Abbey-Roads

So funny...

2009-11-30T00:16:00.002-06:00

Dissenters, now calling themselves the American Catholic Council, plan a 2011 conference in Detroit “to create a new Church.”
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Promising that the American Catholic Council will “recapture the universal call to ministry,” organizers claim to have launched the call for the national council in an effort to create a more responsive, accountable Church that “calls on the active participation of its people and more closely models the American experience.”

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Although council leaders have denied that they are attempting to create their own church, the American Catholic Council website states their mission clearly: “We seek nothing short of a personal conversion of all to create a new Church.” And, while the organizers of the proposed council have appropriated the language and trappings of an authentic Catholic council, the reality is that the American Catholic Council will be conducted entirely outside the purview of the Church, flouting canon law, and ignoring input from current Church leaders. - Read more
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Aren't those seniors cute though? Keeps 'em busy. I wonder if Michael is going, oh, and Sr. Lou, sosf?

Climate change and going green.

2009-11-29T11:37:00.003-06:00

New dogma.
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At Mass Father announced that two parishes in the neighborhood are uniting to hold a discussion group on Climate Change and global warming and its impact upon God's creation. It is after all a part of Catholic social teaching now. The discussion will focus on the approach to climate change by the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change and the Catholic Bishops' Environmental Justice Program. I know!
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So anyway, I'm not interested in getting involved, and even if I was, I'm quite sure it is going to be a bunch of greenies spreading the climate change gospel.
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As it stands, global warming scientists accuse their opponents of being pseudo scientists, while conspiring together to attack anyone who dares disagree with their studies and theories - which are just that - studies and theories. Their political adherents are just as bad - if not worse. Within this privileged group, just those who agree with the Nobel laureate elite, and those who have the proper academic and scientific credentials - i.e. published in the right scientific journals - and only after conforming to the sky is falling principals, are trusted enough to propagate the science. Hence it should be no surprise that any challenge from individuals or groups outside this elite are ridiculed and shamed as right-wing-nut conservative fanatics.
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Sometimes I think this whole climate change thing is a rush to world government. (I know! But I think a lot of people fear that.) It is as if Woodstock really did change the world - that the age of Aquarius really has dawned in our new post-Christian age. The ecology is the religion of the New Age, climate change is the dogma for the New Order. Wow! Maybe I'm on to something here? The media supports this stuff - and doomsday looms if we do nothing... The movie 2012!!! Woah! Ooooooh! It is prophecy!!! Nah - that's just a bad trip if you ask me. Although it really did start with "Woodstock"...
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Well, I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, Tell me, where are you going?
This he told me

Said, I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm,
Gonna join in a rock and roll band.
Got to get back to the land and set my soul free.

We are stardust, we are golden,
We are billion year old carbon,
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden.

Well, then can I roam beside you?
I have come to lose the smog,
And I feel myself a cog in somethin' turning.
And maybe it's the time of year,

Yes and maybe it's the time of man.
And I don't know who I am,
But life is for learning. - Joni Mitchell, lyrics to "Woodstock"
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I know!
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Links:

Climategate
Climate Lies
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BTW - I do recycle, use organic products on my lawn, use compact fluorescent in all my lighting, I try not to bathe more than twice a week, and I never go out so as to save gas - well - I drive to the store and church. I keep the heat at 60 - that is because I'm so hot though. I try not to clean more than once every 6 months so as not to use up energy. I feed the wild animals that roam my back yard. I use green laundry soaps and cleaners - and not very often. I'm sick of the green BS though, aren't you?
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Advent wreaths and calendars...

2009-11-29T00:06:00.006-06:00

Advent wreaths and calendars...
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Neither custom has ever interested me in the least. I suppose that sounds irreverent, but the practice has never moved me to devotion. And they are usually awkwardly displayed as well as really ugly.
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BTW - The origins of the Advent wreath dates back to pagan times in Northern Europe and was adapted by the Christians - some say in the Middle Ages, others say during the Reformation. Of course the Advent calendar does indeed date back to the Reformation - it began as a Lutheran thing. No big deal though.
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Traditionally, the weeks before Christmas were always observed as a minor lent; prayer and fasting from the feast of St. Martin to Christmas Eve. In the West, the days of preparation were shortened to four weeks or so beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas. In modern times the Advent Season has lost much of its penitential character, although many traditional Catholics are known to give things up, as in the Great Lent.
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Photo: Catholic school girls preparing the Advent wreath in the Sister's community room, just before ducking out for a cigarette beneath the gym. Photo source unavailable.

Saturday stuff...

2009-11-28T11:10:00.003-06:00

Twiddily dee...dah... dah... ta... dah.... twidid... whatever.
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I'm painting shepherds today - with an angel appearing to them - on the first Christmas eve. I would have liked to have seen that - the angels. I decided to dream about it last night, but nothing happened - I was hoping to see angels.
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Have you ever seen an angel? I don't know if I have either - I saw someone once - but I didn't realize it could have been an apparition until after it was over - and there is no guarantee it was an actual apparition either. Anyway, though I wanted to get away, I looked in the direction the person was pointing - just for a moment mind you, when I looked back - the person had disappeared. I may have written about it before - it happened in the Basilica of St. Peter's years ago. At least the shepherds knew they were seeing heavenly beings, all that light and glitter and music and stuff - my experience was pretty normal. I think God prefers normal.
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You won't believe what happened to me this morning. I saw Mrs. Rabitowitz! No kidding. I was saying my prayers and looked out the french doors and there she was - looking into the house. She was saying something but I couldn't hear her because the doors were shut. I made a gesture of praying hands, and then lifted my office book to show her I was praying, so she'd understand why I couldn't come to the door. (I never go to the door or answer the phone when I am praying, and frequently while I'm painting.) She nodded and cocked her head towards the bird feeder indicating it was time to start feeding the wildlife. Then she hopped off into the hedge and took up her station, watching and waiting for I don't know what. And here I thought she was dead.
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Speaking of prayer. This morning I considered how every sin is a choice - after baptism that is. The temptations - or the tribulations of life - test our fidelity. In every life one is faced with a fundamental choice - to choose between good or evil, Christ or the Antichrist. Some people may live in such severe testing, the choice is every day. Sometimes we lose, sometimes we win - yet so long as we live in the body we have hope and mercy is available to us - so we can lose a battle, recoup, and begin anew. But we have to keep trying.
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"Even though we are unable to remain in control of the temptation, we are nevertheless being asked not to run from it or avoid it. We need to undergo the temptation and pass through it in order to come to Jesus, and we need to follow in his footsteps, our eyes focused upon his, he in us and we in him... In every temptation, in the depths of the infatuation of our senses or in the densest darkness of our mind, there is but one way out, for us as well, the way of Jesus." - Dom Andre Louf, o.c.s.o.
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Don't run from the struggles of the temptations and trials and tribulations - if you do - come back - come back to Jesus. Never settle for, or opt for the easy way out - if you do - come back - come back to Jesus. If you fall away - or die like Mrs. Rabitowitz did, which is just a metaphor for mortal sin - come back - come back to Jesus. Choose life, not the temptation. Choose real life, eternal life, and not a lifestyle. Choose Jesus not the drama of daily compromise. It's a choice - it really is.
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Art: Govert Flinck - Aankondiging aan de herders Source
Bunnycake Source
Study for Jacob Wrestling Angel - Léon Joseph-Florentine Bonnat, 1876

The Irish Timeline...

2009-11-28T00:07:00.004-06:00

How the story of abuse allegations in the Irish Catholic Church emerged...
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1987 to now.
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"The sexual abuse of a child is and always was a crime in civil law; it is and always was a crime [in] canon law; it is and always was grievously sinful." - Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin
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Link
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A perversion of power.
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Art: Our Lady of Sorrows, Sossoferrato, Uffizi

Poverty of spirit amid the recession.

2009-11-27T11:52:00.003-06:00

Do you buy it?
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Watching news coverage of shops open on Thanksgiving and stores invaded by shoppers on Black Friday, one might not believe there is a recession going on. It all seems to be business as usual... Thus far our recession is not like the Great Depression - masses are not exactly lining the streets standing in breadlines. At least we are not hearing much about it if they are. Network news no longer hides the fact it is a propaganda machine for the the liberal agenda, in today's terms, a mouthpiece for the Obama Administration. So you won't learn anything there.
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There are really poor people out there, families who have lost jobs and homes. Yet if you get all of your information from television - as many Americans still do - you get the impression everything is just fine despite the recession and the isolated stories of financial woe. Climate change is still the big crises as evidenced by NBC's Green Week, wherein all the programming adapted some sort of green story line to their prime time line-up. See, so we are so not poor if we can worry about greenhouse gasses.
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Every American is aware that as a nation, we are the most affluent in the history of human society. We continue to have access to all the riches our world offers. We are a country where many of the poor are too fat - few, if any are actually starving; I just read today we throw away 40% of our food. As we all know health care is a problem - nevertheless - there really is access, albeit limited. (Ironically, with reform, it could be even more limited - rationed.)
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My point is that most of the poor in the U.S. can get what they need - the basics. Yet even in welfare homes, most have a television, DVD player, cell phone, and so on. And even if these things are lacking - these items - or the material perks they represent - are often the first things poor people want - after better food, clothing and shelter of course. But people want that no matter how affluent they become: A newer, bigger house, better clothes, fancier food... In our era of the epicurean, the ostentatious, and the avaricious.
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Who are the poor?
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Which poses the question, where is poverty of spirit? Indeed, what is poverty of spirit? Many established religious orders of vowed men and women seem to offer a sort of lip service to poverty - many genuinely working for social justice issues and wearing ugly clothes - but the majority live pretty well, benefiting from paid for higher-education, health care, housing (including apartments), wardrobe budgets, travel expenses, and so on. Of course there is nothing wrong with that when it is necessary for the mission of the congregation. In such case, the well formed religious understands the necessity to practice spiritual poverty and detachment - which happen to be interior virtues usually unascertainable to outsiders, not to mention none of my business.
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Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult to be truly poor in spirit when modern men - religious or otherwise, take pride in their academic achievements, intellectual riches and progressive socio-politico ideals, which tend towards an elitism oblivious to the devastating moral poverty the culture. Moral poverty is not the same thing as spiritual poverty, much less, actual poverty.
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Moral poverty is not a virtue.

The Medal of the Immaculate Conception

2009-11-27T00:01:00.005-06:00

November 27 marks the feast of the Miraculous Medal, otherwise known as the medal of the Immaculate Conception. Though the feast honors the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the memorial commemorates the anniversary of the apparition of the Mother of God to St. Catherine Laboure in Paris in 1830, wherein Our Lady showed the nun the medal she wished to be made for those to wear seeking her aid and protection. The Blessed Virgin spoke to Catherine: “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.” Countless miracles followed, hence the name, the Miraculous Medal. The story here.
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"O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."
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In 12 days the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
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Happy Thanksgiving...

2009-11-26T10:38:00.000-06:00

Epicureans, sceptics and cynics, oh my!

2009-11-26T10:36:00.001-06:00

And ostentation, avarice and laziness too?
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Britain's Chief Rabbi on the decline and fall of Europe...
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Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: "Europe, at least the indigenous population of Europe, is dying, exactly as Polybius said about ancient Greece in the third pre-Christian century. The century that is intellectually the closest to our own - the century of the sceptics and the epicureans and the cynics."
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Quoting Polybius he stated: "The fact is, that the people of Hellas had entered upon the false path of ostentation, avarice and laziness, and were therefore becoming unwilling to marry, or if they did marry, to bring up the children born to them; the majority were only willing to bring up at most one or two."
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Rabbi Sacks did point out however:
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"...that sincere religious belief is able to overcome the cultural impediments to having children. "Wherever you turn today anywhere in the world, and whether you look at the Jewish or Christian or Muslim communities, you will find the more religious the community, the larger, on average, are its families," he said." - Source
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Thank God we are not like that in the United States.... ;D

Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-26T01:14:00.000-06:00

Nothing to do? Holidays get you down? Family bores you too? Looking for a new sweat suit?
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Go shopping. This year Walgreen's, Walmart, K-Mart, Old Navy, Radio Shack and Toys R us will be open Thanksgiving Day.
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Who says the holidays are too commercial?

Kiss my...

2009-11-26T00:08:00.004-06:00

Oops! It's Thanksgiving - don't wreck it.
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Well it is only Thanksgiving in the U.S. - not elsewhere - especially in the U.K. As reported here, Archbishop Nichols offered flowers to Hindu deities last Saturday. Come on! Hindus have been killing Catholic Christians in India for the past couple of years and the Archbishop offers flowers to pagan gods? Christian martyrs shed their blood rather than submit to such apostasy. So if the Archbishop doesn't believe in them - does that make it okay? Does he really believe that Jesus is Lord? Is he really preaching Jesus and him crucified when he makes offerings to idols?
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When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?
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Christmas is only a month away!

2009-11-25T11:25:00.003-06:00

November 25 - start decorating!
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Another reason I'm into Christmas so early and love it that Christmas stuff is up in the public square (ads, merchandise, etc.) is that I always make stuff for Christmas. This year I continue my work on card designs - picking up where I left off last year, and I'm also doing Bethlehem backgrounds for the nativity at my parish. Not huge ones - just 30" x 40" views out the stable windows. It's fun - not great art - but pazzi and fanciful - I'm working without preliminary drawings - or strict composition. Just doing it.
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Making things for Christmas - to sell, to gift, to donate - it makes the season come alive - it allows the prep time to be as much fun as the season itself - which lasts from December 25 all the way to Candlemass - February 2!

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The photo's here are early examples of some work I did for an exclusive interior design company - way back in 1989! They are copies of Fra Angelico angels - flat boards I cut out, painted and gilded, and then mounted on a wood base I painted faux ivory and lapis, adding gold ball feet. I think the firgures were about 40" tall. At the time they retailed at $450 each.
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This just in...

2009-11-24T18:58:00.001-06:00

"My words were misrepresented."
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Archbishop Flynn responds to a StarTribune news article which printed false information about him.
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November 24, 2009
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GAYS VS. CATHOLIC CHURCH --My words were misrepresented --- Archbishop Harry Flynn, Letter to Editor, Star Tribune

Statements and actions attributed to me in the Star Tribune's Nov. 17 article "Gays reject church's attempt to 'cure' them" are pure fabrication. I read that story and marveled that the Star Tribune would accept a quote like that and alleged acts by me without even attempting to find out if they were true -- which they were not.

According to Michael Bayly of a group called Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities, "Archbishop Harry Flynn came to us -- we didn't go to him -- in the late 1990s and asked us to serve as resource people for the church."

Take it from the archbishop in question, this never happened, period. I understand that Bayly later recanted those remarks on his website, claiming he was "misquoted." That excuse is a transparent one and one the reporter adamantly denies.

There were other errors and untruths in this story, but the truly unfortunate thing is that the newspaper and the reporter let Bayly, with an agenda of his own, use them. - Source
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I actually responded to Bayly's article with a comment on his post as follows:
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Michael - I hope your correction appears in the Strib.
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When Archbishop Flynn arrived in this Archdiocese one of the first things he did was establish a Courage group, with (now) Bishop LeVoir as director at the time. - Source
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A retraction did appear in the Saturday Minneapolis Star Tribune, but it was pretty limp wristed, if you ask me. It showed up on page E3 of the Variety section - after two paragraphs of blah-blah-blah, the journalist explains, "While there was interchange between the group and the archdiocese, Flynn did not initiate the contact."
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Looks to me like sloppy journalism and unreliable information from a sloppy gay activist.
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Thanks to Ray of Stella for alerting me to the Archbishop's letter.

For Cathy of Alexandria!

2009-11-24T13:37:00.001-06:00

She loves elves. Tomorrow is her feast day too!

John Paul II and the 'discipline'.

2009-11-24T12:28:00.000-06:00

Hidden acts of penance.

One of my very best friends in the whole world is a very holy priest. He once asked a very holy prioress of a very holy Carmelite monastery if the community still used the discipline and if so, where may he obtain one? Mother responded sweetly, "Oh Father, that is a rather indiscreet question." As was her custom, she discreetly changed the subject and poor Father never got his answer. Unfortunately he initially felt slighted, but we all feel slighted when someone surprises us with a direct answer and charitable rebuke. I'm quite sure my friend laughs about it now.
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I mention this as news of Holy Father John Paul II's use of the discipline has come to light this week - apparently testimony from a Polish nun who worked in the papal household has been leaked from the Causes of Saints investigation. Talk about indiscreet. It is especially unfortunate since contemporary society has little to no knowledge about the practice of corporal penance in the spiritual life, and have no understanding of such voluntary mortification. (Perverted sexual practice and fetish aside of course - which poses the question, what will Theology of the Body hedonists make of this news? I'm being sarcastic.)
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People 'get' dieting or going through painful surgical procedures to lose weight or look better. They understand the need for an athlete to go through continual repetition of arduous exercise and practice to perfect his game. They understand that type of body-punishing sacrifice - but not a priest or a nun whipping one's self in a spirit of penance.
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Since the Council, few religious orders continued using the discipline. Perhaps on account of St. Therese and her Little Way, most religious superiors and spiritual directors would advise against such corporal penances - but the practice was never lost, as Pope John Paul's story reveals. Nevertheless, it is a very private matter, isn't it. That said, the revelation that a modern Pope, who endured so much suffering throughout his life, practiced such corporal penance can be a wonderful reminder for the Christian to return to the practice of voluntary mortification and penance in his every day life...
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Corporal penance in the lives of the saints.
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While the Saints regarded interior penance (that is, denial of the will through the vow of obedience) greater than any kind of exterior penance, nonetheless instruments of penance have been used by the Saints throughout history, and were in widespread use in religious communities for centuries up until the 1960's. One type of exterior penance common in religious life was known as "The Discipline" (self-flagellation, using a whip, rod, or lash), which was used in Padre Pio's friary. Saint Pio was known to have continued this penance even when it was no longer required of him to do so. The Discipline was also commonly used in Saint Faustina's convent as well.
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It should again be noted that these mortifications were always done within the context of a religious community (with permission from a superior), or under the direction of a spiritual director. We might also recall that the Saints were careful to do these penances in secret, and even went out of their way to hide such instruments from their own communities. To be considered an average religious, to them, was of far more value than to be highly regarded as an austere aesthetic. Any instance that would draw the praises of men was to be severely shunned. As the Lord reminded Saint Faustina that what pleases Him most, above exterior penances, even above fasting, is the denial of one's own will through obedience to superiors and the rules of the community (which cannot be fully practiced apart from religious vows). A humble and obedient soul before God wins the most graces. - Redemptive Suffering - The Science of the Saints
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John Paul II on suffering:
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"Christ did not conceal from his listeners the need for suffering. He said very clearly: "If any man would come after me... let him take up his cross daily, and before his disciples he placed demands of a moral nature that can only be fulfilled on condition that they should "deny themselves". The way that leads to the Kingdom of heaven is "hard and narrow", and Christ contrasts it to the "wide and easy" way that "leads to destruction." Christ does not explain in the abstract the reasons for suffering, but he states: "Follow me!". Come! Take part through your suffering in this work of saving the world, a salvation achieved through my suffering! Through my Cross. Gradually, as the individual takes up his cross, spiritually uniting himself to the Cross of Christ, the salvific meaning of suffering is revealed before him. ...It is then that man finds in his suffering interior peace and even spiritual joy." - Source
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Art: Flagelation of Christ, Ruiz - Source

At novena's end...

2009-11-24T00:06:00.005-06:00

Today is the last day of the monthly novena in honor of the Infant Jesus - exactly one month away from Christmas Eve... How cool is that?
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Just think, at Bethlehem Christmas is celebrated every day... and yet some of us complain it comes along too soon when we see Christmas decorations going up before Thanksgiving - every year.
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Tut! Tut! No complaints as to how it is celebrated in this country, how secular and commercial it has become, and so on. Remember, the real Bethlehem is not exactly located in a Christian country. Oh! Oh! And those secular Palestinians sell Christmas souvenirs - many rather tacky - all year long. And they listen to non-Christmas rock music while they do it.
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Yeah. So lighten up and have a nice Thanksgiving if you can manage it. ;)
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Art: Adoration of the Shepherds, Murillo
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Home for the holidays.

2009-11-23T21:42:00.001-06:00

Some people think Christmas ads and decorations go up too early these days. They should be grateful they get to celebrate the holidays at all. And how do they think fourth quarter works anyway?

Yeah. And just think about the poor Jews - the United States doesn't shut down for their holidays, even though conspiracy theorists claim the banks and entertainment industry are controlled by them.

Confidentiality in spiritual direction.

2009-11-23T11:03:00.009-06:00

The seal of the confessional.
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As Catholics we know that the priest is bound by strict law to keep secret anything a penitent confesses in sacramental confession. Even if a penitent were to bring up a sin he had confessed outside the sacrament, the priest would have to ask the penitent to repeat the matter or ask permission to discuss it with him. One confessor I had refused to ever discuss matters of (my) confession outside the sacrament - ever.
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Catholics ought to know that if they accidentally overhear a confession, they are bound by the same law of secrecy as the priest. (Code of Canon Law, No. 983.2)
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Recently, there have been blog posts concerning violations of the seal - primarily the situation where a confession was been taped in order to acquire evidence against a prisoner, I believe similar stories have emerged in cases of espionage in former Communist countries. Elsewhere, especially on blogs I have read things such as, "My confessor said this or that wasn't a sin," or "You should do this or that," and "I've been guilty of that myself," and worse, "I'm gay too," or "I cheated too." (Which just might explain why some priests have been posthumously accused of being gay.)
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Bishop Tobin and Patrick Kennedy.
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Today it has come to light that Bishop Tobin is disappointed that Representative Kennedy disclosed that he was asked to refrain from receiving Holy Communion - the story of the so-called Communion ban broke last week, fomenting a great deal of inappropriate discussion on the theological priestly blog circuit. Bishop Tobin stated:
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“I am disappointed that the Congressman would make public my pastoral and confidential request of nearly three years ago that sought to provide solely for his spiritual well-being,” said Bishop Thomas Tobin in a strongly worded statement. “I have no desire to continue the discussion of Congressman Kennedy’s spiritual life in public.” - Source
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This incident brings up a very important point - respecting the confidentiality of spiritual direction. As in the case of sacramental confession, it can be argued there is serious responsibity on the part of the penitent to respect limitations of confidentiality as well. In that sense it is a two way street.
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All spiritual direction is for the good of the person's soul - as the Bishop pointed out, "For his spiritual well-being". Hence if it is negative or disciplinary in nature it is to bring forth a greater good.
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Matters of conscience are private.
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Nevertheless, one piece of advice may not necessarily fit all - especially when it was meant just for you. Spiritual direction, and sacramental counseling are matters of conscience and ought not to be disclosed to others, except perhaps for greater clarification and instruction - with the priest's permission, and/or in the context of stricter confidentiality. Think Teresa of Avila who had several directors and confessors examining her spirit. Few of us will ever have to worry about such things - if only we could!
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So here is the deal - keep your mouth shut about what your confessor says to you - I've been guilty of discussing such things in the past as well - don't do it - the privy counsel was for you - no one else. Don't flit around the Internet or coffee and donuts Sundays, bragging about what your spiritual director told you about how far you made it on the ladder of perfection, or how often he suggested this or that for you. It's just for you - no one else. (And good for you that you have a spiritual director - no one needs to know that.)
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If you are a priest or a theologian, or an Internet know it all - I don't know if I'd step in on someone else's turf to discuss the spiritual direction of a soul in their charge - public figure or not. Especially as in the case of Patrick Kennedy - don't tear into someone when they are down - don't interfere with the process - and maybe resist the temptation to flaunt your brilliance with line by line commentary. (I also think posting a poll on the matter of Kennedy vs. Tobin on your blog is particularly disgusting. You will never be made a bishop, and may be lucky if you even get one to assign you to anything.)
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That said, I'm confident Bishop Tobin is perfectly capable to defend himself:
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“At the same time, I will absolutely respond publicly and strongly whenever he attacks the Catholic Church, misrepresents the teachings of the Church or issues inaccurate statements about my pastoral ministry.” - Bishop Tobin
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Note: I'm quite sure the penitent does not sin if he reveals counsel or advice he hears in confession. Disclosing a personal revelation a priest may make for the sake of empathy with the penitent must remain confidential to avoid the sin of detraction. If a priest (or anyone) has more to offer on this, or to correct what I've said - please step in. Thanks.
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Photo: Montgomery Clift in "I Confess".

Blessed Miguel Pro

2009-11-23T07:33:00.000-06:00

Today, November 23 is his feast day. It seems to me he needs to be better known - he should have a larger cult in the United States - especially now when the Catholic Church and the priesthood is held in such contempt by secular/popular culture. Blessed Miguel Pro has an entire website devoted to him here.
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Prayer for the Intercession of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, S.J., Priest and Martyr

Loving Father, You have revealed your greatness through your saints.

The Christian faith which You have planted in your Church has been

made abundant and fruitful by the blood of Your martyrs.

May we imitate the life and example of your servant,

Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro. May we courageously proclaim

the Gospel in every aspect of our lives. May we serve You,

just as he did, in the poor and the oppressed. And like him, may

we stand for Justice and Equality towards building Your Kingdom

here on earth.

Grant, through his intercession, the grace I ask of you if it will be for my good.

(recite your intention).

And, in Your chosen time, may he be raised to the honors of Your altar

as one of our exemplary Saints.

Amen.

O Virgin of Guadalupe, our Mother and Queen,

Pray for us!

By Engr. Christian Allain P. Cerda
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Art: Image by T. Nelson

Holy crap!

2009-11-23T00:08:00.002-06:00

St. Joan's Cabaret.
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St. Joan of Arc dinner theater in the worship space... gym.
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I picked this up over at Vincenzo's:
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The 15th annual SJA Cabaret: Peace, Love & 40 Years of Church In a Gym presented October 23 and 24 featured the hippy look of 1969 with peace signs adorning shaggy wigged performers and an impressive eight feet wide four canvas paneled peace sign painted by four SJA youth students greeted the crowd upon arrival. Performers jammed with their favorite songs from 1969 and a video created by Fred Vagle recapped pivotal events that year when Mass began in St. Joan’s gym. Underscored by the Beatles “A Day In the Life” iconic moments flashed rapidly by from Vietnam war protesting and President Nixon, television’s the Smothers Brothers and the Brady Bunch shows, the first man on the moon to finally the man who turned St. Joan’s into what it remains today— passionately peace seeking and inclusively welcoming, Father Harvey Egan. - Source
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I don't care what they do to applaud and entertain themselves...
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St. Joan of Arc was never cool to anyone who was actually an 'active participant' of that era - least of all the pop-culture they portray in their "Up With People" cabaret night bull-crap. No self respecting hippie would have had the least interest in their religious schtick. I'll never ever understand why these peace and justice types, along with their contemporary gay-rights buddies, think that genuine anti-cultural types would be interested in their brand of bourgeois socialism.
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Anyway - when radicals convert - they go for the truth. Authenticity - not compromise.
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John Kennedy

2009-11-22T10:04:00.000-06:00

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on this date in 1963.
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May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
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Let the holidays begin!

2009-11-21T11:29:00.002-06:00

Today is the anniversary of my dad's burial - he died in 1991. The anniversary more or less confirms the holidays are here - despite the fact we have no snow. (No - I don't know what that means either.)
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On my planet, the holiday's really begin on Halloween - why? Because I worked in retail and we began merchandising Christmas right after Halloween. So I always get nostalgic - you see, my mother also died in the month of October - then of course my brother died in December - so their deaths spark memories and inspire drama, while tempering the Bacchanal party-spirit just enough to stay out of the hospital. Although the holiday season can be like one big emotional tilt-a-whirl ride - it's fun. Yeah, so I'm just saying - warning actually - that posts may be stranger than normal.
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But I love the season in all of it's aspects. No - I do not do anything for Thanksgiving - I hate Thanksgiving - gosh!
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I'm okay! I'm okay!
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So anyway, readers can look forward to my grim fairy tales in the coming month before Christmas. With my gift and craft ideas. I will have suggestions for parties and how to start family fights wherein you still come off as 'charitable' and 'deeply concerned'. And I will regale you with crazy but funny family stories - much in the spirit of that wonderful Christmas film, "It's A Horrible Life!"... "Every time a siren rings, dad goes to jail again!"
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I'm all verklempft now.
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Don't get me wrong - I love the holidays - whatever that means. Oh - I know, little squirrels and birds and rabbits and deer decorating that teeny-weeny fir tree in the empty lot where the K-mart was just torn down. Now that's an Xmas card.
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Happy Holidays! Gotta love 'em! (Do NOT drive drunk.)
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Art: Death in the Rohan Hours

Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, November 21

2009-11-21T00:03:00.003-06:00

I guarantee you that very few modern Catholics in the U.S. even know what this feast day means, much less that it exists. Click here to learn the traditional significance of the feast.
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Art: Source

Outing priests and bishops.

2009-11-20T11:01:00.021-06:00

Odium fidei.
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Activists in D.C. intend to begin outing closeted homosexual priests and bishops in retaliation for Archbishop Wuerl's anti-same-sex marriage efforts as well as a USCCB pastoral letter, which has been perceived as an 'anti-gay attack' - when in actual fact it is a defense of marriage, defining Catholic teaching on issues of faith and morals. From the website, ChurchOuting.org press release:
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ChurchOuting.org is a clearinghouse for reports of priests who are openly gay men in social settings yet professionally closeted in their parishes. The campaign will also accept reports of heterosexual priests who are involved in romantic or sexual relationships, yet support the Archbishop’s efforts to harm lesbian and gay families. - Source
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Our local gay activist Michael Bayly joins his support to the organization's efforts:
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I should say from the start that I support efforts to out the hypocrisy of those Roman Catholic bishops and priests who live secretive gay lives while at the same time either publicly support the official anti-gay rhetoric and efforts of the church’s clerical leadership to strip gay people of civil rights protections, or remain silent in the face of such un-Christlike behavior. Indeed, I resonate with ChurchOuting.org’s founder Phil Attey’s hope that this campaign in Washington, D.C., will “inspire similar campaigns in every archdiocese across the country.” - Source
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Nothing new.
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Didn't Act Up launch a campaign to out closeted public figures way back when? Most recently Larry Craig pretty much outed himself when he was caught with his pants down in a MPLS airport. Gay activists like Michael say that type of behavior wouldn't happen if everyone was out and being gay was on equal terms with heterosexuality. In response I like to cite people such as George Michael who seems to prefer that type of sexual adventure even though he lives in a domestic partnership - he famously and unashamedly defended such behavior saying, "It is what gay people do." Yet activists maintain such sleazy behavior is motivated by shame and therefore deserving of understanding - although in the case of closeted 'bi-sexual' predators, who may struggle against such sins in spite of themselves, they are roundly condemned as hypocrites, while the guy is held up to public ridicule and shame - by the very people who seek approval for their immoral acts.
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Washington gay activists may be placing all their bets on such tactics of detraction since they appear to have worked so well in the Church of England:
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Furthermore, "outing" (or the threat of "outing") may help persuade some homophobic closet gays to stop doing damage to other gay people, and thereby prevent considerable suffering. It can also very effectively pressure homophobic institutions to reconsider their anti-gay policies.
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This is what happened when OutRage! named ten Anglican Bishops last November. Suddenly, for the first time ever, the Church of England began high-level dialogue with the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. In January, the Bishops held a previously unscheduled re-examination of their stance on homosexuality, which resulted in a strongly-worded condemnation of homophobic discrimination and anti-gay violence. Church officials have privately admitted that none of these developments would have occurred if OutRage! had not "provoked a crisis" by naming the Bishops.
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However, perhaps the most significant effect of calling on the Bishops to "Tell The Truth!" is that the whole homophobic establishment is now aware that "outing" is not just an idle threat. OutRage! has ripped open the closet doors of the Church of England. We can, if we decide to, also expose hypocritical and homophobic closet gays in politics, business, the military, judiciary and the police. These people now understand that all those who abuse their power to harm other lesbian and gay people are potential targets. This will probably encourage at least some of them to think twice about being homophobic in the future. - Source
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I thought blackmail was illegal?
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Well, it is certainly not honorable. I suppose all is fair in love and war, and never forget, this is war. Consider as well that 'the sin of the Gentiles is they lack charity', therefore these kind of threats should not surprise anyone. 'Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed,' right?
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"Fornicator I always was, heretic I never was." - St. Andrew Wourters, Gorcum Martyr
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The fact is, many same sex attracted men have struggled to live according to the teachings of the Church, and as all of us who admit to being sinners, many fall - and rise again. Priests are not perfect, to preach the truth about homosexuality is not hypocrisy - even if a priest fails to live up to his vows from time to time. If he repents and strives to live accordingly, in time he will be victorious. On the other hand, perhaps there are 'bad' priests living duplicitous lives, and exposure could perhaps bring them to repentance? I don't know. I do know that some priests will suffer for the faith if this happens. Priests wrongly accused, priests who have reformed their lives, and priests actively struggling, as well as priests who reject their homosexual inclination and who have never acted on it. Priests and Bishops who preach the truth despite their flawed humanity, weakness, and in some cases, past moral failures, are not hypocrites.
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If indeed there are active homosexualist priests living duplicitous lives, I strongly suspect their lifestyle is already known by many of those around them - think liberal priests in liberal parishes - therefore I suspect such outings will have little to no effect. Publicising it will only confirm that Perez Hilton is not some odd aberration of gay culture, but typifies an essential weakness of the immature homosexual personality: to complain, to attack, to wallow in self-pity, to gossip, to detract, to calumniate, to mock, to scorn.
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Credits/Notes:
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Photo: Fr. Mychal Judge, O.F.M. Heroic FDNY chaplain who was killed during the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers. It is claimed that Fr. Judge did not hide his homosexual orientation, although those who knew him insist he had been unjustly "outed" by gay activists:
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"Prior to Father Mike's death, everyone who knew him for any length of time would never describe him as a homosexual. In fact, never has even one homosexual activist ever provided evidence that Father Mike was "gay." Yet, in newspapers immediately after the funeral mass, Brendan Fay was quoted saying that Father Mike was a homosexual. Fay arranged a media event where many people spoke of Father Mike's concern for the homosexual community and claimed Father Mike was "gay." This was news to me, and I knew Father Mike for nearly a decade.
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After the first series of newspapers stories reported that Father Mike was a homosexual, suddenly politicians were standing up in Congress lamenting the death of "Father Mike, the gay priest." Concerned that Father Mike was being used by homosexual activists, I began to contact many people who knew him for as long or longer than I did. I wanted the truth about Father Mike to be published. Not one of these longtime friends ever heard or saw anything that Father Mike did that would indicate he was homosexual. I personally spent weeks at a time with Father Mike where he and I spoke about many personal matters. Not once was there even a suggestion that Father Mike was "gay." He was a celibate Catholic priest and nothing more." - Source
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Art: Gorcum Martyrs. Amidst the priests and layman martyred by the Calvinists in Holland was the diocesan priest Fr. Andrew Wouters who had not been rounded up but voluntarily joined his priestly confreres in captivity. Fr. Wouters had not been faithful to his promise of chastity and had led a scandalous life that was notorious all over the parish and beyond. Not previously a very spiritual man, he nonetheless showed himself a man of spirit by taking his place among the prisoners. When his past failures were thrown in his face by his captors as a disgrace to his calling and a negation of his creed, he looked them in the eye and said, "Fornicator I always was, heretic I never was." - Source
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Above: St. Lawrence liberates souls from purgatory. Source

Unedited notes...

2009-11-19T12:46:00.009-06:00

All quiet on Chris West's front.
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Just kidding with the title. Anyway. If I post a lot of homosexual stuff these days it is because a lot of homo stuff is in the news. It's cyclical you know. As you may have noticed, and homosexuals frequently point this out to me because they don't want to hear nothin' bad about their baby, I tend to address queer issues when they get too queer. So gay advocates make me out to be the bad guy, the dumb guy, the queer guy.
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New Catholic Sex Abuse Findings: Gay Priests Are Not the Problem.
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Neither are they the solution. The Bishops (USCCB) funded a study in response to the sexual abuse scandal, which Cardinal George now claims to be over, move on, all of that. The study contends abuse has fallen off because seminary training in sexuality is better - 'like stand in front of a mirror and...' never mind. I'm not going there. The investigation by the John Jay College of Law will be made public sometime next month, while a few details of the report have emerged from the Bishop's meeting in Baltimore this past week. One item:
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"It's important to separate the sexual identity and the behavior," Terry said. "Someone can commit sexual acts that might be of a homosexual nature but not have a homosexual identity." Terry said factors such as greater access to boys is one reason for the skewed ratio. Smith also raised the analogy of prison populations where homosexual behavior is common even though the prisoners are not necessarily homosexuals, or cultures where men are rigidly segregated from women until adulthood, and homosexual activity is accepted and then ceases after marriage. - Source
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So... celibacy is the problem? What? Huh?
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Reading this, along with assorted post comments on various pro-homosexualist blogs, one might get the impression Catholic seminarians and priests are men herded into a lifestyle against their will, imprisoned by medieval rules of celibacy, while constrained in a sort of arrested development limbo, languishing in a metaphorical psycho-sexual torture chamber of unhappiness. That is so stupid. I find it totally inappropriate that seminarians would somehow be comparable to prison inmates in the study - I can understand that seculars might do so - I just find it unacceptable. Such an analogy could perhaps work for the reform school culture in early to mid-20th century Ireland - but not in seminary or monastic life in the United States during that period - or ever. (Unless we're talking Legionaries of Christ of course. Kidding. Kind of.)
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Arrested development - a symptom of the age.
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Oh! And for gay people to accuse gay priests - or any priest - of sexual immaturity or arrested development is amazing to me, since most same-sex attraction happens to be a by-product of arrested psycho-sexual development in the first place. (I know - they deny that.) So it is like the pot calling the kettle black. Anyway, most men - straight or gay - if they have not consistently mortified, or at least achieved some level of discipline over their sexual appetites - pretty much revert back to their adolescent fantasy stage when sexual temptation arises - that is what is meant when men are accused of thinking with their... pp. That said, the majority of men ordained to the priesthood are usually as sexually mature and balanced as any healthy heterosexual man presenting for marriage.
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Gay is as gay does.
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So anyway - the other thing I want to say is that if a man, any man - a priest, a married man, public school teacher, doctor, guy next door, an uncle or your mother's live-in boyfriend - seeks out a boy to have sex with - that's gay. Okay? It's always a gay act. And a big NO here - to be sure - not all gay men are pederasts, that is, want sex with boys or teens. But to try to separate the homosexual orientation from the act is political correctness run amok and another form of cover-up. Just so, I am sure there are priests with homosexual inclination who have successfully renounced or abstained from sexual activity and romantic involvement for the sake of the Kingdom of God, and who live faithful, spiritually edifying and productive lives, without rebellion and or compromise - that is, 'selling their birthright for a meal' - in other words, settling for fleeting, sensual, worldly consolation, while forfeiting the eternal beatitude of Heaven.
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Courage
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Michael Bayly recently held a meeting for his CPCSM group, which he documented in a post on his blog, slamming Courage apostolate. He had one guy, a former Courage member, 'survivor' as they say, witness to the horrors of the organization. Therefore, this one anecdotal experience of a local Courage group is supposed to cancel out an otherwise successful apostolate that has the approval of the Roman Catholic Church? Come on.
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Yes, Courage has links to NARTH an organization which supports 'reparative therapy' for people who would like to try and change or get rid of homosexual attraction. Nevertheless, the fundamental principles of Courage do not require that person's with same-sex attraction change their orientation, rather Courage is established to support individuals who strive to live in accord with Church teaching regarding homosexuality.
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Even the American Psychological Association acknowledges that some highly motivated men and women want to change their orientation and that in some instances it is possible for some people to do so. These people are sometimes recognized as ex-gays. In addition, to deny that some people can change is to deny the power of Christ and grace - which is somewhat anti-Christian in my opinion.
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Enough said.
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I have to get back to painting, and perhaps I will write more about this later - but Courage is a good help to people struggling with homosexual tendencies as well as those who desire to leave the homosexual lifestyle behind. It is not a requirement that Catholics with SSA join the group, nor does the Church ever require that they change their orientation - the Church asks only that the person repent of homosexual acts and live chastely in obedience to Church teaching. This does not preclude chaste and celibate same sex friendships. The Church recognizes that conversion is a process and that fallen human nature - men and women - are only able to 'strive to enter the narrow way' taught by Christ. 'What is impossible for man is possible for God.' This is what Our Lord promises through his Church.
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If you don't like Courage or the Catholic Church, don't join - but at least try to keep the Commandments and permit others to do likewise.
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Photo: Good seminarians.