War: Civil Society

JMJ

Society seems to be ripping itself apart, both morally and socially.

Morally, the world continues its steady decline.

Israel vs Hamas

The confusion over the morality of the Israel vs Hamas War is one example.

It is a war and, this time, in response to the October 7th attack.

I've noticed two perspectives emerge from the two combatants. For the Israeli, it is that they are the only Nation that is not allowed to win a war. Public opinion is always at play in wars, but in the case of Israel against anyone in the area, public opinion quickly becomes a factor.

For Hamas and its supporters it is embodied in the phrase:

From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.

This is the goal of Hamas, the elimination of the Jewish state of Israel according to its 2017 Charter (link). I understand that their original charter was more explicit. Tied to this is that Hamas obviously, prioritizes its goal over the Gazans that they govern. For this I recommend a read of Son of Hamas (link).

The key element here is that Hamas uses its own people as human shields. There have been reports of them holding people in place to thwart Israeli attacks. The deaths are tragic and working.

Ukraine vs Russia

I have seen people cheering on both sides of the Ukraine / Russia war. What I have recently heard, there was that two priests were arrested in the Russian occupied zones with reasons that seemed very similar to the reasons used to send Ukrainian priests to prison camps.

So things are not always as clear as they seem.

Abortion

The concept that it is murder to kill someone after birth as opposed to prior to birth is, a legal anomaly and ambiguous. There is no logical reason for the distinction as the generation of a human baby is a natural process - not a disease state.

Even in the cases of rape, the abortion kills one of the innocent parties and the rapist is left alive.

Beyond this, there are attempts to make into US law 'partial birth abortion'.

This is an absurdity that shows a society at war with itself.

Concluding Thoughts

While there are other examples of civil society at odds with itself, these three examples, show the human ability to maintain within their minds logical absurdities.

We need to pray for a return to sanity.

P^3

Comments

News Roundup: October 19, 2026

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The Debt Canadian Traditional Catholics Owe to Fr. Yves Normandin (RIP)

+ JMJ On this All Souls day, I'd like to remind all Traditional Catholics in Canada the debt that they owe to Fr. Yves Normandin (RIP). Fr. Normandin stepped into the breach in the 1970's offering the Tridentine Mass across Canada for close to a decade before returning to his diocese for a number years before returning to the SSPX. I had the grace to visit him in Quebec twice and each time left with a greater appreciation of the fruits of his efforts. All of us 'old-timers' probably remembers Masses in Chapels, Homes, Halls, Funeral Homes, and event convention centres. I make the assertion that this laid the ground for all the Traditional Mass Communities, SSPX, FSSP, Diocesan and others. Probably a pretty safe assertion! In addition to praying for the repose of the Soul of Fr. Normandin, I'd ask you also pray for the repose of the soul of his Mother. I remember seeing her picture once and everyone has a Mom and she is worthy of our prayers for producing such a so...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

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SSPX: Requiescat in Pace - Nov. Devotions

+ JMJ Recently, the St. Gertrude prayer was recommended to me and given my devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I thought it a good inclusion in the morning prayers and post it here for as a reminder for November - the Month of the Holy Souls. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org “Forget not the dead and hasten to pray for them!” - such is the Church's recommendation, beautifully summarized by St. Augustine. In Purgatory until the End of the World Our Lady Herself referred to Purgatory when, at the first Fatima apparition in May 1917, she was asked by Lucia about the souls of two young village girls who had recently died. The Virgin answered that the first one, Maria das Nevas, who died when about 16 years of age, was in Heaven. But of Amelia, a young lady of 18 years at her death, "will be in purgatory until the end of the world.” The disclosure about Amelia’s prolonged period of expiation never fails to shock and trouble. We are so easily misled to believe that Heaven is our natura...

The News is an Addiction ...

+ JMJ People seem to be mesmerised by train wrecks. They just can't turn away as the disaster creeps forward along train tracks towards the crossing where a car, truck, bus, trailer awaits its destruction. Trads have been watching the train wreck that is this crisis of the Catholic Church for decades. The trade war between the Canada and the US has reminded me that the news is addictive. The first time I was addicted what from 2009 to 2014 when I was closely following the Rome / SSPX discussions. I was at work watching a live-stream as Bishop Fellay disappeared into the Vatican. The lead-up to this moment had been intense as the 'resistance' got freaked out and the cultural cracks between doctrine and conspiracy theory widened. In the decade since then other things have emerged, wars, rumours of wars, conspiracies, celebrity Catholics etc. Now we have a new addiction and its name is Trump. Lately, no matter how much I try, I find myself wonderin...

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