Breaking - Maryland Governor Hogan Permitting Drive-In Religious Services

The directive can be found here.  Note for Catholics - this does not allow for reception of Holy Communion, as physical contact with clergy is not allowed.  Still, it's a step back in the right direction.

It remains to be seen how the Roman Catholic prelates will implement this.  It's 7:20 pm as I write this, and I just learned of it.  It's quite possible that chancery staff haven't learned it or are just doing so after the workday.  Thus their websites are not updated yet.  Let's see how they respond to this tomorrow.

If they don't respond, or persist in disallowing Mass, there just might be Eastern Rite churches (in union with the pope) who will happily resume.

Now if we can just get the rest of the First Amendment back in force...

UPDATE - As of 5pm today, there is no acknowledgement of the April 1st directive on either of the archdiocesan websites.  It appears that they wish to pretend this new directive wasn't issued.

One Reason For The Current Chastisement?

This sacrilegious debacle happened four months ago, I don't know where.  Because these priests and congregation treated their Mass like a cheap baudy show, it's no wonder that they think it can be so blithely scuttled because of a virus.  May God have mercy!

Corona - Cover For Deconstruction Of The Faith

Let's be blunt, shall we?  This corona situation is making plain that some prelates hold the Faith and eternal salvation as cheap commodities, if they believe at all.

Let's examine the latest nonsense to come from Cardinal Blaise Cupich of Chicago.  Recently he stated that baptisms must be postponed and that emergency baptisms would require his approval to be done.  Ponder the idiocy of that statement.  The word "emergency" in the context of a baptism would mean that there is imminent danger of death, most likely that of an infant.  In that case, hours and even minutes count.  How much time would be wasted to secure his approval?  By that time, the one to be baptized would be dead, forever locked in orignal sin and thus not to be admitted to the Beatific Vision.

Do you consider my use of the word "idocy" to be harsh?  In reality, that is mild, for it could more accurately be called "cold-hearted indifference" or even "malice".  Of course I don't presume to know his current spiritual state so we'll just stick with the more objective term "idiocy". I might point out this is just the latest episode that demonstrates Cupich's cavalier treatment of the Faith.

Then there's the Sacrament of Confession.  I noted with happiness that some pastors, mindful of their sacerdotal responsibilities, have instituted "drive-through" confessions as a means to administer the sacrament while satifying the draconian secular directives.  But some bishops aren't satisfied.  Thinking more like lawyers and insurance agents, they are putting the kibosh on even that.  I speak of Cardinal Tobin of Newark.  At least he allows it in the case of "extreme emergency".  I've written quite a bit about Tobin in the past.

Now let's look at these two instances.  One involves Baptism, the other Confession.  These two sacraments are known as "sacraments of the dead".  That is, they are the only two sacraments that those not in a state of sanctifying grace may receive.  Reception of these is necessary not only to allow the recipient to receive the other sacraments, and more crucially, allow for entrance into heaven.  Without being in a state of sanctifying grace, in God's ordinary providence that isn't possible, unless an act of perfect contrition can occur.  Do we see how insidious this is?  Do we see how the devil is chuckling with glee over these derelictions?  Of course it's quite likely that the devil himself motivated these prelates to issue their unconscionable pronouncements.

Oh, but there's more.  Bishop James Checchio of the Diocese of Metuchen NJ pities us poor suffering Catholics!  He thinks we are already suffering so much that he is suggesting that Catholics slack off with their Lenten exercises.  He has said that Catholics may now eat meat in Lenten Fridays.  I think it's worth noting that the Diocese of Metuchen is a suffragan diocese of Newark.  In other words, the aforementioned Cardinal Tobin is Checchio's boss.  In times like these, don't we need more prayer, fasting and almsgiving?

So here we have it.  Progressive prelates are doing all they can to choke off God's graces to His Church and thus to the world.  Is it at all possible that this had been their dream all along, and that the covid-19 situation simply provided an excuse for them to plausibly do so?

Nature Throws Temper Tantrums

A temper tantrum.  Yes, Pope Francis chalked up the covid-19 outbreak to a "temper tantrum" - his words - that nature is throwing so that we "will take care of her".  How in hades does he make up this crap?  Understand that in this gibberish, he is personifying nature by ascribing to it irascibility.

Let's remember what the Amazon Synod, and in fact most synods and all those meetings with Jeffrey Sachs et al were all about.  They were about establishing the de facto religion of earth-worship.  That was a big impetus in defiling Churches in Rome along with the open worship of the pachamama idols in the  Vatican gardens, with the pope in attendance. I and many others believe that this covid-19 pandemic is nothing less than a Divine chastisement for our many sins against Him - idolatreis, blasphemies, baby-slaughter, the elevation of homosexual perversions, etc.  Let's recall that the pachamama disaster happened in Italy, and the greatest number of casualties are in Italy.

However, instead of repenance, the world and the Church are doubling down on sinful conduct.  At a time when they should be multiplying Masses and allowing for greater access to the Sacraments, our bishops are restricting access to the sacraments and even eliminating them, going so far as to shutter the Churches.  In their claim to be acting out of concern for public safety, they cut off the prime source of God's grace, heaping more disrespect upon God.  I salute those dedicated priests who are having to work around various strictures laid upon them by their errant bishops (drive-through confessions, drive-up exposition of Blessed Sacrament, etc).  At any rate, pachamama isn't the only occasion for idolatry.  We now have "public safety", "compliance with authority" (even when that authority goes outside its own constitutional bounds), etc.  Yes, for too many - even for otherwise faithful Catholics - public safety, good in and of itself, has been made into an idol.

Listen now to the words of Archbishop Lenga of Poland.  Growing up in Poland, this prelate knows a thing or two about living under a tyranny and the perils of subjugating the One True Faith to the dictates of secular powers-that-be.

Surviving The Sanitary Dictatorship

The term "sanitary dictatorship" was coined by Bishop Athanasius Schneider as he wrote about the plight of Catholics who are being deprived world-wide of the Sacraments out of misguided fear.  The "sanitary dictorship" is comprised not only of overreaching civil authorities, but even of Catholic hierarchy who seem all too eager to "go along to get along".

When I say "misguided fear", I do not mean to dismiss the importance of proper precautions such as the washing of hands, maintaining distance between people and for the sick, staying away from others.  I mean that the fear of the virus is supplanting what should be a proper and Godly fear of the Lord.  This lack of fear is causing even otherwise good Catholics to downplay the absolute necessity of the sacraments, believing that we can do without sacraments more so than temporal (and temporary) safety.

Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler TX called upon priests worldwide to do whatever is necessary to administer the Sacrament of Confession to their congregations.  An important aside - while some apoologists have argued that Catholics in prior centuries went without receiving the Eucharist for several months, they always attended Mass.  Moreover, they always had recourse to Confession, for if they died in mortal sin, they stood a good chance of going to hell.  By and large, they acknowledged that fact and acted accordingly.

Cardinal Burke has likewise penned an article in which he plainly states that once again, the Church must prioritize spiritual needs over temporal.  I could spend an entire post on his piece but I will simply urge you to read it in its entirety.

Fortunately, some priests are indeed "thinking outside the box" in order to make that vitally important Sacrament available to their congregations.  That article tells of a number of pastors who are offering "drive-through" confessions, including the pastor of St Edward the Confessor in nearby Bowie MD.  I heard from a friend that St Martin's of Gaithersbug will do the same on Saturdays from 4-5:30.

The Vatican has introduced indulgences in the wake of the deprivation of sacraments that we now endure.  These indulgences, though, persume that the seeker of the indulgence is in a state of grace.  Today, owing in part to terrible catechesis, many Catholics are in mortal sin.  For those Catholics there remains a lifeline known as an Act of Perfect Contrition; even then there is the condition that they must receive the Sacrament of Confession.

We simply must hammer home to our prelates the need to place the salvation of souls as first priority, even above public safety.  I will link to the blog of my friend and colleague at Les Femmes.  She and her fellow columnists have written a good deal on this matter, and it is worth study.  The churches must be opened and the Sacraments once again opened to the congregations.  In the meantime...

No Bishop Can Abrogate Our Canonical Right To The Sacraments

I continue to be aghast at otherwise faithful Catholics who are falling lock-step behind  the government's unconstitutional ban on large gatherings.  The First Amendment guarantees, among other things, Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Assembly.   I won't rehash last week's piece on this; read it here.

I commend the priests who are "working around" the draconian actions of their bishops, with many of those actions surpassing those of civil authority in jack-booted tyranny and in utter disregard of their sacerdotal mandates.  Several pastors are conducting "drive-through" confessions in their parking lots.  Others are exposing the Blessed Sacrament in the churches so that He can be seen and adored from the outside.  Other non-Roman rites are still conducting Mass, or Divine Liturgy to use their terminology.

But again, the mental contortions that some Catholics use to justify their "go along to get along" attitudes is a sight to behold.  More than a few are claiming that Catholics in a state of grace do not have the right to receive the Sacraments.  To which I will now reply, "AT CANON LAW, THEY CERTAINLY DO HAVE SUCH RIGHTS".  Canon 213 expressly states that truth.

Many times we have cited Canon 915, detailing that Catholics "persevering in manifest, grave sin" are not to be admitted to Communion.  However, examine Canons 912 - 923.  I foresee one attempt at silliness now and will quash it immediately.  Canon 912 states that "any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to Holy Communion."  "Law" in this context means church law, not civil; else we would have to conclude that Chinese Catholics cannot receive Holy Communion.

Now are the bishops actually barring us from Mass?  Well, they are actually quite clever about that.  At Canon Law, they cannot do that.  They are closing Churches and exhorting us to remain at home and maybe watch a live-stream of Mass.  In some discussions where I've broached the idea of going outside my diocese for Mass, I am told that I am "being disobedient".  No I am not.  I have the canonical right to go to Mass.  Moreover, the bishops never ordered us outright not to go to Mass.  They cannot, and they know it.  They simply put out some sly suggestions and hope that Catholics will believe that they are forbidden to attend.  Indeed, some naively take the suggestion and run with it, probably not stopping to actually think about the matter.

Let's look at Confession through the prism of Canon Law, beginning with Canon 960.  That canon states that grave sin can only be remitted via the Sacrament of Confession, excepted only by "physical or moral impossibility".  NEWS FLASH!  The equivocating cowardice of bishops, by which they so cavalierly close their confessionals, does NOT constitute those kinds of impossibilities.  God bless the priests mentioned above who have devised ways to work around their prelates' irresponsible directives.  Canon 986 is quite explicit about the duty of priests to make themselves available for confession, particularly when the penitent is in danger of death.

So my fellow Catholics, hold your bishops' feet to the fire.  Go outside your diocese to receive the Sacraments, if you must.  Remember that your first duty before God is your own and your families' salvation.  Physical health, good as it is, takes lesser priority to salvation.

No Mass Means No Second Collection

In the midst of the calamity of the United States being without one public Mass, even then there is just the tiniest silver lining to the cloud.  Without Mass, there can be no second collections.  This weekend, for most dioceses, the second collection would have been taken for the Catholic Relief Services.  That will not happen.  That means that CRS will have fewer dollars with which to undermine the Faith.

Michael Hichborn of the Lepanto Institute unearthed some truly squalid enterprises in which CRS has participated and even led.  Below I publish the second and third of the videos comprising his entire report.

A Church Without Sacraments Is A Worse Nightmare Than Any Virus

Thus says Dr. Paolo Gulisano, renowned Italian epidemiologist, in an interview given to Church Militant TV.   He is quite correct in describing this situation as a "fatal rupture" with the Church's history of standing fast in the face of plagues, wars, earthquakes, etc.  He also made plain that no more can the pope utilize his "church is a field hospital" routine.

I am writing this after having just learned that my parish will not be offering the Sacrament of Confession "until further notice".  This notice was given after one of the priests felt unwell and got tested for the covid-19 virus.  His test results aren't in yet.  Certainly we pray that the results are negative and for Father's health in general.

But what about the spiritual health of Catholics in the area?  Just what might happen of that one Catholic who's been away from the Sacraments for years, and is now just mustering up what little faith and courage he/she has left to get right with God?  Just being away from the Sacraments for years is its own mortal sin, and there are likely others, given that such a soul has had little if any spiritual sustenance.  Now he/she cannot go to Confession at my Church, and at too many others.  Remember - one mortal sin, if unconfessed, will damn a soul to hell for eternity.  If that person makes a Perfect Act of Contrition, he/she might be able to save his/her soul.  However, given the shoddy formation that many Catholics have received of late, that is one tenuous "IF".  If he/she sees that Catholic priests are afraid of their company, will they be so understandably scandalized that they might never return?

In the Old Testament, we read Ezekiel 3:16-21 has plenty to say about those appointed by God to lead to salvation - and their punishment should they refuse to do so.  Consider the disgraceful state of affairs of the US church right now.  All of the US dioceses have canceled public Masses.  In addition to the denial of Confession, many (not all, at least at the time of this writing) are not offering Last Rights nor are they baptizing babies.  Here you have people in their final agonies being deserted by their Church.  Frankly, I cannot see how such dereliction of duty isn't its own mortal sin.  If so, how can a bishop's order to do that be binding under obedience?  Then there are the babies.  Let's get real on that.  Pope John Paul II voiced the hope that there might be a way that unbaptized babies might be admitted to heaven.  However, that is only a hope, not a certitude.  We dare not presume that a child, deprived of baptism, will be admitted to the Beatific Vision.  There is one glimmer of hope, and parents, take note.  In dire straits, any lay person can baptize another.  Must it come to that?

Too many clergy are losing sight of their sacerdotal duties in the face of physical disease.  They value physical health over spiritual health.  I fear that if they persist, they'll literally have hell to pay.  Pray for our church and her priests.

Mother Miriam - Bishops, Bring Back The Mass

She says it well.

Courageous Diocesan Pastor Vows To Keep Church Open, Quotes Archbishop Vigano

Please watch this in its entirety.

Deprivation Of Mass Is Worsening Our Spiritual State

On Saturday I posted that the Archdiocese of Baltimore was still having public Masses, albeit in a limited fashion.  That was then, this is now.  Late yesterday, the Baltimore chancery joined the ranks of the feckless and canceled all their public Masses.  In fact, at least one bishop is discouraging the anointing of the sick for corona sufferers.  That's right.  He advocates the denial of Extreme Unction to the dying, depriving them of sacramental graces that might be necessary to ensure salvation.  That is beyond cruel; it is tantamount to a shepherd turning his back on a lamb in mortal distress.  I cannot see how this dereliction of duty wouldn't be inherently sinful for a priest, regardless of the impetus for this betrayal.

Other clerics, mindful that they are called to lay down their lives for their sheep, are speaking out.  Papal Almonor Konrad Krajewski opened his church and said that "home should always be open to its children".   Archbishop Vigano states that closed churches express "the darkening of the faith that has struck the heights of the church" and that "what is at stake is not only public health but the salvation of souls".  Phil Lawler wrote a piece, republished by LifeSiteNews, stressing the importance of keeping our Churches open while Masses are being said, for the spiritual sakes of people.

I myself had to go to Mass in Arlington, since both the Archdioeses of Washington and Baltimore decided to deprive their people of Mass.  While I'm grateful that the Mass in Arlington even existed, the parish was somewhat liberal.  At the beginning, the priest made it a point to opine that the corona virus is not God's judgment.  I am not inclined to dismiss that possibility, especially when the president of the Italian Bishops' Conference stated that the virus may indeed be God's chastisement brought about by rebellion.  Consider that Italy as a country is one of the hardest-hit countries.  It is also where the pachamama abomination happened.

In my opinion, this covid-19 situation in which the world finds itself is indeed a chastisement from the God who has been mocked and scorned by His creastion.  The blood of over sixty million babies slaughtered via abortion would alone cry for punishment.  Add to that the legalization of homosexual perversion and the widespread disdain of the Christian faith and you have a world that is in need of radical purification.  We need to be in prayer and penance before God, while speaking truth to the world around us.  In particular, pray that our bishops wisen up.  At this time, we need more of the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, not less.  In shuttering the Faithful from Mass, I fear that our bishops are actually exacerbating the spiritual malaise that has occasioned the calamity in which we find ourselves.

Reflections On The Treason Against Holy Mass And Civil Liberties

A few, no, many words are in order for us to understand the seizmic significance of what has spewed forth from our chanceries over the past few days. And it is a huge deal, what is going down.

I and many others are old enough to recall a quaint document, regarded as obsolete by progressives, known as the United States Constitution.  I'll now link to the First Amendment to the Constitution.  We tend to think of this amendment solely in terms of free speech, but the amendment protects more rights in addition, namely freedom of religion and freedom of assembly.  Yesterday, at a press conference, Governor Hogan of Maryland enacted a ban of all gatherings, including religious, at all locations.  Ladies and gentlemen, to be blunt, in that speech he trampled upon the First Amendment.. That scenario was repeated several times throughout the United States.

"But it's for public safety!", you say?  Well, listen to the wise words of one of our Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safey and will lose both".  Today the excuse for discarding the Constitution is the covid-19 virus.  Well, months from now, what will be the excuse when governmental officials wax a little too Orwellian for their britches?  More importantly, how will we protect our rights, given that so many of us are now willing to excuse the ever-encroaching camel's nose under the tent?

As disappointed as I am in Governor Hogan, I am even more profoundly disgusted at the wide-spread acquiesence and even approval that this governmental overreach is garnering from American citizens.  Have we forgotten who we are as a people?  Have we no knowledge of our history, or of our founding documents?  Perhaps it's because so many of us are morally weakened by de facto atheism and sensuality (especially regarding sexual matters) that our intellects are now stunted and calcified.  Collectively we have become not people, but sheeple, being willing to be led by our noses, provided that we have sufficient creature comforts, entertainment, anything else that might facilitate perpetual childhood.  Shame on us!

More importantly, shame on the Church!  With a few notable exceptions (thank you, Archbishop Sample and Bishop Strickland), the bishops have gone right along with the suppression of our Faith and even surpassed civic leaders in perfidy.  That is precisely what Archbishop Gregory did yesterday; he surpassed Hogan via his draconian measures.  Reading his press release again, Gregory claimed to be "following public safety directives made by Governor Hogan".  However, Hogan's ban on public gatherings only applies to gatherings in excess of 250 people, not all gatherings.  Why did Gregory cancel all Masses?  We probably heard that Archbishop Lori limited Mass attendance to 250 people while dispensing the Sunday obligation.  I'll leave debate of that for another possible post.  At least in Baltimore Masses are still happening.  Moreover, during weekday Masses the attendance is nowhere close to 250.  Yet Gregory canceled every public Mass.  I must also point out that Gregory canceled Masses in Washington DC, clearly outside of Hogan's jurisdiction.  If the DC government issued a similar injunction, I find no record of that. This action of Gregory's, whatever the motive, is an abysmal disgrace.  In a crisis such as this, more Masses are needed, not less.

Thankfully a few prelates understand that they are bishops and most see to the eternal salvation of their flock.  Archbishop Sample of Portland OR reiterated the right of the faithful to receive Holy Communion on the tongue.  There is no blather of Masses curtailed in his archdiocese.   Bishop Strickland of Tyler TX has called for Eucharistic processions for repentance and to beg for healing.  The Polish Bishops' Conference stated that it's unconscionable to close churches and that more Masses are needed.

Mindful of these events and the fast-approaching St. Patrick's feast day, I post the video below.  It seems quite appropriate, given that many of us will either have to travel far and wide for Mass or even do without it.

BREAKING! Archdiocese Of Washington Suspends Masses Until Further Notice!!!

This from the Catholic Standard.  Archbishop Gregory has SUSPENDED ALL PUBLIC MASSES "UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE", whatever the hell "further notice" means!   Ostensibly he is complying with Governor Hogan's order to cancel public gatherings. 

Remember the First Amendment?  That's not only about free speech.  It also guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of assembly.  So does the United States Constitution now get trampled in the name of so-called "public safety"?  What excuse will it be the next time some public official gets a little too Orwellian in his/her brain?  If we gave Hogan the benefit of doubt, perhaps he only meant to curtail gatherings in public arenas.

But Church buildings are not public arenas.  While open to the public, they are under private ownership - ownership of the Church.  I am not sure Hogan meant to encompass religious services, for then the directive wouldn't have come from Gregory.

But the directive is coming from Gregory?  Why?  If anything else, a sane bishop would realize that in this time of trial and possibly chastisement, we need more Masses, not less.  Speaking of "Gregory", I wrote a bit about another "Gregory" and his excellent response to a similar situation.  Yes, our local ordinary is acting a bit too ordinary.

Satan would like nothing more than to see the obliteration of Holy Mass and too many prelates, from the pope on down, are unwittingly following his lead.  At least I hope, for their sake, that they are doing so unwittingly.

Of course, we are "dispensed", but I will be driving out of area to another Mass, praying that surrounding bishops have more sense.