to our world the message of the Gospel in all its purity. It is Christ who is the light of the world, as the Council affirms.

We can be thankful that His Eminence is a man of great faith and love for Christ and His Church.

May God bless him abundantly in his service to the liturgy and the sacraments.

Thank you Holy Father.

Deo gratias!

Monday 24 November 2014

There is no such thing as a Sung Low Mass

I cannot count the numbers of Masses which I have attended and chanted as Cantor or Schola Master according to the more ancient use. I chant every Sunday and have personally organised over 30 Solemn or Sung Masses since Summorum Pontificum including a Mass in the Presence of a Greater Prelate. I say this not to boast but to indicate my level of experience. 

Never, ever have I heard of a Sung Low Mass, it simply does not exist. 

Here from the  Una Voce Toronto blog, the Toronto Traditional Mass Society.

Pope Francis and the will of the Holy Spirit

Pope Benedict XVI was asked a few years ago about the actions of the Holy Spirit at a Conclave. He remarked that the Holy Spirit does not so much elect the pope as much as He prevents the Cardinals from electing someone who would totally destroy the Church. There is no magic taking place, not even in Cardinal Mahoney's pen directing him to write Jorge Bergoglio on the ballot.  

I was disturbed at the brevity of the conclave that elected Pope Francis. In my view, the Cardinals did not seem to be docile to the Holy Spirit. It seemed too fast which indicated, at least to me, that a great lobbying effort of a certain faction before the Conclave had taken place.

John Bingham, Religious Affairs writer with The Telegraph writes about a new biography of Pope Francis wherein it is disclosed how "Team Bergoglio' reformists lobbied cardinals 'below the radar' ahead of the Vatican Conclave." If true, it is greatly disturbing.

Of course, one would have to be a fool to think that politics and factions never came together to elect a pope. How could it be otherwise? 

How?

By docility to the will of God and His Holy Spirit.

Can there be any doubt that certain groups of Europeans had an agenda and it is now being carried out  by their undue influence and manipulations at the Conclave so evident at the recent Synod on the Family?

Turning over the tables?


Tomorrow, Pope Francis addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Sandro Magister reveals a speech delivered by the Holy Father recently to European bishops. It is not politically-correct, even referring to Europe being invaded a second time by "barbarians." 

In fact, it is astounding given some of the confusion of what has been coming out for nearly two years. If the above is true, perhaps they are about to get their comeuppance. 

Fundamentally what is wrong with Europe and the West is the fault of the bishops of the Catholic Church. They failed in their mission and the evidence is all around to see. Instead of preaching Christ and Him Crucified and all of the Truth, they have become nothing more than social workers and NGO do-gooders.

The Holy Father also said last week at a Vatican Conference on marriage many things that are necessary. Let us pray for the Holy Father that on the family issues and on Europe, he is awakening to the grace of the Office of Peter ; and let us pray that grandma Europe and all of us "Return to Jesus!

+ + +

“EUROPE, RETURN TO JESUS!”

by Francis



Dear brother bishops,


I greet all of you with affection on the occasion of the plenary assembly of the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe. And I thank Cardinal Peter Erdõ for the words with which he introduced this meeting. I will have this address distributed to you and permit myself to say a few things that are in my heart and that the words of His Eminence have brought to the surface.

What is happening today in Europe? What is going on in the heart of our mother Europe? Is she still our mother Europe, or grandma Europe? Is she still fertile? Has she fallen into sterility? Is she unable to give new life? (It takes some getting used to the Holy Father's style but I have to admit, "grandma Europe" is pretty good! He calls out here its disastrous birth-rate not only literally but perhaps he also means, spiritually.) For one thing, this Europe has committed a few sins. We must say this with love: it has not wanted to recognize one of its roots. And because of this it feels and does not feel Christian. Or it feels Christian somewhat in secret, but doesn't want to recognize it, this European root. (How can Europe be anything but Christian and specifically, Catholic! Europe is dying because of itself. It must reconvert itself and its immigrants or it's culture, the greatest of all cultures, will be dead in a century or less)

The Europe of today has been invaded. It may be the second invasion of the barbarians, (who does he think that these "barbarians" are? or do we know ... have the events of the last few months opened his eyes? Let us hope.) I don't know. First it opened its doors in order to profit from labor. But now it feels this “invasion” of people who are coming to look for work, who are fleeing from their homeland in search of freedom and a better life. (Yes! Fat, lazy, rich and spoilt Europeans would not do the work and they imported immigrants to do it. The Germans from Turkey, the French from their former African colonies and these were Moslems who have more babies. Did they think it would not happen??)

Europe is wounded. I'll go back to that image that says so much to me, and I say that the Church today seems to me like a field hospital because there are so many wounded in the Church. But Europe is wounded too. Wounded by all the trials it has undergone. (The wars of history but particularly those of the 20th. century and communism all with their roots in the Masonic French Revolution which spread to Spain and Portugal early in the 20th century and Protestantism have unleashed upon Catholic Europe, hell on earth -- it is now paying for its sins and crimes against humanity.) It has gone from the time of prosperity, of great well-being, to a worrying crisis in which young people too are discarded. In the newspapers the other day it said that here in Italy youth unemployment is up to 43 percent, I think. In Spain it’s 50 percent. And the Spanish bishops have told me that in Andalusia it is almost at 60 percent. (Because they imported Muslim immigrants to do the work and now their own children have no future.)

Cardinal Erdõ talked about the discarding of children and the elderly. And it's true. But now there is also the discarding of a whole generation of young people. I don't know if it is only in Europe, or in Europe and in the developed countries, that there is talk of 75 million from the age of twenty-five and down. But it's a whole generation. As European bishops, what are we doing for the young people? (The bishops of Europe have on the most part for half a century preached a Gospel not of Christ but of another god; a god of false social justice. They have reaping what they have sown and souls have been and continue to be lost, the Holy Father understands this.) Giving them something to eat? Yes, that's the first thing. But that doesn't give dignity to a young person, to anyone. Dignity comes from work. And there is the danger that the children of mother, today practically grandma Europe, are losing their dignity because they do not have jobs and cannot bring bread home. Europe has discarded its children. (ABORTION!) A bit triumphantly. I remember that when I was studying in one country the clinics that did abortions then prepared everything to send it to cosmetic factories. Makeup made with the blood of innocents. And this was something to brag about, because it was progressive: the rights of the woman, the woman has the right over her body. (Yes, her right to kill her baby and her right to have a pretty face from its fetal tissue -- where were/are the bishops in this, particularly those of Germany who continue with their pornographic publishing empire. Pornography leads to abortion)

I don't know about here in Italy, I don't want to say because I'm not sure, but what will happen when the state is unable to pay the pensions, because there aren't enough young people working according to the law, (he understands the economic impact of a low-birth rate.) because there is that black market for labor that they do, not always but… And the elderly - I've said this about Latin America, about my country, but I believe it's a universal problem or of many countries or some other continents - the elderly are discarded with stealth euthanasia. The social services cover medical treatment up to a certain point, and then you're on your own! (Barack Hussein Obama's death panels?)

A Europe weary with disorientation. And I don't want to be a pessimist, but let's tell the truth: after food, clothing, and medicine, what are the most important expenditures? Cosmetics, and I don't know how to say this in Italian, but the “mascotas,” the little animals. They don't have children, but their affection goes to the little cat, to the little dog. And this is the second expenditure after the three main ones. The third is the whole industry to promote sexual pleasure. So it’s food, medicine, clothing, cosmetics, little animals, and the life of pleasure. Our young people feel this, they see this, they live this.

I liked very much what His Eminence said, because this is truly the drama of Europe today. But it's not the end. I believe that Europe has many resources for going forward. It's like a sickness that Europe has today. A wound. And the greatest resource is the person of Jesus. Europe, return to Jesus! Return to that Jesus whom you have said was not in your roots! And this is the work of the pastors: to preach Jesus in the midst of these wounds. I have spoken of only a few, but there are tremendous wounds. To preach Jesus. And I ask you this: don't be ashamed to proclaim Jesus Christ risen who has redeemed us all. And for us too that the Lord may not rebuke us, as today in the Gospel of Luke he rebuked these two cities.

The Lord wants to save us. I believe this. This is our mission: to proclaim Jesus Christ, without shame. And he is ready to open the doors of his heart, because he manifests his omnipotence above all in mercy and forgiveness. Let's go forward with preaching. Let's not be ashamed. So many ways of preaching, but to mama Europe - or grandma Europe, or wounded Europe - only Jesus Christ can speak a word of salvation today. Only he can open a door of escape.

+ + +

This is what we need to hear from Pope Francis. This is what the European Parliament needs to hear.

Friday 21 November 2014

Ontario's Lesbian Premier out to sexualize children

Originally published in July 2013, I present this post again, below. For those not familiar with the Ontario situation and the photo, I shall explain. In the centre is baby-killing advocate and fascist Justin Trudeau, the son of the former Prime Minister. He is leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and lusts to be Prime Minister because...well, because he and Quebec deserve it. On the far right is Kathleen Wynne. She is Premier of Ontario, a woman that left her husband and children for another woman to whom she is now "married", but who am I to judge? To the right is Benjamin Levin, at the time a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Education who was developing a blatantly obscene update to the current sex-education curriculum which would have include elementary school curriculum on sexual behaviours which need no mention here. 

Levin was busted for child pornography production and sexual assault of a minor and is awaiting trial.

The Premier Wynne elected by many a Catholic-behaving-badly is now ready to foist upon Ontario children the same and enhanced version of that curriculum.

There is a petition here organised by Teresa Pierre of PAFE, Parents As First Educators

Perversion of our children - the proud are brought down
July 11, 2013

The Catholic Church is right about sexual morality. Of all the perversions, none are worse than those which affect children. These crimes cry out to God for justice and those who participate in them, especially if they be Catholic clergy such as Raymond Lahey and many others, have committed grave crimes against the children and against the God. As our Lord tell us in the Gospel of Luke; "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he be cast into the sea, than that he should scandalise one of these little ones." One crime of this nature by any Catholic cleric is too many; but when that happens the Church is mocked and crucified by those who perpetuate it themselves. When God gives someone the ability to be a His minister or a civil leader or an educator the culpability for these crimes is severe. The gift of leadership is from God, it is either used for the betterment of His people or for personal gain; God will not be mocked. We, as Catholics are disgusted when these crimes are committed and covered up by those who serve Christ and His Church. One is too many, but make no mistake; those who commit these heinous crimes outside the Church are in greater numbers and ever increasing, thanks to the Internet.
MICHELE MANDEL - Wynne adviser free on bail, can never be truly free again
Benjamin Levin, Justin Trudeau, Kathleen Wynne
In the middle of the picture above is Justin Trudeau, a Catholic and son of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Poor Justin, he's inherited the worst of both of his parents, his father's morals and his mother's brains. Trudeau lusts to be Prime Minister of Canada and is now leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He once said, "I always say, if at a certain point, I believe Canada was really the Canada of Stephen Harper - that we were going against abortion, and we were going against gay marriage, and we were going backwards in 10,000 different ways - maybe I would think about making Quebec a country."

To Trudeau's left, is Kathleen Wynne, the Premier of the Ontario. Premier Wynne has three children and at the age of 37 she came "out" as a lesbian, left her husband and children and is now "married" to a woman. Wynne was Minister of Education in the previous Ontario Government under Premier Dalton McGuinty, another Catholic.

The shoulder to Wynne's left is that of former Ontario Premier, Socialist Bob Rae. enough said.

Now, what about the little man on the right of Justin.

His name is Benjamin Levin. Little Benny in his white hat and shorts looking like a little adolescent boy is a tenured professor at the University of Toronto's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. He was also a member of the transition team for Premier Wynne when she took power from Dalton McGuinty. When Wynne was Minister of Education, Benny was Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Education and the two of them conspired with the Catholic Premier to foist upon the children and parents of Ontario a new education curriculum. Evangelical Pastor Charles McVety said of this curriculum; "It is unconscionable to teach eight-year old children same-sex marriage, sexual orientation and gender identity. It is even more absurd to subject sixth graders to instruction on the pleasures of masturbation, vaginal lubrication and 12 year-olds lessons on oral sex and anal intercourse."

Yes, that's right; Levin and Wynne and McGuinty were going to force this on Ontario's children and families. Now that Wynne is Premier this vile child corrupting, homosexualist and perverted anti-family curriculum is again on the horizon.

Yet, sometimes one can be a little too smart, a little too cocky, a little too arrogant and a little too filled with "pride." One is reminded of the words of Our Lady in the Magnificat, "He hath shewed His mighty arm; He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the might from their seat."

You see, this Levin, 61 and a married man (to a woman, imagine that, poor dear she is) was arrested after an investigation that included cooperation with police in New Zealand, in fact, it was police there that broke the case. He was charged with two counts of distributing child pornography and one count each of making child pornography, counselling to commit an indictable offence and arrangement of a sexual offence against a child under 16. Two new charges of possessing and accessing child pornography have now been laid.

Levin is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty in the courts. His solicitor is Clayton Ruby who will vigorously defend this alleged pervert; Ruby is an activist out of the school of Saul Alinsky and is known for his anti-Catholic views.

Mr. Raymond Lahey whilst bishop
Like Raymond Lahey, the former Catholic Bishop of Antigonish, now defrocked and apparently living with his male lover, he, the force behind the liturgical disaster of CBWIII, we have no business with child pornography on our computers. If it is there, we are guilty of a crime. If you make child porn, you are guilty of a serious crime. Unless it was planted, then what defence is there? The courts will settle this; but as with Mr. Lahey, the sentence will not be enough. Other than SUN News, where is the secular media and who is asking the questions about the link between his alleged predilection for child porn and his work as an educator and policymaker in the Ontario Government? Not that he did both, but the bias and influence of this man and other like him working within the bowels of government? Undemocratic. Unaccountable. Evil men and women.

This alleged pervert conspired to foist a curriculum which was pornographic and corrupting on Ontario's children under the current lesbian Premier who deserted her family for her own sexual selfishness. Nobody can sit there and say that there is no link between the planning of this curriculum and the selfish sexual desires of those who propagate it. We've known this for years, we've said it and for doing so, we are labelled as intolerant and threatened with human rights complaints.  So be it. 

The picture of the three amigos was taken on June 30, 2013 at Toronto's Gay Pride Parade, two weeks before the alleged perverts arrest. A picture speaks a thousand words.

Yes, the Catholic Church is right;  yes, there is a connection between this alleged pervert's criminal actions and the corruption of our children by our government and their homosexual and perverted heterosexual allies.

Believe it.
Mugshot of Benjamin Levin

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Write to Francis!

His Holiness Pope Francis
Apostolic Palace
00120 
Vatican City

Cardinal Burke was a former Vatican official (PA)

Catholic Herald

Cardinal urges Pope Francis to take hot-button issues off table for next family synod

By  on Tuesday, 18 November 2014

  
Warning that Satan was sowing confusion and error about matrimony, the cardinal patron of the Knights of Malta said, “Even within the church there are those who would obscure the truth of the indissolubility of marriage in the name of mercy.”
The 66-year-old former archbishop of St Louis instead recommended that next year’s synod devote itself to promoting the church’s teaching on marriage.
Cardinal Burke also ruled out any easing of the restriction on Communion for those divorced and remarried without an annulment of their original marriage.
“I fail to be able to comprehend how — if marriage is indissoluble and someone is living in a state contradicting this indissolubility of marriage — the person can be admitted to holy Communion,” he said.
He urged the Catholic faithful to write to Pope Francis and Vatican and Irish church officials to make their views known.
Lashing out at the “so-called contraceptive mentality,” he warned it was “anti-life” and blamed it for “the devastation that is daily wrought in our world by the multi-million dollar industry of pornography” and the “incredibly aggressive homosexual agenda,” which he claimed could only result in “the profound unhappiness and even despair of those affected by it.”
Cardinal Burke said he was reduced to tears by attempts to introduce “so-called gender theory” into schools.
He warned that such theory was “iniquitous” and that exposing children to such “corrupt thinking” could not be permitted.
He said “society has gone even further in its affront to God and his law by claiming the name of marriage for liaisons between persons of the same sex.”
To applause, the cardinal said he refused to use the term traditional marriage for the marriage of a man and a woman.
“My response is — is there any other kind of marriage? I fear that by using that terminology that we give the impression that we think that there are other kinds of marriage; well, we don’t.”
Speaking ahead of the conference to RTE News, Cardinal Burke said he would refuse Communion to a Catholic politician who voted for same-sex marriage.
In his opening address to the conference, Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick said the family needs to be rediscovered as the essential agent of evangelization.However, he referred to the final message of October’s synod, to remind conference delegates that “people need to be accepted in the concrete circumstances of life.”

Monday 17 November 2014

No let-up on exposing the adulterist/homosexualist heresy in the Catholic Church and the machinations of those at the Synod on the Family

The next year is going to be fierce. Lest anyone doubt the resolve of the manipulators to carry on they shall. Let they and their ilk not doubt the reality of the blogosphere and the resolve of faithful Catholics around the world to confront this evil, this heresy and expose it to the Light of Truth which comes from Jesus Christ for all to see.

It will not matter if the perpetrator of the adulterist and homosexualist heresy is a priest, a bishop an archbishop or a cardinal, the truth will not be obliterated. 


Two posts worth reading.

The Eponymous Flower has an important article translated from the original German from Katholiches based on Father Dariusz Oko and his warnings against the homoheresy and homomafia running rampant in the Church today. He reminds us that it was Benedict XVI who established a clear ban on the ordination to the priesthood of anyone with deep-seated same-sex tendencies.

The second is from Toronto Catholic Witness quoting newly ordained Father Leo S. I. Mwenda, O.P., where he contradicts the octogenarian German Cardinal Walter Kasper that the resistance in Africa to the adulterist and the homosexualist heresy is not because of "taboo" but because they are opposed to "right reason and contrary to God's intention for human sexuality."

This Synod on the Family held in October in Rome has clearly defined the issues and the sides. You are either with the perennial Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church or you are opposed to it.

Sunday 16 November 2014

A Contradictory Pope - A major interview with Sandro Magister

Under Bergoglio, Christianity Matters Less - A Contradictory Pope
- A Major Interview with Sandro Magister

The Pope is confusing many bishops

Sandro Magister, interviewed by Goffredo Pistelli
Italia Oggi
November 13, 2014

This year Sandro Magister celebrates 40 years as a Vatican journalist. His first articles in L’Espresso in fact, date back to 1974.  And today, from those columns and also from the site of the weekly magazine, he still continues to report Vatican and Church news, everything very well-documented without bowing down to anyone.
Born in 1943, native of Busto Arsizio, with degrees in Philosophy and Theology from the “Cattolica” Magister has followed many Roman pontiffs. His articles regarding the present Pontiff, Pope Francis, are distinct from the mainstream Vatican journalists, unhesitatingly noting contradictions.  

For the complete interview, please visit Rorate Caeli Blog.
*****

Saturday 15 November 2014

Homily of Cardinal Burke: Feast of St. Charles Borromeo

What is it about the great intellects of Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Athanasius Schneider and Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke that is able to formulate such clarity that even simpletons like myself can understand it?

What is it about our heterodox friends that causes them to be so foggy in their theology and their preaching. Ah, I know, "if you can beat them with brains then baffle them with bovine excrement." 

None of that here and no guten abend either!

From the National Catholic Register (not the fishwrap)

Here below is an English translation of a homily given last week in German by Cardinal Raymond Burke. The Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated on Nov. 4, the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, in Vienna's Karlskirche, an 18th century church dedicated to St. Charles. The homily was well received by those present and is republished here, with Cardinal Burke's kind permission.


FEAST OF SAINT CHARLES, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR
KARLSKIRCHE
VIENNA
4 NOVEMBER 2014
Eph 3, 8-12 , Mt 25, 14-23
HOMILY

Praised be Jesus Christ!
It is a source of particular joy to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the feastday of Saint Charles Borromeo in this magnificent church dedicated to the Savior and to His exemplary high priest, Saint Charles. The extraordinary beauty of this church is a reflection of the even more extraordinary beauty of the holiness of life of Saint Charles, heroic pastor in the completion of the extraordinary work of the Council of Trent and in the implementation of its teaching and discipline for the salvation of countless souls. The church building itself and its artistic appointments inspire us to contemplate the life of Saint Charles and to strive to imitate his heroic holiness in the circumstances of our daily living, most of all, in the offering of worship to God “in spirit and in truth.”[1]
The offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the highest expression of the life in Christ which we share with Saint Charles and all the saints. In the Eucharistic Sacrifice, Christ, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, descends to the altars of our churches and chapels to make present anew for His Sacrifice on Calvary. Dwelling with us, He pours forth from His glorious pierced Heart the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit to inspire and strengthen us for every good and holy thought, word, and deed.
Contemplating the life of Saint Charles in the context of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, let us reflect, in particular, on the praise of the high priest in the Book of Sirach. The sacred text tells us that “no one has been found like him in glory; he kept the law of the Most High.”[2] The greatness of the high priest depends upon his attention to the divine law written upon the human heart, and articulated and illuminated by the inspired Word of Christ communicated to us in the Church.
While the most exalted activities of the high priest are teaching the Mystery of Faith and making it present through the Sacraments, above all, though the offering of the Holy Mass, he is first disposed to carry out these most sacred acts by the discipline of His own life, in accord with the law of God. Saint Charles Borromeo understood that the Church’s doctrine and discipline were the irreplaceable conditions for the encounter with Christ and the daily conversion of life to Christ by following Him on the only way which leads to eternal life, the way of the Cross.[3] It was thus that he dedicated himself so heroically to bringing to a good conclusion the work of the Council of Trent and to implementing the work of the Council, once it was concluded, in the portion of God’s flock entrusted to his priestly care, first in Rome and then in Milan.
Saint Charles understood that the grace of Holy Orders, given to him at a tender age, had transformed him and his personal gifts, so that he belonged completely to Christ in the fulfillment of His high-priestly office. To be entrusted with such a gift of grace demanded that Saint Charles be attentive to even the smallest aspect of his priestly ministry, so that he might be a faithful, generous and pure physician of souls. He understood the profound meaning of the parable by which Our Lord teaches us to be attentive in using our talents – be they five or two or one – in the service of the Master. Such loving attention to even the smallest things is our way to joy and peace, both in the present life and in the life which is to come. Thus we understand the words of the master to his servant: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.”[4]
Commenting on the early call of Saint Charles to assist his uncle, Pope Pius IV, in the work of the reform of the Church in the wake of the violent upheaval of the Protestant Revolution, Dom Prosper Guéranger writes:
Charles did not hesitate. With faith to supply for his want of experience, he understood that to the torrent of errors which threatened to deluge the world Rome must first of all oppose, as an embankment, that undivided truth of which she is the guardian.[5]
Saint Charles devoted himself to the Church’s discipline, in order that the faithful, beginning with himself, would be most fully disposed to the fullness of life in Christ through the teaching of the faith, divine worship and the practice of the virtues.
Writing about the service of Saint Charles to Pope Pius IV in the reforms mandated by the Council of Trent, Dom Guéranger observes:
He caused the liturgical books to be revised, and the Roman catechism to be compiled. But first, and in all things, he was himself the living model of the renewed discipline, and thus acquired the right to exercise his zeal for or against others. Rome, initiated by him in the salutary reform of which it was fitting she should set the first example, was in a few months completely transformed.[6]
Once he had completed his service in Rome, he took up the reform of Church in the Archdiocese of Milan of which he was Archbishop. He attended with tireless care to every aspect of Church life, in accord with the mandates of the Council of Trent.
Offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, we think, in particular, of the manner in which Saint Charles tirelessly worked to preserve the incomparable beauty of the Rite of the Mass, in accord with the reforms of the Council of Trent. Saint Charles not only understood that careful attention to the discipline of life was the foundation of true worship of God, but he also saw in the intricate beauty of the Rite of the Mass the reflection of the beauty of a virtuous life, of a life of pure and selfless love of God and of neighbor. In that regard, he also gave detailed instructions to the faithful regarding the church building, in order that sacred art and architecture in every way be at the service of the Mystery of Faith.[7] One thinks, for example, of the wonderful development of the tabernacle as a central part of the sanctuary under his careful study and direction.[8]
In these days of so much turmoil in the world and within the Church, let us pray for our Bishops, through the intercession of Saint Charles Borromeo that by keeping “the law of the Most High,” by faithful attention to even the little things of the pastoral care of the flock, they may lead many souls to eternal life. In a special way, let us pray that their attention to the Sacred Liturgy may be for them and for all in their spiritual care the cause of a more pure and selfless love of God and of neighbor. May Saint Charles intercede for us all, that we may grow ever more in the likeness of Christ by our devotion to sound Catholic doctrine and discipline.
Pope Saint John Paul II, in continuity with his baptismal patron, Saint Charles Borromeo, reminded us that, before the great challenges of our time, we will not save ourselves and our world by discovering “some magic formula” or by “inventing a new programme.”[9] In unmistakable terms, he declared:
No, we shall not be saved by a formula but by a Person, and the assurance which he gives us: I am with you.[10]
He reminded us that the program by which we are to address effectively the great spiritual challenges of our time is, in the end, Jesus Christ alive for us in the Church. He explained:
The programme already exists: it is the plan found in the Gospel and in the living Tradition, it is the same as ever. Ultimately, it has its center in Christ himself, who is to be known, loved and imitated, so that in him we may live the life of the Trinity, and with him transform history until its fulfillment in the heavenly Jerusalem. This is a program which does not change with shifts of times and cultures, even though it takes account of time and culture for the sake of true dialogue and effective communication.[11]
In short, the program leading to freedom and happiness is, for each of us, holiness of life, in accord with our state in life. May Saint Charles Borromeo be our great teacher and intercessor in pursuing the holiness of life to which we are called.
Let us now lift up our hearts, one with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus opened for us in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Let us lift up to the Heart of Jesus all of the intentions of the Church in our time, above all, the intention of fidelity to doctrine and discipline, even in the smallest of matters. In the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, our hearts, like the heart of Saint Charles, will be healed of sin and inflamed with devotion to the discipline by which we grow daily in love of God and of our neighbor.

Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, have mercy on us! 
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop and Confessor, pray for us!

Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE