Monthly Archives: March 2024

Fr. Isaac nails it again. It’s like a beautiful catechism class with a wonderful priest even for those of us who learned the faith as children.

https://www.soti.blog/

New episode. Check out timestamp 8:00.

I have posted this link before, but I think it’s important to remember that we must always continue to pray for the dead.

It’s been a busy few days. Here’s something for your Passiontide meditation.

My teenage daughter, who has the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard, is heavily involved in theater. This is no easy feat considering her mother and I have to carefully select the activities we allow her to be a part of, what with the weirdos in the world.

Keep in mind that yours truly is partially responsible for creating that voice.

Tomorrow is opening night. We’ve been through this before. I bring flowers. It’s a big deal even if it is only Dallas regional theater.

Tonight I told her that I was taking it to a whole new level.

“I’m wearing my tux tomorrow,” I said.

She looked at me cross eyed.

“What?!” she replied with all the typical teenage angst she could muster. “Don’t embarrass me.”

“Sweetheart,” I said, “I created that voice and I’m pretty proud of it.”

Embarrass her? Who me? Never.

For the life of me I don’t understand why people aren’t having kids. They’re so much fun.

Look, toots, your daddy grew up outside New York. His mother took him to see Broadway shows when they weren’t all queered to the hilt. Singing and acting are in our genes. And so is class.

Oh I’m wearing that tux. And I may even jump to my feet at curtain calls and yell, “Bravissimo!!!”

Folks, I live in the “path of totality” for the upcoming April 8 solar eclipse. Like most of the people in this part of the country, I can’t help but be excited about this. I’ve never seen a total solar eclipse. There’s the whole “once in a lifetime” aspect of viewing such a phenomenon. And I’m clearly not the only one expecting something big. Believe it or not, several school districts around here have already canceled classes that day and several counties have preemptively declared states of emergency owing to the fact that those places will be inundated with tourists and thus have their emergency resources stretched thin.

I have begun to notice an uptick in talking heads chattering about the impending “signs and warnings from heaven” associated with this eclipse. For reference, below are just three of unusual coincidences connected to the event.

• April 8 this year is the transferred feast of the Annunciation in both the old and new Roman calendars.
• The path of the eclipse supposedly takes the moon’s shadow over a number of towns named Nineveh.
• The path of the eclipse enters the US near a small town named Jonah which happens to be on the banks of the San Gabriel River.

I didn’t even mention in that list that the world and the Churxh are both in total disarray at present.

I think of Fatima and how Our Lord used the sun to convey His message of repentance and warning. I think of Good Friday and the darkening of the sun and total darkness into which the world was plunged. Obviously it is not out of the realm of possibility that God would use an eclipse to get our attention. Does this mean the world is coming to an end? The smart ass in me wants to say, “Check back in on the 9th and I’ll let you know.”

But if nothing else, should this not be a further nudge to get yourself to confession? Should we not all be practicing acts of penance and mortification?

Eclipse or not, this is still Lent, right?

I’ve been reading a book on the life of St. Joseph by Mother Maria Baij. I highly recommend it. I think the best course of action any of us can take in these or any other times is to do what Joseph did. He would frequently turn to the Mother of God for advice. She happened to be his spouse so her advice was likely more immediate to him. Nonetheless, even after Joseph’s death, his Foster-Son entrusted the whole human race to her right before a solar eclipse.

So turn to Joseph. Turn to Mary. Confess your sins and pray.

Whatever happens, these are never bad things to do.

And check back with me on the 9th. I’ll let you know how things went.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

The title of this post references a quote I have heard attributed to Don Propser Gueranger but may have been uttered by another. I could not quickly find a source for it.

Preaching on Lent, Don Prosper urges more and heroic fasting from Catholics.

“How will it look for you at your judgment when Our Lord asks of you what fasting you offered Him in this life and you have very little or nothing at all to reply? The Mohammedans have their Ramadan and you couldn’t even give me two days…”

So first, don’t ever listen to anyone who discourages you from an heroic practice of fasting. I’m even hearing traditional priests preach recently about the many “exceptions” to fasting one should make use of and that mothers and fathers in the home aren’t called to be Carthusian monks or some such nonsense. Of course we aren’t called to the monastic life. But all are called to sanctity. And correct me if I’m wrong but I thought sanctity was the heroic practice of virtue.

Repeat after me.

Fasting. Will. Not. Kill. Me.

I’ve discovered this great joy (and suffering) too late in my 46 years on this earth as a Catholic. But praised be to God, I have begun to understand.

New York Catholics on the other hand?

Peep this.

I truly don’t like having to refer to a Prince of the Church as a buffoon but I don’t know what else to say when the emperor has no clothes (and apparently no self awareness).

Your Eminence, please, in your desire to be loved in the media capital of the world (I’m just assuming) you are making an ass of yourself and denigrating the Catholic faith. And all of this on the heels of that abomination last month with the “mother of all whores” tranny-fest in your cathedral.

Ramadan is not anything like “our Lenten journey”. For starters, your ilk have watered Lent down to be almost meaningless. Secondly, for those who try to take Lent seriously, it is leading us in bodily practice and prayer to the celebration of Christ’s Passion and Death and our salvation. Compare that with a system who thinks the Second Person of the Trinity, God Incarnate, is inferior to their false god.

Cardinal Dolan, there are three weeks left of Lent. Perhaps give up going on camera. Or speaking.

This book was recommended to me. Although it may be a bit late to get the reading of the text in before the great feast next week (busy lives and all), I highly recommend joining in with the novena prayers found toward the back of the book.

https://archive.org/details/themonthofstjose00languoft/page/236/mode/2up

The book is called The Month of St. Joseph by Most Reverend M. de Langalerie who appears to have been a 19th century prelate from Auch, France.