Tradicat

 + JMJ   So I received my vaccine in June 2021, so depending on which particular YouTube (YT) celebrity you follow, a sizable portion of my family and myself will die in 3 to 15 months. I have had some colds and my normal collection of allergic reactions to pollen, dust and conspiracy theory (sorry just had to add that one). However, I am not concerned about the morality of being vaccinated with the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.  I am concerned about the state of the Church, its crisis and how I respond to it. The writings of Skojec continue what appears to be an unhealthy spin and I have seen it in others who pour themselves into combatting the crisis of the Church, get all chewed up and pooped out (exhausted).   Once again, I thank the priest to advised me to keep my cup full ( see below: Spiritual Nourishment for Spiritual Warfare link ). P^3

 + JMJ Steve Skojec's article about how rigourism (my word) creates a danger to the Faith reminded me about a key ingredient in the antidote: Gratitude. Attached below are the two posts that I wrote, one based on Robert Siscoe's article and the second the text of the article that I found at a later time. Given Traditionis Custodes, I think a reminder to be grateful is very important to avoid descending into a death spiral. I have an idea of what action Catholics can ... and should take ... to respond to Traditionis Custodes.  P^3 =======================================   Gratitude - A Most Necessary Virtue (link) September 26, 2016   + JMJ I just recently read an article by Robert Siscoe titled: The Importance of Gratitude in that Age of Apostasy (Catholic Family News, August 2016 Vol 23 Issue 8). In the article he cites extensively from The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Francisco de Osuna (LINK) while calling on Mediations For All The Days of the YearFr. A...

+ JMJ After a few months, I finally found my copy of the Imitation of Christ and read a passage after my morning prayers . This is the passage that I read on flipping open the tome: And because being under authority thou darest not resist the higher power, therefore thou art apt to think it hard to walk at the beck of another, and wholly to give up thy own sentiments. (Confraternity 1982 version quoted. Online version The Imitation of Christ , by Thomas a Kempis, tr. by William Benham [1886], at sacred-texts.com Bk3 Ch49 ) ... But consider, son, the fruit of these labors, how quickly they will end, and their exceeding great reward, and thou wilt not be troubled at them, but strongly comforted in thy suffering. ( Heb VI. 18 ) For Reference: Heb VI 18: That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have the strongest comfort, who have fled for refuge to hold fast the hope set before us. ( source ) I've known and know priests...

+ JMJ Some food for thought! P^3 "The Window in the Wall" A collection of sermons on the Holy Eucharist (R. Knox) "And now he is standing on the other side of this very wall; now he is looking through each window in turn, peering through every chink. I can hear my true love calling to me, Rise up, rise up quickly, dear heart, so gentle, so beautiful, rise up and come with me." Canticles 2 Set in the middle of the Old Testament, in striking contrast to those collections of dry aphorisms which come before and after it, the Canticle of Canticles occupies a position unique in Sacred Literature. ...And that book, as we all know, is a kind of palimset, in which the saints of every age have read between the lines, and found there the appropriate language in which to express their love for God, God's love for them. No part of the Old Testament gives rise more easily to outraged astonishment, to Pharisaical scandal, when it co...

+ JMJ It is important, nay absolutely crucial, that we Imitate Christ by practicing virtue! With Pope Francis we need to practice virtue daily! P^3 Source: http://sacred-texts.com/chr/ioc/ioc020.htm CHAPTER XIX OF THE EXERCISES OF A RELIGIOUS MAN The life of a Christian ought to be adorned with all virtues, that he may be inwardly what he outwardly appeareth unto men. And verily it should be yet better within than without, for God is a discerner of our heart, Whom we must reverence with all our hearts wheresoever we are, and walk pure in His presence as do the angels. We ought daily to renew our vows, and to kindle our hearts to zeal, as if each day were the first day of our conversion, and to say, "Help me, O God, in my good resolutions, and in Thy holy service, and grant that this day I may make a good beginning, for hitherto I have done nothing!" 2. According to our resolution so is the rate of our progress, and much diligence is needful...

+ JMJ Just a quick thought for today. Some people take offense a the smallest glance, word, or phrase.  I think that in some cases this is simply because they are insecure. In other cases, some how the action has touched their self-image ... or the image of self that they want to present to the world. There is a simpler word for this - pride. How should a Catholic think of an 'offense' or word against them? My recommendation is to think of offense an object that someone either knowingly or unknowingly places on a table. It is up the persons at the table to decide from themselves whether or not to take it. You see, a person doesn't give offense, he offers it. The other person decides to take offense. Keep this in mind next time you believe someone has offended you. You can take it or you can leave it. P^3

+ JMJ When people get upset, more often than not, they make mistakes. That's why keeping peace of soul (heart) is so important for surviving and thriving in this crisis of the Church. Just because the leaders of the Church (practically all of Ecclesia Docens ) are objectively guilty of dereliction of duty, does not give us permission to stampede in whichever direction we are facing. No, we need to keep peace of soul, foster a strong and deep spiritual life, study and do our duty of state. That is how we will survive, thrive and save our souls. Source: Sacred Texts - Imitation of Christ P^3

+ JMJ For future reference, here's the Fatima approval information from various authorities within the Church. P^3 Source: fatima.org

+ JMJ While I have been aware of miraculous communions, the issue of Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta receiving the Body and Blood of Our Lord made me curious. So I did a quick search and found the following notes. I have not checked the original sources at this time. P^3 Source: Name withheld as the sight is also promoting what I believe to be an unapproved apparition.

+ JMJ It is clear that the Catholic Church will not emerge from the crisis because we simply want and pray for it to happen. We need to start with ourselves. My wife is reading a book on Catholic Spirituality written by Dom Hubert Van Zeller in 1957. She compared this gem to her understanding of the spirituality of Archbishop Lefebvre. While tempted to compare the behaviour of Pope Francis and others to the principles that I have quoted below - we need to honestly compare our own perspective and extract the beam out of our own eye first. P^3

+ JMJ I just recently read an article by Robert Siscoe titled: The Importance of Gratitude in that Age of Apostasy (Catholic Family News, August 2016 Vol 23 Issue 8). In the article he cites extensively from The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Francisco de Osuna (LINK) while calling on Mediations For All The Days of the YearFr. Andre-Jean Marie Hamon's book on meditations, St. Thomas, St. Abrose, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. I heartily recommend my readers to acquire a hard copy of the edition or review a slightly modified version at the link below. The core message is this: "If we fail to give thanks to God for the gifts we have received regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves the gifts themselves will grow stale and putregfy and, rather than serving as a means by which we can glorifying God and merit an eternal reward, our gifts themselves will produce rotten fruits and be the cause of our damnation."

+ JMJ To my readers, I've been able to keep up a steady stream of articles for the past few months because I was off work. That changed October 6th. As a result after this last pre-programmed blog post, I will be posting less frequently. P^3 Prayer Penance Patience

+ JMJ Reblogged For those readers who understand french or who can tolerate a google translation, the blog Credidmus Caritati was recently recommended to me by a French SSPX priest. The blog "focuses on the spiritual legacy of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991) whose episcopal motto was Credidimus caritati (We believed in charity)." As such the articles focus on the sermons that have a spiritual aspect to them. This is crucial in this long crisis of the Church as without a solid spiritual life as foundation, many crumble under the pressure of the attacks of the world, flesh and devil. P^3 Prayer Penance Patience

"It only remains, then, for the pastor to exhort the faithful to lead holy lives and practice every virtue, that thus they may be enabled to look forward with confidence to the coming of that great day of the Lord -- nay, as becomes children, even to desire it most fervently." - Cathechism of the Council of Trent (CCT)  I started reading the CCT for study purposes, but have found it is equally a source of spiritual reading.

I just finished reading Uniformity with God's Will by St. Alphonsus de Liguori. While this book is chock full of advice and essential guidance for aligning our lives to the Will of God, the following two paragraphs were particularly enlightening for me. "... we should be diligent in striving to become perfect, so that tepidity and laziness may not serve as excuses for some to say: “God must help me; I can do only so much for myself.” Nevertheless, when we do fall into some fault, we should not lose our peace of soul and union with the will of God, which permits our fall; nor should we lose our courage. Let us rise at once from this fall, penitently humbling ourselves and by seeking greater help from God, let us continue to march resolutely on the highway of the spiritual life ..." (page 19) "... Above all, let us bend all our energies to serve God in the way he wishes. ..." (from the conclusion on page 21)

When I became, by Divine Providence, involved in an active apostolate beyond the confines of my family, I dove into studying the faith and the position of the SSPX.