tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-211218692012-01-29T13:52:39.219-05:00<i>Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum</i>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.comBlogger10261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-10964158337271488742012-01-25T09:34:00.001-05:002012-01-25T09:37:20.656-05:00

Cours Mirabeau, Aix-en-Provence

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-84400613758404227072012-01-24T15:47:00.002-05:002012-01-24T16:04:07.187-05:00

Abp. Fulton Sheen on a retreat he gave at the Trappist monastery in Gethsemani, Kentucky:A particularly striking scene at the abbey was Compline, or the night prayers of the monks. Each of them had a small lamp above his choir seat which he would use if he needed to recall the words for reading. But as they came to that part of the prayer which they knew, one by one the lights would go out. The

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-77756411385482362872012-01-19T12:44:00.002-05:002012-01-25T09:33:21.584-05:00

When it is all over you will not regret having suffered; rather you will regret having suffered so little, and suffered that little so badly.--Bd. Sebastian Valfré

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-28037656780887368562012-01-18T22:07:00.001-05:002012-01-18T22:09:21.308-05:00

Hat on a café chair, Richard Kalvar, Paris, 1971

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-11436576754410946892012-01-16T11:25:00.002-05:002012-01-16T11:41:01.799-05:00

Here's a very detailed timeline with behind-the-scenes information about this apostolate.Other bloggers with little to no information are leaping to conclusions and crying "disobedience" when they have no clue what's going on. When even canon lawyers can't agree on jurisdiction, how silly that internet Catholics think they've got it all figured out!

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-9731732708079501532012-01-12T11:04:00.004-05:002012-01-15T12:44:11.892-05:00

Under the reign of "Good Queen Bess", a law was passed prohibiting the celebration of Mass, on pain of extradition. On a second offense, the guilty priest would be sentenced to a year in prison, and on the third offense, jailed for life. In some cases, the offending priest would be put to death, usually by hanging, drawing, and quartering. Another law was passed that punished with death any

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-41323354758750247352012-01-07T11:40:00.003-05:002012-01-07T11:43:55.641-05:00

Rorate Caeli has a beautiful series on St. Joan of Arc, written by Côme de Prévigny. The most moving, perhaps, is the last installment, in which the Maid faces her death. The author poses a most apt question for our times:On her was placed a headgear on which the points of condemnation, that her detractors repeated unceasingly, were written: "heretic, schismatic, relapser". What pain is more

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-9389075679998211452011-12-30T21:57:00.002-05:002011-12-30T22:09:22.260-05:00

He whose heart is ever watchful taught me that He works miracles even for those whose faith is like a tiny mustard seed, to make it grow, while, as in the case of His Mother, He works miracles for His dearest friends only after He has tested their faith. He let Lazarus die, even though Martha and Mary had sent word that he was sick; and when He was asked by Our Lady at the marriage feast of Cana

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-74881136812145463182011-12-29T11:50:00.001-05:002011-12-29T11:51:50.456-05:00

Saint Gemma Galgani, lettersJesus spoke these words; "My child, I have need of victims, and strong victims, who by their sufferings, tribulations, and difficulties, make amends for sinners and for their ingratitude."Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God, Book VI, Chp. VWords of the Queen: "I remind thee that there is no exercise more profitable and useful to the soul than to suffer....

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-67446652545865599952011-12-24T11:06:00.003-05:002011-12-26T20:38:57.484-05:00

Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!A Catholic tale I Have to tell!And a Christian song I have to singWhile all the bells in Arundel ring.I pray good beef and I pray good beerThis holy night of all the year,But I pray detestable drink for themThat give no honour to Bethlehem.May all good fellows that here agreeDrink Audit Ale in heaven with me,And may all my enemies go to hell!Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!May all

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-84563764688541067452011-12-23T19:30:00.000-05:002011-12-23T19:31:36.198-05:00

Montmartre, Paris, 1946. Photo: Edward Clark, LIFE

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-56366757579123515892011-12-23T11:41:00.004-05:002011-12-23T19:49:00.710-05:00

Update II: Michael Voris has responded to the controversy: Voris told LifeSiteNews, “I don’t have ownership over the name of the organization. It’s not my organization. The headquarters are outside of the diocese.” He concluded, “It’s the wrong person, and the wrong outfit asking the wrong person the wrong question.”Update: Earlier, I e-mailed the archdiocese asking exactly what content from

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-5462095237687267442011-12-21T11:30:00.002-05:002011-12-21T11:56:27.322-05:00

Mundabor puts into words some of what I've been thinking about all this.One might respect Hitchens for a number of reasons: his willingness to stand on conviction, even when it rendered him unpopular; his ability to turn a phrase; his wit and intellect; his refusal to mince words, etc. But all those things, as interesting or attractive as they might be, don't work an ounce in one's favor when we

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-88235247214620745422011-12-20T19:32:00.003-05:002011-12-21T10:49:10.314-05:00

We know the story of St. Philip Neri, who, on seeing a murderer being led to the gallows, said in all sincerity, "There but for the grace of God go I."The wise man knows the same applies to him, and to every individual born in sin."For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone be found boasting."--Ephesians 2:8"All is

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-76908770231166539612011-12-20T13:59:00.001-05:002011-12-20T14:01:48.431-05:00

More like this, please!

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-6753148590660157442011-12-20T13:40:00.003-05:002011-12-20T13:48:11.870-05:00

With all the recent talk about the feminine genius, it's time to recall what seems a forgotten notion: the masculine genius. Anthony Esolen eloquently discusses it here:Q: What could men learn from Christ, the ultimate man, in terms of developing masculinity?Esolen: The first thing they could learn is not to be embarrassed by their manhood. It is holy! It has been created by God, and for a

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-16944898870779429912011-12-18T14:13:00.002-05:002011-12-18T15:58:03.731-05:00

Archbishop Fulton Sheen was National Director for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith for a number of years, and came across some rather remarkable stories from those toiling in the vineyard. They remind us, among other things, that life is one long labor for souls. Those who seek rest and comfort in this life miss the point. You can sleep when you're dead.PAKISTANOne of the first

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-2167168077224718702011-12-17T18:00:00.002-05:002011-12-17T18:04:33.183-05:00

Remember the incident involving Fr. Laurent Demets, FSSP? The rest of the story here:Three months after the actual incident, without the consent or permission of the parents, and based on some anonymous eavesdropper’s false report, the non-problematic disciplining of an emotional child was turned into a major incident. Then, without any formal investigation it was broadcast throughout the world

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-67551231404633718362011-12-16T10:11:00.004-05:002011-12-16T10:44:01.418-05:00

it would undoubtedly look like this one, in Dunrobin Castle, Scotland, down to the blood-red drapes, dark wood paneling, and even the leonine rugs. Save the bright, airy spaces for the public; I'll take this musty, ancient, dimly lit library for my own private hours. Of course, there'd be a laptop propped up in the middle of the desk...

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-1475410333917831712011-12-13T22:34:00.001-05:002011-12-13T22:40:28.351-05:00

Highland Scene, Richard Sidney Percy, oil on canvas, year unknown.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-42845626642121796102011-12-13T22:18:00.002-05:002011-12-13T22:19:26.367-05:00

A reader queries Fr. Z: "[S]hould the Aztec dancers present the gifts before or after the priest incense the altar?"And he's serious.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-43486613900884362132011-12-13T12:40:00.002-05:002011-12-13T12:46:32.912-05:00

The bishop of Aberdeen on this most necessary habit:There can be no real relationship with God, there can be no real meeting with God, without silence....Who can imagine Mary as a noisy person? In the Gospels, St Joseph never says a word; he simply obeys the words brought him by angels. And when John the Baptist later comes out with words of fire, it is after years of silence in the desert. ...

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-5729717924809799192011-12-13T12:29:00.004-05:002011-12-13T12:37:35.227-05:00

But if you don't care, then it doesn't matter.I have here sometimes used the provocative image of the TLM being the grown-up Mass (T-Bone steak and Cabernet) and the Novus Ordo, at least as celebrated in many places, as the kiddy Mass (jar of pureed carrot and milk). Condescending? I suppose. I can live with that. While milk and pureed carrots are the proper food for the very young, sometimes

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-55118943297830391232011-12-12T11:39:00.002-05:002011-12-12T11:44:04.804-05:00

On Sept. 16, 2010, Travis and Bonnie Engstrom prayed for an hour straight that their stillborn son, James Fulton Engstrom, would take his first breath. In the 61st minute of his life, he finally did.Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Peoria Diocese officially sealed the findings Sunday, which were sent to the Vatican for further examination. If they are found to be legitimate, they will lead to the

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-3896360890714023172011-12-10T20:34:00.002-05:002011-12-10T20:44:56.689-05:00

Professor Luc Perrin offers an overview of French Catholic Traditionalism from its beginnings to its current status:The lack of support from the French bishops is mainly illustrated by what I call the containment policy unofficially adopted to stall the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. If there are now a handful of dioceses left without a single official T.L.M., if the increase of the

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-88027409314059401152011-12-09T20:40:00.006-05:002011-12-09T21:48:00.741-05:00

This is the sort of mangled reasoning modernists have used to foist their wreckovations on contemporary parishes everywhere. In response to a sincere question asking why there exists the modern tendency to strip churches of every vestige of the sacred and replace them with the barebones minimum, some fellow in the comments box writes the following. The most surprising thing about it all is that

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-56449627772609034682011-12-06T11:50:00.004-05:002011-12-06T11:57:27.606-05:00

Taylor Marshall on the bishop's zeal to defend Our Lord's honor:During the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea (AD 325), Arius was called upon to defend his position on the inferiority of Christ. Saint Nicholas just couldn't listen to all of Arius' nonsense and so he stood up and laid in to Arius with his fist.The Emperor Constantine and the bishops present at the Council were alarmed by Nicholas'

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-70791517790944060712011-12-05T21:54:00.003-05:002011-12-05T22:00:48.654-05:00

Coolest chant ever. I envision the troop of Knights Templar attending Mass, chanting this at the top of their lungs before they ride into battle against the pagan hordes, banners flying and swords at the ready...

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-30752467595192467642011-12-05T21:10:00.003-05:002011-12-05T21:24:08.281-05:00

Fr. Michael Rodriguez, the beleaguered priest who was transferred to another parish for speaking boldly against the homosexual lifestyle, has written an article asking for prayers for the as yet unnamed new bishop of El Paso. The former bishop--responsible for taking Fr. Rodriguez from his parish, where he regularly celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass--was recently and suddenly transferred to

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-49304539572744017442011-12-01T14:27:00.005-05:002011-12-01T14:34:22.054-05:00

Just written and published by Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz Braña, Vicar General of Holy Cross and Opus Dei, and Vatican representative in the doctrinal talks with the SSPX. It's sufficiently vague to keep the trad world guessing:Not only should the Second Vatican Council be interpreted in the light of previous Magisterial documents, but also some of these earlier magisterial documents can be

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-44017369707528250482011-12-01T13:54:00.009-05:002011-12-01T14:12:19.222-05:00

St. Edmund Campion died today in 1581. His Brag, circulated throughout England and addressed to that heretic and usurper Queen Elizabeth, ends thus:Many innocent hands are lifted up to heaven for you daily by those English students, whose posterity shall never die, which beyond seas, gathering virtue and sufficient knowledge for the purpose, are determined never to give you over, but either to

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-44671809907534382192011-11-30T11:07:00.002-05:002011-11-30T11:19:24.358-05:00

Msgr. Charles Pope responds to some criticisms of the new translation of the Mass, one of them being:I can’t easily understand what Father is saying in those long, run-on sentences. It doesn’t make sense to me and I get lost in all the words.If the language of the Novus Ordo boggles the mind, I can't imagine what the Traditional Latin Mass would do to her; her head would probably explode.But

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-27229560655270402842011-11-30T10:50:00.005-05:002011-11-30T10:56:05.037-05:00

Siri is pro-life.And feminists are outraged.I've never been much on the latest gadgets, and I'm still fairly clueless about Siri, but apparently this computerized personal assistant refuses to direct inquirers to any abortion clinics.In fact, it will give a list of crisis pregnancy centers in response. When you change the terminology to "pregnancy termination facility", Siri offers, among other

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-82732079264877868402011-11-28T17:37:00.003-05:002011-11-28T17:39:51.522-05:00

Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, predicts formation of a new rite of Mass:In time, Cardinal Burke expects the Western Church’s ancient and modern forms of Mass to be combined in one normative rite, a move he suggests the Pope also favors.“It seems, to me, that what he has in mind is that this mutual enrichment would seem to naturally produce a new form of the Roman rite — the ‘

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-54753340127695587432011-11-27T15:13:00.013-05:002011-11-27T21:07:27.611-05:00

Taylor Marshall offers a nice list.A few other ideas for your manly man: Engraved tankard (pewter or glass), to be kept nice and frosty in the ice box until ready to be filled with a foamy stout or pale ale, according to your man's pleasure.Fleur-de-lys flask, to be filled with your fellow's favorite single malt or London dry; can fit snugly in his pocket and carried about on his person; may be

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-76521632656237357382011-11-25T13:39:00.006-05:002011-11-25T16:04:45.021-05:00

Russell Shaw's analysis of Testem Benevolentiae is a must-read for any Catholic American."There's not a dime's worth of difference between Catholics and their fellow Americans now in moral outlook or religious practice. We fornicate at the same rate. We divorce at the same rate. We abort our children at the same rate. We are materially rich and so, in true chauvinistic fashion, we claim

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-23481817045505401882011-11-23T19:15:00.002-05:002011-11-23T19:22:34.530-05:00

Fr. Mark Kirby, OSB, offers a truly Catholic homily for Thanksgiving:[On the Mass:] This is the Great Thanksgiving of the Church, one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. This is the Great Thanksgiving of Jerusalem and of Antioch, of Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. This is the Great Thanksgiving woven into the history and culture of the Western world. This is the Great Thanksgiving that

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-34045523423554639822011-11-23T11:51:00.003-05:002011-11-23T11:58:57.505-05:00

The real story behind the first Thanksgiving, including the shenanigans that took place among recusant Catholics on the Mayflower...

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-30441789188215628132011-11-23T10:54:00.004-05:002011-11-23T11:31:45.306-05:00

The Star Tribune has published this piece of genius:After nearly 40 years, Catholics brace themselves for a new translation of the mass that sticks closer to the original Latin....For more than a year, anxious [anxious?] Minnesota priests and parishioners have been readying themselves for the rollout of the missal, which goes into effect Nov. 27....While some have found a few changes to be more

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-11691462577795312982011-11-21T19:31:00.002-05:002011-11-21T19:34:28.673-05:00

Acts of the Apostasy shows why movies sound cooler in Latin...

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-86295671887552468932011-11-21T17:19:00.002-05:002011-11-21T17:19:40.130-05:00

WashPo asks: Should girls be allowed to be altar servers?

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-58213935094876062992011-11-20T15:37:00.001-05:002011-11-20T15:38:39.732-05:00

The Nun in a Cloister Garden, Gabriel Max, 1869, Hamburg, Germany

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-36119258102188341172011-11-20T14:52:00.003-05:002011-11-20T14:57:29.862-05:00

Mass had just begun at Corpus Christi Catholic Church when Jennifer Zickel, a Sunday school teacher, glanced at the church bulletin and saw something that made her sick to her stomach.Tucked in with announcements about a new electronic donation system and a church dinner at Margarita’s Mexican restaurant was news that Zickel, the mother of two girls, had been dreading: Corpus Christi would no

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-66109736898926481072011-11-20T14:39:00.001-05:002011-11-20T14:41:25.348-05:00

I sincerely hope no one gave to the CCHD today, that dissenting group masquerading as the social justice arm of the USCCB.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-67612960327468430202011-11-18T18:57:00.005-05:002011-11-18T20:08:46.976-05:00

The faithful priest who was shipped 250 miles away to a rural parish because he spoke out against the homosexual lifestyle was interviewed last month:As I grew up in the early '70s, I was completely unaware of the disastrous post-Vatican II revolution that was sweeping throughout our beloved Catholic Church. Thanks be to God, I was raised by parents who were staunch Catholics with their childhood

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-69367474985661500082011-11-16T09:58:00.003-05:002011-11-25T14:03:55.738-05:00

As Thanksgiving approaches, a nice reminder...***If you're ecumenically-minded like me and don't take kindly to celebrating a holiday commemorating a group of Calvinists who set up a Puritan theocracy in New England known for persecuting Catholics, then you can rest easy; the heretics were not the first to celebrate Thanksgiving in this country--Catholics were.St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-14100555394915889362011-11-16T09:27:00.002-05:002011-11-16T09:38:34.528-05:00

Some of the nurses in New Jersey who have faced pressure to do abortions at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey spoke out yesterday at a press conference. They appeared with pro-life attorneys from Alliance Defense Fund and Congressman Chris Smith....[One nurse testified:] The hospital has made statements to the media, saying that they don’t compel anyone to violate their

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-19069553217474515962011-11-15T11:39:00.009-05:002011-11-21T14:52:12.495-05:00

...at least temporarily. Fr. Laurent Demets, FSSP, a French priest and acquaintance of mine, has been removed from his parish because of allegations that he slapped a teenager. Fr. Demets himself admitted the action, and the diocese, under the existing procedures for dealing with child abuse, has removed him from his ministry. In all likelihood, he will be returning to France. The first thing

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-56863883310674872892011-11-15T08:12:00.000-05:002011-11-15T08:13:28.081-05:00

Remembering an old haunt...****In my opinion, the best fish and chips in Oxford are to be found, well, just a few kilometers outside the shire, in Lower Wolvercote, at The Trout Inn. One can easily get there by car, but those of us without such transportation went by foot through wild fields along the Isis. It's a bit of a walk, but a scenic one, and what is better than breathing in the brisk air

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-20464389451906129082011-11-12T21:02:00.002-05:002011-11-12T21:04:11.493-05:00

Love and not nails fastened Him to the cross; love and not men triumphed. How could they have been masters, since with one single word, He could have thrown them to the earth?--Bd. Raymond of Capua, Life of St. Catherine of Sienna

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-28471056221126201492011-11-11T13:19:00.004-05:002011-11-11T13:39:25.319-05:00

Here's a nice article on the current Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. His family is apparently quite close to the pastor of their parish, the orthodox Msgr. Vaghi, who has preached strongly against abortion, contraception, and sexual immorality. He presided at the Roberts's wedding, and is chaplain to the John Carroll Society, a conservative Catholic legal association to whom Mrs. Roberts

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-6762572848877904812011-11-10T13:45:00.006-05:002011-11-12T21:05:42.611-05:00

Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote that Christ was born to die. The rest of us come into this world in order to live, and death is a rupture in that life. But Our Lord's entire existence fell beneath the shadow of that Cross, which loomed ever before Him, even from the moment He lay in the cradle.What separates the saints from the rest is their embrace of this same purpose: that they, in their ardent

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-39599603513513262242011-11-08T11:01:00.001-05:002011-11-08T11:01:35.281-05:00

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-7715496096061828092011-11-08T10:58:00.002-05:002011-11-08T10:58:40.789-05:00

November 8th is the feast day of one of the saints closest to my heart, responsible for a number of graces in my life (and, for the astute reader, the patroness of this blog). I post this again in her honor.*******Elizabeth Catez was born in 1880 in a French military camp. Twenty-six years later, she lay dead in a Carmelite convent in Dijon, her body so ravaged by Addison’s disease it seemed a

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-33898420542078535682011-11-08T00:23:00.008-05:002011-11-08T00:34:17.244-05:00

"You will never be commonplace if you are vigilant in love! But in the hours when you feel only oppression and lassitude, you will please Him even more if you faithfully believe that He is still working, that He is loving you just the same, and even more: because His love is free and that is how He wants to be magnified in you; and you will let yourself be loved more than these.... You are called

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-50138164934118854852011-11-04T23:01:00.007-04:002011-11-11T13:46:04.775-05:00

Related to my previous post, CNA has an article offering details of one family's experience with the wartime pope, whom they believe dressed up as a Franciscan, went into the Jewish Ghetto, and took them to safety within the Vatican City walls.Gary Krupp came across the evidence in a letter from a Jewish woman whose family was rescued thanks to direct Vatican intervention.“It is an unusual letter

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-57392537289196977232011-11-03T01:39:00.004-04:002011-11-03T02:35:36.550-04:00

How could a man praised for his defense of the Jewish people during World War II by everyone from Franklin Roosevelt to Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir become known as “Hitler’s Pope” 50 years later?Good question. Attorney Ronald Rychlak offers a comprehensive and meticulously researched answer in his excellent Hitler, the War, and the Pope, which was compiled in part by accessing closed

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-25809632698293908712011-11-02T11:32:00.008-04:002011-11-02T21:49:51.858-04:00

One doesn't know how else to explain their outright disregard for Church teaching by consistently funding groups that advocate or participate in anti-Catholic positions. Even after being called to account with incontrovertible evidence, the USCCB continues to tolerate the CCHD's shenanigans. Some Catholics will claim the "rival Magisterium" charge is "uncharitable", but these are generally

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-30696688679661638922011-10-29T14:03:00.002-04:002011-10-29T14:08:57.132-04:00

John F. Banzhaf III claims the school "[denies Muslim students] equal access to the benefits CUA provides to other student groups.... It is alleged that CUA does not provide space -- as other universities do -- for the many daily prayers Muslim students must make, forcing them instead to find temporarily empty classrooms where they are often surrounded by Catholic symbols which are incongruous to

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-34293650758670696392011-10-29T13:06:00.002-04:002011-10-29T13:12:18.994-04:00

The Catholic Church in Germany owns 100% of the publishing company Weltbild, which includes pornographic material among its publications.The 2,500 erotic books in their online catalogue, including those from Blue Panther Books, an erotic book publisher owned by Weltbild, are only one example. Their titles include: “Anwaltshure” (Lawyer’s Whore), “Vögelbar” (F—kable) and “Schlampen-Internat” (

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-82397805845249106492011-10-29T10:38:00.002-04:002011-10-29T10:55:10.973-04:00

It all started simply. Mike Casey wanted to pray. As part of the nationwide “America Needs Fatima” movement, Mike wanted to hold a public rosary in the small Massachusetts town of Upton. It would be one of 7,515 Public Square Rosaries held across the United States on October 15th.The Town Council denied his request, claiming fears that taxpayers might be "offended." Casey prayed at every turn--

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-81655831773105000392011-10-29T03:57:00.001-04:002011-10-29T09:39:38.239-04:00

The good king once said, "A Christian should argue with a blasphemer only by running his sword through his bowels as far as it will go."Worthwhile article on the saint.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-58304034049593915052011-10-29T03:02:00.003-04:002011-10-29T03:04:32.558-04:00

Truly horrible, but, frankly, not surprising.Heartbroken and with tears in their eyes, we have been approached by parishioners with open hymnals. What has caused the tears has been their discovery of the Body of Christ, partially consumed, stuck between the pages of a hymnal.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-41684799305064125222011-10-26T20:47:00.003-04:002011-10-26T20:51:28.976-04:00

A Carmelite nun gives wise advice on how to curb sins of the tongue. She recalls the words of Fr. Thomas Dubay given during a retreat, on the obvious sins of the tongue, and the faults of speech:Obvious Sins of the Tongue – “In a multitude of words, sin is not lacking” (Proverbs 10:19). Detraction - speaking about another persons’ faults (faults that are true) without a good reason (Sirach 21)

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-24559251756278216212011-10-26T10:42:00.004-04:002011-10-26T10:53:59.199-04:00

I don't own cable and never have (to me, that would be like paying good money for garbage to stream into my home), and rarely watch TV. If I ever do, I'll catch the occasional show online. Considering all the nonsense that makes up most of television these days, I can heartily recommend CBS's new show Person of Interest, starring Jim Caviezel (whom we all know from The Passion of the Christ).

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-71608842832053491872011-10-25T13:15:00.002-04:002011-10-25T13:32:44.133-04:00

Biden trivializes rape for political purposes, then bullies the reporter who dares to call him out on it.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-75950203845632752532011-10-23T14:15:00.002-04:002011-10-23T14:31:30.037-04:00

To write El Paso Bishop Ochoa, you can send an e-mail to this address: officeofthebishop@elpasodiocese.org

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-28613502369554163272011-10-22T15:20:00.002-04:002011-10-22T15:30:18.179-04:00

HHS Secretary and pro-abort Catholic Kathleen Sebelius, when governor of Kansas, was so deep in the pocket of the abortion industry she went out of her way to protect Planned Parenthood from criminal charges for doctoring medical records.[Pro-life attorney general Phil] Kline pursued the state reports as part of his intended prosecution of Kansas late-term abortion corruption. Sebelius tried hard

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-83925617314751820502011-10-22T11:42:00.012-04:002011-10-23T14:11:42.146-04:00

Vividly recounted here, and worth meditating on:These are the tortures suffered by all the damned together, but that is not the end of the sufferings. There are special tortures destined for particular souls. These are the torments of the senses. Each soul undergoes terrible and indescribable sufferings, related to the manner in which it has sinned. There are caverns and pits of torture where one

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-68651824410589972672011-10-22T10:38:00.006-04:002011-10-22T11:29:34.854-04:00

People are aware by now of Herman Cain's response in the recent CNN interview on the question of abortion. [CNN asked] Cain if he would want his daughter or granddaughter, if raped, to keep the baby — which Cain said “was mixing two things.”“It’s not the government’s role, or anybody else’s role to make that decision,” Cain responded. “[W]hat I’m saying is, it ultimately gets down to a choice

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-85234245207369107092011-10-22T10:27:00.001-04:002011-10-22T10:28:26.761-04:00

Can a baby be validly baptized with beer?Canterbury Tales provides the answer.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-86045008939839242912011-10-22T09:48:00.003-04:002011-10-22T10:32:19.195-04:00

St. Peter's Basilica will refuse you entry if you're wearing:-Shorts/skirts above the knee-Sleeveless shirts-Shirts exposing the navel-Shirts for women that expose cleavage.As it should. Ashley McGuire wonders why all Catholic churches couldn't adopt the same dress code, considering the atrocious way many come to the Holy Sacrifice these days. And the dress code, by the way, applies to all;

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-20402870584639289152011-10-22T03:50:00.003-04:002011-10-22T09:16:20.748-04:00

Do not try to please everybody. Try to please God, the angels, and the saints--they are your public.--St. Jean Vianney

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-11794586647472016622011-10-20T18:29:00.004-04:002011-10-29T17:08:29.654-04:00

On Fr. Michael Rodriguez, banished from his parish because he spoke out against the homosexual lifestyle, and the faithful who are now left without a reverent Traditional Latin Mass:

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-10216529926780682432011-10-20T10:46:00.004-04:002011-10-20T10:50:58.981-04:00

I like this.Instead of the mindless spookiness and thrills of your run-of-the-mill haunted houses this time of year, Fr. Z recommends creating a haunted house based on Dante's Inferno. Frightening enough, and might move a few souls to repentance and conversion.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-45133515708385795282011-10-20T10:13:00.004-04:002011-10-20T10:40:43.798-04:00

In a laudable move, the president of Notre Dame University joined with the USCCB in protesting the Obama administration's proposed regulation to force Catholic institutions to provide contraception and abortifacients. Notre Dame and Catholic University of America were the only two major Catholic universities, out of 225 in America, that publicly objected to this rule. This is likely because many

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-10343053540050942542011-10-19T11:01:00.001-04:002011-10-19T11:03:29.054-04:00

Fastened to stakes and summarily subjected to brutal torture the two blackrobes now faced their moment of martyrdom, and it had come suddenly and without warning. Brebeuf was assailed with blows to his head, face, shoulders, loins and legs. Yet all he thought of was his beloved Hurons now fellow captives. "My children," he said to them, "let us lift our eyes to heaven at the height of our

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-84541357044284960352011-10-18T13:40:00.000-04:002011-10-18T13:41:02.354-04:00

Diabolical.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-42572995184569087492011-10-17T17:40:00.006-04:002011-10-17T17:48:21.755-04:00

From St. Leonard of Port-Maurice's sermon:Saint Vincent Ferrer relates that an archdeacon in Lyons gave up his charge and retreated into a desert place to do penance, and that he died the same day and hour as Saint Bernard. After his death, he appeared to his bishop and said to him, "Know, Monsignor, that at the very hour I passed away, thirty-three thousand people also died. Out of this number,

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-25870668305077136912011-10-16T17:29:00.005-04:002011-10-16T17:38:31.742-04:00

Robert Downey, Jr. on his friend Mel Gibson, before a packed audience at the 25th annual American Cinematheque Award:I asked Mel to present this award for me for a reason. When I couldn’t get sober, he told me not to give up hope and encouraged me to find my faith. It didn’t have to be his or anyone else’s as long as it was rooted in forgiveness. And I couldn’t get hired, so he cast me in the

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-35095966495296875572011-10-15T21:26:00.003-04:002011-10-15T21:45:55.159-04:00

Msgr. Brunero Gherardini (Canon of St. Peter's Basilica), Msgr. Antonio Livi (Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Pontifical Lateran University), along with 47 other clerics and laymen, have publicly requested that Pope Benedict re-examine Vatican II.For the good of the Church—and more especially to bring about the salvation of souls, which is her first and highest law (cf. the 1983 CIC,

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-16737959049178086312011-10-15T16:16:00.002-04:002011-10-15T16:19:27.712-04:00

Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion giving blessings as if they were priests.This article gives various reasons why it's a bad idea, among them:A 1997 instruction, Ecclesia de Mysterio, on the collaboration of the lay faithful further indicates that the laity should never say prayers or perform actions during the Mass which are proper to the priest, as this may lead to a confusion of roles.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-28971378250418051272011-10-14T17:34:00.003-04:002011-10-14T17:48:59.437-04:00

The Obama administration has denied federal grant money to the USCCB's Migration and Refugee Services because the organization refuses to offer referrals to contraceptive and abortion services. The USCCB is apparently rather upset about all this, but I say, good. Federal grants always come with strings attached, and we already know the Obama administration is evil. Better for the Church to wean

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-20549303411932280202011-10-12T13:46:00.002-04:002011-10-12T13:48:19.377-04:00

Stephanie Block responds to CCHD's defense against what it calls American Life League's "ideological attack" on its grant-giving practices.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-24229306470810618522011-10-12T13:06:00.002-04:002011-10-12T13:17:10.554-04:00

Speaking on the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, authoress of The Vagina Monologues says:It is a spontaneous uprising that has been building for years in our collective unconscious. It is a gorgeous, mischievous moment that has arrived and is spreading. It is a speaking out, coming out, dancing out. It is an experiment and a disruption.Apparently, the sit-in has produced a new form of

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-63920030898660624662011-10-12T12:57:00.000-04:002011-10-12T12:58:43.896-04:00

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-13331652834189284782011-10-11T13:28:00.007-04:002011-10-12T13:00:01.240-04:00

It's about six years late, but better late than never, I suppose.[T]he widespread American practice of offering both species at most Sunday Masses began here under an indult (special permission) given by the Vatican in 1975, which expired in 2005.Almost no one realized that until very recently. Maybe we can be forgiven for forgetting that we were operating under a temporary indult. After thirty

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-27799214347922794922011-10-09T20:47:00.003-04:002011-10-09T20:52:48.637-04:00

Let us think for a moment of how much God was glorified when the blessed one among women was changing the diapers of the King of the Universe. Great theologians would agree that angels in heaven had reason to envy her task.--Alice von Hildebrand, Man and Woman: A Divine InterventionThink, too, how God was glorified when the King of the Universe allowed his diapers to be changed...

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-49317865470358376112011-10-09T18:24:00.009-04:002011-10-09T19:53:10.734-04:00

Lest we forget our purpose as Catholics: Many souls go to hell because there is none to pray and sacrifice for them.--Our Lady of FatimaOur Lady showed a vision to the shepherd children, who watched as souls fell into hell "like snowflakes." This is what St. Teresa of Avila saw herself: I saw souls falling into hell like snowflakes.Why the large number of condemned? Our Lady of Fatima said,More

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-62503926293500179602011-10-07T11:06:00.003-04:002011-10-07T11:14:38.552-04:00

Fr. Raven asks prayers for three orthodox priests who are getting resistance from their less-than-orthodox superiors.In all three cases these men are being isolated by what seems to be a silent backlash which knows that it can't openly dispute the current good things that are being promoted but do know that they have the means to at least limit the amount of priests that will actively promote

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-50224666534428475662011-10-07T10:45:00.003-04:002011-10-07T11:15:37.926-04:00

Fr. Tim Finigan discusses why some church officials want to make blogging a serious criminal offense.When bloggers can access the text of documents from the Holy See and compare them to what is actually happening on the ground, it must be difficult if you are trying to gloss over the Church's teaching and discipline and carry on as normal.He then offers some points each blogger should consider

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-86460610129161063172011-10-07T06:09:00.001-04:002011-10-07T06:09:42.150-04:00

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-4603452740062953002011-10-06T14:55:00.002-04:002011-10-06T14:57:20.208-04:00

Beautiful story told by Fr. Stephen Scheier. What Protestants have lost in rejecting Mary!

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-11968797215460902252011-10-05T14:08:00.001-04:002011-10-05T14:08:18.331-04:00

Be at peace and put aside all anxiety. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. --St. Francis de Sales

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-52022422502290720902011-10-05T11:16:00.003-04:002011-10-05T11:18:28.628-04:00

Acts of the Apostasy has compiled a list.Notice the poor priest in the background looking on in bafflement.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-83366754649162947862011-10-05T10:30:00.002-04:002011-10-05T10:36:30.259-04:00

Father William Hartley, Father John Hewitt, and Robert Sutton were martyred in London today in 1588.Fr. Hartley took refuge in the house of Lady Stonor, of the great recusant family of South Oxfordshire, which had also welcomed, among others, St. Edmund Campion. When Lady Stonor was arrested in 1581, she offered the following stirring defense of her faith:I was born in such a time when Holy Mass

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-16327275237713056412011-10-04T19:07:00.003-04:002011-10-05T11:06:07.897-04:00

As election time approaches, the USCCB makes its own contribution. Phil Lawler comments:My eyes glazed over when I first tried to read the entire 44-page text of Faithful Citizenship, when it first appeared on the scene in the fall of 2007. In their instructions to voters, the bishops dutifully call for opposition to abortion. But they mix that admonition with so many other considerations that

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-26360901823999680572011-10-04T16:35:00.002-04:002011-10-04T16:40:56.131-04:00

That feminism should have originated in Protestant countries is to be explained by the fact that they have lost a precious pearl: the devotion to the Mother of the Savior. Sigrid Undset remarks that this terrible loss has the inevitable consequence that women, having lost their role model, will inevitably lose the particular dignity of the feminine. A similar thought is mentioned by John Saward (

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-77193650838782127012011-10-04T14:49:00.010-04:002011-10-04T15:45:27.484-04:00

In 2010, in the hope of reforming the USCCB's Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Reform CCHD Now coalition sent a report to every U.S. bishop detailing the pro-choice, pro-homosexual, pro-Marxist organizations that have received grants from the CCHD. In spite of the USCCB's promise to remove dissenting organizations from among its grantees, the latest report shows that the number of

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21121869.post-8922146683619190392011-10-04T10:32:00.001-04:002011-10-04T10:34:19.507-04:00

Fr. Rutler's continuing series on World War II, where the practices of Dr. Josef Mengele are contrasted with those of wartime England.

Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205862627682998184noreply@blogger.com0