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| Previous COVID infection provides more immunity than jab, new study finds |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-19-2021, 07:30 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Previous COVID infection provides more immunity than jab, new study finds
Israeli researchers questioned why persons who were already infected need to receive the shot.
May 17, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – A group of Israeli researchers conducting a study into immunity against COVID-19 found that protection from the virus is no more robust after injection with Pfizer’s experimental mRNA vaccine than that gained after recovering from previous infection, compelling them to “question the need to vaccinate previously-infected individuals.”
The research team, comprising academics from the Israel Institute of Technology, the Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, included the entire population of Israel in its study “to assess the protection efficacy of both prior infection and vaccination in preventing subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization with COVID-19, severe disease, and death due to COVID-19.”
The three-month study – following four sets of groups based on a variation of being vaccinated, unvaccinated, previously infected, and not previously infected – showed that the overall efficacy of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine against infection was 92.8 percent, ranking marginally lower than natural immunity from prior infection, which the study found to be 94.8 percent.
Additionally, previous infection with the virus was found to provide slightly more protection against severe illness upon re-infection than vaccination in those who hadn’t had the virus, with the recovered contingent returning a 96.4 percent efficacy against the 94.4 percent efficacy of the vaccination.
Vaccine efficacy against death from COVID-19 was found to be 93.7 percent in fully vaccinated individuals, “defined as 15 days or more after the second dose.” Conversely, no efficacy calculation was presented for previously infected people as only one person in that group died during the three-month study.
The researchers used data from Israel’s Ministry of Health and Central Bureau of Statistics to gather information on individuals from across the country, making their research the most comprehensive, “large-scale study that has explored the protection due to prior SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to the Pfizer vaccine.”
In all, the researchers concluded that both vaccination with the Pfizer jab and prior infection with COVID-19 greatly mitigate “infection against both subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection and other COVID-19–related outcomes.” The study awaits peer review.
Israelis have had the opportunity to be vaccinated since a nationwide rollout began in December 2020, with 77 percent of the eligible population (16-year-olds and over with no history of infection with SARS-CoV-2) taking up the offer of inoculation before March 20, 2021.
Within this time, despite Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edenstein’s claim that there will be no “personal sanctions against those who choose not to be vaccinated,” local authorities have strongly coerced uptake of the vaccine, introducing the world’s first “vaccine passport” scheme, dubbed the “Green Pass.”
In late February, Israel began lifting its strict, nationwide lockdown measures, granting “non-essential” businesses to open their doors to the public again, provided those members of the public have received the full regimen of a state-approved vaccine or can prove that they have recovered from the virus. The Green Pass is valid only until the end of the year, after which point the Ministry of Health in Israel recommends individuals reapply for validation. It is unclear whether further “booster” vaccines will be required to qualify. Regardless of holding a Green Pass, citizens are still required to physically distance and wear face masks.
Ilana Rachel Daniel, an Israeli woman living in Jerusalem, related the difficult experience of Israelis struggling under the new regime of vaccine passports. She described the introduction of the scheme as creating a “second-class citizenship, a true medical apartheid that is disallowing healthy, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens from entering their places of culture, if they do not participate in this experiment.”
“There’s a profound governmental and social pressure already to rush into this experiment, and in Israel they don’t even speak about it as if it’s an experiment whereas the rest of the world is fully aware that’s exactly what that is,” Daniel lamented.
Data from the Ministry of Health validate concerns around the rushed nature of vaccinating raised by Daniel. Two researchers, Dr. Hervé Seligmann, a member of the faculty of Medicine Emerging Infectious and Tropical Diseases at Aix-Marseille University, and engineer Haim Yativ discovered that the mRNA experimental vaccine from Pfizer killed “about 40 times more (elderly) people than the disease itself would have killed” during a five-week vaccination period earlier this year. Among the younger class, these numbers are compounded to death rates at 260 times what the COVID-19 virus would have claimed in the given time frame, their study concluded.
Despite there being no proof that experimental vaccines, like Pfizer’s mRNA treatment, prevent transmission of the virus, Edelstein said upon the release of the Green Pass that “(g)etting vaccinated is a moral duty. It is part of our mutual responsibility.” He went further, declaring, “Whoever does not get vaccinated will be left behind.”
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| Abp. Viganò offers considerations on the Great Reset |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-19-2021, 06:39 AM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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Abp. Viganò offers considerations on the Great Reset
It is our duty to uncover the Great Reset's deception, because the same deception may be attributed to all the other assaults
that have sought to nullify the work of Redemption and establish the tyranny of the Antichrist.
May 18, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — I offer heartfelt thanks to dear Professor Massimo Viglione, who wanted to invite me to take part — remotely so to speak — in the conference he has organized as President of the Confederation of the Triarii. I also extend my warmest greetings to each of the illustrious participants in this event. Please allow me to express to you my profound esteem and my fervent thanks for your courageous testimony, for the enlightening contributions and the tireless commitment you have not ceased to display in the most pressing and incisive way, beginning in February of last year. I encourage you not to retreat and not to disarm in this deadly battle that we are called to fight in this fatal hour of history as never before. “Be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of his power. Clothe yourselves in the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the Principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of evil that dwell in the high places. Take up therefore the armor of God, so that you may be able to resist on the day of evil and remain standing after having endured all trials” (Eph 6:10-13). The brief reflection I am about to offer you is in some manner a shortened preview of my presentation at the Venice Summit which will take place on May 30, organized by Professor Francesco Lamendola, in which some of you will participate.
***
When Stalin decided in 1932 to eliminate millions of Ukrainians in the genocide of Holodomor, he planned a famine by seizing food supplies, forbidding commerce, prohibiting travel, and censoring those who reported the facts. This crime against humanity, recently recognized as such by many nations around the world, was conducted with methods not unlike those that have been adopted during the so-called “emergency pandemic” as part of the Great Reset.
A Ukrainian peasant could have asked: “Why doesn’t Stalin send provisions, instead of forbidding shops to open and forbidding travel? Doesn’t he realize that he is making everyone starve to death?” Yet an observer who was not influenced by communist propaganda would have responded to him: “Because Stalin wants to eliminate all the Ukrainians, and he is blaming a famine he knowingly caused for this purpose.” The peasant who asked the question would have committed the same error as many today who, in the presence of an alleged pandemic, ask why governments have pre-emptively undermined public health, weakened national pandemic plans, forbidden effective cures, and administered harmful if not deadly treatments. Furthermore, they are now forcing citizens — using the blackmail of perpetual lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and unconstitutional “green passes” — to submit to vaccines that not only do not guarantee any immunity, but rather involve serious short-term and long-term side effects, as well as further spreading more resistant forms of the virus.
Looking for any logic in what we are told by the mainstream media, government officials, virologists, and so-called “experts” is practically impossible, but this enchanting unreasonableness will disappear and turn into the most cynical rationality if we only reverse our point of view. That is, we must renounce thinking that our rulers are acting with our good in mind, and more generally we must stop believing that those who speak to us are honest, sincere, and motivated by good principles.
Of course, it is easier to think that the pandemic is real, that a mortal virus exists that is killing millions of victims, and that our leaders and doctors should be appreciated for the effort they have made in the face of an event that caught all of them unprepared; or that the “invisible enemy” has been effectively defeated by the amazing vaccine which the pharmaceutical companies, with the purest humanitarian spirit and without any economic self-interest, have produced in record time. And then there are the relatives, friends, and colleagues who look at us as if we are crazy, calling us “conspiracy theorists” or — as a certain conservative intellectual has begun to do with me — they will accuse us of exasperating the tones of a debate which, if moderated, they say, would help us to better understand the terms of the matter. And if our friends also attend our parish, we will hear them say that even Francis has recommended the vaccines, which Professor So-and-So has declared to be morally acceptable even if they are produced with aborted fetuses, since — he admonishes us — those who today criticize the COVID vaccine accept other vaccines that have been administered up until now, even if those, too, were also obtained with abortions.
The lie seduced many, even among conservatives and traditionalists themselves. We too, at times, find it difficult to believe that the traders of iniquity are so well-organized, that they have succeeded in manipulating information, blackmailing politicians, corrupting doctors, and intimidating businessmen in order to force billions of people to wear a useless muzzle and consider the vaccine as the only way to escape certain death. And yet all it takes is one read through the guidelines that the WHO wrote in 2019 — regarding the “Covid-19” that was still to come — to understand that there is a single script under a single direction, with actors who stick to the part assigned to them and a claque of mercenary journalists who shamelessly distort reality.
Let us observe the entire operation from the outside, trying to identify the recurring elements: the unconfessability of the criminal design of the elite, the need to cloak it with acceptable ideals, the creation of an emergency situation for which the elite have already planned a solution that would otherwise be unacceptable. It could be an increase in funding for weapons or a tightening of controls such as happened immediately after the attack on the Twin Towers, the exploitation of Iraq’s energy resources with the pretext that Saddam Hussein possesses chemical and biological weapons, or the transformation of society and work in the wake of a pandemic. There is an always an excuse behind these actions, an apparent cause, something false that hides reality, a lie; in short: a fraud.
Lying is the trademark of the architects of the Great Reset of the last few centuries: the Protestant pseudo-reformation, the French Revolution, the Italian Risorgimento, the Russian Revolution, the two World Wars, the Industrial Revolution, the Revolution of 1968, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Each time, if you notice, the apparent reasons for these revolutions never corresponded to the real one.
In this long series of Great Resets organized by the same elite of conspirators, not even the Catholic Church has managed to escape. Think about it: What did the liturgists of the Council tell us when they wanted to impose the reformed Mass on us? That the people did not understand, that the liturgy had to be made understandable in order to allow for a greater participation of the faithful. And in the name of that prophasis, of that false pretext, they did not simply translate the Apostolic Mass into the vernacular, but instead they invented a different Mass altogether, because they wanted to cancel the primary doctrinal obstacle to ecumenical dialogue with the Protestants, indoctrinating the faithful into the new ecclesiology of Vatican II.
Like all frauds, those that are hatched by the devil and his servants are based on false promises that will never be kept, in exchange for which we give up a certain good that will never be restored to us. In Eden, the prospect of becoming like gods led to the loss of friendship with God and to eternal damnation, which only the redemptive Sacrifice of Our Lord was able to repair. And Satan also tempted Our Lord, lying as usual: “I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, because it has been placed in my hands and I give it to whomever I will. If you will prostrate yourself before me, all this will be yours” (Lk 4:6-7). But nothing that Satan offered to Our Lord was really his, nor could he give it to whomever he wanted, least of all to the One who is Lord and Master of all. The temptation of the devil is based on deception: What can we ever expect from the one who is “a murderer from the beginning,” “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).
With the pandemic, little by little they told us that isolation, lockdowns, masks, curfews, “live-streamed Masses,” distance-learning, “smartworking,” recovery funds, vaccines, and “green passes” would permit us to come out of the emergency, and, believing in this lie, we renounced the rights and lifestyles that they warned us would never return: “Nothing will be the same again.” The “new normal” will still be presented to us as a concession that will require us to accept the deprivation of freedoms that we had taken for granted, and accordingly we will compromise without understanding the absurdity of our compliance and the obscenity of the demands of those who command us, giving us orders so absurd that they truly require a total abdication of reason and dignity. At each step there is a new turn of the screw and a further step towards the abyss: If we do not stop ourselves in this race towards collective suicide we will never go back.
It is our duty to uncover the deception of this Great Reset, because the same deception may be attributed to all the other assaults that over the course of history have sought to nullify the work of Redemption and establish the tyranny of the Antichrist. Because, in reality, this is what the architects of the Great Reset are aiming for. The New World Order — a name which significantly echoes the conciliar Novus Ordo — overturns the divine cosmos in order to spread infernal chaos, in which everything that civilization has painstakingly constructed over the course of millennia under the inspiration of Grace is overturned and perverted, corrupted and cancelled.
Each of us must understand that what is happening is not the fruit of an unfortunate sequence of chance occurrences, but corresponds rather to a diabolical plan — in the sense that the Evil One is behind all this — which over the centuries pursues a single goal: destroying the work of Creation, nullifying the Redemption, and cancelling every trace of Good on the earth. And in order to obtain this, the final step is the establishment of a synarchy in which command is seized by a few faceless tyrants who thirst for power, who are given over to the worship of death and sin and to the hatred of Life, Virtue, and Beauty because in them shines forth the greatness of that God against whom they still cry out their infernal “Non serviam.” The members of this accursed sect are not only Bill Gates, George Soros, or Klaus Schwab, but also those who for centuries have been plotting in the shadows in order to overthrow the Kingdom of Christ: the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the Warburgs, and those who today have formed an alliance with the highest levels of the Church, using the moral authority of the Pope and Bishops to convince the faithful to get vaccinated.
We know that the lie is the emblem of the devil, the distinctive sign of his servants, the hallmark of the enemies of God and the Church. God is Truth; the Word of God is true, and He Himself is God. Speaking the Truth, shouting it from the rooftops, uncovering the deception and its creators is a sacred work, and no Catholic — nor anyone who has still preserved a shred of decency and honor — may shrink from this duty.
Each of us was thought of, desired, and created in order to give glory to God and to be part of a great design of Providence: from all eternity the Lord has called us to share with Him in the work of Redemption, to cooperate in the salvation of souls and the triumph of Good. Each of us today has the possibility of choosing to take sides either with Christ or against Christ, either to fight for the cause of Good or to become an accomplice to the workers of iniquity. The victory of God is most certain, as is the reward that awaits those who make the choice to enter the battle on the side of the King of kings, and the defeat of those who serve the Enemy is also certain, as is their eternal damnation.
This farce will collapse; it will collapse inevitably! Let us all commit ourselves, with renewed zeal, to return to our King the Crown which His enemies have snatched from Him. I exhort you to make Our Lord reign in your souls, your families, your communities, in the Nation, in the workplace, in the schools, in the laws and courts, in the arts, in the media, in all areas of private and public life.
We have just celebrated the anniversary of the Apparitions of the Immaculate Virgin to the shepherd children of Fatima: Let us recall Our Lady’s warning about the dangers and punishments that await the world if it does not convert and do penance. “This sort of demon is cast out only by prayer and fasting” (Mt 17:21), says the Lord. As we wait for a Pope to fully obey the requests of the Mother of God by consecrating Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, let us consecrate ourselves and our families, persevering in the life of Grace under the standard of Christ the King. May our Most Holy Mother and Queen, Mary Most Holy, also reign with Him.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
15 May 2021
Sabbato post Ascensionem
[Emphasis mine.]
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| 1988 AP article: Soviet Doctor Acknowledges That Psychiatry Used in ’70s to Repress Dissidents |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-18-2021, 05:49 AM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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Soviet Doctor Acknowledges That Psychiatry Used in ’70s to Repress Dissidents
AP | November 22, 1988
MOSCOW (AP) _ Psychiatry was systematically used in the 1970s to suppress Soviet dissidents by declaring them mentally ill and committing them to asylums, a doctor wrote in the first article printed by state-run media to acknowledge such abuses.
″The leadership was content: in our country there were no dissidents - there were only insane people,″ Mikhail I. Buyanov, a psychiatrist and neurologist, wrote in his historical survey of Soviet psychiatry, published by the educational newspaper Uchitelskaya Gazeta.
Human rights activists in the Soviet Union and abroad have alleged for years that the Kremlin used psychiatric hospitals to incarcerate dissidents who were in fact mentally healthy. Some say the practice began under Josef V. Stalin or Nikita S. Khrushchev.
The government enacted a new law in January that makes it a crime to commit a sane person to a mental institution. But public health officials who have appeared at Moscow news conferences have denied that dissidents were systematically confined to asylums, or avoided answering the question.
However, Buyanov wrote that with the forcible confinement in 1970 of biologist and dissident writer Zhores Medevdev to a regional psychiatric hospital in Kaluga, ″a new chapter began in the history of Soviet psychiatry.″
″It’s true that before this, people were sent to psychiatric hospitals for reasons that were mostly political, rather than of a medical character,″ Buyanov said. ″But after 1970, this was done more and more often.″
Medvedev, the brother of Marxist historian Roy Medvedev, was freed after human rights activist Andrei Sakharov, poet and editor Andrei Tvardovsky and others demanded his immediate release. He now lives in Britain.
Anatoly Koryagin, himself a psychiatrist, was sentenced to seven years in a prison camp in 1981 after accusing Soviet authorities of sending mentally healthy dissidents to hospitals, where they were forced to take drugs.
Those whose confinement Koryagin protested ″were expressing the same opinions, by the way, as were later heard from the tribune at the 27th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party and the 19th All-Union Party Conference,″ after Mikhail S. Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985, Buyanov wrote.
Koryagin was pardoned by parliament last year, freed from labor camp and emigrated to Switzerland. The government later stripped him of citizenship ″for causing damage to the prestige of the Soviet Union.″
Because of the abuses outlined by Koryagin, the United States and Britain considered trying to suspend or expel the Soviet Union from the World Psychiatry Association. The Soviets withdrew from the association in 1983, before a drive to expel them could be organized.
Buyanov gave no figures for the number of dissidents sent to mental hospitals, but said local party and police officials put pressure on psychiatrists to declare them insane.
Although the Ministry of Health instructed psychiatrists to ignore the opinions of non-professionals, ″Moscow was far away, and the local city party secretary was right next door,″ he wrote.
A definition of schizophrenia, a psychotic disorder, that was advanced by Soviet health specialists citing Marxist-Leninist doctrine also enabled psychiatrists to diagnose the ailment in sane people, Buyanov wrote in the article published by Uchitelskaya Gazeta on Saturday.
Under Leonid I. Brezhnev, Soviet leader from 1964 to 1982, psychiatrists gave law enforcement officials the notion that ″anyone who is against anything, it doesn’t matter what, is a covert or overt mental case - more likely a psychopath or a latent schizophrenic,″ Buyanov said.
He praised measures taken earlier this year by the Health Ministry to improve the care of psychiatric patients, but said past abuses must be recognized. ″We have made mistakes. We have made them knowingly,″ he said.
Soviet psychiatrists also must be able to ignore pressure from authorities and threatening telephone calls and threats ″from above,″ Buyanov said.
In February, Modest M. Kabanov, a Leningrad psychiatrist, acknowledged at a news conference that some doctors in the past decided ″to send people to institutions for reading Bulgakov’s works or for reading Pasternak’s verses and poems.″
Works by the those two Soviet authors, Mikhail Bulgakov and Boris Pasternak, had been banned here until Gorbachev instituted his campaign for greater openness.
However, Kabanov and other doctors who appeared at the news conference skirted the question of whether psychiatry had been used in the Soviet Union to stifle dissent.
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| May 18th - St. Venantius |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-18-2021, 05:31 AM - Forum: May
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May 18 – St Venantius, Martyr
![[Image: Venantius_of_Camerino_-_Google_Art_Proje...C551&ssl=1]](https://i1.wp.com/sensusfidelium.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Venantius_of_Camerino_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg?resize=768%2C551&ssl=1)
Today’s Martyr carries us back to the persecutions under the Roman Emperors. It was at Camerino, in Italy, that he bore his testimony to the true Faith; and the devotion wherewith he is honored by the people of those parts (which are under the temporal Sovereignty of the Roman Pontiff) has occasioned his Feast being kept throughout the Church. Let us, therefore, joyfully welcome this new champion, who fought so bravely for our Emmanuel. Let us congratulate him upon his having the privilege of suffering Martyrdom during the Paschal Season, all radiant as it is with the grand victory won by Life over Death.
The account given by the Liturgy upon St. Venantius is a tissue of miracles. The omnipotence of God seemed, on this and many other like occasions, to be resisting the cruelty of the executioners, in order to glorify the Martyr. It served also as a means for converting the bystanders, who, on witnessing these almost lavish miracles, were frequently heard to exclaim that they too wished to be Christians, and embrace a Religion which was not only honored by the superhuman patience of its Martyrs, but was so visibly protected and favored by heaven.
Quote:Venentius, who was born at Camerino, was but fifteen years of age when he was accused of being a Christian, and arraigned before Antiochus, the Governor of the City, under the reign of the Emperor Decius. He presented himself to the Governor at the city Gate, where, after being long and uselessly coaxed and threatened, he was scourged, and condemned to be chained. But he was miraculously unfettered by an Angel, and was then burned with torches, and was hung, with his head downwards, over a fire that he might be suffocated by the smoke. One of the officials, by name Anastasius, having noticed the courage wherewith he suffered his torments, and having also seen an Angel walking, in a white robe, above the smoke, and again liberating Venantius—he believed in Christ, and, together with his family, was baptized by the priest Porphyrius, with whom he afterwards merited to receive the palm of martyrdom.
Venantius was again brought before the Governor; and being solicited, though to no purpose, to give up his Faith, he was thrown into prison. A herald named Attalus, was sent thither, to tell him that he also had once been a Christian, but had renounced the profession on discovering that it was false, and that Christians were duped into giving up the good things of the present by the vain hope of what was to follow in the next life. But the high-minded soldier of Christ, knowing well the snares of our crafty enemy the devil, utterly spurned his minister from his presence. Whereupon, he was again led before the Governor, and all his teeth were beaten out, and his jaws broken; after which, he was thrown into a dung-pit. But, being delivered by an Angel, thence also, he again stood before the judge, who, while Venantius was addressing him, fell from the judgment-seat, and died exclaiming: “The God of Venantius is the true one! destroy our gods!”
When this was made known to the Governor, he immediately ordered Venantius to be exposed to the lions: but those animals, forgetting their own savage nature, threw themselves at his feet. The Saint, meanwhile, instructed the people in the Christian Faith, and was therefore removed and again thrown into prison. On the following day, Porphyrius told the Governor, that he had had a vision during the night, and that he saw that those who were bathed with water, by Venantius, were brilliant with a splendid light, but that the Governor was covered with a thick darkness. This so irritated the Governor, that he immediately ordered Porphyrius to be beheaded, and Venantius to be dragged, until evening, along places covered with thorns and thistles. He was left there half dead; but he again presented himself, in the morning, to the Governor, who at once condemned him to be cast headlong from a rock. Again, however, he was miraculously preserved in his fall, and was once more dragged, for a mile, over rough places. Seeing that the soldiers were tormented with thirst, Venantius made the sign of the Cross, and water flowed from a rock, which was in a neighboring dell; on which rock, Venantius left the impress of his knees, as may be still seen in the Church which is dedicated to him. Many were moved, by that miracle, to believe in Christ, and were all beheaded, together with Venantius, on that very spot, by the Governor’s orders. So awful were the lightnings and earthquakes which followed the execution, that the Governor took to flight. But he was not able to escape divine justice; and, a few days after, met with a most humiliating death. Meanwhile, the Christians gave honorable burial to the bodies of all these Martyrs, and they are now reposing in the Church, which is dedicated to Venantius in the town of Camerino.
Dear youthful Martyr, loved of the Angels, and aided by them in thy combat! pray for us. Like thyself, we too are soldiers of the Risen Jesus, and must give testimony, before the world, to the Divinity and the Rights of our King. The world has not always in its hands those material instruments of torture, such as it made thee feel; but it is always fearful in its power of seducing souls. It would rob us, also, of that New Life which Jesus has imparted to us and to all them that are his Members; holy Martyr, protect us under these attacks! Thou hadst partaken, during the days of thy last Easter, of the divine Flesh of the Paschal Lamb, and thy courage in Martyrdom redounded to the glory of this heavenly nourishment. We, also, have been guests at the same holy Table; we, also, have partaken of the Paschal Banquet. Like thee, we have known our Lord in the breaking of bread: obtain for us the appreciation of the divine mystery, of which we received the first-fruits at Bethlehem, and which has been gradually developed, within our souls, as well as before our eyes, by the merits of the Passion and Resurrection of our Emmanuel. We are now, at this very time, preparing to receive the plenitude of the divine gift of the Incarnation. Pray for us, O Holy Martyr, that our hearts may more than ever fervently welcome, and faithfully preserve, the rich treasures which are about to be offered us, by the sublime mysteries of the Ascension and Pentecost.
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| Vatican blocks Biden communion ban in US, pushes vaccine, silent on German schism |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-18-2021, 05:19 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Vatican blocks Biden communion ban in US, pushes vaccine, silent on German schism
In recent weeks, U.S. bishops have lined up on either side of the debate, with leftists in the hierarchy outing themselves for their infidelity.
May 13, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Another unbelievable couple of weeks in the Vatican have just wrapped up. We’ve not only seen the Pope’s vaccine-pushing conference featuring Chelsea Clinton (and a whole host of other pro-abortion bigwigs), but we’ve also witnessed Rome’s public push to excommunicate all mafia members while simultaneously blocking an effort by many U.S. bishops to refuse Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and many other abortion-pushing politicians Holy Communion.
And that’s just the start! Pope Francis has also ignored the ardent pleas of Cardinals, priests, and bishops to stop the schism in Germany with hundreds of so-called Catholic priests blessing homosexual unions Monday.
On May 7, Clinton spoke at the Vatican’s conference — ironically dedicated to “dialogue” — saying there must be a global effort to crack down on vaccine-critical social media posts. “I personally very strongly believe there has to be more intensive and intentional and coordinated global regulation of the content on social media platforms,” she said.
Clinton is the Vice President of the Clinton Foundation and the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Like her parents, she is an outspoken advocate for abortion.
She appeared at a pre-recorded online meeting forming part of the Fifth International Vatican “Unite to Prevent & Unite to Cure” conference.
Obviously, hearing those remarks uttered at a Vatican conference stings, especially for us here at LifeSite, since we were permanently banned from Facebook earlier this month. We were kicked off YouTube just a few months ago, as well, which caught the attention of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
Apart from Clinton, speakers at the Vatican conference include prominent and diverse names such as the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna, the former of which produces abortion pills; the Director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) Francis Collins, who advocates using fetal tissue in research projects; the head of Google Health, David Feinberg; and COVID czar Dr. Anthony Fauci of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, another speaker, has a history of promoting LGBT issues, and is described by TIME magazine as “one of the most outspoken executives” for LGBT affairs.
Pro-life activist Michael Hichborn, in an interview with LifeSite, recalled that sinister figures have in the past called on pastors and ministers to help promote intrinsic evils.
“In 1939, Margaret Sanger wrote to Dr. Clarence Gamble suggesting that they convince ‘negro doctors’ and ‘negro ministers’ to promote contraception among the black population,” he said. “Mimicking Sanger’s approach, Fauci now wants to use Catholic priests to convince faithful Catholics to take an unproven shot that has over 3,000 reported deaths and over 100,000 serious adverse reactions attached to it. Faithful Catholics have every right to reject the shot and should tell Fauci and his lackeys to go pound sand!”
Believe it or not, at the conference the Vatican announced the granting of a Pontifical Award to the CEO of a pharmaceutical company that makes abortion-tainted experimental coronavirus vaccines. Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna, was given a Pontifical Hero Award in recognition of his success in convincing the company to focus its energies on developing a vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus. Notably, Moderna helped fund the Vatican conference.
On May 10, Vatican News reported a new group in the Vatican has been tasked with the excommunication of all members of mafia groups. Under the overall directive of Cardinal Peter Turkson, who heads the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, a working group has been drawn up that reportedly will have as its aim the excommunication of members of the mafia and organized crime groups.
Meanwhile, pro-life advocates have noted the irony of how similar sanctions are not being placed on abortion supporters, particularly politicians who support the killing of the unborn. In fact, while focusing on excommunicating mafia members, the Vatican is blocking efforts of several U.S. bishops to ban pro-abortion politicians from receiving communion.
Last week, the Vatican weighed in on discussions currently underway among U.S. bishops regarding the distribution of Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians. A letter sent to the USCCB president by Cardinal Luis F. Ladaria, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), warned that an upcoming U.S. bishops policy on giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians, such as Joe Biden, could be a “source of discord.” Cardinal Ladaria said the policy would unfairly concentrate on “only one category of Catholics.”
One particularly odious part of that Vatican letter is that in what would appear to be a first, the Vatican used language developed by abortion advocates, repeatedly using the term “pro-choice” to describe politicians who support abortion. In the letter, Cardinal Ladaria employed the term “pro-choice” four times. He referred to “pro-choice politicians” twice, as well as “pro-choice legislation” and a “pro-choice position.”
One such example of the CDF’s use of this term is given when noting how local bishops should “reach out to and engage in dialogue with Catholic politicians within their jurisdictions who adopt a pro-choice position regarding abortion legislation, euthanasia, or other moral evils, as a means of understanding the nature of their positions and their comprehension of Catholic teaching.”
Despite its reticence to target this “one category of Catholics,” the new working group on the mafia looks set to also target one specific kind of Catholic. LifeSite contacted the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development seeking more information about the working group but was informed that details would be conveyed in the upcoming weeks.
In recent weeks, U.S. bishops have lined up on either side of the debate, with leftists in the hierarchy outing themselves for their infidelity and seeing support for their heretical position in Pope Francis himself.
Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego recently wrote a piece for America Magazine decrying the public calls for pro-abortion politicians to be denied Holy Communion. Among those supporting constant Church teaching that calls for pro-abortion politicians to be denied Communion is Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who argued that such politicians merit a public “correction” for their “public rejection of Catholic teaching” that is not limited to “exclusion from the reception of Holy Communion” but may also include “excommunication.”
Additionally, a number of other high-profile Catholic shepherds, including Cardinal Raymond Burke, Archbishop Samuel Aquila, and Archbishop Joseph Naumann have likewise come out publicly defending the position that pro-abortion Catholic politicians must be denied Communion to safeguard the sacrament, to avoid scandal, and to call the sinner to repentance.
Meanwhile, in Germany there is outright schism with hundreds of priests, in an act of defiance, giving sacrilegious blessings to homosexual unions on May 10. So while the Vatican is very involved in directing the U.S. church, curbing its efforts at fidelity, it has had a more hands-off approach in the church in Germany, where the country’s bishops are currently walking down their “Synodal Path” that appears to be leading to a departure from the Church’s teaching on the priesthood, marriage, and sexual morality.
A cardinal, two bishops, and a dozen priests have begged Pope Francis to intervene to stop the Catholic Church in Germany from going into “schism.”
“The German Synodal Path, initiated in 2019, has been, during the past two years, fertile ground for the planning and subsequent homogenization of ideas and theories that are blatantly contrary to the immutable and perennial Magisterium of the Holy Catholic Church, founded by the Divine Savior on the solid rock of the Apostles,” the appeal states.
“Concerned about this sad situation, we Pastors of the Catholic Church and faithful laity committed to the defense of the Truth of the Faith, ask the Holy Father to take the necessary measures to put an end to these drifts of the German Synodal Path and, if necessary, to apply the appropriate canonical sanctions against the promoters of this tremendous deviation from both doctrine and communion with the Keys of Peter,” it adds.
The May 5 appeal is signed by Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, Kazakhstan Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Switzerland Bishop Marian Eleganti, 12 priests, including U.S. canon lawyer Fr. Gerald Murray, and more than 50 other laymen and women in the fields of law, teaching, and health.
The response from Pope Francis has been silence.
But there has not been silence from a couple of awesome prelates who have led the resistance to the insanity coming from Rome. Bishop Schneider, in addition to the appeal to the Pope, also gave an interview to LifeSite in which he urged faithful Catholics in Germany, who are witnessing schism unfolding right before their eyes as increasing numbers of clergy publicly defy Catholic moral teaching, to pray and to continue to remain faithful.
“Firstly, they should self-assuredly and joyfully confess the fullness of the Catholic faith, which they know from the Catechism and from the ever-valid documents of the Magisterium of the Church,” Bishop Schneider told LifeSiteNews.
Bishop Schneider said that faithful Catholics in Germany must not retreat during these times but go on the offensive.
“They should organize meetings and conferences to explain and to strengthen the Catholic faith,” he said, adding that they should also organize “prayer chains of supplication and reparation for the sins against the Catholic faith, the sanctity of the sacraments and the moral life.” Faithful Catholics must support “in many ways” bishops and priests in Germany who choose to remain true to all the teachings of the Catholic faith, he continued.
“All those who still want to live the fullness of the Catholic faith should unite together, pushing away some existing differences between them, which are substantially of a secondary character, in view of the ongoing massive apostasy from the Catholic faith in Germany,” the bishop said.
Asked if there is anything that can be done practically to save the Catholic Church in Germany or if it is already too late, Bishop Schneider told LifeSiteNews that “from the human point of view there is little hope.”
“To save the Catholic Church in Germany, there is first the need of prayer and reparation for the sins against the Catholic faith and the sanctity of the sacraments, committed in the past decades in first place by many representatives of the hierarchy, cardinals, bishops, and priests. There is a need of a Divine intervention that will raise some new apostles of the Catholic faith in Germany,” he said.
And finally, the heroic Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, one of the main voices defending Truth in the Church, has given to LifeSite a prayer appeal to the Most Holy Virgin Mary, turning to the Mother of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to appeal for us with Her Divine Son to bring an end to the current calamity in the world and in the Church. Yesterday was Ascension Thursday and also the feast of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. It was also the release date of the prayer by Archbishop Vigano, which you can read in full by clicking here.
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| Report: Time magazine gave journalist $20,000 per month to host progressivist parties during Vatican |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-17-2021, 10:31 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Report: Time magazine gave journalist $20,000 per month to host progressivist parties during Vatican II
The U.S. secular TIME magazine hosted luxurious gatherings throughout the 1962-1965 Vatican II sessions with numerous influencers
in order to push the Council in a more progressivist direction, according to this report.
May 14, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Dr. Robert Moynihan, a veteran journalist and Vatican expert, has published an article (Moynihan Letter #26) in which he relates what a Time magazine journalist revealed to him in 2004. The now-deceased Robert Blair Kaiser told Moynihan that he was sent by Time’s Clare Booth and Henry Luce to the Second Vatican Council in Rome with a budget of $20,000 per month so that he could host parties for the participants of and journalists reporting on the Council.
As Kaiser told Moynihan, he had rented an “intentionally large apartment” in Rome. He also said that he had met with the Luce couple before coming to Rome. They “had hoped,” he said, “the residence would become a place where ideas could be exchanged among Council participants.”
He added, “They gave me a generous Time magazine expense account – $20,000 each month during the (Second Vatican) Council sessions – to hold regular dinner parties in my large apartment.” As he told Moynihan, he and his wife would “often host 50 or 100 journalists and monsignors, priests, and bishops and diplomats, sometimes during the week, sometimes on the weekend.”
The purpose of these gatherings was clear: it was not only to share information, but, as Moynihan reports, “to provide a space where the agenda of a ‘more open Church’ could be freely discussed, Kaiser said.”
That is to say: the U.S. secular Time magazine hosted luxurious gatherings throughout the 1962-1965 Vatican II sessions with numerous influencers in order to push the Council in a more progressivist direction. As Moynihan says, Kaiser quickly became “one of the most influential journalists in the city. His coverage of the Second Vatican Council set a standard and tone and ‘line’ – the ‘line’ was that the Catholic Church was undergoing a revolution which would change the Church profoundly.”
Moynihan also quotes from Kaiser's published account of his work during the Council. In his book Clerical Error (2002), Kaiser wrote, “Our spacious apartment, with its huge picture windows and sparkling marble floors, became something of a gathering place for conciliar progressive(s).” Kaiser continues to describe how they had practically “every other night of the week” a small dinner party with eight people. These dinners then grew into large gatherings that were called “the Kaisers’ Sunday nights,” which regularly included the journalists from the Jesuit weekly America.
Among the other guests was also Archbishop Thomas d'Esterre Roberts, S.J., of Bombay, India, who was of British descent. He and other fellow prelates, according to Kaiser, “thought (and said out loud) that the Church was overloaded with excess baggage, myth, superstition, and nonsense. With him, they voted on all the important reforms of Vatican II, most of which tended to make the Church less Roman – and more Catholic … ”
Dr. Moynihan puts this Time magazine story in connection with Pope Benedict XVI’s own February 14, 2013 speech, according to which there had been purportedly “two Councils” – the one of the media, and the other of the council fathers.
The Vatican expert adds that “we urgently need a more full and accurate understanding of what happened at Vatican II in order to continue the task of receiving the Council and interpreting it in the light of the perennial doctrine of the Church, handed down from the beginning.”
This revelation from Dr. Moynihan can also be seen in light of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's own statements, in which he himself stresses that the Second Vatican Council was manipulated.
For example, in response to questions from LifeSite editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen, the Italian prelate wrote last year that the Council, “from its origin,” was “made the object of a grave manipulation by a fifth column that penetrated into the very heart of the Church that perverted its purposes, as confirmed by the disastrous results that are before everyone’s eyes.” Somewhere else, he spoke of a “very deceptive” project “to infiltrate in some way into the Church,” and that this project was linked with Freemasonry.
Moreover, Archbishop Viganò, in an interview with LifeSite about the abolition of the Oath against Modernism that took place in 1967, very shortly after the end of the Second Vatican Council, stated:
Quote:If we apply (Antonio) Gramsci’s recommendations to what has happened in the heart of the Church in the last century, we can see that the work of conquering the ecclesiastical “casemates” was conducted with the same subversive methods; certainly the infiltration of the deep state into civil institutions and of the deep church into Catholic institutions corresponds to this criterion.
As Dr. Moynihan says, more research needs to be done. I hope so, too, in order to learn more about who tried to influence the Council and its message, and whom they really served at the time.
We might ask, for example, where the Luce's $20,000 monthly checks really came from and whether this operation had any links to the U.S. government, since Time and the Luce couple have been rumored to have had ties with U.S. intelligence. David Wemhoff, the author of the book John Courtney Murray, Time/Life, and the American Proposition clearly indicates that this was the case. In his book introduction, it says that “Media mogul Henry R. Luce, founder and publisher of enormously influential magazines like Time and Life, used the CIA’s doctrinal warfare program to turn the Catholic Church into a promoter of American ideas,” such as the idea of religious liberty.
Dr. Moynihan announced that he will publish a second part of his essay on this topic. We look forward to reading it.
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| May 17th - St. Paschal Baylon |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-17-2021, 10:25 AM - Forum: May
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May 17 – St Paschal Baylon, Confessor
![[Image: SAINT4.png?w=671&ssl=1]](https://i1.wp.com/sensusfidelium.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SAINT4.png?w=671&ssl=1)
The Seraph of Assisi was sure to depute some of his children to pay their court to his Risen Master. The one he sends today is the humblest and most unknown of men; another will follow, three days hence, powerful in word and work, and holding a palm in his hands, as a most devoted preacher of the Gospel. Paschal Baylon was a simple peasant. He was a shepherd-boy; and it was in tending his flock that he found the Lord Jesus. He had a great love for contemplation. Forests and fields spoke to him of their great Creator; and in order that he might be the more closely united with him, he resolved to seek him in the highest paths of perfection. He was ambitious to imitate the humble, poor and suffering Life of the Man-God; the Franciscan Cloister offered him all this, and he flew to it. On that blessed soil, he grew to be one of heaven’s choicest plants, and the whole earth has now heard the name of the humble Lay Brother of a little convent in Spain. Holy Church brings him before us today and shows him enraptured in the contemplation of his Jesus’ Resurrection. He had trod the path of humiliation and the cross; it was but just that he should share in his Master’s Triumph. It was of him, and of such as he, that this Divine Savior spoke, when he said: Ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations; and I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a Kingdom; that ye may eat and drink at my table, in my Kingdom, and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The account given by the Liturgy of the angelic life of this illustrious son of St. Francis, is as follows.
Quote:Paschal Baylon was born of poor and pious parents, et Torre-Hermosa, a small town of the Diocese of Seguenza, in Aragon. Even from his infancy, he gave many signs of future sanctity. Being endowed with a good disposition, and having a great love for the contemplation of heavenly things, he passed the years of boyhood and youth in tending flocks. He loved this kind of life more than any other, because it seemed to him best for fostering humility and preserving innocence. He was temperate in his food, and assiduous in prayer. He had such influence over his acquaintance and companions, and was so dear to them, that he used to settle their disputes, correct their faults, instruct their ignorance, and keep them out of idleness. He was honored and loved by them as their father and master; and even then, was often called the Blessed Paschal.
Thus did this flower of the valley bloom in the world—that desert and parched land; but once planted in the house of the Lord, he shed, everywhere around him, a wondrous odor of sanctity. Having embraced the severest sort of life, by entering the Order of the Discalced Friars Minor of strict observance, Paschal rejoiced as a giant to run his way. Devoting himself wholly to the service of his God, his once thought, both day and night, was how he could further imitate his Divine Master. His brethren, even they that were most advanced, soon began to look upon him as a model of seraphic perfection. As for him, he put himself in the grade of the Lay Brothers. Looking on himself as the off-scouring of all, he, with humility and patience, cheerfully took on himself the most tiring and menial work of the house, which work he used to say belonged to him by a special right. He mortified and brought into subjection his flesh, which, at times, would strive to rebel against the spirit. As to his spirit, he, by assiduous self-denial, maintained its fervor, and daily stretched himself forward to the things that were more perfect.
He had consecrated himself, from his earliest years, to the Blessed Virgin; he honored her, as his Mother, by daily devotions, and prayed to her with filial confidence. It would be difficult to describe the ardor of his devotion to the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Even after his death, this devotion seemed to linger in his body; for when laid in his coffin, his eyes were seen to open and shut twice during the elevation of the sacred Host, to the astonishment of all that were present. He publicly and openly professed before heretics his faith in the dogma of the Real Presence, and had much to suffer on that account. His very life was frequently attempted; but, by a special providence of God, he was rescued from the hands of the wicked men who sought to kill him. Frequently, when at prayer, he was in ecstasy, and swooned away with the sweetness of love. It was on these occasions that he was supposed to receive that heavenly wisdom, whereby he, though uneducated and illiterate, was enabled to give answers upon the profoundest mysteries of Faith, and even write several books. Finally, being rich in merit, he happily took his flight to heaven, at the hour which he had foretold, in the year of our Lord 1592, on the sixteenth of the Calends of June (May 17), and on the Feast of Pentecost (the same on which he was born), being in his fifty-second year. These and other virtues having procured him great reputation, and being celebrated for miracles both before and after his death, he was beatified by Pope Paul the Fifth, and canonized by Alexander the Eighth.
Heaven opened to receive thee, O Paschal! Even when here below, the fervor of thy contemplations often gave thee a foretaste of the delights of eternal bliss; but now, every veil is drawn aside, and thou art face to face with Him thou so ardently desiredst to possess. Thou hast no further need to unite thyself with him by humiliation and suffering; what thou enjoyest, and what he, for all eternity, will have thee to enjoy, is his own glory, his own happiness, his own triumph. Deign to cast an eye of pity on us, who have not the eagerness thou hadst to walk in our Redeemer’s footsteps, and who, as yet, have but the hope of being united with him for eternity. Get us courage. Get us that love which leads straight to Jesus, which surmounts every obstacle of flesh and blood, and gives to man an admirable resemblance to his Divine Model.
The pledge of this happy transformation has been given to us by our being permitted to partake of the Paschal Mystery; oh! that it might be perfected by our fidelity in keeping close to our Divine Conqueror and Lord! Though he leave us, some time further, in this vale of tears, his eye is ever upon us, he longs to see us persevere in our loyalty to him. Yet a little while, and we shall see him! Behold! says he, I come quickly; hold fast that which thou hast. Behold! I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Thus will the Pasch of time he changed into the Pasch of eternity. Pray for us, O Paschal, that, like thee, we may hold fat that which, by the grace of our Risen Jesus, we already possess.
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| Week within the Octave of the Ascension [Monday to Saturday] |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-17-2021, 10:22 AM - Forum: Easter
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Monday Within the Octave of the Ascension
O rex gloriæ, Domine virtutum, qui triumphator hodie super omnes cœlos ascendisti, ne derelinquas nos orphanos; sed mitte promissum Patris in nos Spiritum veritatis, alleluia.
O King of glory, Lord of hosts, who didst this day ascend in triumph above all the heavens! leave us not orphans, but send upon us the Spirit of truth, promised by the Father, alleluia.
The Kingship over men is not the only diadem given to our Emmanuel at his Ascension. The Apostle expressly tells us that he is, moreover, the Head of all Principality and Power. Noble indeed is man; but nobler far are the glorious Choirs of the Angelic Hierarchy. We have already seen that in the great trial whereby God tested the love of his Angels, many rebelled and were cast into hell; the rest, who were faithful, entered at once into the possession of their sovereign good, and began, round the throne of God, their ceaseless hymns of adoration, love, and thanksgiving.
But a portion of their happiness was reserved till the fulfillment of one of God’s decrees. Laden as they are with the most magnificent gifts, they await another; it is to be the completion of their joy and glory. God revealed them, at the first instant of their coming into existence, that he intended to create other beings, of a nature inferior to their own; and that of these beings, who were to be composed of body and soul, there should be one whom the Eternal Word would unite to himself in unity of Person. It was also revealed to them that this Human Nature (for whose glory and for God’s all things were made) was to be the first-born of every creature;that all Angels and men would have to bend their knee before him; that after suffering countless humiliations on earth, he would be exalted in heaven; and finally, that the time would be when the whole hierarchy of heaven, the Principalities and Powers, yea, even the Cherubim and Seraphim, would have him placed over them as their King.
The Angels, then, as well as Men, looked forward to the coming of Jesus. The Angels awaited him as he that was to confer upon them their final perfection, give them unity under himself as their head, and bring them into closer union with God by the union of the divine and created Natures in his own Person. As to us Men, we awaited him as our Redeemer and our Mediator: as our Redeemer, because sin had closed heaven against us, and we needed one that would restore us to our inheritance; as our Mediator, because it was the eternal decree of God to communicate his own glory to the human race, and this was to be by union with himself. While, therefore, the just ones on earth, who lived before the Incarnation, were pleasing to God by their faith in this future Redeemer and Mediator—the Angels in heaven were offering to the Divine Majesty the homage of their proffered service of this Man-God, their future King, who, in virtue of the eternal decree, was ever present to the Ancient of Days.
At length, the fullness of time came, and God, as the Apostle expresses it, brought into the world his first-begotten, the prototype of creation. The first to adore the Newborn King were not men, but the Angels, as the same Apostle assures us. The Royal Prophet had foretold that it would be so. And was it not just? These blessed Spirits had preceded us in their longings, not indeed of a Redeemer—for they had never sinned—but of a Mediator, who was to be the link of their closer union with infinite Beauty—the object of their eternal delight—in a word, the realization of the want there seemed to be even in Heaven, that is, of Jesus’ taking and filling up the place destined for him.
Then was accomplished that act of adoration of the Man-God, which was demanded of the Angels, at the first moment of their creation, and which, according to its being complied with or refused, decided the eternal lot of those noble creatures. With what love did not the faithful Angels adore this Jesus, the Word made Flesh, when they beheld him in his Mother’s arms at Bethlehem? With what transport of joy did they not announce to the Shepherds, and to us through them, the Glad Tidings of the Birth of our common King?
As long as he lived upon this earth and submitted to every humiliation and suffering in order to redeem us from sin and make us worthy to become his Members, the Blessed Spirits ceased not to contemplate and adore him. The Ascension came; and from that day forward, it is on the throne prepared at the Father’s right hand that they behold and adore their Lord and King. At the solemn moment of Jesus’ Ascension, a strange joy was felt in each choir of the heavenly hierarchy, from the burning Seraphim to the Angels who are nearest to our own human nature. The actual possession of a good, whose very expectation had filled them with delight, produced an additional happiness in those already infinitely happy Spirits. They fixed their enraptured gaze on Jesus’ beauty, and were lost in astonishment at seeing how Flesh could so reflect the plenitude of grace that dwelt in that Human Nature as to outshine their own brightness. And now, by looking on this Nature(which, though inferior to their own, is divinized by its union with the Eternal Word), they see into further depths of the uncreated Sea of Light. Their love is more burning, the zeal is more impetuous, their hymns are more angelic; for, as the Church says of them, the Angels and Archangels, the Powers and Dominations, the Cerubim and Seraphim, praise the majesty of the Father through his Son, Jesus Christ: per quem majestatem tuam laudant Angeli.
Add to this the joy these heavenly Spirits must have experienced at seeing the immense multitude that accompanied Jesus from earth to heaven. According to their respective merits, they were divided among the various choirs, and placed on thrones left vacant by the fallen angels. Their bodies are not yet united to their souls; but is not their flesh already glorified in that of Jesus? When the time fixed for the general Resurrection comes, the trumpet of the great Archangel will be heard, and then these happy souls will again put on their ancient vesture, the mortal made immortal. Then will the holy Angels, with fraternal enthusiasm, recognize in Adam’s features a likeness of Jesus, and in those of Eve a likeness of Mary, and the resemblance will even be greater than it was when our First Parents were innocent and happy in the Garden of Eden. Come quickly, O thou glorious day, whereon the bright mystery of the Ascension is to receive its final completion, and the two choirs of Angels and Men are to be made one in love and praise under the one Head, Christ Jesus!
It is St. Ambrose who is to help us today, by the following beautiful Hymn,
to celebrate the mystery of the triumph of our Human Nature in Jesus.
The Hymn is inserted in the Breviary of Milan.
Hymn
Optatus votis omnium
Sacratus illuxit dies
Quo Christus, mundi spes, Deus,
Conscendit cœlos arduos.
The sacred Day, longed for by us all, hath shone upon us: the Day whereon Christ, our God, the hope of the world, ascended to the highest heavens.
Ascendens in altum Dominus,
Propriam ad sedem remeans,
Gavisa sunt cœli regna,
Reditu Unigeniti.
When our Lord ascended on high—returning to his rightful throne—the kingdom of heaven rejoiced, for it was the return of the Only Begotten of the Father.
Magni triumphum prælii!
Mundi perempto principe,
Patris præsentat vultibus
Victricis carnis gloriam.
O triumph of the great battle! Having defeated the prince of this world, Jesus presents to his Father the Flesh that had won the glorious victory.
Est elevatus nubibus
Et spem fecit credentibus,
Aperiens paradisum,
Quem protoplastus clauserat.
He was raised up on a cloud, and opening the gate of heaven, which our First Parent had closed against us, he inspired believers with hope.
O grande cunctis gaudium!
Quod partus nostræ Virginis,
Post sputa, flagra, post crucem,
Paternæ sedi jungitur.
What a joy was this to all mankind, that the Son of our Virgin-Mother—after being spit upon, and scourged, and crucified—was placed upon his Father’s throne!
Agamus ergo gratias
Nostræ salutis vindici,
Nostrum quod corpus vexerit
Sublimem ad cœli regiam.
Let us, then, give thanks to him that avenged us and wrought our salvation, for that he took our Flesh and made it dwell in the heavenly Courts above.
Sit nobis cum cœlestibus
Commune manens gaudium,
Illis quod se præsentavit,
Nobis quod se non abstulit.
Let there be a lasting fellowship of joy between the Angels and us—they rejoice because he offered himself to their delighted gaze; we, because he ceased not to be our Brother.
Nunc provocatis actibus
Christum exspectare nos decet
Vitaque tali vivere,
Quæ possit cœlos scandere.
It behoves us now, by the practice of virtues of which he has set us the example, to await our union with Christ, and so live as to merit our ascension into heaven.
Gloria, tibi Domine,
Qui scandis super sidera,
Cum Patre et Sancto Spiritu
In sempiterna sæcula.
Amen.
Glory be to thee, O Lord, who ascendest above the stars! and to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost, for everlasting ages. Amen.
We may use this Prayer of the Mozarabic Breviary, wherewith to close the day.
Christe Dei virtus, et Dei sapientia, qui propter nos, et nostram salutem descendens e cœlis, humani generis carne vestiri dignatus es, ut dignissima societate nos tua Deitate vestires, et quod mortale descendendo susceperas, immortalitati ascendendo donares; tribue nobis interventu solemnitatis hodiernæ, qua te cœlos ascendentem et sequi cupimus et gaudemus, ut benignissimæ dispensationis hujus munera cognoscentes, reddamus pietati tuæ quod solum possumus, vota laudum; exspectantes secundi adventus tui æternorum solatia gaudiorum.
O Jesus! the power and wisdom of God! who, coming down from heaven for our sake and for our salvation, deignedst to clothe thyself in human flesh, that, by a most merciful union, thou mightest clothe us with thy divinity, and that, by ascending into heaven, thou mightest enrich with immortality the mortality thou assumedst by descending upon our earth;—grant, we beseech thee, by the merit of this day’s solemnity (whereon we rejoice at and desire to imitate thine Ascension) that we may acknowledge the favor of this most loving dispensation, by paying to thy mercy the only homage in our power—the offering of our praise, and awaiting thy second coming which is to console us with joys eternal.
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| TX Gov. Expected to Sign Bill Banning Abortions When Fetal Heartbeat Is Detected |
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Posted by: SAguide - 05-16-2021, 11:17 AM - Forum: Abortion
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Texas Governor Expected to Sign Bill Banning Abortions When Fetal Heartbeat Is Detected
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot is expected to sign into law a bill that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can occur as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
Texas Senate Bill 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act or “heartbeat bill” was passed in the state Senate 18-12 on Thursday, and awaits Abbott’s signature. The Republican governor has indicated that he will sign the bill on the same day.
“The Texas Legislature PASSES the heartbeat bill,” Abbot wrote on Twitter. “It’s now on its way to my desk for signing.”
State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., one of two Democrats who voted in support of the bill, told The Dallas Morning News: “I hope that we can continue to do our best to make sure that those soon to be born babies have an opportunity to be born and live in our world.”
The Texas legislation differs from the other states’ heartbeat law in that the state of Texas is forbidden from enforcing the ban on abortion. Instead, private citizens—except for the individual who impregnated the woman through rape or incest—may file lawsuits against doctors, clinics, and anyone who “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise, if the abortion is performed or induced in violation of this chapter, regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation of this chapter.”
The bill does not include an exception for rape or incest besides in cases where the woman’s life is endangered.
“The Texas Heartbeat Act is novel in approach, allowing for citizens to hold abortionists accountable through private lawsuits,” pro-life group Texas Right to Life said in a statement, adding that the bill did not “punish women who obtain abortions.”
Planned Parenthood said that it will challenge the bill if it becomes law. The one billion dollar organization continued to operate as an “essential” business during the pandemic offering abortion and other services.
“We want to make one thing clear: Planned Parenthood will continue to fight for the RIGHT to abortion access, no matter what,” the organization said in a tweet.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas also said that it will fight the bill.
“Texas lawmakers have passed extreme legislation that would ban abortion as early as 6 weeks,” the group said. “But let’s be clear: this dangerous bill is unconstitutional, abortion in Texas is still legal, and we will keep fighting.”
There has been misinformation spread from some opponents of the bill, including the ACLU, which said that the bill allowed anyone to sue.
This bill is so extreme it would allow anyone in the country—wherever they are—to bring a lawsuit in Texas for violating the law. This means a rapist who impregnates a teenager seeking an abortion in Texas, could sue the doctor who performs it,” the organization said in a statement.
The bill states the opposite of what opponents claim, “notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this section may not be brought by a person who impregnated the abortion patient through an act of rape, sexual assault, incest, or any other act prohibited by Sections 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code.”
The bill will take effect on Sept. 1 if signed into law.
States Tightening Abortion Restrictions
According to the pro-choice research and policy organization Guttmacher Institute, 61 abortion restrictions have passed in 13 states since Jan. 1. Within four days between April 26-29, about 28 abortion restrictions were signed into law in seven states, accounting for 46 percent of all legislation passed this year.
In Montana, three bills were signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on April 26 banning abortion beginning at 20 weeks, requiring the abortion provider to inform patients of the opportunity to view an ultrasound and hear a fetal heartbeat of the unborn child before potentially having an abortion, and regulating how abortion-inducing drugs are administered.
While in Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, also signed three bills into law that go into effect on Nov. 1. The bills signed into law on April 27 prohibits an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected except when the woman’s life is in danger, requiring abortions to be performed only by a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, and suspending a doctor’s license for at least one year if they perform abortions in violation under certain circumstances.
On April 29, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Bill 177 that requires abortion providers to inform patients that they may discontinue the abortion-inducing drug after they had taken the first of the two pills procedure. The law goes into effect in July.
In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little, also a Republican, signed House Bill 366 (pdf) into law on April 27, banning abortion after the fetal heartbeat is detected, except in the case of a medical emergency or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
Also on April 27, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona signed Senate Bill 1457 (pdf) that bans abortions of an unborn child with a genetic abnormality, prohibits mail delivery of the abortion-inducing drug, and prohibits state funds to go toward organizations that provide abortion “unless an abortion is necessary to save the life of the woman having the abortion.”
At the beginning of April, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, signed the Born Alive Infant-Means of Care (SF34) bill that ensures any baby born alive following a failed abortion receives similar care as any other infant born alive. The law takes effect on July 1.
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| May 16th - Sts. Ubaldus and John Nepomucen |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-16-2021, 07:36 AM - Forum: May
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May 16 – St Ubaldus, Bishop and Confessor
![[Image: UbaldoGubbio.jpg?w=200&ssl=1]](https://i2.wp.com/sensusfidelium.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/UbaldoGubbio.jpg?w=200&ssl=1)
In order to honor her Eternal High Priest, the Church presents to him this day the merits of a Pontiff who, after his mortal career, was admitted into a happy Immortality. Ubaldus, here on earth, was the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like his Divine Master, he received the holy Anointing of Priesthood; he was a Mediator between God and man; he was the Shepherd of a flock; and now, he is united with our Risen Jesus—the great Anointed, the Mediator, the Shepherd. In proof of his influence in heaven, our Ubaldus has had given to him a special power against the wicked Spirits, who lay snares for our perdition. It has frequently happened that the simple invocation of his name has sufficed to foil their machinations. It is with the view of encouraging the Faithful to have recourse to his protection that the Church has fixed this day as his feast.
Let us now read the account she gives of the virtues of the saintly Bishop.
Quote:Ubaldus was born at Gubbio in Umbria, of a noble family. He was, from childhood, formed, in the most admirable way, to piety and learning. When grown up, he was frequently urged to marry; but nothing could shake his resolution of leading a life of celibacy. On being ordained Priest, he divided his fortune between the poor and the Churches, and entered among the Canons Regular of the Order of St. Augustine. He established that Institute in his own country, and was for some time a most fervent observer of all its regulations. The fame of his virtue spread far and wide. Pope Honorius the Second compelled him to accept the charge of the Church of Gubbio; and, accordingly, he was consecrated Bishop.
Having taken possession of his See, he changed little or nothing of his mode of life; but he began to apply himself more than ever to the practice of every virtue, in order that he might the more effectually, both by word and example, procure the salvation of souls, for he was a pattern of the flock in all earnestness. His food was scanty, his dress unpretending, his bed hard and most poor. While always bearing about, in his body, the mortification of the Cross, he every day refreshed his spirit with prayer, in which he seemed insatiable. The result of such life was meekness of so admirable a nature, that he not only bore the worst injuries and insults with patience, but he even treated his persecutors with surprising affection, and showed them all possible kindness.
During the last two years of his life, he suffered much from sickness. In the midst of the most acute pains, whereby he was made pure as gold that is cleansed in the furnace, he ceased not to give thanks to God. Finally, on the holy Feast of Pentecost, after governing for many years, and in a most laudable manner, the Diocese that had been entrusted to him, he slept in peace, venerated for his holy life and miracles. He was canonized by Pope Celestine the Third. God has given him a special power for driving away unclean spirits. His body, which has remained incorrupt for several centuries, is honored with much devotion, by the Faithful of the city of Gubbio, which he has more than once rescued from the calamities that threatened it.
O blessed Pontiff! be thou our protector against the spirits of hell. They are devoured by envy at seeing how Man, that lowly and feeble creature, has become the object of God’s predilection. The Incarnation of the Son of God, his Death on the Cross, his glorious Resurrection, the Sacraments which give us the life of Grace—all these sublime means, whereby the infinite goodness of God has restored us to our lost dignity, have excited the rage of the old enemy, and he seeks revenge by insulting, in us, the Image of our Creator. At times, he attacks man with all the frenzy of angry jealousy. To mimic the operations of Sanctifying Grace—which, so to speak, makes us the instruments of God’s good pleasure—Satan sometimes takes possession of our fellow creatures, and makes them his slaves. Thy power, O Ubaldus, has often manifested itself by rescuing these unhappy victims of the devil’s jealousy; and holy Church, on this day, celebrates the special prerogative conferred on thee by our Heavenly Father. Relent not in the exercise of thy charitable office. And yet, O holy Pontiff, thou knowest that the snares of the wicked spirits are more injurious to the souls than to the bodies of men. Have pity, then, on the unhappy slaves of sin, who, though the divine Sun of the Pasch has risen upon them, are still in the darkness of guilt. Pray for them, that they may become, once more, Children of the Light, and share in the Easter Resurrection which Jesus offers to all.
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| Sunday within the Octave of the Ascension |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-16-2021, 06:45 AM - Forum: Easter
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INSTRUCTION ON THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER
Taken from Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year
36th edition, 1880
THIS Sunday and the whole week should serve as a preparation for the festival of Pentecost ; that we may be enabled by good works and pious devotional exercises, to receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost. At the Introit the Church sings: Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee, allel. My heart hath said to thee: I have sought thy face, thy face, O Lord, I will seek: turn not away thy face from me, allel. allel. The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? (Ps.xxvi. 7—9.) Glory be to the Father, &c.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. Almighty, everlasting God, grant us ever to have a will devoted to Thee,and to serve Thy majesty with a sincere heart. Through.
EPISTLE. (i Peter iv. 7 — 11.) Dearly beloved, be prudent, and watch in prayers. But before all things, have a constant mutual charity among yourselves; for charity covereth a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one towards another without murmuring: as every man hath received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the words God: if any man minister, let him do it as of the power which God administereth; that in all things God may be honored through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Quote:EXPLANATION. The practice of the virtues which St. Peter here prescribes for the faithful, is an excellent preparation for the reception of the Holy Ghost, for nothing renders us more worthy of His visit than true love for our neighbor, the good use of God's gifts, and the faithful discharge of the duties of our state of life. Strive, therefore, to practise these virtues and thus make yourself less unworthy of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Say daily during the week the following prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, who hast assembled the people of all tongues in unity of faith, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy divine love.
GOSPEL. (John xv. 26 — 27., to xvi. 1 — 4.) At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: When the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me: and you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning. These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth a service to God. And these things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things I have told you, that, when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you.
Why is the Holy Ghost called the Paraclete?
Because He consoles those who suffer persecution for justice' sake, that is, those who are persecuted because of their truly Christian life, their defence of truth and justice whether by word or pen, or by their life, as did the apostles and other saints, who were filled with the greatest and sweetest delight while suffering for Jesus' sake.
How did the Holy Ghost give testimony of Christ?
Through the apostles and disciples whom He made so eloquent and so courageous that they intrepidly professed and preached Christ to be the Son of God, and the true Messiah. This doctrine He confirmed by astounding miracles, and sealed it by their blood which they shed in its defence The Holy Ghost still gives testimony of Christ through the Church, that is, the clergy, through whom He speaks, and who must, therefore, be listened to reverently. We must also give testimony of Christ and profess by our lives, by patience in crosses and afflictions that He is our Teacher, our Lord, and our God; for if we do not thus acknowledge Him in this world, He will deny us before His Father in heaven. (Matt. x. 33.)
Did the Jews sin in persecuting and putting to death the apostles?
Undoubtedly; for although they erroneously believed they were doing God a service, their ignorance and error were very sinful and deserving of punishment, because they could easily have known and been instructed in the truth.
Those Christians who neglect all religious instruction hardly know what is necessary for salvation, and make light of many things which are grievous sins; as also those who are in doubt whether they justly or unjustly possess certain goods, and yet through fear of being compelled to make restitution, neglect to settle the doubt, such are in culpable ignorance.
What must every Christian know and believe in order to be saved?
That there is but one God, who has created and governs all things; that God is a just judge, who rewards the good and punishes the wicked; that there are in the Deity three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; that the Son of God became man for love of us, taught us, and by His death on the cross redeemed us; that the Holy Ghost sanctifies us by His grace, without which we cannot become virtuous or be saved; that man's soul is immortal.
PETITION. Send us, O Lord Jesus! the Paraclete, that He may console and strengthen us in all our afflictions. Enlighten us by Thy Holy Spirit that we may learn and live in accordance with the truths of faith. Amen.
INSTRUCTION ON SCANDAL
These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. (John xvi. 1.)
How is scandal given?
BY speaking, doing or omitting that which will be to others an occasion of sin. Scandal is given indifferent ways, for instance: if you dress improperly, speak improper words, or sing bad songs, by which you can see, that your neighbor will be tempted to think, desire, or act wrongly; or what is worse, if you act sinfully in the presence of others, or bring bad books, books against good morals, or against the holy faith, among people; if you incite others to anger, cursing, and vengeance, or if you prevent them from attending church, the sermon, or catechetical instruction, &c. In all these things you become guilty of scandal, as well as of all the sins to which it gives rise.
If at the Last Judgment we will be unable to give an account of our own sins, how then can we answer for the innumerable sins caused by the scandal we have given? Therefore Christ pronounces a terrible woe to those who give scandal. Woe to that man, He says, by whom the scandal cometh! It were better for him, that a mill- stone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matt, xviii.)
How do parents give scandal?
By giving their children bad example; by excessive anger, cursing and swearing; by avarice, injustice and cheating; by discord and quarrels; by gluttony in eating and drinking; by extravagance and vanity in dress; by sneering at religion, good morals, &c; by not keeping their children from evil company, but sometimes even bringing them into it; by not punishing and endeavoring to eradicate their children's vices. How much parents sin through such scandals, cannot be expressed; at the Day of Judgment their children will be their accusers!
How do masters give scandal to their servants and those under their care?
In the same way as parents do to their children; by keeping them away, or not urging them by their own example or command to attend church on Sundays and holy- days; by giving them meat on fastdays; by commanding them to do sinful things, such as stealing, injuring others, &c.
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INSTRUCTION ON PREPARATION FOR PENTECOST
1. We should withdraw, after the example of the m T Blessed Virgin and the apostles, to some solitary place, or at least avoid, intercourse with others, as much as possible; speak but little, and apply ourselves to earnest and persevering prayer; for in solitude God speaks to man.
2. We should purify our conscience by a contrite confession, become reconciled to our neighbor, if we have lived in enmity; for the Holy Ghost, as a spirit of peace and purity, lives only in pure and peaceful souls. (Ps. lxxv. 3.)
3. We should give alms according to our means, for it is said in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts x.) of the Gentile centurion Cornelius, that by prayer and alms-deeds he made himself worthy of the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
4. We should fervently desire to receive the Holy Ghost, and should give expression to this longing by frequent aspirations to God, making use of the prayer: "Come, O Holy Ghost, &c."
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| Hate Crime: Brooklyn Church Vandalized — Crucifix Toppled, American Flag Burned |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-15-2021, 02:26 PM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence
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Hate Crime: Brooklyn Church Vandalized — Jesus Statue Toppled, American Flag Burned
Evil is on a rampage in New York.
Last night, someone hopped the fence of St. Athanasius Church in Brooklyn.
They destroyed the statue of Jesus and burned an American flag hanging outside.
The New York Post reported:
Quote:A statue of Jesus was smashed and an American flag burned outside a Catholic church in Brooklyn — in what cops are calling a possible hate crime.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. Thursday when an unknown person hopped the fence at St. Athanasius Church on Bay Parkway at 61st Street in Bensonhurst, police said.
The vandal pushed over a statue of Jesus’s crucifixion, breaking it into pieces, and torched an American flag hanging outside the rectory, according to cops.
The pastor of the church, Msgr. David Cassato called this an “act of hatred” and one “the saddest day of my twenty years here.”
NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is looking into it.
The identity of the individual is unknown at this time.
Here are images of the damage caused:
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| Catalog of Compromise, Change, and Contradiction in the SSPX |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-15-2021, 07:29 AM - Forum: The New-Conciliar SSPX
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Catalog of Compromise, Change, and Contradiction in the SSPX
N.B.: Normally, The Catacombs treats information obtained from Cathinfo with the same reservations as information obtained from say, a sedevacantist site or a Conciliar site. But there are occasions when a good article is published on a sedevacantist or Conciliar site that is shared here - an article that doesn't promoted those particular errors but perhaps does shed light on some other aspects of the crisis of our times.
Similarly, we are sharing here a Cathinfo member's work that has begun collecting a centralized 'data bank' of evidence of the SSPX's steady progression into the Conciliar Church.
This 'Catalog' is rather long so it will be posted in segments for ease of reading.
✠ ✠ ✠
Catalog of Compromise, Change, and Contradiction in the SSPX
[Slight formatting changes from the original - all emphasis in the original.]
#1: Change (New Mass Participation Sinful or Not?)
All the SSPX faithful should be well familiar with the little blue book, Christian Warfare, published by the SSPX and promoted and used on their Ignatian retreats. In the section on the Examination of Conscience, under the third commandment (page 289 in the 2006 edition) we find the following:
Quote:Have you attended and actively participated in the "New Mass"? Have you received Holy Communion in the hand?
Yet, in the new edition, this sentence was replaced with:
Quote:Have you received Holy Communion in the hand knowing that it leads to Sacrilege and loss of faith in the Real Presence?
Have you attended and actively participated in non-Catholic religious services? tradcatresist.blogspot.com/2018/06/lastweek-fr-morgan-celebrated-his.htm
Clearly the SSPX no longer wishes to suggest attending the Novus Ordo is sinful.
#2: Contradiction (SSPX’ers Married by Conciliarists?)
In the US District, the old SSPX Marriage Form M-2(a) required a signature of the marriage parties before a Society priest would consent to perform the wedding. That form includes the following passage:
Quote:"Moreover, I insist on my right to receive all the sacraments in an entirely traditional way, and consequently refuse to have my wedding celebrated by a priest who celebrates the new Mass, or in a church in which the new Mass is celebrated.”
Today, however, the SSPX has accepted to be bound by the April 4, 2017 "Pastoral Guidelines" of Cardinal Mueller (authorized by Pope Francis) which state, among other things:
"Insofar as possible, the Local Ordinary [that is, normally the local Diocesan Bishop] is to grant the delegation to assist at the marriage to a priest of the Diocese (or in any event, to a fully Quote:regular priest), such that the priest may receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite..." rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/step-by-step-vatican-issues-marriage.html
This is a clear and direct contradiction to SSPX Marriage Form M-2(a) of the US District (which presumably has either subsequently been edited to bring itself into compliance with this new norm, or discarded altogether).
#3: Contradiction (Trap vs No Trap)
One year after the episcopal consecrations, Archbishop Lefebvre warned the faithful that any overtures from modernist Rome were nothing but a trap:
Quote:"That is why what can look like a concession is in reality merely a maneuver to separate us from the largest number of faithful possible. This is the perspective in which they seem to be always giving a little more and even going very far. We must absolutely convince our faithful that it is no more than a maneuver, that it is dangerous to put oneself into the hands of Conciliar bishops and Modernist Rome. It is the greatest danger threatening our people. If we have struggled for twenty years to avoid the Conciliar errors, it was not in order, now, to put ourselves in the hands of those professing these errors." sspx.org/en/one-year-after-consecrations
Bishop Fellay (under the most anti-traditional Pope in history) thinks otherwise. In his 8/24/16 Australian conference, he said:
Quote:"But in itself, you cannot imagine anything better than what is offered there. And such a thing that you cannot think ‘That’s a trap.’ It’s not a trap. And if somebody is offering something like that, we are offered something like that, it can be only because he wants good to us. He wants the good of Tradition, he wants Tradition to spread within the Church.”
NB: As the YouTube video of this conference was removed for obvious reasons, we will divert the reader to Issue #37 of The Recusant, where he may find a transcription of the quoted passage, posted here: Recusant #37
#4: Contradiction (A strict right to know?)
Archbishop Lefebvre:
Quote:"They have indeed a strict right to know that the priests who serve them are not in communion with a counterfeit church, promoting evolution, pentecostalism and syncretism." www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Archbishop-Lefebvre/Archbishop_Lefebvre_and_the_Vatican/Part_I/1988-07-06.htm
vs.
Neo-SSPX:
Quote:"Non-SSPX members [i.e., the faithful] do not have a strict right to be kept informed about the internal affairs of the SSPX, which is a religious congregation." sspx.org/en/news-events/news/%E2%80%9Cneed%E2%80%9D-know-all-vs-peace-soul-3073
#5: Contradiction (Bishop de Galarreta vs Bishop de Galarreta)
On the matter of a practical accord with unconverted Rome, Bishop de Galarreta contradicted himself in only one years' time. Initially ruling out a merely practical accord, the bishop in 2011 said:
Quote:"Following the Roman proposal, the real question, crucial, is: should we, can we, we take the path of a "possible" practical agreement first? Is it prudent and appropriate to maintain contacts with Rome leading to such an agreement? As far as I am concerned, the answer is clear: we must refuse this path because we cannot do something evil so that a good (a good which is, moreover, uncertain) can come from it, and also because this would necessarily bring about evils (very certain) for the common good that we possess, namely that of the Society and of the family of Tradition. [...] How then does this not go against the defence and public confession of faith, against the public need to protect the faithful and the Church? In this regard, if we make a purely practical agreement we are, in the present circumstances, already engaging in duplicity and ambiguity. The very fact is a public testimony and a message: we cannot be in "full communion" with the authorities who remain modernists." www.cathinfo.com/sspx-resistance-news/reflections-on-a-roman-proposal-(full-text)/
Very good!
But only one year later, the exact opposite:
Quote:"The Society’s position is much more precise and clear now than it was six months ago; it is much better, for we do not exclude the possibility of Providence choosing to bring about a return to the Faith through conversion [on the Part of Rome, presumably – Ed.] We have simply said: if there is not firstly a return on the part of Rome or of the next Pope to Tradition [...] but if this Pope wishes simply to allow Tradition, what are the conditions that would allow us to accept a canonical normalization, in view of the good that we could do in the Church and this good is considerable? We must not deny this possibility.” archives.sspx.org/sspx_and_rome/bishop_de_galarreta_conference_10-13-2012.htm
The SSPX had "recovered its profound unity" at the chapter, putting the company ahead of the Faith.
#6: Contradiction (Bishop Fellay Suicidal?)
From a February/2009 interview with The Remnant regarding autonomy from the diocesan bishops:
Quote:Brian Mershon: Do you foresee any oversight by territorial diocesan bishops once the Society is regularized?
Bp. Fellay: That would be our death.” www.remnantnewspaper.com/Archives/2009-mershon-interview-fellay.htm
Three years later, Bishop Fellay had apparently lost his fear of death:
Quote:Bishop Fellay: "It is still true—since it is Church law—that in order to open a new chapel or to found a work, it would be necessary to have the permission of the local ordinary. We have quite obviously reported to Rome how difficult our present situation was in the dioceses, and Rome is still working on it. Here or there, this difficulty will be real, but since when is life without difficulties?" archives.sspx.org/superior_generals_news/bishop_fellay_dici_interview_about_rome_6-8-2012.htm
#7: Contradiction (Bishop Fellay vs Archbishop Lefebvre on Vatican II)
Archbishop Lefebvre blames the Council:
Quote:"Without rejecting this Council wholesale, I think that it is the greatest disaster of this century and of all the past centuries, since the founding of the Church." www.angelus.online/en_US/8362/120253/a_matter_of_principle.html
Bishop Fellay excuses or downplays the Council:
Quote:"I think, we see that many things which we would have condemned as being from the council are in fact not from the council, but the common understanding of it." https://youtu.be/DdnJigNzTuY
#8: Contradiction: (A Deal with Unconverted and Modernist Rome?)
Archbishop Lefebvre:
Quote:"It is, therefore, a strict duty for every priest wanting to remain Catholic to separate himself from this Conciliar Church for as long as it does not rediscover the Tradition of the Church and of the Catholic Faith.” (Spiritual Journey, p. 13)
vs.
Bishop Fellay (speaking of his discussions with modernist Rome in his 2/2/12 Winona sermon):
Quote:"We told them very clearly, if you accept us as is, without change, without obliging us to accept these things, then we are ready." archives.sspx.org/superior_generals_news/bishop_fellay_sermon_february_2_2012.htm
This very thread will suffice to demonstrate that the SSPX has not been accepted as they are, but has instead undergone a radical transformation in pursuit of a canonical regularization.
#9: Change (Is Vatican II Part of Tradition?)
Archbishop Lefebvre commenting on a statement of Cardinal Suenens:
Quote:"It was Cardinal Suenens who exclaimed, “Vatican II is the French Revolution in the Church” and among other unguarded declarations he added
“One cannot understand the French or the Russian revolutions unless one knows something of the old regimes which they brought to an end… It is the same in church affairs: a reaction can only be judged in relation to the state of things that preceded it”.
What preceded, and what he considered due for abolition, was that wonderful hierarchical construction culminating in the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth. He continued: “The Second Vatican Council marked the end of an epoch; and if we stand back from it a little more we see it marked the end of a series of epochs, the end of an age”.
vs.
Bishop Fellay in response to a question from the CNS as to whether Vatican II formed part of Catholic Tradition:
Quote:"I would hope so,” he said, when asked if Vatican II itself belongs to Catholic tradition...The pope says that . . . the council must be put within the great tradition of the church, must be understood in accordance with it. These are statements we fully agree with, totally, absolutely,” the bishop said. https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/0...holic.html
NB: As we shall see later, this same response from Bishop Fellay evinces an acceptance of the "hermeneutic of continuity."
#10: Contradiction (More on Vatican II and Tradition)
In March/2013, Fr. de Cacqueray (then District Superior of France) wrote the following in his Letter to Friends and Benefactors:
Quote:"Be that as it may, the Society strongly refuses to admit that Vatican Council II belongs to the Tradition of the Church. We claim on the contrary, that in many points this Council is diametrically opposed to it." sspx.org/en/sspxs-treatment-profound-injustice
Yes, that was surely the SSPX's traditional position.
However, was Fr. de Cacqueray unaware that only 9 months prior, Bishop Fellay had made the following statement?:
Quote:"Although he stopped short of endorsing Pope Benedict's interpretation of Vatican II as essentially in continuity with the church's tradition -- a position which many in the society have vocally disputed -- Bishop Fellay spoke about the idea in strikingly sympathetic terms.
"I would hope so," he said, when asked if Vatican II itself belongs to Catholic tradition.
"The pope says that ... the council must be put within the great tradition of the church, must be understood in accordance with it. These are statements we fully agree with, totally, absolutely," the bishop said." rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/05/fellay-speaks-to-usbishopss-catholic.html
Do you find Bishop Fellay's response to be a strong "refusal to admit that Vatican II belongs to the Tradition of the Church?"
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| May 15th – St John Baptist de la Salle |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-15-2021, 06:48 AM - Forum: May
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May 15 – St John Baptist de la Salle, Confessor
![[Image: first-vows.jpg?w=380&ssl=1]](https://i0.wp.com/sensusfidelium.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/first-vows.jpg?w=380&ssl=1)
John Baptist de la Salle, the teacher of the humble, takes his place today beside Leo the Great, Athanasius, and Gregory of Nazianzum. He has no fear. The victor of Paschal Time is the same Jesus who said during his mortal life: Suffer the little children to come unto me, and unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, that kingdom of heaven which, after entering into his glory, he manifests so fully upon earth. On the other hand, the Lion of Juda is never more terrible in his anger than when he beholds evil men conspiring to keep from him the little ones of whom he forms his court.
The promise made in Holy Scripture that they that instruct many to justice shall shine as stars for all eternity is addressed not only to the great doctors of the science of salvation, but also the humblest Christian teacher, and the supreme Pontiff, when inscribing the name of the saint of today among those of the blessed, declared that the inspired words “apply in an especial manner to those who, like him, have left all things and devoted themselves to the instruction of the baptized from earliest infancy in the teaching of the Gospel and the precepts which lead to life eternal.”
John Baptist de la Salle was a true disciple of our blessed Lord, and entered so fully into the thought of his Master that no sacrifice was too great for him if only he might carry it out, and no suffering, humiliation, or persecution could hinder him from persevering in the accomplishment of his works of love. He suffered from misunderstanding and lack of support all through his life, but is he less great in heaven today on that account?
The following account of him is given in the Breviary:
Quote:John Baptist de la Salle was born of a noble family at Rheims. When quite a child he showed by his ways and actions that he would be called to follow our Lord and attain great sanctity. He studied literature and philosophy at Rheims, and though his virtues and quick intelligence endeared him to all, he avoided the company of his fellows that he might be free to contemplate God in solitude. He was made a cleric when very young, and was only sixteen when given the rank of a Canon at Rheims. He went to Paris to study theology at the Sorbonne, and was received at the Seminary of St. Sulpice. He was soon forced to return home by the death of his parents, whereupon he undertook the education of his brothers, which he carried on, without interrupting his own studies, to the great advantage of his pupils, as soon became evident.
He was ordained priest, and said his first Mass with the intense faith and love which, throughout his life, he brought to the holy Mysteries; but his zeal for the salvation of souls made him devote himself wholly to the service of his neighbor. He was made superior of the Sisters of the Holy Child, founded for the education of girls, and by his prudent government saved their institute from dissolution. From this he turned his attention to the education of poor boys. God had raised him up for this very end, namely that he should found in the Church a new family of religious men devoted to the training of children, particularly the poor. This work, which had been entrusted to him by divine Providence, was successfully accomplished in spite of many trials and contradictions by the establishment of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.
His first helpers in this great and arduous work he received into his own house, and then, establishing them in a more suitable dwelling, gave them a careful training in those wise laws and regulations which were afterwards confirmed by Pope Benedict XIII. His humility and love of poverty caused him first of all to resign his canonry and to distribute all his property among the poor; and finally, after many unsuccessful attempts to do so, he spontaneously resigned the government of the Institute which he had founded. His solicitude for the Brethren and for the schools which he had opened in various places suffered no diminution, though he began to give himself more assiduously to the direct service of God in fasting, watching, and other austerities. He spent his nights in prayer. His virtues were conspicuous, especially his obedience, conformity to the will of God, and love of the Holy See. At length, full of merits, and fortified with the Sacraments of the Church, he fell asleep in the Lord in the sixty-eighth year of his age. Pope Leo XIII beatified him and, after fresh miracles had been worked through his intercession, proceeded to his canonization in the year of Jubilee, 1900.
O God, who hast raised up the holy confessor John Baptist to promote the Christian education of the poor and to confirm the young in the way of truth and, through him, hast gathered together a new family within thy Church: mercifully grant through his intercession and example that we may burn with zeal for thy glory in saving souls, and may share his crown in heaven. Through Christ our Lord.
Thus, O father of Christian schools, does Holy Church pray today in thy honor. She is as full of confidence as through the trials of thy mortal life had been sufficient to guard thy sons against similar sufferings; as serene as though the future of thy work were assured. And yet, might we not say that the culminating point of thy glorification on earth seems to have given the signal for the triumph of hell over thy labors? But the Church is strong in her experience of twenty centuries, and she fears no persecution. She knows that if the tree be planted by God, the hurricane will but strengthen its roots, and that a house built upon a rock can brave the wind and the floods. We too, like the Church, are full of hope, trusting in thy merits and thy intercession. Even if ruin seem complete, the divine Head of all who suffer persecution assures us that the tomb itself, though sealed by the powers of this world, cannot guarantee to Death the secure possession of his victim.
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