Have hope in the Lord; He will see things through

1(Of David, when he feigned madness at the court of Abimelech, so that Abimelech sent him away, and he escaped.✻ )

2

 

At all times I will bless the Lord; his praise shall be on my lips continually.

3

 

Be all my boasting in the Lord; listen to me, humble souls, and rejoice.

4

 

Come, sing the Lord’s praise with me, let us extol his name together.

5

 

Did I not look to the Lord, and find a hearing; did he not deliver me from all my terrors?

6

 

Ever look to him, and in him find happiness; here is no room for downcast looks.

7

 

Friendless folk may still call upon the Lord and gain his ear, and be rescued from all their afflictions.

8

 

Guardian of those who fear the Lord, his angel encamps at their side, and brings deliverance.

9

 

How gracious the Lord is! Taste and prove it; blessed is the man that learns to trust in him.

10

 

It is for you, his chosen servants, to fear the Lord; those who fear him never go wanting.

11

 

Justly do the proud fall into hunger and want;✻ blessing they lack not that look to him.

12

 

Know, then, my children, what the fear of the Lord is; come and listen to my teaching.

13

 

Long life, and prosperous days, who would have these for the asking?

14

 

My counsel is, keep thy tongue clear of harm, and thy lips free from every treacherous word.

15

 

Naught of evil cherish thou, but rather do good; let peace be all thy quest and aim.

16

 

On the upright the Lord’s eye ever looks favourably; his ears are open to their pleading.

17

 

Perilous is his frown for the wrong-doers; he will soon make their name vanish from the earth.

18

 

Roused by the cry of the innocent, the Lord sets them free from all their afflictions.

19

 

So near is he to patient hearts, so ready to defend the humbled spirit.

20

 

Though a hundred trials beset the innocent, the Lord will bring him safely through them all.

21

 

Under the Lord’s keeping, every bone of his is safe; not one of them shall suffer harm.

22

 

Villainy hastes to its own undoing; the enemies of innocence will bear their punishment.

23

 

The Lord will claim his servant as his own; they go unreproved that put their trust in him.

Psalm 33

Glory to St. George and all Hail the Bard!

 

 

 

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge

 

 Earth has not any thing to show more fair: 

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by 

 A sight so touching in its majesty: 

This City now doth, like a garment, wear 

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, 

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie 

Open unto the fields, and to the sky; 

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. 

Never did sun more beautifully steep 

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; 

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! 

The river glideth at his own sweet will: 

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; 

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

 

 

 

Whilst we are celebrating St. George, let us not forget the Providence of the Bard being born on this day of April 23rd. 

 

Sonnet 116 

Let me not to the marriage of true minds 

 Admit impediments. Love is not love 

Which alters when it alteration finds, 

Or bends with the remover to remove: 

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark 

That looks on tempests and is never shaken; 

It is the star to every wandering bark, 

 Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken 

Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks 

Within his bending sickle’s compass come: 

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, 

But bears it out even to the edge of doom. 

If this be error and upon me proved, 

I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph, intercede for us!

Cover the Church with your Holy Cloak, and protect Her from those who seek to do Her harm!

 

The Peace and Tranquility of COVID ~ May we be ONE in His Body

 

Are YOU of COVID's Body?

Dear friends of our Blessed COVID

May the Peace and Tranquility of COVID be with us

May we find Contentment in the interdict on public Mass

May we all rejoice at being One with COVID

May we rejoice in the State dictating Sacred Liturgical Rites

May COVID watch over us, protect us. 

May COVID bring us every Joy and Consolation.

Let us be One with COVID...

...always ONE....

 

Good Shepherd Sunday: A day to reflect on hirlings, false prophets, and deserters of the Flock

St. John Fisher: Guardian against the "Three Wolves"

 

Today, as we continue in ever greater lock downs, interdicts being imposed on the public celebration of Holy Mass, the surrender of the Sacred Rites to the State, the shuttering of churches, the near banishment of the Sacraments, the dissolution of the economic and social order by wayward politicians and public health officials, we should ask ourselves: what is the Catholic Church doing in the midst of this ruin? What are Her Pastors doing? Are they following the example of St. John Fisher or that of Thomas Cramner? To whom do they profess their loyalty to: God or Man?  

From St. Thomas Aquinas' Commentary on the Gospel of St. John:

For the good shepherd, who loves his flock, lays down his life for it, i.e., he exposes himself to dangers that affect his bodily life. But the evil shepherd, because he has no love for the flock, flees when he sees the wolf. 

Thus he says, he sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. Here, the wolf is understood in three ways. First, for the devil as tempting: "What fellowship has a wolf with a lamb? No more has a sinner with a godly man" (Si 13:17). 

Secondly, it stands for the heretic who destroys: "beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matt 7:15); "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29).

Thirdly, it stands for the raging tyrant: "Her princes in the midst of her are like wolves" (Ez 22:27). 

Therefore, the good shepherd must guard the flock against these three wolves, so that when he sees the wolf, i.e., the devil tempting, the deceiving heretic and the raging tyrant, he can oppose him. 

Against those who do not, we read, "You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel" (Ez 13:5). Accordingly, we read of the evil shepherd that he leaves the sheep and flees: "Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock" (Zech 11:17). As if to say: You are not a shepherd, but only appear to be one: "Even her hired soldiers in her midst are like fatted calves; yea, they have turned and fled together, they do not stand" (Jer 46:21).

Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. R.I.P.

 

Today was the funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, The Due of Edinburgh and Consort of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. 

As Catholics we are to remember the dead in our prayers. Likewise as Catholics we are to pray for our Head of State. 

 

An Open Letter to Cardinal Collins: KEEP THE CHURCHES OPEN FOR MASS !

 

Dear Cardinal Collins,

I wrote to you twice last year, and I am still awaiting your reply. I presume you are far too busy with your accountants, lawyers, and moneybags propping up the "Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Toronto" (listed with Bloomberg as a "Consumer Services" sub-industry). 

Since I do not expect you to reply, I have decided (once again) to compose an "Open Letter" to you, in the hopes that it will eventually reach you and your auxiliary bishops. I must say at the outset that over the past year this crisis has blown the cover off the Church in Toronto as the Mystical Body of Christ to really being a human services provider and registered "charity" under the corporate structure of a "Consumer Services" industry, where money and tax law is the driving consideration. God indeed does write straight with crooked lines.

    

 

With the imminent closure of our churches - as I write on April 16th - you must decide what you want to be: the nominal head of a corporate business and obedient underling to Caesar, or the local bishop of the Catholic Church. You must decide if obeying God is more important than obeying man. You must decide if Mass is more important than liquor store, beer stores, pot shops, and dare I say it - abortion "clinics". By this afternoon we will know if Premier Doug Ford has again "ordered" places of worship closed, and you have acquiesced, proclaiming it is for the "common good", and for the protection of our "brothers and sisters". Just like you boarded up every church last March even in the tiniest hamlets far north of the city. We were not even allowed in for private prayer. 

Surely it disturbs you, Your Eminence that whilst you pontificate about the "common good", you are silent about the ongoing "essential service" of the slaughter of the unborn in the wombs of their mothers? Are you also not in the least concerned that this coming Monday hundreds of thousands of Catholics will get up without a job, but the local abortion clinic will remain open? And if it does disturb you: why are you silent? And what of the explosion of mental health issues, the suicides, the substance abuse, the psychological abuse of our children in Catholic schools being told to wear masks when the medical evidence is clear that they do not need to do so. 

Why do you remain silent? Are you be told to keep quiet by your handlers? Are they advising obeisance to Caesar for filthy lucre?  Has the Catholic Church been prostituted for 30 pieces of silver?

 

Another thing: you have yet to apologize to us for your disgraceful silence (recommended to you by your accountants, lawyers, and moneybags?) when the churches were boarded up at Christmas. I ask you again: would you please apologize to Catholics for denying us the right to attend Mass? We await your apology.

Finally, please do not DARE to ask for any more money. Are you not aware of how much Catholics are suffering from lost employment, the ruination of their small businesses? You seemed to be only concerned with the well paid staff in your "Consumer Service" corporation. Instead of taking millions from Caesar for your "employees", and then topping it up with parish donations, will you take immediate steps to provide monies for faithful, practicing Catholics who will - once again - be loosing their jobs, being forced to close their small businesses? 

Perhaps you should be selling off some of your enormous real estate empire? Or cashing in on bonds and stocks? I noticed that in 2018 your corporation listed "charitable activities/programs" running just over 154 million. Can you supply us with a detailed account of how much money in 2020 went to Catholics who lost jobs? Can you provide us with details for emergency funding for unemployed Catholics in 2021? Let us not forget the "common good" you speak so much about. 

 

 

Within a few hours we will once again know if our churches are to be closed, our Catholic families and friends decimated with indiscriminate lock downs. We will also know once again where and with whom you stand. 

Will you stand up? Will you tell Premier Ford: "the churches remain open because the public worship of God at Mass is not only essential, it is more than essential. It is necessary and commanded of us". Will you tell the Premier that if he is serious about this virus, that he should immediately close the liquor and beer stores, the pot shops, and certainly the abortion mills? Will you do that Your Eminence? Will you have the courage? 

 

Cardinal Collins, you have in your Office two portraits for fighters for the Faith: St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. What would they do? Do you believe that St. John would meekly board up his churches and impose a de facto interdict on the Mass? That he would allow dissident priests to shutter their churches for months on end so that the faithful cannot adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Do you believe that your lay handlers are following in the footsteps of St. Thomas? Or are they following the treacherous Richard Rich who betrayed the Church and his friend, driven by lust for money and power? 

CARDINAL COLLINS! 

KEEP THE CHURCHES OPEN!

DO NOT IMPOSE ANOTHER INTERDICT ON THE MASS

 

Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More, pray for us.

All ye holy Martyrs of England and Wales, pray for us. 

An observation on the the COVID-19 vaccination discussion in Ontario

In recent days, a good deal of ink has been spilled with respect to vaccinating the Ontario population from COVID-19, from both a Church and secular viewpoint. (For local commentary on the Church's response to the vaccines, see Vox Cantoris and Everyday for Life, Canada in the sidebar.)

I have been reluctant to offer any substantial commentary of my own in the public forum. After all, I do not hold a science degree and my opinion counts for little in the grand scheme of things. It is also easier to listen than to talk.

But it does not mean I have not been listening to what my friends are saying. Like many, I am friends with those on both sides of the vaccination discussion. I sympathize with the rationale on either side. On the one side, those who support vaccination seem to be thinking in terms of the future and their relationships. One man I know is wanting to be vaccinated so he can go ahead with his wedding, for the sake of his fiancé. A woman I know has already taken the first dose of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine not only on account of her job as an educator, but also because her father has taken it and there has been no adverse side effects. The list goes on.

On the other side, I have seen concerns about the efficiency of these vaccines and potential side effects, not to mention what ingredients are in the vaccines.  Most of this is through Facebook and blogs, although some people in real life have expressed these concerns to me and asked some questions of their own. One need only read Vox Cantoris and other-like minded blogs to get a sense of their concerns, though it must be said that these concerns are not limited to "conservative" viewpoints.

Observing these discussions for a number of months has led me to break my silence on the thorny question of whether or not we should take the vaccine.

To put it simply, either position carries with it some measure of risk. (No decision, really, is "risk-free," as they say.) Each one of us has to - or already has, in fact - weigh the benefits and risks of either position, and decide accordingly. It is all we can do at this point in time. Given that either side can be justified, it is also why I cannot offer a definitive answer to the question. It must be said, though, that neither side should coerce people into doing what they think is appropriate. That is crossing a line that should not be crossed, both in the Church and outside of Her.

As for me, where I ultimately stand is besides the point. I have pretty much made my decision, and will stick by it, irrespective of what comes my way as a result.

May God have mercy on me. Indeed, may He have mercy on us all during this time.

Blessed Margarita di Citta Costello, pray for us!

Today is the liturgical day of Blessed Margarita di Citta Costello, patron of the unvalued. She died at the age of 35. 

A brief summary of this Beata composed by this writer can be found here.

A blessed day to all of those who have a name derived from Margaret, and may she intercede for those who consider her their patron. 

Indeed, may we all find ourselves in her company and many other blessed souls at the end of our lives.

JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU

 

 

From Nostra Aetata through Assisi to Pachamama: The Anger of God rests on those who do not believe in the Divinity of Christ

 

 

 

"From Nostra Aetate through Assisi to Pachamama" 

(With apologies to Goethe) 

From his Sixth Lecture on the Gospel of St. John by St. Thomas Aquinas: 

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, he shows the fruit of faith. First, he sets forth the reward for faith. Secondly, the penalty for unbelief (v 36b).

547 The reward for faith is beyond our comprehension, because it is eternal life. Hence he says, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. And this is shown from what has already been said. For if the Father has given everything he has to the Son, and the Father has eternal life, then he has given to the Son to be eternal life: “Just as the Father possesses life in himself, so he has given it to the Son to have life in himself” (below 5:26): and this belongs to Christ insofar as he is the true and natural Son of God. “That you may be in his true Son, Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn 5:20). Whoever believes in the Son has that toward which he tends, that is, the Son, in whom he believes. But the Son is eternal life; therefore, whoever believes in him has eternal life. As it says below (10:27): “My sheep hear my voice... and I give them eternal life.”

548 The penalty for unbelief is unendurable, both as to the punishment of loss and as to the punishment of sense. As to the punishment of loss, because it deprives one of life; hence he says, whoever is unbelieving in the Son will not see life. He does not say, “will not have,” but will not see, because eternal life consists in the vision of the true life: “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (below 17:3): and unbelievers will not have this vision and this knowledge: “Let him not see the brooks of honey” (Jb 4:19), that is, the sweetness of eternal life. And he says, will not see, because to see life itself is the proper reward for faith united with love.

The punishment of sense is unendurable because one is severely punished; so he says: the anger of God rests on him. For in the Scriptures anger indicates the pain with which God punishes those who are evil. So when he says, the anger of God, the Father, rests on him, it is the same as saying: They will feel punishment from God the Father.

Although the Father “has given all judgment to the Son,” as we read below (5:22), the Baptist refers this to the Father in order to lead the Jews to believe in the Son. It is written about this judgment: “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31). He says, rests on him, because this punishment will never be absent from the unbelieving, and because all who are born into this mortal life are the objects of God’s anger, which was first felt by Adam: “We were by nature,” that is, through birth, “children of anger” (Eph 2:3). And we are freed from this anger only by faith in Christ; and so the anger of God rests on those who do not believe in Christ, the Son of God.  

I am not one of those who subscribes to God suddenly pouring out His wrath because of Pachamama. This theory makes God silent on decades of FALSE worship with false religions that propose a variety of opinions on Our Lord Jesus Christ ranging from the most monstrous blasphemy that the Son of God is a heretic boiling in excrement in Hell, to lesser blasphemies that He is but a mere prophet, a guru, a wise man, a rebel, and so on. The common denominator in these evil, false religions is they DENY Jesus Christ came in the Flesh (and to the degree they deny Him, they are EVIL). They are of the Spirit of Antichrist. 

 

Call me intolerant, a bigot, an Islamophobe, or antisemite. No problem at all. I could not care less. Just dare take it up with the Holy Spirit on your Particular Judgment. Tell Him that He was wrong! Tell Him that St. Peter was wrong when he said "there is NO NAME under Heaven by which we are saved, but that of Christ Jesus". Tell him Sts. John and Paul were wrong. Better yet, tell Him that Jesus Christ was wrong - a liar - when He said "NO ONE comes to the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6).

 

Now let us return to St. Thomas, who knew Catholic doctrine, knew Truth and preached it. And as we do, let us not forget that modern man, including (alas) most Catholics hate doctrine.

As we study St. Thomas, we need to carefully reflect on Nostra Aetata, the various Assisi events, the innumerable false "worship" services engaged in by the Popes and bishops following the Council. Nostra Aetate is the formal cause.

Sadly, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI both engaged in and encouraged false "worship" services. As with every liberal and man of the Council, they were and are men of contradiction. They wanted to be both Catholic and draw close (too close) to Modern Man. The actions taken by Pope Francis is but a logical consequence of a long series of steps that began decades ago to pander to Modern Man.

 

And who is this Modern Man? He is selfish, materialistic, superstitious, arrogant, vicious, pagan etc. In a word: godless. Modern Man may well be drowning in his sin, but if you throw him a line and lean over too closely into the river, he'll pull you in with him. Churchmen getting too close to Modern Man, rather than convert him, became like him. It was not evident 40 years ago, but as time has flowed, the diabolical nature, the treachery, the open evil of many of these churchmen is there to see. 

Whilst never formally denying the above passages from St. Thomas, nonetheless, these modern Popes presented a picture that though the Catholic Faith was the best, perhaps even was the fullness of Truth, these  false "religions" had good in them. This was the position taken at the Council. Error was downplayed, and occasional truths played up. The occasional truths in the false religions is not the problem, it is the untruths and the errors. Regard the innumerable times that Our Lord Jesus Christ excoriated the Pharisees, though these same men also proclaimed many truths. True religion must be completely true for God contains no error or defect. Nor can His true religion. 

 

When it comes to aeronautical engineering Modern Man is sober, serious and accepts the principles of non-contradiction. In engineering we can see this: a plane to fly needs all its components safe and working: one small defective tyre (for example) WILL lead to disaster. But when it comes to religion? Far too many of us become silly, soft and sentimental. We accept all religions are good, or at least have good intentions. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not have that attitude.

 

For Modern Man religion (here I speak of the ONE True religion) is nothing but a "social activity". A feel good club. Truth does not enter the picture; Modern Man rejects Truth. So it should come as no surprise, that the Catholic Faith is "unessential". Witness (for example) the recent statements by US Supreme Court Justice, John Roberts on Friday May 29, 2020, or the declarations by Doug Ford's Ontario government on Friday November, 20, 2020.

The Catholic knows that all "religions" that deny Christ's Divinity are objectively EVIL (that is, lacking a due good, e.g. that Jesus Christ is God) without exception. Our Lord and all his Apostles preached this. It permeates every page of the New Testament, and was prophesied in the Old:

 

"...and now, his full achievement reached, he wins eternal salvation for all those who render obedience to him". (Hebrews 5:9)

 

"This is the test by which God’s Spirit is to be recognized; every spirit which acknowledges Jesus Christ as having come to us in human flesh has God for its author; and no spirit which would disunite Jesus comes from God. This is the power of Antichrist..." (1 John 4: 2,3)

 

Those in schism and heresy, if validly baptised yet adhering to the great Truth of Christ's Divinity, retain, as persons (not in their sect, but in spite of their sect) an imperfect spiritual link to the Catholic Church, where they are being called by God to full conversion. So-called "religions" to the degree that they oppose, hate, and rage against Jesus Christ and His Church are placed firmly in the camp of Satan. It is very important to stress that I am writing about the "religions", I do NOT write about individual persons who adhere to these evil religions. God pours out His Grace on every man, even the militant atheist. It is a question of each man's response to Grace. Every man in these "religions" is being called - without exception - to conversion and membership in Christ's Mystical Body.

Catholics also know that our Faith is not in man, not in the Pope, not in our bishop, but in Christ ALONE. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." (John 14:1) Further Our Lord warned us of tribulations, and admonished us: "Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:12-13). 

LIVE: Easter Vigil (according to the pre-1955 Ancient Roman Rite)

 

MATER ECCLESIAE CHAPEL. Berlin, NJ

 

 

LIVE: Latin Mass for Maundy Thursday (pre-1955 Ancoent Roman Rite)

There must be a return to the pre-1955 Triduum Liturgical Rites

 

For decades the churchmen were not teaching what has always been taught. To accommodate their corruption they began to obfuscate the Liturgy. No where is this more reflected as in the pre-1955 Holy Week Liturgy. 

 It was "offensive" to unbelieving men, so it had to be changed. So we had the tri-fold surrender to Protestantism, Judaism, and Freemasonry, which logically opened the door to false ecumenism, and the de facto rejection of the Catholic Church as the exclusive path of Salvation. It also led logically to pandering to religions that had their origins in paganism. 

  

The bitter fruit of this surrender is there for all to see. Not only have these sad people gone from bad to worse over the decades, but now the vast majority of Catholics have joined them; believing there are many paths to Heaven, that Catholicism is just one (well, yes, for a few, the best way) amongst many ways to Heaven. Each legitimate, each acceptable to God. 

 

For those who even briefly peruse the Sacred Scriptures, this is exposed as a monstrous, satanic lie and deception. There is NO NAME under Heaven by which we are saved but that of Christ Jesus. St. Paul in Romans Chapter 10, even points to Isaiah prophesying the apostasy of Israel through the rejection of the Messiah.  

The only question any man has to answer is the the question asked by Our Lord: "Who do you say that I am?". To which Peter, the first Pope answered, "Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the Living God". (Matthew 16:15-16).  

He who denies Jesus Christ came in the Flesh is of the spirit of Antichrist. John 1:4:3.

 

As we prepare for Holy Thursday and the Institution of the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, let us also be aware that it is also the foundation of the New and Eternal Covenant, into which all men, Jew and Gentile are called. The great Roman liturgical rites of the pre-1955 Triduum gloriously proclaimed this. Let us pray for a true restoration of the Sacred Rites as handed down to us. Let us, reform our lives and strive to be examples of true Christian living so as to draw those poor, sad men who do not know Jesus Christ to Him. Whom he calls from the Cross. "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me" John 12:32. 

This Holy Week let us meditate on the sacred words: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me". John 14:6.