Knock, knock, beware

Can you imagine answering your door and being assaulted by a psychotic person who stabs your neck with a pen, beats your head in and then drinks your blood? That's exactly what happened to Bishop Monroe of Kamloops, as he answered the rectory door on Friday evening. I know Kamloops well; my dad and my brother live there, and we go to Mass at the Cathedral every time we are visiting Kamloops. It is inconceivable that this could happen - priests answer the door for every person in need, and turn no one away. The priest who came to the Bishop's aid separated his right shoulder in the ensuing scuffle, and was quoted on the news as saying that right now, they are praying for forgiveness as well as the Bishop's recovery.

This whole story is so bizarre; one would never expect it to happen in one of your own Catholic neighbourhoods. Let's all pray for Bishop Monroe's recovery, as well as for the psychotic man who assaulted him.

5 Days of Vacation

I won't be online for the next five days, as we are heading to the lake for some fishing and R & R. Above is a picture of Kootenay Lake, where our little getaway is waiting for us. No internet, no noise, no alarm clocks, and no schedule - just five days of peace. I am bringing a few Catholic books, (are there any other kind?) a rosary and my camera. Life is good.

How to Open a Stubborn Jar Lid

This post may not help you get to heaven, but it will help you to open a really stubborn jar lid. On the other hand, if you lose your temper trying to open a jar lid that won't budge, then maybe it will help you get to heaven!

Yesterday, I learned the simplest little trick for opening a jar lid. You know those rubber bands that hold broccoli stems together? Save them!

All you do is slip the rubber band around the lid and presto! You have all the traction you need to open the lid. It comes off with such ease, it will make you smile.

Please, hold your applause.

Who said this?

As always, leave your answers in the combox. (No Googling!)

Cartoon from Catholic Cartoon Blog

Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:
To rear me was the task of power divine,
Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.

Such characters in colour dim I mark'd
Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd:
Whereat I thus: Master, these words import.

Friday's Menu

In this post from last year, I wrote about why Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays. Here is a little excerpt:

The Church, in her wisdom, commands Catholics to abstain from meat in order to control the desires of the flesh, to raise our minds more freely to God, and to make satisfaction for sin. We are to deny ourselves, not because meat is evil, but for the glory of God and the good of our souls. It is a good practice to meditate on the Passion of Christ when we are fasting or abstaining, so that we can best induce in ourselves a proper contrition for our sins. The Baltimore Catechism teaches that fast and abstinence are pleasing to God only when we also refrain from sin and engage in good works.

I try to keep Friday meals fairly simple, in keeping with the above. Tonight I am making something called Jerked Tofu, which I am hoping will please my vegetarian daughter. The recipe sounds really appealing. I am serving it with a simple fried rice, which is a mixture of fried brown rice and stir-fried shredded carrots, a little onion and some thawed green peas. Oh, yes, and some soy sauce mixed in. Very simple to prepare.

What do you make on Fridays? I'd be interested in hearing. Cooking is one of my favourite hobbies.

The real victim

This heartbreaking and revealing post, from These Stone Walls is a must read. There, but for the grace of God, go you or I.

Who said this?

Leave your answers in the combox below.

"We think of the great powers of the present day, of the anonymous financial interests which turn men into slaves, which are no longer human things, but are an anonymous power which men serve, by which men are tormented and even slaughtered. They are a destructive power, a power that menaces the world."

"And then the power of the terrorist ideologies. Apparently in God's name, violence is done, but it is not God: they are false divinities, divinities that must be unmasked, that are not God."

"And then drug-trafficking, this power that, like a devouring beast, extends his hands towards every part of the earth and destroys: it is a divinity, but a false divinity, which must fall. Or also the way of life propagated by public opinion: today it is so, marriage is no longer important, chastity is no longer a virtue, and so forth. These ideologies that dominate, so much so that they impose themselves with force, are divinities. And in the suffering of the saints, in the suffering of believers, of the Mother Church of which we are a part, these divinities must fall, it must come to pass what the letters (of St. Paul) to the Colossians and to the Ephesians say: the dominations, the powers fall and become subject to the one Lord Jesus Christ."

Diversity

As you may know, I no longer have the privilege of attending the Traditional Latin Mass every Sunday, or the privilege of listening to the faith and morals sermons that are a part of it.

This past Sunday, the homily I heard blessed diversity, and the priest told us we should be thankful for diversity. Maybe I just didn't quite get his meaning. After all, the images I conjured up in my mind of diversity screamed acceptance of false religions, acceptance of homosexuality and its lifestyle, and acceptance of false doctrines like the ordination of womenpriests. He even ended the Mass by jokingly calling himself Sister___.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not what the politically correct call a homophobe. I believe that homosexuals and single people are bound together by the Church's declaration that they should live a chaste life. No sex outside of marriage. That seems like a pretty straightforward expectation for both groups.

Womynpriests in their polyester pantsuits will never, no matter how much they want it, be able to consecrate a host. I can't even understand why these womyn haven't gone away yet. Why are people still listening to them? Is it in the name of Diversity?

If I am to be thankful for diversity, I would think it means the blessing of having the Catholic faith spread to the four corners of the earth, so that the evangelization of all the nations, with people of every race and colour, will hear the Word of God and be saved. It means being thankful for so many peoples from around the world building up one nation under God. It means loving one another despite our differences, but it does not mean undermining our faith so as not to offend a false religion. After all, error has no rights - and this is according to none other than Saint Augustine.

I know. Colour me trad.

Offer your Communion for the Holy Souls

Purgatory is a scene of affliction and anguish, inasmuch as God's justice gains compensation for the portion of sacrifice and love we have refused Him here below.



Holy angels, guardians of those blazing chasms, help me to call to mind those souls, so holy and resigned, from the bowels of flames that torment them. Make us recognize among them our fathers, our mothers, our sisters and brothers. Let their cries, so tender and heart-rending, capable of splitting the mountains and mollifying cruelty itself, reach and penetrate our ears.

All the above text is by Father Charles Arminjon, from the book The End of the Present World. Father Arminjon goes on to say, "Saint Jerome and several Doctors are of the opinion that, when the Holy Sacrifice is being offered for the intention of a deceased person, he ceases to suffer the pains of Purgatory for the whole duration of the ceremony."

It is still October, not quite the month of the Holy Souls, but knowing what we do about the Holy Souls, imagine what your offering of Holy Communion can do for them. They can only participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice by our intercession. Our prayers and good works do much to alleviate their suffering, but it is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that earns them the most relief. Remember them at every Mass throughout the year.

Just for Fun

Canadian Tenors

Living right across from the high school certainly has its drawbacks. The street right outside our front yard is always littered with fast food garbage and cigarette packages. I would like to go outside at lunch hour one day when the derelicts are gathered in my driveway and hand them all garbage bags. (Then I suppose I would be just be known as the crazy lady who lives too close to the school!) Or worse, they would vandalize our vehicles. Oh, wait, that already happened. This morning, I noticed my passenger mirror was missing, so I checked my husband's truck, and sure enough, his driver side mirror was missing too. I found mine on the ground and re-installed it, but his was nowhere to be seen. It's probably in the bedroom of some teenage derelict who is using it to straighten her hair, apply her makeup or check her cleavage.

On another note, I hurt my back at work yesterday - not lifting a heavy patient, but cleaning the bathroom as per our regular duties for down time in between calls. I look like an old lady, walking with a hunch back, as I can't stand up straight yet. My teenage daughter actually laughed out loud when she saw my walking posture. Lots of ice, visits to my chiropractor, and some anti-inflammatories should have me upright in a few days.

The good thing about being home from work is I get to listen to my new Canadian Tenors CD, The Perfect Gift. For just $20, you can purchase yourself this amazing CD in time for Christmas. (Don`t I sound like an advertisement?) They do a beautiful rendition of Instrument of Peace, and their version of O Holy Night will knock your Santa socks right off your feet; there are many more. I highly recommend it to round out your Christmas music repertoire.



To listen to more from this album, here is the You Tube link. Now I really must go put ice on my back.

Stone Walls and the Falsely Accused

“There is no segment of the American population with less civil liberties protection than the average American Catholic priest.” Bill Donohue, Catholic League President

Psalm 141:7 Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. [8] Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the just wait for me, until thou reward me.

Before I happened upon the blog, These Stone Walls, it never occurred to me that there were priests in prison who had been falsely accused of sexual abuse. Who knew? (That's a rhetorical question!)

It is utterly unthinkable that people would "cash in" on the Church's misery of the sex abuse scandal by laying claim to hundreds of thousands of dollars by lying about being sexually abused by a priest. But that's exactly what happened to Father Gordon MacRrae. His story has been well documented in the sixteen years Father has spent in prison. Had he confessed to guilt, he would have been out in less than three years. But Father MacRae maintains his innocence, doing penance in prison since 1994 for crimes he did not commit.

I urge you to read this post. I urge you to read These Stone Walls. It is authored by Father MacRae from his prison cell, though he has never seen his own blog. He types the posts on a typewriter from his prison cell, and sends them by mail to a friend who scans the posts to send on to Australia for publishing, complete with graphics. Father MacRae only gets to see the posts after his friends print them out and mail them to him.

Please pray for the falsely accused. Please pray for Father Gordon MacRae.

What I am Reading

A few weeks ago, a friend gave me the book, The End of the Present World, (and the Mysteries of the Future Life) by Father Charles Arminjon. It was written in the late 1800's, and was read by Saint Therese of Lisieux at the age of fourteen. St. Therese stated: Reading this book was one of the greatest graces of my life. I read it at the window of my study, and the impression I received from it is too intimate and too sweet for me to express...All the great truths of religion, the mysteries of the eternity, plunged my soul into a happiness not of this earth.

It is a book about the Antichrist. It is a book about the end of the world as we know it. It is about the devastation and treachery of the Antichrist, but it is also about the triumph of Jesus Christ. The book goes into great detail about the the signs that must appear before the end of the world; the signs of the Antichrist and how to recognize him; the four last things, and how not to be deceived.

I can`t put it down. I am going to pass it on to Shirley after I read it.

The Priests

Have you heard of The Priests? They can sing! Have a listen to a wonderful harmonic version of Panis Angelicus, above, and below, Irish Blessing. You can order their CD's from Amazon. It certainly is unusual for priests to be touring concerts and recording CD's. They all have voices that glorify God. I like that they perform in their clerical clothing.