Six years ago today, my father went to his judgment.
Pray for his repose, please.
I learned two very important things from him. The first is his devotion to the daily Mass. as a husband and father, he knew this was vital. He moved Heaven and earth to be there every single day of his life.
The other is his devotion to the Blessed Mother. He never missed a rosary.
Due to these two facts, I have true hope that his judgment went well for him.
But remember, none of us ever knows. Aquinas himself doubted that he was in a state of grace at times. So I say again…
Stay confessed.
St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us!
They say that Bergoglio is really, really upset and that he’s pouncing on Benedict’s death to further “restrict the Latin Mass”.
Forgive my apathy, but at this point, should I really care what an antipope threatens?
Do we know what to do if that happens? Yes. Stay confessed. Stop committing mortal sins. I heard Mark Docherty say something on Barnhardt’s most recent podcast: “Stay close to home.” To this I add, stay close to the Blessed Mother. Pray your rosary. Stock up on beeswax candles because, why not? Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Get on your knees and pray. Fast. Mortify the flesh.
For heaven’s sake, He gave us the keys to this puzzle 2000 years ago. Stay close to Him.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us poor sinners!
Today at Mass, we heard the Gospel of the Wedding at Cana. This is is my favorite Gospel passage. As a poet once remarked, “The water beheld its God and blushed.”
I remember many years ago when a dear friend died. She was an old woman from the parish in the old neighborhood. She was funeral director with an Irish surname and a big heart. I loved this woman. I’d see her every day when I was a child. We were all part of what we called the “6:30 Club”, as in the 6:30 AM daily Mass. I was in my early 20’s when she died. At her funeral this Gospel was read. Today I would take issue with that. I don’t think people should be “picking the readings”. There really shouldn’t be any option. But for her it seemed fitting as she was so incredibly devoted to Our Lady. The priest, in his sermon at her funeral, spoke of that devotion. He said, “I imagine that if she went straight to God it was because Our Lord greeted her and said ‘Josephine, come with Me. My Mother has told me so much about you.’” And I always loved that image.
Jesus Meets His Afflicted MotherHoly Trinity Catholic Church, Dallas
Do whatever He tells you. These are the last words spoken by the Blessed Mother in Scripture.
Do whatever He tells you. Listen to your Mother. Turn to her as the couple did at Cana. She knew their need before they even recognized and she pleaded for them. And Our Lord, her Son, complied.
I remember digesting the coverage of the trial of Cardinal Pell several years ago. It was obvious to me at the time that the whole thing was a massive set-up. What was not obvious were factors that would emerge in subsequent years. For instance, it now seems probably that Vatican entities connected with Cardinal Becciu wired money from the Vatican to Victoria to affect the outcome of the late Cardinal Pell’s prosecution. As a side note, what I’m saying here is that, to me, it looks like Becciu was working to get Pell locked up to get him out of the way. Remember, Pell was a Vatican financial watchdog and Becciu was wiring money to his charities run by his brother to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to other shady investments. Pell was convicted and spent So Cardinal Pell was grievously wronged, right? Pell spent time in prison, forbidden to offer Mass, until Australian courts vacated his conviction. And then he returned to Rome.
And then there’s the Pell with questionables. Pell was celebrated in Trad(inc.) circles and to some extent he did emit a certain orthodox flair. He was staunchly opposed to ending priestly celibacy. Woohoo. That qualifies as orthodox these days? On the other hand (and I promise to look find the exact clip), Malachi Martin, in one of his Bernard Janzen interviews, describes by name a young Bishop Pell as a dangerous man who spouts whatever the current company line is. That section of the interview was actually a lot more damning for Pell than I just wrote. Seriously, I promise to locate the clip. It’s worth a listen. Pell was said to be difficult to work with, the kind of man most people wouldn’t mind seeing fall from grace due to his temperament. Granted that was several years back and serving thirteen months in prison for a crime one didn’t commit might certainly humble a man. One final point on the dubious creds of the cardinal… Here’s a quote I came across from a debate with Richard Dawkins that was televised in 2012. There are Pell’s own words.
“Adam and Eve are terms – what do they mean: life and earth. It’s like every man. That’s a beautiful, sophisticated, mythological account. It’s not science but it’s there to tell us two or three things. First of all that God created the world and the universe. Secondly, that the key to the whole of universe, the really significant thing, are humans and, thirdly, it is a very sophisticated mythology to try to explain the evil and suffering in the world.”
“A sophisticated, mythological account?” Thanks for the solid, Your Eminence. When you meet Adam and Eve, I hope they’re not too “mythologically” disappointing to you.
And then today I read accounts of his funeral in Rome. A “simple” affair. According to the Register, simple funerals for cardinals are the order of the day in the Vatican. I looked at the story and saw the picture of Pell’s casket resting on the floor. How odd. It certainly seemed like a final slap in the face to the man. Not even a bier? This reminded me of the time when my brother-in-law died two years ago and my sister asked me and another brother-in-law to be pall bearers. My other brother-in-law asked, “Just to be clear, you wanted us to be pall bearers or honorary pall bearers?” As she lit a Virginia Slim 120, my sister replied, “For God’s sake, the damn thing’s on wheels. It’s all honorary.” I get what they’re doing. They did it with Benedict. Let’s minimize the funeral and thereby minimize the life.
Nonetheless, it raises several questions and not enough answers for me. Cardinal Pell. Was he a complicated man? Was he orthodox? A Francis-loving (and thus heretic-loving) leftie? He was certainly a victim of politics and a man unjustly imprisoned and for that I hold him in some esteem. For the good things he said and did, I regard him kindly. For the things he said and did that fly in the face of orthodoxy, I think I feel compelled to offer prayers for him. You see, Cardinal Pell, may he rest in peace, seemed like so many others of the post-Vatican II Church. A fan of the phenomenologist JPII and a “Fwanciss is definitely pope, stupid” curial member, he also authored the “Demos Memo” telling the Cardinals what to do in the next conclave to eliminate the Bergoglian threat to the Church. Man, this guy was all over the map! If any of you can figure him out, please let me know.
Meanwhile I will offer this prayer for him.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
Today at Mass, Fr. gave a little sermon. He’s a baby priest, newly ordained. I love this guy. He’s joyful and holy – a knockout combination. In his sermon for this feast of Our Lord’s Baptism he mentioned that each of us should celebrate our own baptismal day because it was the most important day of our lives. He also assumed that most of us don’t know much about that day.
Fortunately, yours truly knows all about it. January 15, 1978. I became a Christian. It was Super Bowl Sunday. My twin sister and I were robed in white. Unfortunately the Cowboys won. Oh well, at least I was received into the Church.
If you don’t know the exact date, I encourage you to find out. Find out and then celebrate. This Sunday I will do just that.
This dog is beat tonight so instead of my usual pontificating, I thought I’d share something actually worthwhile. I came across this meditation last night and found it to be incredibly moving. Enjoy.
It’s been a minute since I’ve don’t a general stockpot of mixed thoughts under specially-fonted headings. In a crossword puzzle this would be called an “oleo”. Let’s kick off, shall we?
Ask and Ye Shall Receive
Yesterday I posted a request for “non-squishy” novena prayers to St. Joseph. I woke up this morning to a number of emails from dear readers who did not disappoint. Thank you one and all! Now I have to decide which one I will begin praying. I spent part of my day just replying to each of you who sent something and if I missed anyone I apologize. I will get to you very soon. The important thing is that I have options. I love St. Joseph. I am trying to grow in devotion to this great man. As a husband and father, he is my patron. Thank you again and know that there will be more on this in the days to come.
Latin is Still Killing
Any of you fellow homeschoolers will know the struggle. We’re trying to get some loose ends wrapped up before beginning the third quarter in earnest next week. Coming back from Christmas break is hard but it had to be done. The kids and I tackled our Latin exams today. The following actual conversation may have taken place:
“Son, why did the Gauls hate the Romans?”
“Um… because they were French and they hate everyone?”
It’s hard for me to fault him on that one. We’ll go for half-credit.
Saying Thank You
Didn’t I just say thanks above? See paragraph 1. Tonight I had the pleasure of visiting with a small group of fellow parishioners. After the meeting I stepped outside because I am a slave to Phillip Morris. In the dimly lit exterior corridor outside the hall, a gentleman approached and asked if he could join me as he drew a long stemmed pipe from his pocket. As he stepped into the light I instantly recognized him. You would too. I won’t mention his name here but it should be TradeMarked. We proceeded to have a very pleasant conversation. Tobacco does that. Of course, I introduced myself using my real name. To my surprise, he had heard of me (under my real name). Before he turned his attention to one of his fans who had also approached, I was able to get in these words:
“You know, you were instrumental in bringing me into the Latin Mass.” He looked genuinely puzzled and replied, “How so?” “Your videos,” I answered. If he happens to see this, he should drop me a line. I’d love to carry on the conversation anytime. I rather enjoyed it.
Sometimes the “Separated Brethren” Don’t Get It Too Wrong
I am a fan of English chorale music. Since this is the month of the Holy Name of Jesus – the only name by which we may be saved – I’m dropping a video of a very nice arrangement of one of my favorite hymns, albeit sung by the choristers of the First Pentecostal Church of the Redeemer Almighty or something like that. Good voices are good voices. Pray for their conversion. And you really can’t beat that pipe organ.
Still better than David Haas.
That’s a wrap for this Wednesday night. Remember to stop every time you pass a crucifix and bless yourself. I’ve started doing that and it has had the most phenomenal effect on my spirit.
Folks, I got off all that social media nonsense a while ago. Sorry but I'm not on Twitbook, Facepalm, YouHu, WingWang or any of the others. Maybe an event will happen to make me change my mind like Peter and Paul coming down with flaming swords and commanding it be so. Until then, read the blog and if you feel a comment is in order or you feel like sharing a tip or suggestion for a topic, email me at harvey@harveymillican.com.
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 