VIGANO ~ VIGANO ~ VIGANO !!!

 

 

 

 .... and we know the types who have always hated the Archbishop...

 

 

 

 

The above has not aged well, has it? The projection by Rosica - as who and what he is, is emerging each and every day from the darkness. Indeed, the light does shine in the darkness, exposing the evil, especially evil two-faced clerics...

Hate crime at St. Vincent de Paul church in Toronto ~ Our Lady decapitated!

 

Sometime between late Monday, May 6 and the early hours of May 7th, the statue of Our Lady at St. Vincent de Paul church in the west-end of Toronto was attacked and decapitated by a vicious hater. The right hand of Our Lady was also damaged in the attack. Police are investigating and I have been informed are reviewing two CCTV cameras which may have recorded the crime. 

 

 

To my recollection, this is the 3rd such hate crime committed against west-end Catholic churches in recent years. I believe St Vincent's was attacked about 2 years ago, and earlier Our Lady was also decapitated at Our Lady of Lebanon church.

 

Is it a mere coincidence that this demonically oppressed monster attacked the Blessed Mother during the month of May? I think not. 

 Catholics: we know what we must do. We can no longer remain silent when our churches are under attack. We have always been despised and hated and this will continue until the end of time. We must pray for those who hate us, for we desire their repentance and conversion.  

However, we cannot stand by idly, when we are under physical attack. The very least we can do is to make it know far and wide that we are being persecuted, as the devil loves to do his work in the dark. 

 

Let us at least expose the lie that Canada is a tolerant society. Just tell that to the thousands of Catholics who have had their churches burnt down, while the man who masquerades as the Prime Minister of Canada did nothing but throw figurative fuel on the attacks by excusing them. In this he was encouraged by a constant stream of propaganda spewed from corporate media, which itself is anti-Christian. 

What happened this week in no small part can be laid at the legacy media's and politicians' door who have fed and encouraged anti-Catholic hatred in particular, and anti-Christian hate in general. This is what happens when the so-called "leaders" of society encourage an anti-Christian ethos. It is time for the politicians and media to take responsibility. Let us hope at least one politician will speak up, let us hope at least one media entity will no longer excuse and ignore the explosion of anti-Christian hate and violence that is here in Canada and across the world.

The Tragedy of Michael Voris is the story of Rebellion against Legitimate Authority.

I wrote the following back on June 12, 2012. (Read the original here) This is not the end of "Church Militant", but it is the beginning of the end. The entire situation is tragic, but inevitably predictable. Laymen have never run apostolates; such apostolates are bound to come a cropper. Likewise I had also a few months earlier raised the issue of the unorthodox relationship between Voris' organization and the legitimate authority of the local church. 

Just over 10 years later we see the tragic shipwreck of another "apostolate" that lacked the humility of submission to legitimate authority. Let us recall that even Our Lord Jesus Christ - until the time of His Passion - never questioned or encouraged his disciples to rebel against the legitimate authority of the Mosaic priests. (c.f. Matt 23:3) Until Christ abolished the Old Covenant (and ONLY he had the Authority to do so!), by completing and transforming it into the New, the High Priest and his delegates had legitimate authority given to them from God. It was only when the curtain of the Temple was rent in two, was the Old Covenant finished. 

In our sad age, an age of contagious protestantism and liberalism (and was it not Hamish Fraser who once said that most American Catholics were just protestants who went to Mass?) the urge to rebellion, to individualism, to rejecting legitimate authority will be strong... we have seen it in the icarian flight of poor Michael Voris. In not placing himself under the authority of a priest and bishop Voris opened himself up to the promptings of the devil. Pray for Voris indeed, but do not forget to pray for family, friends, and others much closer who may also be under temptation to rebel. Let us never forget that God loves the humble, and humbles the proud. The saints, the great true reformers of the Church all were distinguished in their spiritual lives by great humility.

Semantics, semantics... Real Catholic TV - the organization whose main public voice is Michael Voris has announced that it will remove the word "catholic". The full article may be  here at Catholic News Service (CNS).  Mark Shea has an interesting analysis on the motivation behind the name change. 

The problem is much deeper - does a layman have the right to catechize? Yes, if it means to individually witness for the Faith. However, does a layman have the right to carry on a open, public catechetical ministry without hierarchical oversight? NO. And this is the problem. What exactly is the "church militant"? Is it Catholic? It is not if it is not under the hierarchy. It may sound, smell, and look like the real thing, but without the bishop, it is not. No layman can carry on an apostolate claiming to teach the Faith without guidance and oversight form the Divinely appointed lawgivers: the local Ordinary in union with the Pope. Let us not get bogged down in the local diocese having lost the Faith: Rome is the judge of that. 

The Apostles and the Church Fathers have from the beginnings of the Church been confronted with those who fluff off the bishop. St. Ignatius of Antioch devoted considerable effort to emphasizing obedience to the bishop; Pius XII emphatically wrote of how laymen- when catechizing - are under the direction of the hierarchy. The Second Vatican Council reiterated this traditional teaching. 

Join Deborah's "Path to Freedom" ~ Please help her walk again!

 

Deborah is a healthy woman who only needs knee surgery. She's been waiting FIVE years, caught in an uncaring healthcare system, in bureaucratic nightmare. Seems pretty crazy, right? She went from living independently, using a wheelchair, but still being able to drive, and even being able to take care of her pet cat. 

After getting food poisoning she was cleared by the physiotherapist to go home, but an inexperienced social worker said, “handicapped people should not live alone” and threatened Deborah with the hospital bill, be cut off from Medicaid and Medicare, and lose her primary care physician if she did not give up her apartment and go into a “Skilled Nursing Facility” (or SNF). To increase the pressure they told her it would be pre-surgery rehab. Deborah was deceived. She was dumped in a nursing home. You don’t put a healthy person whose just waiting for knee surgery in a “nursing home”. But they did. The nightmare began. 

Deborah has been shuffled for the past 5 years between “nursing homes” suffering all sort of abuse and neglect. Now they want to PERMANENTLY put her in a nursing home! This should NOT be happening! If you help, you will be helping Deborah to walk again, and saving her from eventual death in a “nursing home”. 

As Deborah's priest said: "we have to get you out of here, or you will die". Deborah is now in a very small apartment, but needs your help with medical supplies, the costs of care-giving, and daily living expenses. 

With your support for Deborah she will be able to walk again. Please help end this nightmare.

Witness is asking for your support in whatever way you can: prayers, a donation, re-posting this post, a "word" on your social media. Whatever you can do is most gratefully appreciated. 

VISIT HER GOFUNDME HERE: "DEBORAH'S PATH TO FREEDOM" TO DONATE. THANK YOU, AND GOD BLESS.

HENRY VIII and John Locke ~ the two most important Founding Fathers of the United States

 ...the eternal law of God is the sole standard and rule of human liberty, not only in each individual man, but also in the community and civil society which men constitute when united". 

Leo XIII, Libertas

We do not admire men such as Martin Luther or John Locke. The former, was the first very prominent revolutionary Christian who proposed that the prince did not govern with concern for his religion; the life of the citizen became separated from the life of a Christian. Modern individualism was born. The latter, could be said to be the father of modern individualism and Liberalism. Americans should become aware of the degree that his ideas permeate the foundational documents of their nation-state. 

The protestant mindset instigated by Luther, paved the way for naturalism and Liberalism. There would be no shortage of men who would eventually come to define the Age of the Enlightenment (truly a new Dark Age); men such as Descartes, Locke, Rousseau would distinguish themselves. Serious Catholics should read and study Humanum genus (On Freemasonry) and Libertas (On Liberty) by Pope Leo XIII to understand the roots of Liberalism, and how anti-Christian and anti-human it is. 

"Now, the fundamental doctrine of the naturalists, which they sufficiently make known by their very name, is that human nature and human reason ought in all things to be mistress and guide. Laying this down, they care little for duties to God, or pervert them by erroneous and vague opinions. For they deny that anything has been taught by God; they allow no dogma of religion or truth which cannot be understood by the human intelligence, nor any teacher who ought to be believed by reason of his authority. And since it is the special and exclusive duty of the Catholic Church fully to set forth in words truths divinely received, to teach, besides other divine helps to salvation, the authority of its office, and to defend the same with perfect purity, it is against the Church that the rage and attack of the enemies are principally directed". Leo XIII, Humanum genus

Pope Leo develops this theme identifying that naturalism in the domain of morality and politics is termed Liberalism - that is, the liberty to do as one pleases, without reference to membership in Christ and His Church. 

"What naturalists or rationalists aim at in philosophy, that the supporters of liberalism, carrying out the principles laid down by naturalism, are attempting in the domain of morality and politics. The fundamental doctrine of rationalism is the supremacy of the human reason, which, refusing due submission to the divine and eternal reason, proclaims its own independence, and constitutes itself the supreme principle and source and judge of truth. Hence, these followers of liberalism deny the existence of any divine authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man is the law to himself; from which arises that ethical system which they style independent morality, and which, under the guise of liberty, exonerates man from any obedience to the commands of God, and substitutes a boundless license. The end of all this it is not difficult to foresee, especially when society is in question. For, when once man is firmly persuaded that he is subject to no one, it follows that the efficient cause of the unity of civil society is not to be sought in any principle external to man, or superior to him, but simply in the free will of individuals; that the authority in the State comes from the people only; and that, just as every man's individual reason is his only rule of life, so the collective reason of the community should be the supreme guide in the management of all public affairs". Leo XIII, Libertas

Locke, imbued with this  spirit of naturalism or rationalism, may be considered the fountainhead of British and French rationalism. The French writer, Vialatoux, writes of the influence of Locke: "when we study Locke, we find clearly formulated the postulates which constitute the foundation of modern social life, and are the hidden, though mostly unsuspected, animating principles of our institutions and of our modes of thought and action" (Philosophie Economique, pp. 125-126). There is no lack of neo-con Catholics who try to claim Locke as compatible with, for example, the Church's teachings on property rights. Though there may well be accidental similarities - for Locke still adhered to a few traditional theses, and was a semi-sensist, the fact remains that his books were on the Index, reflecting the Church's assessment of his political ideology. 

"...there can be no genuine solution of the "social question" apart from the Gospel"

Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus

It may be distressing for some American Catholics to appreciate that men such as Jefferson devoted their intellectual lives imbibing the confused spiritual legacy of John Locke and the French philosophers, such as Jean Jacques Rousseau. This may, in part, account for some of the more hysterical tirades against His Holiness following the publication of Evangelii Gaudium. In truth, the Pope's forthrightness on economic liberalism merely burst the carbuncle of "silent apostasy", long festering in the minds of these dissenters; for whom the Catholic Faith has long been a pick-and-choose social "feel good" variety of superficial piety. These de facto apostates have chosen Liberalism over the Gospels. 

Pius IX, in Quanta Cura prescribed as condemned the errors of naturalism: 

For you well know, venerable brethren, that at this time men are found not a few who, applying to civil society the impious and absurd principle of "naturalism," as they call it..."

Though many protestant and Catholic "libertartians", actually (as Adrian Pabst terms them, neo-liberals) bemoan the rise of the temporal power of the State, they are unable to see that the transfer of the interpretation and application of moral law to the State has seen an enormous increase in the latter's power (Absolutism); or, in reaction to this, a rebellious attitude leading to the chaos of moral individualism. The rejection of the Catholic Church's right to interpret the moral law leads to serious consequences. In economics we have the result of the absolutism of Socialism or the individualism of Capitalism, both evils, feeding off each other. 

The French Revolution, modern Britain, and the rest of the English speaking world, is heavily imbued with "Enlightenment" individualism, so much so, that with Pope Francis' recent reiteration of Catholic social teaching vis-a-vis economics, there has been a veritable explosion of bile and hatred spewed upon the Vicar of Christ, even to the degree of addressing the Supreme Pontiff as a "communist".

Let us take a brief look at Locke's idea of the State, economics and social life, contrasting them to the teachings of the Church. As a protestant, Locke did not regard the State as a well organized natural society, with fallen man redeemed through membership in Christ. Rather, Locke, a nominalist, broke any harmonious union between intellect and sense, with objective reality, and gave primacy to sense over reason, sectioned off social life from morality and Christ, and posited individualism as primary in his social teaching. (Students of history will see Luther as the fountainhead of Locke's ideas). Locke's political theory led inevitably to a denial of universal order, and a limit to objective knowledge for persons. We see the results today in the near total moral chaos and collapse of western society. The State is merely an artificial creation of autonomous individuals. The State has no duty to God; it is an association of mutual assurance of free proprietors to safeguard themselves against material loss. 

In Letters concerning Toleration, Locke wrote: "... the commonwealth seems to me to be a society of men constituted only for procuring, preserving and advancing their own civil interests. Civil interests I call life, liberty, health and indolence of the body, and possessions of outward things such as money, lands, houses, furniture and the like..."

"Let us consider what a church is...it ought to be confined within the bounds of the church, nor in any manner be extended to civil affairs; because the church itself is a thing absolutely separate and distinct from the commonwealth..." 

"... for the political society is instituted for no other end, but only to secure every man's possession of the things of this life..."

The State, according to Locke, has no duty to God, society is sectioned and individualism is enthroned as the greatest good: non serviam. It therefore comes as no surprise that these neo-liberal apostates adhere to the false doctrine of "religious liberty". Contrast Locke's view of the moral obligations of the State to the Church's:

"The State cannot limit itself to "favouring one portion of the citizens", namely the rich and prosperous, nor can it "neglect the other", which clearly represents the majority of society. Otherwise, there would be a violation of that law of justice which ordains that every person should receive his due". John Paul II, Centesimus Annus

Following Pope Francis' authoritative reaffirmation of Catholic social teaching vis-a-vis economics, a number of neo-liberal Catholics, such as Daren Jonescu proposed the following buffoonery: "St. Thomas Aquinas, whose conception of natural law, justice, and the role of reason in ethics paved the way to the Enlightenment, and the development of the natural rights theory which grounded modern liberty". Not content with that, Jonescu declares the Pope a Marxist, the Church having turned to a version of communism. Jonescu's attempt to twist Rerum Novarum to nefarious ends fails utterly, for critically - amongst others things - he refrains from commenting on the fact that Leo XIII commences the encyclical within the context of his earlier social encyclicals, such as Libertas and Immortale Dei. Those encyclicals firmly condemn the false jurisprudence and naturalistic rationalism that Jonescu claims to flow from Aquinas. In our day, Pope John Paul II, in Centesimus Annus, linked Socialism and Liberalism to the same destructive root: practical atheism and a false anthropology: "The atheism of which we are speaking is also closely connected with the rationalism of the Enlightenment, which views human and social reality in a mechanistic way".

A more restrained attack on Pope Francis, but equally erroneous, is by a Paul Rahe, evidently an admirer of Locke, who wrote as follows: "Limited government – i. e., a government limited in its scope – was the solution ultimately found, and John Locke was its proponent. Even a former U.S. judge has had his two pennies to contribute in an op-ed in The Washington Post.  Andrew Napolitano, in a manner as ignorant as it is arrogant, after constructing and demolishing the usual strawmen, indulges in historicism and "infallibility" to dismiss Catholic social teaching; Napolitano also can't quite deduce the mind of the Pope: is he a communist or a fascist!? The eminent theologian, Napolitano, scoffs at the Pope's remarks that the poor are waiting. Yes, they are. Perhaps Napolitano has never heard of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul; maybe he should consider going on a few home visitations. Perhaps Napolitano has never visited Miami, where the juxtaposition of obscene wealth and extreme poverty is an abomination. "Are there no poor houses...?" to quote Dickens.

 In a more subtle and devious manner then the aforementioned writers, the other week, neo-liberal Catholic, Raymond Arroyo, on The World Over, tried to wriggle dissent off the hook by asking his guest, Bishop Morlino about an Apostolic Exhortation's degree of "infallibility"; if a Catholic had to accept Church teachings on economics, like "moral" teachings . The answer is yes; economics are under the moral law (c.f. No. 34, Centesimus Annus; No. 15, Caritas in Veritate). Sadly, Bishop Morlino was evasive. Thus, perhaps thousands of Catholics had spiritual poison poured into their souls. As with Napolitano and others, Arroyo is constructing the "infallibility" strawman, opening the flood gates for dissent on Catholic social teaching. We have seen this type of dissent with the supporters on contraception and abortion. It is no wonder that these sexual and life sins are so popular in an individualistic culture of death, much like economic exploitation is. 

It is clear in the minds of the popes that the Church has a right and duty to intervene in the life of a nation and the State with regards to economic issues that pertain to the dignity of the person and the common good. The State has a positive duty to intervene where charity has proven insufficient to provide for the poor. However the principle of subsidiarity dictates that it also has a duty to back off where lower levels of government or individuals in free association are able to provide for the poor. The difficulty is that the State cannot be relied upon to be its own moral compass and it cannot negotiate this fine line without guidance. Hence the necessity for the Church to be involved in civil and economic matters. The Church has a positive duty to inform the State when they have not gone far enough and when they have gone too far.

"The State must contribute to the achievement of these goals both directly and indirectly. Indirectly and according to the principle of subsidiarity, by creating favourable conditions for the free exercise of economic activity, which will lead to abundant opportunities for employment and sources of wealth" John Paul Ii, Centissimus Annus

Following the recent economic crisis (which is far from over), Pope Benedict XVI issued his authoritative encyclical, Caritas in Veritate. As Pabst pointed out, it was denounced by neo-liberals, such as the "un-authoritative" George Weigel. This forgotten encyclical, rejected by dissenters on the "left" and "right", (who respectively clamor for either statist intervention, or capitalist fundamentalism) reiterates the Church's position of a free market and State guided by natural law for the common good. Of note, in No. 15, the Pope identifies the link between teaching on life issues (e.g. Humanae vitae) and social doctrine. One cannot have one without the other. 

"The Church forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that “a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalize". Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate

To conclude, it may be fitting to have a faithful layman's conception of Catholic teaching on economics, politics and the moral law:  

"the truth is that Liberalism does not merely consist in withdrawing economics for subordination to politics, but in the further step of withdrawing politics (and economics) from subjection to the moral law.... the end of politics becomes the material prosperity, the power and success of the State, and everything that may procure that end...the end of economics becomes the acquisition and limitless increase of riches, material riches as such, and everything that may procure such an end..." (Jacques Maritain, Religion and Culture, Sheed and Ward,  pp. 25, 26).

Take heart, and practice the little virtues

The Christian life is not an easy one to live. Every serious Catholic has days where they do not seem to be progressing in virtue. I have found the following, regarding Little Virtues, from The Fountain of Catholic Knowledge rather edifying, and pass it on in case others may need to take fruit from it. God love you.

That which is little in the eyes of man is often great in the sight of God; and the Christian faith teaches us that God loves the simple and lowly of heart. Judging only by outward appearances, we may divide all virtues into two classes, little and great. Great virtues, or at least those which men call great are brilliant and striking qualities, such as claim universal notice and admiration; while those which men call little are simple, hidden virtues, concealed in the eyes of the world, and absorbed, as it were, in the sweet completeness of a good and holy life.

 “Every one,” said St. Francis de Sales, in his ever gentle, gracious words, “every one desires to have brilliant virtues and to display them, fixed to the cross, so that they may be seen and admired from afar. Very few are eager to gather those which, like the thyme and violet, grow at the foot and in the shadow of that tree of life. Yet these are they which have the sweetest perfume, and have been most freely watered with the Blood of Jesus, who gave this precept to His children as their most important lesson, ‘Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart.’”

It is not every one who is called upon to exercise the great virtue of magnanimity, firmness, patience, endurance, constancy, and courage. The occasions which call them forth are very rare; yet all desire to possess them, because they are seen and known of men, and thus even human vanity is often unconsciously soothed and gratified. As to little virtues, the world esteems them not, but passes them utterly by, and the heart that desires them must needs be pure and true. Who, indeed, pays any attention to the virtue which gently yields to another’s ill temper, and patiently bears with another’s imperfections, an unreasonable prejudice, a distasteful companionship, and all the thousand little pinpricks which so goad and irritate our faulty human nature, that we may truly call the small miseries of life? Who troubles to praise or to exalt the humility of those who bear a refusal with sweetness, who are grateful for a benefit, who treat their inferiors with kindness and courtesy, and are tender and pitiful to the poor? All these we consider mere trifles; we desire only those virtues which St. Francis de Sales described as “braves et bien virtues,” viz., virtues which are dazzling and outwardly attractive; and we do not consider that life is made up of little things and trifling actions that for extraordinary virtue there is very little room. Opportunities for making a fortune are not to met with every day; but every day we may gain a little, and if we do but husband our small resources, we shall certainly grow rich in time. We should quickly accumulate great spiritual riches, and should lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven, if we would but employ in God’s most holy service all the little occasions which we meet with every moment.

Let us therefore rejoice that we can so easily please God, and become perfect. Let us never lose one happy chance of sanctifying our life, but, lifting our hearts in prayer, let us consecrate our most trifling actions, our lightest labours, and our lightest cares, by offering them to God. Let us do all for Jesus, and we shall not lose our reward; like the ant, which during the summer accumulates little by little its provisions for the winter, we shall find, when life’s labour is over, that we shall reap in a glorious and eternal harvest the reward for which we have worked so humbly here below.

Fr. Leonard Goffine on St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

St. Matthew needs no introduction. The account of Our Lord calling him forth from his occupation as a tax collector is well-known. However, in honour of his feast day, we offer the following historical summary from Fr. Leonard Goffine. God love you.

Matthew, also called Levi, a son of Alpheus, and brother of the holy apostle James the Less, was a receiver in the Roman custom-house on Lake Tiberias. Such officers were hated by the Jews for their injustice, and were called publicans, or public sinners. While he was sitting at the receipt of custom he was called by Christ to be one of His disciples, and immediately leaving his lucrative office and all that he had, followed Him. On account of his distinguished zeal he was afterwards received into the number of the apostles. After the descent of the Holy Ghost he remained in Judea, preached the Gospel, wrote the passion of Our Lord as contained in his gospel, and lived strictly in the fear of God. At a later day, he travelled through Persia, Ethiopia, and other countries. At last he was killed at the altar, by command of King Hirtacus, for opposing his marriage with the Princess Iphigenia, who, by St. Matthew's direction, had vowed to God perpetual virginity. His holy remains were brought to Salerno in the tenth century. Thus may great sinners become great saints by following faithfully, like St. Matthew, the voice of God.

Prayers and material charity urgently needed for Andrew Rivera

Dear friends,

We have some news on Andrew Rivera. Unfortunately, the news is not good. Below, we reprint an update from the organizer of the fundraiser set up for Andrew and his family. Please, in your charity, give what you can and inform others as you can. 

God bless you.

Irenaeus

---

Dear Friends,

Andrew Rivera has been a friend of mine for many years. He has been a collaborator with me on the organization of many Masses in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite across the Greater Toronto Area. He is known to many here both in the diocesan traditional community and the Society of St. Pius X. Andrew is a single father of a five-year-old boy, pictured with him above, his wife having passed away three years ago.

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.

Just after Easter, Andrew had a serious attack and went into a diabetic coma. The next few weeks were like an episode of House (without the cursing and such). Every time I spoke with his mother there was another issue. Infection. Kidney failure and dialysis and the usual things and indignities that accompany such a situation. The most shocking and profound was a caused by clots that can happen due to inactivity. (No jab here folks, so let's leave that one alone). However, it turns out that the cause of the clots may have been a previously undetected "hole in the heart." more properly known as an atrial septal defect and is from birth. In addition to this, there is ongoing neuropathy from the .

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.

Tomorrow morning, Monday, September 18, Andrew will have PFO Closure surgery. Please remember Andrew today at Mass and in your prayers, that God will guide the surgeon's hands so that all will be well and grant a full recovery in all these things to Andrew.

Now, the recovery from this is going to add to the other maladies. It is simply not known when Andrew will be able to return to work.

Thus, I am asking you to be generous with our fundraising campaign.

Your help is most appreciated, Andrew has seen all the data from the GiveSendGo and you are all in his prayers.

God bless you.

David Anthony Domet

GiveSendGo - Supporting Andrew Rivera and Son: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising.