Treading in the footsteps of the Roman Empire

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+ Feast of Thomas Becket

Feast of the Holy Innocents

Christmas Photo Journal

Preparing the Christmas Tree on the 23rd -- Last strains of O Come O Come Emmanuel



Synthetic tree this year: Note to self, back to real next year



Decorated out



Yum, eggnog



The Traditional Christmas Vigil Procession with the Baby Jesus



Sophia carries the Baby Jesus again this year



Christopher reads one of the Gospel accounts of Our Blessed Lord's Nativity

Christmas Room: The Divine Infant is always good to us (through many generous family members)

Made soft by the good deeds of our Advent Angels, the Baby Jesus is placed in the crib

Christmas Carols and Happy Birthday

The beautifully decorated altar with the newly finished archwork along the back wall 

Christmas Midnight Mass

All Hail the Newborn King!

Christmas Dinner

Reason 10,457 Why It Is Great to be a Catholic

Yesterday was only the FIRST day of Christmas.

Happy Feast of St. Stephen!

Do thou also kneel down--thou hast delayed too long.  Adore the Lord thy God, and then, reverence His Mother, and salute with much respect the saintly old man Joseph.  After this, kiss the feet of the Infant Jesus, laid as He is on His little bed, and ask our Lady to give Him to thee, or permit thee to take Him up.  Take Him into thine arms, press Him to thy heart, and look well at His lovely face, and reverently kiss Him, and show Him confidently the delight thou takest in Him.  Thou mayest venture on all this, because it is for sinners that He came, that He might save them: it was with sinners that He so humbly conversed, and at last gave Himself to sinners, that He might be their food.  I say, then, that His gentle love will permit thee to treat Him as affectionately as thou pleasest, and will not call it too much freedom, but will set it down to thy love. 

-St. Bonaventure

Gloria in Excelsis Deo

Catholic Christmas Eve Customs

If Advent preparations have been handled well, the house should be clean, work should be done, and things should be fresh and ready for 12 days of rejoicing! Once the sun goes down on Christmas Eve, the Yule log is lit in the fireplace. Back when homes had great fireplaces, fires were lit on Christmas Eve using logs so huge as to be able to burn for all the days of Christmas. These Yule logs now tend to be much smaller, but the traditions surrounding them remain: the fire on Christmas Eve should be lit using a piece of last year's Yule Log. In Provence, the Yule log is lit with great ceremony. The Grandfather will pour sweet wine over it three times while saying:

Alègre! Alègre! Alègre! Que nostre Segne nous alègre!

S’un autre an sian pas mai, moun Dieu fugen pas men!

Which means:

Joy! Joy! Joy! May God bring us joy!

And if, in the year to come, we are not more, let us not be less!

Then he and the youngest child carry the log three times around the Christmas table before taking it to the fireplace. Alas, fireplaces are less common than they once were, but if you have no fireplace, a decorated log can be used as a centerpiece, as is done in Italy where the log is known as a "ceppo."

While the Yule log burns, a candle is put in the window. This is an old Irish custom stemming from the Protestant persecutions: the candle signalled to priests that the home was a safe place for Mass to be offered, but when the English asked questions, they were told that it was a symbolic invitation to Joseph and Mary.

The Christ candle -- a large white candle decorated with holly and such -- is lit for Christmas Eve Supper, replacing the Advent wreath. It is re-lit each night until the Epiphany to represent Christ's Light and in order to help guide the Magi to the manger. The greenery of the Advent wreath itself is now decorated and hanged on the front door, remaining there throughout the Christmas season.


(courtesy Fisheaters)

December 23, The Last O Antiphon

Ten Reasons to Reject Socialism

It is good to be reminded of the salient points of Socialism and why it must be vigorously opposed at every turn. Viewing these "ten reasons" gives cause to shudder when one realizes how far socialist principles have already become ingrained in the fabric of the United States. Americans are gradually being converted without even realizing it in most cases.   If one claims to be Christian, then Socialism by its nature is a vile enemy. Socialism = Communism.

Love sought is good, but given unsought better.

We will draw the curtain and show you the picture

Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,

If music be the food of love, play on;

O Antiphons

The O Antiphons begin today as we continue the brisk march to the Feast of Our Blessed Lord's Nativity.  I am in Illinois to bring Andrew and several other La Salette Academy boys home for Christmas.  Happy Birthday to my dear sister who has now reached the ripe age of 30. 

Michael Matt Nails It Again

Recently, while on an airplane somewhere over the Atlantic I was struck by the realization that what looms largest in the path of Catholic restoration is not first and foremost rampant Christophobia or even anti-Christian presidents and legislators—faithless leaders of faithless men. Our fiercest foe is the damnable apathy that has become the hallmark of the Catholic people. Not much sleep is being lost in Catholicland these days over the fall of Christendom, the denial of the rights of God, the eradication of Catholic identity, or the international rejection of the social Kingship of Christ.


Apathetic and jaded, we, like the rest of the “enlightened” ones, tend to give little thought to the reasons why God put us on this earth. Reduced to wage slaves in computerized salt mines, most of us spend every waking moment laboring just to keep that bit of turf we’ve managed to mortgage to the hilt here in Utopia. Enslaved people who fancy themselves free wouldn’t even try to escape. So it stands to reason that--enslaved by liberty--apathy has become our lot. Besides, we’re still eating... a lot! And football and NASCAR are bigger than any circus ever conceived of in ancient Rome... Read More Here

Facing Down the Hypocrisy of "Tolerance"

No doubt, many have seen this by now but it is worth posting here. Imagine if we had politicians in this country with half this Austrian MP's guts.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Festival

Some skilled coordinators put together a fun parish festival to honor the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A few pictures and video clips follow.



Joseph plays Blessed Miguel Pro




Meghan and Amanda enter their Ski Slope Cake in the baking contest




Joshua plays a villain




Children listening to the story of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego




The miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Juan Diego's Tilma that baffles scientists to this day




A 'Tea Party' table with nibbles symbolic of the Feast





Christopher with the Christmas Basket that he won at the Silent Auction




Games for all



Keep a bean suctioned to the end of a straw and place it in a bucket a few yards away

Play of the Cristeros Martyrs in Mexico

Put on a pair of gloves, find a Hershey's Kiss, Unwrap, Eat, and Run Home

Happy Gaudete Sunday

Steve Wozniak on Technology

I just read an interesting interview with Steve Wozniak, or “The Woz” as he is affectionately known among computer geeks. For those who do not know who Steve Wozniak is, he created the first Apple Computer in his garage in the 1970s and helped launch the personal computer “Revolution” (as he calls it) along with Steve Jobs who, along with Wozniak, founded Apple Computer, Inc. Wozniak can justly be called one of the Founding Fathers of modern technology.


I find several things that Wozniak says in this article interesting. He reminisces that the digital lifestyle can “sometimes turn rotten”. Speaking about the proliferation of computers and gadgets he states “we’re depended on it … And eventually, we are going to have it doing every task we can in the world, so we can sit back and relax.” From a social/communications perspective, he observes that we no longer go to other people when we have questions: “You used to ask a smart person a question. Now, who do you ask? It starts with g-o, and it's not God.” With regards to the dependability of technology, “"Little things that work one day; they don't work the next day. I think it's much harder today than ever before to basically know that something you have ... is going to work tomorrow … Everything has a computer in it nowadays; everything with a computer is going to fail. The solution is: kill the people who invented these things."

And despite these lucid observations, what solutions does Wozniak propose to the technological conundrum that is essentially dumbing us down, turning us in on ourselves, making us soft and lazy, and frustrating us to no end with its lack of reliability? Well, nothing. It seems for Wozniak, the solution is more gadgets. He carries anywhere from five to ten cell phones on him at once. Unlike Victor Frankenstein in Shelley’s novel whose epiphany concerning the evil of his creation drives him to seek its final destruction, I doubt that Wozniak will ever ultimately condemn the monster that is now running amuck and threatening civilization. The difference is, unlike in Frankenstein, the world screams for and gorges itself on the monster, and its creators continue to reap the resulting fame and fortune.


Lest I leave the impression that I am anti-technology, technology is my business. I am against what technology has become, as Wozniak states himself: “All of a sudden, we've lost a lot of control … We can't turn off our internet; we can't turn off our smartphones; we can't turn off our computers." This means that we cannot think. We cannot reflect. We cannot contemplate. We cannot bear silence. We cannot find God. We cannot pray. Dare I say we cannot be human?

Who Are You, Immaculate Conception?

The creature most completely filled with this love, filled with God Himself, was the Immaculata, who never contacted the slightest stain of sin, who never departed in the least from God’s will. United to the Holy Spirit as His spouse, she is one with God in an incomparably more perfect way than can be predicated of any other creature.


What sort of Union is this? It is above all an interior union, a union of her essence with the “essence” of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in her; lives in her. This was true from the first instance of her existence. It was always true and it will always be true.


And in what does this life of the Spirit in Mary consist? He Himself is uncreated Love in her; the Love of the Father and of the Son, the Love by which God loves Himself, the very love of the Most Holy Trinity. She is a fruitful Love, a “Conception.” Among creatures made in God’s image, the union brought about by married love is the most intimate of all. In a much more precise, more interior, more essential manner, the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the Immaculata, in the depths of her very being. He makes her fruitful, from the very first instance of her existence, all during her life, and for all eternity.


This eternal “Immaculate Conception” [the Holy Spirit] produces in an immaculate manner Divine life itself in the womb or depths of Mary’s soul, making her the Immaculate Conception, the human Immaculate Conception. And the virginal womb of Mary’s body is kept sacred for Him; there He conceives in time the human life of the Man-God.


… she, the Immaculata, grafted into the Love of the Blessed Trinity, becomes, from the first moment of her existence and forever afterwards, the “complement of the Blessed Trinity.” In the Holy Spirit’s union with Mary we observe more than the love of two beings… . … in this union, Heaven and Earth are joined; all of Heaven with the Earth, the totality of eternal love with the totality of created love. It is truly the summit of love.


- Saint Maximilian Kolbe

The New Mass versus The True Mass

I am posting a talk given by Thomas Gabriel, the National President of the League of the Kingship of Christ, at a recent conference.  In it, Mr. Gabriel  argues that the abandonment of solid Catholic doctrine and the Social Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ made the New Mass possible and makes it possible for it to continue.  Throughout the Church's history, her doctrines have been under constant attack.  Mr. Gabriel goes on to rightly assert that the difference now is, unlike the pre-conciliar popes, the post-conciliar popes have stopped fighting.

In addition, as a retired NYC policeman and now detective, Mr. Gabriel reveals some valuable insights concerning the state of our culture due to man's departure from God.
   
This edifying talk is well worth the time to listen and further embolden our efforts to re-establish all things in Christ.

The Devastating Effects of the Novus Ordo Mass (Thomas Gabriel):

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas

As I left home this morning, I noted quite a number of shoes all lined up hoping for some treats on St. Nicholas day.

Just in Time for Christmass

A new recording of the The Nutcracker conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and performed by the Berlin Philharmonic is now available.  The Limited Edition version (available from Amazon.com) is complete with a book that contains a number of historical and musical points of interest.  Below is a promo featuring Sir Simon Rattle and a few of those very points.

LKC Conference

This past weekend, our local chapter of The League of the Kingship of Christ (founded in Ireland in 1926 as a response to Pius XI's encyclical Quas Primas) invited Fr. Peter Scott to give a conference on Americanism. As a start to its definition, Americanism is not simple patriotism for one's country, but rather the idea that one can divorce his public life, and what he says and does in that public life, from his faith. Fundamentally, it is a direct attack on the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by removing Him and His Law from the public sphere of human activity.  The conference drilled further down into the definition and consequences, explored its historical roots and progress from the beginning of the French Revolution, and ended with ideas for how it can be combatted.

Recordings of the conference can be obtained by contacting me at FidelityInAction@gmail.com. Fr. Scott's Sunday Sermon is available in the sermon links.

Padre Pio Footage

Here is some beautiful rare footage of Padre Pio. The camera is not taken too kindly in the monastery, with the cameraman taking a nice whipping with Padre's cord at the end of the segment.



I believe Padre Pio is the most recent saint to have received the stigmata, the visible wounds of Christ. At least I should say the most recent saint that is known. His recounting of its reception:

On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. [...] I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of 5 August. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday. Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will He at least free me from the embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring Him until in His mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation.

Circa Hickman

"The Bruise Brothers"  - 2001

The start of the Advent Season this past Sunday



And a Happy Feast of St. Andrew and prayerful wishes to our son on his name day.

As one of the twelve apostles, Andrew was very close to Our Lord during His public life; he was present at the Last Supper; beheld the risen Lord; witnessed the Ascension; shared in the graces and gifts of the first Pentecost, and helped, amid threats and persecution, to establish the Faith in Palestine.

He was crucified by order of the Roman Governor, Aegeas at Patrae in Achaia, and was bound, not nailed, to the cross, in order to prolong his sufferings. He was martyred during the reign of Nero, on November 30, 60 A.D.

St. Andrew's relics were transferred from Patrae to Constantinople, and deposited in the church of the Apostles there, about 357 A.D. When Constantinople was taken by the French, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, Cardinal Peter of Capua brought the relics to Italy and placed them in the cathedral of Amalfi, where most of them still remain.
St. Andrew is honored as the chief patron saint of both Russia and Scotland. He is also the patron saint of fishermen.