Here’s a bit of humor for you… Friday evening at Mass, I thought Father was having a stroke. Real funny, right? No… Here’s what happened. I had diligently set my ribbons for the feast of St. Thomas of Villanova. If you’re following along, that’s one ribbon for the propers – which in this case is just the collect because at that point one is directed to take the rest of the propers from the Mass “Statuit” of a confessor. So at this point I do what every daily Mass-goer with a Missal does. I reach into the back of my missal for the “big guns”. In this case, I’m talking about holy cards that I use when I’ve run out of ribbons. Tonight, it was “Sister Wilhelmina” with the “Dedication of the Immaculata” being used for backup.
I placed the book down on the pew, cool and confident that I was prepared to pray the Mass. I mean, the purple veil cloth covering the tabernacle was a minor distraction for the feast day since it says “white” in my book. No worries. I’m sure the altar boy will get an earful after Mass for his mistake.
Then Father and his entourage stepped into the sanctuary. Hmm… He’s wearing purple as well. OK, must be a votive Mass. I was all set here and he’s going to mess around with me. Of course, it’s personal.
It took me until the Gospel to remember that it was Ember Friday. I quietly tucked Sister Wilhelmina into the back of the missal and moved on.
The reason I thought Father was having a stroke? It seems that even he, despite being vested in violet and all that jazz, also forgot it was an Ember Day. He begin to pray Psalm 42 which should be omitted at a penitential Mass. The altar boys began to reply. Father began the next verse. Then he caught himself, stopped midway through the line about sending “forth Thy light and the truth”. I think it was actually in between deduxerunt and adduxerunt. He froze for about three seconds or one Mitch McConnell. Then he hurriedly jumped to the “Gloria Patri”. And so you see that even the experts mess it up occasionally.
The Communion verse today at Mass (Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost):
“O Lord, I will be mindful of Thy justice alone: Thou hast taught me from my youth, and unto old age and gray hairs, O God forsake me not.”
I have to admit I chuckled aloud as I eyeballed this one in my missal as Father was reading it at the altar.
For the record, my hair – what’s left of it – is still the same golden blonde my mother and all the Saxons, Scots, Dane, and Jutes seeded through the centuries as the day I was born. It’s the beard that’s turned stark white. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. And He has the best sense of humor.
It’s a good thing I have a Y chromosome and don’t really care about these things.
In other news, I’ve seen a few of my favorite bloggers post this of late so I thought I’d chime in. Like them, I also counted myself blessed when I saw an email from Frank Walker a few days ago letting me know that he was on the mend. God bless this man. God keep him with us for many years. I can never express my gratitude to him not only for what he does every day but for his own personal kindness to me.
Keep praying, friends. Frank has plenty more “gray hairs” yet to sprout.
Tonight I was blessed to attend a sung Mass for Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows. Following this I returned the church for an hour of Adoration. Earlier I had been to confession.
We don’t know when these things we take for granted may be snatched away from us again.
First, a note of sadness and a note of hope… Today was almost depressing for me (and probably a bit for you too). Seeing the now-bare front page of Canon212 left me empty. It meant I had to do my own work in finding the “news of the Church and of the world”. I hope and pray for Frank’s complete recovery (as I know you do as well). He was in my intentions at Mass this evening. That is where there is hope. Frank, if you read this, know that you are loved and missed. Please be well, my friend; but don’t take too long coming back to us.
Today was also a bit of a blur. You see My daughter and I went for our annual eye exam. We’re both blind. And I learned something today. Don’t take your monthly preventative dose of the injectible solution Vitamin I the night before a scheduled eye exam. Yeah, I’ll probably wind up with a prescription for Mr. Magoo.
Now then, on to pressing matters. If Frank had been at his post today I believe he would have run a magnificent headline like this: “Pillarboys say Vicar of Sacked Bishops Urged to Oust Catholic Bishop Strickland for Opposing Non-Catholic Bergoglio” At least, that’s how I would write it up. Frank would have also included a reference to the “Perv” and/or “Floaty” German episcopate. Somehow Frank would manage to make it pithier. And here is the story it would link to:
Oh boy, here we go again. Another Catholic bishop is about to be ousted by the antipope and there doesn’t appear to be anything we can do about it. Oh well, guess we’ll lose a good one. Bishop Strickland was a good man who did his best but there’s nothing we can do…
And they’ll say those things because they’ve forgotten they’re men.
Because there may be something the good bishop can do after all. I’ve alluded to this in the past. A lawyer friend of mine (one of the best in the nation, no joke) first mentioned this idea to me over a year ago and I asked him to flesh it out. He’s been busy. But today he sent me the following. I’ve asked his permission to copy much of it verbatim and he has consented. So Bishop Strickland, if you’re reading, hit ctrl+p now because you’ll want a copy for your notes. Here now, some unsolicited advice from a solicitor.
“The Faithful should know how their diocese is run. This can be accomplished by all dioceses incorporating documents online on their websites. Before that happens (which will be never), we can at least assume one thing, that many, if not all of Catholic dioceses in the United States, are corporation soles. If I recall from law school a decade ago….. if the Tyler diocese is a Corporation Sole and if the Bishop of Tyler decides not to resign, there is likely no way for the Vatican to divest him, assuming he is of all the property held by the corporation sole, i.e. all of the Church property. The Bishop could even ban visitors from the property, have them physically removed by law enforcement or private security, and sue them for trespass if they are told they cannot enter but do anyway. And because of our First Amendment, the Vatican can’t do anything to stop this. See, e.g., Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. E.E.O.C., 565 U.S. 171 (2012).
The Bishop of Tyler perhaps made a mistake by not barring the visitors from his property, or making clear behind the scenes that he would. He could indicate that now behind the scenes, that he will not relinquish control of the corporation sole if they ask him to resign or even “fire” him (as much as the Pope can). He will just have to decide if that is a bluff or not, and if he is willing to suffer the acrimony if the Vatican “call his bluff” and he stands his ground, and all the claims of scandal, etc.
Of course, this depends on whether Tyler is a corporation sole, the text of the incorporating documents, and whether the Corporation Sole is held by whomever is the current Bishop of Tyler. This is a sort of fly by the seat legal analysis based on memories of law school classes from a decade ago, so mileage may vary. But there are lawyers out there who know in greater detail, and it is definitely something that should be looked into and maybe thought about by the Bishop. Francis has given China power to pick its bishops, Francis is perhaps the most medieval style pope [sic, not the pope] we’ve had in centuries, so it would make sense for Bishops to likewise approach Church politics in a, shall we say, more medieval fashion.
I cannot add to that. It may all come to naught but at least it’s a shot (and a rather manful one at that).
St. Joseph, Terror of Demons, pray for us!
PS: I had a good chuckle when I read that the Argentine is considering giving the Texan the boot because of the “public scandal” he (Strickland) is supposedly causing, calling out the non-Catholic Bergoglio as he should. Good job, Jorge. Now do the German bishops or just look in a mirror.
Let’s apply these two statements to another situation at hand, my fellow trad Catholic men. I’m talking about a situation so diabolical, so filled with perverts, so thoroughly infiltrated by men pretending to be something they are not and never will be…
The Bergoglian Antipapacy.
“I just did something. I told you the truth.”
It took a virile woman – Ann Barnhardt – to really drive home this truth to me. There are others too but her presentation on the subject was top notch. And remember that virility is a virtue that all men and women are called to practice. Speak the truth manfully. Do not be afraid.
“You are a man! Start acting like a man!”
See, in the video the truth-teller exhorts the perv to act like who he was created to be. Poor grammatical construction, I know; but you get the point.
Now let’s combine the two.
Imagine, knowing the truth about the matter and loving the Bride of Christ enough to actually stand up publicly and manfully and to shout at the heretics, the Freemasons, the diabolical minions – especially of the Trad Inc variety – and tell them the TRUTH.
We cannot be afraid. As in, “You are not the pope!” or even something as simple as, “You are a successor of the Apostles. Start acting like one!” or we could go with, “Cardinal Burke do your job!”
But maybe that’s too much to ask.
Oh and Happy Birthday, Most Glorious Virgin Mary, Fairest of Our Race, my Queen and my Mother!
Our Lady of Copacabana. It was her birthday today! Maybe as a gift she’ll slay a few demons.
Since the birthday of his spouse is almost upon us, here again one of the most beloved prayers to this great saint.
“O ST. JOSEPH, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in thee all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph, assist me by thy powerful intercession and obtain for me all spiritual blessings through thy foster Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, so that, having engaged here below thy heavenly power, I may offer thee my thanksgiving and homage.
O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating thee and Jesus asleep in thine arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near thy heart. press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath.
St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for me.”
With apologies to the late Helen Reddy for, I don’t know, something…
Let’s talk about the title. Earlier today I was perusing a blog I read frequently. If you’ve never checked out Dymphna’s Road, I suggest you give it a gander. In her most recent piece, the author drops a little nugget at the end about the repulsive reprobate faggot Theodore McCarrick.
Let me state this again in case anyone reading this page doesn’t know. From 1996-2001 I was a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Newark where old Teddy was the Archbishop. I have heard the line tossed about before: “Everyone knew!” And I can assure you on my twin sister’s grave that some of us definitely did not know. I was 18 when I entered and 23 when I was given the boot just two days after 9/11 for, as near as I can tell, not being a friend of Dorothy? Oh sure, the stated reason was that I had refused an assignment. You’re damn right I did. I had been sent to serve in a parish with a priest-supervisor of a more-than-shady reputation. I turned in my keys within the hour and walked away. You see, when I clearly recognized a dangerous man I immediately determined to have nothing to do with him. I did not care about my future ecclesiastical career nor about what others thought of me.
And that was because of one low-level priest!
Holy Martyrs of England and Wales Catholic Church (Anglican Ordinariate), Murietta, CA – submitted by a reader.
My friends, believe me, if I had known about the boss, I would have blown the whistle. I don’t front and I never have.
But how, you ask, could you not have known?! Everyone knew!
Again, that statement is true enough but not 100% accurate.
You know who knew? I’ll tell you who.
Fr. Boniface Ramsey knew and he tried to do something but the Nuncio (at the time, I believe it was Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo) did nothing.
And you know who else knew?
Friends of mine, brother seminarians.
They told me after the fact about things that Teddy had done to them.
Creepy things like requesting them specifically to serve as his weekend driver and then, when they pulled up to the residence at 89 Ridge, Teddy would creepily put his hand upon their knee, complimenting their appearance.
What did those friends do?
Nothing. Although, not long after, they “left formation” (dropped out of the seminary), presumably disgusted by what they had witnessed and probably a little unsure that anyone would ever believe them. See, these were the guys who were genuinely shocked and probably a bit embarrassed.
And then of course there were those who, in hindsight, were absolutely gaming the system. They were in bed with him in every sense. They knew and they were never going to spill the beans, let alone to little old me who they knew to be as straight-laced as they come.
But me?
I like to imagine that I was just too innocent. Perhaps naive? I could explain it from a two pronged front.
1). McCarrick knew of my family. In fact he knew everything about everyone if it interested him. He knew that my dad was the real deal. In other words, I had been raised in a stable, two-parent home where my father protected us and my mother stayed home and all that jazz. I had no underlying pysch issues. No divorce, no abuse, no nothin’. And I also didn’t have a questionable immigration status like half of the sems. No, sir. I was born in New Jersey and thank God for that.
2). On the day I entered formation, my mother took me aside. “Son,” she said, “Promise me you’ll pray a Memorare every day for the rest of your life. Blessed Mother will protect you.” I didn’t know what she meant and I’m not sure how she would have known what I was getting into, but I kept my word – even to today. And Blessed Mother kept me safe.
So the crux here is that if Teddy didn’t want you to know, you didn’t know. I’m not complaining. I made it through relatively unscathed.
Ooh! I forgot the best part!
3). I was a smoker. Rebel homeschooler here… When I started college, I decided making friends with Joe Camel would boost my image. Then I realized that I like the stuff. McCarrick detests smokers. Apparently we’re not fit for his consumption. Again, in the summer of 2018, Mom told me that she always knew those cancer sticks would come to good use. “Smoking,” she said at the time, “appears to have saved your ass.”
So is Teddy suffering from dimentia? My strong suspicion is that he’s pulling a Chin Gigante. Is it possible he’s actually lost his marbles? Not likely considering Bobby McElroy got a red hat just a year ago and there’s no way that happens without Teddy’s seal of approval. Folks, I have come to believe that he is the most destructive force in the Church short of Bergoglio since Martin Luther. I believe he’s made literal deals with Satan. So no, I don’t think he’s lost his mind. So what’s going on?
Oh yes, Helen Reddy. Best I can figure, he listened to that old Helen Reddy song Angie Baby one too many times.
“It’s so nice to be insane. No one asks you to explain… Teddy Baby.”
St. Joseph, pray for us! And men, stay strong, stay with your famlies, love your wives, be there with and for your kids. Vermin like Teddy might just get the hint. Thank you, Dad!
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 