Taking a Break

I’m off on retreat for a few days, but I'm just plain taking a break from blogging, too.

There won’t be any new posts here for the rest of this week, as I take a few deep breaths and rekindle my “phire”. I should be posting again by next Wednesday (June 5), if not before.

While I’m away…don’t forget to watch The Vortex every day!

Here are some other things for your edification:

This is an “audiosancto” sermon with pictures/photos added just to give you something to look at while you listen. Works for me! There are some very good points made here "On The Errors of Pentacostalism". 

You can also watch this program about Purgatory from ChurchMilitant.TV.

This program is from ChurchMilitant.TV

Dr. Taylor Marshall's Plan for Boy Scouts

Ah, yes, this whole Boy Scout issue…

As I pondered the (not unexpected) news the other day that the Boys Scouts would not deny membership to openly homosexual-oriented boys, I said to my husband that this country needs some real men to start standing up for…well…manhood. Otherwise, there will soon be no real men left.

That would be a shame.

Dr. Taylor Marshall

Dr. Taylor Marshall has a constructive response to this situation, and he’s moving fast. He proposes a new group, to be called “Catholic Scouts of St. George”, and he outlines his ideas for such a group here and here; here’s an excerpt:

We are going to make Catholic Scouts happen: the Scouts of Saint George.

Here's the mini-manifesto in 7 points:

1. The Scouts of Saint George must be Catholic and acknowledge every jot and tittle of the magisterium of the Church - and be in full communion with the Holy Father.

2. A personal relationship with Christ and the growth in manly virtue will be at the heart of the Scouts of Saint George.

3. The Scouts of Saint George will be like the Boy Scouts of America with hiking, fishing, camping, merit badges, and a highest rank (equivalent somehow to Eagle Scout). Same format and structure. The Scouts of Saint George won't reinvent the wheel. Traditional scouting works. Why change it? We're just going to preserve the tradition and import a Catholic identity.

4. The Scouts of Saint George must have protection from government interference, which means it must be grassroots. Otherwise, we are under government regulation and pressure in the years to come. We must avoid influence from lobbyists and governmental powers to compromise (as has happened with the BSA).

5. The Scouts of Saint George will be free and open-source. Like the original Baden-Powell, all you'll need is the book, uniform, and badges. That's it. The rest is grassroots. Fathers and sons organize and simply register or seek recognition from the other Scouts of Saint George.

6. The Scouts of Saint George is global. My goal is to get Pope Francis to approve it and recognize it.

7. Why Saint George? I have a devotion to him and he's the exemplar for young men in the categories of courage and virginity? We need young men to slay the dragons of our era. Wouldn't you agree?

In his follow-up post on the same topic, Dr. Marshall says the following:

The short of it is that we plan to initiate the Scouts of Saint George for young men who love virtue and the outdoors. This is not a club. This a group for scouting. Backpacking, fishing, dutch oven cooking, repelling, sailing, etc. It's based on camping and roughing it.

Best of all, the Scouts of Saint George may be able to have:

1. Holy Mass on camp outs,
2. group Rosaries around the campfires,
3. pilgrimages to shrines or holy places in Europe,
4. Catholic chaplains,
5. magisterial authority,
6. male Catholic leadership,
7. all within the tradition of what it means to be a virtuous outdoorsman.

The response to the 'Scouts of Saint George' has been immense!

• 65 CATHOLIC EAGLE SCOUTS have joined the team to get the Scouts of Saint George started. A core group of 65 Eagle Scouts (and that number is growing) is a powerful asset.
• Over 500 people have signed up and volunteered to get the Saint George Scouts off the ground.
• There have been hundreds of comments and emails flashing around.
• 2000 "Likes" on Facebook.
• We have also had lawyers, graphic artists, and current Scout Leaders volunteer their time.

This all happened in less than 24 hours.

Here is what will happen next. Can you help us in any of these ways:

1. We prayerfully need Pope Francis to recognize the Scouts of Saint George movement in some way. It struck me that Pope Francis' baptismal name is "George" - Jorge Mario Bergoglio! If anyone can open a door, please help. Pope Francis has a love for young people and the Church needs a global movement for young people. I think that he would give it his blessing. If someone could just get him to read the initial Manifesto post!
2. Our goal is to have 100 Troops erected by September 1. Initially, a troop will consist of 2 to 100 boys with a father as a Senior Guide (sorry the word "Scoutmaster" is restricted by the BSA). Would you like to start a troop? Pray about it and let me know.
3. We need a uniform design. It has to be functional and cool looking. Traditional but practical.
4. We need insignia/badges design (this is where graphic artists come in).
5. We need a system of badges and ranking. The terms "Life" "Star" and "Eagle" are restricted by the BSA. The team of Eagle Scouts will create the ranking system. Currently, I like the idea of "Pontifical Scout" or "Papal Scout" as our highest honor - equivalent to Eagle Scout.
6. We need a Handbook. I'll work on this book with the other Eagle Scouts.
7. We need lawyers because the BSA is very protective of "scouting terminology." We need counsel.
8. We need moms and dads talking this up with other parents and scouts. Spread the word. This is not limited to the USA. This could happen on every continent.
9. We need promotion on radio and the internet.

Can you help in any of these ways? If so, please sign up:

Go to Dr. Marshall’s post to “enlist” as someone who wants to help make this new scouting endeavor take hold – you just sign up with your email and he’ll keep you informed.

Finally, Dr. Marshall concludes with this thought:

After reading this you make think an endeavor of this magnitude is crazy. I don't. It could happen. This is an opportunity for Catholic fathers especially. We all know that our culture is feminizing what it means to be a man. The Church needs something cultivate young men in virtue. Young men need the outdoors. It's integral. This could be a great moment for Catholic fathers!

WARNING: After several months go by, the shocked reaction of parents to the BSA decision to tolerate homosexuality will die out. People will forget it and move on. The momentum will be lost. People will return to apathy. This is why it is important that we act now. I hope you agree.

Again, if you are willing to help in any way, even if by praying, please sign up by clicking here.

Another Book: Zeal for Thy House

This is another collection of posts from this blog - this time on the Mass and liturgical abuses. I've organized the posts into sections on liturgical abuse; the Novus Ordo; the music at Mass; the extraordinary form of the Mass; and "dealing with it".

I'm hoping I'll be able to complete all the details and have it available by the end of the week.

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity: The Athanasian Creed

On the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, in the Divine Office of Prime, the Athanasian Creed is said.  And it leaves no doubt as to the unity of the Holy Trinity!  It has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century, and is the first creed in which the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is explicitly stated. There’s an interesting article at Wikipedia.

Pay close attention to the last statement of this Creed: "This is the Catholic Faith, * which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved."

Canticum Quicumque (Athanasian Creed)

Whosoever willeth to be saved, * before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith.

Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, * without doubt he shall perish eternally.
 

Now the Catholic faith is this, * that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.
 

Neither confounding the Persons, * nor dividing the substance.
 

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, * and another of the Holy Ghost.
 

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is one, * the Glory Equal, the Majesty Co-Eternal.
 

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, * and such is the Holy Ghost.
 

 The Father Uncreated, the Son Uncreated, * and the Holy Ghost Uncreated.

The Father Infinite, the Son Infinite, * and the Holy Ghost Infinite. * The Father Eternal, the Son Eternal, * and the Holy Ghost Eternal.

And yet they are not three Eternals, * but one Eternal.
 

As also they are not three Uncreated, nor three Infinites, * but One Uncreated, and One Infinite.
 

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, * and the Holy Ghost Almighty.
 

And yet they are not three Almighties, * but One Almighty.
 

So the Father is God, the Son God, * and the Holy Ghost God.
 

And yet they are not three Gods, * but One God.
 

So the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, * and the Holy Ghost Lord.
 

And yet they are not three Lords, * but One Lord.
 

For, like as we are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, * so are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, there be three Gods or three Lords.
 

The Father is made of none, * neither created, nor begotten.
 

The Son is of the Father alone: * not made, nor created, but begotten.
 

The Holy Ghost is of the Father, and the Son: * not made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
 

So there is One Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; * one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
 

And in this Trinity is nothing afore or after, nothing is greater or less; * but the whole three Persons are Co-Eternal together, and Co-Equal.
 

So that in all things, as is aforesaid, * the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
 

He therefore that willeth to be safe, * let him thus think of the Trinity.
 

But it is necessary to eternal salvation, * that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 

The right Faith therefore is, that we believe and confess, * that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.
 

God, of the Substance of the Father, Begotten before the worlds: * and Man, of the substance of His mother, born in the world.
 

Perfect God, Perfect Man, * of a reasoning soul and human flesh subsisting.
 

Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, * inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood.
 

Who, although He be God and Man, * yet He is not two, but One Christ.
 

One, however, not by conversion of the Godhead into Flesh, * but by taking of the Manhood into God.
 

One altogether, not by confusion of Substance, * but by Unity of Person.
 

For as the reasoning soul and flesh is one man, * so God and man is One Christ.
 

Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, * rose again the third day from the dead.
 

He ascended into heaven, He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, * from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
 

At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, * and shall give account for their own works.
 

And they that have done good shall go into life eternal, * but they that have done evil into eternal fire.
 

This is the Catholic Faith, * which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.
 

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Ant. Glory be to thee, O equal Trinity * one Deity, from before all ages, so now and for evermore.

Boy Scouts, Bishops, and Bull Sh...

This is a rant, pure and simple..because I am very angry. “It’s my blog, and I’ll rant if I want to”, to paraphrase an old song. I may delete this post when I calm down, so if you like it, you’d better share it now.

So…what was I about to say…?

Who doubted that the Boys Scouts would cave? I didn’t. Not for a minute. The homosexualist agenda in this country is so strong it almost seems like there’s no stopping it. God help us!

In my humble opinion, much of the blame for this horrendous state of the Union – the homosexualization, de-masculination, and general brow-beating of the American public into submission to the almighty gawd of sexual perversion and political correctness – is the Catholic Church.

Well, not the Church Herself, of course; but the bishops who are supposed to be our shepherds, and the priests who are supposed to be our pastors. But mostly it’s the bishops who have dropped the ball; they, after all, ordain the priests, and they control the type of men who enter the seminaries. And they have, as a group, fallen to the homosexualist agenda. Score one for the Communists.

I noticed that the National Catholic Register features an interview with Al Notzon III, who is the chairman of the National Review Board that advises the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, guidelines and procedures established by the USCCB in June 2002 for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

Here’s one question-and-answer (my emphases):

While the majority of clergy sex-abuse victims are post-pubescent boys, the researchers who completed the second John Jay Report concluded that same-sex attraction was not a significant factor in the crisis. Subsequently, some Church leaders challenged that assessment.

The majority of victims are still post-pubescent males.

The charter recommended strengthening human formation in the seminary and improving screening as well.

When you hire an independent researcher [group], they reach their own conclusions. I don’t agree with their conclusion in this instance — when 83% of cases are male on male.

“Strengthening human formation”? What the heck does that mean anyway?! For heaven’s sake, Bishops, you are wasting time and money on this stuff. I think most people know the answer, in their gut.

The problem is that there are homosexual priests who prey on adolescent males.

The problem is that there are homosexual bishops who have maneuvered those homosexual priests into position.

Bishops, here is the solution to this problem: get rid of the homosexual priests. Do not let men with same-sex attraction into the priesthood. Allow only men who have a strong sense of their own masculinity, of their true gender, to enter the seminary. Look for real men, not girly-men. This is not rocket science.

The problem is that most of you bishops will not act like REAL MEN, and stand up for what the Church teaches. Oh, a few of you actually do tell it like it is, and of course are dumped on immediately by the press. And do you receive support and encouragement from your brother bishops?

Don’t make me laugh.

And yes, some others of you, a little less courageous than the real man bishops, make a small effort, but generally it comes out as, “Well, ya know, homosexual behavior is really not quite right, but God loves us all, and we’re all sinners, so…and we don’t want you parents of homosexuals to feel bad…so…you know, we need to just all get along and pray for each other…”

For heaven’s sake! Is your best-buddy brother bishop gay or something? Are you afraid of offending him? At the expense of the souls of the faithful, not to mention your own?!

What’s up with you guys? I guess the Church’s “gay mafia” we keep hearing about is really pretty powerful. The “gay mafia” seems to have you all quaking in your boots – whether you are a part of it or not.

Do you wonder why you bishops don’t get the respect you want? I’ll tell you why: it’s because you have not earned it. In fact, you have squandered your right to it. You do not stand up for what’s right. You do not stand up for Church teaching.

You do not respect the laity, either. You think we are blind, deaf, and dumb, not to mention stupid, and you think that we don’t see through your politicking ways. Oh, sure, you “fool” the “progressive” Catholics. Except you’re not fooling them; you are either on their side or are playing into their agenda, and they are laughing at you behind your backs. Turn on them, bishops, by preaching – and acting on – the truth, and you will see just how loyal those liberal progressive modernists “catholics” really are. They will attack you in a heartbeat.

It doesn’t start and end with condoning homosexuality, either. There’s the bishops’ failure to address the issues of artificial contraception and abortion. Those two issues have played directly into the hands of the homosexualists.

Real priests follow the rubrics.

There’s the issue of the liturgy, the Mass, our Holy Mass that is lying in ruins in most of the parishes of this country. There’s the issue of you bishops failing to follow the mind of the Holy Father when Pope Benedict XVI issued the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Save the liturgy, save the world. You didn’t save the liturgy, and in failing to take the correct action, you are pushing the world along in the handbasket on the road to hell.

You’ve let us down, bishops. No, not all of you. But most of you.

You bishops are responsible for our souls, and you are responsible for fighting for this Church. I don’t mean fighting for “religious freedom” either. I mean fighting for the Truth. That’s harder than fighting for religious freedom, because it’s not popular at all.

So you bishops who are real men, please, I beg you, start fighting. We need you. And we will support you. But just so you know…I think “we” are a small remnant amongst those who call themselves Catholic in the US of 2013.

But we are small in number, but we are tough. Help us, and we will help you.

Congratulations, Dr. Andrea Gleason!

Congratulations to newly-graduated Dr. Andrea Gleason! (and Happy Birthday, too, it turns out!)

Andrea Gleason is the daughter of another loyal reader and commenter who frequently signs in on the comment page as “HSE” which stands for “Hope Springs Eternal”. Andrea essay “I Have a Prayer” was featured on this blog back in January – read it here.

Andrea received the Jim Gould Award
and gave the Student Address.

Andrea has completed her studies at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. It's a three year graduate program consisting of two years of didactic work and one year of clinicals. Her undergraduate degrees were in Bioscience and Spanish.

This remarkable young woman from a remarkable family also has a blog called “Sweethearts Seeking Sanctity”; her fiancé shares the blogging duties with her. And she was kind enough to honor me by mentioning my blog here. I particularly like her title for that post, “Not For Populating: NFP”! She says in that post:

“We both basically hold that NFP is not an essential part of a happy, normal Catholic marriage. And therefore, both of us have decided we have no reason to even learn it at this time.”

Andrea and her fiancé are to be married in July - congratulations again! Andrea’s mother says she thinks Andrea is more excited about getting her “Mrs.” degree than she was about her Ph.D. I can relate!

I love looking at family photos - anyone's family! So if you're not into that kind of thing, you can skip the rest of this post. But I love these photos. Such a vibrant group!

Here are some more family photos:

From a year or so ago...Andrea with her sisters, who
all worked at the same restaurant, earning money for college!

Andrea with her proud parents!

And here she is with her study group:

"Flexing their DPT muscles...and now the work begins,"
is the caption supplied by Andrea's mom.

 ...and with "study buddy" Heather:

Another Confirmation Mass with Archbishop Sample

Loyal reader, commenter, and friend of this blog, Bill Sandoval and his wife Suzie, attended a confirmation Mass celebrated by Archbishop Alexander Sample in the Archdiocese of Portland. He shared his experience with me, along with a few photos.

Of the Mass itself, Bill said:

The confirmation service was a pleasant surprise. We had a large confirmation group. The church was at about 90% full. We can seat about 800. Archbishop Sample gave a wonderful homily. We had two deacons and two priests in attendance. The music was much better than I expected. No bongo drums. I still can’t believe that one. There were a few rough edges, but over all a good service.

  

Just a quick aside here: it has now come to the point where we can say the music is “better than expected” when there are no bongo drums! Aaack!

Bill and Suzie were able to spend a few minutes talking to the Archbishop, who asked Bill about the origins of his family name, Sandoval.

I told him if you go back far enough, there was a Sandoval that was a captain on one of Cortez's ships. He was in prison, and they released him if he would take on the job. He got a big laugh out of that. He said, "So that’s your claim to fame.”

And, Bill told me, there was a movie about his ancestor: Captain from Castile!

Bill added:

The Archbishop is a very kind and holy man. He is so easy to talk to. We were able to talk for about 5 minutes. Someone else asked him how he was settling in to his new position; he told her that he had a lot of work to do but with the Lord's help he would accomplish what needed to be done.

The Archbishop's mother was in attendance. She has moved to Portland. She is in her 80’s and the Archbishop looks after her.

Bill’s general assessment of the new archbishop is that “This man is going to rock the boat out here. It needs a good rocking.” Indeed!

I love these photos! Archbishop Sample always looks so vibrant! Having met him in person myself, I know these photos capture his essence.  

For some great photos of the confirmation I attended with my friend LouAnn, go here – the parish hired a professional photographer for the entire event. While most of the 715 photos are of the confirmands, you can find quite a few of the Archbishop celebrating Mass as well.

Other posts about Archbishop Sample on this blog:

4/12/13  Archbishop Sample Installation Mass Photos

4/5/12  Good News

4/4/13  Archbishop Sample’s Installation Homily

1/30/13 An “Old” Vortex: Bishop Sample and Vatican II

1/29/13  Bishop Sample to Portland! Updated

10/22/12 Bishop Sample: Crossing the UP

10/12/12  A “Sample” of What a Bishop Can Do 

10/11/11  More Bishops with Backbone

Vortex: Irritating and Annoying

Oh boy, can’t pass this one up! If you’ve ever been considered an annoyance or an irritation at your parish – or perhaps a nit-picking, nattering nabob – this Vortex is for you! And if you haven’t…well, maybe it’s time to become irritating and annoying yourself! And it’s not just Michael Voris who says so…it’s Pope Francis!

It is pretty amusing to hear the Holy Father say the kinds of things he’s saying to the “progressive” Catholics who thought Pope Francis was going to put us back on the road to happy-clappy liturgy and “modernized” Church teaching that would be “inclusive” and “pastoral” and “accepting” and “tolerant”. Ha!

On the serious side, though, pray for the conversion of lukewarm Catholics!

Here’s the Vortex, with the script below.

We’ve been saying it for a while now and we’ll say it again – GOD Bless Pope Francis!

What’s the latest discomforting homily he preached aimed right at the Church of Nice crowd? Be irritating. Be annoying. This is the duty proper to being a follower of Our Blessed Lord. Man, you gotta love the Holy Father. Love Him!!

Listen to this gangbuster of a homily preached about St. Paul – but aimed squarely at the Church of Nice crowd:

"Paul is a nuisance: he is a man who, with his preaching, his work, his attitude irritates others, because testifying to Jesus Christ and the proclamation of Jesus Christ makes us uncomfortable, it threatens our comfort zones – even Christian comfort zones, right?

“It irritates us. The Lord always wants us to move forward, forward, forward ... not to take refuge in a quiet life or in cozy structures, no?... And Paul, in preaching of the Lord, was a nuisance. But he had deep within him that most Christian of attitudes: Apostolic zeal."

Preach it brother, preach it! Or rather Holy Father, preach it.

His message is aimed at all those suburban parishes – those dens of boredom and pleasantries – “very nice homily father, nice to see you again father.” – places where lukewarm Catholics sit around and are “nice” to each. The crowd that never challenges anything – unless it disturbs THEIR comfort.  

So priests and parishes – with the blessings of their chancery and bishop – have hammered out a NICE little arrangement – you don’t disturb us and we won’t disturb you. Preach soft homilies, send down no offensive directives from the chancery and we will keep tossing our few coppers into the collection basket.

And in the end – it has proved to be a masterful stroke – ingenious in fact – BY THE

DIABOLICAL, that is. It has destroyed the Church and reduced it to near nothingness.

Once a mighty force for fighting evil – it has become bored by the battle and in many cases a cooperator with the evil.

And the proof is in the pudding you Church of Nice members – clergy and congregation. You are drying up, withering and dying on the vine. Fool yourselves all you want, by focusing on some tiny miniscule piece of NICE news here or there while the house caves in on you.

You are dying because you have no zeal.  

You have no zeal because you have no faith.

You have no faith because you have no love for Our Lord!

You are the absolute worst and miserable of all Christians – the lukewarm. That lot that

Our Lord promises he will vomit out of his mouth because you are repulsive to Him!

What does the Pope have to say about you?

"There are backseat Christians, right? Those who are well mannered, who do everything well, but are unable to bring people to the Church through proclamation and Apostolic zeal.”

The Church dies on your watch. Your concern is yourselves and nothing else. You like the Church of Nice – feel perfectly comfortable worshipping in it – because in the end all you do is worship yourselves! You hate being disturbed and challenged and called out for your spiritual sloth. You care about little else other than your own earthly contentment.

This is why your bishops will not challenge heretical and dissenting speakers and clergy.

It’s why they refuse to throw down the gauntlet and assail pro-abortion Catholic politicians who commit sacrilege and desecrate the body and blood of Christ.

And it is why the whole Church of Nice is dying in front of our eyes. Good riddance.  

The sooner the better.

Sweep the stinking fetid carcass off the cliff and let those with zeal get about the business of rebuilding the Church – unfettered by who Pope Francis has labeled the career-minded, and who Pope Benedict called the Professional Catholics.

Convert to the authentic faith and turn away from the Church of Nice, or get out of the way. And if you are annoyed by this, you Church of Nice parishioners and bishops, then one more quote from His Holiness will prove the point: “if we annoy people, blessed be the Lord.”

A Foreign-Born Priest’s Perspective on Current Events

We have an excellent priest available to us, and I thought I’d share what he said in his homily-after-the homily last night – in other words, he gave us a second excellent homily at the end of Mass! I won’t mention his name because he gets a little upset about that; I’ll just call him Father in this post.

Last night, Father read a letter from the bishop, as requested by the bishop. Here it is – a good solid letter about the challenges facing us:

To the Faithful of the Diocese of Baker:

Bishop Cary

In this Year of Faith, the U.S. Catholic bishops have called for a focused time of prayer until the feast of Christ the King (November 24, 2013) for the sake of renewing a culture of life, marriage, and religious liberty in our country. The well-being of society requires that life, marriage, and religious liberty are promoted and protected. Serious threats to each of these goods, however, have raised unprecedented challenges to the Church and to the nation. Two immediate flashpoints take precedence:

• First is the HHS Mandate, which requires almost all employers, including Catholic employers, to pay for employees' contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs regardless of conscientious objections. This is a clear affront to America's first freedom, religious liberty, as well as to the inherent dignity of every human person.

• Second, current trends in both government and culture are moving toward redefining marriage as the union of any two persons, ignoring marriage's fundamental meaning and purpose as the universal institution that unites a man and a woman with each other and with the children born from their union.

These challenges call for increased awareness and formation, as well as spiritual stamina and fortitude among the faithful, so that we may all be effective and joyful witnesses of faith, hope and charity.

Information has been sent to each parish in our diocese on four ways we can participate in the bishops’ Call to Prayer:

• monthly Holy Hours,

• a daily rosary,

• special Prayers of the Faithful,

• and abstinence from meat and fasting on Fridays.

Please consider how you, your family and friends can participate in the bishops' Call to Prayer, and encourage others to do the same. It is an opportunity to respond in solidarity as the Body of Christ to the threats we face. It is a chance to deepen our faith and to help others to understand the false and empty promises of happiness being promoted. It is a time to stand together.

As we do our part by participating in this Call to Prayer, may the Lord increase our faith and help us spread it.
 

In Christ Jesus,

Most Reverend Liam Cary
Bishop of Baker

** ** ** ** ** **

Father’s homily focused on the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, of course, but at the end of Mass, after the letter was read, he had a few comments to make. Now, Father is very passionate about the faith, and he’s pretty darn orthodox, too – which is what I love about him, and which makes me less irritated with any liturgical abuses that happen under his watch. Those abuses don’t happen because Father is lukewarm in his faith! Sometimes he’s just not aware of them. Sometimes he is…and sometimes he listens to my complaints – something no other priest has done!

Here’s a little more background on him: Father is not a US-born priest; he is from Nigeria, as are many of the priests in our diocese. He taught himself to say the EF Mass, and did so for almost a full year, every Sunday, for a very small group of us. The pressures of a parish with several “mission” churches combined with the loss of an associate pastor led him to discontinue the EF Mass, but I hope his experience in saying it, which he said made him a better priest, “calls” to him constantly, and that one of these days he will abruptly decide to reinstate it.

At any rate, after the letter was read, Father proceeded to give us a lesson in “politics” and history. He said he had emailed the bishop to ask if civil disobedience was an option for us, because his understanding of canon law is that when the government “pushes against” the Church, we are allowed to disobey the unjust laws. And Father encouraged us to do just that.

Father also noted that he has been doing some reading, and he has learned that no other president in US history has ever taken the steps taken by Obama to issue orders and laws that went against the teachings of the Church. No other president has required Catholics to violate their consciences. Father is of the opinion that our bishops should go to Washington, D.C., and sit on the floor of the Senate until the senators agree to stop these outrageous and egregious actions against the Church! Yay Father! Lead the way!

Father does not speak idly. As I understand it, he himself has been arrested (in Nigeria) for taking actions that upheld the Church but went against the government’s rules. He told me that he has baptized the children of Muslim parents who so desired it, but who were afraid to officially convert to Catholicism for fear of the reprisals that would face them from the Muslim side. He was not supposed to baptize those children, but the parents desired it, and he did so. Bravo! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Father concluded his remarks – his very, very passionate remarks – by saying that, yes, there is “terrorism”; that yes, there are bombs and killing and violence. But the real terrorism, he said, is the attack from within. It’s the attack by our own government on our Constitutional rights. The real attack is coming from our own government against our Catholic morality, which is really universal morality. He acknowledged that these comments were on the political side, and he said that on the spiritual side, we need to pray and do penance.

Basically, Father was saying we need to wake up.

Father is not even an American citizen. He has been in this country for about 7 years, I think. And yet he sees very clearly the danger at hand.

I hope people are listening to him.