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| Is Pope Francis denying a physical Hell as did Pope John Paul II? |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-18-2022, 02:41 PM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Some may remember Pope John Paul II (in)famously denying the existence of a physical Hell in a July 28, 1999 General Audience.
It appears that Pope Francis has echoed the same opinion - perhaps for the second time:
About that Pope Francis ‘interview’ where he denied the existence of Hell
Pope Francis' fourth article with famed atheist Eugenio Scalfari was again 'reconstructed ... from memory,' the Vatican tells LifeSiteNews.
Tue Mar 24, 2015
ROME, March 24, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — Eugenio Scalfari, the famed atheist, has published a fourth article on a new interview with Pope Francis. The controversial anti-Catholic’s previous ‘interviews’ with Pope Francis were published also on the Vatican’s website and listed as official interviews with the pope.
However, an October 2013 interview created a firestorm after which the Vatican pulled the interview from their site and Scalfari admitted that his writings are reconstructions from memory, as he does not use a recorder or take notes. That interview had Pope Francis saying that the “most serious” evils are “youth unemployment and the loneliness of the old.”
Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said at the time: “One may consider the interview to be reliable in a general sense but not word for word. This is not an official text of the Holy Father.”
The most recent interview, published March 15, is no exception. In it Scalfari has the pope denying hell. The article says: “What happens to that lost soul? Will it be punished? And how? The response of Francis is distinct and clear: there is no punishment, but the annihilation of that soul. All the others will participate in the beatitude of living in the presence of the Father. The souls that are annihilated will not take part in that banquet; with the death of the body their journey is finished.”
The text does not have quotation marks around any of the statements attributed to the Holy Father. Moreover, the Vatican has not published this latest interview on their website.
Fr. Thomas Rosica, English-language assistant to the Holy See Press Office, told LifeSiteNews, “All official, final texts of the Holy Father are found on the Vatican website,” and since they were never published by the Holy See Press Office they “should not be considered official texts.” They were, said Fr. Rosica, “private discussions that took place and were never recorded by the journalist.”
“Mr. Scalfari reconstructed the interviews from memory,” Father Rosica added.
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| Catholic Story-Tellers |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-17-2022, 12:25 PM - Forum: Resources Online
- Replies (85)
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Commentary on this Story...
The Monkey under the Bed
Many were the legends of Mary of the Middle Ages. They were one avenue through which the people developed a childlike confidence in the Mother of God. For the fundamental object of all these incidents was one: to depict the great mercy of Christ’s Blessed Mother and to show the power of her intercession for the soul gone astray or the repentant sinner. Better than some doctrinal tract, they acted forcibly to teach the universally accepted truth that all God’s graces come to us through the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Charming are the legends of Mary in the literature of Church chronicles. For legend at that time did not mean some tale or fable. It signified a real event or occurrence, res legendae in Latin, a thing to be read. A story to be written down and told and believed. Great men of learning of the Church, like St. Alphonsus de Liguori and St. Francis de Sales, believed in these res legendae. They utilized them as a catechetical form of instruction, and wrote them in their books so that they could instruct the faithful and be read for all times.
To the dubious, St. Alphonsus directed these words:
Quote:“When an opinion tends in any way to the honor of the most Blessed Virgin, when it has some foundation, and is not repugnant to the faith nor to the decrees of the Church, nor to truth, the refusal to hold it or to oppose it because the reverse may be true shows little devotion to the Mother of God. Of the number of such as these I do not choose to be, nor do I wish my reader to be so, but rather of the number of those who fully and firmly believe all that can without error be believed of the greatness of Mary.” (The Glories of Mary)
I am a disciple of St. Alphonsus. So let me tell you a legend of Mary, and do not follow the path of the modern skeptic and dismiss it as a tale for children. Rather, let us ask Our Lady to restore to us that childlike confidence and sweet intimacy that fosters the virtue of hope and spirit of confidence, so much needed in our days, parched by the harsh and arid atmosphere of progressivism.
In the city of Naples in the early fifteenth century, a certain distinguished gentleman began to entertain the modern notions of the day critical of the Catholic Church. Soon he had abandoned the practice of the Faith and was causing great scandal among the faithful for his open ridicule of those who frequented the Sacraments and practiced popular pious devotions.
Nonetheless, his affairs prospered, as so often happens among the men of this world. He became famous for the marvelous feasts and parties that he frequently hosted in his palatial residence. Of particular interest to all was an unusual little steward who would serve the astonished guests. Dressed in a charming red velvet and gold braid vest and hat, serving plates with perfect propriety, and then offering charming displays of acrobatics, was none other than a grinning little monkey!
It was the talk of the city, and many the ladies who pleaded with their husbands to accept the invitations to a feast put on by the avowed agnostic so that they might witness the marvelous sight! Before too long, the gossip about the strange steward reached the ears of a parish priest renowned for his holiness and virtue. But instead of dismissing the talk or issuing warning about attending the parties of one so opposed to the Holy Church, the priest asked to receive an invitation to the next gala event to see for himself the truth of this talk.
The host at first desisted – none of those foolish, sour-faced clerics would set foot on his premises! But in the end, his spirit of pride conquered: he wanted to flaunt the feats and antics of his devoted little four-footed servant to the credulous priest. The invitation was issued. The evening arrived, and the priest rang at the bronze gates of the palace some time after the festivities had begun.
“A priest begging leave to enter my hall,” his jovial host remarked at his entrance. “Will wonders never cease! But, indeed, this is a house of wonders.”
“Yes, so I have heard,” the priest calmly replied. “And truly I must say I am interested to see this amazing sight of a monkey who serves a man.”
The host immediately rang his special silver bell that called his peculiar steward to his presence. But the monkey, who only moments before had been charming a group of ladies with his antics, did not appear. The baffled host shook his head in amazement. This was the first time it had failed to respond to his call. The priest insisted: he had come expressly to see this strange sight and would not be deprived of the pleasure. The host called again. No reply. The monkey seemed to have disappeared. A search of the house was made, and finally the creature was discovered, shaking in his velvet suit under the bed of the host. It was dragged out from under the bed, the little creature trembling and struggling to escape the presence of the priest.
“Now,” the priest demanded, “I command you in the name of the Almighty God, Three in One, to tell your master who you are and what is your purpose in this house.” Forced to obey, the furious, still trembling monkey spat out these words to his shocked master: “I am no ordinary beast. I am a demon from hell who has taken on the form of a monkey who attends to your every bid and call. And so I do, but I await under your bed every night for the first night that you might leave off that abominable custom taught to you by your mother of saying three Hail Marys before you retire. For then, and only then, do I have permission to strangle you in your sleep and drag your soul to the eternal fires.”
With these words spoken, the writhing monkey disappeared. The arrogance and mocking manner of the host faded with the wretched creature. Ashen faced and shaken, he turned to the priest. “Ah, my fortunate man,” the holy man said. “For fortunate indeed you have been to have retained this small devotion to the Mother of Mercies, who never abandons even the most wretched who have recourse to her.” He heard the confession of the man, who became a model of faith in the city and was especially renowned for his tender devotion to the Virgin Mary.
_____________________
How many of us in our journey through life have felt the presence of a monkey under our beds? And how many of us have experienced the goodness and mercy of Mary, who until the end of the world will never cease relieving the miseries of man and flying to their aid to return them to the path of truth, the Holy Catholic Church? The Mother of Mercy, she stays the hand of justice of her divine Son for all who invoke her, even for three Hail Marys.
This story is proof of the words of St. Bernardine de Bustis: “This great Lady is more desirous to grant us graces than we are desirous to receive them.”
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| Savannah Bishop announces end of Latin Masses, cowardly blaming the Vatican |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-17-2022, 08:02 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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Savannah Bishop announces end of Latin Masses, cowardly blaming the Vatican
Rorate Caeli | July 16, 2022
Reader:
"The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah was the first Cathedral in the US to have a TLM starting in December of 2007. After almost 15 years we are being moved out of Cathedral and all of the Masses in the diocese (three monthly Masses in addition to the weekly Savannah Mass) will be shuttered as of May 2023, as per the orders of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments."
***
July 15, 2022
Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Dear Friends in Christ,
Glória in excélsis Deo.
Et in terra pax homínibus bonæ voluntátis.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
LUKE 2:14
As the birth of the Messiah was announced to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem, the angels proclaimed these words with great joy. In answer to this heavenly invitation, the shepherds went in haste to the place of Christ’s birth and were overcome with emotion as they encountered the living God. Kneeling in reverence and adoration, they were drawn into the mystery of a relationship with this newborn child, and departed from Him with the gift of hope. Witnessing their response to her son as she shared Him with the world for the first time, Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart (Luke 2:19).
At every Mass, we encounter the living God in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. At every Mass, we are invited into an intimate relationship with Christ through the proclamation of the Word of God and the beauty of the mystery of transubstantiation. At every Mass, we are given the opportunity to be drawn into the incredible mystery of our Catholic faith, to adore the Lord with reverence, and to be filled with hope…to celebrate that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Every encounter with Him is an opportunity to respond like the shepherds: to be transformed by His love and sacrifice, and to celebrate our oneness with the universal Church.
One year ago, Pope Francis issued a motu proprio entitled Traditionis custodes, which offered guidelines for the celebration of the Eucharist according to the Missale Romanum of 1962. My initial response to these guidelines was shared in a letter to the faithful on November 4, 2021. The following month, the Vatican asked that Bishops wishing to continue the celebration of the Mass according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 in their diocese request permission to do so.
After prayer and discernment, I wrote to the Congregation for Divine Worship (now the Dicastery for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments) in mid-April to request permissions for specific parish churches in our diocese. In late May, I received a response from Rome containing the following:
The Mass according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 may be celebrated at the parish of Sacred Heart (*) in Savannah on a weekly basis until May 20, 2023.
The Mass according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 may be celebrated at the parishes of Most Holy Trinity in Augusta, St. Joseph in Macon and St. Anthony of Padua in Ray City on a monthly basis until May 20, 2023.
* In implementing the permissions granted by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, please note that the Mass according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 will no longer be celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist as of Sunday, August 7, 2022. As of that date, the Mass will be celebrated at Sacred Heart parish (1707 Bull Street, Savannah) at 1pm on Sundays. I am confident that Sacred Heart parish provides an appropriate and intimate place for worship and the parish leadership will be attentive to the pastoral needs of those who attend the 1pm Mass there.
I am grateful to the Dicastery for granting the above permissions so that Masses according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 may continue to be celebrated for another year. Since my appointment as your Bishop, I have been present at Masses celebrated with this Missal, and I recognize the reverence and beauty of these liturgies. I am also aware that the eventual cessation of these Masses will be difficult for many of the faithful in our Diocese. Please know of my pastoral concern for you. Along with Fr. Allan McDonald (Bishop’s Delegate for Mass in the Extraordinary Form), the Priests who celebrate these Masses will accompany the attendees in the coming months as the transition is made to Mass in conformity with the decrees of the Second Vatican Council.
The shepherds were led in awe and wonder to the manger. With the same reverent spirit, we are invited to an intimate encounter with Christ at every Eucharistic celebration, when we become “one body and one spirit” with Him. Our unified worship as the Body of Christ gives glory to God, strengthens our faith, and ultimately prepares us for the life to come. Let us pray for the maternal help of the Blessed Mother as our Diocesan family walks as one to implement the directives of the Holy See. As we, like her, reflect in our hearts, may we be filled with the gifts of peace and hope for the future, open to union with God and fellowship with one another.
Be assured of my prayers for you, your loved ones and your intentions. Thank you for whispering my name to God as well. May we meet in our prayers and Rejoice in the Lord always.
In Christ,
Most Reverend Stephen D. Parkes
Bishop of Savannah
—
[Rorate note: What a bunch of sugary nonsense. What condescending syrup of piffle! Here's hoping faithful priests will display bravery in the same proportion as this unfaithful bishop shows cowardliness by renouncing his powers of ordinary and delegating it all to the Vatican, as if he were some kind of impotent regional amanuensis. Honestly, lack of character hidden behind worthless cotton candy words is worse than plain brutality. Simply pathetic, Bishop Parkes.]
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| Australian meat and dairy could vanish if outbreak of foot and mouth disease occurs |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-16-2022, 08:47 AM - Forum: Health
- Replies (1)
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Foot and mouth disease Australia: Australian meat and dairy could vanish if outbreak occurs
Australians have been warned of essential items vanishing from supermarket shelves as the nation is on a knife’s edge over a worrying virus.
news.au.com [adapted] | July 16, 2022
As farmers wait on a knife’s edge to see if efforts to stop foot and mouth disease (FMD) from entering the country are successful, Australians have warned of the devastating havoc the disease could wreak if it gets here.
CEO of independent farming systems group, Riverine Plains, Catherine Marriott, says the looming threat has farmers and producers in a panic and that an outbreak could change the way Australian households shop and eat.
“You won’t be able to get milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt – all of that goes,” she told news.com.au.
“You wouldn’t be able to buy it and prices would go through the roof. If people think meat and dairy is expensive now … brace yourself.”
While FMD is relatively harmless to humans, it can have devastating effects on livestock and cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, pigs, buffalo, sheep, goats and deer. The highly contagious condition results in blisters that rots off the mouths and feet of infected animals.
While politicians say an FMD outbreak could cause a $80 billion hit to Australia’s economy, domestically, it would also cause “very, very real” supply chain issues, says Ms Marriott. Depending on the extent of the FMD outbreak, Australia would need to look at importing our beef, lamb and dairy products.
“Where do you fill that hole from? You just can’t,” says Ms Marriott.
“It’s a multifaceted challenge. People won’t be able to get meat, you’ve got an animal welfare nightmare and there’s not enough trained vets in Australia to deal with it.
“Australian families, eating and enjoying safe healthy Australian meat could be challenged significantly.”
![[Image: 416ed0476d0280d9f9eb2a557091e87d]](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/416ed0476d0280d9f9eb2a557091e87d)
Should Australia experience a FMD outbreak, supermarket meat sections could be left empty. Picture: Tony Gough
Dairy produced using Australian cows will also likely disappear from supermarkets.
This comes as both Coles and Woolworths announced have increased their prices on their homebranded milk offerings. From Friday, the major supermarkets will charged $1.60 for a litre of homebranded milk, $3.10 for two litres and $4.50 for a family-sized three litre. This marks an increase of 25c on the one litre, 50c for two litres and a 60c jump on three-litre bottles.
In a statement, Coles said they had to pass on the cost rises due to “agreed significant increases to wholesale prices”.
The price increase also comes as seasonal conditions in NSW have led to 30 to 40 per cent drops in milk yields, with natural disasters and skyrocketing input costs further impacting farmer profit margins.
A devastating knock-on effect
While the potential $80 billion economic impact will be horrific, Ms Marriott says the sheer scale of devastation is hard to envisage. Should a large-scale outbreak occur, she believes the“knock-on effect” could see countless businesses and producers go bankrupt.
“If it got out properly, you’re talking about people who have five generations of genetics and breeding,” she said.
“Because it’s so quickly to spread, they just euthanise all the animals when they find an outbreak, whether they’re showing symptoms or not.
“That was what was so devastating in Britain. They were shooting perfectly healthy stock because they just couldn’t afford for that disease to go rampant throughout the country.”
In order for cattle farmers to rebolster their herds, Ms Marriott says the price of replacement livestock will “go through the roof”.
She also stresses the emotional toll that farmers and producers will face, should they be forced to euthanise their herds. In some cases, this will decimate farmers who have placed generations into breeding and caring for their livestock.
“I’m walking down the street with a half-semi parked on my chest and I don’t even have livestock but I do work in that sector,” she said.
“It is so distressing to have to go around and put live stock down, to shoot the herds and see piles of burning livestock because the virus is just so virulent.
“That’s what’s stressing me and it’s going to send families and rural communities to the wall.”
Although vaccines offer some protection, there is no cure, with euthanasia the primary method of controlling an endemic. Feral pigs, goats and deer can also become FMD superspreaders, with isolation efforts near impossible, says Ms Marriott.
“We can all of out biosecurity plans in place and make sure that everyone washes when they come in, but the reality of it is that you get a bloody feral grunter come through and it just spreads it willy nilly,” she said.
$14m invested to stop the spread
In order to curb the spread, the government has invested $14 million in order to ensure FMD, and another virus called lumpy skin disease, doesn’t reach Australian shores and is able to be contained in Indonesia.
More than a third of the package is comprised of $5 million in immediate support to Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea. $9 million has also been invested into strengthening Australia’s biosecurity measures, including more officers, in airports and mail centres.
“The highest-risk way of foot-and-mouth disease coming back in our country is actually through animal products, meat products and dairy products, being brought in, whether by postage or freight or any other means,” said Agricultural Minister Murray Watt.
“It is important we ramp up our staffing at mail centres as well as at airports.”
“We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our farmers, and we owe it to all Australians to take this disease seriously.”
![[Image: 7d44d212d37105030417c5fa70419188]](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/7d44d212d37105030417c5fa70419188)
Biosecurity measures have been upgraded at Australian airports in order to stop FMD from entering the country. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
However, Ms Marriott is hopeful that Australians will heed the call to arms. On Sunday, she shared a plea for Australians returning to Bali to take extra precautions in order to stop the spread of the “extremely cruel” disease.
“My ask is to please wash everything that you bring back. Better still, leave your clothes and shoes over there,” she said in the video she shared on Twitter.
“Support the local economy. Buy clothes over there and leave them over there. It’s how we’re going to keep you capacity to eat beautiful Australian meat safe for future generations.”
“I believe Australian people are genuinely good. I think so often people don’t actually understand the implications, and I (wanted my video) to help educate people,” she said.
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| Cardinal Cupich is shutting down ICKSP in Chicago? |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-16-2022, 08:19 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
- Replies (6)
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From gloria.tv (July 16, 2022):
Chicago: Is the Synodalist Attacking The Roman Mass Again?
Twitter’s ACatholicLife (July 16) has received two reports that the Roman Rite Institute of Christ the King is being expelled from the Chicago Archdiocese by Cardinal Cupich who is a rigid fighter against the Catholic Faith and Catholic Mass.
The shrine, a historic Catholic church built by the Carmelites, is in Woodlawn/Chicago where 98% of the population are black. It declined once the Carmelites started with social activism. The parish was closed in 2002. Two years later, Christ the King revived it with the Roman Rite. It is now the National Headquarters of the Institute’s American Province.
The church has been the site of protests against Cupich's measures against the Mass.[Emphasis mine.]
✠ ✠ ✠
From The Gray Report (July 15, 2022):
DEVELOPING:- Blase Cardinal Cupich is Stripping the Institute of Christ the King of their Ability to Celebrate the Holy Mass in his Little Fiefdom, where their US Base is Headquartered – Effective August 1, 2022
- Full Details to be Announced at Sunday Mass at the Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest on Woodlawn Ave., in Chicago [Emphasis mine.]
✠ ✠ ✠
The Institute's website notes that Chicago is indeed their headquarters:
Shrine of Christ the King, US Provincial Headquarters
The Institute of Christ the King's United States headquarters are located at the Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Chicago, where funds are being sought for its restoration.
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| We should worry about price of food more than petrol, warns BlackRock’s Fink |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-16-2022, 07:51 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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We should worry about price of food more than petrol, warns BlackRock’s Fink
todayuknews | July 16, 2022
The dramatic spikes in oil and mineral prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have distracted investors from the long-lasting and more dangerous impact of food inflation, BlackRock founder Larry Fink has warned.
“The one thing I worry about that we don’t talk enough about is food,” he told the Financial Times. “This isn’t just an inflation concern. There are also geopolitical concerns that result from this.”
The prices of energy, petrol and petroleum-based agricultural inputs shot up earlier this year when western nations imposed sanctions on Russia after the invasion. Grain and edible oil costs were also hit hard because Ukraine is a major exporter.
Oil has begun to drop back down this week to pre-invasion levels as traders brace for a sharp drop-off in consumption. But food price inflation remains stubbornly high. The US consumer price index figures for June show that the price of chicken parts and flour are each up close to 20 per cent year on year and margarine has jumped 34 per cent.
“We talk a lot about gasoline prices because that’s what affects Americans but the bigger issue is food,” Fink said. “There has been tremendous destruction of arable land in Ukraine…..Globally the cost of fertiliser is up almost 100 per cent and that additional cost is reducing the amount of fertiliser used in farming. That is harming the quality of the crop worldwide.”
Larry Fink: ‘This isn’t just an inflation concern. There are also geopolitical concerns that result from this’
Although lower oil prices have started to feed through to the price at the pump for motorists, consumer goods companies are continuing to see high input costs. Any drop in fertiliser prices is likely to come too late to boost this year’s food harvests.
The World Bank forecast after the invasion that global food prices would rise 20 per cent this year, far outpacing raw materials.
The impact is particularly grim in Africa, which usually imports grain from Ukraine as well as producing its own food. Fertiliser prices there have risen 300 per cent, and the continent is facing a shortage of 2mn metric tons, according to the African Development Bank. It has approved a $1.5bn programme to help farmers fill the gap but warns that total production could fall by 20 per cent this year.
Janet Yellen, the US Treasury secretary, said on Friday that the world was facing “an extremely difficult time for global food security” and urged the G20 group of leading nations to halt stockpiling and export restrictions on food and provide additional financial assistance to countries and people struggling with food insecurity.
Bill Gates, the philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, flagged similar concerns this week, saying that the reduction in supplies of wheat, edible oils and other foods caused by the war in Ukraine was “driving up food prices, which will increase malnutrition and instability in low-income countries.” He noted in a blog post that improving agricultural productivity in Africa required “far more investment”.
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| Message from Pope Francis to the Participants of the EU Youth Conference |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-15-2022, 07:05 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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Dear young people!
I am very happy to address you who are participating in the European Youth Conference. I would like to tell you something that is very close to my heart. Above all, I invite you to transform the “old continent” into a “new continent”, and this is only possible with you. I know that your generation has some good cards to play: you are attentive young people, less ideologized, accustomed to studying in other European countries, open to volunteering and sensitive to environmental issues.
This is why I feel there is hope.
As young Europeans, you have an important mission. If in the past your ancestors went to other continents, not always for noble interests, it is now up to you to present the world with a new face of Europe.
Regarding the origin of the name “Europe”, there are still no certain explanations. Among the various hypotheses, one is particularly suggestive: it goes back to the Greek words eurús ops, meaning “wide eye”, evoking the ability to see ahead and beyond. Europa, a mythological figure who made the gods fall in love with her, was called “the wide-eyed maiden”. So I also think of you, young Europeans, as people with a wide, open gaze, capable of looking ahead and beyond.
Perhaps you have heard of the initiative, launched in September 2019, called the Global Compact on Education. It is an alliance between educators around the world to educate the younger generations in fraternity. Seeing, however, how our world is being led by adults and elders, it seems that perhaps you should be the ones to educate adults in fraternity and peaceful coexistence!
Among the first commitments of the Educational Pact is to listen to children, adolescents and young people. So dear young people, make your voices heard! If they do not listen to you, shout even louder, make noise; you have every right to have your say on what concerns your future. I encourage you to be enterprising, creative and critical. You know that when a teacher has demanding, critical, attentive students in his class, he or she is stimulated to work harder and prepare better lessons.
In this Compact, there are no “givers” and “takers”, but all of us are called to educate ourselves in communion, as the Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire has suggested. So do not be afraid to be demanding. You have a right to receive the best for yourselves just as your educators have the duty to give the best of themselves.
Among the various proposals of the Global Compact on Education, I would like to recall two that I also noted in your Conference.
First, be open to acceptance, and hence to the value of inclusion. Don’t let yourselves be drawn into short-sighted ideologies that want to show others, those who are different from ourselves, as enemies. Others are an asset. The experience of the millions of European students who have taken part in the Erasmus Project testifies to the fact that encounters between people from different peoples help to open eyes, minds and hearts. It is good to have “a broad outlook” in order to be open up to others, and not discriminating against anyone, for any reason. Be in solidarity with everyone, not only with those who look like us, or give off an image of success, but with those who suffer, whatever their nationality or social status. Let us not forget that millions of Europeans in the past have had to emigrate to other continents in search of a future. I myself am the son of Italians who emigrated to Argentina.
The main objective of the Educational Pact is to educate everyone to a more fraternal life, based not on competitiveness but on solidarity. Your greatest aspiration, dear young people, should not be to enter elite educational environments, where only people with lots of money can be accepted. Such institutions often have an interest in maintaining the status quo, in training people to ensure that the system works the way it is. Rather, those schools that combine educational quality with service to others should be valued, since the purpose of education is personal growth directed towards the common good. These experiences of solidarity will change the world, not the “exclusive” (and exclusionary) experiences of elite schools. Excellence yes, but for all, not just for some.
I would encourage you to read my Encyclical Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020) and the Document on Human Fraternity (4 February 2019), which I signed together with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar. I know that many Muslim universities and schools are reading these texts with interest, and so I hope you too will find them inspiring. Education, then, should have as its goal not only to “know oneself” but also to know others.
The other proposal I would like to mention concerns care for the common home.
Here too I was pleased to note that while previous generations talked a lot and concluded little, you on the other hand have been capable of concrete initiatives. That is why I say that this, more than ever, is the right time. If you do not succeed in turning this self-destructive trend around, it will be difficult for others to do so in the future. Don’t let yourselves be seduced by the sirens that propose a life of luxury reserved for a small slice of the world. Instead, have that “broad outlook” that can take in all the rest of humanity, which is much bigger than our little continent. May you aspire to a life of dignity and sobriety, without luxury and waste, so that everyone in our world can enjoy a dignified existence. There is an urgent need to reduce the consumption not only of fossil fuels but also of so many superfluous things. In certain areas of the world, too, it would be appropriate to consume less meat: this too can help save the environment.
In this regard, it will do you good – if you have not already done so – to read my Encyclical Laudato Si', in which believers and non-believers alike can find solid motivations for committing themselves to an integral ecology. An education, then, aimed not only at knowing oneself and others, but also creation.
Dear young people, while you are holding your Conference, in Ukraine – which is not in the EU, but is Europe – a senseless war is being fought. Added to the numerous conflicts taking place in different regions of the world, it makes the need for an educational pact that educates everyone to fraternity all the more urgent.
The idea of a united Europe arose from a powerful yearning for peace in the wake of the numerous wars fought on this continent, and it led to a seventy-year period of peace. Now we must all commit ourselves to putting an end to this dreadful war, where, as usual, a few powerful people decide and send thousands of young people to fight and die. In cases like this, it is legitimate to rebel!
Someone has said that, if the world were ruled by women, there would not be so many wars, because those who have the mission of giving life cannot make death choices. In a similar vein, I like to think that if the world were ruled by young people, there would not be so many wars. Those who have their whole life ahead of them do not want to ruin it and throw it away, but to live it to the full.
I would like to invite you to get to know the extraordinary figure of a young objector, a young European with “a broad outlook”, who fought against Nazism during the Second World War. His name was Franz Jägerstätter, and he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. Franz was a young Austrian who, because of his Catholic faith, made a conscientious objection to the injunction to swear allegiance to Hitler and go to war. As a boy, he was cheerful, likeable and carefree, but as he matured, thanks also to his wife Franziska, with whom he had three children, he changed his life and developed profound convictions. When called to arms, he refused, because he felt it was unjust to kill innocent lives. His decision triggered harsh reactions towards him from his community, the mayor, and even members of his family. A priest tried to dissuade him for the sake of his family. Everyone was against him, except his wife Franziska, who, despite knowing the price to be paid, always stood by her husband and supported him to the end. Despite cajoling and torture, Franz preferred to be killed than to kill. He considered the war totally unjustified. If all the young men called to arms had done as he did, Hitler would not have been able to carry out his diabolical plans. To triumph, evil needs accomplices.
Franz Jägerstätter was executed in the same prison where his contemporary Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a young German Lutheran theologian and anti-Nazi, was also imprisoned and met the same tragic end.
These two young men of “broad outlook” were killed because they remained faithful to the ideals of their faith to the end. Here we can see a fourth dimension of education: alongside knowledge of oneself, of others and of creation, also knowledge of the beginning and end of all things.
Dear young Europeans, I invite you to look upwards and beyond, to keep seeking the real meaning of your life, where you come from and where you are going, and the Truth, because we cannot live authentically if we do not seek the Truth. Walk with your feet firmly planted on the earth, but with a broad gaze, open to the horizon, open to the sky. Reading my Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, addressed especially to young people, can help you in this. And I invite all of you to next year’s World Youth Day in Lisbon. There you will be able to share your finest and most beautiful dreams with young people from all over the world.
Let me conclude with a wish. May you be generative! Young people capable of generating new ideas, new visions of the world, of the economy, of politics, of social coexistence, but above all of new paths to be travelled together. And may you also be generous in generating new lives, always and only as the fruit of love! The love of husband and wife, the love of family and children, but also love of Europe, so that it can be for everyone a land of peace, freedom and dignity.
Have a good meeting and a good journey! I send you my warm greeting and my blessing. And I
ask you, please, to pray for me.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 6 July 2022
FRANCIS
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| No Surrender! A Tale Of The Rising in La Vendee |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-14-2022, 10:53 AM - Forum: Uncompromising Fighters for the Faith
- Replies (18)
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No Surrender! A Tale Of The Rising in La Vendee
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: A French Lugger.
Chapter 2: The Beginning Of Troubles.
Chapter 3: The First Successes.
Chapter 4: Cathelineau's Scouts.
Chapter 5: Checking The Enemy.
Chapter 6: The Assault Of Chemille.
Chapter 7: A Short Rest.
Chapter 8: The Capture Of Saumur.
Chapter 9: Bad News.
Chapter 10: Preparations For A Rescue.
Chapter 11: The Attack On Nantes.
Chapter 12: A Series Of Victories.
Chapter 13: Across The Loire.
Chapter 14: Le Mans.
Chapter 15: In Disguise.
Chapter 16: A Friend At Last:
Chapter 17: A Grave Risk.
Chapter 18: Home.
"Follow Me!" he shouted. "Make for the gun!"
At the first volley, the colonel of the dragoons and many of his men fell. A scattered fire broke out from the defenders. Leigh gave the word and, leaping up, they threw themselves on the traitor. He was the bearer of terrible news. Jean seized one of them by the throat. Westermann's cavalry charged into the streets of Dol. For two or three minutes, husband and wife stood together.
Preface.
In the world's history, there is no more striking example of heroic bravery and firmness than that afforded by the people of the province of Poitou, and more especially of that portion of it known as La Vendee, in the defence of their religion and their rights as free men. At the commencement of the struggle they were almost unarmed, and the subsequent battles were fought by the aid of muskets and cannon wrested from the enemy. With the exception of its forests, La Vendee offered no natural advantages for defence.
It had no mountains, such as those which enabled the Swiss to maintain their independence; no rivers which would bar the advance of an enemy; and although the woods and thickets of the Bocage, as it was called, favoured the action of the irregular troops, these do not seem to have been utilized as they might have been, the principal engagements of the war being fought on open ground. For eighteen months the peasants of La Vendee, in spite of the fact that they had no idea of submitting either to drill or discipline, repulsed the efforts of forces commanded by the best generals France could furnish; and which grew, after every defeat, until at length armies numbering, in all, over two hundred thousand men were collected to crush La Vendee.
The losses on both sides were enormous. La Vendee was almost depopulated; and the Republicans paid dearly, indeed, for their triumph, no fewer than one hundred thousand men having fallen, on their side. La Vendee was crushed, but never surrendered. Had the British government been properly informed, by its agents, of the desperate nature of the struggle that was going on; they might, by throwing twenty thousand troops, with supplies of stores and money into La Vendee, have changed the whole course of events; have crushed the Republic, given France a monarch, and thus spared Europe over twenty years of devastating warfare, the expenditure of enormous sums of money, and the loss of millions of lives.
- G. A. Henty
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| Emails Confirm Why CDC Changed Definitions Of Vaccine, Vaccinated |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-14-2022, 07:09 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
- No Replies
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Emails Confirm Why CDC Changed Definitions Of Vaccine, Vaccinated
ZH | JUL 13, 2022
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ZH),
Newly obtained emails confirm that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its definition for both “vaccine” and “vaccinated” because people were pointing out that definitions didn’t seem to apply to the COVID-19 vaccines.
“The definition of vaccine we have posted is problematic and people are using it to claim the COVID-19 vaccine is not a vaccine based on our own definition,” Alycia Downs, a CDC official, wrote in an email on Aug. 25, 2021, to a colleague.
The definition is located on a page titled Immunization Basics.
“Vaccine” was defined since at least 2011 by the CDC as a product that triggers immunity, while “vaccination” was described as an injection that prevents a disease, according to archived versions of the page. However, a flood of inquiries on the definitions was triggered by the fact that the COVID-19 vaccines have been increasingly ineffective against infection by the virus that causes COVID-19, the emails show.
“Our question is how is the CDC and the rest of the world allowed to call the shot a vaccination when it doesn’t even meet your own definition,” one person wrote to the CDC.
“Right-wing covid-19 pandemic deniers are using your ‘vaccine’ definition to argue that mRNA vaccines are not vaccines,” another said.
The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are both built on messenger RNA technology. They are two of the three COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States.
Downs and colleagues Allison Michelle Fisher, Cynthia Jorgensen, Valerie Morelli, and Andrew (no last name given) worked on changing the definitions for “vaccine” and “vaccination,” according to the emails.
Original document
The changes were pushed through on Aug. 31, 2021, and Sept. 1, 2021, respectively.
Changing Definitions
“Vaccine” is now defined as “a preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.”
The previous definition was “a product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.”
Read more here...
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| Biden admin sets up Justice Department ‘task force’ to police, challenge pro-life laws |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-14-2022, 06:59 AM - Forum: Abortion
- No Replies
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Biden admin sets up Justice Department ‘task force’ to police, challenge pro-life laws
'The Justice Department is committed to protecting access to reproductive services,'
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Jul 13, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday announced the launch of a “reproductive rights task force” to police states’ pro-life laws.
The DOJ task force will monitor states’ abortion restrictions to prevent “overreach,” and consider legal challenges against additional protections for the unborn, including bans on abortion-inducing drugs and laws preventing women from traveling out of state to kill their unborn babies, The Washington Post reported.
Quote:“The Justice Department is committed to protecting access to reproductive services,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement, according to the Post.
From the same DOJ supposedly investigating attacks on pro-life centers across the nation: “Justice Dept. announces task force to fight overreach on abortion bans” https://t.co/6Sdn4elZKX
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 12, 2022
The move to establish a task force for policing state’s pro-life laws comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which reversed 49 years of federal abortion precedent by overturning Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
In Dobbs, the Court ruled that Roe had been wrongly decided, and that there is no “constitutional right to abortion.” Instead, the Court decided to return the regulation of abortion to the states, rather than the federal government.
The Biden administration has been unequivocal in its denunciation of the Supreme Court’s monumental decision in Dobbs. U.S. President Joe Biden has characterized the Court as being “out of control,” and vowed to do “everything in my power” to secure abortion “rights” for women throughout the country.
On Friday, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to protect and expand access to “medication abortion” and “convene private pro bono attorneys, bar associations, and public interest organizations” to provide legal counsel for women seeking abortions and doctors committing abortions, LifeSiteNews reported.
The Post reported that Alexis McGill Johnson, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, has lauded the task force in a July 12 statement.
According to Johnson, the DOJ task force represents “a meaningful step in providing a framework for enforcing federal protection for those helping patients navigate access to abortion, and we look forward to seeing its work quickly take shape.”
Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan pointed out that the prior to standing up a “task force” to police pro-life laws, the DOJ said it would investigate attacks on pro-life centers.
The DOJ has drawn fire from Republicans who say federal officials have failed to do enough to to respond to the violence against pro-life organizations and intimidation of pro-life Supreme Court justices by pro-abortion protesters.
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| Fire destroys half of the Chapels of Light at Lourdes shrine |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-14-2022, 06:50 AM - Forum: General Commentary
- No Replies
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Fire destroys half of the Chapels of Light at Lourdes shrine
![[Image: incendio-lourdes120722.jpg?w=670&h=447]](https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/storage/image/incendio-lourdes120722.jpg?w=670&h=447)
A panoramic view of the burned area and an image of Our Lady affected by a fire at the Lourdes shrine in France, July 11, 2022.
CNA | Jul 12, 2022
Half of the Chapels of Light at Our Lady of Lourdes shrine in France were destroyed by a fire during the night of July 10–11. The fire was quickly brought under control.
“Another hard blow for the Shrine at Lourdes, which didn’t need it,” tweeted Father Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, lamenting the destruction.
“But the main thing is that there were no injuries and that pilgrims can continue to pray in the chapels that remain and continue to light candles,” he wrote.
In a statement, the shrine estimated damages to be a little more than $1.5 million.
An internal investigation was opened, but the cause of the fire is thought to be an accident, according to La Croix International, a French Catholic newspaper. Vincent Neymon, director of communications and resources for the Lourdes sanctuary, speculated that the wind caused a candle to ignite the wooden frame of one of the chapels.
Located since 2018 on the bank opposite the place where the shrine’s baths are located, the Chapels of Light are one of the quietest places for recollection, next to the grotto of the apparitions.
The four out of eight chapels that were destroyed are located further down the river that runs through the grounds of the shrine. The last two chapels are the ones that have been used so far to place the heaviest and largest candles.
Also damaged was the statue of Our Lady situated next to the river facing the Chapels of Light. Many pilgrims confidently leave their rosaries in her hands. Each year, 380 metric tons of candles are used in these chapels.
Although the activity of the Lourdes shrine has gradually picked up since the pandemic, it has barely recovered half the number of regular visitors it had before 2020. While diocesan pilgrimages of the sick from all over the world have slowly begun to return to the shrine, they have been smaller in number as a precaution.
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| Archbishop Lefebvre 1978: Our Lord Has Overcome the World |
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Posted by: Stone - 07-13-2022, 06:50 AM - Forum: Sermons and Conferences
- No Replies
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The Angelus [Emphasis mine]- March 2012
Our Lord Has Overcome the World
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
Sermon given on Easter Sunday, March 26, 1978, Ecône, Switzerland
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
“Confidite, nolite timere, ego vinci mundum.” It is Our Lord who leaves us these words before embarking upon the road of His Passion and Death: “Have confidence, fear not, I have overcome the world.” And, in fact, Our Lord has overcome the world, the world such as St. John describes it: “What is the world,” he asks, “but the concupiscentia oculorum, concupiscentia carnis, superbia vitae.” What does that mean? Riches, honors, the delights and pleasures of the flesh—that is what the world is. And Our Lord has overcome the world!
It suffices to contemplate Our Lord attached to His Cross, covered with blood, crowned with thorns, His side opened, to see that Our Lord has truly conquered the world: The world of riches—is anyone poorer than Our Lord upon His Cross? The world of honors—is there anyone more humble than Our Lord dying as one condemned by common law? Finally, the concupiscence of the flesh—is there a better example of sacrifice, of suffering, of sorrow, and of lacerations of the flesh than Our Lord covered with blood upon His Cross? Indeed, Our Lord has overcome the world: what the world loved, Our Lord scorned. And why did Our Lord scorn these things? In order to love! To love His Father, to love God, because one cannot serve two masters; one cannot love the world and love God. And Our Lord upon the Cross died of love: He died of love for His Father, He died of love for God, and His outstretched arms and His opened Heart reveal to us that He died of love for His neighbor as well! There is, therefore, a very great lesson in the victory of Our Lord over the world.
And because He has overcome the world, it had to follow as well that He win the victory over sin. For that which is at the root of this deviation in which our souls are born and which we call the world, all of that comes to us from original sin, and Our Lord by His Cross has won the victory over sin. Until then, man had not been able to attain Heaven; henceforth, by the Royal Way of the Cross, Heaven is opened, souls can now follow Our Lord and go up to Heaven. Sin is overcome! Sin is overcome by the blood and water which flowed from the side of Our Lord, and which are going to take form in all the Sacraments which Our Lord is going to leave to us, and which will give and apply to us His blood. In Baptism, particularly: by all the souls which from now on after the death of Our Lord will be baptized, souls which will be delivered from original sin and will be able to aspire towards Heaven, to follow Our Lord. And Our Lord has not only delivered us from original sin, but he delivers us as well from our personal sins by the Sacrament of Penance, by the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, and by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—Our Lord truly frees us from our sins!
Freedom from Sin
Nevertheless, are we to think that, delivered from our sins, we may henceforth desist from combat, that there are no more spiritual exercises to realize in our souls? No. Our Lord could have just as well caused that the consequences of original sin vanish from our souls, and consequently removed us from all these false desires, these inordinate desires of the world. Our Lord, however, did not so will it. He willed, as St. Thomas says, that our life be spent in combat, in suffering, in trials, in temptations, in difficulties. Each one of us has his own little drama, his own big drama—the crisis of one’s spiritual life, the crisis of one’s interior life. Where do we stand vis-à-vis God, vis-à-vis Our Lord? Are our souls pure, are they full of grace? Are they loving of Our Lord, of our neighbor? Do we accomplish our duties, our duties of state? Are we obedient to the law of God, who asks us to love both God and our neighbor? Each of us must make it a point to know where he stands, and then fight! In a combat, when there is a truce, the superior officers confer among themselves and ask why a defeat took place in such a location, or they discern where the weak points of the enemy are located, so that when the combat is resumed, the victory may be won. And likewise with us, we must at times during our life recollect ourselves, make retreats, in order to know where we stand, how to battle, how to battle the enemy, and so carry off the victory with Our Lord. It is capital that we win the victory! It is essential that we fight!
For if Our Lord has overcome the world, if He has overcome sin, He has also overcome the devil. And nevertheless, we witness everyday the bad influences of the spirits which surround us, as St. Paul says, in the very air about us, and which seek our perdition. And, assuredly, Our Lord has truly conquered the devil because before His Passion, before His Death, before His Resurrection the devil reigned over souls from their interior. He had a hold over souls, and he still has it when souls are not baptized, as evidenced by the fact that we must pronounce the exorcisms to drive away the devil from souls. But henceforth, thanks to the Passion of Our Lord, thanks to His victory—and Our Lord Himself has affirmed it—nunc eiicietur princeps huius mundi, ”now the prince of this world will be cast out.” Indeed, he is cast out of souls who are baptized, it is true, but he still has an influence in this world. Externally, he can tempt us, he can cause tension in our life by every sort of method—you know it well—by every means which this world puts at his disposition. Yet, nonetheless, his defeat is assured. It is up to us to battle, to keep watch, to keep an
eye open to all the diabolical influences which surround us, in order
to preserve our souls for Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Celebration of the Resurrection
Finally, Our Lord has won the victory over death, for death is the consequence of sin. And, thus, today we celebrate His Resurrection, the consequence of Our Lord’s victory. We are assured that we ourselves will one day have the joy of the resurrection if only we follow Our Lord, if we love Him, as did the Blessed Virgin Mary as she stood at the foot of the Cross. This phrase which I am going to cite for you is located in the Office of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, on the day of the feast: Dilectus meus candidus et rubicundus....totus spirat amorem—“My Beloved, pure and at the same time rosy (by the blood which flows) in His entirety breathes forth love”; caput inclinatum, “His Head inclined”; manus extensae, “His Hands extended”; pectus apertum, “His Heart opened.” Yes, let us contemplate Our Lord Jesus Christ upon His Cross just as the Blessed Virgin Mary did, and let us ask Our Lord to give us this love. But in order to have this love, we must sacrifice, we must struggle. Every aspect of the Cross proves it to us. If we do not battle, if we remain passive, if we fall asleep, then the enemy will be all-powerful and will come once more to gain admission into our souls. And, alas, my dear brethren, today this is the great drama of the Church.
The Drama of the Church Today
This victory which Our Lord has won and which manifests itself today on this feast of the Resurrection comprises necessarily a gigantic combat against the world, against death, against sin. Our Lord has triumphed, but this combat continues, and the entire history of the Church is but the history of the vicissitudes of this combat. And today, are we not in an hour of darkness where the devil reigns once again, where the spirit of the world is everywhere and permeates everywhere? Are we not heading for death, for eternal death? And, alas, in the Church itself they no longer will to fight; one must not talk of combat anymore, no more talking of penance, no more talking of renouncement, no more talking of mortification. Such is the great drama which the Church is undergoing today—they have laid down their arms. Thus the devil finds himself all-powerful, because they do not fight him anymore. The day will soon come when they will say that the devil no longer exists, that the world is not really as bad as one would make it, that this world is full of good intentions! But we know that to be the instrument of the devil to pervert us. If the world has hated Our Lord, as Our Lord Himself said, the world will hate you as well. Thus, if we ourselves happen to love the world, the world will love us, and as a result we will separate ourselves from Our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet today it seems that one is full of complacency for this world—even clerics, even bishops! Yesterday I was reading a declaration made by a cardinal on the “rights of man”—for from now on it is no longer a question of the Decalogue which tells us to love God and our neighbor, it is no longer a question of speaking about our duties to God, Our Lord, and our neighbor—no, it’s only a question of the “rights of man!” And these “rights of man,” which are reputedly necessary for human dignity, what do they amount to? To the sharing of the goods of this world! It is necessary to share the goods of this world—there you have what the “rights of man” amount to.
Is that what Our Lord represents to us upon His Cross? Our Lord requires us precisely to scorn the riches of this world, and here you have it that those who ought to teach men to despise these riches, to love the spirit of poverty even if they be rich, to live as poor, poor in spirit, detached from the goods of this world, behold, those who ought to preach these things and preach Our Lord Jesus Christ think only of the allotment of the goods of this world, and thereby arouse once again envy in the hearts of men. Always more, always more than our neighbor, thus fostering jealousy of those who possess a few goods and implanting in the hearts of men this division, this class struggle, which is precisely what the devil wants in order to destroy the world and destroy souls! And will there not be in Brazil this year a meeting of all the delegates of the episcopal conferences to talk of nothing but the “rights of man?” Where is this human dignity? They talk of the “rights of man for human dignity,” but to what does it refer? Human dignity consists in loving the truth and loving the good. To the degree that we separate ourselves from the Truth, to the degree that we remove ourselves from the Good, we are no longer worthy of dignity, we shall no longer be worthy of Heaven. Would the devils still be worthy of dignity? Such are the profound errors which have actually entered into the minds of even those who should preach the truth and who henceforth are prophets of error.
The Royal Way of Heaven
And therefore we must, my dear brethren, maintain the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, meditate every day the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and put it everywhere: in our rooms, in our homes, at the crossing of our streets. Let the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ reign, and let it be everywhere before our eyes, so that we may have this continual lesson which Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us in such an admirable way! He who is rich because He is the Creator of all things, and all things belong to Him, has willed to live poor and die poor. He who should have had all the honors of the world, at whose feet all humanity should have come and prostrated itself to render Him honor and glory, died as an evildoer! He who possesses everything, and could have offered Himself all the legitimate pleasures which the world can offer, willed to perish bathed in His blood! That is the example which Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us if we desire to live truly as Christians. That is what you, my dear friends, will preach in the future: the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, just as did St. Paul. What does he preach? Jesus, and Jesus crucified. You will preach Jesus crucified for the good of souls. And if you do not, you deceive those to whom you are sent, and you will not lead them to Heaven. And it is for this reason that we must maintain firmly the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and as a consequence His Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is because the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ is no longer honored, and no longer honored in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in particular, that souls are being lost, that souls are disoriented and no longer know where to find the way to Heaven. The road to Heaven is in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; it is in the Sacrifice of Our Lord; it is in the Cross of Our Lord who pours out His blood every day upon our altars. It is by this Cross that we shall go to Heaven; there is no other road, there is no other way of salvation but the Cross of Jesus, who is the Royal Way of Heaven—Via Regalis Crucis et Caeli. That, my dearly beloved brethren, is what we must maintain at all cost.
Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to teach us the Cross. She will do so; she will tell us what is truly for us the road of Heaven, and likewise will welcome us when the hour of our death arrives if we have followed Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us ask also on this day that minds be enlightened, that the minds of priests, of those who must preach the truth, be enlightened by the Holy Ghost in order that they truly return to this preaching of the Cross, which is the throne of glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
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