Bishop Barron on the Homer Simpson Effect

Cardinal Barron discusses a very apparent force in today’s culture and media attacking the unity and supportive strength intended by God between men and women. I would suggest that many of the crazy cultural illnesses we are experiencing today are coming from and are a result of this root problem. This is the same basic attack on unity that we see by the Devil in the garden that caused Adam and Eve to in effect begin the process of division and blame.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=em-subs_digest&v=7LEdT-sQ4mM

Vatican: Catholics now recognize Martin Luther as a ‘witness to the gospel’

“Catholics are now able to hear Luther’s challenge for the Church of today, recognizing him as a ‘witness to the gospel.’’

I’m not sure what “Catholic’s” are being referenced here nor what Luther’s challenge is for today’s Catholics.  He’s as much a witness for the Gospel as any other heretic that uses Scripture “alone” to distort the truth….if I’m not mistaken, he was excommunicated in 1521, right? This neither agrees with the historical record, the tremendous destructive effects his actions have had on the Church and the world, nor the clarifying statement on this topic issued by the CDF….seems to be another partial and selective reference of Church documents.

It’s like celebrating Judas and his helpful part in the salvific passion of Christ. Also, I’m sure we’ve all “heard” Luther’s voice resounding in the 30,000 and growing progeny of his 95 Thesis but his actions and example do not reflect the witness of Christ’s long suffering in the Gospel.  Luther only waited 3-4 years before declaring the pope the anti-Christ and the Church the whore of Babylon.  How did he miss the four marks of the Church and the need for the sacraments in the Gospel that he was such a great witness to?

I’m not sure a schismatic and heretical ex-Catholic priest should be the source for celebration. Maybe we should begin the process of sainthood for him.  Sorry about all the cynicism but doesn’t this stupid merry-go-round ever stop?

Source: Vatican: Catholics now recognize Martin Luther as a ‘witness to the gospel’

Did Canadian Bishops “sacramentalize” direct killing, euthanasia, assisted suicide? | Fr. Z’s Blog

This has been bouncing around the blogosphere but I thought Fr Z has done a great job clearing away the cultural fog to reveal and comment on the Gospel truths that are being twisted and trampled on by these 10 Canadian Bishops. Imagine the number of souls in their care put at risk by their bending to the political agendas blazing across Canada. Since Fr Z did such a great job I would only like to raise these points for you to ponder:

1. Are we seeing a resurrection and rebranding of the progressive “Spirit of Vatican II” as the distorted “Spirit of Mercy”?

2. Have synods, personal letters, and media interviews by and from Church officials become the new norm for declaring magisterial teachings. A social media “divide and conquer” approach?

3. Can we see reflections of the late 1500’s English Reformation in the events today and especially how the bishops are reacting? Is there a virtual schism already happening? What would John Fisher and Thomas More say?

4. How important are Cardinal Burke’s dubia questions to this topic? Why do you think they are being ignored?

5. All issues of life are important. How should we truly treat them with respect rather than simply emotion?

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2016/12/did-canadian-bishops-sacramentalize-direct-killing-euthanasia-assisted-suicide/

Are You Christian or Catholic?

May we all walk out our love of Christ Jesus with joy and enthusiasm in faithful obedience to his teachings and Church. This is how we know through the writings of the Church Fathers (St. Ignatius of Antioch around 107AD talks of the Catholic Church) that the earliest Christians demonstrated to all that they were Catholic.

Source: Are You Christian or Catholic?

2016: The year Pope Francis finally showed his hand

“2016 marked a dramatic turning point in the pontificate of Pope Francis. It may be called the year of the great awakening.”

I’m not sure if everything hit the fan in 2016 but one could say, after reading through the lengthy list of events nicely listed by date in the article, that there are a lot of things to consider and not a few of them that suggest a trend.

The article is useful if for nothing else than the listing of each action or statement and a useful link to read further if something needs a little more clarity.  As always opinion’s abound, we all have them, but it’s not useful to stay ignorant especially when the Church is in such great need of your prayers for healing.  Understanding the truth and praying may be the most merciful thing we can do.

Source: 2016: The year Pope Francis finally showed his hand

Bishop Barron on “Silence”. Can we be saved and silent?

 

As he so often does Cardinal Barron draws our attention to insights and questions missed by others.

Whether the movie is Christian or not isn’t the question, is it? After all, it’s a movie and not a homily but it does remind us that the world and culture will always ask us to deny Christ, step on the truth, and be silent. Maybe the life lesson of the movie is the parable of the two gates (Matt 7:13-14). Every day we have a choice.  Will you take the narrow gate of the village elders or listen to the voice of the times and face the cock crow at the end?

Nailed it: Paul Ryan’s perfect answer to why Planned Parenthood should be defunded

Paul Ryan makes the case for federal community health centers instead of abortion facilities.

Source: Nailed it: Paul Ryan’s perfect answer to why Planned Parenthood should be defunded

15 Key Quotes From Cardinal Caffarra’s Interview on the ‘Dubia’

The archbishop emeritus of Bologna sheds light on the thinking of the four cardinals, and why they see a papal clarification of ‘Amoris laetitia’ as so vital.

All these points seem straightforward, important, and required to enable us to properly live out our faith in a church that is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.  Aren’t we just asking our papa to inform our faith? Why has that been denied for the last 6 months and others in the Curia told not to respond?  Outside of who asked or how they were asked are the answers to these questions deadly to our faith?  What’s the problem?  Is there an elephant in the room?

Source: 15 Key Quotes From Cardinal Caffarra’s Interview on the ‘Dubia’

The Church’s Teaching on Preaching: 1917 to 2017

Here is a very nice reflection on what the Church has taught about the role and purpose of preaching. In it I especially liked this statement from St. John Paul II:

He says that “preaching constitutes the Church’s first and fundamental way of serving the coming of the kingdom in individuals, and in human society”.

From Benedict to Francis

 

Bishop Schneider warns against ‘a mentality of radical relativism being created inside the Church’

In an new interview, the Kazakhstan bishop touches on authentic Catholic teaching, the traditional Latin Mass and ‘gender ideology’.

I highly recommend passing over the commentary at the start of this article and jump down to the actual interview.  While talking about all the topics mentioned above he also touches on the benefit of home school, relativism of truth as an extreme form of Marxism (I would suggest it’s an aggressive form of Gnosticism), the need and support for the dubia, and his rejection of the idea that the synod this summer on deaconesses will crack the door for bishops to move forward with their own initiatives as we see happening with Amoris Laetitia.

Bishop Schneider has been very outspoken of late regarding issues that are squarely in the hands of the Church to correct and on which it is obligated to form our society rather than be formed by it.  The Church is the leaven and salt of our society.  (Matt 5:13)

We should watch where he is posted next.  Will he be elevated for defending the Church or silenced?

Source: Bishop Schneider warns against ‘a mentality of radical relativism being created inside the Church’

East and West: A historical review of priestly celibacy and marriage.

Here’s another installment on the topic of vocation. If you’re looking for a great source for the significant Church decisions and events regarding priestly celibacy and marriage this is a the article for you.

The article starts with the early Church and walks you up to the current century providing council decisions, documents and statements by Pope’s, and clear explanation of the differences and similarities between the two lungs of the Church.

Here’s the short of it. Both East and West only select celibate priest to be bishops. Both allow married deacons and only the East allows married priests (remember only celibate priests can become bishops).

They both have this significant rule: the sacrament of marriage can not follow the sacrament of the priesthood. In neither Church can a man, whether priest or deacon, be married after being ordained. This is one reason deacons are supposed to be of mature age so they will have decided on marriage or not before becoming a deacon. Remember that in the western Church deacons can not get remarried if they are divorced or widowed.

It would seem we only have one difference while noting that the Church of the West has always respected the honor and historicity of the married state of the priest of the East.

http://www.newbyzantines.net/byzcathculture/ordination.html

Fatima visionary to Cardinal: “Final battle between God and Satan will be over marriage and family”

ROME — “The final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be over marriage and the family,” Sr. Lucia dos Santos, one of the three Fatima visionaries.

As with most prophets the question is, “will the people listen?”  Whether it’s Sr. Santos or St. John Paul II warning us the prediction of the attach on marriage and family is now proven out.  We must see if it is also the final battle. Pray for the Lords return!

Source: Fatima visionary to Cardinal: “Final battle between God and Satan will be over marriage and family”

Malta: The next but not final step of Amoris Laetitia

Fr. Murray on the Maltese bishops: The Church doesn’t supply “get-out-of-jail-free cards” to those who think the law is void in their cases.

It is interesting that those calling for the opening of the Eucharist to the civilly remarried, out of a erroneous sense of mercy, seem to want to ignore all the objective choices that were taken to get to this point and don’t want to consider the effect on their souls of ongoing sin. This may seem like it’s only about allowing sinners to receive Christ but frankly the root attack is to deny sin all together and rub Christ’s nose in it…it is in fact stepping on and denying Christ, who is truth, as we see done in the new movie “Silence.” The cock crowing is the sign of our time.

We must remember that, like it or not, that a Catholic married couple have been well informed of the Church’s teaching during marriage prep and didn’t care when they got their civil marriage. I can hear it now “Father, I don’t think I’ve sinned but I want your forgiveness any way. I cheated on my taxes and because it saves my family money I plan to keep cheating on my taxes. ‘My son, you’re okay. Don’t worry about it.'”

Cardinal Mueller recently said he didn’t see anything happening that required a correction in the Church.  I guess the clear rejection of the Church’s teaching by Malta isn’t enough.  How bad does it have to get?

Source: Meltdown in Malta – The Catholic Thing

Anglican Ordinariate: No Communion for unchaste divorced and remarried couples; no ‘at peace with God’ exceptions

The Anglican Ordinariate of the Catholic Church issued a pastoral letter that clearly states Church teaching with no compromises on valid reception of the Eucharist.

Think about how these war torn priests in the Anglican Ordinariate feel.  Within 2-3 years of them taking the dramatic step away from the errors in the Anglican community they look around in their new home and what do they see?  Everything they tried to leave happening again.  It’s liking being the last survivor on the spaceship leaving an alien planet and pow…you find out the alien hitched a ride.

I’m glad these new converts are on fire and willing to stand as a light on the hill for the rest of us to see.  May this letter be a torch that sheds its light on others that are walking in the shadows so they may find their way.

Source: Anglican Ordinariate: No Communion for unchaste divorced and remarried couples; no ‘at peace with God’ exceptions

Can the Orthodox Way End the Divorce and Remarriage Debate? – Crisis Magazine

On his flight back to Rome from World Youth Day in Brazil (2013), Pope Francis speaking about the season of mercy and the Church as a mother dispensing mercy, praised the pastoral practice of the Orthodox Churches on marriage and divorce, the pastoral care for the divorced and remarried Orthodox faithful and the possibility of communion for the civilly remarried.

Before anyone considers this a worthy path of investigation please read the basic history behind the Orthodox approach. It reminds me of Indiana Jones looking over the edge into the tomb of the Arch of the Covenant, seeing it filled with snakes, and thinking its a good idea to get down there among them to reach his prize.

It might make sense for someone ignorant of the details of the Orthodox approach to seek it as a simple solution to a cultural issue but why the educated Pope or Cardinal Kasper would consider it appears to indicate a willingness to throw theology, history, and the spiritual truth of the Orthodox teaching to the wind just to reach a temporal solution that helps people accept the Church.  We just want to be loved.

Coming from a non-denomination background, this is a clear dumbing down of Christ’s teaching to hook people…seeker friendly nonsense. Why nonsense you might ask.  Because Christ’s words have life not the watered down words of people who are trying to cozy up to people who aren’t really seeking.  Those seeking life will desire words of life.

Remember the Orthodox Church allows second and third marriages BUT they are not considered sacramental (only the first is because of indissolubility), the second and third are considered situations of failure, communion isn’t part of the second and third because it’s not sacramental, and a lengthy period of penance (not softened as accompaniment) is required before the second and third marriage.

Source: Can the Orthodox Way End the Divorce and Remarriage Debate? – Crisis Magazine