Sunday, January 31, 2016
Rome Quotes
"Marriage calls each spouse to fight against himself for the sake of his beloved. This is why it has become so unpopular today. People are no longer willing to achieve the greatest of all victories, the victory over self."
-Alice von Hildebrand
-Alice von Hildebrand
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
Do Not Kneel Before Zod
The Donald is a Democrat.
We have a lot of talent in the pool and we don't wan to blow it. Give the conservatives a chance.
Read Russell Kirk and help save American conservatism before it really is too late.
https://catholicvote.org/nottrump/
This really is the most interesting election year in recent memory.
The Republicans have put forward a woman (Fiorina), a black guy (Carson), a Canadian (Cruz), a Latino (Rubio), a physician (Paul), a former governor (Huckabee and Christie), a former senator (Santorum), a son and brother of former presidents (Bush), and even a business magnate (Trump), who is actually a Democrat.
I might add, a few Catholics!
Meanwhile, the leftist media continues to tell us how unspeakably horrible, evil and terrible the Republican Party is. God bless Hilarity and Bernie, the two white seniors still hanging in there, totally immune from media scrutiny.
We have a lot of talent in the pool and we don't wan to blow it. Give the conservatives a chance.
Read Russell Kirk and help save American conservatism before it really is too late.
https://catholicvote.org/nottrump/
This really is the most interesting election year in recent memory.
The Republicans have put forward a woman (Fiorina), a black guy (Carson), a Canadian (Cruz), a Latino (Rubio), a physician (Paul), a former governor (Huckabee and Christie), a former senator (Santorum), a son and brother of former presidents (Bush), and even a business magnate (Trump), who is actually a Democrat.
I might add, a few Catholics!
Meanwhile, the leftist media continues to tell us how unspeakably horrible, evil and terrible the Republican Party is. God bless Hilarity and Bernie, the two white seniors still hanging in there, totally immune from media scrutiny.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
An Inspiring New Book to Purchase
"The inspiring true story of the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale is one of the most positive and fruitful stories of the Vatican II-era. In short, it is a triumph. I strongly encourage Catholics across the globe to purchase this book and to be inspired by its contents. Monsignor Schuler made history and we were blessed to have been a part of it. Those, indeed, were the good old days. Cum Angelis Canere!"
-J.P. Sonnen, KHS
To Sing With The Angels
A New Book Chronicling the Remarkable History of the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale
By Virginia A. Schubert, PhD
http://saintceciliapublications.com/
Catholic Culture: SSA (Same-Sex Attraction) Ministry
An excellent site by an excellent man (and convert to the Catholic Faith!) I am proud to call a good friend:
http://thesheepfold.typepad.com/the_sheepcat/
http://thesheepfold.typepad.com/the_sheepcat/
European Shrines "Jubilee Holy Year" Tour
Tour includes Fatima, Lourdes and Santiago.
Daily Mass with Canadian priest in the Extraordinary Form.
Don't miss out on this rare opportunity to see it all in one tour.
Deadline for registration this week. CONTACT US ASAP TO REGISTER.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Paleo-Christian Remains in Carthage
Then came malaise, an economic crisis and the sword of Islam.
At the end of the 4th century, this place was rolling. It was a city protected by impressive city walls constructed by the Emperor Theodosius.
Carthage boasted a stadium with a capacity of up to 70,000, an amphitheatre for 40,000, a theatre for 10,000, thermal baths, religious buildings, 12 Christian Basilicas and a major aqueduct.
A great honor to pray here amid the rubble. That these places of prayer might one day again be restored. It will take a miracle and the conversion of the locals. It has happened before.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
What an Early Christian Basilica Looked Like
Founded in 814 BC, there is a lot of history here. It was quite interesting to explore the ruins of this old Christian Basilica.
One can almost still hear the haunting Greek chants of the Liturgy.
GREEK CHANT.
Praying Inside a Ruined Christian Basilica at Carthage
Where Augustine and Monica walked.
Today abandoned and forgotten. But not by all.
It would be splendid to have THE DIVINE LITURGY sung here, in Greek, by the Basilican monks of the Exarchic Greek Abbey of St. Mary of Grottaferrata, located just outside Rome. Tears would be flowing at the beauty, grace and power of the early Christian Liturgy.
It would be splendid to have THE DIVINE LITURGY sung here, in Greek, by the Basilican monks of the Exarchic Greek Abbey of St. Mary of Grottaferrata, located just outside Rome. Tears would be flowing at the beauty, grace and power of the early Christian Liturgy.
Remains of a Ruined Christian Basilica in Carthage
Today but a memory of the past.
False Gods: Moloch and Propitiary Child Sacrifice by Parents
Greco-Roman sources tell us that Carthaginians burned their children as offerings to Baal Hammon.
Satan demands child sacrifice in every generation. Abortion today. Moloch then. The evil spirits of child sacrifice are alive and well. It is up to Christians to alert the world.
Teaching Catholics to Evangelize: Support the New Evangelization Summit
We are getting ready for NES2016.
This is the second annual Summit, an international event and two-day conference hosted in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada.
The event will be steamed to multiple host-sites across North America.
The NES draws many thousands of faithful Catholics from cities across the USA and Canada.
The website reads: "Our hearts need to be set on fire with a love for Christ and a desire to make Him known. Only a person that is deeply convinced of the need for evangelization will begin to go out and do it. It is easy for our love to grow lukewarm and our hearts to grow cold. We need to be reminded and inspired regularly of the tremendous gift God has for us: to be an instrument in leading other people to salvation."
For further information see here: www.newevangelization.ca
Rome Quotes
"There are, then, many reasons why mortification is necessary. A further important consideration is that our facility in prayer largely depends on it, since without some kind of systematic self-denial we cannot pray well. And why? Because we cannot have close union with God unless we fulfill the conditions laid down by Himself, and one of these was that we should take up our cross daily. But another reason for it is that self-indulgence is the enemy of fervor, and it also fills the mind with distracting images, and the heart with counter-attractions, both of which prevent prayer. Indeed, so true is this connection between mortification and prayer that one spiritual master has roundly declared: 'There is a definite connection between how we take our food and how we pray.' We know, too, that mortification has the effect of producing peace of mind, largely because it strengthens the power of the will over the passions. That is one of several reasons why the most mortified individuals or communities are usually the most contented and cheerful, whereas the self-indulgent are generally restless and unhappy."
-Dom Basil Hemphill, OSB
-Dom Basil Hemphill, OSB
RIP: Dr. Michael Jordan, PhD
My favorite old college prof has passed away from cancer.
He was a fine professor and very meek, an excellent combination.
He was also the only teacher at my alma mater I ever heard mention each day the beauty and importance of a proper understanding of "aesthetics." In fact, some students in the class were unable to define the word.
He gave us a love for that branch of philosophy that touches on the nature of art, beauty, and taste. The proper creation and true appreciation of authentic beauty must be instilled in the hearts of our youth from the youngest age.
Well done, good and faithful servant.
In your charity, pray for the repose of his soul.
“We never know how high we are till we are asked to rise.” -Emily Dickinson
He was a fine professor and very meek, an excellent combination.
He was also the only teacher at my alma mater I ever heard mention each day the beauty and importance of a proper understanding of "aesthetics." In fact, some students in the class were unable to define the word.
He gave us a love for that branch of philosophy that touches on the nature of art, beauty, and taste. The proper creation and true appreciation of authentic beauty must be instilled in the hearts of our youth from the youngest age.
Well done, good and faithful servant.
In your charity, pray for the repose of his soul.
“We never know how high we are till we are asked to rise.” -Emily Dickinson
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Catholic Culture: Get Your Kids to the March for Life!
Yours truly grew up going to the Twin Cities March for Life every year.
We hated it. It was cold and and an ugly subject.
Further, many of us were ridiculed by the secular culture for standing up and not going along with the leftist media.
But it was the Lord's work. And missing school was nice.
One year, I was there alone, in my college years. Shivering on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol. It was freezing. I did not want to be there.
Two elderly men ran up and stood next to me, shivering in the cold, wearing scarves and winter caps.
I recognized them immediately.
Bishop Paul Dudley and his brother, Fr. Francis Dudley. Two saints, of blessed memory.
In that moment, it hit me like a train.
The Lord confirmed me in that moment: we stand not alone!
Never give up.
If the liberal garbage media tells you it is okay to kill innocent babies in utero, then you stand up for the voiceless and be a voice!
January 22, 1973 is a day that will live in infamy. It is the darkest day in U.S. history and is to be a day of prayer, fasting and penance for all Christians until killing babies becomes again a crime under the law in our land.
We are not innocent. The blood of 50 million butchered babies remains atop our soil.
Personhood rights for all human persons. Legal human abortion remains the greatest human rights abuse of our day.
Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!
We hated it. It was cold and and an ugly subject.
Further, many of us were ridiculed by the secular culture for standing up and not going along with the leftist media.
But it was the Lord's work. And missing school was nice.
One year, I was there alone, in my college years. Shivering on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol. It was freezing. I did not want to be there.
Two elderly men ran up and stood next to me, shivering in the cold, wearing scarves and winter caps.
I recognized them immediately.
Bishop Paul Dudley and his brother, Fr. Francis Dudley. Two saints, of blessed memory.
In that moment, it hit me like a train.
The Lord confirmed me in that moment: we stand not alone!
Never give up.
If the liberal garbage media tells you it is okay to kill innocent babies in utero, then you stand up for the voiceless and be a voice!
January 22, 1973 is a day that will live in infamy. It is the darkest day in U.S. history and is to be a day of prayer, fasting and penance for all Christians until killing babies becomes again a crime under the law in our land.
We are not innocent. The blood of 50 million butchered babies remains atop our soil.
Personhood rights for all human persons. Legal human abortion remains the greatest human rights abuse of our day.
Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!
Monday, January 25, 2016
PODCAzT of Fr. Z Magnus
PODCAzTs from Fr. Z are always excellent.
I wish there were more.
He has a good radio voice and the editing and humor make it extra enjoyable.
Listen HERE.
I wish there were more.
He has a good radio voice and the editing and humor make it extra enjoyable.
Listen HERE.
Rome Quotes
"Some of the worst enemies of Catholicism are Catholics. It is safe to say that if all Catholics were half what they should be the world would with difficulty hold out against conversion. But some Catholics repel people from the Faith. Catholics in name, but not in reality, give Catholicism a bad character. Instead of representing their religion, they misrepresent it. The lives of some Catholics make a caricature of the religion they profess. They do harm to the most sacred cause on earth."
-Martin Scott, S.J.
-Martin Scott, S.J.
The Beer Cardinals Drink in the Vatican
Online purchase and doorstep delivery of Birra Nursia is a great thing.
The monk-brewed craft beer is made at the birthplace of St. Benedict, in the hills northeast of Rome, in the enclosure of the 1,000-year-old monastery.
I was able to visit the brewery last year in Norcia and it was a delight to see how the local Benedictine community has grown and flourished since the last time I was there.
The beer is generously served in the restaurants of Norcia (Trattoria dal Francese is my favorite).
The monks have a newly renovated gift shop which is a must see, as well as the crypt of the Basilica, where St. Benedict and St. Scholastica were born.
To enjoy the beer is a touch of heaven. All beer ought to be made by monks.
A limited quantity of the beer will be available each month.
Order here: http://birranursia.com/.
Rome Quotes
"There are no happier people in the world than Catholics who live up to their religion."
-Martin Scott, S.J.
-Martin Scott, S.J.
Responding to the Modern Attack on Christianity
Objective truth exists. And you can know it. And it can set you free.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Ancient Carthage: the Archeological Ruins
A bit like our abortion culture of today, they too, began killing their babies, en masse. Legal infanticide, sanctioned by the government. They had sunk so low, their civilization crashed to pieces.
Ancient Carthage: the Archeological Ruins
Old Town Medina Market
Carthage Real Estate
Best Souvenir in Carthage: A Birdcage
In Carthage they make the most lovely bird cages. It makes a great souvenir. You see them everywhere.
The Old White Fathers Seminary at Carthage
Now a museum, owned by the state.
Near here is where Churchill addressed British troops in the old Roman amphitheatre during WWII.
Near here is where Churchill addressed British troops in the old Roman amphitheatre during WWII.
Visit Tunisia
Friday, January 22, 2016
Future Arms of Bishop Yet to be Carved
Facade of Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul in Tunis, Tunisia.
Built by the Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa (aka the White Fathers):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Fathers
The Church is in need of courageous new missionaries here! Is this your vocation...
Built by the Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa (aka the White Fathers):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Fathers
The Church is in need of courageous new missionaries here! Is this your vocation...
Tunis Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul
Construction began in 1893 and the church was opened Christmas 1897.
Ironic as this is the city where St. Vincent, after having been kidnapped by Islamic pirates, was sold as a slave and was kept in chains for two years on the road until his escape with a former priest to Rome and back to France.
Today, raised to the glory of the altars, he intercedes for us while a Cathedral stands in his honor in the same city -- a beacon of hope in this beautiful land that is asking to be converted back to Christ, through the intercession of St. Augustine, a native of this same place (Algeria and Carthage).
The White Fathers who have worked here have gone off the rails, but so nice to see the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word working here today with a bunch of members (both priests & sisters): http://ive.org/ive/index.php/