Good Father Paul Weinberger Hosting Rosary Rallies Outside Birth Choice CPC in Dallas Oct. 13 – Nov. 3 9:30 pm – 10pm October 17, 2020
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, Our Lady, priests, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
Good Father Paul Weinberger, who has been such a stalwart priest-fixture in this diocese going back well over 20 years, will be leading Rosary rallies outside Birth Choice Crisis Pregnancy Center every night at 9:30 from Oct. 13 until Nov. 3 (the election). Many more details below, including the specific prayer intentions. You can join Father in person, or spiritually.
Father Paul Weinberger is extending an invitation to join him (and others) who will be praying the Rosary every night, through November 3rd. Please come in person – Birth Choice: 8610 Greenville Ave #200, Dallas, TX 75243
If you unable to, then pray the Rosary from home, from 9:30 PM CDT – 10:00 PM CDT.
From Father Paul Weinberger:
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Tuesday, November 3 is the Feast of the FIRST male, canonized Saint from the Americas: St. Martin de Porres, O.P. – that is election day across the USA.
This outdoor Rosary will be prayed in both English and Spanish from October 11 through November 3 from 9:30-10pm.
During our Rosary we will focus on the following intentions:
1) for prayerful support of Judge Amy Coney Barrett
who has been nominated for the US Supreme Court;
2) for the USA, for prayerful support of all pro-life candidates who are currently running in the current election cycle;
3) for Birth Choice and the White Rose and for ALL pro-life women’s centers and organizations throughout the State of Texas.
Many/most people will NOT be able to be able to attend due to individual circumstances. If you are unable please pray with us from your home and encourage others to do the same.
The location of Birth Choice is just off of Hwy. 75/Central Expressway and Royal Lane, about a mile east…at the intersection of Royal Lane and Greenville Avenue.
If you have an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary or one of the Saints you are most welcome to bring the statue/image.
As you know we are now several months into the COVID-19 crisis. This outdoor Rosary will not infringe on common-sense protocols in any way, given that we will pray outside. People and families will have no problem with social distancing. The parking lot is quite large.
This week, October 13, marked the anniversary of the great Miracle of the Sun which occurred at Fatima in 1917. It was Our Lady of Fatima’s constant request that we pray the Rosary for Peace in the world and for the conversion of sinners and for an end to wars. Let us use these precious days to pray for a peaceful end to the war on children and families which is legalized abortion.
There is no charge or fee. No collection or solicitation of offerings will be made or allowed. We are asking only for your prayers for these special needs.
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us!
Father Weinberger is living proof of the addage, you can’t keep a good man down. Way to go, Father Weinberger!
Catholic Musical Great Eric Genuis to Perform in Irving September 18-19, 2020 September 18, 2020
Posted by Tantumblogo in Art and Architecture, awesomeness, Dallas Diocese, Domestic Church, General Catholic, Interior Life, Restoration, sanctity, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
I’m not dead, though this blog may as well be. In a desperate to attempt to recussitate it*, Eric Genuis is coming to Irving to give a FREE concert at the RBR Muzik School in Irving, Texas (3248 Skyway Cir N, Irving, TX 75038) on Friday, September 18th, and Saturday, September, 19th. There will be two concerts on the 19th. See below for details. The concert is free but donations are gratefully accepted for Eric’s charity, Concerts for Hope, a 501(c)3 charity.
An RSVP is required at the number above to attend, thanks to the ongoing cultural hysteria/desperate ploy brought to us by the Left and their ChiCom overlords called COVID-19/Kung Flu. The 5pm concert is geared for children/teens but kids are welcome at any performance. I doubt Mr. Genuis requires much introduction to this readership, but if you’ve never been to an Eric Genuis concert, this is an excellent opportunity to see a top-notch, world-class musician and composer in action. It’s also a great opportunity for a classy night out with the wife, maybe for the first time in months, while enjoying edifying music and solid Catholic spirituality. I have it on good authority that Mr. Genuis strongly prefers the TLM whenever possible.
All the other culturally enriching high-brow forms of entertainment have been closed for months so take this opportunity to enjoy some live entertainment with a good Catholic in a pleasant environment. It’s also a good way to stick it to the leftists who are desperately trying to steal an election by terrifying the public into compliance. I keep thinking more and more of the title of Metallica’s 1983 album.
*- As for the inference, I’m just kidding, this was just a fortuitous opportunity to try to electroshock the blog back into existence. Dr. Cal Brackett says, 400 watt-seconds, stat!
Saint Alphonsus on the Proper Hearing of Mass November 11, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, General Catholic, Grace, Interior Life, Latin Mass, priests, reading, Saints, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
From Volume XV of Saint Alphonsus Ligouri’s Ascetical Works, Preaching (only get the translations by Father Eugene Grimm, CSsR, the others are markedly deficient and full of modern errors and radical changes to Saint Alphonsus crystal-clear theology), an exhortation on the proper hearing of Mass, including what constitutes, in the Saint’s mind, irreligious and even sinful hearing of Mass:
Before I begin the excerpt, I should note that the section below regarding not going to Confession during Mass does not mean Sacramental Confession, which is of course not only permitted but encouraged during Mass or any other time, but the “implicit Confession” of the Confiteor. Alphonsus is saying that if you have some grievous sin on your conscience, Mass does not remove the guilt of that sin, and explicit sacramental Confession must first be sought before assisting at Mass (this could of course be ongoing during Mass, but certainly before receiving Communion).
How should one hear Mass?
To satisfy the obligation of hearing Mass, two things are necessary: an intention and attention.
It is necessary to have an intention of hearing Mass, so that a man who is force into church against his will, or who enters only to look about him and see the place (NB: as many tourists do during Mass at famous churches throughout Europe), or to wait there for a friend, or for any other purpose except hearing Mass, does not fulfil the obligation. But, should a person hear Mass through devotion, believing that the day is not a holiday, he is bound, when he finds that it is a holiday, to hear another Mass? No; it is enough to have done the work commanded without having adverted to the intention of fulfilling the precept of hearing Mass.
It is necessary to hear Mass with attention – that is, to attend to the Sacrifice that is celebrated. This attention may be external and internal. It is certain that a person who hears Mass without external attention does not fulfil his obligation; for example, if during the Mass you are asleep, or are drunk, or are employed in writing, talking, or other external operations, you do not fulfil the precept of hearing Mass.
It is disputed among theologians whether a person who attends Mass without internal intention satisfies his obligation’ that is, if he sees what is going on, but is at the same time distracted, and employed in thinking not on God, but on other things. Many theologians say that he is guilty of a venial, but not a grievous, sin, as often as he is voluntarily distracted, and that he fulfils the substance of the precept because he hears Mass with a moral presence. But the greater number of theologians, following St. Thomas, teach that such a person does not fulfil the obligation of hearing Mass, namely, when he is conscious that he is distracted, and not attending to the Mass, and positively wishes to continue in his distractions.
Hence I exhort you, in hearing Mass, to reflect on the great Sacrifice which is being offered. Meditate on the Passion of Jesus Christ; for the Mass is a renewal of the Sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered on the cross. Or meditate on some eternal truth – on death, judgment, or hell. Let him who knows how to read make use of some little book, or let him recite the office of the Blessed Virgin……..say the Rosary, or some other vocal prayers: let them, at least, attend to what the priest is doing.
Does a person who makes his confession during Mass satisfy the obligation of hearing Mass? No; for then he would attend it as a criminal accusing himself of his sins, and not as a person offering sacrifice; and it is certain that all who hear Mass offer sacrifice along with the priest.
Hence it would be advisable during Mass to offer the Holy Sacrifice for the ends for which it was instituted: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication.
During the Mass, then, we ought, first, to offer to God the Sacrifice of His Son in honor of His Divine Majesty; secondly, in thanksgiving for all the benefits we have received from him; thirdly, in satisfaction for our sins; and fourthly, to implore of God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, the graces necessary for our salvation. At the elevation of the Host, let us ask God to pardon our sins, for the sake of Jesus Christ, and at the elevation of the chalice, let us beg of God, through the merits of that Divine Blood, the gift of His love and holy perseverance. And during the Communion of the priest, let us make a spiritual Communion, saying: My Jesus, I desire to receive Thee; I embrace Thee: do not permit me to ever be separated from Thee.
———————-End Quote———————
No special message in this post, just some hopefully helpful reminders and exhortation to even better devotion and practice at the source and summit of our Faith, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Ligouri: The Ruin of Souls Who Through Shame Omit to Confess Their Sins October 3, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, catachesis, General Catholic, Interior Life, priests, reading, Sacraments, sadness, scandals, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
In light of this post from last week, I recently read the following excerpt from one of Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri’s great Ascetical Works and it was a perfect treatise on the matter of invalid confessions, and reasons for them. Of course, Saint Alphonsus is the great Moral Doctor of the Church. He is widely considered to be the single greatest authority on moral theology in the Church’s 2000 year history.
One hugely important post I failed to make in last week’s post – for a confession to be valid, EVERY mortal sin, in kind and number, committed since the last VALID confession, MUST be conveyed to the priest, or the confession is invalid, and every subsequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament in this foul state is sacrilegious and, in itself, a mortal sin, as was the original invalid confession. Thus, if someone were to string out a long history of mortal sins over, say, 10 confessions, he would subsequently have to confess those 10 invalid confessions, and the 10 or 50 or 70 sacrilegious communions in the interim. In fact, the longer a sin remains unconfessed for reasons of shame, the less likely it is that it will ever be confessed. Thus, it is always best to confess all sins as soon as possible, both to alleviate the threat of damnation, but also to strike while the positive effects of shame are motivating the soul to seek forgiveness of its greivous offenses against God.
Saint Alphonsus repeatedly declared that more souls are lost through shame and subsequent invalid confessions than virtually any other reason. Many Saints personally related mystical experiences of souls of the damned who lamented their sacrilegious, invalid confessions.
Now, the great moral Doctor, Ligouri (excerpts from pp. 316-317):
In the missions we should moreover strongly and often inculcate the necessity of overcomign the shame that one feels in confessions one’s sins. Those who are experienced missionaries know that this cursed shame has been the cause of the loss of innumerable souls………
It is a pity to see how many souls the devil gains by this means, especially in matters concerning impure sins; for he makes th em lose shame at the moment of committing them, and gives this shame back to them when there is qustion of mention ing them in the confessional. Saint Antoine, speakign of this matter, relates that a holy hermit, seseing one day the devil in the church going among those that wished to confess, asked him what he was doing there: the evil spirit answered: “To induce thse people to commit sin, I have taken shame from them; now I return it to them in order that they may not confess well and properly.” Saint John Chrysostom also sayhs: “God has given shame to the commission of sin, and confidence to the confession of it. The devil inverts this: he inspires him who sins with confidence before the sin, and with shame afterwards, so that the sin may not be confessed and the soul lost forever.”
Alas! Christian soul, you have sinned; if you do not confess your sins you will certainly be damned. Why then do you not confess your sin? You answer: “I am ashamed.” Hence, rather than overcome this shame you wish to be condemned for all eternity to the fire of hell? It is a shame to offend so good a God Who has created us; it is not a shame to confess to have offended Him. But since you do not wish to manifest your sin, refrain at least from going to confession. To the sin that you have committed do you wish to add the sacrilege of a bad confession? Do yo know what you are doing when you commit sacrilege? For the sins on accou nt which you have deserved hel there is no other remedy than the Blood of Jesus Christ, who will purify you if you confess it well; but by concealing your sin, you even tread under foot the Blood of Jesus Christ……….
……….What do you fear? Ah!, here are no doubt the pretexts that the devil suggests to you, to keep you from confessing:
- What wil my confessor say when he hears that I have fallen in such a way? Well, he will say that you have been weak, as happens to so many others who live in this world; he will say that you did wrong to sin, but that you afterwards performed and admirable deed in overcoming shame to confess your sins.
- At least he will not fail to give me a scolding! – oh no, why should he scold you? Know that confessors cannot have greater consolation than when they hear a person accusing himself of a sin that he has committed; for then he can securely absolve him and deliver him from hell.
- I have not enough confidence to manifest this sin to my spiritual Father – Well! Go to confession to another priest of the place or to a stranger.
————-End Excerpt————–
Really, folks, your not that special, nor half as “bad” as you think. The priests have heard it all. If you go to Confession on Sunday at a busy parish, the priest might hear 80 or 100 confessions that day. They all run together. God gives priests special graces to forget what they hear in the confessional. Most priests, most all the time, literally forget what they heard just moments ago in the confessional. So don’t worry so much, trust God, and just spill it all. Kind/type, and number.
The absolutely vital point to remember, is that, no matter what a foolish priest may tell you, you cannot receive the Blessed Sacrament with one unconfessed mortal sin on your soul! If you do you commit another and worse mortal sin, the sin of profaning the Blessed Sacrament, and, many moral theologians maintain, literally re-crucifying Christ.
No, You Cannot “Partially Confess” Mortal Sins……. September 28, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in asshatery, different religion, disaster, Domestic Church, error, General Catholic, horror, Interior Life, paganism, Revolution, Sacraments, sadness, scandals, sickness, Society.comments closed
…….and the matter addressed in this post raises major issues with Novus Ordo Church.
I initially used the Youtuber’s name in the post, but went through and removed it, since it’s not really the point.
There is a particular Youtube channel with a particular female “host.” This woman formerly lived in Seattle and now lives in the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, area. She’s what’s called a “based” or “red-pilled” Youtuber, which means she strongly rejects leftist social justice warrior ideology and adheres much more to conservative viewpoints. In fact, she plays at being attracted to fascist ideologies at times. I’m not sure how serious that attraction is, most of my viewership of her material comes through the weekly livecasts she does with another Youtuber.
In many respects she’s great. She’s very conservative and we align on a number of points. In spite of these many points of agreement, however, like Michael Knowles, there is a serious problem with her attitude regarding the Church and the moral law Christ has given to guide us in this life, be pleasing to Him, and enable us to spend eternity worshipping Him in Heaven.. Like so many of us, this fair haired woman has a lot of baggage. Lord knows, I do, too. I’ve been pretty open about that over the years. One thing I have striven most mightily to do is to conform myself to the mind of the Church in all aspects of my life of which I am aware. This does not mean I have succeeded in all fronts, but I continue to try.
In this day and age, however, that can be a difficult thing to do. What should be the simplest, most straightforward thing in the world – for Catholics to know the moral law and live in accord with it (I didn’t say easiest) – has become a labyrinthe of difficulty, due to the error and outright heresy rife in the Church of the past 100 years or so, extending in recent times right to the highest level. While the Doctrine of the Faith is still out there to be found by souls who are willing to put forth the effort – in books, on website, at traditional parishes, etc – there is a huge mass of error to lead poeple astray, and especially to tempt them in the most trying (marriage, chastity, procreation) aspects of their lives to find the wide, easy road to destruction, instead of the hard, narrow way our Blessed Lord told us would be our lot if we chose to take up our cross and follow Him.
All I say below has been publicly revealed by this Youtube personality herself, so I am not revealing any confidences. This woman is married to a non-Catholic. She was married outside the Church. As she became much more conservative over the past several years, she began to feel an attraction towards the Church again. From what she has said, her initial return to the Church was to the SSPX. I am guessing this is the Immaculate Conception priory the SSPX has near the Washington/Idaho border. Upon approaching the priests there regarding regularzing her marriage and being able to receive the Sacraments, as she terms it, she was told that she would have to wait 6 months in order to have her marriage reviewed and the process of investigation completed. During that time, she would have to remain chaste with her husband, living as brother and sister. Now, this Youtuber is in her early 30s and is attempting to conceive her first child. She has been married for at least a few years.
This was undoubtedly a huge cross to bear. I asked some local priests about this period of continence, and they indicated that it seemed rather longer than their experience indicated but that each case was different, and not knowing the particulars it was difficult to comment. They absolutely agreed that this woman and her husband would need to live as brother and sister until the marriage was made right in the eyes of God and Holy Mother Church, and that she could not receive Communion during this waiting period, either. It should be noted that, prior to the 1950s, getting a sacramentally invalid marriage to a non-Catholic validated was all but impossible. Whether such marriages should even be available for validation is a huge question, one which I won’t go into at this time.
The Youtuber was not amenable to this direction, done for the good of her soul, and that of her husband’s, I’m sure. She sought out a Novus Ordo parish, my guess would be St. Thomas the Apostle because she described this as a relatively conservative and orthodox parish. There are only two or three Novus Ordo parishes in the area, and this one is definitely the most orthodox by all appearances. Apparently, from what she has said, this parish somehow regularized her marital situation, or gave her some kind of leave to continue to live as husband and wife while the matter was being resolved (and allowing her to receive the Sacraments). After discussing this situation on their Youtube livestream, I reached out directly to this woman and I suggested she seek out the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter parish in the area, because I feared that she may have been getting some worldly, feel-good kind of direction that is all too common in the Novus Ordo world. I do not know if she contacted good Father Gordon up there, but she did say she was going to Mass and receiving Sacraments and seemed satisfied.
Now, I have no knowledge of the details, so perhaps this resolution of her non-sacramental marriage was perfectly legitimate. But I was concerned that this could be evidence of the kind of extremely lackadiasical attitude towards the Sacraments and their right administration that is all too common in essentially all Novus Ordo parishes. Subsequent events gave strong evidence of this. The Youtubing woman related that as she had been away from the Church for years, she had accumulated numerous sins, including a number of mortal ones, and that confessing these was difficult. She stated that the priest of this parish had advised that she could just confess one or two as she felt moved to do at each Confession, and then continue to receive Communion as she gradually went through her history of sins. She indicated this was the course she was following.
This is obviously a grave offense against God and His Church, and is an absolutely disastrous pastoral practice. Objectively speaking, every one of these Confessions has been invalid, devoid of the Grace of reconciliation with God, and each subsequent reception of the Blessed Sacrament has been unspeakably sacrilegious. Now, the Youtuber received absolutely disastrous direction from her priest, so I’m not certain how much guilt accrues to her, and how much to him, but the entire situation is a catastrophe. If she becomes aware of this grave offense against God, she would have to go re-confess all these sacrilegious confessions and all the other, original mortal sins, besides. What a nightmare.
And this brings me to the point of this post. If I am right about the parish in question, by all external appearances it looks like a quite faithful, orthodox parish. There is frequent public Rosary and Confession most days. It could be she attends the other parish in Coeur d’Alene, St. Pius X (please don’t harrass either parish since I/we don’t know with certainty). But either way, this situation highlights something I have learned at great cost over the past decade or so – that, one priest aside, there are virtually no Novus Ordo priests in this country who can be relied upon in every situation, no matter how difficult, to adhere to the Doctrine of the Faith and guide souls along these ancient, constant lines. Even in seemingly conservative/faithful Novus Ordo parishes/chapels, I have universally encountered error to one degree or another, with the exception of one priest, Father Paul Weinberger. He is a rock. But even in Hanceville, when Mother Angelica was still alive, I got some very unfortunate direction in the confessional, which fortunately I knew better than to follow. There are other priests in the Novus Ordo church that I believe are also quite solid, like Father Ryan Erlenbush, but I do not have enough direct personal knowledge to confirm. If you have such a priest, thank God, for you are truly fortunate.
The seemingly very quick and convenient, with little or no moral consequence, regularization of the sacramentally invalid marriage was frankly a huge warning sign. But this matter of the advice given with regard to Confession is beyond the pale, and puts the woman’s soul in the gravest of jeopardy. I have spoken with several priests on this matter – confidentially, of course – and all were utterly aghast at this hideous direction.
It is a tragedy, but is one of the strongest reasons why I now pretty much advocate exclusively for souls to avail themselves of priests of traditional priestly societies if at all possible (up to an including driving an hour or so each way if possible), or of priests offering the TLM in the next case. If absolutely no TLM is available, especially from a society of men deliberately formed according to the constant belief and practice of the Faith, search out the best priest you can find, but I think in such a case you have a particular duty to exert great effort to form yourself in the Faith to the degree that you will not be influenced by poor catechesis and destructive direction.
It just reinforces my growing opinion that the future of the Church is entirely in her past. She must return to herself in all ways, most especially those related to the moral virtues and the Liturgy. That’s not just about saving souls. It’s about giving God the glory He deserves.
Please Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Jim Middleton [UPDATED] September 18, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in Admin, Basics, Dallas Diocese, fightback, Four Last Things, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
[UPDATE]: See the bottom of the post for an addendum from my dad. I very briefly glossed over Jim’s career at Arco and he beefed it up a bit, for all of those interested. Yes, both of you]
Longtime readers may recall that I was once on a broadcast radio show with Jim and Vicki Middleton. The show ended in 2012 when Vicki unfortunately passed away rather suddenly. I think that was a grace of God, I don’t think she could stand to see what this country is becoming today. She was right about so very much, including the endlessly voracious appetite of the Left for tyranny. Equally sadly, Jim Middleton, her spouse of many years, passed away this past September 12. Jim was a very strong and patriotic American, a rock-solid conservative, and a devout Catholic convert. He was also a gifted engineer and high-level oil executive and played a vital role in opening up the North Slope of Alaska to large scale oil production and later served as President of Arco Oil and Gas. My dad worked with Jim for 25 years and knew him quite well.
The funeral was held at the Carmelite Monastery in Dallas, the same monastery that served host as the site of the diocesan Mater Dei Traditional Latin Mass community for many years prior to Mater Dei getting its own parish (one of the few good acts of the previous bishop of this Diocese, now Cardinal Kevin Farrell. “allowing” Mater Dei to have its own church – such generosity). Jim and Vicki gave extremely generously to the Carmelite Monastery over the years, and were extremely close with, and helpful towards, the Carmelite nuns. As such, by a special bequest, the mortal remains of both Jim and Vicki will now repose on the grounds of the monastery.
I was fortunate to be able to attend the Novus Ordo funeral Mass yesterday. Father Paul Weinberger, who has received a good deal of attention on this blog recently, and who was very close to the Middleton’s and played a great role in their becoming stalwart Catholics from episcopal converts, offered the Mass. So, yes, it was a Novus Ordo, but it was offered with as much reverence and dignity as is possible with this creation of “modern” man. The sermon was very solid as usual, as Father Weinberger devoted about half of the 15 minutes to ably destroy a number of protestant talking points against the Faith, such as, we do not worship images, works done in concert with Grace are necessary for salvation, the communion of saints and the existence of purgatory, and so forth. Since the attendance was at least 50% protestant, that was no small act, but was conducted with such charity and finesse that rather than rankle his sermon elicited a number of laughs and smiles.
Vicki and Jim were good souls and gave tremendously of their time, talent, and treasure for the good of the Church and souls. They deserve a prayer or two, or many. I pray I never forget them in my prayers for the souls of the deceased.
A few poor photos from the Mass. I thank the good Carmelite sisters for again opening their chapel, as they regularly do. I with them well and they may be assured of my prayers, too!
[Addendum]:
When the north slope was being developed, it was still a part of NAPD (North American Producing Division). Billy Jack Lancaster headed NAPD. Middleton was in charge of a special engineering group whose job was to fabricate the production modules and barge them from Ingleside to Point Barrow, and then offload them onto gravel causeways and roll them onto the slope. Billy Jack smoked himself to death and died of lung cancer. Bill Keeler head of Engineering for NAPD replaced Billy Jack. Keeler’s 16 year old son killed Bill and his wife. Ken Dickerson and Jim Coffee (lawyers) quickly popped the kid into Timberlawn and he never served a day in jail for the murders. Dallas had no more men in the line of succession. NAPD had always operated independently of Corporate (which was in LA), primarily because they generated 125% of the Corporations income. Not no more. This opening gave LA a chance to put their own man in charge. Then picked Glen Simpson who managed the Alaska operations – – he was a former Sinclair hand and followed orders well. He was a rigid disaster.
Meanwhile, Middleton was placed in charge of Anaconda (a mining operation that was, unbeknownst to ARCO, badly losing money at the time they bought it), and he stopped it from hemorrhaging cash. By that time NAPD had become Arco Oil and Gas, along with Arco Exploration and Arco Alaska. When Simpson was forced out, Jim became President of AOGC. He did a hell of a good job, and always backed me to the hilt.
I add, it was after Jim retired in 1994 that ARCO quickly went downhill, and its management sold out to BP in a panic in 2000. The only remnant of ARCO today is its chain of gas stations on the West Coast and in Arizona.
Catholic Video Channels You Should be Perusing September 10, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, episcopate, fightback, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, Restoration, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, the struggle for the Church, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
This post may contain old news for many readers, but I thought it should be mentioned that the quality of Catholic commentary in video form continues to increase. While Youtube may be a wholly owned subsidiary of a parent company staffed by many of the most despicable people on earth – Google – it does host some very good Catholic content, at least until Google decides these good people are gaining too much traction, and ban-hammers them off their platform (Bitchute is a good alternative, but it does contain quite a bit of wacky and even dangerously immoral content, but so does most everything else these days). Right now, for this particular blogger, probably the best traditional/tradition-leaning Catholic channel on Youtube (overall) is that of Dr. Taylor Marshall. I’m a bit surprised at coming to this conclusion, for while I have known Taylor and his family for years in passing through our local TLM parish, for many years I wasn’t a huge fan. His content seemed to tend towards the conservative/neo-Catholic for quite some time. So while he did do some great works like being a or the founder of the Troops of St. George, I found him a bit squishy on a number of topics, especially those closest to the core elements of the traditional critique of the post-conciliar Church.
But that was then. Starting about 12-18 months ago, and especially in the wake of the Vigano expose and the Church’s “summer of shame” (hint: there will be worse to come, much worse), Taylor really got red-pilled and became quite a hard-hitting critic of the crisis in the Church. His views generally align quite closely with my own, which of course means he is absolutely right about purt’ near everything. Seriously, I don’t want to overplay my criticism of the Taylor of 5 years ago, he was generally solid all along, but over the past year he’s really been clobbering the evil forces acting within and against Holy Mother Church. I now make a point of catching all of his videos as early as I can, and agree with most everything both Dr. Marshall and his co-host Dr. Tim Gordon have to say (but not quite – sadly, noone is quite so perfect as me). They are addressing most all the major crisis issues in the Church today and doing so from a steadfastly traditional viewpoint, and not pulling any punches over sacred cows like the current occupant of the papacy, the heresies emanating from Rome in these dark days, and the root of the crisis beginning far before Vatican II. I still hope to put together a real magnum opus (hah) podcast on that subject, but baby steps.
Another great source which I have highlighted before is the inestimable Charles Coulombe. I love his weekly uploads at Tumblar House and find his talks, if possible, even more edifying than those of Taylor Marshall. Charles is both a rock with regard to the Faith, and is especially strong on the absolutely vital issue of Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (I cannot recommend his book on the subject enough, it is eye-opening, even for one well-versed in Trad literature), and is also a veritable fount of knowledge on matters related to Church history and Catholic culture (rather unlike the website of the same name). It is well worth your time to dedicating an hour or so a week listening to his Youtube videos. While Taylor’s viewership has exploded, Coulombe’s remains relatively static, which is a real shame, because his commentary is equally deserving of a far wider audience.
Next, there is another source I’ve recommended many times, but it bears repeating: The Fatima Center. Even with the untimely deaths of Fr. Nicholas Gruner and Mr. Charles Vennari, they regularly upload, almost weekly, very good catechetical materials from extremely traditional sources. I find especially the videos from Fr. Isaac Mary Relyea edifying and entertaining.
Then, there is Return to Tradition by Anthony Stine. A bit like Taylor Marshall’s content, it is both contemporary and topical. In fact, one might liken it sort of a pocket version of Taylor’s much longer broadcasts, covering many of the same topics from a generally similar view (though, of course, they differ in a number of details) but in a much shorter format. It’s a worthy site, especially his excerpts from Church doctrinal documents in his weekend uploads, but in terms of preference is probably properly listed in terms of order in this post. HIs production values are of a bit lower standard than the other three.
And, of course, there remains the grand-daddy of all Catholic Youtube channels of which I am aware, that of Sensus Fidelium and the daily uploads of sermons from very solidly orthodox and traditional priests. I’m certain most all readers will be aware of this channel already.
And now, good listeners, I turn the floor over to you, to solicit other “channels” you may find worthwhile on Youtube or other, similar platforms. One problem today is the veritable embarrassment of riches, it is difficult at times to keep up with more than a few channels, especially when they produce prodigious amounts of content like Dr. Marshall and Sensus Fidelium. I of course also enjoy the weekly commentaries from Michael Matt at The Remnant, and some other less explicitly Catholic but more historical efforts that still tie in with the Church’s proud history. Nevertheless, I would appreciate any recommendations you have, especially for solid but lesser known channels.
I have another, far more obscure channel to bring to your attention at a later date, God willing, but that is such a different topic and requires an extensive introduction, and so it must wait for another time.
Excellent Priest on the Fruits of Feminism – UPDATED July 7, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, catachesis, Domestic Church, family, fightback, General Catholic, Grace, Interior Life, priests, Restoration, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
Not sure if I am allowed to ID this priest or not, but I can say he’s one of my two favorite, most rock-solid FSSP priests a priest who gave a great sermon but not the one I was thinking of! He sure sounds like an FSSP priest I know. Oh well, humans gonna err.
He has an excellent sermon on the evils of feminism. The key point is that the radical, man-hating, Christ-despising feminism we see today is the inevitable end-point of this erroneous and frankly diabolical movement. There was never a “good feminism.” It was always ordered towards subverting the role of men and women and essentially having the two sexes flip those roles. You could say that feminism has always been much more a female supremacy movement than one interested in any kind of true equality – as if the God-given and traditional Christian roles of the sexes were somehow unequal. They were only “unequal” in a totally materialistic and power-dynamic obsessed sense, the kind marxists would tend to grab onto.
There are those who argue that while “some” feminists take the movement too far, feminism at its roots is a good thing, and something it is perfectly acceptable to subscribe to. I believe Father demonstrates the falsity of this claim. At any rate, even if there are still some who consider themselves “moderate feminists,” only interested in some self-defined notion of equality and not at all like the radical fringe, the point is immaterial from a practical standpoint. For 50 years or more feminism as a movement has constantly been dominated by its most radical fringe, and those who pretend to subscribe to only its more moderate aspects are giving valuable aid and comfort to this radical fringe. Thus, feminism is something that no well-ordered and virtuous Catholic woman or man can subscribe to.
And why would you want to? How does feminism help you or anyone you love get to Heaven? The traditional Christ-inspired roles for men and women are completely focused on just that end, men and women helping each other, in constant practice of virtue, to attain Heaven, especially within the confines of marriage but also without. All the evidence I have seen indicates feminism can do nothing but frustrate the good and holy purpose of rightly-ordered male-female relationships.
Please pray for Father that he may not be persecuted for preaching the truth of Jesus Christ and His Church in this most diabolical time, and that many will not just hear, but listen, to his words:
Feminism’s fruits are not just widows and orphans, but also hundreds of millions of murdered babies worldwide, and God knows how many broken marriages and devastated homes.
Please Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Gregory Latz June 17, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in Admin, Four Last Things, General Catholic, Interior Life, reading, SSPX, thanksgiving, Tradition, true leadership.comments closed
I have asked for prayers for this man for some time. He fought a long battle with cancer and I learned to my sadness some weeks ago that Mr. Latz had died.
Please, if you would, also pray for my brother-in-law Brian Haeglin, who suffered a severe stroke about 2 weeks ago and is still hospitalized, and likely will be for weeks. Thank you and God bless you and your family.
They don’t call this a vale of tears for nothing.
I would also like to thank longtime reader Tim T for his continued support, and for his surprising gift in the mail this morning of some good and very interesting Catholic books. I haven’t read them yet, obviously, but I look forward to doing so, especially the biography of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. This is the one by Bishop Tissier de Mallerais. Interesting timing, I had been strongly considering ordering Michael Davies’ Apologia Pro Marcel Lefebvre. Do any of you familiar with both have any thoughts on these two books or preferences between them, as I believe they are generally regarded as the best studies of Archbishop Lefebvre. ?
Whatever one thinks of the SSPX, and I am personally well-disposed towards them and thankful for their existence (as they, at the very least, saved the public practice of the TLM, in my opinion), Marcel Lefebvre has had a huge influence on the Church in the past 60-70 years and more and deserves careful study. Plus, history has always been my favorite subject.
So thank you again Mr. T! I pity the fool!
No relation, I just felt like throwing a pic in this post.
Interesting theological seminar at the University of Dallas March 27 March 26, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, Dallas Diocese, fightback, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, Restoration, secularism, Society, the struggle for the Church, Tradition, Virtue.comments closed
I know the timing is late but Dr. Chris Malloy of the University of Dallas brought my attention to a talk being given tomorrow night, March 27 2019, at the University of Dallas Gorman A hall at 5:30pm. It is entitled “An Integralist Reading of Augustine’s City of God Against the Secularists.” It sounds right up my alley. For those who do not know, “integralist” is a term that I believe originated in France in the late 19th and early 20th century to besmirch those souls who held to the traditional belief and practice of the Faith – that held, in particular, that it was impossible to separate the public and private practice of religion, that they were an integrated whole, and thus the term. It has become a widespread libel used by leftists/modernists/secularists within and without the Church against Catholics.
Integralism as appropriate Catholic belief has also been almost entirely shunned by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church since Vatican II, and was a point of great contention in the Church in the United States from at least the late 19th century onward, when Americanist bishops such as John Ireland and Cardinal Gibbons exalted the false, condemned liberal orientation of this nation’s Founding document – the Constitution – in extolling “freedom of religion” and especially the no-establishment clause as being perfectly acceptable for Catholics to believe, not only as a temporary modus vivendi in largely protestant country, but also as an ideal to be upheld and exported abroad (and yes I am reading that extremely long book on John Courtney Murray and the American influence on Vatican II and the world at large). In many ways, the Americanism condemned by Leo XIII metastasized into modernism and eventually the pathetic, fallen secularist Church of the post-Vatican II era.
The presenter for this seminar is a Fr. Edmund Walstein, OCist, who has a website dedicated to informing Catholics of right belief with regard to politics and, more importantly, political systems in the ideal from the Catholic standpoint. A little bit about the site:
The Josias was founded as the mouthpiece of a small community of men and women seeking to articulate an authentically Catholic political stance from which to approach the present order of society. We are clerics and laymen, academics and professionals, secular and religious. Our goal, broadly speaking, is to make this site a working manual for those who wish to bring their faith into the public square and resist the tides of liberalism, modernism, and ignorance of tradition which have, in the past century, so harmed the Church and tied her hands in the struggle to advance the social reign of Christ.
So, I anticipate this talk by Father Edmund Walstein, OCist, will be of great interest to many readers. I hope some can make late plans to attend. I would dearly love to be there, but not only do I have a wife and daughter both with broken right ankles due to soccer injuries right now, but we had already committed to attend a screening of the abortion-reality movie Unplanned in Arlington. The screening was arranged by someone who rented out the theater for the night, is apparently sold out, and since tickets were in such demand do not feel I can skip it even for a talk of this caliber, much as I’d like to be there. But, if i can find someone to take my place, maybe I’ll be able to sneak away for this conference.
If you are able to attend, please leave a comment or comments describing the event and its impact. I am very heartened that UD is hosting a seminar of this kind and pray there may be more of this type in the future.
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