Tuesday 30 April 2013

Some Pope Francis Favourites

The miraculous 'weeping statue' of Hans Kung in his garden
Well, we are now well into the papacy of Pope Francis and its time to collect and present some of the wisdom of the Pope who we are promised will lead the Church through some pretty choppy waters, like a bridge over troubled waters. Yes its going to be just like the Simon and Garfunkel song.

So far, we've seen some quite extraordinary scenes in Rome and heard some things from Pope Francis that make listeners sit up and think. While the traditional Catholic blogosphere has had to learn to pray once more for the gift of holy patience with regard to Papal liturgical ceremony and shoe-wearing habits, there has been plenty for the Faithful to chew on in terms of food fed to us by the hand of Peter.

Take the recent homily from His Holiness on Confession, for instance, a homily that has apparently caused Hans Kung's statue of himself to miraculously weep salt tears at 3pm everyday without fail. If it continues, his entire statue will erode into nothingness. He'd invite the Faithful into his garden to admire his miraculous weeping statue of himself but, unfortunately, he's too busy plotting the overthrow of the Catholic Church for an umbrella one-world religion that compromises the Catholic Truth for worldly acceptance and masonic 'universal brotherhood'. Give it up, Hans, the gates of Hell shall never prevail!

So let's catch up with what our Holy Father has been saying:


It is said to be at this exact moment that Hans Kung's statue of himself began weeping and that The Tablet's editorial team began to hyperventilate. A fridge in the office of the National Catholic Reporter in the US is also said to have exploded at the exact moment this was read. This follows something else the Holy Father said in his first Angelus:


I'm beginning to notice a theme here, but wait, that's not all the Holy Father has been saying. Hang on, did he say what I think he just said?


So, let's get this straight. Pope Francis has said, very publicly, that the Church is our Mother and that it is not possible to find Jesus outside of the Church. His Holiness has also said that we are sinners who need God's forgiveness on a very regular basis - the more regular - the better? Let's move on, shall we.


Did he just, like, associate women with motherhood and suggest that the fulfillment of womanhood is, for most, motherhood? Sisters, yes, I think that is what His Holiness said! Moving swiftly on, then! Then, to Priests, His Holiness said this:



Did he just, like, tell Priests to stop living sinfully so that others may sinfully live and to live lives of holiness in imitation of Christ?! Yes, I believe he did! He also said this:

"You will exercise in Christ the office of sanctifying. For by your ministry the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful will be made perfect, being united to the sacrifice of Christ, which will be offered through your hands in an unbloody way on the altar, in union with the faithful, in the celebration of the sacraments."

Did he just, like, say that the Holy Mass is the sacrifice of Calvary on the Altar of the Living God!?

There are more wonderful things that our Holy Father has said, so let's end with a particularly upbeat message from the Catholic Pope defending Catholic teachings who is, by his words and his actions, striving to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all mankind, in a simple and profound manner that should really have liberals quaking in their shoes.

Have they not realised yet?

"Remain steadfast in the journey of faith, with firm hope in the Lord. This is the secret of our journey! He gives us the courage to swim against the tide. Pay attention, my young friends: to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide. Jesus gives us this courage! There are no difficulties, trials or misunderstandings to fear, provided we remain united to God as branches to the vine, provided we do not lose our friendship with him, provided we make ever more room for him in our lives. This is especially so whenever we feel poor, weak and sinful, because God grants strength to our weakness, riches to our poverty, conversion and forgiveness to our sinfulness. The Lord is so rich in mercy: every time, if we go to him, he forgives us. Let us trust in God’s work! With him we can do great things; he will give us the joy of being his disciples, his witnesses. Commit yourselves to great ideals, to the most important things. We Christians were not chosen by the Lord for little things; push onwards toward the highest principles. Stake your lives on noble ideals, my dear young people!"


May God bless our Holy Father, Pope Francis, now reigning gloriously!

For my part, Pope Francis makes me more than a little nervous. He inspires me to ask the question, 'Lord, what is it that You want me to do?'

Monday 29 April 2013

Former Master Mason Exposes the Danger of Freemasonry, Links it to Fatima


I know that Fatima 'analysts' are ridiculed but it is worth listening to someone who has been deeply involved with the masonic sect and who has 'seen the light' so to speak.

It is worth reminding ourselves that, given that this gentleman is telling us about the rituals involved in Freemasonry from his own experience, he is presumably risking his own life in divulging the secrets of the gnostic counter-Church that is Freemasonry.

Soberly, we must be aware of this huge threat to Holy Mother Church, since it is clear that the Freemasons have desired that their infiltration of the Church should, if it could, which presumably it could, go to its very summit.

Spot the Difference Competition...

'I implore you, brothers, be on your guard against anybody who encourages trouble or puts difficulties in the way of the doctrine you have been taught. Avoid them. People like that are not slaves of Jesus Christ, they are slaves of their own appetites, confusing the simple-minded with their pious and persuasive arguments. Your fidelity to Christ, anyway, is famous everywhere, and that makes me very happy about you. I only hope that you are also wise in what is good, and innocent of what is bad. The God of peace will soon crush Satan beneath your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.' ~ St Paul's Letter to the Romans, 16:1-20

Quite how I didn't notice the stark similarities between the faithful, habit-wearing, poor, obedient lover of the Cross of Our Lord, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and the disobedient, dissenting, non-religious habit-wearing gang of schismatics at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious is a huge mystery to me. Thank Heaven that the Editrix of The Tablet is around to remind us that chalk and cheese are basically the same thing.

The Miracle of Life


A reader kindly sent me this You Tube video of Alexander Tsiaras's incredible presentation on the very beginnings of human life in the womb. 'Beyond human comprehension' is how he describes the machinery and complex building instructions set in place in the earliest stages of human development.

Only human beings could possibly develop the kind of technology to survey the 'magic of existence that is us'. Only human beings could possibly be so perverted in their hearts, as to then turn on these unborn lives and deny them their humanity. Only human beings, with the immense capacity for scientific pursuit, could set about the destruction of these lives, by the millions and then call that destruction 'human progress'. Only human beings could descend into such a moral abyss as to ask the Creator of human life to 'bless' those who promote, condone and implement this astonishing attack on the defenceless.

Bloggers and others raising awareness of the situation in Ireland are making much of the Fine Gael proposal make abortion available in Ireland because it has brazenly called for the procedure that will see 'human life...destroyed'. Pro-life campaigners are absolutely right to do so. Those campaigners are absolutely right to also face down the lies emanating from the political establishment in Ireland concerning the tragic death of Savita, whose cause of death was sepsis, something which no 'termination' could have cured.

Pray for an end to abortion and pray that Ireland will not go down the calamitous road that we have taken, in which millions of human lives which should have been with us, sharing in the miraculous gift of life, are not with us - for no reason which can ever be justified - medically, scientifically or morally.

Sunday 28 April 2013

The Sunday Times Poor List

In a break with a 25-year tradition, The Sunday Times has announced that next year, as well as featuring the annual Rich List of the richest and most influential people in Britain (excluding the Rothschilds, who own everything, including your house, your fridge and your cat), The Sunday Times will bring to its readers the first ever Poor List - a list of the most uninfluential and deprived people in Britain today.

 
Martin Evans, acting editor of The Sunday Times, said, "With David Beckham being listed in the Rich List as being 'worth' £165 million (a snip if you consider his free kicks), we thought it was about time we showed readers that The Sunday Times has concern for matters of social justice."

We have some very interesting paupers listed ready for next year, including a man who lives on what he obtains from bins and a man who is imprisoned every time he walks on the wrong side of the road because of his ASBO. We also have a woman who raises fourteen children on a housing estate in Hackney while working 12 hour a day shifts as a cleaner in a petrol station. We thought that after all this time, it is important that we 'redress the balance' so to speak - especially in these times of Dickensian austerity."

Well done, The Sunday Times, well done. So important that people's 'net worth' is not measured in pounds, but in their unique dignity as human beings made in the image of God.

Saturday 27 April 2013

The Only Problem with Capitalism is the Capitalists

Tom Chivers has posted a piece in defence of Primark or, at least, in defence of the Primark type model of business and trade.

I fail to see how a company that is as hugely profitable as Primark, which by now must be a 'global' brand, cannot build safe working conditions for its workers.

In an age in which conscience is dismissed as just an irritating 'voice' or 'noise', I guess it is only natural that companies like Primark would do very nicely out of countries like Bangladesh, where they can treat workers with contempt and offer them a teensie weensie bit more money than they would get working for someone else in the country.

Why do the Chief Executives of such firms as Primark, among the other high street names that employ people for peanuts in foreign lands to sell cheap stuff in the West, not consider their consciences? Is business and trade an arena in which conscience is not necessary? A burden?

A lot of independent small businesses in the UK are closing down in the recession. Companies like Primark are still opening stores across the land. Like a good many high street chains, Primark's profits are presumably pretty healthy now, though I understand that 'enough is never enough' nowadays.

Thanks be to God that even in the rubble that exposes Primark's Chief's infernal avarice, a baby has been born - something that is being hailed as nothing short of 'miraculous'. It might raise the question, 'Why is someone so heavily pregnant working in a factory?' but not to Primark, I guess. Does she get 'maternity pay'?

People naturally look at calamities like this and think that the State must do something. God forbid anyone in Primark should examine their consciences and see that maybe, just maybe, putting profits ahead of people - even your workers - is incredibly sinful. The world needs Jesus Christ. Yes, even the world of business needs Jesus Christ.

And yes, I know I'm a hypocrite. Yes, yes, I am wearing Primark pants. I know, I know. Shall I burn them on YouTube in protest? Come on people. Go commando for Christ! I can see a new Bishops Conference campaign in the offing there...

Seriously though, there is no reason why multinational companies and hugely successful global brands cannot be good or loving. People are not commodities much as the industrialists have told us we are. People are not there to be exploited. The world of business and trade is not there solely make huge profits, but to be put at the service of people as well.

It is not rocket science to suggest that businessmen need to conduct themselves according to conscience, but the whole conscience thing in generally unpopular nowadays isn't it? I mean, that whole 'Fairtrade' thing. Wouldn't it be better if multinationals just cut corners a bit less, treated their workers with dignity and obeyed natural justice?

Oh but if multinational companies did that economies wouldn't be 'competitive'. Conscience isn't part of 'our culture'. Oh right! Well then, just carry on as you are! As long as economies are 'competitive' that's the main thing. Is there no aspect of human life that has not been overwhelmed by social darwinism?

Friday 26 April 2013

Cardinal Oullet to the Bishops of England and Wales

Courtesy of the LMS Chairman, who picked this up from The Catholic Herald. Cardinal Marc Oullet to the Bishops:

‘My brother bishops, you face many challenges in your apostolic ministry in England and Wales. Perhaps you can identify with Peter and John as they are dragged before the Sanhedrin to be pressured, threatened and even beaten to stop proclaiming the saving Truth of Jesus Christ. Perhaps you can sense viscerally the pressure to obey men rather than God, to see yourself as a mere manager or functionary rather than a disciple and an apostle...’

Interesting choice of words...I think you'll agree.

Wonderful Devotional Book on the Blessed Sacrament

Father Stefano M. Manelli, co-founder of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, wrote an excellent book entitled 'Jesus: Our Eucharistic Love'.

To buy a copy of this wonderful work for God, click here.

Someone recently gave it to me as an Easter gift and it is a really very inspiring and beautiful work and I recommend it to anyone who wants to deepen their appreciation and reverence for Our Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist - that is - to everyone. May God and Our Lady bless Fr Stefano and all the Friars of the Immaculate, spreading the good news of God's Kingdom around the globe.

Fr. Stefano Maria Manelli was born in Fiume/Rijeka (Hrvatska), Italy on May 1, 1933. His parents were Vervent of God Settimio Manelli and Servent of God Licia Gualandris, spiritual children of St. Pio of Prietrelcina. He was the sixth of the twenty-one children. He received his first communion from Padre Pio himself in 1938 He entered the minor seminary of the Order of the Friars Minor Conventual in Cupertino (Lecce) on 18th of December of 1945 at the age of 12 years old. He made his simple profession on October 4, 1949; his solemn profession on May 27 1954 and was ordained a priest on October 30 1955, the Solemnity of Christ, the King.

He became the Prefect of Studies of the Conventual Province of Naples. In the beginning of 1965, Father Stefano Maria began a long rediscovery and meditation of the Franciscan sources and of the writings of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe.

At the summon of the Second Vatican Council to religious to return back to their sources and to adapt to the changing conditions of the time as principles of renewal of religious life, Fr. Stefano was inspired to live integrally the Franciscan life according to the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi according to the recent examples of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Franciscan model of our time. On August 2, 1970, Feast of Our Lady of the Portiuncula, Fr. Stefano together with Fr. Gabriel Maria Pelletieri and with the permission and blessing of the major superiors, began to live an experience of a Franciscan life renewed according to the "Traccia" (A Marian Plan of Franciscan Life) in the first Casa Mariana (Marian House/Friary) in the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Frigento (AV), Italy.

Fr. Stefano Maria is the superior of the Marian Friary in Frigento from 1970 until 1973 and from 1979 until 1982. He became the Master of novices in the same Casa Marian of Frigento for 10 years, from 1972 until 1982. He was elected Minister Provincial in Naples for three consecutive terms (1982-1988) In November 1, 1982, together with Fr. Gabriel, he founded the first community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in Novaliches (Manila, Philippines) which developed under the care of Fr. Gabriel Maria Pelletieri, following the "Marian Traccia of Franciscan Life." In 1988, he was elected rector of the theological College "San Francesco" in Benevento until 1990. In June 23 1990, in the foundation of the Institute of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, he became its Minister General until the present time.

Pro-Marriage Protestor Stabbed Four Times by Homosexual Activists

On 13th April 2013 in Paris, Samuel Lafont, a young man taking part in the pro-family and pro-morality demonstration organized by La Manif Pour Tous, was stabbed four times in the back by vicious homosexual activists.

Lafont, who was unarmed like all the protestors, was [...] pushed to the ground and deliberately, savagely attacked. He had to be taken to the Georges Pompidou hospital where he received emergency surgery.

He has been in a grave condition in intensive care ever since. Two of his companions were also wounded but less severely. One was stabbed in the arm and another once in the back. The morning after the riot, rabid homosexuals were rejoicing in this news, and exchanging messages on Twitter saying they hoped Samuel was dead.

The attack was planned and the day before it was carried out, Samuel had been threatened with murder on social media, for his part in leading the youth wing of the demonstrations. The attack took place near the Odéon junction in central Paris, where Lafont, aged 25, was planning to address the crowd.

The former minister Christine Boutin who supports La Manif pour Tous confirmed what had taken place and, on Twitter, called for the President, Francois Hollande, to condemn the violence. So far he has said nothing. And so far, the police have not arresyed any suspects for the shameful attack.

If you can translate French, read the report here. Ah, what peace and harmony 'equal marriage' is bringing to Europe...

Rules for Public Office

Rule # 1

Do not say anything negative about the Rothschild dynasty. If you have ever read anything negative about them and their role in the last 400 years of carnage and chaos, dismiss it out of hand as anti-semitism.

If you harbour any negative feelings or beliefs about the most powerful banking dynasty to have graced the Earth in all of human history then keep them all to yourself.

If you are concerned that this family can command governments, Kings and Queens on a global scale, just put those fears to the back of your mind.

If you are concerned that this family instituted 'think-tanks' for Governments and that their 'think-tanks' emerge with policies that soon become Government policies, do not worry since they are our benefactors and it is all for our own good.

If you still have concerns about a lack of real democracy and true freedom in the World and fear that this one family pulls the strings of Governments around the globe through a vast network of organisations under their control, you may speak out, but remember, if you do, you will be destroyed.

In a word: Do not mess with the Rothschilds. Only St Michael, the Archangel, Our Lady of Victories and Our Lord Jesus Christ can take on the Rothschilds and win. If this family saw their places in Hell, they would use their vast money for good - not for the good and enrichment of themselves and their friends, nor for the plunder and exploitation of nations and peoples. Until they meet with God, the One True God, rather than the Lucifer they worship, the World and all its vast minerals, gold, oil, political classes, mass media, wealth and riches, even right opinion itself, belongs, in a quite unique way, to them.

As well as human carnage, the last few centuries has seen an unprecedented rise in the commodification of the human person. Gosh...do you think the commodification of the human person might have been overseen by the banking sector? Could it really be?

Pray for them and then go back to sleep because if we knew all that this family had achieved in terms of sheer human carnage, we should die from the horror of it all. Now that the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds have officially done the deal that seals their personal fortunes into one House, expect double the chaos that we have hitherto experienced. These guys mean business.

"In principle, all politicians in power are subordinate to the Freemasons and the world was dominated by seven or eight people who kept all the money in their hands." ~ Fr Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist, Diocese of Rome

But what would he know...I mean, he's only an exorcist...

Thursday 25 April 2013

Same-Sex Marriage Round-Up


France

In case you missed it, same-sex marriage legislation was passed in France. The protests against it were said to be small, token, sporadic and ill-attended. Another triumph for demoncracy in Europe. Some in France's Senate must look at that picture and think, 'Yeah...hmm...we're going to need a bigger guillotine.'

An important question to consider, though: Why did all these people join a protest in a battle they knew they couldn't win? I mean...it's like they've got beliefs or something! Weird! An interesting article from The Spectator here which is well worth a read. It suggests that the powers that be are, wait for it, a bit worried.

Meanwhile, France's new Ministry for Domestic Tyranny issued this image of what the department says is the true extent of the demonstration, which, as you can see, is nothing like the images circulated by the enemies of democracy, freedom and equal marriage. The Minister for Domestic Tyranny when asked the question, 'Did it snow that day?' refused to comment.


United Kingdom

Meanwhile, in London, the Government are starting to become concerned at the level of public anger against same-sex marriage.

Already a protest has begun, as evidenced by the image below. Security has been stepped up a level and a spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street has said that though the protest is surprising, it is expected that the Government will be able to 'manage the grave threat to public safety'. Still, however, 'all options, including the nuclear deterrent, remain on the table' when it comes to dealing with the protest.

The Bishops Conference of England and Wales has released a statement calling upon the protest to cease, so that a cordial dialogue of mutual respect may be maintained between the Church and the State and, the man, who may or may not own a dog which may or may not be dangerous, has been urged not to worry and to 'write a stiff letter to your MP'.

Heaven

In Heaven, there is said to be only one marriage, said to be that of the Bridegroom, Christ, with His Bride, the Church. Heaven is yet to do away with such terms as 'mother' and 'father' and still continues to insist that in terms of earthly marriage, one man and one woman is required. Heaven has gained increasing unpopularity among many activists on Earth by insisting that 'same-sex marriage' is a perversion in the order of a natural institution raised to a Sacrament by Christ in His Holy Church.

Meanwhile, noting the spread of same-sex marriage across the West, the Secretary of St Michael, Archangel, has issued this image from his heavenly department, the Department for Justice, Chastisement, Vengeance and Wrath with the following note,

'Yes, all the options remain on the table for Heaven also. If you read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, well, it's not a story as such, but you'll see we had the nuclear deterrent long before you guys. Yes, we have a long-range capacity...' 


An Archbishop Who Teaches the Gospel Even in Trial

From Life Site News

'In an astonishing display of gentleness in the face of a vile attack, the head of the Catholic Church in Belgium, Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, remained calmly seated with eyes closed in prayer Tuesday as four topless women attacked him with shouts and curses and doused him with water. It’s not the first time the bishop has been attacked for standing up for the Church’s teachings on homosexuality and expressing his concern for those who live the homosexual lifestyle.

The incident took place at the ULB University in Brussels where the archbishop was participating in a debate on blasphemy laws.

The four women, representing the pro-abortion and homosexual group FEMEN, took to the stage where they disrobed to reveal black-painted slogans on their bare chests and backs, such as ‘my body my rules,’ and 'anus dei is coming.' They also held signs reading ‘stop homophobia’. The women doused the archbishop with water from bottles formed in the image of the Virgin Mary...'

(For full article click here)



Respect!

But be careful Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard and remember..

Don't fight battles that you think you can't win!

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Gender Neutral Toilets to Become Shooters Galleries?

Ah, Brighton. Progressives cannot rest on their laurels here. As one exciting progressive new idea is implemented, there are a thousand other ideas waiting for implementation. There is always something that needs to be done - something ordinary citizens of the city of Brighton and Hove just wouldn't have thought up. Yes, as Caroline Lucas, Jason Kitcat and the army of progressives survey Brighton, there is always 'room for improvement'. You might say, 'But hang on, that's a bit off!' but don't worry. Don't complain. Remember, progressives are more evolved than you. They are the experts. They are cleverer and they have a foresight that you will never attain. Oh, they are so wise!

So, if you are a Brightonian and you occasionally have a little stroll along the Undercliff Pass leading from Brighton Marina to Rottingdean, then you'll have noticed a little 'reconstruction' taking place. There existed, not too long ago, some public toilets. These toilets, to the untrained eye, were perfectly adequate, but your eyes haven't been fully trained! No. These toilets were vastly inadequate for Brighton and Hove - the great 'city by the sea'. "What was wrong with these toilets!?", I hear you cry.

The answer, of course, is that these toilets were not gender neutral toilets. They were not - but they very soon will be and oh, what a delight that shall be for all, young and old! How did Brighton cope before the gender neutral toilet? Yes, when ordinary citizens survey Brighton, they see things that could be improved, for some its pot holes, for some, rubbish collection, for others, high rates of crime, but few are so wise as to appreciate the wisdom of the gender neutral toilet. Would you have thought of that one? Me neither. Thank Heaven for progressives who can see the gender divisions in society and cause peace and harmony to flow like a river of sewage, straight into the English Channel.

But wait...there is more. The progressive movement in Brighton has yet more to offer. Brighton is a hedonistic town which promotes a lifestyle that regressive people used to think of as one of 'vice'. Now that 'vice' is merely an instrument in which progressives hope the heads of those who disagree with them will be placed, rather than anything to do with 'morality', a new dawn of utopian happiness for society has arrived.

A lot of people come here with various lifestyles that, still, people - even your trendiest liberal - finds difficult to deal with. Certain drug-taking habits, like the shooting up of heroin and the smoking of crack cocaine, for example, still have a degree of stigma attached to them. These are enlightened times, however, and despite the enlightenment of the times, as evidenced by such natural phenomena as the rising and setting of the sun, 'substance misuse' is rampant on the streets of Brighton, in its hostels and the flats of those who misuse substances. What to do? Well, the bright sparks in the Green Party have had an idea. Why not create a 'safe place' where addicts can go and shoot up 'safe heroin' so that everything is 'safe'?

Obviously, Caroline Lucas, Jason Kitcat and all the wise ones of Brighton's political elite know better than we, so when I suggest that it doesn't matter how many 'safe places' you create for people to take 'class A' drugs in (Aren't these classifications just so unnecessary, like 'male' and 'female' really!), they will still go and take drugs and shoot up in your glorious new gender neutral toilets - my views should be ignored. I'm just an ignorant simpleton, because, you know, if there is one thing that everyone who has taken heroin says about heroin, its that after one or two hits in a 'safe place', the need for another sixteen hits of heroin ceases pretty much immediately - especially if you had a 'safe' amount in a 'safe' place. Yes, the smack addicts of Brighton and Hove will be model citizens after 6 months of the 'shooting galleries of Brighton'. As long as the State approves of a certain behaviour, like vice or crime, vice and crime soon disappear altogether.

They'll never leave needles in Brighton's toilets again because they've been 'sorted out' at one of Caroline Lucas's 'safe shooting galleries'. So obviously, if someone goes and shoots up smack in one of Brighton's gender neutral toilets, leaves the needle for an elderly lady to examine, goes into one of the shooting galleries, goes over, overdoses and dies, that won't be your fault will it, progressives of Brighton? The first body bag coming out of a 'shooters gallery' won't be great publicity for Caroline Lucas or her party of progressives, but, hey, at least she'll have the population reduction euthanasia centre she always wanted, as well as the gender neutral toilets where sexually predatory men can have their way with men or women or whoever is in-between much easier than they could before. But don't listen to me, I'm just a regressive - a bit of a pessimist - uneducated in the ways of progressive wisdom. I'm sure both the gender neutral toilets and the shooters galleries will work out just fine. Hey, Caroline, why not just combine both ideas and make the gender neutral toilets into the shooters gallery? I mean, they're going to do it anyway, right?

I can't wait for the BBC's first documentary on the project - 'Taking Smack with Caroline Lucas'. Don't put it on after the watershed because, I mean, what's the point of a watershed? This is just another form of classification! Obviously, there will be some rabid reactionaries out there, in Brighton and beyond, who consider that Caroline Lucas is 'endorsing' or 'promoting' or in some way 'condoning' the heroin problem in Brighton, by promoting the idea of people taking drugs in a centre provided by herself and the wise leaders of Brighton and Hove. Apparently, someone has been driving around Brighton with a white van that has 'Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead' emblazoned on it. Someone needs to tell him (or her, indeed, oh no...another gender stereotype!) that they are mistaken. Caroline Lucas is still very much alive. Personally, I think Caroline Lucas should change her name. It's too obvious that she is a woman. For a society that has rejected gender roles, stereotypes and aims solely for gender neutrality, Caroline should adopt instead a number for herself and lead the way. Why not, six hundred, three score and...

I don't know. I can't get that worked up about gender neutral toilets. It's more concerning that they are saying they're gender neutral. Like, they see gender as some kind of problem that needs to be overcome or something. Creepy.

Monday 22 April 2013

So, Guys? Have You Set a Date Yet?



Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Also, has anyone else noticed that more or less as soon as Pope Paul VI instituted a World Day for Vocations, the Church entered into a vocations crisis? I expect that in the 'bad old days', every day was a day of prayer for vocations...

Saturday 20 April 2013

Liberte, Egalite, Fr...Oh, Let's Just Call the Whole Thing Off and Kick in a Priest

Is 'SSM' worth this? Who are the 'civil rights' campaigners now?
Eccles just tweeted something the whole world needs to see.

To be precise, this is French police taking a priest by force and giving him a kicking for good measure.

The mask of 'equality' is slipping in France.

This is tyranny. This is what is coming to our country, but with far less resistance.

Watch it here from 4.10 and pray for these brave priests and ordinary French citizens, whose right to protest against same-sex marriage - or rather - whose right to defend the fundamental premise upon which rests the institution of marriage rests, is being violently removed from them.

This is what happens when people try to defend their nation, the family, marriage and freedom.

This is our future.

This is the future of this country's children.

The Governments of the world do not want people to defend principles. They don't want people to have principles. They just get in the way of the plan. They have underestimated, perhaps, just how many people will be prepared to lose their freedom, or even die, just for a single principle.

I don't know what page we are on in the Book of Revelation, but I think France has shown us that this dragon is going to take some slaying...

Archbishop of Laodicea Responds to "Gossip"

Archbishop of Laodicea
Church of Laodicea
Asia Minor

Bishop John
Patmos

22nd September, 63

Dear John,

Thank you very much for your kind letter to the Church of Laodicea which you sub-titled, 'Revelation'. I do hope this letter finds you well.

I am sorry it has taken so long to reply. How is the weather there in Patmos? No hailstorms involving hailstones that weigh a talent each, I trust! I do hope your exile comes to an end soon.

Well, here in Laodicea things are going well on the whole. We have some issues with a small community of LGBT people who are using the Church to advance an agenda which is completely contrary to the Gospel. I let them use the local hall and a small church in the spirit of tolerance. Is this perhaps one of the seven spirits you mention before the throne of God? I think this must surely be the case.

Naturally, there have been people writing and complaining about such things but I told them: "Hold your tongues!" Things were getting quite out of hand, so, anyway, I simply moved the problem to another Church in a different area of Laodicea. Hopefully those gossipers will pipe down now.

There are also some other gossipers and grumblers voicing concern over false prophets and teachers teaching false doctrines in the spirit of the Antichrist in some of our educational establishments and trusts here in Laodicea. I said to them: "Stop complaining!" I know from one of your other letters, John, that such grumbling, gossiping and complaining destroys Christian charity. I'm currently concerned about the nuncio Peter sent to our region and I and some brother Bishops in Asia Minor are hoping Peter may send us someone a bit more adaptable to our circle. He's a bit too 'traditional' and takes some of those complaining a bit too seriously.

You say the Lord has a special message for me. You say Jesus says, 'I know all about you: how you are neither cold nor hot.' Well, John, I'd just like to say it is wonderful that the Lord is asking. Please be reassured that the weather here is simply great. This summer, alone, temperatures soared to 40 degrees and while Autumn is now well underway, it is still warm enough in the evening to wander around Laodicea wearing something really quite light.

Thanks for filling me in also on what is going on in Philadelphia. Sounds interesting, John. Some harsh language about those who 'say they are Jews, but are not Jews'. Who is this 'synagogue of Satan' operating there? You might want to tone that kind of language down a bit. We're working on some inter-faith dialogue at the moment, so I'm glad that letter wasn't sent to us. What ever could it be about? Very mysterious! 

Our collections are doing well and a lot of money has been coming in. We are rich, we have made a fortune and we have everything we want to start some interesting projects. I'll fill you in on them at a later date. Please reassure the Lord that none of us are poor, blind or naked, though there are many such poor folk in the region who fit that description, but these don't bring us in much money, so we tend to ignore them.

I know, John, that you are a great mystic and your love for God is great, and, really, thanks for your concern about how things are going here in Laodicea, but really there is nothing to worry about. Don't listen to gossip and any old story you hear, John! After all, isn't that what Peter said recently in a homily? That's what my friend said anyway. I must locate a copy of that whole speech at some point.

Anyway, thanks again for the letter. Hope you are doing well. Do give my kind regards to the other Churches in Asia Minor and keep well. We'd send you over some money but - you know how it is - you can't trust the post man nowadays.

John, I know that there is talk of persecution in some areas of Asia Minor, but I don't listen to such gossip. Things here are going well and as to the future that you see, which you have written in your book, well, who knows what's down the road?

Best wishes

++Kevin
Archbishop of Laodicia



Friday 19 April 2013

Crisis? What Crisis?


Dr Joseph Shaw has a couple of interesting posts  (here and here) on statistics, vocations and the decline/or not of the Catholic Church in England. This appears to be in response to some stats released by the Office for Vocations. There appears to be some kind of debate or dispute over whether the Church is statistically declining or not, especially in terms of vocations. I found the above screen shot of a Twitter dialogue between Austen Ivereigh and Fr Stephen Morgan a little amusing though its not actually funny. Let's not deny there are any problems, Austen. Presenting a positive image or front of the state of the Catholic Church in England and Wales doesn't impress anyone in the Church, outside of the Church or onlookers in Heaven.

There is a kind of dark irony to the 'management of decline' brigade. See, you don't need that many priests if not many people are actually going to Church. The more Mass attendance declines, the less priests required. I suppose that, in theory, if the decline of the Catholic Church can be managed that well, a spike here or there may be good news, but the trend ensures general decline in the long-term. Right? We don't need lots and lots of priests because there are not lots and lots of people who need them. It's a bit like the population theorists. It's only when you get a country like Japan where they don't take on large quantities of immigrants that you see the population falling at a truly alarming rate in one country. Even here in Europe though, we are beginning to see the 'tipping point'.

Perhaps, while the LMS continue their excellent work of training Priests and Altar Servers in the Usus Antiquior, which attracts people to live out the Catholic Faith radically, the Vocations Office can offer some courses on how to arrange deck chairs on large ships that have taken on a great deal of water? Why not get Austen to run the course? I mean, isn't that what PR is all about? Come on Austen, this is the Catholic Church. Let's not do with the Catholic Church's vocations figures what the government does with unemployment figures. By the way, apparently 70,000 more people were made unemployed between December and February...but you have to put that in context...

Pray for vocations, for holy priests and holier Bishops.

Thursday 18 April 2013

'No man cometh to the Father, but by me...'


At 1 min 45 secs

'Thomas saieth unto Him, 'Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him: I am the way, the truth and the life. 
No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' 

Mr Cameron, Prime Minster, Sir,

You may want to pause for a moment and reflect on that, while you set about destroying the definition of marriage in this country, since if Our Lord was so inclined to say that no man comes to the Father, His Father, God the Father Almighty, but by He who is the 'way, the truth and the life', so it is also true that those who come to the 'father of lies' go by a different route to that of the Lord Jesus Christ and go another way.  

So must it be that the destination of those who do not enter through Him to the sheepfold, must enter another destination, by a different gate, which opens up not into Heaven but to a place where God absence is the only thing that is truly known. There are only two places where such a state is known and they are different. Firstly, that of Purgatory, where souls go to be purified for a time before entry into Heaven, for which they long and for which they can hope, and the other place, that of Hell, where God's absence is the only thing that is truly known and the duration of which is Eternity.

Prime Minister Cameron, neither your lasting political legacy, nor your immortal soul are served by the destruction of marriage in the United Kingdom and its redefinition by the Government. Why not be a noble political leader and put the long-term interests of the nation and your immortal soul ahead of whatever misguided short term political gain that you consider can be won from this effort (and it does require a considerable effort on your part) to redefine marriage, perhaps indefinitely, as something that takes place merely between two persons of the same or different genders?














Comments are closed.

Only joking. Why is nobody allowed to comment on anything to do with the late Baroness Thatcher on the Telegraph? I can't imagine she would want this much State and media 'protection'. I know that she split the country down the middle, I believe the actual location of the divide is somewhere in Milton Keynes, but, nevertheless, I find the lack of ability to comment on the Thatcher legacy rather eerie. May the Iron Lady rest in peace.

Samaritans Volunteers: Liberal Journalists Need Not Apply


In the wake of the last person who gained publicity because he wanted to end his life, and whom the British media naturally swarmed around like flies, the BBC et al now are promoting a paralysed man called Paul Lamb's bid to have himself put down by the State. I really hope that liberal media types don't volunteer in the evenings for Samaritans.

Suicide is being promoted to the British by the media, in such a way that in 20 years time, Samaritans hotlines will not only be unmanned, but the line will be dead. Oh well, I suppose it will save the NHS Mental Health Services money, all this suicide promotion and its cheaper than real support like counselling. The promotion of suicide is cost effective to an over-burdened State with so many jobless, depressed, sick and vulnerable people. So many people on Disability Living Allowance, my, my, what to do with them all? I mean, if they don't work, or are incapacitated brickies...?

Meet the Bloggers

 '...Pope Francis understands this in practical terms. He has already identified two kinds of behaviour that destroy love in the Church. They are complaining and gossiping. He is a practical man. He knows that we live in a society in which complaining and gossip is a standard fare. They sell newspapers and attract us to blogs because we love hear complaints and to read gossip. But Pope Francis is clear: they should have no place in the Church. He reminded us that the disciples, on the road to Emmaus were sad and complaining. He added: 'and the more they complained, the more they were closed in on themselves. They did not have a horizon before them, only a wall.' Complaining and griping about others, about things in one's own life, is harmful, he said 'because it dashes hope. Don't get into this game of a life of complaints.' Then, in another memorable phrase, he added that some ‘stew their lives in the juice of their own complaining.'


These are words from a recent homily delivered by His Grace the Archbishop of Westminster at a Mass for Pope Francis. Does Archbishop Vincent Nichols read blogs, I wonder? Or does His Grace hear what people write concerning the Church in England and Wales from second hand sources? I hope that His Grace doesn't just respond to second-hand information concerning what other people have read on blogs since such second hand information can be misunderstood and there is a potential for an element of gossip about what people have written. I'm sure that His Grace cannot be referring to many blogs that I read, nor such a peripheral one as my own since I don't really see much in terms of gossip on Catholic blogs, other than perhaps more 'mainstream' ones soon to go up on a paywall.

I never really understand why the Catholic Church in England and Wales do not employ the vast energy that Catholic bloggers spend, unpaid, in evangelising through the internet. True, many blogs are Church-referential. We do need to be more 'outward-looking'. There is a problem, perhaps, with what Pope Francis has talked about concerning the Church being too 'inward' looking, almost self-obsessed with Church interior affairs.

However, there are problems within the Church in England and Wales, at a national level and certainly it would be dreadfully sad if issues raised by Catholic bloggers concerning real, fundamental concerns of real lay persons, real priests, real Catholics were to be left unaddressed. Perhaps there are times in which the internet age fosters the tendency within bloggers to fail to think of leading hierachy figures as real people, rather than 'figures'. I think that, equally, there also may be a problem with leading hierachy figures failing to considers 'bloggers' as real people with real concerns - rather than just as 'bloggers'. Perhaps His Grace could organise a 'meet the bloggers' day - a kind of blognic - in which the deep concerns of bloggers can be put to His Grace in person. It would be nice for His Grace, who must hear some things about what people write on blogs, to be able to put a face to a name and to hear in person the concerns of lay faithful, especially, concerning such issues as heterodoxy among leading public figures in Catholic institutions, for example. After all, His Grace is hardly the enemy of bloggers, neither are bloggers the enemies of the Archbishop. How strange and awful it would be if that were the case!

I don't know. One shouldn't take these things personally and I really doubt very much that His Grace is talking about a blog as peripheral as my own. Perhaps, he is just referring to The Tablet blog, who have recently been gossiping about 'signs' that the Church is 'rethinking' gay relationships in relation to Church teaching and Pray Tell.

Yes, that must be what His Grace is referring to! In the meantime, I'm putting up a paywall on my blog. Within a year I have worked out, in a budget forecast, that I could make anything between £1.44 and £21.50.

Saturday 13 April 2013

The Woman to Whom Pope Francis Desires to Consecrate His Papacy

This is good news courtesy of Vatican Insider...

'Pope Francis has asked the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal José Policarpo, if he can consecrate his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima. The cardinal himself confirmed this, in his introduction to the 181st general assembly of the Portuguese Bishops' Conference. At the end of his opening speech, Policarpo said: “Pope Francis asked me twice whether he could consecrate his new ministry to Our Lady of Fatima. It is a mandate I can carry out in prayer and silence. But it would be nice if the whole bishop's conference joined in to fulfil this request. May Mary guide us in our work and in fulfilling Pope Francis' request.”

The Popes have always had close ties with Fatima. When Eugenio Pacelli, who was consecrated bishop in the Sistine Chapel on the very day of the first apparition (13 May 1917), became Pope, he wanted the text on the third secret to be kept in the Vatican. In 1950, just before the Assumption of Mary dogma was proclaimed, he said he had been present when the miracle of the sun in the Vatican gardens took place, the same miracle witnessed in October 1917 by those who flocked to witness Mary's apparition to the three shepherd children at Fatima. Pius XII saw the phenomenon as divine confirmation of the dogma he was about to proclaim and in a handwritten note, described how he had repeatedly seen the sun rotate around itself. John XXIII was the first to read the secret in 1959 and told his collaborators in the Secretariat of State and the former Holy Office, but in the end decided not to publish it. Paul VI went to Fatima on a pilgrimage on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions. The then Patriarch of Venice, Albino Luciani, interviewed Fatima seer, Sister Lucia, less than a year before he was elected Pope.'

So His Holiness has seen the Third Secret in all its fullness then!

Bible Study the Catholic Way



I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. (Genesis 3:15)

I wrote the following as a response to an amaetur 'sceptic' with whom I am in dialogue on Facebook. He has used, as the basis for his biblical scepticism, the author and priest, Fr Raymond E Brown. I find it sad that a Priest should leave his readers in so much doubt that people outside of the Church use his work as ammunition against the holy doctrines of the One True Church. If readers find any heresy or error within the following, please alert it to the author so that I may correct it.

The Fathers of the Church saw in Genesis a prophecy, since it is evident that God promised to the serpent (who we understand to be the Devil who tempted our first parents) that it would be a woman that would destroy his designs.   

Indeed, much of the Old Testament points to a messianic future in which all of God’s promises will find fulfilment. The New Testament is the fulfilment of these promises written down by the Evangelists since the promises of the Old Testament point to Christ. This is Catholic belief. What is this prophecy in Genesis? The prophecy is that the ‘seed’ of the woman will crush him and that the Devil ‘shall lie in wait for her heel.’

This ending of this ‘waiting’, the Fathers considered, arrived with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady is not referred to a greal deal in the Gospels, hence why someone like Fr Raymond E. Brown can say that, in his critical examination of the Gospels he can find no reference to Mary’s perpetual Virginity etc, but it is clear that Fr Brown has decided to examine the Gospels in isolation and to set aside, if only for his own particular purposes in writing, the patristic underpinnings of Catholic theology.  This is, essentially, how Protestants treat the Bible – out of context of Catholic belief down the ages. Sadly, it is most likely the way in which the Bible is treated by many Catholic institutions today.

When Our Lady was pregnant with Jesus, it is recorded in the Gospel that she went to visit St Elizabeth, who was pregnant with St John the Baptist.  

The Gospel of St Luke tells us:

‘And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.’ (St Luke, 1:39-45)


What is Mary’s response as recorded in St Luke’s Gospel? Mary’s response is the Magnificat, the hymn of praise to God who had fulfilled His promises made throughout the Old Testament through the Prophets that God sent to Israel.

 My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty,
hath done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations,
to them that fear him.
He hath shewed might in his arm:
he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat,
and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

So, though Mary is not recorded much in the Gospels, she says little, but what she does say is of profound theological importance to us Catholics and whenever she is mentioned there is deep theological meaning imparted. Her Magnificat alone beautifully illustrates her total belief that she is carrying within her sacred and virginal womb the messianic Promise foretold by the Prophets. She says that ‘all generations shall call me blessed’. Why would they do that unless she is carrying the Messiah? In the Hail Mary, we repeat a combination of the Angel Gabriel’s salutation before her conception of the Lord, ‘Hail, Mary, full of grace…’ and Elizabeth’s salutation, as we say, ‘Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.’  

For someone carrying your average baby, Our Lady sounds awfully excited. No, this is no ordinary child and Our Lady is no ordinary lady. This is the long anticipated Messiah she carries within her womb. She believes it, St Elizabeth believes it since she says, ‘Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ and even the unborn St John the Baptist believes it, since the child leaps in the womb of his mother because he supernaturally realises that he is physically close to his Saviour. This is the unborn infant who will later cry out, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the World!’ and who will be Christ’s forerunner and herald, preparing the people to receive the Messiah.

In her womb Mary is carrying the Promise made by God to the serpent of his destruction, made to Abraham and made to Israel through the Prophets. To write of all the incidences in which the promises made by God to Israel of the Christ would take an entire book. I write these things only to make a small illustration of how Catholics read the Bible in the light of Holy Tradition. At the beginning of His Ministry – the first ‘showing’ or manifestation of His Divinity, we have the Wedding at Cana.

Mary is there, Jesus is there, His disciples are there, the party has run out of wine and we see in her interaction with her Son, the maternal intercession that we cherish whenever we pray to Our Lady:

And the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. (St John 2:1-5)

Notice what Our Lord says to Mary. He does not call her ‘Mother’. No, instead, he gives her a rather different title and says to her ‘Woman’. Why? The Fathers of the Church go back to Genesis and see in Our Lord’s description of Mary as ‘Woman’ the promise of the ‘Woman’ whose heel will crush the serpent (the Devil) and who will bring to humanity the hope of Salvation.

Note that Paradise was lost to the human race through the disobedience to God of one woman and one man. It is her seed, Eve’s seed (Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus right back to Adam) that will destroy the power of the Evil one. Mary is the ‘new Eve’ and Jesus is therefore the ‘new Adam’. By their obedience to the Eternal Father, these two will restore mankind not only to new life, but something better than the earthly Paradise – the sanctity and holiness of the sons and daughters of God – called to be co-sharers in God’s very life by virtue of their Baptism.

Remember, Jesus takes His divinity from Heaven from whence He came when He descended at the moment that Our Lady said to the Angel Gabriel, ‘Let it be done to me according to thy word.’ However, Jesus takes His flesh from Mary. He is truly God and yet He is truly Man. Jesus takes His flesh from the seed planted in Mary’s womb and she is descended directly not just from Abraham, but from the woman, Eve. Within Eve was the seed that would eventually result in Mary and in Mary is the seed, the womb, that will bring forth the Saviour of the World.

Where else do we see Mary? At the Cross:

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.  When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother:  Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. (St John 19:26-27)

At this moment, the Fathers of the Church teach us, Jesus entrusted ‘the beloved disciple’ to Mary.  We believe that the beloved disciple is John, but it need not necessarily be. The beloved disciple stands there as representing the Church.  Mary stands there, beneath the Cross, as the Mother of Jesus but Jesus gives to the Church Mary as Mother. Jesus entrusts to the ‘Woman’ motherhood of the Christian disciple who we take to mean the Church. He tells the Church, quite explicitly, that Mary is its Mother, when He says, ‘Son, behold thy Mother.’ He says this at the moment before He entrusts Himself to His Father when He says, ‘It is finished’.  If Eve is ‘mother of all the living’ as referred to in Genesis,  then Mary is the Mother of those who will be alive in Christ.

 Again, at this moment, Our Lord calls Mary, his Mother, ‘Woman’.  The Cross, the fulfilment of Jesus’s earthly ministry is the moment at which the powers of evil are vanquished. By his obedience to the Eternal Father, Jesus sheds His Blood for mankind, the ‘new wine’, the ‘new and everlasting covenant’ that will bring spiritual health and holiness to those who were under the power of evil. 

Notice that at the Wedding at Cana, Jesus told his mother, ‘My hour has not yet come’. What is His hour? His hour is the Cross.  This is the moment of His wedding, the hour at which He unites Himself entirely to His Bride, the Church , in pouring out His blood! Consumatus est!

I could go on and on and on, but I write these things to make the assertion that reading the Catholic Bible without the Catholic Faith and outside of the Catholic tradition is a fruitless endeavour.  In Catholic reading of the Bible, we see in Ecclesiastes even, a reference to Mary when the writer speaks of Holy Wisdom.

‘I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope.’ (Ecclesiastes 24.)

Once more in Latin:

‘Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis, et timoris, et agnitionist, et sanctae spei.’


Especially Bishops!

After all, St John was a Bishop!

The Pope Who Won't Be Buried

It has been a long time since I have put finger to keyboard to write about our holy Catholic Faith, something I regret, but which I put larg...