Distorting The Spiritual Works Of Mercy

Note: While I'm using the bulletin from my own parish as an example, I've no doubt that they published what they did due to "orders from on high".

In our parish bulletin (page2) appears what is being passed off as the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  Some of us older types might notice the problem immediately, having received solid training thanks to the Baltimore Catechism.  For comparison, here are those works as they appear in that Catechism; you'll have to scroll down to Question 813.  As you compare the two, you'll notice one major difference.

In the Baltimore Catechism version, please note that the First Spiritual Work of Mercy is "Rebuke the Sinner".  In the bulletin you'll notice that it has been rendered "encourage sinners to seek forgiveness".  The others remain essentially the same.

So why do today's Catholic leaders eschew "rebuke the sinner"?  Quite simply, they are part and parcel of what can be called the "church of nice".  You see, it's not considered "nice" to rebuke anybody, although both the Old and New Testaments are replete with godly men (and Our Lord Himself) with rebuking those in sin, particularly those who are obstinate about it.  It's not "happy-clappy smiley-face" enough for those whose spinal columns are calcium-deficient.  Perhaps they don't believe in the reality of hell.  The latter is a grim reality, and those who rebuke the sinner simply see that is where the sinner is headed if he or she doesn't repent.

That dovetails into today's Gospel reading from Mark.  The very first recorded word that Jesus uttered in Mark's Gospel is "repent".  It even comes before "believe the Gospel".  The order is important.  However, too many of our leaders want to put false "happy faces" on God's clear teachings that they distort them in the presentations: hence the distorted version of the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  Too often they won't even tell Catholics what actions constitute inherent sins for fear of pricking seared consciences.  What doctor worthy of the name would withhold a truthful diagnosis to a sick patient?  How would that patient be able to follow proper remedies, uncomfortable those these remedies might be?  But that is what the "church of nice" is doing to Catholics in their pews. 

Let us pray that our priests find the resolve and courage to preach the whole truth to Catholics so that they can come to true, soul-saving repentance this Lent.

Many Catholics Will Dishonor St Patrick This Friday

In way of review, please re-read my post from six years ago.  This year, St. Patrick's Day falls on a Lenten Friday, a day when we Catholics abstain from meat.  Yet even now we hear of Catholics asking for dispensation from the already-lenient Lenten discipline to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  Sadly - because many chanceries care not one whit about Lenten discipline nor even of eternal things in general, these chanceries will grant the dispensations without a minute's thought.

As I said in the post, I myself am of predominantly Irish descent.  Moreover, I grew up in the 1960s, when most Catholics were also of Irish descent and who were closely descended from Irish immigrants.  Yet never did I hear the slightest hint of suggestion that the Lenten practises should be set aside when March 17 fell on a Lenten Friday.  In fact, that was during a time when every day during Lent (not just Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) was a day of fast.  It is true that in Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a Holy Day of Obligation, owing to St Patrick's pivotal role in the founding of their nation.  But those who came to the United States understood that they were leaving behind their national customs and were prepared to observe the customs of their new homeland.

On social media, particularly facebook, I'm seeing otherwise faithful Catholics chortle over the dispensations, like naughty little children about to get away with extra dessert.  To me that betrays a bit of reluctance to subject oneself to necessary disciplines.  How they salivate over corned beef has nothing to do with honoring the saint who is at least partially responsible for their Faith and more to do with satisfying their taste buds and stomachs.

We can - we must - do better than that.  Honor St. Patrick by honoring Lent.  Abstain from meat, dispensation notwithstanding.  Do not drink to the point of sinful intoxication (yes, all intoxication is sinful).  Do not trifle with leprechauns and other accoutrements of pagan practice.  Understand that there is nothing special about the color green.  Instead, go to Mass, pray a Rosary and/or stations of the Cross - practices that would truly please St. Patrick.

Dangerous Centering Prayer Touted In Word Among Us Magazine

Imagine, if you will, that a meal is set before you.  It is well-balanced, nourishing, smells appetizing.  There's just one little problem.  You are aware that it contains just the smallest amount of poison.  The amount of poison is really quite minuscule to the amount of the otherwise nourishing, healthy meal set before you.  Would you take one tiny mouthful of that meal?  I didn't think so, and neither would I.

I believe that is how the devil seduces faithful Catholics: to surround his temptations with things that are good and perhaps spiritually beneficial in and of themselves.  We see this with the Medjugorgie apparitions; many conversions might well be happening, but the apparition is fomenting disobedience to the local bishop and the heresy of indifferentism.  Today I was alerted to another manifestation of the devil slyly insinuating poison into a seemingly harmless publication.

I am referring to an article found in the Lent 2017 issue of the Word Among Us magazine.  The analogy in my first paragraph applies with some adjustments. Owing to its rather questionable past relationship with the Archdiocese of Washington from events of over 20 years ago, I look askance upon the overall "health of that meal" in general.  I may delve more into that in a future post, but for now I refer you to this Washington Post series from 1997 for some background.  Normally I don't recommend anything from the Washington Post, but in this instance I can vouch for its accuracy owing to my own 20+ years affiliation with the Mother of God Community.

Getting back to the Lent issue of this magazine, I refer you to the picture at the right.  The name of the article in question is "A Simple Plan", discussing how one might implement the three lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  The picture shows "different ways" to pray.  One of those "ways" (at the bottom of the highlighted list) is "centering prayer".

Ladies and gentlemen, "centering prayer" is fraught with spiritual danger.  It arose in the 1970s as a misguided attempt to mish-mash Christian prayer with practices found in eastern pagan beliefs.  The end result can leave the practitioner open to diabolical harassment.  This link to Catholic Culture gives an excellent treatment of the topic of "centering prayer", detailing its history and precisely why it is dangerous and to be avoided.  One interesting paragraph tells of its introduction at a large charismatic event.  Those involved in the "charismatic renewal" tend to be susceptible to temptations that promise "experiences"; I speak as an ex-charismatic.  It is worth noting that the Word Among Us magazine has its roots in the "charismatic renewal".

This magazine supposedly has "theological advisers".  How such a serious error bypassed them baffles me - unless they just "rubber-stamp" their approval on these articles.  At any rate, I'd suggest being very careful when reading this magazine.

What Has Gotten Into The Drinking Water At Aleteia?

Pewsitter published today two rather dopey articles from them, straight out of "church of nice".  Both of them purport to give "meaningful" (be careful of that word "meaningful" for it is full of subjective gobblygoop) ways of preparing for Easter.  One author shares how his family prepares by turning off electrical conveniences and using only candlelight.  The other talks about "being present".   None of these concepts are bad in and of themselves - but they have nothing to do with the essential truths of Easter.

Laced throughout these two pieces is a theme of "what can we get from Easter".  In fact the second author writes, "I want to taste and touch and feel every moment of this Holy Triduum, this pause in our year, this gift that allows us to celebrate the fact that we have been saved."  Taste? Touch? Feel?  Seems rather sensual, wouldn't you say?  It certainly betrays a focus on subjective experience.  Except for the word "saved" there is no hint whatsoever regarding eternal salvation.

I've no need to tell regular readers what happened.  Christ laid down His life for us to ransom us from the power of sin.  His Precious Blood was shed for our redemption.  He rose from the dead; Scripture says that was a type of "first fruits" of salvation.  Three Sacraments were instituted: Holy Eucharist, Holy Orders, Penance.  I'm sure I'm missing other important aspects, but "feeling every moment" and other "smell the flowers" stuff is not on that list.

Let's look at what's not mentioned in these two articles as ways of preparation for Easter - ways that have been promoted by the Church for hundreds of years.

1. Confession.  In the comment section of the second article, one reader does mention it.  It seems he/she wants to remind the author of that.
2. Prayer. For the first author, I wonder if family prayer was more emphasized.
3. Fasting.  There are 40 days during which that should be done, not just the last week.
4. Almsgiving.  How about prayer in front of an abortion mill?

On the surface, what these authors wrote might seem somewhat harmless.  However, if the most one can say about a given object is that "it's harmless", then I'd tend to wonder about any benefit from the same.  I don't think it's harmless at all.  To imply that such "fluffy-puff stuff" ideas are in any way on a par with authentic preparation for or significance of Easter poses serious dangers of obscuring the truth of our salvation.  Yes, we are talking about eternal salvation versus eternal damnation: truths that transcend "nice experiences".

I'd be willing to bet that similar examples of sentimentality exist.  While they may seem rather innocuous, I'd hope that no one would assume that the things suggested therein are in any manner on a par with the Catholic understanding of Lent and Easter.

Will We Be Like Hans And Sophie Scholl Or Will We Cower In Our Own Narrow Worlds?

Sophie Scholl was a member of the White Rose, a student group advocating resistance to the Nazis during World War 2.  She, along with her brother and other White Rose members, was beheaded on Feb 22, 1943.  She was 21 years old.

In her statement, Sophie embellished upon what Edmond Burke famously said about 200 years prior to Sophie's death: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

Do the statements of Burke and Scholl describe you?  Be advised that if you are focused only on your own isolated world and you don't put any effort into fighting the atheistic culture of death, then that culture will come crashing into your world with devastating effect.  In that case you will bear much of the blame.  Look around you, please and wake up.

Lent is an appropriate time to change that.  An excellent way to do so would be to participate in 40 Days for Life.  Click on the link for a location near you.

From The Carhart Carnage Department - Number 12!

On February 4 at his Nebraska hell-hole, Leroy Carhart caused another woman to go to the hospital.  Recordings obtained by Operation Rescue indicate that the woman was bleeding heavily and that the abortion may have been incomplete.  This poses a life-threatening condition for the woman.  Her condition remains unknown.  This happened less than one month after he caused the hospitalization of a woman at the Germantown mill.

Ladies and gentlemen, these two incidents bring his current "hit list" of brutalized women to twelve.  Operation Rescue counts eleven women butchered between the Nebraska and Maryland mills since 2012 - with one of the Maryland incidents resulting in death.  Recall that Christin Gilbert died at his now-closed Kansas location.  Two women died at his hands - at least that's all of which we are aware at this time.  Mark my words - there will be more - and I do mean fatalities.

These numbers, horrendous as they are, are by far dwarfed by the thousands of tiny children ripped to pieces by Carhart in their mothers' wombs.  The state governments are complicit, to be sure.  Nevertheless, each and everyone of us needs to ask if he/she is doing everything within his/her power to bring this carnage to a halt.  Are you regularly offering witness in front of your local abortion chamber?  If not, I'd suggest participation in 40 Days For Life.  Go to their website and join an outreach local to you.  If you're looking for a worthy Lenten exercise, this would be an excellent choice.

Mardi Gras - A Diabolical Insult To The Holy Season Of Lent

Next Wednesday, Feb 10, is Ash Wednesday - the beginning of Lent.  Already on social sites we are seeing reminders and reflections regarding this sacred time of penitence and preparation for Easter.  Of course I frequent the Catholic circles in Facebook and other venues.  That said, I was quite taken aback when I saw the picture on the right.

It reminded me of a homily that I heard at least 10 years ago at my church on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday (known as Quinquagesima Sunday in the Extraordinary Rite).  It was excellent.  Father stated that there were mistakes that Catholics often made in their approach to Lent.  He said the first mistake is called "mardi gras".  He said it was indicative of the attitudes of too many Catholics towards the remedial disciplines of Lent: that they saw Lent as a time to be accepted with, at best, a begrudging acceptance as opposed to gratitude.  Such people are, at heart, willfully attached to their pleasures and comforts.  They tend to not take seriously their eternal destinies, seeing little need to prepare for death, judgment and either heaven or hell.  Hence they observe Lent grudgingly, often lamenting the temporary reduction of pleasures.

Another time when I've seen such attitudes is when St. Patrick's Day has fallen on a Lenten Friday.  Hankering for their meat on Friday (as if there weren't 6 other days of the week), they've often petitioned their bishops for dispensation from the lenten practice on those Fridays.  All too often, the bishops themselves don't take lent seriously so they blithely let them have their way.  When that happened one year, I might have thought they were acting like naughty children who had gotten permission to raid the cookie jar at will; their gloating was that ridiculous to behold.

Take a look at the language in the picture.  Leaving aside the sloppy grammar, what we see here is an insult to faithful Catholics - and to the holy season of Lent.  It is an illustration of the careless Catholic who accepts Lent only with resentment.  The person in the picture has made himelf into a disgusting slob.  That is indeed what happens when one does not approach Catholic life and discipline with the reverence that it deserves.  One one takes a cavalier, jocular attitude towards the provisions that the Church has provided for our salvation, we degrade ourselves.

The Catholic writing this post will not align herself with the nod to gluttony suggested in this meme.  I trust many of you are like-minded.

Announcing The "Did He Really Say That?" Department

Regrettably Pope Francis' "off-the-cuff" remarks convey ideas that are not too terribly helpful.  I cannot divine what he really intended, and perhaps that is irrelevant anyway.

In an address to Italian priests yesterday to start off Lent, he elaborated on what he believes the priesthood should be in order to meet the needs of people.  One remark he made caused me to raise my eyebrows: "Ascetic priests do not help the Church."

Really?  That's quite a blanket statement.  Right away, St. John Vianney, also known as the Cure of Ars, comes to mind.  The fastings and sleep deprivations he undertook would cause many of today's soft and flabby generation to faint and cower.  Yet people came from all over France so that he could hear their confessions.  When he first arrived in Ars, the place was quite the moral cesspool.  Within a few years, many conversions there turned that place around dramatically.  Many of the people who came to Ars experienced dramatic conversions (he could read hearts).

Even other priests came to him.  Often they would tell him that they were troubled about the lack of fruit in their own priestly ministries.  He challenged them to increase their own penances and fastings if they wanted to see greater fruitfulness in their priesthoods.  It bears mentioning that the Cure of Ars is regarded as the patron saint of parish priests.

He did make one statement that "mercy involves not being too rigid nor too lax".  But right afterwards he lit right back into those deemed "rigid"; nowhere did I see any admonishment towards those priests who do go easy on themselves.  Curious.  What's not said is just as important as what is said, considering context.

My Lenten suggestion of a few days ago stands.  And I pray that we all have a blessed Lent.

UPDATE - A Facebook friend alerted me to this article from Father Zuhlsdorf, shedding some additional light on the Holy Father's remarks.  Please read it.

"A Lifelong Journey To The Center Of The Self"

"And just what, pray tell, is that?", you ask.  Why, it's the definition of Lent - according to Sister Joan Chittister (per US Catholic).  Moreover, and I quote, "it is not a penitential season".

Well there you have it!  Lent is all about ourselves!  Golly-gee-whiz!  Aren't we just the silly geese for believing tht Lent is about turning from our sins and turning towards God?

I for one am glad that "Sister Pant-Suit" bunch of feminazi nuns is fading away.  I pray that they do repent of their heterodox ways - in other words, that they do Lent properly before it's too late.

Vortex On "Climate Change" Bastardization Of Lent

Michael Voris asks some very good questions of the "climate change" drones who prowl the halls of the USCCB building.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.



The Catholic Investigative Agency episode to which he refers can be found here.  If you haven't watched it yet, please do so.  It's an hour long, but worth every minute.

Is That A Carbon Footprint On Your Forehead??

There appears to be a renewed attempt to substitute adherence to environmentalism for authentic Lenten practices.  As noted last week, Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase has pulled the "lenten carbon fast" out of the mothballs and is foisting it on their unsuspecting parishioners (causing the death of many trees with all that paper used, I might add).

We now see from Catholic News Services that the so-called "Catholic Coalition On Climate Change" wants us to do things like "give up disposable paper products such as napkins and paper towels"  We should be grateful that they didn't include toilet paper in that litany.  Of course the incandescent light bulb has to go; that seems to be a common one.  Why?  Well, as their Dan Misleh says, "Lent is the perfect time to examine our lifestyles," he added. Even giving up a food item like chocolate or ice cream "reminds us that we do need to live more within our means, more in touch with people who don't have any of these things."  That's not why we sacrifice things.  We do so to remind ourselves that these things are fleeting and that we must prepare ourselves for eternal life.  Oh, by the way - they plan to send "Catholic Climate Ambassadors" to brainwash "educate" us on their enlightened thinking.


CARBON FOOTPRINT ALERT!

 Now I have a question.  With all this talk of "reducing carbon footprints", what do these earth-worshippers think of the Ash Wednesday liturgical practice of burning palm leaves and applying them to the foreheads of penitants?  I can imagine that some are in a tizzy that those palm leaves weren't put in a compost pile, but instead were burned (polluting the air and corroding the ozone layer, to boot) and that this is done world-wide.  Will we soon hear from them clarion calls to reject even more tradition, one that again recalls to us our mortality, to worship Gaia and Mother Earth?

Forget all this environmentalism.  Let this Lent for you be a true time of repentance and renewal.  One of the most useful things to come out of the Archdiocese of Washington in recent years has been Cardinal Wuerl's "The Light Is On For You" program.  It is an effort to get Catholics to resort to the Sacrament of Confession; and it appears to be working.  Prior to that, when I went to Confession, I could just walk straight from the church doors into a confessional.  Now I have to wait in lines of 8-10 people.  I'm not complaining!  This is a good, healthy sign that people are taking their spiritual welfare seriously.  So go to Confession - regularly.  Get to daily Mass.

I'd also suggest prayer at the abortion centers, to ask God's mercy on our nation and to perhaps reach out to troubled women.  Today was the start of the 40 Days for Life, a campaign of prayer and outreach that is now international in scope.  To learn more of this program and to find a location near you, visit that website and click on the locations tab.  Right off the bat I can tell you that there are campaigns in Silver Spring, Germantown, College Park, Northwest DC, Fairfax, Severna Park.

From the "Enviro-Whacko Department" - Lenten Carbon Fast!

Yes, indeed!  This is designed to coincide with Lent.  This nonsense can be found here.  (Note - Should this embarrassment mysteriously "disappear", please notify via "comments" and I'll post it on the old website).  Let's look at some of these precious gems of wisdom.  The source of this stuff?  Appearances can be deceiving; I'll discuss that at the bottom.

On Friday Feb 19, it is suggested that we go meat-free.  Well, actually, that's not a suggestion, as the Church fast rules stipulate that we abstain from meat on Lenten Fridays.  Posting that in this context obfuscates this morally-binding Church precept, especially since there's no mention of that on subsequent Fridays.

Look at March 1st!  Here's yet another piece of evidence that these folks have swallowed the climate change koolaid.  If you're in the air travel industry, I won't blame you if you have an ecological bone to pick with the originators of this, since they advocate that we not fly to our destinations (do they live up to that themselves?).  On March 10th, we see that the USCCB types took a page out of the playbook of the Messiah Most Miserable and suggest that we keep our tire pressures set so as to conserve fuel, blah blah blah.  On March 31st, we're encouraged to replace incandescent bulbs with CFL's - you know, the things that are filled with toxic mercury! 

From where did this crap originate?  Some of the culprits are obvious.  One is the Interfaith Power and Light, billing itself as "a religious response to global warming".  It's based in San Francisco; that should tell you a lot.  It links to the United Nations Environmental Sabbath Service; here's an example of its lovely prayers to whatever.

That was the national group.  The Greater Washington IPL uses the website greenmychurch.com.  Right on the front page we see a problem, and that problem is called the Washington Ethical Society.  Click on that page and they'll tell you up front that they are humanists  In a previous post, I link to the Humanist Manifesto; read that link and you'll see why humanism is so dangerous to the eternal salvation of those who embrace it.

Did you notice anything interesting as you looked at that calendar?  The home page for that thing is the website of the Leadership Council of Women Religious.  Go to the "mission statement" and look at the picture.  What are those things draped over the shoulders and why does it look like the woman to the right is wearing a chasibule?  Go to the "history" page and scroll to 1979.  It sure sounds like Sr. Theresa Kane is giving what-for to Pope John Paul II, saying that she "sensed the need of some women to articulate their growing concern about being included in all ministries within the church."  Yep!  She was bucking for the ordination of women.

The name "Archdiocese of Washington" and its "Environmental Outreach Committee" are prominently printed at the top right-hand side of this thing.  I went to the archdiocesan web site and searched "Lenten Carbon Fast".  It does not appear in the ADW website.  Moreover, the url clearly indicates that the Leadership Council of Women Religious has it on theirs.  Is it ever-so-slightly possible that the LCWR is using the ADW name in an unauthorized manner?

Whoever authored this nonsense is only succeeding in trivializing Lent as a time of authentic spiritual renewal.  Lent is a time of turning to God and engaging in truly beneifical practices such as increased use of the Sacrament of Penance (see our "Light Is On" post), engaging in prayer.  If you truly are looking for sacrifice that fulfills just about all the Works of Mercy (both spiritual and corporal), I can think of none better than to go out and pray the Rosary in fron of your local abortion mill.  To the right is a link to Lifeguard, where you'll find helpful hints and locations where there is already an effort that you can join.