Happy Feast of Christ the King!

               Today is it august feast of Our King and Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ. May he rule over our house, and most importantly, our country, our Church, and the world.

Catholic Action at a Critical Point in History

The fact that a pope is “liked” by people is completely irrelevant to the two-thousand-year logic of the Church: the pope is the Vicar of Christ on earth and he has to please Our Lord. This means that the exercise of his power is not absolute, but is subordinate to the teaching of Christ, which is found in the Catholic Church, in Her Tradition and fostered by the life of Grace through the Sacraments.


Now, this means that the pope himself can be judged and criticized by the [ordinary] Catholic, on the condition that this happens in the perspective of love for the truth, and that as a criteria of reference, Tradition and the Magisterium are used. A pope contradicting a predecessor in matters of faith and morals has to, without question, be criticized.


We must distrust both the worldly logic where the pope is judged by democratic criteria which satisfies the majority, and the temptation to “papolatry” according to which “the pope is always right.” Furthermore, for decades now we have become used to criticizing many popes from the past in a destructive manner, exhibiting scarce historiographic seriousness; well then, we don’t see why reigning popes or the most recent ones are spared in any way from any type of criticism. If Boniface VII or Pius V are judged why not also judge Paul VI or Francis?


Mario Palmaro

Adirondack Day Out!

        Today Dad and Mom brought us out for a wonderful day; we hiked up Mt. Baker, and afterward went to a restaurant for dinner! Thanks a ton, Mom and Dad! Here are a few pictures: More will added later!

Mary reached the summit!

Amanda and Sophia

A view from the summit.

Amanda and the view

Joe and Josh, hikers

Dad with a group.

Sophia the First

Another shot of Amanda

Mountainside Scene

Dad and Mom with Emilia

Amanda

Wacky Bella

Theresa with her pickle

Dad again

Dad yet again

Bella with her food

Sophia and Bella

More Sophia!

                                Here are some more pictures of Sophia with her Godparents.

Sophia unwrapping some goodies she got from admirers.

                                     

More goodies

Amanda

Sophia's First Holy Communion

     Today is Sophia's First Holy Communion! Her are a few pictures from her ceremony. Expect more later!

The Brown Scapular

Father Soos praying with the Communicants after receiving Our Blessed Lord for the first time.

Sophia, happy, after her First Communion. She is very pretty!

Sophia is the 2nd from the right. This is her with the other First Communicants

Sophia receiving the Brown Scapular.

A Very Happy and Blessed Easter To All!

Laetare Sunday

           

     Laetare Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Lent, and the name Laetare Sunday is taken from the words of the introit, laetare Jerusalem, "rejoice with Jerusalem." There is a joyful tone at this halfway point in the Lenten season. The vestments are often rose-colored (pink). Traditionally, the Apostles Creed is "handed over" to the catechumens, the last step for those preparing for Baptism.

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Laetare Sunday is also called Mothering Sunday, named because a person would visit his "mother church," another name for the church he grew up in, on this day. This day also became connected with visiting one's biological mother on Laetare Sunday. Various customs developed on this Sunday, including the baking of "mother cakes." These cakes are also called "simnel cakes," and sometimes the fourth Sunday of Lent is called Simnel Sunday.

3rd Sunday of Lent

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Lent! Has everyone been good on his/hers resolutions? Laetare Sunday is just a week away! Also, Joe and Amanda are coming home on Tuesday! More then!

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Happy St. David's Day, all you Welsh lovers!

 Swords clashed as the men of Wales fought for hours to protect their land from the Saxon invaders.  But despite their efforts, the Welsh were slowly losing.  In the heat of the battle it was difficult to tell friend from foe.  The fact that both sides wore similar clothing made the fight all the more confusing.

     A monk noticed that this was becoming a grave problem.  As the Welsh lost more and more ground, the monk cried out to them, "Welshmen, you must mark yourselves so that you can better tell who is Saxon and who is Welsh.  The monk plucked a leek plant from the ground and continued, "Here, wear these so you will know that any soldier who does not have a leek is your enemy."

     Some of the soldiers thought this was a rather odd idea, but the monk was one of God's men so they went along with it.  Soon every Welsh soldier was wearing a leek on his helmet.  They attacked the invaders and before long, the Welsh had won                                               the battle.

The monk who came up with the idea of wearing a leek was named David.  David died on March 1st.  After he died, the Catholic Church made him a saint.

St.  David (Dewi Sant in Welsh) is the patron saint of Wales, and March 1, his feast day, is celebrated as a patriotic and cultural festival by the Welsh in Wales and around the world.  The leek is the national flower of Wales.  Welsh people all over the world proudly wear the stalk, flower or a bit of leaf from a leek plant on March 1st.

The welsh leek has a flower much like a daffodil (which is quite a bit easier to find around the world in March), so many use daffodils instead.

Joe and Amanda are going to Arizona!

     Amanda and Joe are going to Arizona, please pray for them as they will be taking several airplanes!


    O Almighty and merciful God, who hast commissioned Thy angels to guide and protect us, command them to be our assiduous companions from our setting out until our return; to clothe us with their invisible protection; to keep from us all danger of collision, of fire, of explosion, of fall and bruises, and finally, having preserved us from all evil, and especially from sin, to guide us to our heavenly home. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

On Temptation

     

                                            "My son, when you come to serve God,

                                                  prepare your soul for temptation."

                                                                  (Sirach) 2:1

This is an admonition of the Sage: "My son, if you intend to serve God, prepare your soul for temptation," for it is an infallible truth that no one is exempt from temptation when he has truly resolved to serve God. This being the case, Our Lord Himself chose to be subjected to temptation in order to show us how we ought to resist it. Thus the Evangelists tell us: He was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted. [Matt. 4:1; Mk. 1:12; Lk. 4:1]. I shall draw lessons from this mystery for our particular instruction, in as familiar a manner as I am able.

In the first place, I note that although no one can be exempt from temptation, still no one should seek it or go of his own accord to the place where it may be found, for undoubtedly he who loves it will perish in it. [Eccles. (Sirach) 3:27]. That is why the Evangelist says that Our Lord was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted; it was not then by His choice (I am speaking with regard to His human nature) that He went to the place of temptation, but He was led by the obedience He owed to His heavenly Father. 

I find in Holy Scripture two young princes who furnish us with examples on this subject. One sought temptation and perished in it. The other, without seeking it, encountered it but left the combat victorious.

At the time when kings should go to war, as his own army faced the enemy, David strolled about on the roof of the king's house, idling his time away as though he had nothing to do. Being idle in this way, he was overcome by temptation. Bethsabee, that inconsiderate lady, went to bathe in a place where she could be seen from the roof of the king's house. Certainly, this was an act of unparalleled imprudence which I cannot excuse, even though several modern writers wish to render it excusable by saying that she did not think of that. To bathe in a place 

where she exposed herself to view from the roof of the royal palace was a very great indiscretion. Whether she thought of it or not, young Prince David began by allowing himself to gaze on her, and then perished in the temptation which he had sought by his idleness and sloth. [2 Kgs. (2 Sam.) 11:1-4]. You see, idleness is a great help to temptation. Never say: "I do not seek it; I am not doing anything." That is enough in order to be tempted, for temptation has a tremendous power over us when it finds us idle. Oh, if David had gone out on campaign at the time that he should have gone, or if he had been engaged in something good, the temptation would not have had the power of attacking him, or at least of overcoming and vanquishing him.

In contrast, young Prince Joseph, who was later viceroy of Egypt, did not seek temptation at all, and so upon meeting it he did not perish in it. He had been sold by his brothers [Gen. 37:28], and his master's wife exposed him to danger. But he had never indulged or heeded the amorous glances of his mistress; rather, he nobly resisted her advances and was victorious, thus triumphing not only over the temptation but also over her who had been the cause of it. [Gen. 39:7-12].

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Lent is upon us!

                                       Sermon for Ash Wednesday, February 9, 1622

     Concerning the spiritual fruits of fasting and the conditions which make fasting pleasing to God: fasting universally, that is, with all the senses and with the understanding, memory, and the appetites of the will how completely the primitive Christians fasted, fasting through humility rather than through vanity, fasting through obedience rather than through self-will, following the community customs in fasting rather than seeking to be singular, fasting only to please God and not for the esteem of men, and the evil of subjecting the commands of God and our superiors to our own human discretion. These first four days of the holy season of Lent serve as a preface to indicate the preparation that we ought to make in order to spend Lent well and to dispose ourselves to fast well. That is why I though of speaking to you, in this exhortation, of the conditions which render fasting good and meritorious. I will speak as briefly and as familiarly as possible, not only today but in the discourses that I will address to you every Thursday during this Lent. All will be as simple and proper for your hearts as I can make them. To treat of fasting and of what is required to fast well, we must, at the start, understand that of itself fasting is not a virtue. The good and the bad, as well as Christians and pagans, observe it. The ancient philosophers observed it and recommended it. They were not virtuous for that reason, nor did they practice virtue in fasting. Oh, no, fasting is a virtue only when it is accompanied by conditions which render it pleasing to God. Thus it happens that it profits some and not others, because it is not undertaken by all in the same manner. We find some people who think that to fast well during the holy season of Lent it is enough to abstain from eating some prohibited food. But this thought is too gross to enter into the hearts of religious, for it is to you I speak, as well as persons dedicated to Our Lord. We know very well that it is not enough to fast exteriorly if we do not also fast interiorly and if we do not accompany the fast of the body with that of the spirit.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Flowers, candy, red hearts and romance. That's what Valentine's day is all about, right? Well, maybe not.

The origin of this holiday for the expression of love really isn't romantic at all -- at least not in the traditional sense. Father Frank O'Gara of Whitefriars Street Church in Dublin, Ireland, tells the real story of the man behind the holiday -- St. Valentine.

He was a Roman Priest at a time when there was an emperor called Claudias who persecuted the church at that particular time. He also had an edict that prohibited the marriage of young people. This was based on the hypothesis that unmarried soldiers fought better than married soldiers because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to them or their wives or families if they died.

The idea of encouraging them to marry within the Christian church was what Valentine was about. And he secretly married them because of the edict.

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against command of Emperor Claudius the second. There are legends surrounding Valentine's actions while in prison.

One of the men who was to judge him in line with the Roman law at the time was a man called Asterius, whose daughter was blind. He was supposed to have prayed with and healed the young girl with such astonishing effect that Asterius himself became Christian as a result.

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation all because of his stand for Christian marriage. The story goes that the last words he wrote were in a note to Asterius' daughter. He inspired today's romantic missives by signing it, "from your Valentine.

St. Valentine, Pray For Us!

Lol

Mr. Yapchanyk's wine koosy. Har, har har!

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Act of Reparation

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O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, look down in mercy from heaven, where thou art enthroned as Queen, upon me, a miserable sinner, thine unworthy servant. Although I know full well my own unworthiness, yet in order to atone for the offenses that are done to thee by impious and blasphemous tongues, from the depths of my heart I praise and extol thee as the purest, the fairest, the holiest creature of all God's handiwork.

I bless thy holy name, I praise thine exalted privilege of being truly Mother of God, ever virgin, conceived without stain of sin, co-redemptrix of the human race. I bless the Eternal Father who chose thee in an especial way for His daughter; I bless the Word Incarnate who took upon Himself our nature in thy bosom and so made thee His Mother; I bless the Holy Spirit who took thee as His bride. All honor, praise and thanksgiving to the ever-blessed Trinity, who predestined thee and loved thee so exceedingly from all eternity as to exalt thee above all creatures to the most sublime heights.

O Virgin, holy and merciful, obtain for all who offend thee the grace of repentance, and graciously accept this poor act of homage from me thy servant, obtaining likewise for me from thy divine Son the pardon and remission of all my sins.  Amen.  

 

Please Sign This Petition

This petition is in outrage against the horrible, blasphemous book, The Adventures of Mrs. Jesus. This book shows how people have NO respect for supernatural and spiritual matters. Catholics should be boycotting Harper Collins for this horrible outrage

 Sign this protest message now to say

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

     Hello Everybody! Sorry we haven't been posting much, it is Christmas Vacation after all! I would just like to note that we had an excellent Christmas; sorry I can't post any pictures, and God blessed us very much. I am also posting to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, because it is Christmas till Feb. 2! I just took a picture with our new computer, of Josh playing our new piano! We are very blessed!

Merry Christmas!

Chris Kringle