Returning to Beauty

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church (FSSP), Littleton, CO

This was my view this morning. God be praised! And even though every other driver on I-25 appeared to be higher than Wiz Kahlifa, the natural scenery of the surrounding area is unbeatable.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us!

What She Said…

Ann nails it again.

A Cathedral with an Identity Crisis

Today I visited a place that probably should not exist – Salt Lake City’s Catholic Cathedral. I say it shouldn’t exist because it’s Salt Lake City, but then again, I have been surprised, to say the least, by my first trip to this city. You see, one thinks of the place as a haven for the bizarre LDS (Mormons). And it is true that the Mormons do have an outsized presence here. But it has been clear to me in just 24 hours that SLC is something akin to Austin in Texas – the ultra liberal outlier in a somewhat conservative state.

For instance, my wife and I went out to dinner today for our anniversary. I asked the woman at the front desk for recommendations. She sent us to a trendy restaurant covered in the garish flag with the multiple colors. But I digress…

The Cathedral of the Madeleine claims to be the only cathedral in the US named after Mary Magdalene. The cathedral was dedicated in 1909 and possesses all the beauty it should for that time period. The stained glass windows in particular are quite impressive, depicting the glorious and joyful mysteries of the rosary. Of course, in the 1990’s the bishop of this place “brought the cathedral in line with Vatican II”. That’s a quote from the pamphlet they have in the back of the church. It simply means he attempted to wreck the place. Somehow he did not totally succeed. What he did (at least to my perception) was to wall off the original sanctuary with a chancel screen to create a “Eucharistic chapel” while building a new altar out in the center of the transept. He also commissioned a local artist to make new stations. The only thing is that there are way more than 14 of these in the church. Again, according to the pamphlet, they wanted to follow the stations that were “approved by the Vatican” in 1975. These are not rightly stations but rather the whole of the Passion and thus include the 14 stations. The artist apparently thought that making Our Lord look like an extra in the Planet of the Apes was a great tribute.

Take a look for yourself.

Take a closer look at that picture with what looks like a wood and glass spire inside the building. That’s their tabernacle.

St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!

Now This Is Just Strange

The Trad Dad has found himself bunked down for the night in… wait for it…

Mormon Central?

Indeed, I am in Salt Lake City of all places.

This should be interesting.

In the meantime, I saw bison a-plenty yesterday including this fella’ in the parking lot of my hotel.

A most special day for yours truly is almost upon us and it isn’t my birthday. It is the cause of my joy these past few weeks (months) of travel and I thank God for this every day. More to come.

St. Fiona, pray for us!

May They Rest in Peace

The city of Newark, NJ lost two of their bravest last week.

Agusto Acabou and Wayne Brooks, Jr. were veteran firemen who lost their lives battling a blaze on a cargo ship at the Port of Newark. Newark is my hometown and one of my nephews is a fireman there himself.

May I ask that all who read this offer a rosary for the repose of their souls?

I tease my nephew often about his job. It seems lately there haven’t been any major fires to fight. But I know how gut wrenching these deaths are to all who have loved ones in the department and to the brother firefighters of these brave men.

Stay confessed!

Stay confessed!

Stay confessed!

Also, while we’re on the subject of praying for the dead… This past Sunday marked three years since my brother took his life. Please pray for his soul as well.

I am still angry. I’m angry that he did what he did. I’m angry he left his wife to find him like that. I’m angry at every politician and “expert” who locked him up for months due to a “pandemic”. No one will ever convince me that the lockdowns didn’t contribute heavily to his suicide. If I make it to heaven by God’s grace and if my brother happens to have escaped the flames of hell; I intend to clock him over the head for this. If nothing else, what he did has served as the impetus for me to fast more and to offer my prayers than I ever have.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them!

May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Travel Disruptions

Limited service where I am the next two days. Until then, please keep me in your prayers for safe travels.

I had a snowball fight with my kids today. It’s July. God is amazing.

What a Day…

We ran into fellow parishioners from our home parish a thousand miles away this morning. The Trad World is a small world. Kind of makes one wonder why it’s destruction is the centerpiece of the Argentine’s agenda. Scratching head…

Let’s see… what else did we do today? Oh, we crossed off two more states from our list. This brings the total to 45! And I can attest after today that there is no shortage of land on this earth.

Oh yes, I stood on the geographic center of the nation today!

And oh yes, Bergoglio appointed 21 new cardinals including the disgusting faggot he recently named head of doctrine. I think when I get home I will put a red hat on my Jack Russell Terrier and start calling him Eminence. as always, Barnhardt has the best analysis of the story here.

I particularly like and agree with her take that Bergoglio never held the papacy begin with and therefore could not have “lost it”.

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us!