About me
This blog is for Roman Catholics, primarily those in the Dallas Diocese, but for anyone with an interest in reverent, orthodox, traditional Catholicism. I must note that I am not affiliated with the Dallas Diocese in any way except as a concerned, involved parishioner.
I am a busy dad with 5 little girls and a baby boy, but I will try to post often to get this blog started.
I pray God that you will find this blog useful and that it may be an instrument of His Will in helping to shape the Dallas Diocese.
My real name is Lawrencinium Tiberius Rochenhoffenstauffengreensteinberg-Jones.
Very good commentary on Father Barron. He recently caused a big upset about his review of Ralph Martin’s new book on Hell, “Will Many Be Saved?”. Michael Voris , Monsignor Charles Pope and even the author called him to task. When I first read Father Barron’s book review I thought something was amiss — so I was glad to see it wasn’t just me. His review seemed to dismiss the idea that St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine held that few are saved. Of course they are mere Doctors of the Church.. When you said in your commentary that Father Barron reflects Modernism in his thinking, you hit the nail on the head. (I have always wondered why he does the “worldly” movie reviews. I doubt any of our major (or even minor) saints would have felt the need for that.) I am sure he means well, but today that is not enough. We MUST be in line with Church teaching.
Again thank you for pointing this out, Catholics are confused enough and we do not need it to be added to.
Thank you! Fr. Barron is increasingly concerning me because he has this reputation for orthodoxy but he frequently espouses doubtful ideas, even outright error. He really believes that almost everyone is saved.
In your last comment in the Fr. Barron article you wrote, you said something very clearly and I quote you:
“Again, I think in the interest of cutting a new path, establishing some new vision of the Faith, Barron is always looking for some subtle nuance or some different tack to explain things. I get tired head listening to him after 10 minutes, not because I’m a brain dead rube that can’t comprehend what he’s saying, but because IT’S JUST NOT AN APPROACH THAT APPEALS TO ME. I’m certain he’d be very well received in many elite settings. I GEUSS US dumb ace state school engineers JUST AREN’T CUT OUT FOR SUCH high-falootin talkifyin’.”
The words I caps locked, I think are the main point in all your problem with Fr. Barron, is not a “new vision” of the faith, is just a language to reach and explain the faith to those in these secular society. Which is something very useful and important for the Church these days.
When most of the major and minor saints lived, there was no such thing as movies, forgive me but I’ve seen many of his movie reviews and they really give a good theological thought that connects the idea of the movie with God and the faith. About the thing on hell, he has done some recent comments on the video about hell responding to a user called tunasalad4u, check it out. Finally, “being in line with Church teaching” is not synonym of preaching it with 16th century language. Father Barron does a great job evangelizing targeting to reach to people in today’s secular and intellectual culture , something that cannot be done in the style of Michael Voris, as an additional comment, Voris also does a great job evangelizing too, just that he points more to evangelize the lukewarm, and attacking the dissident and cafeteria catholics inside the Church. It’s two different ways of evangelzing to different groups of people with the same message.
Hi–I’ll be visiting Dallas in July and would love to find a faithful, orthodox parish. We’ll be staying at the Doubletree Hotel, Campbell Center, but will have a rental car. Can you recommend a reverent parish?
Many thanks for your blog–I grew up in Dallas before I was Catholic in the St. Monica’s church area.
Mater Dei is what I’d recommend most. St. Mark in Plano is OK for a ‘large suburban parish.’
Mater Dei website
St. Thomas Aquinas and Christ the King are other options if you don’t want TLM, but Mater Dei is the most orthodox by a substantial margin.
Thanks so much!
We’ve met a few times including the recent baptism you post of. You had such supporting words on Fr Paul yet failed to mention St Williams to the person inquiring of orthodoxy in the area.
Yes its a long ride, but when I was making the same investigation years back from Michigan I stumbled on his story. I made a point of travelling there my first trip.
We had to make the house decision before we had as chance to get to know the diocese. Still we came after a frustrating search to stay with Fr Paul. Some day I will live close to my church,my tabernacle …
When didn’t I mention it? I did in the post!
Sorry if I forgot to do so sometime in the past. I mess up all the time.
We tried to sell our house and wanted to move out to Greenville. That was in 2008-2010. The market was terrible, the house wouldn’t sell. But, I think God had a hand in that, had we moved to Greenville, which parish and priest I love and respect tremendously, we never would have made it to Mater Dei. So, perhaps all worked out for the best in the end. But as long as there is a Fr. Weinberger, many souls will be greatly blessed and aided at St. William.
I think you are just siding with that Bishop from Corpus Christi who is an idoit .So many of Our Bishops cover up the raping of our young boys by priests but don’t stand up for the priests that are accused falsely
Joe
Please comment in the appropriate post. I don’t know which bishop you’re referring to, Bishop Mulvey, current bishop of Corpus Christi, or Bishop Rene Gracida, retired bishop who I have quoted and linked to quite a bit.
As for defending Mulvey, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve related exactly how I feel – conflicted. I pray Corapi is doing the will of God. I have defended him against the harsher attacks, while recognizing that his actions are difficult to understand in light of the solemn vows he took when receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Good Morning, do you have a press contact email I can send information to? I work for a pr firm in Austin, and have a Catholic Author that would love to do a Q&A, or a possible book review.
Thank you,
Emily Southard
Emily@Prbythebook.com
I assisted last night (July 18, 2011) at the Latin Mass offered at St. Mark’s parish. I hope that it’s appropriate to offer the following remarks:
– I estimate that 70 people were in attendance last night.
– Several young families were presented. About 12 children were present.
– Several women, including, it seemed, each girl, wore head coverings.
– The schola was absent (to return next Monday…Deo volente…according to Father Hopka.
– Three women served as EMs. They distrubuted the Sacred Hosts.
– Father Hopka held and administered the chalice.
– Holy Communion (Hosts) was received by the Faithful on the tongue and in the hand.
Just be aware that Perry and Bachmann and their supporters in the dominionist movement are simply dying to burn anyone at the stake who does not bow down to their hated, heretical version of god. Catholics, Lutherans, other mainline Protestants and even conservative non-dominionist Protestants are all equally despised by them.
“look lady, you call him Doctor Jones”
What?
sorry, you say your last name is Jones, I’m stealing the line from Indiana Jones.
because your our hero
I came across your blog after googling the ministry for gay & lesbian Catholics and their families & friends at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. I am saddened by your inability to find either love or compassion for your fellow Catholic brothers & sisters. But after reading your other entries in your blog, I can see that gays & lesbians, and the issues they face, including discrimination in society at large and, sadly, by the Church, are not the only topics in which you have a very limited understanding of. I pray that God will grace with you with both an open heart & an open mind soon.
I appreciate the comment, but I don’t present my own opinions, but what the Church has taught and believed from it’s inception. St. Paul specifically condemned homosexual acts.
I don’t want you to suffer. As one who has been mired in serious sin, who has led a very destructive lifestyle, I pray that you bend your will to the Truth Christ has revealed through His Church and strive to live a chaste life. All are called to be chaste. It is a fundamental virtue of the Faith. Homosexual acts violate chastity, as do all sexual acts outside marriage. I am a sinner, and always will be, but God has given me the Grace to overcome the most serious sins I was committing and the strength to fight against all sins as much as I can. Where I fail, it is because I have not cooperated with His Grace.
I’m sure you have people in the Church telling you that homosexual acts are not sinful. I am certain you can find people who tell you that God is about love and tolerance and embracing everyone. I pray those people are right, I really do, because if they are not, if God does expect obedience to the Truth He has revealed through His Church, then huge numbers of people are putting their souls in the most grave position. There is nothing in Church Doctrine that says that unchaste sex is acceptable, so the misplaced and soft sentimentality and moral indifference masquerading as “love” and “tolerance,” that sort of collapse to the siren song of the world and its false wisdom, is really a great evil in and of itself, because it is falsely telling souls in grave jeopardy that they have nothing to fear.
I want you to go to Heaven. That’s what I want for everyone. I counsel people based on what the Spirit has revealed to me. There are, unfortunately, many in the Church who will counsel differently, but every statement I have made regarding homosexuality or any sexual sin is based on current Church Doctrine. I don’t just state my own opinion.
I need to get in touch with you about an article you wrote about JustFaith could you email me ?
wolven5855@comcast.net
Thank you
I just listened to the video regarding Fr. Frank Pavone and read the article. I don’t see anything to tell me who the persons were in the video (male who visited Fr. Frank) and the female interviewer. I’m surprised the male chose as his first (and only) response to the question: “What can we do?” I would think the first thing to do is pray, right? Rosaries, especially (remember Lepanto). Secondly, although as mentioned in the article, there are some things in the style of Priests for Life, especially the fundraising, that can be offputting, I have seen enough of Fr. Pavone, to know that he is 100% committed to the Pro-Life cause from a Catholic Christian perspective, and gives it all and lives a very humble, simple lifestyle. He appears to me to be 100% faithful to Christ and His Church, so this is indeed puzzling. The only thing I can think is that God is about ready to zap NY for it’s approval of homosexual marriage and for immoral lifestyles and that He is yanking Fr. P. out of the danger zone. Otherwise, the actions of Bp. Z. are more akin to the Pharaoh, and Fr. P. is like Moses, with Bp. Z.’s heart being hardened before he is exposed along with other bishops as working for the other (losing) team. Lastly, has anyone contacted Cardinal DiNardo of Houston, who is supposed to be pro-life (gave homily at vigil Mass before the March for Life 2011, and would be the ranking prelate in the great State (Republic) of Texas?
Hello. I am the author of the prayer to St. Maximilian, share with Crescat, from whom you borrowed it. Thank you for posting it!
Hows it going, I just read your blog post about wanting a Latin Mass in North Dallas, I would be interested in starting a Una Voce for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I live in Denton so it would hopefull cover me!
Please shoot me an email if you are interested.
texLhorns10@yahoo.com
I read your blog post from Mar 3, 2011, since it doesn’t allow me to comment any longer on that, just thought you should know about a correction that I found on “The Catholic Thing” regarding Sister Dorothy Jonaitis, (see http://www.thecatholicthing.org/in_the_news/commentary/trouble-at-the-university-of-dallas.html), the following statements were lined out:
Like Prof. Walsh, Sister Joanitis appears to have an interest in weakening the Church’s teachings on homosexual acts, defending Eucharistic ministers who “question a church teaching they see as justifying violence against their son and other homosexuals” and in her piece nominates Bishop Gumbleton as the authority on good conscience in regard to homosexual acts, while rejecting then-Cardinal Ratzinger.
[Deleted at the author’s request. We regret the error. *See Patrick Fagan’s note below.]
*Author’s correction: In the rush to get the word out at the last minute, I made a grievous error in misquoting Sr. Dorothy Jonaitis OP in the original version of this Commentary. Sister clearly has difficulties with the Church’s decisions and teaching on celibacy and the pope’s pronouncements on the impossibility of the ordination of women, and I would not want her teaching my children. But she did not say what I attributed to her about homosexuality.
You might want to consider correcting that on your blog as well instead of adding to the defaming of someone’s character online.
I enjoyed your post on a scholarly look at church architecture. However, if you are ever in Chicago, I hope you’ll check out masterpieces like St. Hyacinth Basilica, Holy Innocents, St. Mary of the Angels, Our Lady of Lourdes and other gems of grand design (sure you can Google them all online too). They were (gasp) designed by Lutheran architects Worthmann and Steinbach, who also helped design many litergical churches that wow the eye. Since Catholic, Lutheran and Episcopal churches all share things like focus on the alter and other principals of design, is why tougher to tell some apart, particularly older parish buildings. Perhaps in city like Dallas which is dominated by non-litergical churches (Baptist, Methodist, etc.) and overall newer buildings you notice it more?
Hi
I am a regular visitor to your blog site and I find it very informative. Also you keep us updated on the latest happenings in Dallas like the vocations hour, night prayers etc.. which is very useful. Can you please let me know if there are any good catholic stores where I can get books/gifts/ rosaries. I am hesitant to buy rosary off eBay instead want to get it from a church store which may be blessed too.
I am in grand prairie. So preferably close to where I live?
Thanks
John
P.S: I checked on the national shrine online shop but they have only crystal and pearl rosaries
Here is the closest I know of:
Mary Immaculate Catholic Gift
305 North Story Road, Irving, TX
Thank you.
John,
http://www.jmjtcards.com/shop/
The woman, Mary, who owns this virtual store, lives in Grand Prarie or there-abouts. She attends Mater Dei and periodically displays her things after Mass there as well. The rosaries are a little pricey, but are stronger and made out out of beautiful stones and such.
Most stores don’t sell blessed items, you will have to take it to the priest for the blessings.
Hi,
Regarding Madison Ford’s article in the Texas Catholic and your extensive rebuttal. I don’t think that Madison was looking to debate the finer points of Catholicism and Christianity. She was merely expressing her opinion regarding the life of a young Catholic growing up amongst a largely Protestant community in the Bible Belt. Many of her points are valid and her feelings cannot be argued. The priest in our church, in a Sunday sermon, told the teenagers that they shouldn’t try to convert other Protestant Christians to Catholicism. He said they were already Christians. He said if they encounter another youth that is troubled and in need of Christ’s help, that it would be appropriate to invite them to the Parish’s youth activities. Also, I don’t think that rudeness and sarcasm is a good example of “loving one another.” i.e. (Because of her searing insights into the Faith? Because she so well represented the top-notch catechesis our young people are receiving?) I believe that living by example is an excellent way of evangelizing. If Catholics had a reputation for being kind and forgiving and always willing to help others, it would be a lot more effective than debating the streetcorner preachers with Bible quotes.
Regards,
Mike
It was a pretty hard fisking of a young girl. I had some trepidation in writing it. Yes, I was hard on her, but to make a point – what she has been taught, or come to believe, is at best sadly deficient and at worst so wrong as to be potentially damning. As I made clear at the beginning of the post, my problem was less with a young girl having written a poorly formed opinion piece on the Faith than with the fact that it ran in the diocesan newspaper. Why would the official organ of the Diocese of Dallas run such a piece? That, ultimately, is the reason that I tore it to shreds. And perhaps that was uncharitable of me, using the young girl as a vehicle to attack the root source of the problem, which is the horrendous catechesis which has been in operation in this Diocese, and so many others, for decades. The point of the fisking was to try to chasten those who would publish such a piece, with the hope that greater scrutiny would be paid to the views of the Faith presented in the Diocesan newspaper. This post has been discussed in the confessional.
Your comment regarding the priest and the youth group I find very troubling. It is a terribly widespread phenomenon and it is as wrong as can be. Protestants are not, prima facie, on a path to salvation. First of all, they do not have the Sacrament of Confession, meaning that any mortal sin they commit can only be remitted by having perfect contrition for it. Perfect contrition means having a perfect sorrow for the sin, to the extent that it would never be committed again, and having a purpose of amendment so great that all guilt from the offense is wiped out. Suffice it to say, very few people, especially in the present culture, have such contrition. So, right off the bat, the claim that protestants should not be evangelized is wrong and fundamentally uncharitable – you are in essence placing their salvation, at best, in grave jeopardy, leaving them in error and without recourse to the Sacraments. Imagine, saying that we shouldn’t try to bring someone to the glory that is the Blessed Sacrament. It’s tantamount to leaving people in their sin. Yes, there is the possiblity of salvation by baptism by desire, but that is an extremis situation that is relied on too much to “cover” those outside open communion with the Faith. I must add, that denigrating use of Sacred Scripture in apologetical/catechetical work is quite amazing.
You don’t like my approach. It is very strong – I am a protestant convert to the Faith, and I have a very passionate belief that what the Church has traditionally believed is the Truth is absolutely necessary for salvation. You could say, I have the zeal of the converted. All of my family is protestant. I am very troubled at their prospects of salvation. I pray for their conversion daily, often several times a day as an intention for various prayers and always at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You are probably right that I am harsh, but certain Saints (Jerome, Hilary of Poitiers, Athanasius, Peter Damian, etc)have been far more harsh than I am, and I know from experience that the “ostensibly” loving, “don’t dare mention error or fault” approach is very frequently a mask for indifferentism of the worst kind. I believe with great fervor that the Church has had far too much of this indifferentist approach, of “charity” and “don’t judge, lest ye be judged.” It is well past time for voices in the Church that unequivocally proclaim the Dogmas the Church holds without apology – that is the sine qua non of Michael Voris. I can state that there is a substantial hunger in the Church for clarity such as mine.
But, forgive me, I am a sinner and constantly err on this blog. All of your criticisms are likely correct. I do my best, but perhaps give too free reign to my passions, and to my desire to see the Church much different than it is at present.
One final bit – on Matt 7:1 “Judge not, that you may not be judged.” From the notes of Fr. George Leo Haydock, one of the greatest biblical exegetes in English-language history, from his seminal work:
Chap VII Ver. 1: Judge not…..or condemn other rashly, that you may not be judged or condemned. St. Jerome observes, Christ does not firbid judging, but directs us how to judge……Barefaced vice and notorious error should be condemned and reprobated by all. We should always strive to put the best face on any action that is indifferent to us or does not have any bearing on us.
I’ll leave it to my readers to decide if I crossed the bounds of charity in the fisking of that op-ed in Texas Catholic.
Howdy TexasCatholic!
if you would email me if possible I would love to ask you a question about St. Mark’s Latin Mass
Hi, wanted to point out that my comments seem not to have made it on your blog and despite three paragraphs being on it which are mine, I’m not being credited.
I would have sent you an e-mail, but it’s nowhere on your site.
Surely you forgot to credit me in error.
Thanks.
I had two links to you in that post. Not sure what the problem is. They were in the first para before the quote.
can you send me a link where I can send you a private email?
I stumbled upon your blog a while ago and I’ve found it to be a great resource for local Catholics. Next year I’m going to be leading the Mothers’ group at my parish in Wylie, and I’m looking for local Catholic speakers who can speak on topics related to the vocation of marriage and motherhood. Our budget is very small, almost nil! I was wondering if you could direct me to any local resources. Thank you.
Do you know Colleen Hammond? She’s local and gives great talks especially about modesty in dress. David Ross gives talks on pro-life issues. You can e-mail me at larryr103@gmail.com
Thank you for those names. I didn’t know about them before. I’ll make a note of your email too. Thanks again for the blessing of this blog.
Hello, I just read your article on child brides. I know the article is quite old, but I wanted to mention that the picture you showed of the line of gentleman holding the hands of their supposed brides might not be accurate. It’s actually tradition for youngsters to dress as ‘pretend brides’ during ceremonies. I know that this photo has caused a lot of rage amongst westerners (it’s been forwarded around in a lot of emails), but it’s been deemed inaccurate by several credible sources. It probably isn’t my place to say so, but I just thought it would be unfortunate for those individuals to be portrayed as evil monsters just because of some cultural misunderstanding. Thank you for reading.
Good to see an orthodox Roman Catholic site for Dallas. Just thought I would pass along a great Church in New York City for anyone visiting or on business. The Church of Our Saviour on East 38th Street & Park Avenue South. Father George Rutler is a great Priest; look him up on the web. He was W.F. Buckley’s friend & Priest. A Holy Spirit filled place of R.C. Catholic worship!
I know Fr. Rutler well. A former episcopal, like myself. His parish is beautiful. He wears the cassock! He’s a good priest.
Thank you for the recommendation.
Hi. Greetings from Uganda.
Though I am not from the Dallas area, as a catholic blogger, I find myself very much interested in reading what many other blogs offer. I am so pleased to be here, having been directed by your posts related to Fr. George Byers.
Fr. George Byers introduced me to using the blog, and I would say he is a good friend.
Comments had ended at this post, and I just found this comment:
You wrote: “I’m just not terribly in favor of (death penalty) use right now. In Texas, in particular, its usage is very heavy.”
Actually, it’s use is very rare in Texas.
We have executed 482 murderers since 1973, the year we re established death penalty statutes in Texas.
That is about 0.8% of the approximately 57,000 murders we have had since 1973.
0.8%.
Even in the proper context of capital murders, it appears the use is only about 8%.
I would call that very light.
I think you call it “very heavy” use, only because Texas is #1 in executions, not because Texas’s use is really heavy, which by an standards, it is not.
Relative to any other state or even most countries, Texas avails itself of the death penalty more than others. That’s all.
I noticed the refernce to Fr. Rutler, in comment 23, above.
His comments, supportive of the death penalty, here:
http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/can_catholics_support_death_penalty_debate_asks
Greetings TANTAMERGO — — I am trying to contact you about possibly using one of your blog posts in my Traditional Catholic Newspaper. Please reach me at Oremus.Press@yahoo.com
Thank you,
- Jeremy A. Ingle
Editor/Publisher
Could you explain your comment yesterday regarding Fr. Barron: “…Fr. Robert Barron, one of the most dangerous modernist exegetes around today.”
I’ll get into that later today if I can. He’s dangerous because most of what he says is fine, but he’s way off the reservation on some issues. His fundamental outlook is modernist.
tantamergo, thank you for the reply. Do you have concerns about his “Catholicism” series. (I hope not — I just spent $$$, and I had planned its viewing as a family gathering and discussion opportunity.)
I have not seen it and don’t plan to, but know several people who have. It is OK as a sort of generic Church history for the masses, especially non-Catholic masses. Catholics I know who watched it said he doesn’t discuss the Church at all as such for the first several episodes, simply “Christians.” Which, perhaps, makes sense to a degree, since there was no formal schism at that point. A lot of pretty sights, I’m told. I haven’t heard anything particularly bad about the series.
What I am referring to is some of his little 5-10 minute videos where he discusses various subjects. He’s made some very problematic statements (Adam and Eve are allegorical, no one goes to hell, etc).
Need parish recommendation for north dallas/Plano/rockwall. Asking for a friend of my husband. Needs to be a parish that actually teaches the Faith (Catholic with a capital C), because this person is not Catholic yet, and b/c it’s just silly to send them elsewhere
. Can you send suggestions? I already know about Irving area, and would love to suggest a TLM, but that is too far. ( Will mention it though)
Does St Mark’s have a Latin Mass?
St. Mark in Plano does, but only on Monday night at 7.
If they are toward Rockwall, there is St. William in Greenville. It’s far, but very good.
Closer in, St. Jude in Allen, St. Anthony in Wylie, and St. Mark are probably the best bets. Stay far away from St. Elizabeth Seton, Prince of Peace, Our Lady of Angels, and St. Joseph-Richardson. St. Francis of Assisi in Frisco is pretty good. St. Ann in Coppell is ok. Very pretty, but just ok on doctrine.
Hello! I am in NY and I found your blog during the most painful ordeal of my life: my grandma shows symptoms of death by starvation and dehydration syndrome. In addition, her caregiver, my aunt, shows a clear determination to end my grandma’s life by the end of the holiday. Unable to legally stop her and removed from my grandma’s hospital bed, I finally found a way to have the hospital feed my grandma and hydrate her, after what it seemed weeks depriving her from eat and drink. In response, my aunt removed my grandma from the hospital and took her back to the nursing home where all this started. At this point, I am unable to get close to my grandma. Not only my aunt has the legal power to keep me away, but my aunt’s husband and son have already threatened to harm me physically. However, my grandma expressed her wish to continue living, and her discomfort because she was told that the reason she was not being fed is becuase the hospital doesn’t provide any food. This makes it more painful for me. But I don’t know what to do to stop my aunt from achieving her carefully crafted plan to get rid of my grandma during this holiday break. Therefore, I need your help to find any organization that would investigate and intervene on behalf of my grandma. Is there any recourse for us the relatives that have been pushed away from our grandparents? Please help because every minute without food and drink will slowly kill my grandma’s frail being. Thank you.
I wish I knew of something to do.I just want you to be assured I will be praying very hard for you and your dear grandmother, and that she has a very peaceful transition.
Hi. I was wondering if you know of any parishes in the Dallas Diocese that do the Norvus Ordo ad orientem and maybe with some Latin prayers. I know that Mater Dei has the full TLM, and St. William’s in Greenville has a sort of hybrid Latinish but NOT ad orientem as far as I know. Is there anything else?? Thanks in advance
Hi!
Does anyone have any information on the manner of life within the Carmelite monastery on Flowers street? I know their daily schedule, but I’m talking about the temperature and living conditions within the monastery.
Regarding air conditioning, I’m told they each have a window unit in their cells, air conditioning in the recreation room and chapel, but NO air conditioning anywhere else. In 98-111 degrees, I don’t know how they’re avoiding heat strokes.
For anyone interested in a vocation there, what’s it like inside? They will not allow a candidate to ‘come and see’ anything about it before entering. Any advise???
Peace,
Ellene
Ho boy. It’s a problem. It’s a pretty hardcore environment. The Chapel has AC but it’s hot in there at times. One night at Adoration the power went out and the nuns stayed with it even though it got up to 90+ in the chapel, I’m sure.
This Carmel is pretty hardcore. They follow a pretty strict rule. The diet is pretty basic. No meat at all, ever. Fish is limited and sweet treats only at special times such as Christmas and especially Easter. It’s a largely vegetarian diet, but they don’t seem to cook much from scratch. I could be wrong, but alot of it is like pasta + store bought sauce, or veggie soup out of a can, that kind of thing.
Like I said, this Carmel follows one of the strictest rules around. IF you have reservations I’d say that’s not a good sign. There is another Carmel in Arlington that I do not believe is quite as severe. I’m not sure. There are plenty of other orders that don’t require such great mortification, but I’m sure you’re aware of that.
I will pray for you! I pray you find your vocation, we need so many holy religious, it is a critical, foundational part of the Church! We desperately need your prayers. God bless you!
How do you feel Mater Dei is for making friends? I know someone who is looking for a new church home. Are the members of this church mainly in the Irving area?
No, they are all over the DFW area. Since it is the only TLM parish in the entire metroplex of 6 million souls, it casts a pretty wide net. We drive ~25 miles to get there. There are alot of very good people there. I’ve been very impressed by how open and friendly the people there are. And there are about 1000 people coming on any given Sunday!
Mater Dei has been a great place to meet others. Most people stay after Mass and visit across the hall or outside. In fact, your friend should be prepared to stay an hour or longer after Sunday Mass visiting with others, weekdays is not much different, only smaller. This is one of a few parishes in which the priest spends extensive time visiting, giving counsel, and telling stories.
In fact, for all the parishes that boast community, this is one with genuine charity.
Thank you for your positive comments. I think they will be visiting this Sunday.
If you would like a truly unique experience, go to St. Basil Byzantine Catholic Church in Irving.
You won’t regret it.
http://www.stbasilsinirving.org/
Had a question about St. Ann’s in Coppell, please email me!
God Bless!
Regarding your post on “child brides”, it is a hoax: http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/masswedding.asp
Read the post, I clarified that the photo did not show child brides. But the rest of the data is accurate and confirmed.
New to your blog…as I said before….I attend mass at St. Patrick’s. I am looking for something more traditional. I cannot take the hip hop beat machines, drums and guitars anymore. I need incense -respect at a mass!!!!
tantamergo,
I am a small publisher of Catholic novels – Catacombs Press (formerly Lyons Den Publishing), based in Los Angeles.
I have a title, The Fatima Code, that I am offering to you as a complimentary review copy . I would be very grateful if you or others you know may read it.
•
Weaving The True Devotion to Mary throughout, The Fatima Code is a play on Noah’s Ark … Only this time it’s Mary’s Ark – How the Church survives a global attack coordinated by the world’s elites. It’s a series that takes place During- and After-the-Chastisement …
•
We’ve only been online a week and I wanted to pass this along to you. It’s from the first reader and comes from the http://www.fisheaters.com website, where we’re running a small test ad:
Re: The Fatima Code
« Reply #25 on: Yesterday at 08:43 PM »
“This is a very good Catholic novel. It’s a page turner,and I found myself trying to find ways to get back at it. The best way to describe it is it’s the prequel to Walter Miller’s Canticle for Liebowitz he never wrote. It’s Miller’s Flame Deluge. Frankly I suggest you all read it. I don’t want to spoil it right now but it touches on lots of bits of prophecy and weaves a story around them. He touches on Malachi of Armagh’s prophecy, John Paul II’s deviation from the prepared text saying we are Apocalypse Chapter 12, and Fatima with a stop at St. louis de Monfort.” “The ending is a doozy, you will not be disappointed.”
tim the sf fan
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Visit our web site http://www.thefatimacode.com for a full synopsis of the book. If you would like to download a complimentary review copy, please email promo@thefatimacode.com and you will automatically receive the links for downloading to all the major readers or onto your PC/Desktop as a PDF.
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If you, or others you know who may be interested in reading The Fatima Code, might give us a comment or supporting blurb, it would be very helpful. I am accumulating a list of comments to post on our website.
If you have a comment about The Fatima Code, please let me know. My contact is: kevin@thefatimacode.com or catacombspress@gmail.com
Hope to hear from you soon,
Kevin
Kevin –
Thanks for the offer. I’m not sure I could get to the book anytime soon. I’m not much into fiction, as much as I’d like to support your project. But send the links to larryr103@gmail.com and I’ll try to check it out. Can’t promise anything, though.
Tantamergo, I just read a few articles and replies. Like it… good stuff. I attend Mater Dei also…I’m sure my husband or I know you. Email me. I subscribed to you so I want to put a face with your long name.
Do you know about CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program)- Children’s Medicaid? I’m hoping this is just an acronym and not the description of what they may or will be injecting under the skin. Do you know if microchips are already being used in children?
Tantamergo,
I just read your response to my comment at Rorate about Taylor Marshall. Small world! I’m a visitor at Mater Dei — my family and I belong to a Novus Ordo parish (which will remain nameless), and Mater Dei is my escape. I just posted a comment on Taylor’s blog, asking his view on a recent sermon by Fr. Wolff. I published a post on my blog after hearing that sermon:
http://anointedruins.wordpress.com/2012/09/01/evolution-and-catholic-traditionalism-a-question-for-traditionalist-readers/
I’d be very interested to hear your view as well.
Thanks and God bless.
Ah, just noticed your post about Fr. Barron and Adam and Eve. Interesting! That post included a reference to a sermon by Fr. Wolfe (sorry I misspelled his name above) — a different sermon but obviously related to the one I heard, in which he described the theory of evolution as “junk” science. He also rejected out of hand any attempts at “theistic evolution”. I stand by the Dogma of Original Sin, but I’m not convinced that to do so it’s necessary to reject the theory of evolution (or any possible interpretation of it). Anyway, we can take up the discussion on my blog post (linked above), if you’re interested.
“By one man sin entered the world, and with sin, death.”
To deny that Truth is to lose the Faith, and thus to lose my soul. Yet my curious mind goes down a dark alley. Where did Cain’s wife come from? I can see but one possible answer. Adam and Eve had many, many, many children, and those children coupled with each other to produce the next generation of the human race. Can there be any other answer? As Catholics, are we committed to this narrative of the origins of the human race? Or is there some other way by which sin entered the world through one man?
I’ll add that there is a certain smugness about Fr. Barron that bothers me. Gives me the creeps, actually. Fortunately I’ve just discovered (cannot quite remember how, as I didn’t leave myself a trail of cyber crumbs) an antidote to both creepy modernists and frustrating fundamentalists, one Dr. Dennis Bonnette. I make reference to him in my latest blog post:
http://anointedruins.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/by-one-man-sin-entered-into-this-world/
Hey, David, thanks for coming by. I’m working on a reply on your post in the form of my own post. Sorry, but it’s too long for a comment. I may not get it done until tomorrow. Have patience! I want to talk about this.
Hi Tantamergo, I look forward (patiently) to your post.
Many thanks and God bless.
Thank you for your blog dated 8-21-12 regarding Nat. Org. for Marriage. Today I had the exact same exchange on twitter and now am confident that NOM is a legitimate, reasonable group of people supporting things I can support as well.
Mark
Spokane, Wa
I have more of a question rather than a comment. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of your blog and thought you might be able to help. My husband and I are toying with the idea of a move to the Dallas area. While I love the idea of homeschooling I also wanted to find out if there were any orthodox schools in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Irving area.
Thanks for your response in advance and God Bless.
Suzi
Thank you for your consideration. Orthodox Catholic schools? At what level? High school, or below? Really, the answer is no, there aren’t any really good schools that I know of. Most are pretty secularized. They have a Catholic veneer, but secular academics and world view are the order of the day. I will try to do a post tomorrow to ask folks if they have their kids in schools here and what they recommend. I really don’t know, but I can’t recall word of any really good school.
Sorry. Move here anyway, and come to Mater Dei!
Wanted to join (sort of) in Suzi’s email. We don’t have children, but we are also seriously considering moving to the Dallas area next year. We’re planning to fly out at the end of this month to do some in-the-field research. Much of this will depend on my ability to get employment in the area, so I would ask for your prayers that we are able to divine God’s will for us and that we may receive the grace to follow it. (And any networking ideas as well!)
And yes, Mater Dei is a big part of the attraction for us!
Mitchell
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/14/religion_keeps_a_woman_from_getting_a_life_saving_abortion/
Hello–regarding your August 31, 2012, post on Ripley’s “This Is Our Faith,” I thought I should mention that the “NFP” section of “This Is Our Faith” actually originates circa 2002 with the *publisher*, Thomas A. Nelson, and not with the original 1951 text authored by Canon Ripley. Nelson inserted this section himself, and says so on p. xix of the “publisher’s preface.” Thought you should know this. God bless, Deacon JR
I’m aware. It’s still a top notch reference.
Well, “top-notch” if you consider the opinion of a layman inserted into the work of a deceased priest-author who can neither affirm nor reject the insertion to be “top-notch.”
Actually, the insertion is so poor as to make the original 1951 version the preferred resource…
God bless,
Deacon JR
Also, if you are aware that this section is from the pen of Thomas A. Nelson, why do you not mention this in your original post, and why do you attribute it there to Canon Ripley? I’d suggest you might wish to clarify this all with an update to that post. God bless, Deacon JR
As a parent of one of the Ursuline girls in your picture of your May 10th post, I respectfully ask that you remove it from your blog. You do not have permission to post it and it serves no constructive purpose. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but when it involves my minor child, it crosses the line. Thank you Kelly Madonna
I’ll look into it, but I’m about 100% certain the picture had no copyright clause and falls under fair use for non-commercial purposes.
You might want re-check your facts. Again, I respectfully request you remove the picture.
Two come from a publication. They were not copyrighted. That is definitely fair use. You may not like it, but the fact remains. To remove the pics would seriously undermine the entire post.
The third pic shows no faces. I cannot find the source for that now, I did that post months ago. You want to make a claim it’s yours, and that it’s copyrighted, please show where.
Okay, if you feel you need to malign/make fun of/degrade 13, 14 and 15 year old girls to make your point, so be it. I sincerely hope no one ever does it to any of your children. I asked nicely, twice. This is where I stop. I will not give you a website showing the copyright info so you’ll have more fodder. At least I don’t hide behind a screen name. Enjoy living in your glass house.
Which is the photo that bothers you?
Hi–I saw Msgr. Don Fischer speak in Bedford yesterday and really enjoyed his message. I heard several people say he had been their pastor, so I’ve been doing a little research on him and found your blog post about his retiring. You referred to his being known “by the novelty of some of his beliefs and practices” and I wondered what you meant by that.
There’s a lot to unpack here. Ever go to St. Joseph in Richardson?
He sounds very nice. Very convincing, but if you look beyond the very soothing voice and the”life should rarely if ever be unpleasant” catachesis, what you find is a whole bunch of progressive protestant + new age theology masquerading as Catholicism. That’s the core of it. He’s a past master at making things sound Catholic, but in reality, he’s twisting the Faith into a worldly, progressive vision.
On Church design, if you’ve been in a Dallas parish less than 12-15 years old, have you noticed how they all look very similar inside? That is due to Fischer. He also runs Liturgical Design Consultants – his influence is seen around the country, little of it good, to my mind. He’s helped introduce the jacuzzi baptismal font, the sanctuary jutting way out into the nave, the Stations confined to low slung wings on the side of the nave, absolute iconoclasm save for one Mary and one Joseph/other Saint statue in the back corners of the Church, loads of limestone, very cold, modernist design touches, unfiltered natural light, etc, etc.
I think I saw you took down a comment of mine. Sorry to see that. But, it is your blog to do as you see fit.
God bless.
Great position than yours about the necessary and severe clerical tonsure for all the priests and monks. In Facebook you have a group about enough similar position Society for the restoration of the monastic tonsure, despite the fact it is very hard to create an active group about this.
God bless you! I pray your effort is successful!
A lot of superstition here.Christ taught to feed the hungry & clothe the naked,James tells us true religion is to help the widow & the orphan.According to your mentality we should reject this because God wills them to suffer.All those healings Christ gave,psalms praising God for deliverance,God saving his people get thrown out the window on account of nut cases like Mary Margaret licking vomit thinking it a pleasing penance or Gemma rolling in thorns to cause pain,this is pleasing to God ? Well if your a pre Vatican II Catholic where Pope gregory the great hailed sex in marriage a necessary evil or Pope Gregory the 17th hailing the railroad as a work of the devil,I guess thats OK. What rubbish
I very frequently exhort readers to perform corporal works of mercy, and perform them myself quite frequently. Not enough, but quite frequently.
There is no contradiction between doctrinal orthodoxy, embrace of mysticism, and performance of works of mercy. There is a contradiction between individual works of mercy performed in a system of Grace and left wing dystopianism.
There is also no question the Church today has lost almost all sight of the concept of joyfully willed suffering as a means of sanctification, something Christ counseled for all. The Church today is almost exclusively concerned with corporal works, to the detriment of the spiritual lives of millions. Many if not most of those millions have left the Church. That’s because the spiritual matters profoundly. Corporal works of mercy can be done in any context, but spiritual works of mercy derive from the Church.
I fear you have replaced the Cult of God with the cult of man.
I see you’ve been visited by BillK on the Voris cruise post. He left me some comments as well, claiming that I was sinning against the unity of the Church and leading others to think false things and detracting and calumny and quoting the CCC and saying I ought to be ashamed of my website.
Everyone’s a critic…
I don’t think you or I were complaining?
He accused me of sinning, by spreading “false information” that could lead others to sin by detraction or whatever.
I found it amusing. Along with being incorrect.
Praised be Jesus Christ! I wasn’t sure where to post this, but I found out my friend in Dallas Carmel will be making her First Profession January 18th (Friday) around (this is how I heard it from her sister) 10 am. I was hoping to try to make, but I am not certain. I’m in Chicago. But I thought you might like to know and attend if possible. Her name is Sr. Teresa of St. Joseph, OCD. God bless!
Joyce Rupp is coming to our parish in Midland, TX. I am shocked and horrified… see this link http://www.uscatholic.org/church/2011/01/pregnant-possibility for a really anti-Catholic speech she did
Run away! Seriously, search ‘Joyce Rupp’ on this blog for a whole bunch on Rupp, especially the posts back in 2010.
What a great blog! I stumbled upon it via Mark Shea via Fr Longenecker via Elizabeth Scalia. It is civil and fair-minded, but robustly orthodox. You’ve already changed my mind on a few things! Thank you!
Thank you very much! It is always great to have priests stop by. I’ll check out your blog. I pray I can earn/maintain those accolades.
Wow, where did that side comment about Emergency and Jack Webb come from in the middle of the Corapi brouhaha? You must be getting feedback from Dennis M!
Regards,
T
Thanks for the update on Fr. Corapi. I filed it away in my “FWIW” part of my brain since it is secondhand, but without knowing your source, your manner of presenting the information and demeanor make it seem credible to me, so, thanks again. Sorry about all the combox fake piety about you “judging” him and “gossip”. He was a public figure who scandalized a great many people. I welcome the future release of any further information about him. The truth shall set you free. I still hope that he will some day repent (maybe he is now, although it doesn’t seem likely, if he is in fact still tucked away, living the secular life with lots of $).
Hi Tantumergo,
A prayer request for you and your readers – my wife and I will be relocating to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area as soon as I can find a job there. Please pray for our efforts, that we are following God’s will, and will find success soon. And it wouldn’t hurt to add a couple of new parishioners to Mater Dei, would it?
Best,
Mitchell
Hello Lawrencinium,
Appreciated the Fr. Corapi update. He was a very substantial influence on me in starting my small Morning Prayer ministry on YouTube (channel ‘penitentis’) a few years ago.
Thanks for your blog,
A fellow Mater Dei – ite.
Sweet! God bless!
Hmmm not being able post anymore?
No, they were in spam. I don’t know why you’re getting flagged. Normally comments go to spam when they have many links. I apologize, I am very sorry, I’m not doing it, the blog software is. Please keep trying. I’ll try to check the spam folder several times a day.
Tanta it seems my comments do not appear after I hit “post comments”. Could you check please. I don’t recall making any opposing comments on your posts at all. In fact I support you take on many Catholic issues as I too have grave concern on relativism in the Church. Maybe you think I am hecking?
Is there a pre-novus ordo mass in or near Dallas? Moved here from NY and haven’t found a true Traditional Mass. Along these lines http://www.stpiusvchapel.org
Anyone with information please inform me at themightypenfilmco AT gmail DOT com
Thanks and
Dominus Vobiscum
Seriously? You’re with MHFM?
Yes, Mater Dei FSSP parish in Irving. http://www.materdeiparish.com
There is also SSPX in Sanger, which I have never been to. I think there might be an independent priest in Arlington offering the TLM at a hotel, but I don’t often follow such things. You can go to traddie Mass sites to find out more info on that.
Please contact me, I am Lisa A the author of the Original Pedophilia Piece published on my website http://www.rethinksociety.com
Some interesting developments have taken place since you linked my article that I would like to discuss with you, you may email me at Lisa@rethinksociety.com
I am from the Diocese of Camden. We just went through the merger process and Bishop Galante retired this year. The effects of the plan for transformation have been devastating. We lost over half our schools, parishes, priests and sisters with closings still continuing without end. 30-40% of the parishioners didn’t move to the new parishes. One county lost all it’s parishes and schools and the people must drive to the next county if they want to send their children to a Catholic School. There is no garantee that the school will be open next year. Several traditional teaching orders of religious sisters have been exiled, and forbidden from teaching. Many traditional priests have been exiled as well.
The response from the diocese is to hide their failures and proclaim the transformation a great success. They plan to continue with more of the same and bring in the “NEW CHURCH”, even as things crumble around them.
Camden Diocese is an experimental model which is being proclaimed as the new model for other dioceses. Pray for us and warn people the best that you can. Thank you.