A Journal of 2019 – 3
2018.05.04
When it’s a question of something this pope wants, he simply says, “I’m the pope, I don’t have to give reasons,” as when Cardinal Brandmüller asked him why two of his subordinates were summarily fired. When, however, it’s a question of a proposal by the German bishops that undermines the faith, and the pope doesn’t want to support it openly, he tells them to decide for themselves, “unanimously” (https://bit.ly/2HSFQmt). He knows full well that the majority of German bishops who favor giving the Eucharist to Protestants will put so much pressure on the minority of faithful bishops that these in the end will yield. Besides, this pope knows better than to object to anything that the enormously wealthy German bishops want (one archdiocese, Cologne, is richer than the Vatican itself https://reut.rs/2rl2YTr). This pope is no fool were money is concerned.
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The most intimate connection between God and the individual praying the psalms has always seemed to me to be best expressed in the standard French Catholic translation, La Bible de Jérusalem. Psalm 22, verse 4, reads:
”Et toi, le Saint, qui habites les louanges d’Israël!”
Literally,
”You, the Holy One, who live in the praises of Israel!”
For me, that has always meant that when we pray the psalms, “the praises of Israel,” we are alive with the life of God Himself.
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2018.05.05
Does anyone seriously expect this pope to oppose the German bishops? (https://bit.ly/2HR7KDj) The Church in Germany is collapsing, but that’s not the point. The German Church is enormously, fantastically wealthy. A single archdiocese, Cologne, has greater riches than the entire Vatican (Reuters https://reut.rs/2rl2YTr). This pope knows the value of money. He will find a way acceding to whatever the German bishops want, whatever it takes.
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Some Tweets:
@Pontifex And on and on it goes: https://goo.gl/A8wM8j So, will we soon have married priests – married to one another?
@Pontifex Oh, the wonders of The Great Religion of Peace! https://goo.gl/CrJaxz
@Pontifex On 24 April this pope warned against an illness he suffers from himself: “the ‘rigidity’, which leads to placing oneself at the center and untouched by the works of the Holy Spirit and insensitive to new things” like clarity and truth, which are novelties for this pope.
@Pontifex True, authentic Christians are not afraid of opening up to others, but they also have no illusions, no dangerous illusions like the ones this poor, benighted pope has. https://bit.ly/2qSOV8j
@Pontifex God alone can give true happiness to us, to all of us, including this pope. It’s useless wasting time looking for happiness elsewhere, as this pope does: in power and wealth and anger at those who criticize or disagree with him.
@Pontifex “Gaudete et Exsultate is exactly what we have come to expect from this drearily predictable pontificate. ‘Many good qualities and substantive passages… often overshadowed, or even undermined, by straw men, dubious arguments, and cheap shots’.” https://bit.ly/2I4piJa
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “When we are open to God’s grace, the impossible becomes possible.” Yes, and though it may seem impossible for this pope to stop spreading error and confusion, and stop dissolving religious orders with many vocations, even he may become a good pope.
@Pontifex Dear God, please either convert this pope and make him a good pope and a good man, or end this pontificate. Either way, Dear God, stop the suffering this pope is causing in the world and in the Church. We beg you.
@Pontifex “The Lord Jesus communicates His love for us, so that we can love God and our neighbor as He has loved us, by giving His life for us” and so that all Catholics, even this pope, can be faithful to Jesus’ Gospel and all Church teaching. We pray for this pope’s conversion.
@Pontifex Dear God, send us a good pope.
@Pontifex Response to a papal Tweet: Do we really want peace? Then let’s ban all error from this pope’s “magisterium” so we don’t have to live in fear of schism. Let’s ask God to send us a good pope, one who will build up the Church not try to tear it down in confusion and anger.
@Pontifex “Has Pope Francis Read the Quran?” https://bit.ly/2jdISXx “This pope confuses everyone by claiming that violent people belong to all religions and that all religions are religions of peace. He fails to separate violence motivated by religious faith from other violence”
@Pontifex A response for this pope: Be one with Christ when you pray, take care of your most vulnerable brothers and sisters, faithful Catholics, especially those who favor the Tridentine Mass. Do not spread error and confusion. Curb your anger. Take no vengeance on critics.
@Pontifex Response to a papal Tweet: Let us pray the Rosary and pray for a good pope, or for the conversion of the present pope. Let this pope stop spreading error and confusion; let him preserve Church teaching and not feel threatened by faithful Catholics, calling them “rigid.”
@Pontifex This pope Tweets: “Praying means being with God, experiencing God, loving God,” and for a pope that means not spreading error and confusion, not flying into a rage, not using profanity, not humiliating subordinates, not taking vengeance on critics, and being MERCIFUL!
@Pontifex This pope Tweets: “In the Cross, Jesus showed us the greatness of His love and the power of His mercy.” If only this pope would also show love and mercy, instead of attacking Catholics he regards as “rigid” and taking vengeance on critics like Henry Sire and others.
@Pontifex (Does the pope CARE about this?) “In Henan, the Chinese province with the largest Christian population, children have been expelled from an Easter Mass, church-run kindergartens have been closed, and churches and crosses have been demolished.” https://bit.ly/2roWZx8
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Joyfully performing works of charity for those who are suffering in mind and body, is the most authentic way to live the Gospel.” And for this pope, living the Gospel means not spreading error, not giving in to anger, not attacking faithful Catholics.
@Pontifex When it’s a question of a proposal by the German bishops that undermines the faith, and the pope doesn’t want to support it openly, he tells them to decide for themselves “unanimously”(https://bit.ly/2HSFQmt). He knows the minority of faithful bishops will lose.
@Pontifex When the history of this period in the Church is written, will this pope be reviled for what he has done to the Church? No, people will forgive him for the destruction and ruin he has caused within the Body of Christ. And God will forgive him too.
@Pontifex Even this pope, no matter what he does, cannot destroy the Church. Still, all of us are praying that God will soon end the Church’s suffering and send us a good pope, one who will repair the ruin and devastation this pope has caused.
@Pontifex All of us are begging God to end the horror of this pontificate, and to please end it soon.
@Pontifex This pope speaks of “joyfully performing works of charity.” For him the greatest work of charity would be to stop spreading error and confusion and to be faithful to the truth of the Gospel and the true teachings of the Church. We pray for the conversion of this pope.
@Pontifex “A source the Holy Father had ‘failed to fulfil his obligation as pope regarding a question of dogma which his office must decide’.” So this pope failed to fulfil an obligation to decide a question of dogma? So what else is new? https://bit.ly/2HR7KDj
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “Every insult inflicted upon our neighbour, offends God our Father and Creator.” Yes, except of course when it’s this pope inflicting insults on faithful Catholics, or when he’s taking vengeance on those who criticize him. Then it’s okay.
@Pontifex Does anyone seriously expect this pope to oppose the German bishops? (https://bit.ly/2HR7KDj) With all their money? (https://reut.rs/2rl2YTr).
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2018.05.07
An answer to a message from Klaus Beckmann:
Oh, PLEASE don’t be disappointed! I was able to spend a wonderful hour of adoration in the chapel before the mass, and I was able to follow along with the Rosary prayers, which is always a good thing for me.
But yes, I left early for two reasons: one – I felt VERY out of place among all the elderly ladies (although I know I shouldn’t feel that way); and two – I also don’t find these “Communion services” (or whatever they’re called in English) very inspiring, especially when there’s a nun distributing Communion (although, again, I know I shouldn’t feel that way).
But really, on the whole, it was a very good time for me. And I was able to make a spiritual Communion as I was walking home.
I too hope Msgr. Dr. Vollmer is all right.
I wanted to stay until the end so that I could at least say hello to you, but I really felt uncomfortable by the time the nun was doing the readings for today.
But, as I said, on the whole, the time I spend in the chapel was VERY good for me. As I was reading the Liturgy of the Hours, something happened that has never happened to me before. (I wasn’t going to tell you about this, but I really don’t want you to have any negative feelings about the afternoon.) What happened was this: for the first time in my life, I was tremendously moved by the psalms. I have read them hundreds of times before, but today the words seemed in a way almost to come alive and to impress themselves on me as they never had before. And I was actually moved to tears, so much so that I was afraid one of the nuns or someone would see me practically weeping and think there was something wrong with me!
Really, that experience was worth ALL the discomfort caused by the “Communion service.” That experience was – and I don’t like to use this term – almost what some might call a kind of mystical experience, except that it was so emotional and therefore perhaps not very meaningful.
Anyway, as I said, I wasn’t going to tell you about that, but I really don’t want you to have any feelings of disappointment or other negative feelings. I’m actually very GRATEFUL to you for mentioning the possibility of going to St. Joseph’s Chapel today, because the time I spent there this afternoon was so very, very good for me.
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Comments on a Church Militant Vortex episode:
This Vortex was a real stunner. Never have I heard such an articulate analysis of what is happening in and to the Church.
But you want an example of a Church that is REALLY dying? The country I live in – Germany.
It makes Pittsburgh look like it’s growing by leaps and bounds, in comparison.
I went to a special mass at 5 pm this afternoon. There were only about twenty people present, all of them – except two of us males – were women. No other men and certainly no children or young people. I would say that not one of the women was under fifty, and almost all of them looked like they were in their seventies and eighties.
The aged priest didn’t even show up – he was apparently taken ill – and so there was a “Communion service” (or whatever they’re called) with Communion to be distributed by a nun.
I left shortly after it began.
And this is the Church, and these are the bishops that have so much influence on the current pope?
I read somewhere recently that the Catholic Church in Germany is “exporting failure,” because of its close ties to the Vatican and because the Vatican needs the enormous wealth that the German Church has. (It has fewer and fewer members, but by heaven, it’s wealth is growing by leaps and bounds, mainly because of the money it gets from the German government. No, I am not making that up. Google it.)
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2018.05.10
In The New York Times, two former Obama administration advisers write (https://nyti.ms/2jOqAN2) that “it’s unrealistic to think that Mr. Trump will change his mind on the Iran deal.”
Yes, it certainly is unrealistic, but not for the reasons most people have in mind. Trump’s decision on the Iran deal has nothing to do with Iran or it’s nuclear policy.
Trump’s decision has everything to do with his need to create a huge distraction – such as a war, perhaps – from the gathering perfect storm of the Mueller investigation, the inquiry into Michael Cohen’s affairs, and the Stormy Daniels case.
European leaders can present their arguments on Iran from here to eternity, but they will have no effect. The Europeans are talking about one reality, while Trump is consumed with something quite different.
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2018.05.11
So, we have a pope who insults faithful Catholics and believes Protestants should be allowed to receive Communion, in line with the bishops from the country with the wealthiest Catholic Church. https://bit.ly/2KTBqxx God, how did it come to this? How long, O Lord?
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2018.05.13
With all the other news this weekend, I was really impressed by this story (https://bit.ly/2Gb6OEe) of still more “blessings” that The Great Religion of Peace has brought to the world.
We have a saying in America that “the family that prays together stays together.”
Clearly The Great Religion of Peace has just raised that idea to a whole new level: “the family that slays together stays together.”
Is this what Europe has to look forward to? Or will there be only “minor” incidents like the stabbing in Paris yesterday?
It’s true that I’ve become disillusioned with Trump, but I won’t be sorry if he remains the US president. Whatever can be said against him and those around him, like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, they understand the danger – no, the THREAT – that The Great Religion of Peace presents to civilization.
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2018.05.14
Perhaps the truth of the traditional teachings of the Church will become really visible only after a complete collapse of our society and our civilization. People may then be forced to turn to God in order to save themselves from utter despair and desolation, as has happened in the past.
Such events and such periods in the history of the People of God have already been recorded, beginning in the Old Testament.
Now, in the present time, humanity appears to be headed in that direction once again. There are millions, however, who are praying that a collapse of our society does not take place. We are praying that people will turn to God, and that they will come to understand that in the end only God can make us happy.
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2018.05.15
Some recent Tweets:
@Pontifex The German bishops know they’ve got this pope over a barrel. https://reut.rs/2rl2YTr He’ll do whatever they want!
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “How wonderful to be “envoys of hope.” If only we had a pope who was an “envoy of hope,” who followed the Gospel and the teachings of the Church, who did not spread error, confusion, and ruin in the Church, who did not insult faithful Catholics.
@Pontifex This pope and the German bishops should meet to discuss what will REALLY save the German Church, i.e., a faithful return to the Gospel and the traditional teachings of the Church, not heterodox ideas like giving the Eucharist to Protestants and adulterers.
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “Convert our hearts, Lord, so that love may spread here on earth.” And Lord, convert this pope so that he becomes a good pope, one who does not spread error and confusion and ruin in the Church, one who does not make us regret that he was ever elected.
@Pontifex “A religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.” -Willem Jacobus Cardinal Eijk quoting Article 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church https://bit.ly/2wjcKv8
@Pontifex Why is the Catholic Church dying in countries like Germany, the USA, and elsewhere? This is why: https://bit.ly/2rqGpwQ
@Pontifex We can only pray that God in His mercy will soon end this suffering in His Church. https://bit.ly/2InVcTg
@Pontifex “A Dutch cardinal has said that Pope Francis’ failure to uphold the Church’s authentic faith makes him think of the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s prophecy of a ‘final trial’ for the Church before the second coming of Christ.” https://bit.ly/2jJPXPL
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Our Lady Queen of the Rosary, pray that Jesus may have mercy on us sinners.” And Lady, please ask your Son to send us a good pope, one who will rebuild the Church out of the error, confusion, and destruction left in the wake of this pontificate.
@Pontifex Cardinal: Pope’s response to German intercommunion proposal is ‘incomprehensible’ https://bit.ly/2I7y7B3 THIS pope? Incomprehensible? Oh, say it isn’t so!
@Pontifex So many souls lost. Such ruin in the Church. Dear God, when will the horrors of this pontificate end?
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “We are Christians to the extent that we allow Jesus Christ to live in us.” Allowing Christ to live in us means obeying the Gospel and the true, traditional teachings of the Church, not the errors and confused ramblings of many contemporary prelates.
@Pontifex “The latest Gallup data (https://bit.ly/2IrV8Sw), for instance, shows American Mass attendance declining faster in the Francis era.” – Ross Douthout, The New York Times
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “The Ascension of the Risen Jesus contains the promise that we too will participate in the fullness of life with God.” But for this pope that may hold true only if he stops spreading error, confusion, and ruin in the Church, and stops insulting people.
@Pontifex So, we have a pope who insults faithful Catholics and believes Protestants should be allowed to receive Communion, in line with the bishops from the country with the wealthiest Catholic Church. https://bit.ly/2KTBqxx God, how did it come to this? How long, O Lord?
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “We begin building peace in our homes, streets, and workplaces when we craft communion and community.” And this pope can do that by not betraying Church teaching on intercommunion with Protestants, and by not obeying rich, error-prone German bishops.
@Pontifex If this conference https://bit.ly/2GapeEW really does take place, it will only be because this pope doesn’t know about it. As soon as he finds out, he’ll shut it down, the same way he shuts down all groups composed of faithful Catholics.
@Pontifex Response to this pope’s Tweet: this pope’s response to Jesus cannot be conditioned by error, confusion, anger, vengeance, and insults toward faithful Catholics. It must be a life-long “yes” to the truths of the Gospel and the truths and traditions of the Church.
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “I invite communications professionals to promote a journalism of peace….” And faithful Catholics invite men like Msgr. Dario Viganò to be honest about matters like the letter of Benedict XVI “praising” a book about this pope’s “theology.”
@Pontifex I was really impressed by this story (https://bit.ly/2Gb6OEe) of more “blessings” that The Great Religion of Peace has brought. In America we say that “the family that prays together stays together.” Now we have, “the family that slays together stays together.”
@Pontifex Bishops…are presiding over a demographic disaster unseen in the annals of Church history. https://bit.ly/2GfhIbU
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “There is no freedom greater than letting yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to lead you wherever he wishes.” That’s true, as long as you can be sure you’re not deceiving yourself and it really is the Holy Spirit who is leading you.
@Pontifex “Pope Francis is not the clearest of leaders. But what is perhaps even more disturbing in these contested matters is that we are often arguing as if the questions have never been treated earlier in the Church. They have.” – Robert Royal https://bit.ly/2InrKth
@Pontifex “We are in a time when we are not only increasing division among existing Catholics, but with the Fathers of the Church and the great doctors and saints, martyrs, and confessors of the ages.” – Robert Royal https://bit.ly/2InrKth
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “The Family is the hope of the future. Let us pray especially for families facing serious difficulties: may Our Lord assist them.” May this pope assist them by supporting the truth of the Gospel and by not spreading error and confusion in the Church.
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2018.05.29
Some recent Tweets:
@Pontifex Reply to a papal Tweet: God needs a pope who brings all his strength to supporting, defending, and preserving the Gospel and the teachings of the Church and past popes. God does not need a pope who spreads error, is power-hungry, and takes revenge on faithful Catholics.
@Pontifex A slick new movie about this pope and his horrific pontificate? Oh, the world is going to LOVE it! The world is going to love this pope more and more! And when the world loves you? What did Christ say about that?
@Pontifex Among this pope’s formidable talents is his genius in science and medicine. The world’s greatest researchers and physicians admit that they don’t know what causes same-sex attraction. Ah, but our great, divinely-inspired pope knows. God’s the cause, he says.
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “A Christian’s life should be invested in Jesus, and spent for others.” And a pope’s life should be invested in truth, the truth of the Gospel, Church teachings and the teachings of past popes, his life should be spent defending those teachings.
@Pontifex “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word” WOW! A blockbuster film! The whole WORLD is going to absolutely LOVE it – and love this pope too!
(Uh, what did St. John say? “If you were of the world, it would love you as its own” – John 15:18)
@Pontifex “The Holy Spirit changes hearts and situations, Pope says in Pentecost homily” (Vatican Press Office) Dear God, if only You would change this pope’s heart, this pope’s situation – or end the catastrophe of this pontificate, end the Church’s suffering under this pope.
@Pontifex So now, thanks to this pope (“A Man of His Word” – now a major motion picture) we have not just a magisterium but also a SHADOW magisterium (https://bit.ly/2KNyHF3)!! Oh boy! Is there no end to the wonders and miracles that this pope works?
@Pontifex Phil Lawler asks, “Are German Catholic bishops trying to export their model for failure?” https://bit.ly/2HGmy7v Oh, they’re not just TRYING, they’re SUCCEEDING beyond anyone’s wildest dreams! (https://bit.ly/2wYBitA)
@Pontifex Phil Lawler writes, “In ‘Lost Shepherd’ I remarked: ‘The confusion in Amoris Laetitia is not a bug; it is a feature.’ The same could be said of this entire pontificate.” https://bit.ly/2LlVrgn
@Pontifex A response to a papal Tweet: a pope that loves the truth of church teachings will be blessed. An arrogant pope who spreads error and confusion and who punishes critics will be condemned. He must defend and preserve what the Church and the Holy Spirit have always taught.
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “Today we are united in prayer with our Catholic brothers and sisters in China.” But Cardinal Joseph Zen called the coming China/Vatican pact a “suicide deal” and accused the Church of “selling out” the members of the oppressed Catholic underground.
@Pontifex We stand at one of the major turning points of history…Islamists want to bring back the subjugation of women, female genital mutilation, sex slavery, beheadings, and dhimmitude for non-believers. https://bit.ly/2s5PeNv Sounds absurd? Let’s wait and see.
@Pontifex “Today another prelate hails the reign of Christ in another atheist tyranny. Bishop Sorondo discovers ‘the moral leadership that others have abandoned’ in The People’s Republic of China. https://bit.ly/2IJL8VG
@Pontifex The pope wants to root out the sexual abuse of minors by clergy? (https://bit.ly/2knZm03) It might help if he also rooted out the doctrinal abuse by the clergy – and by himself.
@Pontifex This is an “it’s-so-good-you-practically-fall-off-your-chair” Vortex episode from ChurchMilitant.com. https://bit.ly/2J4eHAz
@Pontifex “Pope: ‘foolish lie’ to connect Islam with terrorism” (Vatican Insider) Only someone who has never read the Koran, who is unaware of 1400 years of Islamic history and Islamic attacks on Christianity could make such a patently ridiculous statement.
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Love of God and love of neighbour should be the two cornerstones of our lives.” For this pope, love of God, love of neighbour and love of the TRUTH of the Gospel and Church teaching should be the three cornerstones of his life.
@Pontifex “Pope confirms: seminaries should exclude homosexuals” (CNA) It looks like this pope is FINALLY starting to get it! FINALLY he does something right! So maybe there’s some small hope that this pontificate won’t be a complete disaster.
@Pontifex Do you suppose this pope ever makes a connection between the “hemorrhage” of vocations and his suppression of thriving religious groups like the Fraternity of the Holy Apostles in Belgium and the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate? https://bit.ly/2KVkZA5
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “The Gospel calls us to live outside our comfort zone, because anyone who follows Jesus, loves the poor and the lowly.” And this pope must live outside the comfort zone of his own whims and fantasies. He must be true to the Gospel and Church teachings.
@Pontifex “‘I was part of the problem‘ Pope Francis was quoted telling the Chile abuse victims.” “Your Holiness, no. You weren’t PART of the problem… you are the ENTIRE problem.” – Elizabeth Yore (https://bit.ly/2xi5YpU)
@Pontifex Response to papa; Tweet: We can be certain that wherever there is love, there is God, and where there is God, there are also the truths of the Gospel and Church teaching. May God send us a pope who understands that.
@Pontifex Reply to a papal Tweet: What lasts? What has value in life? What treasures don’t disappear? Definitely four: God and our neighbor and the truth of the Gospel and the truth of all the teachings of the Church, without the error and confusion that this pope has introduced.
@Pontifex “MGR LIVIO MELINA: CONSCIENCE AND TRUTH IN THE MAGISTERIUM OF CARDINAL CAFFARRA” (https://bit.ly/2H0RWbD) Too bad we don’t also have some correct teaching on conscience and truth from this current pope.
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “The Eucharist gives us the strength to produce the fruits of good works, and to live true Christian lives.” The Eucharist should give this pope the strength to teach the truth of the Gospel and the infallible Magisterium, not his whims and fantasies.
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Comment on an article at (https://bit.ly/2sgCm7w):
It’s not only Ireland that has elected to annihilate its future.
We’ve been here before, though.
Human societies and civilizations collapse and die and are eventually reborn and rebuilt.
I doubt that ours will be very different. Ancient Egyptian history comprises a period of 3,000 years, but that civilization today appears to be only a blip when we consider the past. One day, far in the future, millennia from now, our civilization will be regarded in the same way by our distant descendants.
Except that one element of our civilization will remain, in one form or another, until the end of time: the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church.
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2018.06.04
Regarding a Vortex episode (https://bit.ly/2kLwcrK) at ChurchMilitant.com:
The Church is in a very, very sad situation – in Ireland, in every country – and Michael describes that situation with great precision, with the precision of great faith.
I remember, though – and it’s a memory that brings me fear and hope – the words of Thomas Jefferson, chiseled in the stone of the Jefferson memorial in Washington:
“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”
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In response to a Facebook comment:
RIGHT!
——-In adult poverty,
——-in childhood poverty,
——-in youth homelessness,
——-in adult homelessness
——-in short life expectancy,
——-in poor health,
——-in high obesity levels,
——-in the number of children massacred in schools,
——-in general gun violence,
——-in the number of people in prison,
——-in the number of people addicted to drugs,
——-in wealth concentration among the top 1%,
WE’RE NUMBER ONE!
WE’RE NUMBER ONE!
——-(Or, well, okay,
—————among developed nations,
—————in most of these areas,
—————ALMOST number one!)
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2018.06.06
Some Tweets:
@Pontifex “It is not a paradigm shift of which we stand in need, but a conversion of the heart, so that our conscience is open to the truth and realises it in our acts.” – Mgr. Livio Melina, Rome Life Forum, 18 May 2018 (https://bit.ly/2H0RWbD)
@Pontifex “A flourishing order (the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate) was brought to the brink of annihilation based on rumors and unbelievable slander. Responsibility for this lies with Pope Francis.” And this pope worries about a lack of vocations? (https://bit.ly/2LKwP0T)
@Pontifex This pope Tweets: “When the Holy Spirit is present, something always happens. Where the Spirit blows, things never stand still.” True, but the Holy Spirit doesn’t bring chaos or confusion; He doesn’t wish that concubinarian bishops, like Bishop Ticona, become cardinals.
@Pontifex In this Vortex (https://bit.ly/2J5jNtp), Michael does more than carve eternal truths in the stone of prophetic statements. In this Vortex, he approaches the realm of sheer poetry, and this poetry magnifies the truth and makes it utterly unforgettable. Kudos to him.
@Pontifex “Our Sad Decline in Priestly Vocations: Most Priests will Retire in 2015-2025” https://bit.ly/2stq9LT Yeah, but this pope’s gotta suppress “rigid” TLM groups like the Fraternity of the Holy Apostles and the FFI. Better a “hemorrhage” of vocations and empty churches.
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “The Eucharist contains all the flavour of Jesus’ words and deeds, the taste of His Death and Resurrection, the fragrance of His Spirit.” Too bad many clerics don’t believe in the Real Presence anymore. And this pope? Dear God, help their unbelief.
@Pontifex “Reject worldly patterns of behavior, Pope preaches at weekday Mass” (Vatican News) Sure, like NEVER having “documentary” movies produced about yourself, which of course this pope would not DREAM of doing.
@Pontifex This poor old man, this poor pope. May God have mercy on him and forgive him for what he’s done to the Church and to so many souls who may be lost because of the horrors of his pontificate.
@Pontifex Oh yeah, I almost forgot: “now a major motion picture.” Sure, “a man of his word.” Is that a laugh or is that a laugh. “His word”? To whom? To what dark entity? Certainly not to God.
@Pontifex God would never ask a pope to give “his word” that to destroy two thriving “rigid” religious orders, that were attracting MANY priestly vocations. God would never expect such a pope to then complain of a “hemorrhage” of vocations. But a darker “spirit” would expect it.
@Pontifex If governments and social media are so concerned with stopping “hate speech,” you wonder why they continue to make the Koran available. There is no other “holy” book that expresses such hatred toward Jews and other “unbelievers.” No other with such incitement to murder.
@Pontifex “Chinese officials adopt 5-year plan to for ‘Sinicization’ of Catholic Church” (AsiaNews) And this pope is doubling down on his plan for “dialogue” with the Chinese government? Terrific. In the words of the immortal Sarah Palin: “Hey, how’s that workin’ out fer ya?”
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Love can recognize good things even in bad situations. Love keeps a tiny flame alight even in the darkest night.” Yes, even when we have a pontificate that has covered the Church with nearly impenetrable blackness.
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Seek the Lord in prayer: He is the one who has called you.” Many of us wonder if it is really the Lord who has called this pope, or the Dark Entity.
@Pontifex Europe is committing suicide – and is the Vatican an accomplice? https://bit.ly/2JahRjj
@Pontifex This pope is just fooling himself when it comes to Islam (https://bit.ly/2sxWXU5).
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “On this Feast of Corpus Christi, we need to remember that Jesus, the Bread of Life, is our strength and support on life’s journey.” For this pope, that’s true as long as he preserves the truth of the Gospel and Church teaching.
@Pontifex It’s so “modern,” but is it really such a good idea? https://bit.ly/2Jb7Qq7
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “The living presence of Christ within us is the light that guides our choices….” But if this pope chooses error and confusion, can it be the light of Christ guiding him, or is it perhaps the Great Deceiver’s darkness disguised as light?
@Pontifex A friend asked, “What kind of pope shuts down two religious groups with many vocations, and then complains because there is a “hemorrhage” of vocations? That doesn’t make sense.”
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “Lord, reawaken in us a sense of praise and gratitude for our Earth, and for everything you have created.” Lord, awaken in this pope a love of the Gospel and Church teaching. Make him understand he’s destroying vocations and harming the Church.
@Pontifex We must be careful. If someone doesn’t remember the Latin Mass, this video (https://bit.ly/2Jr4tux) may make them curious about it. If someone DOES remember the Latin Mass, this video may reawaken a terrible longing for it.
@Pontifex The pope Tweets: “Loving Christ…is an attitude of the heart that we demonstrate when we live as He wants us to.” A pope demonstrates it when he upholds the truths of the Gospel and Church teaching without error, heresy, or confusion. And when he controls his anger.
@Pontifex The Bergoglio shell game: https://bit.ly/2LoSlHI
@Pontifex “Why doesn’t this pope kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament?” (https://bit.ly/2xKRlvF) C’mon, gimme a break. For him, it’s just too much trouble, and it might indicate he actually believes in the Real Presence. Besides, he’d get no “humility credit” for it.
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2018.06.11
Tony, I know this is going to sound pretty stupid, but maybe God has answered your prayer by trying to tell you that being happy is not the purpose of life.
So, what is it? Well, many individuals have discovered that one pretty clear purpose is to make OTHER people happy.
Christ also gave us eight other examples of what happiness means. The word translated as “blessed” in the Gospel can also be translated as “happy,” so,
“Happy are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Happy are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
“Happy are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
“Happy are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
“Happy are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
“Happy are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
“Happy are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
“Happy are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Happy are you, when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
“Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”
Gospel of St. Matthew 5:3-10
But, as I said, I know all that sounds pretty stupid to a lot of people.
——
Dear Klaus,
I have to tell you this, because, as the Church in Germany plunges on toward irrelevance, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
And I ask, Dear God, how much more of this can the Church in this country tolerate, before it finally collapses? And, where do the clerics here get these “bright” ideas?
At the end of that funeral mass at St. Andreas today, as the mourners were leaving the church, there was a sudden blast of a trumpet solo (yes, a trumpet), and a singer burst forth with a full-throated rendition (in English) of an old Fred Astaire pop-song from the 1930’s, “Dancing Cheek to Cheek.”
And what does THAT song have to do with a funeral?
Well might you ask.
The first line of the song, which most of the mourners would have understood in English, is, “HEAVEN, I’m in HEAVEN!”
In Christo,
Robert
——
Dear Klaus
Fortunately, the mass itself was all right – for a Novus Ordo mass, anyway. It was only at the end with the “I’m in HEAVEN!” business that it went off the rails.
I would have left too, except that I go to daily mass, and there was no other mass I could go to today.
There are predictions that in the United States the Catholic Church will have all but disappeared within ten years, mainly because older Catholics are dying off, and there’s practically no one to replace them, except in those few, fortunate parishes where the Traditional Latin Mass is still celebrated, along with all the Church teaching that goes along with it – and the families raising their children as good, solid Catholics.
In Germany, though, ten years may be an optimistic number. After all, if there’s only “HEAVEN!”, and no purgatory or hell, why should anyone bother going to church on Sundays anymore?
Closed parishes, empty seminaries – it sure looks like the modernists have won, doesn’t it?
Except for the remnant that will remain. This remnant will ultimately celebrate the realization of Our Lady’s prophecy at Fatima: “In the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
In Christo,
Robert
——
Dear Klaus,
I’m sure it will be a good talk. His theology is very solid.
You know, when I go to the Novus Ordo mass on Sundays at St. Andreas – or when I go to ANY Novus Ordo mass now – I silently read the beginning of the Tridentine Mass in Latin while the choir is singing its non-Gregorian hymn. When I do that, I feel almost as if I were at a Petrus Bruderschaft mass at St. Dionysius, because when I’m at one of THOSE masses, I do the same thing: I read the beginning of the Tridentine Mass to myself with all of the distraction of having the choir singing some non-Gregorian hymn.
So, sadly, for me, whether it’s Sunday Mass at St. Andreas or Sunday Mass at St. Dionysius, there’s very little difference.
This afternoon, I was talking to one of my neighbors, and we were discussing the state of the modern world, and I said that at my age (77) I sometimes find it difficult to be too concerned about the modern world, because I have no way of knowing how much longer I will have to endure it. And later, it occurred to me that something similar is true with regard to the liturgy. Quite “soon,” if God judges that I’ve somehow merited heaven, I’ll be able to be present for the unutterably beautiful liturgy there, the heavenly liturgy, the beauty of which will, of course, surpass by far the finest Tridentine liturgy here on earth!
So I don’t feel too bad if I don’t – or can’t – go to mass at St. Dionysius when Father Fuisting insists on that awful non-Gregorian music during the masses there! Whether in the long term or the short term, I have something much better to look forward to!
In Christo,
Robert
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2018.06.13
Some Tweets:
@Pontifex It won’t be long now: (https://bit.ly/2JmAaBZ)
@Pontifex “Though I have written several articles about Pope Francis’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, I am repeatedly struck anew, as time goes on, by its inexorably destructive implications.” https://bit.ly/2sLd6ph
@Pontifex Bishop Jean-Pierre Delville of Liège said, “We must help Islam get rid of such manipulative and perverted interpretations, by promoting dialogue and friendship all the time.” Tell that to all the groups that have “dialogued” with Islam in the Middle East in 1400 years.
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “For those who are with Jesus, evil is just a provocation to love even more.” And for a pope who is with Jesus, evil is a provocation to take more care in avoiding error, confusion, heresy, and schism, and to take care to curb his anger.
@Pontifex Another example of this pope’s tendency toward unbridled anger and his desire to take revenge whenever he can: (https://bit.ly/2JiKfDJ) All faithful Catholics are begging God to end the Church’s suffering under this pope.
@Pontifex The pope of “mercy”? What joke! This pope takes revenge on a bishop in Argentina whom he regarded as a rival, a good bishop. Mother of God, when will this monstrosity of a pontificate end?
@Pontifex This pope’s “a man of his word”? Oh yes, especially if that word is “revenge.” He’ll even take out his enormous anger on a brother bishop in Argentina who “offended” him years ago. Is Christ in this pope’s heart, leading him? Satan is more likely.
@Pontifex Have mercy on us, dear God. Please either convert this pope and make him a good man, or, we beg you, end this awful pontificate.
@Pontifex Oh God, how long will You continue to punish Your Church with this pope? How long, O Lord, how long?
@Pontifex Oh God, how long will You punish us with leaders like Trump, Putin, and this pope with his horrific pontificate?
@Pontifex “The prayers, ritual, and music of the Latin Mass are perfect for making present again the reality of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, His infinite act of love…Religious vocations occur when the soul begins to see God as attractive.” https://bit.ly/2sS2IvM
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Let us ask the Lord to give us good priests: hardworking men, men of prayer, who are close to God’s people.” And let’s ask God to give us a good pope, a merciful pope, one who will not express his anger and take revenge on men like Archbishop Aguer.
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Mary is exactly what God wants His Church to be: a loving and humble Mother, poor in possessions but rich in love.” And that’s what God wants this pope to be: rich in love, not rich in anger, vengeance, error, confusion, and heresy.
@Pontifex The A – Z list of concerns with Pope Francis https://bit.ly/2jYSB4y
@Pontifex A man of his word? Really? At least one critic says that there should be a movie titled “Jorge Bergoglio: Don’t Trust Him An Inch.” https://bit.ly/2HyJlNO
@Pontifex The German bishops are unhappy because this pope rejected their wish to have Protestants receive the Eucharist? They needn’t worry. This pope will change his mind tomorrow. He always does. His rejection was just a temporary sop to his “rigid” critics. It won’t last.
@Pontifex The pope tweets: “Whatever we do, let us sustain the voice of the Holy Spirit through practical good deeds and actions.” For the love of God, whatever this pope does, may he sustain the voice of the Holy Spirit by avoiding error, confusion, anger, vengeance, and heresy.
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “The Holy Spirit gives us the strength we need to achieve holiness in our everyday lives.” But will this pope use that strength, or will he waste it on error and confusion, on expressing his anger, and on taking revenge on men like Archbishop Aguer?
Sometimes – and this is certainly one of those times – the clarity, the truth, and the sheer rightness of what Michael says in these Vortex episodes is stunning, absolutely stunning. https://bit.ly/2t0tW3G
@Pontifex This pope tweets: “Children must be able to play, study and grow in a peaceful environment. Woe to anyone who stifles their joyful impulse to hope!” And woe to any pope who supports those who practice contraception or – God help us – abortion.
@Pontifex Something from today’s Gospel that this pope might want to remember: “Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”
@Pontifex Something for this pope to keep in mind: “I have a quarrel with the prophets who lead my people astray with their lies and their pretensions.” – From today’s Office of Readings on the Feast of St. Antony of Padua.
@Pontifex “We cannot close our eyes to the disaster, the devastation and the schism that the modern promoters of a living liturgy caused by remodeling the Church’s liturgy according to their ideas.” – Cardinal Robert Sarah https://bit.ly/2y77fQZ
@Pontifex This pope tweets, “Never tire of encountering Jesus in prayer, in listening to the Word of God, and in receiving the Eucharist.” If you’re pope, never tire of stopping the spread of error, confusion, heresy. Never stop trying to control your anger or thirst for revenge.
@Pontifex Here’s an article this pope might be interested in: “The Benefits of Learning to Control Our Anger” https://bit.ly/2LNaPSo
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2018.06.16
Dear Klaus,
I just read something that made me think of our discussion this afternoon, about the present state of America. The following paragraph is from a homily (https://bit.ly/2JJy976) by a very gifted and intelligent priest from New York, Fr. George Rutler (boldface print is mine):
“Suicide rates in our country in all age groups have climbed nearly 30% in the last generation. Among women between ages 45 and 64, who were promised sexual and social liberation, suicides have increased 60% in the last twenty years. While not wanting to lapse into the logical fallacy of “cum hoc ergo propter hoc” (a coincidence must be a consequence), these figures almost exactly match the increased number of Americans who say they have no faith or belong to no religion.”
I heard another shocking statistic in a CNN interview this afternoon with Professor Philip G. Alston the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. Alston claimed that life expectancy at birth in CHINA today is HIGHER than in the United States I haven’t found any information about that in the internet, where the most recent information is from 2016 (when the comparable figures were already very close), but Alston may have access to more recent statistics.
Perhaps I mentioned this to you before, but again and again I keep thinking of something Thomas Jefferson once wrote: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever.” (https://bit.ly/2eMBe2C).
In Christo,
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2018.06.17
Abbot Philip writes what is true, that “the present world tells us that God is not necessary, is only a foolish thought of humans, and that life is much better without God.” https://bit.ly/2LYl0Uh
At the same time, Father George Rutler in a recent homily (also appearing on this blog at https://bit.ly/2JJy976) is quoted as saying, “Suicide rates in our country in all age groups have climbed nearly 30% in the last generation. Among women between ages 45 and 64, who were promised sexual and social liberation, suicides have increased 60% in the last twenty years….These figures almost exactly match the increased number of Americans who say they have no faith or belong to no religion.”
Sexual and social liberation? No faith and no religion?
And a dramatic increase in suicides.
Father Rutler accurately points out that we cannot ASSUME there’s a connection.
And yet as Abbot Philip states, “Without God, all becomes useless and without meaning.”
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2018.06.20
Some Tweets:
@Pontifex This pope tweets about the World Cup in Moscow: “a positive opportunity for encounter and fellowship.” And Putin’s crimes – his seizure of Crimea, shooting down of the Dutch airliner, the murder of journalists, the poisoning of the Skrypals? From this pope – silence.
@Pontifex “A Chinese dissident and author who was imprisoned by Chinese Communists for four years says Pope Francis is the worst pope in history. He warned the Catholic Church about making a ‘deal with the devil’ as regards its negotiations with Beijing.” https://bit.ly/2ybx6aF
@Pontifex “A New York Times columnist and one of America’s leading Catholic commentators said that it is ‘legitimate’ for Catholics to vocally raise concerns over Pope Francis’ teaching.” https://bit.ly/2HNDBQv
@Pontifex “Pope: Mediocrity Is the Biggest Threat Young People Face” https://bit.ly/2JORiR7 It’s also the biggest threat this pope faces – aside from his tendency toward error, confusion, anger, and revenge.
@Pontifex Dear God in heaven, send us a good pope. Please.
@Pontifex Dear God in heaven, send us a good pope, please, one who does not spread error, confusion, and heresy, one who is faithful to the Gospel and Church teaching, one who does not yield to anger, revenge, and the desire for power, one who is kind to others, like Christ is.
@Pontifex An excellent Vortex, chiseled in the stone of TRUTH, as always. One of the best sentences includes the prediction of what will happen to bishops who speak out. https://bit.ly/2la6bTd
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Love is always at the service of others. Because love is seen in actions, not words.” In a pope, the action of love is seen in the support he gives to the Truth and his avoidance of error, confusion, heresy, anger, insults, and vengeance.
@Pontifex “The dispute between the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Peoria about Bishop Sheen has left questions only the Vatican can resolve.” (National Catholic Register) But this pope has no interest in seeing a “rigid” bishop beatified, so he will do nothing.
@Pontifex The current pope tweets, “Invite the Holy Spirit to be part of your activities.” We all wish this pope would do that. Then he might spread less error and confusion and cause less destruction in the Church. He might also be able to control his anger better.
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Let us share the journey of refugees and migrants with concrete gestures of solidarity.” Fine, but let us also be aware that most of them adhere to The Great Religion of Peace, which is not a religion at all, but a dangerous political ideology.
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Let us try to express the joy of God’s Kingdom in every way possible!” O God, let this current pope express the joy of Your Kingdom by correcting his errors and confusion, and by showing his faith in the Gospel and the teachings of the Church.
@Pontifex O God, we beg you, send us a good pope, one who upholds the Gospel and Church teaching, one who does not spread error, confusion, and heresy. Send us a good pope, O God, not someone like the current pope.
@Pontifex O God, end Your Church’s suffering, send us a good pope, one who does not fill the Church with clerics who support homosexuals and their agenda.
@Pontifex O God, help this current pope and the homosexual clerics who fill half the Vatican and the rest of the Church, clerics like James Martin, S.J. – help them all to understand that sodomy is a grave sin.
@Pontifex Mother of God, help this current pope and all his homosexual clerics to understand that homosexual actions are not “differently ordered,”
but intrinsically DISORDERED and gravely sinful. Help them to see the truth.
@Pontifex O God, send us a good pope, one who will end the scourge of homosexuality among the clergy, especially in places like the Archdiocese of New York. This current pope is unable to do that.
@Pontifex “Pope reflects on Kingdom of God, parable of mustard seed” (Vatican Press Office) The current mustard seed has been planted in the Church by faithful, traditional Catholics, and it will grow. All Catholics will one day dwell in it again, long after this pontificate.
@Pontifex “Why does the pope – and Cardinal Schönborn – ignore the scandal surrounding Bishop Alois Schwarz and the women in his life? Is this how the Catholic faith will regain her strength?” https://bit.ly/2JOk4p0 Maybe we should be grateful Bishop Schwarz doesn’t like boys.
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Choosing to follow Christ helps build a more just, more friendly, more humane society, closer to the heart of God.” For a pope, it also helps to build a Church free of error, confusion, heresy, free of anger and revenge against critics.
@Pontifex The Francis effect? Hey guys…um…it ain’t workin’. https://bit.ly/2tl47eO Maybe it’s time to try something else?
@Pontifex This current pope tries to be so friendly and smiling; he has a great movie produced about himself. He probably wonders why it isn’t working, why people don’t RESPOND! It’s because, in the end, people see through it all, they see his real self – angry, hungry for power.
@Pontifex “A Man of His Word”? You bet! When this current pope gives his word to the modernists, he KEEPS it! And by the way, he probably LOVED watching that movie about himself. While the world yawned.
@Pontifex The “Francis Effect”? The Francis Effect statistics (https://bit.ly/2tbbwy6 ) have hardly moved since the current pope took office. Maybe the “Francis Effect” is just modernist claptrap compared to the eternal truths of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church.
@Pontifex This current pope says, “If you want to destroy institutions or people, you start by speaking ill of them.” (https://bit.ly/2K2ZDno) Yes, you start with: “rigid Christians, modern gnostics, slaves of superficiality, museum mummies, moralistic quibblers, elitists, etc.”
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2018.06.26
Some Tweets:
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Saving the life of someone fleeing war and poverty is an act of humanity.” Yes, but allowing vast numbers of unattached, military-age men into your country and being blind to the core values of “The Great Religion of Peace” are reckless acts.
@Pontifex This guy is the real deal. (https://bit.ly/2lkci7k) Even this current pope of ours might learn something from what he has to say.
@Pontifex When will this current pope and his homosexual colleagues in the Vatican PR office – and elsewhere in the Vatican – understand that no matter how much James Martin, SJ, disguises the truth, sodomy will always be one of the four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance?
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Praying together, walking together, working together: this is the way that leads to Christian unity.” True, unless you have German bishops who want to follow their own separate beliefs and a pope who spreads error, confusion, and heresy.
@Pontifex “No matter how many soldiers we send to fight in the Middle-East, the main battle in the clash of civilizations is being waged in our classrooms.” https://bit.ly/2K7V1ZS But our leaders, religious and secular, are concerned with more “important” issues, aren’t they?
@Pontifex “Dubia were hand-delivered to Pontiff, Cardinal Burke confirms” (LifeSite News) Oh, but surely this current pope wouldn’t LIE, would he? He obviously just “forgot,” in all of the error and confusion and hunger for power that characterizes this pontificate.
@Pontifex “Worldwide survey finds increased restrictions on religion (Pew Forum) The countries with the tightest restraints on religion are found primarily in the Middle East, with predominantly Muslim nations.” Oh, but we can just “dialogue,” can’t we?
@Pontifex This current pope tweets: “Love for others needs to become the constant factor of our lives.” Yes, and also, for this current pope, constant factors should include: no more error, confusion, lying, anger, desire for revenge, or hunger for power.
@Pontifex “Pope Francis: ‘Only’ true family is that of a man and a woman” https://bit.ly/2MhFYgZ Fine. That’s what he thinks today. Tomorrow he may think differently. Like his hero Juan Peron, this pope can say one thing to one group and the opposite to another group.
@Pontifex “Pope Francis: ‘Only’ true family is that of a man and a woman” https://bit.ly/2MhFYgZ Wait until after the Youth Synod this fall and see if he’s still saying that.
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Let us ask our Lord to help us understand that love is service, love means taking care of others.” Lord, help the current pope to understand that for him love means being free of error, confusion, heresy, insults, anger, the desire for revenge.
@Pontifex “When it comes to Pope Francis, you cannot trust what he says. There’s more and more evidence of that all the time….Atomize and deconstruct the universal faith, one bishop at a time.” https://bit.ly/2MjPgsG
@Pontifex A friend commented, “Don’t you love that movie title? ‘Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.’ Riiiiiight. One word today, the opposite word tomorrow, another word the next day. I mean, it’s almost like having Juan Peron as pope!”
@Pontifex Dear God, send us a good pope.
@Pontifex Dear God, send us a pope will tell the truth about everything, even about things like receiving the Dubia. Does anyone really believe what he said about that?
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Christians have to humble themselves.” Christians, yes, This current pope, no. He can go on being as arrogant, angry, vengeful, error-filled, confusing, and heretical as he was in Buenos Aires. No need for HIM to be humble.
@Pontifex So now this current pope says any bishop is permitted to allow intercommunion in his own diocese. Dear God, send us a pope who will promote Church unity and Church teaching, not another clown.
@Pontifex “I tried to warn everyone. You cannot trust what Pope Francis says. On the matter of intercommunion, Catholics wanted to believe the best. ‘Hey look! He’s orthodox!’ Now, we see what it was. A rhetorical head fake. Another papal shell game.” https://bit.ly/2lvwweH
@Pontifex Oh God, it is Your will that the Church should suffer the depredations of this current pope, who is to be greatly pitied, not condemned. But God, we are only human, and we beg You to end the Church’s suffering soon. Send us a good pope and good bishops.
@Pontifex Dear God, end the madness of this poor pope that we have now.
@Pontifex God, we beg You: end the madness of what this poor pope is doing to your Church.
@Pontifex The current pope claims he didn’t know about the five Dubia until he read about them in the newspaper. It’s bad enough for anyone to tell a lie like that, but it’s even worse that he thinks we’re all stupid enough to BELIEVE it!
@Pontifex The current pope tweets: “Faith in Jesus Christ frees us from sin, sadness, emptiness, isolation.” Perhaps if this pope had faith, Jesus Christ would free even him from his sin, sadness, emptiness, and isolation, and from error, confusion, anger, and a hunger for power.
@Pontifex “Pope Francis Says He Heard of the Dubia Only Via Newspapers” https://bit.ly/2ly657V Gimme a break.
@Pontifex “We are full of homosexuals.” – Pope Francis (https://bit.ly/2Kt8QWx) Is it possible that he’s FINALLY catching on?
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2018.06.27
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
I know someone who was given an inexpensive cardboard copy of the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help over sixty years ago, when he was still a boy. He considers it remarkable that the icon is still with him, after going through school and university, into the army, travelling once around the world, living and working in countries in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, during the last fifty years of his life.
He never planned for the icon never to leave him him, and its continued – apparently accidental – presence in his life he considers a kind of wonder, a sort of miracle. He has lost many things over the years, many books, many articles of clothing, many papers, but not the icon. He is convinced that the only reason he survived those fifty years is because Our Lady stayed with him and never stopped looking after him.