Saturday, October 31, 2015

Catholic Culture: All Hallows' Eve Saints Party





This is a wonderful way to celebrate Hallowe'en.

Many homeschool groups host such events at parishes.  I have been to more than one - they are always excellent.  The kids have fun. 

This is how it's done.  1 - 3 pm.  Nice and easy.  Potluck snacks.  Games for the kids.  Evening is open for optional heading out for more candy.  The games are designed to teach.  The kids dress as saints or the like.  

Happy Hallowe'en!


Pray for and Support the Christians in the Holy Land


Rome Quotes

"We may truly say that the facility and frequency of divorce is the test of how far any society once Christian has proceeded towards Paganism."

-Hilaire Belloc

Teach Your Kids to Memorize the Ten Commandments


Defending Venerable Pius XII: Un Vero Santo!


Catholic Culture: Fallen War Heroes


Friday, October 30, 2015

Rome Quotes

"The Cure d'Ars, whose eye could penetrate into hidden things, showed himself at all times most severe towards those who dabbled in occultism or spiritualism."

-Francis Trochu

Thursday, October 29, 2015

The Word of God on Marriage, Divorce, and Those Who Will Never Enter the Kingdom of God and Why

Last month, walking through Chinatown in downtown Philadelphia my good friend John Boyden mentioned the Gospel for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 4, 2015.  He pointed out the irony -- this reading in the Lectionary is the condemnation of divorce by Christ Himself, to be read during the first Sunday Mass at the Synod.

The reading is from Mark 10 where the Pharisees, knowing the permission of Moses about divorce, test Jesus, but Jesus reminds them of God's intention for the unity of marriage.  Divorce followed by remarriage is adultery.

Mark 10: 2-16

"Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?'  Jesus answered them, 'What did Moses command you?'  They said, 'Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.'

But Jesus said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you.  But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and become one flesh.'  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.'

Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.  Jesus said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.'

People were bringing little children to him in order that Jesus might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them: for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.'

And Jesus took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.  

The Gospel of the Lord. 

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ. 

Rome Quotes

"Today is the 1700th anniversary of the battle of the Milvian Bridge, October 28th 312."

-Evan Simpkins

Leftist Media Gets Called Out

Sunday, October 25, 2015

The Attack on Catholic Doctrine

Rome Quotes

"I am so so sad. The Synod of bishops has caved to the world. In the most important section of the final report, 80 dissented. These were the true men of God. Heaven help our Church. This is a disaster of epic proportions. If you want the info. (as opposed to spin), you can get it at the Crux website by poking around. They are translating the Italian, so you can read the contentious sections of the final report. The implications will become clear in the days, months, years ahead. I'm just warning you. This may be the saddest day in my whole life. The Church is better - holier, truer - than this. We must look to God rather than man - Ps. 118:8. God is in the one holy Catholic apostolic Church. But not exactly where we should find Him!!"

-Peter Ryan

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Pope St. John Paul II

Lolek Magnus.  

Most Blessed Father, I will forever love you.

Ten years after Your passing, my eyes still fill with tears.  O, Psalms of David!

Feast of Pope St. John Paul II


Be Not Afraid speech Saint Pope John II

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Canada's Newly Elected "Catholic" Prime Minister

Meet Justin Trudeau.

Here he is in 1980 in the Vatican.

He is 43-years old.

He was a substitute high school teacher.

He has a BA degree in literature and an unfinished MA degree in "environmental geography."

He is radically pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia and pro-marijuana and pro-everything else that erodes the family and Christian civilization.  

Spiritually adopt him and pray for his conversion. 

It is our fault we have not taught our youth.  They were never instructed properly in the Faith. 

Now we reap the harvest. 

Satan Demands Human Sacrifice in Every Generation

Abortion is their sacrament. 

Catholic Culture: Catholic Monarch

Blessed Charles I of Austria.

Know of this saint: read HERE.  

Yours truly was privileged to attend his solemn beatification in the Vatican and to have a lengthly chat with his son, Otto, in Rome.  We spoke of his father's exile, death and burial in Madeira as well as his father's coronation ceremony, which Otto remembered well. I later had the honor to stare upon the hallowed crown, on temporary display inside Mussolini's old office in the Palazzo Venezia.

Otto was living in Germany at that time.  I asked him if his father's remains would ever be returned to Vienna and his reply was simple: "No, Madeira accepted him.  That is where he died.  They gave him everything.  That is where he will stay."    

Karl, glorious saintly Emperor, pray for us and for Christian Europe!

Cardinal Arinze – persons blinded by evil cannot receive Communion

Monday, October 19, 2015

The Imaginitive Conservative

A great site to check out by a great and learned Catholic professor!

He shows us the way - we are the creative minority.

Thanks, Dr. Chris!  Fai bravo!

See HERE.

Synod 2015: Crumbling Trammels of Modernism

The great storm of modernism and postmodernism is still upon us.  

50 years of bad theology in seminaries and this is what we get = teachers who do not believe.

No one should be surprised.  Least of all any of us who were once seminarians.  Seminaries have been a mess since the sixties.  Meanwhile, the good fortunes of stupidity are incalculable. 

We have seen this in seminary formation: antipathy for the Magisterium of the Church, antipathy for the Liturgy as the Church has given it to us, antipathy for the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, as well as for any number of the Church's doctrines, prayers, customs, devotions, sacramentals, etc.  All under open question and attack - by many prominent Catholic thinkers and teachers - nuns, priests and laymen alike.  

It sometimes feels as if our leadership has gone bonkers.  Everywhere the chief need is instruction.

We have witnessed an absorption of the body of seminary formation into the non-Catholic air which is about it upon every side.  We threw away the monastic model and opened the seminary doors to the world.  Bad idea.   

We have grown up in a sort of habit of accepting dissent, and a vis inertiae in dealing with what by all accounts appears to be an almost temporary suspension of the governance of the Church.  Who's in charge?  It's as if all the animals have been let out of their cages.  

Marriage is falling into the mood that man is sufficient to himself.  I know this, I am a married man.  I teach marriage prep.  All the consequences of that mood will follow under a general color of despair.  It is exclusively the Holy Roman Church that holds the truth and meaning of human sexuality.  We stand upon the teaching office of Holy Mother Church.        

I encourage faithful young readers to get an education without delay. 

Pursue graduate degrees in the sacred sciences -- licentiates and doctorates in philosophy and theology.

Study Greek and Latin, European history, metaphysics and the classics.  Graduate, find employment, and take back the teaching positions in our high schools, seminaries and universities.  This will be a long battle.

In short, we need more good guys.  Join the team.  Truth exists and you can know it and share it with others.  Be the one to light the match.  Give your life to Christ and His holy Church.     

"To the true modernist, man is the measure of all things and the spirit of the age is the spirit of God.  To say that a belief or a moral law is 'unmodern' is to condemn it, for in the eyes of the Modernist there are no eternal truths and no divine law other than the law of change."

-Christopher Dawson

Catholic Historian Dawson on the USA

"The roots of American democracy, moreover, are not only European but Christian, for it is impossible to disregard the importance of the religious factor in the settlement of North America.  Whether we look to the original settlement at Plymouth, or the Puritan theocracy in Massachusetts, at Roger William's experiment at Rhode Island, or the Quaker settlement of Pennsylvania, we find the religious note is the dominant and creative element in the new society; and the same is true in French Canada, above all in the case of Montreal which provides a remarkable parallel to the foundation of Plymouth by the English pilgrims.  It is true that the actual founders of the United States were men of the Enlightenment, and it is easy to interpret the Declaration of Independence and the State Constitutions exclusively in terms of eighteenth-century rationalism.  Nevertheless, the fact remains that the fundamental principle of the whole American system is a religious one - the divine right of the human person against political power and social privilege and economic interests."

-Christopher Dawson

Read Old Books!

Image from the Internet. 

Kennedy Home in New York Visited by Cardinal Pacelli in 1936

During his visit to the U.S.A., Cardinal Pacelli made a visit here, to the family of Joe Kennedy in Bronxville, New York. 

This is where Teddy sat on his lap.  Rose later recounted she wish she had had a camera handy to take a photo, but alas no camera was on hand.

The sofa the future pope sat on is preserved today in the main Kennedy mansion at Hyannis Port, which will apparently soon be open to visitors.  When it opens I will go there and try to get a photo of the sofa where the saintly cardinal sat. 

This mansion sadly no longer exists.  A piece of history, it was sold and then torn down in 1953 to subdivide the five-and-a-half acre lot.  The address had been 294 Pondfield Road.  

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Lateran Archbasilica: Mater et Caput (Mother and Mistress) of All Churches

Set as desktop background.

Yours truly found this in an old book in Rome.  

The page read:

Alessandro Galilei, Facciata orientale.  Meta' del XVIII secolo.

Join the Perfect Pilgirmage to the Holy Land

Our chaplain, Fr. Pablo, celebrates Holy Mass in the Latin chapel, atop Mt. Calvary in Jerusalem.

Do not miss out on his next extraordinary tour to the Holy Land!

January 2016.

Be there with us.  Limited seating.  Deadline for registration is November 14th.   

For itinerary, dates, pricing, and more, see HERE.

Good news, you can see it all in one tour.  Experience pilgrimage.

Allow for the Bible to come alive.  Walk in the footsteps of Jesus.   

The graces of these pilgrimages are felt for many months and years afterwards.  

Contact me directly for details: info@oc-travel.com. 

Enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see where the Incarnation took place.  

From the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary: Indulgences Today


Our Lady of Constantinople, Pray for Us!


Harvest Time

Ah, the colors of the fall.

Autumn was Pushkin's favorite season.

A time of harvest.  Rejoice and be thanksful!

We are all the product of many little miracles and acts of faith.  

Mass at the Highest Point on the African Continent


Frs. Antony Sumich and Greg Bartholomew celebrate Holy Mass atop Mount Kilimanjaro on September 30, 2015.  Planting the cross of Christ at nearly 6,000 meters above sea level.  Stat crux!

This mountain is located in an extraordinary national park in Tanzania.  It has three volcanic cones.  Located along the border with Kenya.  God bless these daring explorer priests!

Thanks, Bao!

Catholic Culture: Pro-Life Banquet









Have you even been to a pro-life banquet?

Probably not.  Sounds boring.

Actually, some of the most enjoyable evenings I have ever spent have been at pro-life events.

My first was the HLI International Conf, held in Minneapolis in 1997.   

Get to a national or state/provincial pro-life conference and/or banquet.  The life-affirming talks will blow you away.

This was the 21st annual fundraising banquet for Advokate.  A great turn out.  Lots of young professionals, student ambassadors, clergy, and others.

The fabulous keynote was delivered by Hollywood film producer, Mr. Jason Jones.  He is a pro-life author, activist and notable human rights activist.  His films include Bella, Crescendo, and the Stoning of Soraya M.  His talk was inspiring in the first degree.      

Friday, October 16, 2015

From the Spirit of the Jihadist Movement, Protect Us, O Lord

St. Clare, pray for us!

Miraculous Roman Icons: Romanae Portus Securitatis


Catholic Culture: Rome Holy Cards

Parishes in Rome always gave out free little holy cards.

Always nice mementos for visiting pilgrims from the far ends of the earth.

Mater Pulchrae Diletionis et Mater Unionis, ora pro nobis. 

Catholic Culture: Memorial Ordination Cards

As seen in Rome.

Amicis Romanis, gratias ago!

Friday, October 9, 2015

Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, PhD

The greatest living female Catholic intellectual on the planet earth.

A living saint.  A bit like sitting down with St. Edith Stein.

There were two Dr. von Hildebrands and the intellectual scope, breath and depth of both is off the charts astounding.

It was a great privilege to visit her at her home where she lived with her late great husband, DVH, now entombed at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in White Plains, NY.

Dr. Alice has a very sharp and keen intellect.  And a very French sense of humor.  A lovely woman.  Indeed, she is the model Catholic woman.  She speaks five languages.  Her husband taught at Fordham for 19 years.  She taught night school for many years at Hunter College. 

She explained that each morning she prays a rosary for Pope Francis.  She never did this before, but began this habit recently because popes need prayers, so clearly, especially today.  Four times she was received in audience by Pope Benedict, whom she is good friends with.  Dr. von Hildebrand has a great devotion to the Roman Pontiffs.  She was received in private audience by Paul VI in 1965.

Dr. von Hildebrand has traveled the world.  She left her native Belgium on the eve of war in 1940.

15 years after her husband fled Nazi terror in Europe, he went back to his homeland for a visit.  He had lost everything when he left Vienna to escape with his life.  In the 1950s, the two began to lead Catholic student tours to Europe during summer months.  "We led beautiful tours!" she recounts.

Some of the original itineraries have been kept and were recently rediscovered.  Hopefully we can recreate these tours and offer them to Catholic pilgrims of today.  To say the least, they were each very inspirational tours, led by giants.     

Saints abound.  God is glorified in His saints.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord.  Now and forever.  Amen. 

Catholics Who Are Evil

Saturday, October 3, 2015

There's Still Time to Join OC-Travel in the Holy Land this Winter!

Request an application today!

"Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus" Tour.

Daily Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

The tour guide is a native Christian from Nazareth - tracing his family lineage back to the time of the earliest Christians.  He is a proud  Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and speaks perfect English.  

Description:

Living an intensive pilgrimage experience focusing on the life of Jesus in the Holy Land.  Participants read important texts from the Bible.  Daily readings are paired with visits to important historical and spiritual sites in Jerusalem and its environs near and far.  Both on site and in the bus, participants are encouraged to pray and to see the Scriptures come alive.

Prerequisites:

Be ready for something big.
Expect an outpouring of grace, miracles and conversion.   
Participants must register by November 15, 2015.
You should know that this tour is totally Catholic and that your life will be changed forever.
You will never read the Bible the same way again.  
Flights from Vancouver and Toronto.    

Accommodations:

4 / 5 star hotels. 

Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem - 6 nights. 
Golden Crown Nazareth - 6 nights. 

Costs:
Total Cost Double Occupancy: $4,199
Single Supplement : $720
Land-Only: $3,120

Request an Application:

Send me an e-mail without delay: info@oc-travel.com. 
Do not miss out.  Seating is limited.  This is a small group tour: 25 max.  

Application HERE.