On the lighter side of things...

An Irishman walked into a bar in Texas and took a seat at a table in the corner by himself. When approached by the bar tender he ordered three shots of whiskey. The bartender exclaimed, "Three shots of whiskey and all at the same time!" "Oh yes", said the Irishman. "You see, I have one brother in New York and another brother in Ireland and every night after work we each sit down at the same time and have a drink together for old time sake. So I have one drink for me, one drink for me brother in New York, and one drink for me brother in Ireland." "I understand," said the bartender. So then the bartender delivered the three shots of whiskey to the man. The Irishman then raised a toast, drank all three shots of whiskey and then went home.

Thereafter, the Irishman returned to the same bar at the same time each night and ordered three shots of whiskey each time, made a toast to his brothers, drank the three shots and went home.

After several weeks of the same routine the Irishman came in one night at the usual time but this time only ordered two shots of whiskey. The bartender became quite concerned and made his condolences to the Irishman because of the death of one of his brothers. But the Irishman spoke up and said, "Oh sir, no need to be sad I haven't lost one of me brothers. You see I have one shot of whiskey for me brother in New York, one shot of whiskey for me brother in Ireland, and I being Catholic, well, I gave up drinking for Lent”.

Alan Keyes on Obama - Obama is a "radical communist"

Click here for You Tube video

Archbishop O'Brien of Baltimore comments on the Legion of Christ scandal

Click here - Concerned that the Legion of Christ stifles the free will of its members and lacks transparency, Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien told the religious order’s director general that he cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone join the Legion or Regnum Christi, its affiliated lay movement.

Ash Wednesday 2009

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”
We are creatures, created by God, sinners, limited human beings, in constant need of redemption. Pope Benedict: "We are limited creatures, sinners in constant need of penance and conversion. How important it is, in our own time, to listen to and accept this call!

The Obstacle is pride. As we look at the condition of our modern world, it is clear that most people have declared their autonomy from God. Pope Benedict: “When he proclaims his complete autonomy from God, modern man becomes self-enslaved, and often finds himself tormented and alone. Can real happiness exist without God?”

The Call to conversion - God must be the priority of our lives. How do we demonstrate that he is the priority of our lives?

1.Obedience to his holy will – do his will and not our own – this is humility
2.Life of prayer – God help me – seek his help – this is an act of humilty – people who are self-sufficient and independent do not feel a need for God int their lives
3.Make good use of the sacrament of confession – “Bless me Father for I have sinned.”
Pope Benedict: “The call to conversion is, then, an encouragement to return to the arms of God the tender and merciful Father, to trust in him, and to entrust ourselves to him as adoptive children regenerated by his love".

Alan Keyes speaks out on President Obama

Click here for the article - "Obama is a radical communist, and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it's true," said Keyes, who ran unsuccessfully against Obama for the state's open Senate seat in 2004. "He is going to destroy this country, and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist."

On the lighter side of things...

RECOMMENDED MOVIE - MADE FOR EACH OTHER - James Stewart and Carol Lombard - pro-life theme - great film for the entire family

Pope Benedict and Nancy Pelosi

WHERE THEY AT THE SAME MEETING? - by George Weigel

Meltdowns, detachment and the future - part II

As I wrote last week, we all know that upheaval and collapse are all around us. The structures that have given us support are falling apart. Most people no longer find support from their families. It is difficult to find a true friend. Most parishes are dysfunctional. Our country has been taken over. We are living in a dictatorship of the liberal elite. Institutions that provided a lot of hope for many people are in meltdown mode.

Pride, arrogance, sin, corruption, denial and complicity all combine to cause the rise and the fall of nations, institutions and people.

Many innocent people get hurt. Many people are angry, anxious and discouraged.

The Church and the entire world are going through what St. John of the Cross called the dark night of the spirit.

In this time of intense spiritual warfare and purification, I would like to turn your attention to a text from a spiritual writer. The text is very important, although the author has written some things that were off the mark; nevertheless what he writes here is very important for our spiritual journey. The Holy Spirit is calling us to the desert. We need to be detached from all human support and immerse ourselves in God.

“Think of a life in which you depend on no one emotionally, so that no one has the power to make you happy or miserable anymore. You refuse to need any particular person or to be special to anyone or to call anyone your own. The birds of the air have their nests and the foxes have their holes, but you will have nowhere to rest your head in your journey through life. If you ever get to this state, you will at last know what it means to see with a vision that is clear and unclouded by fear or desire. Every word there is measured. To see at last with a vision that is clear and unclouded by fear or desire. You will know what it means to love. But to come to the land of love, you must pass through the pains of death, for to love persons means to die to the need for persons, and to be utterly alone.

How would you ever get there? By a ceaseless awareness, by the infinite patience and compassion you would have for a drug addict. By developing a taste for the good things in life to counter the craving for your drug. What good things? The love of work which you enjoy doing for the love of itself; the love of laughter and intimacy with people to whom you do not cling and on whom you do not depend emotionally but whose company you enjoy. It will also help if you take on activities that you can do with your whole being, activities that you so love to do that while you’re engaged in them success, recognition and approval simply do not mean a thing to you. It will help, too, if you return to nature. Send the crowds away, go up to the mountains and silently commune with trees and flowers and animals and birds, with sea and clouds and sky and stars…

At first this will seem unbearable. But it is only because you are unaccustomed to aloneness. If you manage to stay there for a while, the desert will suddenly blossom into love. Your heart will burst into song. And it will be springtime forever; the drug will be out; you’re free. Then you will understand what freedom is, what truth is, what God is. You will see, you will know beyond concepts and conditioning, addictions and attachments. Does that make sense?” (Anthony de Mello, Awareness pp. 173-174)

My dear friends, there is no doubt in my mind that we are in the middle of an intense period of purification. Everything around us is crumbling. Something new will emerge from the rubble. Pope Benedict has spoken about a Church which is smaller, but more faithful.

This is why I have been inviting you to incorporate into your spiritual life contemplative prayer. My Electronic Parish website has a new section on contemplative prayer that can help you to get started.

Satan has launched an intense attack on the Church; in fact he has launched an assault on the entire world. This is why a powerful spiritual life is so vital in order to persevere. Pray the Rosary every day.

Remember that the real name for Our Lady of Guadalupe is not Guadalupe. Her real name is Our Lady of “quatlasupe”. “Quatlasupe” is the Aztec word for “she who crushes the serpent”. Stay close to Mary. She will protect you.

Remember, use the sacramentals: holy water, blessed salt, miraculous medals and the St. Benedict medal. God has provided us with an arsenal of weapons to fight Satan.

“Put God’s armor on so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness of this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens. That is why you must rely on God’s armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground” (Ephesians 6: 1-13).
The world economy will continue to spin out of control. A corrupt and sinful people cannot sustain an ordered society. There will be further economic turmoil, maybe even a total collapse of the world economy. The President’s economic policy will not work.

The economy could fall quickly and loudly. There will be a moment of intense violence. Order will be imposed by a police state. Peace will emerge, but our world will change dramatically. We will be forced to return back to basics.

Gone will be the credit cards, the malls, corporations and a global economy. Gone will be the abortion industry, the contraception industry and the pornography industry. Gone will be the drug cartels. Gone will be the Trilateral Commission, the Council of Foreign Relations, the Bildenbergers, the World Bank and the United Nations. Gone will be the corruption within the Catholic Church – entire religious orders and dioceses will go out of business because there will be no money to feed them.

When Nazi troops and tanks were marching through Poland, what did the young Karol Wojtyla do? Did he buy gold? Did he store food? Did he take up a gun?

Providentially, a mystic by the name of Jan Tyranowski introduced the future Pope to the works of St. John of the Cross and invited him to participate in a Catholic men’s group that he had formed.

The Living Rosary, created by Tyranowski, consisted of teams of fifteen young men, led by a more mature young person who received personal spiritual direction from Tyranowski. The Polish mystic, who was a simply tailor, met with the entire Living Rosary organization the third Sunday of every month. Tyranowski was able to instill in his young followers a deep spiritual life and a profound zeal for the salvation of souls.

Tyranowski’s Living Rosary organization is exactly what we need to be doing now during this intense occupation of the culture of death. Form small groups in your parish, your school or in your home. Let these small groups inspire you to go deep into the spiritual life. Let these small groups instill in you a profound zeal for the salvation of souls.

Abandon yourself into the loving hands of an awesome God that loves us unconditionally. Allow yourself to be purified. Do not let yourself be consumed by anger, fear, anxiety, frustration, discouragement or resentment. Enter into the dark night of the spirit. Do not be afraid. If you persevere, “the desert will suddenly blossom into love. Your heart will burst into song. And it will be springtime forever”.

Excellent articles on various issues

CATHOLIC PRIESTS COMMENT ON OCTUPLET CONTROVERSY

DEACON KEITH FORNIER ON POPE BENEDICT XVI

FATHER SAM MEDLEY, SOLT ON CELIBACY

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY CHANNEL FOR EVERYONE - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - awesome articles

I will be back later this week with MELTDOWNS, DETACHMENTS AND THE FUTURE PART II

Metldowns, detachment and the future

The Obama factor, the financial crisis, the Legion of Christ meltdown and the Society of Pius X holocaust controversy had a lot of heads spinning last week. Perhaps you awoke this morning wondering what shoe is going to fall next.

Upheaval and collapse is all around us. Pride, arrogance, sin, corruption, denial and complicity all combine to cause the rise and the fall of nations, institutions and people.

Many innocent people get hurt. Many people are angry, anxious and discouraged.

The Church and the entire world are going through what St. John of the Cross called the dark night of the spirit.

In this time of intense spiritual warfare and purification, once again I would like to point your direction to this text from a Spanish spiritual writer that has been so helpful to me. Please read it prayerfully.

“This adventure of faith will consist in burning bridges, setting aside all rules of common sense and all probabilities and, like Abraham, disregarding arguments, explanations, and proofs, untying ourselves from all rational positions and, bound hand and foot, making the great leap into the abyss of the dark night, surrendering ourselves to the totally Other-God Alone-in pure and dark faith.

The contemplative of the future will need to enter the unfathomable regions of the mystery of God-without guides, without supports, without light. God will be experienced as the Other Limit; God’s distance and proximity will be meditated upon simultaneously; and as a result, there will be a feeling of dizziness which is a mixture of fascination, fright, annihilation, and dread.

The contemplative will have to run the risk of being submerged in this bottomless ocean where dangerous challenges are hidden. These, the contemplative cannot shun, but must face and accept them in their burning insistency.

Those who return from this adventure will be figures sculpted by purity, strength, and fire. Transformed by the ecstatic closeness of God, above them will appear the living and illuminating image of the Son. They will become the transparent witnesses of God” (Ignacio Larrañaga, O.F.M. Cap., “Sensing Your Hidden Presence: Toward Intimacy with God”, p. 12.)

My dear friends, there is no doubt in my mind that we are in the middle of an intense period of purification. Everything around us is crumbling. Something new will emerge from the rubble. Pope Benedict has spoken about a Church which is smaller, but more faithful.

Read the text from Fr. Ignacio Larrañaga again. Read it slowly. This is why I have been inviting you to incorporate into your spiritual life deep contemplative prayer. My Electronic Parish website has a new section on contemplative prayer that can help you to get started.

I would not be surprised if there is a furthering of the meltdown throughout this week. Satan has launched an intense attack on the Church. This is why a powerful spiritual life is so vital in order to persevere. Pray the Rosary every day.

Remember that the real name for Our Lady of Guadalupe is not Guadalupe. Her real name is Our Lady of “quatlasupe”. “Quatlasupe” is the Aztec word for “she who crushes the serpent”. Stay close to Mary. She will protect you.

Use the sacramentals: holy water, blessed salt, miraculous medals and the St. Benedict medal. God has provided us with an arsenal of weapons to fight Satan.

“Put God’s armor on so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness of this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens. That is why you must rely on God’s armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground” (Ephesians 6: 1-13).

This is a time to prepare yourselves to become more active and alert in the different apostolates that you have been involved in. God may be inspiring you to become part of God's plan at this time to defeat Satan from his plans to dominate the world. Some of you have been given specific missions in these times of intense tribulation. You know who you are, and you know that it is time to act now. We need great saints, we need great heroes. There will be martyrs.

The world economy will continue to spin out of control. A corrupt and sinful people cannot sustain an ordered society. There will be further economic turmoil, maybe even a total collapse of the world economy.

It could fall quickly and loudly. There will be a moment of intense violence. Order will be imposed by a police state. Peace will emerge, but our world will change dramatically.

Gone will be the credit cards, the malls, corporations and a global economy. Gone will be the abortion industry, the contraception industry and the pornography industry. Gone will be the drug cartels and the military complex. Gone will be the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bildenbergers, the World Bank and the United Nations. Gone will be the corruption within the Catholic Church – entire religious orders and dioceses will go out of business. All of this will be gone because the money that has been sustaining the corruption and the sin will be gone.

My dear friends remember the words of St. Teresa of Avila: “Let nothing trouble you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes. God never changes. Patience obtains all. Whoever has God, wants for nothing. God alone is enough” (Poesías 30).

Abandon yourself into the loving hands of an awesome God that loves us unconditionally. Allow yourself to be purified. Do not let yourself be consumed by anger, anxiety, frustration, discouragement or resentment. Enter into the dark night of the spirit. Do not be afraid. If you persevere, “you will become the transparent witnesses of God”.

The Titanic has hit the iceberg. God is the lifeboat. Jump in.



Further reading - latest updates on the meltdown...
George Weigel on the Legion of Christ and what to do now

Latest on SSPX Bishop Williamson

Time magazine on the New World Order emerging

Well, it has certainly been an interesting day. I have been receiving numerous emails and phone calls since Monday regarding the Legion of Christ meltdown.

My own personal questions regarding the Legion of Christ meltdown:

1. Fr. Maciel always had an inner circle of close collaborators to assist him in the running of the Congregation. What did they know or were they totally in the dark? If they did know anything, did someone confront Fr. Maciel and attempt to get him some help? Did someone report his problems to ecclesiastical authorities? Was there an inner circle that was part of his alleged proclivities? Did some or all the members of Maciel’s inner circle agree to a conspiracy of silence in order to protect the Order?

2. Will the Vatican step in with an Apostolic Visitation and temporarily or permanently remove the present leadership in an attempt to reform the Order?
Will some heroic member of the Order split off and start over again, taking all of the many good things that do exist in the Legion of Christ; i.e. solid philosophical, theological and spiritual formation?

3. Will the Legionaries of Christ understand that they do have so much good within their Order and that God can do good things through very flawed instruments?
Why all of a sudden is the allegation regarding the mistress and the daughter such a tremendous shock to the Legion of Christ world, when Pope Benedict XVI already canonically sanctioned the Founder for the alleged allegations of sexual abuse of minors? Why is the present allegation true and the others not true?

4. Will the Legion of Christ come forward clearly and publicly and provide clear answers? Too many good people; i.e., some of their priests, Regnum Christi members, parents who have children in Legion of Christ schools, their supporters and good diocesan priests that admired Fr. Maciel and the Legion are very discouraged. Or will the Legion of Christ continue with their characteristic secrecy and continue to call around the country doing “damage control”?

5. Will we all do our own personal examination of conscience and remember that “he who is without sin, let him cast the first stone”?

The first lesson to be learned – detachment
For the discouraged, the scandalized, or for those who have stones in their hands to throw, please read the following text from a well known Spanish author.

“This adventure of faith will consist in burning bridges, setting aside all rules of common sense and all probabilities and, like Abraham, disregarding arguments, explanations, and proofs, untying ourselves from all rational positions and, bound hand and foot, making the great leap into the abyss of the dark night, surrendering ourselves to the totally Other-God Alone-in pure and dark faith.

The contemplative of the future will need to enter the unfathomable regions of the mystery of God-without guides, without supports, without light. God will be experienced as the Other Limit; God’s distance and proximity will be meditated upon simultaneously; and as a result, there will be a feeling of dizziness which is a mixture of fascination, fright, annihilation, and dread.

The contemplative will have to run the risk of being submerged in this bottomless ocean where dangerous challenges are hidden. These, the contemplative cannot shun, but must face and accept them in their burning insistency.

Those who return from this adventure will be figures sculpted by purity, strength, and fire. Transformed by the ecstatic closeness of God, above them will appear the living and illuminating image of the Son. They will become the transparent witnesses of God” (Ignacio Larrañaga, O.F.M. Cap., “Sensing Your Hidden Presence: Toward Intimacy with God”, p. 12.)

The second lesson to be learned – the Catholic Church is in a state of turmoil

The Legion of Christ debacle is not the only meltdown situation in the Catholic Church. Let’s just stick to America for the moment.

I am sick and tired of the majority of Catholics not going to confession, using artificial birth control, missing Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation and still receiving the Eucharist every time they come to Mass without going to confession.

I am sick and tired of bishops who are corrupt and inept. They never encourage their priests or boost their morale. They sit behind their desks and have the gall to call into their offices good and holy priests who are faithful to Rome. They read them the riot act, accusing them of being “too rigid”. They think nothing of homosexual priests living together in a rectory as long as their relationship is consensual and does not cause “scandal”. They also think nothing about a priest living with a woman so long as their relationship is consensual and does not cause scandal. They do all that they can to destroy the Catholic priesthood.

I am so sick and tired of Catholic clergy and laity who do nothing about abortion and voted for Barack Obama.

It is time for Pope Benedict to take out the machine gun and clean house. The Catholic Church in America has been in virtual schism since 1968. Let those who want the American Church have the American Church and let us who really want to be Roman Catholics be Roman Catholics. If we have to have Mass in fields, barns and homes, so be it. Leave us alone so that we can start over.

Conclusion

Tomorrow we will all wake up and it will be another day. I will make my bed, drink my coffee, do my prayers and go to work. However, tonight, I will sit down in my chair, pour myself a glass of red wine and light up a Padron cigar, which by the way is a great smoke. I will put up my feet and watch one of my favorite movies which I watch on a day like today: Godfather III.

Many years ago, when I first say Godfather III I was upset, thinking that it was an anti-Catholic movie. Now, after 21 years of priesthood, I watch the movie every few months as a training film.

One of the best lines in the movie is when Don Altobello says: “Michael, trust no one. Treachery is everywhere”.

My trust is in the Lord who called me to the Catholic priesthood. We are all weak and sinful creatures. But, God can do great things through human frailty.

Keep moving forward folks. Don’t get discouraged. The Holy Spirit is in charge.

Other articles of interest -

New York Times article - surprisingly true and accurate

Interesting perspective from a Canon Lawyer