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Showing posts from August, 2018

How are we imitating Christ? Book 3 Chapter 54 - The Different Motions of Nature and Grace

+ JMJ The Imitation of Christ forms the foundation for my spiritual reading and has for decades.   After saying the prayer to the Holy Ghost, I insert a book mark randomly into the pages. Rarely does it not provide insights into my current situation or challenges! This one was came up a couple of days ago and I thought it would serve as a good reminder to examine our own motivations before embarking on the perilous journey of discerning someone else's motivations. P^3 Source: Sacred Texts CHAPTER LIV OF THE DIVERSE MOTIONS OF NATURE AND OF GRACE "My Son, pay diligent heed to the motions of Nature and of Grace, because they move in a very contrary and subtle manner, and are hardly distinguished save by a spiritual and inwardly enlightened man. All men indeed seek good, and make pretence of something good in all that they say or do; and thus under the appearance of good many are deceived. "Nature is deceitful and draweth away, ensnareth, and dece

Imitation of Christ: Rash Judgement

+ JMJ Sometime a little reminder is necessary in order to keep a balanced approached throughout the trials of this life. While you can easily judge actions, you cannot judge intentions. P^3 CHAPTER XIV ON AVOIDING RASH JUDGMENT Look well unto thyself, and beware that thou judge not the doings of others. In judging others a man laboureth in vain; he often erreth, and easily falleth into sin; but in judging and examining himself he always laboureth to good purpose. According as a matter toucheth our fancy, so oftentimes do we judge of it; for easily do we fail of true judgment because of our own personal feeling. If God were always the sole object of our desire, we should the less easily be troubled by the erring judgment of our fancy. 2. But often some secret thought lurking within us, or even some outward circumstance, turneth us aside. Many are secretly seeking their own ends in what they do, yet know it not. They seem to live in good peace of mind so long

Chronicle: TESTIMONY by His Excellency Carlo Maria Viganò Titular Archbishop of Ulpiana Apostolic Nuncio

+ JMJ The testimony was published here ... but to make it more accessible, I have reproduced it below. I have taken care of most of the extranious carriage returns. P^3 TESTIMONY by His Excellency Carlo Maria Viganò Titular Archbishop of Ulpiana Apostolic Nuncio In this tragic moment for the Church in various parts of the world — the United States, Chile, Honduras, Australia, etc. — bishops have a very grave responsibility. I am thinking in particular of the United States of America, where I was sent as Apostolic Nuncio by Pope Benedict XVI on October 19, 2011, the memorial feast of the First North American Martyrs. The Bishops of the United States are called, and I with them, to follow the example of these first martyrs who brought the Gospel to the lands of America, to be credible witnesses of the immeasurable love of Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. Bishops and priests, abusing their authority, have committed horrendous crimes to the detriment of th

Chronicle: What the Pope Knew - Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

+ JMJ Steve Skojec was busy a couple of weeks ago, but he did make a post on August 20 in which he felt that this was the calm before the storm. Well, yet another storm has broken - a Testimony by an Archbishop that the Pope knew about Cardinal Carrick and did ... wait for it ... nothing. The irony is how swift Rome has been to stomp on Traditional Orders (FFI, Canons of St. John Cantius), but lead footed when it comes to homosexual predators within the hierarchy. Here are some key links that have been tracking this aspect of the Crisis of the Church: Lifesitenews: Former-us-nuncio-pope-francis-knew-of-mccarricks-misdeeds-repealed-sanction Lifesitenews: Cardinal Burke responds to former us nuncios letter Lifesitenews: Texas bishop urges thorough investigation Lifesitenews: Pope Francis "i-am-not-going-to-say-a-word-about-archbishop-viganos-statemen" Lifesitenews: Cardinal Wuerl from denial to dead silence Rorate Caeli: Explosive: Former Nuncio to the US

Some Principles for Managing Confrontations

+ JMJ A few weeks ago I witnessed the evolution of a confrontation, in real-time. The speaker had just finished a 2+ hour session including presentations / exercises (yes there were some breaks) and opened the floor to questions. The first question from the floor pointed out (obliquely) a potential way to improve the system that was presented. While the question could have been presented better, it is the response that set the stage for the confrontation. The presenter immediately became defensive and continued in 'tell' mode. Telling his interlocutor that decisions had been made. ... and he missed both the point and the opportunity. The point was that the person posing the question was uncomfortable with the means being employed to achieve an end. Everyone in the room seemed to be in full agreement that the ends were worth achieving. It was some elements of the means being used to achieve those ends that rubbed some people the wrong way. Sorry for being

Being Trustworthy vs Trusting Someone

+ JMJ Questions: Is Trust Subjective? Is being Trustworthy objective? Does a Superior have to be trustworthy? I previously discussed whether I trust someone is subjective or objective in this article .  The answer is simply yes because 'subjective' refers to a personal perspective, feeling or opinion. My personal perspective on whether I decide to trust (place confidence in ...) another person. Now whether a person is trustworthy is another question altogether: Trustworthy: worthy of confidence, able to be relied on as honest or truthful. Synonyms: reliable , dependable , honest , honorable , upright , principled , true , truthful , as good as one's word, ethical , virtuous , incorruptible , unimpeachable , above suspicion; responsible , sensible , levelheaded ; loyal , faithful , staunch , steadfast , trusty ; safe , sound , reputable , discreet . Whether a person is trustworthy is another question altogether and this could be based in facts

Crisis of the Catholic Church - Means / Ends Inversion

+ JMJ Means-ends Inversion : the method of doing something becomes a goal in its own right, which displaces the end state (goal) that the method was supposed to achieve Avoiding a 'means-ends inversion' is critical for all of us. Just look at the Catholic Church in crisis!  Ecumenism has now become an end in itself. We must have dialogue etc - but forgetting the reason for this dialogue and its end-point: the conversion to the Catholic Church.  Of course we know that this isn't done any more . For Traditional Catholics, we need to ensure that our 'resistance' to these errors does not become our 'end'.  The means we use need to be Catholic, otherwise we're no better than the heretics that we are resisting. So it is important that we understand what ends we are trying to achieve and how (means) we will use to achieve them. If both Means and Ends are Catholic then, we have an alignment. No matter the End Goal, if you use evil methods, th

Servimus Unum Deum - Part 2

+ JMJ A little while ago I wrote this post correcting some errors of Julian Barkin. As he hasn't posted my comment, I am assuming that he isn't interested in a discussion to find the truth. Such is life. He does remind me of someone in his 'first fervor' who lacks an understanding of the big picture. This crisis isn't over by a long short, so pray for Julian and Catholics like him. Obviously, it is also important to pray for Pope Francis because we owe him that as a duty and for our own self-preservation. 😅 P^3

A Look Back: Cardinal Ottaviani and Archbishop Lefebvre - 1966 - The Early (Bad) Fruits of the Council Emerge

+ JMJ Did the Second Vatican Council open the floodgates that were holding back the modernists? Looking at the errors noted below ... I think we know the answer! ... the answer is "YES"! P^3 Courtesy of FSSPX.news: Letters between Cardinal Ottaviani and Archbishop Lefebvre 1966 An exchange of letters between Cardinal Ottaviani and Archbishop Lefebvre in 1966 June 22, 2018 By fsspx.news Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani. On July 24, 1966 Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, sent to the presidents of the various episcopal conferences, and to superiors general of religious orders and congregations throughout the world, a letter concerning “certain abuses and erroneous opinions concerning the interpretation of the doctrines expressed in the Second Vatican Council.” On December 20th of the same year Archbishop Marcel Lefebvr