St. Peter Martyr April 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, Christendom, error, General Catholic, reading, scandals, secularism, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
I read the following in Dom Prosper Gueranger’s The Liturgical Year on St. Peter Martyr. It’s only sort of 
tangentially about the Saint, and more about the struggles of being a good Catholic in a “free,” libertine Western nation. But it’s also about souls being led astray by false doctrine. Mind, this was written in 1860 or so, I can’t imagine what Gueranger would think today,when the worst, most dangerous false doctrine comes……..from within the Church! (Vol. 8 Passion Time Book II pp. 379-80):
Protector of the Christian people! What other motive hadst thou, in all thy labours, but charity? What else but a desire to defend the weak from danger induced thee not only to preach against error, but to drive it’s teachers from the flock? [Oh that we may have such Saints today! Please give us them, Lord!] How many simple souls, who were receiving divine truth from the teaching of the Church, have been deceived by the lying sophistry of heretical doctrine, and have lost the faith? [Millions in this country alone] Surely the Church 
would do Her utmost to ward off such dangers from Her children; She would do all She could to defend them from enemies, who were bent on destroying the glorious inheritance which had been handed down to them by millions of martyrs! She knew the strange tendency that often exists in the heart of fallen man to love error; whereas truth, though of itself unchanging, is not sure of its remaining firmly in the mind, unless it be defended by learning or by faith. As to learning, there are but few who possess it; and as to faith, error is ever conspiring against it, and, of course, with the appearance of truth. [How well this describes the current crisis afflicting the Church today! Obviously, this crisis was a long time in coming. But now we face princes of the Church and numerous prelates who seem to almost have a death wish in following the same embrace of error that has gutted the protestant sects. How can this be? How can they not see? They are blinded by their ideology.]
In the Christian ages it would have been deemed not only criminal, but absurd to grant to error the liberty which is due only to truth; and they that were in authority considered it a duty to keep the weak from danger, by removing from them all occasions of a fall; just as the father of a family keeps his children from coming in contact with wicked companions who could easily impose on 
their inexperience, and lead them to evil under the name of good. [But now we hear of embracing the world, of corresponding with error!]
Obtain for us, O holy martyr, a keen appreciation of the precious gift of faith – that element which keeps us in the way of salvation. May we zealously do everything that lies in our power to preserve it, both in ourselves and in them that are under our care. The love of this holy faith has grown cold in so many hearts; and frequent intercourse with heretics or free-thinkers has made them think and speak of matters of faith in a very loose way. [Is that not what “dialogue” does? Is it not a dangerous intercourse with heretics? Is that not why it was so assiduously avoided for so long. But so many today, in their pride, think they can get away with it, and not be contaminated by error. And yet, they are.] Pray for them, O Peter, that they may recover that fearless love of the truths of religion which should be one of the chief traits of the Christian character. If they be living in a country where the modern system is introduced of treating all religions alike – that is, of giving equal rights to error and to truth – let them be all the more courageous in professing the truth, an detesting the errors opposed to the truth. [Indeed, and it is passages like this that encourage to continue my own weak, trifling efforts to spread at least some part of that truth and to condemn error. I pray I may find ways to do much more] Pray for us, O holy martyr, that there may be enkindled within us an ardent love of that faith without which it is impossible to please God (Heb XI:6). Pray that we may become all earnestness in this duty, which is of vital importance to salvation; that thus our faith may daily gain strength within us, till at length we shall merit to see in Heaven what we have believed unhesitatingly on earth.
————-End Quote————-
Such an excerpt for our time.
Report: environmentalists responsible for tens of millions of deaths worldwide April 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in asshatery, Basics, disaster, error, foolishness, General Catholic, horror, scandals, secularism, self-serving, sickness, Society.comments closed
And this report is from a very surprising source: my old nemesis, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They apparently commissioned a study to look into causes of death from disease, murder, and other vectors. They found mosquitos the number one killer of humans worldwide, causing millions of deaths annually:
A new study supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation proves how deadly mosquitoes really are. According to research, the insect is the biggest killer of humans in the world, with human beings themselves a distant second.
I don’t know about the latter part, but why has this study been commissioned, and why are mosquitos so deadly?
Well, mosquitos spread many diseases, the most common of which is malaria. Malaria has been mostly wiped out in the US, but in much of the world, especially underdeveloped tropical countries, it remains a deadly threat. The Gates Foundation, when they are not pushing contraception, has fought to help eradicate malaria in Africa, or, at least, to help stop the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
However, both The Gates Foundation efforts, and mosquito eradication generally, has been almost impossible since Rachel Carson wrote a highly leading and dubiously researched but incredibly influential book in the early 60s called Silent Spring, in which she claimed that the use of the pesticide DDT (among others) – incredibly effective against mosquitos, and responsible for more or less wiping out malaria in the US – caused bird egg shells to thin, meaning little birdies could not be born. Somehow. And thus spring would be silent, with no bird calls. The book received massive media adulation and was hugely promoted on all the major medial outlets of the time. As a result, production of DDT was essentially banned in industrialized countries although it still sees some limited production and use in semi-developed countries like India.
The ban was totally unnecessary, however. There is no conclusive, or even substantial, evidence that DDT negatively affected bird populations, and the often cited bald eagle population recovery was already underway before DDT was banned (another factor: if DDT was so toxic and posed such a threat, how did it get totally washed out of the ecosystem so quickly that bald eagles were taken off the endangered species list in the 1980s? There is a good deal of evidence that the whole “bald eagle extinction” threat was fabricated). Carson’s book was an early example of left wing agitprop being thoroughly mixed into a purportedly popular science book, and it was structured (and a media narrative crafted) to lead people to foregone conclusions. It gave birth to the same environmental movement that pushes the gerbal worming scam on us today.
And the thing is, as pesticides go, DDT is really not very bad. It is not very carcinogenic (or not at all, depending on who you ask), its connection to birth defects and health problems of any kind is very minor, at most, and it is cheap and easy to manufacture. It is superior in most respects to most of the replacements that have been developed.
This ban, according to the National Institutes for Health, has resulted in tens of millions of deaths. One scientist quoted believes 120 million may have perished unnecessarily due to the DDT ban. And this is just one small area where the environmental movement has had a disastrous impact on human life. And what is remarkable is the silence of environmentalists on true threats to humans and the entire environment in the form of huge quantities of artificial sex hormones flooding water supplies due to massive chemical contraception use.
But when we look at the diabolical, maniacal rhetoric of leading environmental lights like Paul Erlich, Thomas Malthus, Crispin Tickell (no, really), Michael Mann, and many others, we can see that it has never been about true concern for humanity, but about control. These population control (and global warming, and…..) zealots are ideological leftists who use environmental scare-mongering to advance their politico-economic agenda. And the worst part is, their policies and advocacy hurt mankind in myriad ways. Not just in babies never born through contraception, not just through babies killed through abortion, but also through economic impediments, onerous, scientifically unsupported regulations, and general misanthropy on a massive scale. These zealots just do not like people.
But they have been incredibly successful, especially in the developed West. The world’s total fertility has fallen from 6 children per woman in 1960 to 2.45 today. Fertility rates in the West are universally below replacement levels. The population of advanced countries is either already shrinking (Japan, Russia) or will start to shrink very soon (all of Europe, Canada, with the US faltering). And third world countries are not far behind. Outside a few countries in Saharan Africa, all muslim countries are experiencing massive decreases in fertility, with some of them already below replacement levels. South America will start to see population decreases within a few decades. World population will peak around 2050 and then begin to fall, inexorably, for the first time in recorded history. While there are many factors in this falling fertility, radical environmentalist rhetoric informs and undergirds them all. It forms an intellectual and emotional backdrop to all the selfishness that is driving this fertility collapse.
These people have a great deal to answer for.
I recommend supporting the Population Research Institute to oppose this Malthusian misanthropic heresy.
Early Flightline Friday April 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Admin, Flightline Friday, fun, history, silliness, Society, Victory.comments closed
“Murderer’s Row,” Ulithi Atoll, December 8, 1944.
This famous photograph shows the awesome striking power of a good chunk of Third Fleet riding at anchor in the huge anchorage at Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands. 5 Essex Class aircraft carriers dominate the center/right of the photo, with USS Enterprise (CV-6) in night camouflage to the upper left. Two light fleet carriers of the Independence Class are also present.
All told, almost 700 aircraft would be embarked on those 8 carriers.
Because the US Navy’s carrier aviation had become so utterly dominant by the latter half of 1944 over their Japanese adversary, and particularly in the air combat arena, this anchorage became known as Murderer’s Row. By this point in the war, US Navy fighters achieved a better than 12 to 1 kill ratio against the sad remnants of the Imperial Japanese Navy that had rode so high in 1941 and 42.
Also present in the background is a South Dakota class battleship, probably ol’ Battleship’X’ herself:
One of the incredible capabilities the US Navy acquired during WWII was the ability to operate for months at a time away from any home port. As the war advanced, the US set up incredible logistical facilities in the western Pacific, with floating drydocks, repair shops, tenders of all kinds, ammunition dumps, etc. Fuel was taken onboard fast tankers at Pearl Harbor and the West Coast and typically transferred from ship to ship. This let the USN keep a huge forward presence without having to return to port, save for the most extensive repairs. That made a huge difference, and was a capability no other navy had. As the war progressed, the US advanced its anchorages steadily west. The first was Majuro, then Ulithi, and the final one was at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.
While few Americans ever heard of Ulithi, for seven months in 1944 and 1945 it was the busiest anchorage in the world.
Another fantastic capability the US developed to a high art in WWII, and still uses constantly today, was underway replenishment. In this system, stores, munitions, fuel, and everything needed for war is transferred between special cargo ships and warships while steaming in formation at high speed. The British were absolutely floored when the saw the degree to which the US Navy could operate for weeks at a time away from even forward anchorages like Ulithi.
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) in company of USS Shangri La (CV-38) takes on fuel from fast oiler Neches (AO-47) July 1945
Sometimes in unrep, one warship tops off another. USS Missouri refuels USS Iowa (BB-61):
Yes, Virginia, there were such things as kamikaze’s (the attack did little damage, although some of the anti-aircraft crew pictured were burned to death by burning fuel):
This is more of a Full bore Friday than Flightline Friday.
Ah, well……
How wearing religious clothing publicly can work conversions April 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Ecumenism, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, priests, religious, sanctity, Society, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
Wearing religious garb publicly, whether cassock, biretta, habit, etc., was at one time a no-brainer act for all priestly and religious vocations. It was always understood to give a public witness to the Faith, and serve as a tool for evangelization. Even Hollywood has picked up on this, and invariably portrays priests and religious in traditional habits. But many in the Church have forgotten this elemental truth over the past few decades. A very
handy post from Fr. Peter Carota – who you should read daily! – notes the conversion experience of one secular woman who found herself having a strange fascination towards nuns once she saw some habited nuns in Rome. From that simple witness, a heart was gradually changed:
“I went to live in Spain for the college “Junior Year Study Abroad” program. I was raised Protestant (though 3 of my 4 grandparents were Catholic), but I did not like religion much, and really didn’t care one way or the other about Catholicism — about which I knew nothing. I visited Rome during my Christmas break, and became completely mesmerized by the beautiful nuns in full black habits who seemed like angels to me. I was at the point of making a very big decision in my life. I was deciding, at the age of 21, that I did not need God. I never had felt any closeness to Him, and I believed it was time for me to decide whether or not I wanted God in my life. I decided, “no I did not.” Still I loved the nuns.
![procession i[1][1]](https://veneremurcernui.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/procession-i11.jpg)
A few weeks later I found myself — traveling alone — in a train station somewhere outside of Madrid late one night. I had travelled out of this station a few days earlier and had boarded the wrong train because the trains came flying in, stopped for a few seconds, then disappeared into the night. I nervously watched the trains come and go, trying to understand the staticky Spanish over the P.A. system announcing each train. Suddenly two beautiful nuns came up to me and asked me where I was going. I said, “Madrid.” They said, “We are too. Come on.” They each took my by the arm, one on each side, and whisked me onto the right train. We arrived in Madrid in the middle of the night.The train station was full of a lot of scary-looking men, but the nuns held on tight to me as we sailed past. I was amazed to see those rough men cross themselves at the sight of these two holy women. The sisters saw me to my destination – at 3 o’clock in the morning.
I did stick to my plan of rejecting God. I became a very immoral college girl! But I always cherished those sweet sisters who took care of me. I collected all kinds of things with nuns — pictures, dolls, magnets, you name it. 
Everyone who knew me bought me nun gifts because they knew of my fascination. So I guess no one was really surprised when I eventually converted to the Catholic faith. (That’s another story.)
Now I’ve discovered Tradition, and I pray that more nuns will wear those beautiful habits. That simple act of dressing in the habit will bring many souls to the Church. Cradle Catholics, especially priests, have no idea of the positive outcome they would have if more of them dressed like priests in public. People are fascinated by men and women in traditional Catholic religious garb. Sad to say that the last time I saw a “priest” wearing clerical garb in public was at my neighbor’s son’s birthday party. The “priest” was a woman from the Episcopal church sporting her black shirt and Roman collar, and shorts!” [Sheesh]
————-End Quote————–
Simply wearing the habit of one’s God-given vocation can make a huge difference in the lives of people outside the Church. They see that cassock or that habit and they know they are seeing something beyond them, beyond normal experience. It makes me sad when priests only wear their “clerics” around church, and doff them at the earliest opportunity. And it makes my heart sing when I see young priests in cassock and biretta, giving public witness to our faith. We need much more of that.
Fr. Carota has really been on a roll of late. Here and here are two more really good posts you should read. I should really take up a Novena for Fr. Carota. Speaking the Truth so plainly, hitting so many of the forbidden topics and outrageous hypocrisies of the post-conciliar Church, I fear the hammer will fall on him at some point.
On the other hand….. April 30, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Christendom, Ecumenism, episcopate, General Catholic, Papa, Sacraments, secularism, self-serving, Society, the return.comments closed
……now Pope Francis gives a strong endorsement of the sanctity of marriage. One step forward, two steps back, or vice versa?
Pope Francis on April 25 stressed the need for bishops and priests to give a “consistent witness” to Christian moral teaching, including the lifelong nature of Christian marriage, and to teach these truths “with great compassion.”
“The holiness and indissolubility of Christian matrimony, often disintegrating under tremendous pressure from the secular world, must be deepened by clear doctrine and supported by the witness of committed married couples,” Pope Francis said.
“Christian matrimony is a lifelong covenant of love between one man and one woman; it entails real sacrifices in order to turn away from illusory notions of sexual freedom and in order to foster conjugal fidelity.”….
……Pope Francis noted the pastoral challenges presented by marital separation and divorce, even in Christian families, and the lack of a stable home for many children.
“We also observe with great concern, and can only deplore, an increase in violence against women and children,” [And where does that worst, most deeply ingrained violence towards women occur? Where is it most institutionalized, formalized in the culture? In the remains of Christendom? Or in the muslim world?] he continued. “All these realities threaten the sanctity of marriage, the stability of life in the home and consequently the life of society as a whole.”……
…..In his comments to the southern African bishops, Pope Francis also noted the damage caused by abortion and an attitude of disrespect for life.
“Abortion compounds the grief of many women who now carry with them deep physical and spiritual wounds after succumbing to the pressures of a secular culture which devalues God’s gift of sexuality and the right to life of the unborn,” he said.
In addition, the Holy Father acknowledged the bishops’ reports that some Catholics are turning away from the Church to other groups, as well as a decline in family size that is affecting the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. [So perhaps the Church in Africa is not the beacon of great growth and the great hope for the future it is often presented as being]
“In this sea of difficulties, we bishops and priests must give a consistent witness to the moral teaching of the Gospel,” he said. “I am confident that you will not weaken in your resolve to teach the truth ‘in season and out of season’ (2 Tim 4), sustained by prayer and discernment, and always with great compassion.”
A cynic might question the timing of this statement, after the most recent notorious phone call. Fortunately, I am not a cynic.
Am I the only one having a hard time getting a handle on this pontificate? Perhaps it is just my failings, reacting to small conversations and off-the-cuff statements that really don’t matter a great deal, when the more formal addresses are fine?
But then there was some disconcerting guidance in Evangelium Guadium, so I don’t know. So confusing.
Let those who have eyes to see……. April 29, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in asshatery, Basics, disaster, episcopate, error, General Catholic, Holy suffering, Papa, priests, sadness, scandals, secularism, self-serving, the return.comments closed
A few data points from around the Church:
- Severe sanctions continue against the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and their holy founder. Fr. Stefano Manelli. According to Pray for the Friars, Fr. Manelli’s literal house arrest continues, he was not allowed out of his house to celebrate his 81st birthday nor to visit the graves of his parents. Hundreds of lay faithful in the MIM tied to the FFI were denied entry into Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii near Naples, and thus had to cancel their annual pilgrimage to the site. But this is simply another means of mortification for these very holy souls, and a sure sign of God’s beneficent approval of this order.
- Meanwhile, it appears that Pope Francis has intervened directly to lift sanctions imposed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on a dissenting Irish priest. Six years ago, the CDF banned public discourse by Fr. Sean Fagan and threatened to laicize him if he continued spreading error. The priest has attacked Church Dogma on, what else, contraception, abortion, sexual morality, and all the other groinal issues people of a certain generation simply cannot get past. It is being proffered by the entire heretical “Association of Catholic Priests” in Ireland that other heretical priests may be similarly rehabilitated. It should be mentioned there was also intervention by several members of the extremely problematic Irish episcopate and the heads of some religious orders. Great.
- The Bishop of Lancaster has ordered the pious, faithful blog Protect the Pope to be shut down. Deacon Nick
Donnelly, who created the site to defend Pope Benedict from attacks by atheists and others prior to his visit to England in 2011, was ordered to stop blogging earlier this year. Now the entire site is ordered to be closed, even though Deacon Donnelly has obeyed the order. His wife had kept the blog up in the interim, but no more. - In another intervention, and quite contrary to the mantra of collegiality, it appears Pope Francis is intervening against Cardinal Cipriani in the case of the frequently dissenting/heretical faculty of the Pontifical University of Peru. The university is the very center of liberation theology, and has served as a battleground between various elements of the hierarchy, including Peruvian Primate Cardinal Cipriani and former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone on one side, and a bunch of progressive priests and theologians and Cardinal-designate Muller, head of the CDF, on the other. Muller is a disciple of Fr. Guterriez, the founder of the liberation theology movement. The university has been a hotbed of dissent and error for decades, and Cardinal Cipriani had moved to strip the university of its Pontifical and Catholic titles/associations. Now it appears Pope Francis demands a reconciliation between elements which appear, from a distance, at least, to be totally irreconcilable.
All these matters trend in one ideological direction. The grave problem of being beholden to an ideology is that it blinds one to all contrary evidence.
Events are heading to a conclusion. The upcoming Synod is being hyped as a sort of mini-Vatican III. All the sacred shibboleths of the progressives are being trotted out as on the table for discussion. I think we need to start preparing ourselves, internally, for the unthinkable, while praying like Desert Fathers that somehow the Church comes through this new trial unharmed.
Domine, miserere nobis. Quaesumus!
Awesome video examines religious basis of “evolution” April 29, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Ecumenism, error, foolishness, General Catholic, sadness, secularism, silliness, Society.comments closed
It is amazing how Providence works. Just yesterday I had some folks show up to comment on a post from last week. The comment period was just about to time out, and yet I got two very hostile comments, one from what I think is a liberal Catholic/protestant type and another from a young atheist. This atheist seemed rather proud that they were studying for a career in the “mental health profession” and that they were “fact-based, scientifically-minded,” not dumb superstitious religious people.
I left a very long response to the atheist this morning, wherein I questioned whether or not he does not accept many scientific principles as a matter of faith. No one has ever seen evolution in action, for instance, nor is it possible to observe the so-called Big Bang, sub-atomic particles, quantum physics, the rotation of galaxies, “black holes,” or many aspects of modern science. People just accept the claims of science on faith, and then, rather temerously, look down their noses at supposedly ignorant, superstitious religious people. Even though the Truth of the Christian Faith has remained constant for far longer than the vast majority of accepted scientific “facts.”
The video below, from our nasally quick-talking, and even quicker-thinking, Aussie protestant friend exposes how many, many people have been carefully shaped in schools (propagandized might be a better word) to accept evolution as “fact,” when even scientific specialists in the field acknowledge their best evidence for evolution is only indirect and inferential. It’s worth a watch, to see the scales of preconceived notions slowly fall from the eyes:
It is very revealing to watch people go from stating that evolution is “fact,” to making appeals to authority, to then claiming it’s basically all on faith.
Who knows if there was much editing here with the PhD types, but all evolutionary theory hinges on the claim that species can change from one type to another – a fish became a frog became a dinosaur became a bird, or a frog became a rat became an ape became a man, all that. And evidence for that is very weak. It’s all one giant assumption based on adaptation seen in some species.
Anyway, I wouldn’t say Darwin’s entire theory was obliterated with this video but it’s fun and informative watch.
We go by what we have been told. But the existence of God can be proven from first principles and has been by Augustine, Aquinas, and many others.
And it is devastating how many people have fallen away from the Faith over this matter of evolution, which supposedly so “disproves” God’s role in creation. Much of the modernist heresy and all of the Teilhardian variety was an attempt to meld Catholicism with belief in evolution, with evolution obviously dominant in that exchange.
Some really important questions posed by local priest April 29, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Interior Life, Latin Mass, Papa, pr stunts, priests, sanctity, scandals, secularism, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
I was at a talk given by a local priest the other night, and he posed some questions that I think are of the highest import for all of us. Even pious souls need to stop occasionally and ask themselves some very basic questions, which have the potential to reveal a great deal about the status of our life in the Faith:
- What difference does Jesus make in my life?
- How would someone who doesn’t know me know that I am a Catholic?
- Why do I go to Mass?
These questions really cut to the core. Hopefully we can answer these questions well. Another point made by the priest is that it is only in the Christian context that the Holy Name of God in the First and Second Persons of the Trinity have been turned into cuss words. To blaspheme allah in an islamic context is to wind up dead, very quickly, so it doesn’t happen. And I don’ t think hindus or buddhists use the names of their deities as curse words. But Christians and those in Western nations certainly do use the Name of Our Blessed Lord as a curse all the time. And I think that is very revealing.
Another very important point, also made by this priest: “neo-Catholics” or “neo-conservative” Catholics are in a deadly danger with this pope. These are people, almost universally ultramontanists, who define their adherence to the Catholic Faith according to the vagaries of whatever pope happens to be in charge at any given moment. But the Church is larger than the Pope or the office, and Jesus Christ remains the Head of the Church, with the Pope his Vicar on earth.
Of course we must respect and venerate both the office and man of the See of Peter, but I think the problems associated with defining one’s faith according to whatever the current pope says should be manifest by now. These include wild swings in emphasis, and the fact that there have been many bad popes in the history of the Church, and there will be bad popes in the future. Should a less than stellar pope gain the office (or hold the office now, ahem), and cause/precipitate/allow some great scandal, the potential for people to fall away from the Faith over this is substantial.
While popes are hugely influential and absolutely vital to the life of the Faith, and they should have strong influence on us, there is danger in reducing our practice of the Faith down to whatever Pope ‘X’ does, says, promotes, or opposes. Jesus Christ is the center of the Faith, and we have Scripture and Tradition to look to for guidance. The Church is bigger than any man.
On a related note, here is a pretty good article here about Catholic media attempts to apologize for Pope Francis. At some point I think we’re going to have to realize that the problem is not bad translations, it is not a hostile media, it is not rotten traddies and their protestant pharisaism, the problem is the messages conveyed at the highest levels of the Church and a certain imprudent tendency towards spontaneous, impromptu communications. Pope Francis is not dumb. He knows what effect saying things like “who am I to judge?” and “go out and make a mess” will have.
And at this point, I will stop damning myself.
Shoot, I had one more point to tie in with this. There was a Saint named Richard Gwyn that was martyred during the Elizabethan persecution of the Church. There is a quote about his practice of the Faith that has great bearing on where we are today as a Church:
…..his enemies to this day could never charge him with any fault other than following of his faith and conscience- which nowadays is accounted madness.
Could we be similarly convicted? And is it madness nowadays to observe the Faith and follow a virtuous conscience? I was told by an atheist yesterday he has no conscience! And he wants to be a “mental health professional!”
Sounds like he is well-suited to the task!
Help support a new movie on the true nature of the French Revolution – UPDATED April 29, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Christendom, Ecumenism, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, history, Holy suffering, persecution, sadness, Saints, secularism, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know how I feel about the French Revolution. That epic was one of satan’s masterstrokes, wherein he foisted a demonic sexularist pagan government – the first, the prototype for all the rest! – upon the eldest daughter of the Church. All the diabolical elements of leftist politics that have carried through to the present day were present in the French Revolution. The repression, the enforced atheism, the economic collectivization, the rhetoric of “freedom” and “liberty” which turned out to be an utter sham, enjoyed only by a very few at the top of the power structure, and, of course, rabid, insane hatred for God and His Church.
But the true nature of the French Revolution is not well known outside traditional/faithful Catholic circles. Most secular educators present the French Revolution as basically akin to an American Revolution that got slightly out of hand. While there is an extremely strong corollary between the two – the American being a “conservative” liberal revolution, the French one a left liberal revolution – they were in practice radically different. The French Revolution was violent, repressive, savage, and cruel. Disaffected, even insane individuals, were given massive power and unleashed that power on their fellow citizens, especially committed Catholics, with grim determination.
To help make the nature of the French Revolution known, there is an effort underway to tell the story of the heroic sufferings of the people of the Vendee in France. This new film is a something of a collaboration between Jim Morlino of Navis Pictures, who previously produced the great War of the Vendee movie, and Daniel Rabourdin, formerly of EWTN. I say something of a collaboration, because I spoke with Jim Morlino at Navis Pictures and he informed me he performed the cinematography on this upcoming movie. I am told it will be tradition-friendly.
As far as I’m concerned, Jim Morlino is a genius when it comes to getting movies made for virtually no money.
The film has already been shot on location in France, but they need more funding to complete the editing and printing process. There is a crowd-funding site for donations. You can donate at varying levels, up to and including getting an executive producer credit on the film with numerous perks (private dinner with the producer, being on production conference calls, etc).
This campaign has a goal and they are a long way from reaching it. I know there are so many very upright, valuable causes out there to support, but perhaps this is one worth praying about and considering. I had saved some money via my mortifications over Lent, and was thinking of supporting a certain priest but I used it to help this effort out, instead. Movies are very powerful, emotionally, and can be great tools of evangelization. But so few good movies are made.
If we want to see more and better Catholic entertainment, supporting efforts like this out of our own pocket is probably going to be necessary for the foreseeable future. The culture is turning increasingly hostile. We shall have a hard time preserving what we have, let alone reaching out to other souls. But movies like this have the potential to touch hardened hearts. Since Hollywood is pretty much dead to the Faith, if we’re going to see Catholic movies made, we’re going to have to do it ourselves, which is what this effort is really about.
Consider helping see this movie to completion.
Much more on the film below:
Key point made above: all the horrors of Nazism and communism were simply exercises in repeating the horrors of the French Revolution on a modern scale. Nazism and communism are belief systems that take the errors of the French Revolution to their logical conclusion. And both Lenin and Stalin deliberately modeled their systems of terror on those established in the French Revolution.
And the film will stress the truth of the genocide carried out by the French revolutionary government against the people of the Vendee, which pre-figured the Holodomor, Holocaust, and other genocides.
A trailer for the film:
Jim Morlino on the movie:
The parallels between the War in the Vendee and the Cristero rebellion are many. Same revolutionary hatred of the Church, same effort to keep knowledge of the evil repression covered up.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that Navis Pictures has their own new development underway, a movie called The Sanctuary, which will feature a professional cast and many professional film people in the production. It’s going to be a fully professional feature film designed to compete at film festivals. So please keep Jim Morlino and Navis Pictures in your prayers as they work to complete this new movie.
UPDATE: Dumb me, I forgot to include the movie website. It’s here. I should add that Bishop Dominic Rey of Toulouse has granted his apostolic blessing to all that participate in the movie, including those who help fund it. So, if you send in even $10, you get an apostolic blessing!!
Fruit of the “new evangelization?” Santa Muerte now as popular as the Blessed Virgin in Mexico April 29, 2014
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, disaster, error, foolishness, General Catholic, horror, Our Lady, sadness, scandals, secularism, sexual depravity, sickness, Society, Spiritual Warfare.comments closed
Here is a most disturbing article from a secular source, which seems to find this development appalling, for once. A Tuscon TV station has a report about the explosive growth of satanic worship in the form of “santa muerte” – holy death – in Mexico. This worship is specifically associated with the drug trade which is rapidly destroying what remained of Mexican culture. But it has spread out of the “narcos” and into mainstream Mexican life, so that one report below indicates sales of demonic santa muerte statues are as popular as those of the Blessed Virgin:
Studies show that most people believe in angels. However, not all angels are associated with goodness and light.
In fact, some are all about the exact opposite.
Right now in Mexico, one is surging in popularity, as another fades…..
….Even along a busy highway in Nogales, Sonora. You will find shrine after vandalized shrine, dedicated to death.
Jaime Torres told KGUN9, “what do people get out of Santa Muerte, out of death, they ask for something out of faith. And when it delivers, it delivers in quantities.”
At a shop in Nogales Sonora, the owner pinpoints the reasons people come here to buy statuettes of death and then pray to them.
The two main reasons are for love and for money.
In case you’re wondering, the owner says statuettes of death are equal in sales to those of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary pulls ahead only at Christmas time.
Here is the video report that is the source of the text:
This just breaks my heart. 80 years ago, Mexico was as Catholic a country as there was on the planet. After 30 years of persecution, the Faith had been wounded, but was still vibrant. Then the post-conciliar changes happened, and the Faith in Mexico, as in so many other lands, has not recovered. One might even say it has been shattered.
Mexican society obviously has many problems. The lure of the drug-trade, with quick riches, incredible power, and adulation from many sectors of society, has caused many people to fall into immoral activities. But to go over, overtly, to demon worship, is just incredible. It’s more than just a sign of people falling into sin, it is a sign of people so spiritually starved that they are turning to DEMONS for sustenance. That is a tragedy of mass proportions, unspeakable in a different time, but it is also a sign of how unfulfilling, how unmoving, the post-conciliar pablum served up in almost all parishes really is. Finding holy, reverent Masses in Mexico, is, I am told, quite difficult.
But it’s not just in Mexico. I go into Mexican grocery stores near our house, and what do I see? Lots of Saint Novena candles, a really great variety, but down at the bottom, in numbers exceeding those of any other Saint including the Blessed Virgin, row after row of demon worship santa muerte candles. I would like to buy them all and ostentatiously smash them right out in front of the store. I hope to do that someday.
Just for the obvious: this demon worship has been condemned by the Mexican Church, with the Cardinal Archbishop of Guadalajara making a a particularly strong condemnation (Guadalajara/Jalisco, home of the Cristeros, is still the most Catholic region of Mexico, and the one with the most TLMs). So it’s not like there is a question about it.
Oh Blessed Mother, crush this particular demon under your heel!
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