Pope strongly requests curial officials to hear confessions weekly December 19, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, episcopate, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, Papa, priests, Sacraments, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
And when the Pope “strongly requests,” it’s pretty much a demand. Good for Pope Francis. This is wonderful, I am heartened to see him not just exhorting priests and bishops to hear confessions regularly, but to take a step as Bishop of Rome to get those under his See to actually DO it:
Pope Francis has strongly encouraged the bishops and cardinals of the Roman Curia to spend time hearing confessions weekly at a local parish, according to a priest of the church in question, Santo Spirito in Sassia.
The announcement was made at the end of evening Mass on Dec. 15 by Fr. Jozef Bart, a parish priest at Santo Spirito in Sassia, and was reported by “Inside the Vatican.”
Fr. Bart announced that the initiative “had been planned to begin in January, but this week, word came down that the Pope wished to begin immediately.”
According to Fr. Bart, Pope Francis is doing this because “he wishes to emphasize the importance of Confession, and of God’s great goodness in forgiving human sin.”
Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, has already been hearing Confessions at the parish for “several weeks,” according to “Inside the Vatican.”
Santo Spirito in Sassia is located on the Via dei Penitenzieri, a walk of about 1,300 feet, or 5-6 minutes, from the front of St. Peter’s Square, and is dedicated to the Divine Mercy devotion. It is a cardinal titular church, currently held by Cardinal-Priest Fiorenzo Angelini.
Pope Francis has several times underscored the importance of the Confession for Christian life, especially during the homilies he gives during Mass at the Saint Martha House chapel.
On Oct. 25, Pope Francis preached that “confessing our sins is not going to a psychiatrist, or to a torture chamber: it’s saying to the Lord, ‘Lord, I am a sinner,’ but saying it through the brother, because this says it concretely. ‘I am sinner because of this, that and the other thing’.” [Good points. I’ve never felt attacked or ostracized in the confessional. I have sometimes felt scandalized, when a liberal priest says something terrible, but I’ve never been told “oh, you’re a terrible sinner, damn you!,” or anything of the sort. The great confessors I have access too now are extremely good in their mercy AND correction. That is a tremendous blessing.]
Pope Francis often affirms that he himself is a sinner, and has made it known that he goes to Confession every two weeks.
I am all for this. Confession is the great, ignored Sacrament of the post-conciliar age. This is a tremendous shame, because regular Confession (and reception of the Blessed Sacrament) are absolutely essential to growth in the interior life. You simply cannot advance in virtue without examination of conscience and regular Confession.
I pray every day that every bishop of the world will demand of his priests three things:
- 2 hours of Confession in every parish of every diocese of the world, every day, 365 days a year, every year
- At least one TLM in every deanery of every diocese of the world, every day
- At least one TLM in every parish of the world, every Sunday.
You do that, and things will soon be right with the Church. Especially the first one. I pray Pope Francis exhorts these bishops and cardinals to hear confessions DAILY, because such is a tremendous spiritual work of mercy on the part of the prelate or priest, which will in turn spur further spiritual development in them. Confession should be a foundational part of every priest’s life (including bishops), right up there with offering Mass and praying the Office, preferably daily. Most of the great priest-Saints were recognized as great and zealous confessors, men who were willing to spend many hours a day in the confessional. Think of the good that does souls! Think how many souls are delivered from the eternal fire by this great Sacrament!
I pray every bishop in the entire world follow’s Pope Francis’ example, and gets all their priests hearing confessions daily!
Keep those papal Novenas going! They are working! Nothing is set in stone, yet. With great prayer and sacrifice on our part, Pope Francis could be remembered as the most saintly, orthodox pope since Pius X! Grace can overcome everything!
Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows by Fr. Ripperger December 19, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Holy suffering, Interior Life, Our Lady, priests, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
Thanks to reader TB for the links! It helps me be lazy!
First, a long talk explicating the Seven Sorrows of Our Blessed Mother:
Some reasons to call on Our Lady of Sorrows:
1) Conversion of family members by blocking demons’ influence
2) When you need patience in suffering
3) To overcome any trial or habitual sin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFHjtaGtnM4)
4) If you are wounded from your sins or the sins of others
5) Protection from evil (she has perfect coercive power of demons)
6) If you need to know hidden knowledge for the good of another or about yourself
PROMISES FOR DEVOTION TO OUR LADY’S SORROWS
St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his book The Glories of Mary mentioned a revelation in which St. John the Evangelist saw both Our Lord and His Blessed Mother after her assumption into heaven. He heard Mary ask Jesus for some special grace to all those who are devoted to her dolors (sorrows). Christ promised the four following special graces:
1) That those who before death invoked the divine Mother in the name of her sorrows should obtain true repentance of all their sins.
2) That He would protect all who have this devotion in their tribulations, and that he would protect them especially at the hour of their death.
3) That He would impress upon their minds the remembrance of His Passion, and that they should have their reward for it in heaven.
4) That he would commit such devout clients to the hands of Mary, with the power to disposed of them in whatever manner she might please, and to obtain for them all the graces she might desire.
For her part, Our Blessed Mother revealed to St. Bridget of Sweden that she grants the following seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Mary’s while meditating on her tears and dolors (sorrows):
1) “I will grant peace to their families.”
2) “They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries.”
3) “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”
4) “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”
5) “I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.”
6) “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death—they will see the face of their mother.”
7) “I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.”
How could I forget – Our Lady of Expectation! December 19, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Art and Architecture, awesomeness, Basics, Christendom, fun, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Liturgical Year, Our Lady, sanctity, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
I am sooo mad at myself! Yesterday was THE day to re-publish my favorite image of the Blessed Mother, a glorious statue of Our Lady of the Expectation from Catholic Spain (it so breaks my heart, how Spain, for centuries THE most Catholic country (ok, maybe Italy) has now become just another sexular pagan European country).
So, here are some beautiful images of Our Blessed Mother, in belated honor of Our Lady of the Expectation:
Rorate has more information on the FFIs December 19, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, disaster, episcopate, General Catholic, horror, persecution, religious, sadness, scandals, shocking, the return, Tradition.comments closed
Rorate Caeli has a long post written by what they are claiming is a very inside,or well-informed, source, regarding some of the calumnious charges being made against the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and their founder, Fr. Stefano Manelli.
The post is largely in response to an article on Catholic World Report which was purported to try to “set the case straight” for English-speaking Catholics. I did not read this article. I rarely read Catholic World Report, or any other Ignatius publication, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which, I don’t like most of their authors, aside from Anne Hendershott. But another reason is that I suspect some of the articles at CWR have an agenda aside from giving the straight facts. I have gotten the impression they frequently act as voices for various interested parties in controversial matters, but without saying so.
The Rorate piece would seem to confirm this. I’m not going to copy and paste any of the post – you can read it there, and I suggest you do. The CWR piece apparently contained, or repeated, a number of accusations made against the Franciscans Friars of the Immaculate and their prior, historic administration. This post on Rorate refutes all these allegations, drawing on materials already released in the press, but mostly from Italian sources. It’s a lot of inside baseball, but it’s important, because the justification for the subjugation of the Franciscans hinges on these allegations against the FFIs and their previous administration.
I don’t think there is really much that is new here, other than that it is good to have confirmation of the following, for me, pretty well established facts:
- The amount of dissent in the order was really very small. Even that which existed has been manipulated to appear larger than it really was. But it appears the dissidents were very vocal and had some very influential friends.
- All charges of wrongdoing on the part of the prior administration appear trumped up and have been refuted already in Italian sources. Even those charges were trivial compared to what goes on in numerous other orders on a daily basis.
- This order is being completely crushed, and about half – or more – of the FFIs would like out of the order to try to found a new one based on the direction the order had previously taken.
- While there is a lot of smoke and mirrors going on, the reason the FFIs are being treated so severely has to do with their being a formerly “regular,” Novus Ordo type order which is growing and openly embracing Tradition. I am certain their involvement in publications and conferences questioning aspects of Vatican II had much to do with the actions taken against them.
Even if one accepts all the allegations as true – and again, they have been pretty much entirely refuted, already – that doesn’t change the fact that the treatment the FFIs are receiving is unprecedented in the post-conciliar Church. For instance, there was far, FAR more corruption, financial and moral, at the Legionnaires of Christ than has been claimed against the FFIs, and there wasn’t even remotely the same degree of really vicious punishment administered. But, then again, the Legionnaires had spread a lot of cash around to many influential prelates – Cardinal Sodan0 was infamous both for his refusal to acknowledge how broken Fr. Maciel’s group was, and for taking huge gobs of cash from them. These Franciscans, truly adhering to their charism of poverty, did not have such monies to spread around, buying friends. That could – potentially – be playing a role in this debacle.
But I think it’s mostly ideological. The FFIs were a rebuke to many a progressive comfortably ensconced in dying religious orders. They were openly embracing Tradition, in fits and starts. They were growing and young. They were…….a threat? I hate to say it, but I have to wonder if that’s how they were perceived in certain circles.
I also wonder if Fr. Geiger is satisfied with what’s going on in his order. I wonder if he knew how severe the – punishment? – meted out would be, or if he’s fully on board with what’s happening, now. Judging from his blog, he would seem to be.
Cultural Kerfuffle: Duck Dynasty star fired for quoting Scripture December 19, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in abdication of duty, Basics, disaster, error, foolishness, General Catholic, persecution, priests, sadness, scandals, secularism, self-serving, sexual depravity, sickness, Society.comments closed
I see this as extremely, extremely revealing. And just as troubling.
The star of the A$E program “Duck Dynasty,” Phil Robertson, was fired for quoting 1 Corinthians in an interview in GQ Magazine. That quote lays out some of the most fundamental tenets of Christian morality, beliefs that have been upheld for 2000 years. More than that, those beliefs have shaped – until very recently – the culture in which we live. But because Mr. Robertson condemned homosexual acts, he was fired from his job on A$E’s number one (and incredibly lucrative) program, and has been treated as one of history’s greatest monsters by the increasingly violently anti-Christian left. First, the quote:
What, in your mind, is sinful?
“Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he says. Then he paraphrases Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”
Before I even begin, let me state that I’ve never watched Duck Dynasty. I don’t even have TV. I might have seen a clip or two here and there on the internet. Frankly, I am unmoved by the program. It’s very cliched redneck shtick taken to the nth degree. Alot of people seem to like it. Apparently, it has been very lucrative both for the Robertson family and for A$E.
So it is very revealing that A$E was willing to threaten the existence of their number one program by firing its most popular star as a reaction to the above statement. It is truly disturbing that in our culture today, you are more apt to lose your job for stating plain, 2000 year old Christian morality than you are for engaging in acts of wanton immorality. It is also deliciously ironic to see the left just freaking out over someone they hate anyways – a white, wealthy, redneck Christian – quoting Scripture and calling homosexual behavior sinful, while they give a bigot like Alec Baldwin, caught on tape now numerous times using racial and anti-gay slurs, a total pass. The selective outrage always comes down to what will advance the ball down the field more for the left. Everything is politics to them.
But what I found most interesting in this sad imbroglio, yet another harbinger of the coming violent persecution, was the reaction of celebrity priest Fr. Jonathan Morris on Twitter. Fr. Morris, of course, frequently appears on Fox News. Here is what he said:
#DuckDynasty ‘s Phil Robertson was wrong in tone and facts, but I wonder if quoting Bible re: homosexual acts will now get you fired.
Of course it will. I don’t think we even have to question that. And it’s not only highly visible stars on popular TV shows that get fired for making the culture uncomfortable, for reminding them of their sin. It is also everyday employees at major corporations that get sacked, too.
But I have to wonder, re: Fr. Morris’ comments, just what Robertson got factually wrong? Fr. Morris tweet is, to me, too clever by half. He tried to both distance himself from what he conveys is a “wrong” comment to make, while at the same time playing to outraged Christians by questioning the firing. I don’t see anything factually wrong in Robertson’s comment. He’s obviously speaking from memory, using colloquialisms, but his overall recitation of 1 Cor 6:9-10 seems pretty spot on to me:
Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, Nor the effeminate [a reference to male prostitutes used in pagan temples for certain religious acts], nor liers with men [a reference to those who engage in non-temple sodomy], nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God.
This quote has ALWAYS been taken as a denunciation of homosexual acts, and even the homosexual lifestyle or disordered orientation. But it also denounces numerous other sins the left didn’t get all riled up about: fornication, idolatry, adultery, lying, thievery, drunkenness, etc. Comparing Robertson’s quote with the actual quote from Douay-Reims, they seem to line up pretty good. I think Robertson is also spot on that the “tolerance,” but really the celebration, of homosexuality is leading us towards legalization of even more bizarre and disgusting acts – bestiality, polygamy, etc.
So I have to ask Fr. Morris, rhetorically, what did Mr. Robertson get factually and “tonally” wrong? Or was that just a clever way to distance yourself from the plain meaning of Scripture, the better to keep the cannon-fire of the left away from you?
Were that we had a bit more of Mr. Robertson’s tone from our priests and prelates, and less of the self-serving parsing and equivocating. Decades of such lack of clarity have left the faithful terminally confused as to what the Church believes.
One final note: at an adult catechism class led by a priest I attended earlier this week, he spoke of the need of homosexuals for constant affirmation of their lifestyle. They literally cannot stand the slightest contradiction or condemnation, as it cuts to the very core of the carefully spun web of lies and self-deceits that make up this profoundly disturbed lifestyle. I agree with this priest and Fr. Michael Rodriguez, that the homosexual agenda will be THE vehicle of the persecution, and I think we see that being played out in miniature before our eyes. While Mr. Robertson will be fine, he should be set for life, financially, many others who don’t have his resources or notoriety will be made to suffer in ways that really hurt.
It is amazing to me how far this culture has fallen in 30 years. 30 years ago, homosexuality was still viewed as something that was extremely disordered, perverse, and dangerous. Probably 80-90% of the population held this view. But a concerted, unprecedented campaign of propaganda and normalization in the media the past 20 years has produced one of the most profound sea changes in public opinion on a matter of morality I have seen in my lifetime. But the stage was set for this with the liberalizing of divorce laws and the legalization of contraception and abortion in the 60s and 70s, which served to destroy the institution of marriage. All of these dread turns in the culture have been carefully orchestrated by the cultural left. None of them happened accidentally, or by demand of the public will. They were, instead, foisted upon a largely unwilling public, generally through judicial fiat. Subsequent decades of media propaganda have gradually ground down resistance, to the point where most people accept as “good,” or at least benignly inevitable, what would have shocked their parents and grandparents.
And so the stage is set for an ugly, brutal, technologically advanced persecution. I pray shepherds like Fr. Morris will learn to speak up and defend the Faith with less equivocation at that time, because it is going to be sorely needed.
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