Oy....More Trouble in the Church!

What can Pope Francis be thinking? Do we really need to heat up the battle between those devoted to the ancient Mass and those who prefer the Novus Ordo? Why should those folks who want the Mass the martyrs died for always be treated like the ugly step children? I rarely attend the Tridentine (TLM) form, but I do not understand the pounding those who do are subjected to. Please Lord, have mercy on us. Pope Benedict said the TLM was never abrogated and that priests don't need permission to say it. Was he wrong? Don't we have enough issues to fight without bringing the battle into the Church? More prayers please.

Pope Francis Restricts Traditional Mass among Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate

For the First Time Francis Contradicts Benedict

Francis Contradicts Benedict?

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Wish We Could Get Bishops to Act Like Men!

The bishops don't seem to mind acting like kids, which, frankly, I don't mind. The adults at our family retreats  (even the men and the priests) had a great time doing the motions to His Banner Over Me is Love. What I DO mind is having the laity having NO luck getting most bishops to act like men and discipline pro-abortion politicians..... It's a lot easier to act like kindergartners playing ring around the rosy which is NOT the duty of a bishop than to "teach, govern, and sanctify" which IS.

Just sayin'.

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Faith Begins at Home and Grandparents Play an Important Part

And grandparents play a big role!

From Catholic News Agency:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jul 26, 2013 / 09:09 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Marking the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, during his Angelus address today Pope Francis said the transmission of faith takes places first and foremost in the home and among families. 

“Saints Joachim and Anne were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the Son of God in her womb and who gave him to the world, to us,” Pope Francis told World Youth Day pilgrims on July 26. 

“How precious is the family as the privileged place for transmitting the faith!”  Read more... 

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Pope Francis Talks to Children

A few days ago, Pope Francis met with a group of children. He pitched his 5-page prepared speech, gave a brief summary, and then answered questions. One was on politics. Now, frankly, I hate politics, but I'm involved because if Christians aren't who does that leave? I'm not super involved, but I do more than vote. I actively support pro-life candidates. I used to be a precinct chairman, but I don't much walk the precincts these days. I write letters to the editor, collect signatures to get the good guys on the ballot, etc. I was interested to read what Pope Francis' said to the children and their parents about politics:

Getting involved in politics is a Christian duty. We Christians cannot be like Pilate and wash our hands clean of things. We need to get involved in politics because it’s one of the highest expressions of charity. It takes the common into consideration. Lay Christians must work in politics. That’s no easy task you might say. But it isn’t an easy task becoming a priest either! Politics is dirty but the reason it has become dirty is that Christians didn’t get deeply enough involved in the evangelical spirit. It’s easy to find excuses for this… but what do I do? Working for the common good is a Christian duty.

He had a lot of other great things to say as well which you can read about here.

The pope has asked us to pray three Hail Marys a day for him. Will you say yes? The three Hail Mary's devotion is also a practice that can inoculate souls against mortal sin. If you stay close to the Mother of God, you will be close to Jesus. She is so entwined with her Son that you cannot love one without loving the other.

Mary, Mother of our Savior, pray for us and for our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

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Pope Francis and the Eucharistic Miracle

Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Over the millenia the Church has documented many Eucharistic miracles. But the one described below is particularly significant because our current Holy Father Pope Francis oversaw the investigation himself. This miracle converted the cardiologist who examined the heart tissue and made the report. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine. 

Pope Francis A Witness To A Eucharistic Miracle!

[reprinted from The Catholic Eternal Truth blog]



In 1996 in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, Argentina, when the present Pope Francis was Auxiliary Bishop under Cardinal Quarracino, an amazing Eucharistic miracle took place. He himself had it photographed and investigated and the results are astonishing. At seven o’clock in the evening on August 18, 1996, Fr. Alejandro Pezet was saying Holy Mass at a Catholic church in the commercial center of Buenos Aires. As he was finishing distributing Holy Communion, a woman came up to tell him that she had found a discarded host on a candle holder at the back of the church. On going to the spot indicated, Fr. Alejandro saw the defiled Host. Since he was unable to consume it, he placed it in a container of water and put it away in the tabernacle of the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

On Monday, August 26, upon opening the tabernacle, he saw to his amazement that the Host had turned into a bloody substance. He informed Bishop Jorge Bergoglio(Now Pope Francis, Auxillary Bishop that time), who gave instructions that the Host be professionally photographed. The photos were taken on September 6. They clearly show that the Host, which had become a fragment of bloodied flesh, had grown significantly in size. For several years the Host remained in the tabernacle, the whole affair being kept a strict secret. Since the Host suffered no visible decomposition, Cardinal Bergoglio(Who became Archbishop by that time) decided to have it scientifically analyzed.

On October 5, 1999, in the presence of the Cardinal’s representatives, Dr. Castanon took a sample of the bloody fragment and sent it to New York for analysis. Since he did not wish to prejudice the study, he purposely did not inform the team of scientists of its provenance(the source of sample was kept secret to the scientists). One of these scientists was Dr. Frederic Zugiba, the well-known cardiologist and forensic pathologist. He determined that the analyzed substance was real flesh and blood containing human DNA. Zugiba testified that, “the analyzed material is a fragment of the heart muscle found in the wall of the left ventricle close to the valves. This muscle is responsible for the contraction of the heart. It should be borne in mind that the left cardiac ventricle pumps blood to all parts of the body. The heart muscle is in an inflammatory condition and contains a large number of white blood cells. This indicates that the heart was alive at the time the sample was taken. It is my contention that the heart was alive, since white blood cells die outside a living organism. They require a living organism to sustain them. Thus, their presence indicates that the heart was alive when the sample was taken. What is more, these white blood cells had penetrated the tissue, which further indicates that the heart had been under severe stress, as if the owner had been beaten severely about the chest.”

Two Australians, journalist Mike Willesee and lawyer Ron Tesoriero, witnessed these tests. Knowing where sample had come from, they were dumbfounded by Dr. Zugiba’s testimony. Mike Willesee asked the scientist how long the white blood cells would have remained alive if they had come from a piece of human tissue, which had been kept in water. They would have ceased to exist in a matter of minutes, Dr. Zugiba replied. The journalist then told the doctor that the source of the sample had first been kept in ordinary water for a month and then for another three years in a container of distilled water; only then had the sample been taken for analysis. Dr. Zugiba’s was at a loss to account for this fact. There was no way of explaining it scientifically, he stated. Also, Dr. Zugibe passionately asked, “You have to explain one thing to me, if this sample came from a person who was dead, then how could it be that as I was examining it the cells of the sample were moving and beating? If this heart comes from someone who died in 1996, how can it still be alive?

Then did Mike Willesee inform Dr. Zugiba that the analyzed sample came from a consecrated Host (white, unleavened bread) that had mysteriously turned into bloody human flesh. Amazed by this information, Dr. Zugiba replied, “How and why a consecrated Host would change its character and become living human flesh and blood will remain an inexplicable mystery to science—a mystery totally beyond her competence.”

Then Doctor Ricardo Castanon Gomez arranged to have the lab reports from the Buenos Aires miracle compared to the lab reports from the Lanciano miracle, again without revealing the origin of the test samples. The experts making the comparison concluded that the two lab reports must have originated from test samples obtained from the same person. They further reported that both samples revealed an “AB” positive blood type. They are all characteristic of a man who was born and lived in the Middle East region.

Only faith in the extraordinary action of a God provides the reasonable answer—faith in a God, who wants to make us aware that He is truly present in the mystery of the Eucharist. The Eucharistic miracle in Buenos Aires is an extraordinary sign attested to by science. Through it Jesus desires to arouse in us a lively faith in His real presence in the Eucharist. He reminds us that His presence is real, and not symbolic. Only with the eyes of faith do we see Him under appearance of the consecrated bread and wine. We do not see Him with our bodily eyes, since He is present in His glorified humanity. In the Eucharist Jesus sees and loves us and desires to save us. (Archbishop Bergoglio became a Cardinal in 2001, this miracle was published after many researches, by that time he became a Cardinal, that's why he is addressed as cardinal in this post) Also watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APz1v8oz1ms where Dr.Castanon, Atheist turned Catholic explains this miracle!

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A Walk Down Memory Lane: The Golden Years at St. Louis in Alexandria

Lately I've had a few visitors here who claim to know me from my former parish, St. Louis in Alexandria. How many memories they have stirred up! St. Louis is engraved on my heart.

My husband and I worshiped there for about 28 years. We raised our children a mile from the church, sent all our children to the parish school for at least a time and the three oldest graduated from eighth grade there. We were active in the PTO for years and I was one of the "hot dog and playground ladies" for more seasons than I can remember. Our children received all their sacraments there and I even taught fourth grade for a year before I began homeschooling the two youngest. I served as the pro-life chairman for six or seven years and Larry and I opened the church for Monday night novena. We also prayed at the Poor Clare Monastery within our parish boundaries and I often went there for morning Mass.

We lived in a dead-ended neighborhood three houses from the entrance to the community pool. Our two oldest girls loved the swim team and participated until they aged out at 18, and all five kids played community soccer. How many weekends we went from game to game cheering them on as they graduated from the "herd formation" to a real understanding of the game.

We had many favorite spots. Many times we stood at the window outside Krispy Kreme and watched the donuts as they rode up and down the racks before falling into the oil "river," passed through the flipper, then reached the conveyor belt that took them under the icing falls and up the ramp to the employee who boxed them. How we loved to see that "hot doughnuts" sign lit up. During the last few years we were there I often took our oldest grandchild to Mass with the whispered admonition, "If you are doughnut good we'll go to Krispy Kreme." What a wonderful training ground that was for a little one! She loved to sit in the front pew, but if she was "distracting" to other worshipers we moved back the next Mass and then worked our way back to the front. I always rewarded her with lighting a candle, but Krispy Kreme was saved for those special days. And there were man sitting at the counter with hot chocolate and a hot doughnut.

Then there was Huntley Meadows, the nature center nearby with a boardwalk through the wetlands where beavers built dams and lodges, the redwinged blackbirds perched on the cattails, ducks and turtles swam through the pond, and the great blue heron feasted on fish and frogs. My youngest and I spent several wonderful homeschooling years running the Nature Detectives program for pre-schoolers which led to one of our creepier experiences, with a "pet" corn snake. How I hated feeding time with those poor little "pinkies."

 Leaving St. Louis was one of the hardest things we ever did and the parish still holds a special place in our hearts. Thinking of the parish and all the dear ones we left behind reminds me of the song in the round. "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other is gold." Some of those golden friends are gone now, but I continue to depend on them to pray for me.

I have to confess that my anonymous St. Louis acquaintances posting here are not admirers by any stretch of the imagination. It's a humbling reminder that no matter how hard we struggle to do God's will,  we cannot please everyone and some will remember us with hostility and even animosity. It's certainly painful, but an opportunity to unite little sufferings to Christ on the cross, a sort of crucifixion by thumbtack as my sister often says.

But even though painful memories weave like black threads among the vibrant colors of a tapestry, I would not trade my years at St. Louis for anything. I still pray for the many pastors and associates who gave us Christ's Body and Blood and served us as spiritual fathers -- yes, both the faithful priests and the unfaithful. I remember with gratitude the school principals and teachers who helped form our children and the long list of good friends: my Cursillo group reunions, the pro-life committee, the school volunteers and office staff,  my CCD classes, the other home schooling parents. Those wonderful years at St. Louis were a little microcosm of life where our family learned so much.

May all the dear ones still there and those who have moved on be blessed. They truly are golden!

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A Modern Martyr: Soon to be Beatified Odoardo Focherini

Church to Beatify Father of Seven

What an inspiration! This father of seven died at 37 in a Nazi concentration camp. He teaches us that some things are worth dying for, especially love of neighbor. He is credited with saving 100 Jews from the Nazi killing machine. He makes me think of all the pro-lifers trying to save babies from the Planned Parenthood killing machine -- especially the sidewalk warriors.

Odoardo, please pray for us.

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Catholic Scouts of St. George Will Be a Reality

If you want to see the progress being made on establishing the Catholic Scouts of St. George visit Taylor Marshall's website.

They've already tentatively picked a logo and a uniform shirt. They are busy working on a manual and they have nearly two thousand folks involved with the group including over 200 Eagle Scouts. But what I liked best reading about the vision was this lovely paragraph:

Please keep praying for the Scouts of Saint George. Just keep imagining the sight of forty boys sitting around the campfire praying the Rosary and singing Marian hymns. We will build this with God's grace.

As The Christophers say, "It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. Light a prayer candle for  the Catholic Scouts of St. George and remember them with Masses and rosaries. They hope to have hundreds of charter groups by September. Do you belong to a troop in a Catholic parish that might move out en masse?  Wouldn't that be lovely?

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Feast of Corpus Christi: "Unless you do eat the flesh of the Son of Man...

...and drink his blood, you have no life within you." John 6:53

What a great day to read and meditate on the gospel of St. John, chapter 6. Anyone who reads this chapter with prayerful attention can never again talk about he Eucharist as a "symbol." Jesus makes it very clear that He is talking about the bread of the Eucharist becoming His REAL flesh and blood. "For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink."

Some people accuse Catholics of cannibalism, but cannibals eat their own species and the flesh and blood they eat and drink becomes part of their bodies.

It is not so with the Eucharist.

At the direction of God Himself, we eat the Body and Blood of Christ. But unlike regular food which becomes part of our bodies, the Eucharist makes us part of His Body. The "Body of Christ," as the people of God, is never more graphically illustrated than at Mass after Communion. All of those partaking of the Eucharist are one in Christ's body. Our hearts beat as one and we worship as one in Christ. Which is why our Sunday obligation is so important. We cannot be "one body" in the Church if we do not become one in Christ through the unity of the Eucharist. Read about the history of the Feast of Corpus Christi here.

Anima ChristiSoul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Chirst, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within thy wounds hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from thee.
From the malicious enemy defend me.
In the hour of my death call me and bid me come unto thee,

That with thy saints I may praise thee forever and ever.

 Amen.

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And the Holy Spirit Descended in the Form of a Dove

This lovely photo was taken on Wednesday May 15th, a few days before Pentecost Sunday at the Wednesday audience. Some pilgrims presented the pope with a cage holding two doves. He released the first one. The second got its wings caught in the bars of the cage, and sat for a few moments on the pope's hand before flying away. I believe these are homing pigeons. They are often released at events like weddings and funerals. They return to their home coop.
But what a lovely gesture just a few days before Pentecost Sunday. And how happy Pope Francis looks as he releases the bird. He does have about him the aura of a joyful man. And look at the two men behind him. Joy is contagious. Smile a lot today. It will be a gift to everyone you meet! Rejoice in the Lord always.

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Catholic Scouts of St. George: A Brilliant Idea

It's time for Catholics to exit the Boy Scouts. Bringing in homosexual boys (i.e., adolescents brainwashed into the "gay" mindset) is just the preliminary step to the gay takeover of scouting at all levels. After all, what possible objection can the national board have to making a graduating homosexual eagle scout a troop leader? It's a no-brainer. The first home-run is the game winner! And they had all the bases loaded when they smashed it in. That the battle isn't over was illustrated clearly in a May 23rd article in the New York Times which began, "For Carol Clayton, the battle over gays in the Boy Scouts did not end on Thursday. Until gay members can serve as troop leaders — not only as scouts — she sees a human rights violation."

I have to give the cultural termites credit.
They know how to frame an issue...they are very patient...just like the Gramsci Communists who realized violent revolution was much less likely to succeed in the long run than changing a culture from within, hence the long, slow march through the churches, the schools, government at all levels, the courts, the entertainment industry, non-profits, the media, political and economic think tanks, etc. Fr. Enrique Rueda described the same inexorable infiltration of these institutions in his 1982 book, The Homosexual Network: Private Lives and Public Policy. Fr. Rueda made it clear his book outlining the homosexual network's success in transforming the culture was simply describing the "way things are." He drew few conclusions about the information he gathered, offering mostly observations, with a notable exception. "The conclusion that the homosexual movement is a subset of the spectrum of American liberal movements," he said,  "is inescapable." It began with framing a particular perverted behavior as a "civil right" comparing it to slavery -- as if choosing perverted behavior is the same as an unchanging physical characteristic. It's a lie that caught on.

Facing reality is essential to making decisions and the reality is that the Boy Scouts, by accepting gay youngsters, have joined the homosexual's bloodless revolution. The inexorable march to depravity in the scouts is ensured. Young scouts will be taught that they must be "tolerant" and "accepting," that gay is good, just an "alternative lifestyle" and anyone who thinks differently is a heartless, homophobic bigot.

Every ism from Naziism, to Communism, to feminism must capture the hearts, minds, and souls of the young to succeed. That's what taking over the scouts is all about. Parents who truly love their children need to recognize that the Boy Scouts have joined the ranks of the enemy. The only response is to flee, not out of fear of those who suffer from same-sex attraction, they are to be pitied and prayed for, but fear of hell fire. The Church has always taught us to avoid the near occasions of sin and to avoid bad companions. Those who encourage or engage in deviant behavior (Does anyone really believe this is about chaste and virginal behavior?) are certainly not appropriate companions for those striving to live according to God's laws.

Which brings me to Taylor Marshall's proposal for a new Catholic scouting movement, the Catholic Scouts of St. George. It is a brilliant idea with the possibility of Catholic troops leaving Boy Scouts en masse and setting up their own separate troops in the heart of the Church, troops that encourage boys to grow into holy, men who love the faith and love their families. Visit Marshall's website pages here and here that describe his initiative and join his list to help spread this idea and bring it to fruition.

Moral deviance is a dead end whatever form it takes. Homosexual acts are particularly dead since they not only cannot give life, but give rise to deadly diseases. But most of all, they kill the soul. As St. John warns there is such a thing as deadly sin,  and deadly sin is the last thing parents should want to encourage in their young boys. Flee the Boy Scouts! They will corrupt your boys as surely as wallowing in a pile of manure!

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Pope Francis' Angelus Message on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

From Catholic News Agency:

"The light of Easter and Pentecost have renewed in us each year the joy and wonder of faith that recognizes that God is not something vague, abstract, but has a name: ‘God is love,’” the Pope said May 26, before reciting the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square. 

And this love “is not sentimental, emotional, but the love of the Father who is the source of all life, the love of the Son who died on the cross and rose, the love of the Spirit who renews man and the world,” he stated. 

Pope Francis then reflected on how the Trinity “is not the product of human reasoning, it is the face which God himself revealed, not from the top of a throne, but walking with humanity in the history of the people of Israel, and above all in Jesus of Nazareth. 

“Jesus is the Son who made us know the merciful Father and brought to the world his ‘fire,’ the Holy Spirit,” he said. 

On today’s feast, he explained, “we praise God not for a particular mystery, but for himself, ‘for his glory is immense,’ as the liturgical hymn says. We praise him and thank him because he is love, and for how he calls us to enter the embrace of his communion, which is eternal life.”

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Two Thumbs Up to Fr. Richard Perozich Who's Boycotting Boy Scouts!

And may many other priests follow his example!

Priest 'boycotting' Boy Scouts; Cardinal Raymond Burke on 'Homosexuality and the Catholic Church'

Parents who endorse their children's sinful behavior out of a confused sense of love, may be setting them on the road to hell. I wonder, would a parent with a child who habitually shoplifted approve that lifestyle? What if the child were addicted to drugs. Would the parent feed the habit and buy clean needles? Would they support a child who molested children?

 Parents who approve of their children's sins because they "love" them, do not understand love. The first duty of parents toward their children is to help them get to heaven. Approving of their mortal sins is the last thing a loving parent should do. If the child dies in the state of mortal sin, he or she WILL GO TO HELL. Mortal sin destroys the relationship with God. Is the parents' desire to be approved by their children so strong they will sacrifice their children's souls to it?

Nobody has to sever relations with their children who are making bad choices, but parents are guilty of serious sin themselves when they endorse their children's mortally sinful lifestyles. And it is an action that is ultimately selfish because what a parent is really saying is, "I will not risk my child's anger or rejection of ME because  it will hurt ME too much." So God takes a back seat to the child and the child's sin. 

I'm a parent. Raising our five children wasn't always easy. I remember before our children reached adolescence, a friend with older children told us, "You'll change when your children are teenagers."  We didn't. Was holding the line always easy. No. One child played the "You don't love me." card when I refused to do something. I laughed and said, "I told you when you were a teenager I cold never do that." What I didn't, but would today is, "If You loved Me, you wouldn't ask me to do that."

Pray for parents, especially those tempted to approve of their children sinful decision in order not to "alienate their children." Alienating God is a lot worse! And, in the end, when a parents reward bad behavior, they just get more of it. 

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For those who are so Critical of Michael Voris...

...he is bringing people home to the Church.  God bless you, Michael! Keep preaching it, brother!

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Did You Ever Wonder: About the Origin of the Paschal Candle?

I was staring at the paschal candle this morning at Mass thinking how much I love to see it there during the Easter season and at baptisms and funerals when it reminds us so graphically that Jesus is the light of the world, our hope and salvation. Well, that set me to wondering when and where the custom of lighting the paschal candle originated. The short answer is...nobody knows for sure. In 384 St. Jerome wrote a letter to a deacon in Piacenza, Italy named Presidio describing a hymn that praised the candle and the Easter mystery. That indicates the custom was already well established.

According to Catholic Online:

The most likely origin is that it derived from the Lucernarium, the evening office with which early Christians began the vigil for every Sunday and especially that of Easter. In turn, this rite is probably inspired by the Jewish custom of lighting a lamp at the conclusion of the Sabbath. The rite therefore has its roots in the very beginning of Christianity. In the Lucernarium rite the light destined to dispel the darkness of night was offered to Christ as the splendor of the Father and indefectible light. This Sunday rite was logically carried out with greater solemnity during the Easter Vigil.

Ah...back to our very roots in the Jewish custom celebrated, no doubt, by Joseph and Mary in their little home in Nazareth. Think of the fascination children have for candles and flickering flames
and imagine the toddler Jesus wide-eyed and spellbound on Mary's lamp as she lit the candle.

The solemn use of the candle dates at the very latest to the second half of the 4th century uniting us to all those holy men and women who went before us. So many saints I invoke share with me that beautiful rite of witnessing the Easter fire and lighting the paschal candle. When I think of St. Therese praying in her cloister, St. Thomas More in his parish at Chelsea, St. Maximilian Kolbe in the squalid barracks of Auschwitz, St. Catherine of Siena dictating letters to Pope Urban VI, St. Joan of Arc leading the army of France, St. Dominic preaching to Albigensian heretics, the little children of Fatima attending Mass with their families...all share with me the experience of seeing the paschal candle to dispel the darkness of sin and welcome Christ Our Light.

How I love our Catholic faith that gives us so many rich traditionss that stir our hearts through the use of our senses. We are a people who need our faith with skin on. "Rejoice in the Lord always....Taste and see how good the Lord is!!"

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St. Stephen, Pray for Us!

The first reading at Mass this morning was the stoning of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

The last thing he said before he died was "Lord, don't hold this sin against them." Can you imagine loving your murderers so much that you beg the judge for mercy while they are in the act of committing the murder? Wow!

Every morning I say the acts of faith hope and charity. The act of charity says, "O my Jesus, I love you with all my mind, heart, and strength and my neighbor as myself for love of you. I forgive all those who have sinned against me and ask pardon of all those whom I have sinned against through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Ah...how I wish I could be sure I really have forgiven those who have sinned against me since my own salvation depends on it. ("Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us....")  But I know how often past hurts come to mind and stir up anger in my heart once again. Part of that is the natural result of being a choleric/melancholic temperament. But, oh, how I wish I would see others through the eyes of Jesus and Mary and desire nothing more than their salvation no matter how much they may have hurt me.

Solomon asked for an understanding heart. Perhaps if I pray every day for an understanding heart it will change the way I see all those who touch my life whether with kindness or with cruelty. Lord Jesus, make me more like St. Stephen through Christ our Lord.

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Pope Francis Makes First Two Episcopal Assignments for U.S....

...and both men were ordained for the Diocese of Lincoln, which seems to me to be an excellent sign. Bishop Bruskewitz was surely one of the most orthodox bishops in the country and one especially reviled by liberals.. The one time I met him, at a fundraising dinner, I also found him to be charming and humble. The two new episcopal assignments are:

Bishop Michael Jackels, current of bishop of Wichita, is being sent to Dubuque.

Msgr. John Folda, currently the rector at the Lincoln seminary, is going to Fargo, North Dakota.

It is interesting to see that his first two American assignments are going to men ordained for one of the most orthodox dioceses in the nation. It will be interesting to watch how these assignments are greeted by Am-church. Read more here.

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The Catholic Twilight Zone

Couldn't agree more with Mike Voris on this. In my own diocese the same thing happened in previous years to both kids and adults. Once, my own former pastor, Dominic Irace, refused Communion to a Virginia State Delegate, Dick Black, when he knelt for Communion at the cathedral. So a kneeling politician gets it, but the sacrilegious pols have no problem at all. Well, I'm happy to say that, as far as I know, this no longer happens in my diocese. Several people in my own parish kneel for Communion. When I go to Mass at St. John the Baptist in Front Royal the priest gives Communion at the altar rail (Yes, some churches still have them.) and Communicants can either stand or kneel. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all churches would offer the option. All it would take is a prie-dieu in ONE Communion line to give parishioners the option.

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And Then There are the Concerns about the New Pope

A commentator on one of my blog posts says I've presented an unbalanced picture of the new Holy Father and I probably have because I know little to nothing about him except what I've read in the past few days. But in the interests of balance I'll present this view of Pope Francis' work in Argentina. It does give one pause. And I would say, it also gives one great reason to pray.

The Horror! A Buenos Aires journalist describes Bergoglio

But as the first comment following the article said, "Mastai-Ferretti was a freemason before becoming Pope Pius IX. Point? All this despair is pure folly."

Agreed! Count two ten and say a novena for Holy Mother Church and our new holy father. 

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One of Cardinal Bergoglio last writings as Archbishop of Buenos Aires

Let's get to know our new pope by reading his words. The text below is from the pope's Lenten message to his flock in Argentina:

Lent is presented us as a shout of truth and certain hope that comes us to say “Yes, it is possible to not slap on makeup, and not draw plastic smiles as if nothing happened.” Yes, it is possible that all is made new and different because God remains “rich in kindness and mercy, always willing to forgive” and He encourages us to begin anew time and again. Today, again, we are invited to undertake a Paschal road toward Life, a path that includes the cross and resignation; a path that will be uncomfortable but not fruitless. We are invited to admit that something inside us isnot going well, (in society or in the Church) to change, to turn around, to be converted.

Today, the words of the prophet Joel are strong and challenging: Rend your heart, not your clothing: be converted to the Lord, your God. These [words] are an invitation to all people, nobody is excluded. 

Rend your heart, not the clothing of artificial penance without [an eternal] future.
Rend your heart, not the clothing of technical fasting of compliance that [only serves to keep us] satisfied. 

Rend your heart, not the clothing of egotistical and superficial prayer that does not reach the inmost part of [your] life to allow it to be touched by God. 

Rend your heart, that we may say with the Psalmist: “We have sinned.” 

“The wound of the soul is sin: Oh, poor wounded one, recognize your Doctor! Show him the wounds of your faults. And, since from Him our most secret thoughts cannot hide themselves, make the cry of your heart felt [to Him]. Move him to compassion with your tears, with your insistence ¡beg him! Let Him hear your sighs, that your pain reaches Him so that, at the end, He can tell you: The Lord has forgiven your sins.” (St. Gregory the Great) 

This is the reality of our human condition. This is the truth that approaches authentic reconciliation between God and men. This is not a matter of discrediting [one's] self-worth but of penetrating, to its fullest depth, our heart and to take charge of the mystery of suffering and pain that had tied us down for centuries, for thousands of years, [in fact,] forever.
Rend your hearts so that through this opening we can truly see. 

Rend your hearts, open your hearts, because only with [such a] heart can we allow the entry of the merciful love of the Father, who loves us and heals us. 

Rend your hearts the prophet says, and Paul asks us – almost on his knees – ”be reconciled with God.” Changing our way of living is both a sign and fruit of a torn heart, reconciled by a love that overwhelms us. 

This is [God's] invitation, juxtaposed against so many injuries that wound us and can tempt us temptation to be hardened: Rend your hearts to experience, in serene and silent prayer, the gentle tenderness of God. 

Rend your hearts to hear the echo of so many torn lives, that indifference [to suffering] does not paralyze us. 

Rend your hearts to be able to love with the love with which we are beloved, to console with the consolation with which we are consoled and to share what we have received. 

The liturgical time the Church starts today is not only for us, but also for the transformation of our family, of our community, of our Church, of our Country, of the whole world. They are forty days so that we may convert to the same holiness as God’s; that we become collaborators who receive the grace and the potential to reconstruct human life so that everyone may experience the salvation which Christ won for us by His death and resurrection.

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