Time of Crisis – “In general, the situation among Catholic universities is quite bad spiritually. The top-tier Catholic universities have largely embraced the ways of secular academia . . . ” Thoughts on Catholic Higher Education and Culture (What We Need Now)
New Liturgical Objects for Renovated Notre-Dame de Paris – “For the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris in 2024, French designer Guillaume Bardet created a series of liturgical objects” Inside Notre-Dame: Guillaume Bardet’s furniture for the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris (WallPaper.com)
GenDropTheGenNames – “It is stupid to name generations; furthermore, it is tasteless; also, I think it mean-spirited; and no, I do not know if I am a Millennial or a Gen-Xr…” Against Naming the Generations (New Polity)
God’s Good Plan for Evil – “Living in an era in which the Church has very little influence over human society as a whole, we are apt to feel somewhat abandoned by God. ” Do not panic! God uses evil for good, even in the Church. (Catholic Culture)
Supernatural Surge in Tinseltown? – “The surge of content and viewership has surprised many experts given the long-term decline in the number of U.S. adults who identify as Christian…” ‘Sound of Freedom’ Reveals Rising Power of Jesus in Hollywood (Newsweek)
The Mother of All Historical Lies – “The hard fact is that the matriarchy is a figment of the imagination. The historical and anthropological record is clear.” There has never been a ‘matriarchy’ (MercatorNet)
African American History – “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican seeking his party’s presidential nomination in 2024, faced criticism after defending a controversial portion of Florida’s 2023 Social Studies curriculum suggesting ‘slaves developed skills’ that could be used for their ‘personal benefit.” DeSantis defends Florida’s curriculum on slavery; draws Black, Catholic criticism (Catholic Review)
The Puzzling Bishop Aguiar – “Lots of Catholics around the world have been, to put it mildly, puzzled by the cardinal-elect’s musings.” World Youth Day and Converting Everyone to Christ (Word on Fire)
Anti-Western Crusade – “One of the very big debates at Stanford in the late Eighties was about the ‘Western Culture’ course. This was a sort of formational program, a year-long course all Stanford freshmen were required to take.” The diversity myth (The New Criterion)
De Lubac and Synodality – “Henri de Lubac, S.J., one of the twentieth century’s greatest Catholic theologians, was among the prominent figures in the ressourcement movement that prepared the way for Vatican II.” What Henri de Lubac Would Think of the Synod on Synodality (First Things)
Mediocrity and Brilliance – “The intelligent are much given to the sin of pride, a sin that is not shared, in my experience, by the truly brilliant.” For Goodness’ Sake (Taki’s Magazine)
Patient Diplomatic Progress – “The Holy See and the government of Vietnam announced in a July 27 joint statement that the Vatican will now have a permanent residential representative in the country.” Is Vietnam the Vatican’s template for China? (Pillar Catholic)
(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of the content and perspective of said news item or essay.)
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@Time of Crisis
About our so-called Catholic higher education, Msgr. James Shea writes, in part: “What should individuals do? Turn to God and live for Him alone.”
Still needs lots of work from yours truly, so along the way a book seemed a useful evasion, a book relevant to the mentioned “tyranny of relativism” and oriented toward the betrayed younger generation: “A Generation Abandoned” (2017). Author interview with CWR: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2018/03/29/a-generation-abandoned-why-whatever-is-not-enough/
The final three chapters, at least, might be worth a peek from some students. They deal with the triadic substitute religions of Technocracy, Evolution-ism, and any amnesiac’s random non-Universe.
@ The Diversity Myth
Peter Thiel addresses diversity from the mindset of the intellectualist, “For those of you who think that science, economics, or even religion are distractions from politics, how do ideas like diversity, multiculturalism, and political correctness distract from healthy political discourse? I always come back to ‘political correctness’ itself”.
The intellectualist, the practitioner of intellectualism [political correctness is an example], places focus on rational ideas rather than the spiritual, the latter always the root cause of disorder within society.
What’s visible to the spiritually oriented, those of us who recognize a First Principle [Aquinas initially wrote a short opus, Essence and Existence, in which he establishes that God is that First Principle, whose existence is identical with his essence, unlike Man, and other created beings whose existence is not explained by their essence] God, as that from which all order follows – is the universal deconstruction of order in every dimension from the loss of biological sexual identity to ethics in governmental polity.
Historically, we may have had a semblance of what’s now occurring. For example, during the Avignon papacy era and the abeyance of moral conviction, although such instances were temporary by nature. Moral principles were not paradigmatically repudiated in their entirety as today. It’s the categorical deconstruction of perennial moral principles, the principles of reason itself that have resulted in what theologian Fr Robert Imbelli calls the decapitation of Christ. Remove Christ as revealed and we realize Nietzsche’s death of God.
God’s Good Plan for Evil
“Evil is the absence of a due good, and so evil is always and everywhere at work in the world. It goes without saying that we must understand this. But we must also understand that God uses even evil to purify us—and especially to purify His Church, which is also the Body of Christ, so that it will “prosper in the thing” for which He established it.”
In the Second Secret of Fatima, God offers the Catholic Church peace instead of WWII and the Russian menace of today. God asked Catholic leaders to get mankind to repent and to Consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or there will be WWII. Thus:
A portion of Str. Lucia’s letter to the Pope John Paul II in 1982
“The third part of the secret is a symbolic revelation, referring to this part of the Message, conditioned by whether we accept or not what the Message itself asks of us: ‘If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, etc.’.
Since we did not heed this appeal of the Message, we see that it has been fulfilled, Russia has invaded the world with her errors. And if we have not yet seen the complete fulfillment of the final part of this prophecy, we are going towards it little by little with great strides. If we do not reject the path of sin, hatred, revenge, injustice, violations of the rights of the human person, immorality and violence, etc.”
Quoted from:
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html
I highly recommend that everyone read, Susanne James, ‘Luisa Piccarretta and the Divine Will- Teachings of Jesus”, published 2020. Wow! What a book!
Jesus, living in the ‘Divine Will’ with Luisa Piccarretta, talks about His Divine Plan to purify the earth in order to restore earth to its, pre-fall of man state, where all, State of Grace, Catholics will live in the ‘Divine Will’ as pre-fall of Adam and Eve originally did. Jesus tells Luisa Piccarretta that He is not leaving heaven to come down here and suffer to do this purification of the earth, but instead Jesus Wills to do so through those of His followers on earth. Wow! Many times in the book, Jesus talks about, we His followers, suffering for the salvation of sinners.
I will have to spend time going through the book to find quotes, but I wish other educated Followers of Jesus here, would study and talk about this concept of Catholics suffering for the salvation of sinners, which Jesus talks about to Catholic mystic Luisa Piccarretta, while living in the ‘Divine Will’.
Mark 10:35
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish (me) to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
In ‘Divine Mercy in My Soul’, St. Faustina herself comes to represent the Catholic Church as a whole. Jesus places 3 hours of His Passion and suffering upon her. This represents Jesus’, Mark 10 “Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”, which God has reserved for those Catholic leaders who take us into Messianic Reign, to live in Jesus’ Kingdom Come of the Divine Will. In Divine Mercy in My Soul, 429, Jesus is giving His, Mark 10:40, “but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared”, their marching orders.
Divine Mercy in My Soul, 429 I heard these words spoken distinctly and forcefully within my soul, You will prepare the world for My final coming.
Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1053
The Lord pressed me to His Heart and said, I shall give you a small portion of My Passion, but do not be afraid, be brave, do not seek relief, but accept everything with submission to My will…
…I have let you experience in three hours what I suffered during the whole night.
Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1487:
Know, too, that the darkness about which you complain I first endured in the Garden of Olives when My Soul was crushed in mortal anguish. I am giving you a share in those sufferings because of My special love for you and in view of the higher degree of holiness I am intending for you in heaven. A suffering soul is closest to my heart.
Divine Mercy in My Soul, 966:
My daughter, it is time for you to take action; I am with you. Great persecutions and sufferings are in store for you, but be comforted by the thought that many souls will be saved and sanctified by this work.
Obadiah 1:17 Judah Shall Be Restored.
But on Mount Zion there shall be a portion saved; the mountain shall be holy, And the house of Jacob shall take possession of those that dispossessed them…
…And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to rule the mount of Esau, and the kingship shall be the LORD’S.
A Portion of the Third Secret of Fatima
having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.
Quoted from: Vatican: Third Secret of Fatima
Psalms 47:6
God mounts the throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD, amid trumpet blasts. Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise. God is king over all the earth; sing hymns of praise. God rules over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne. The princes of the peoples assemble with the people of the God of Abraham. For the rulers of the earth belong to God, who is enthroned on high.
In the African American History piece, the Catholic Review reporter relies heavily on comments from Shannen Dee Williams of the University of Dayton’s history department. It’s worth noting that Williams is vocal proponent of critical race theory and laces her public comments with ideological terms like “antiracism” and “systemic racism.” You can safely discount her testimony for special pleading.
The article on Black history definitely had problems. Africans sold whatever fellow Africans they could capture into slavery in the New World. These people were not selected for the skills they possessed, only for being warm bodies capable of laboring for their new masters. Citing St. Augustine’s geographic origins I suppose is intended to leave the impression that he was Black. He wasn’t. And he lived in a slave society. And his family had owned slaves. (I’m currently reading and highly recommend ROMAN SLAVERY IN THE LATE EMPIRE by Kyle Harper.)
The controversial sentence about slaves acquiring skills that benefited them is true as it stands but should have been accompanied by context. Those skills benefited them after emancipation or as opportunities to earn money to buy their freedom.
There’s irony in the choice of the illustration above. Healy Hall is named for Patrick Healy, SJ, an early President of Georgetown who had been born in slavery. Whispers about his biracial background forced him to resign. Meanwhile, his brother James became the first Black Catholic bishop, up in Maine.
As I was reading Mirus in God’s Good Plan For Evil, it appeared to me that the pro-life movement did not fit the picture of dangers and concerns he drew there. Read it and see. Pro-life already is living above that fray.
Pro-life in general and pro-life USA in particular, has been persistent, nimble, forceful, adaptive, quick when needs be, unyielding, undying, CONSISTENT, NEVER MOODY, NEVER TOUCHY, NEVER IN A PANIC, not dependent on fame or notoriety, intelligent, penetrating, foreseeing, sturdy, CONFUSED ABOUT NOTHING, COHESIVE, utterly brave, never shaken, unflinching, compassionate, embracing, warm and tender, LOVING, positive, generous, full of regard for others, WELL-ORDERED AND BRIGHT and always appealing to God and to Jesus Christ.
(Frankly difficult to stop talking!)
Everything about pro-life is and has been upbeat and they have it in their blood. Every day they give forth blessing and assistance that they know they can attribute to God. What a witness. From strength to strength. Did I forget to say EWTN.
In the latest installment from pro-life USA you have a thorough-going analysis of staggered executive bit moves among the Feds, revealing that – where – and how – Dobbs can not be the final word on abortion. See the NC REGISTER article in the link by L. Brown. Not to be missed.
Bless.
https://www.ncregister.com/news/is-the-biden-administration-attempting-to-circumvent-state-pro-life-laws-with-a-healthcare-privacy-rule-change