Evil media happy that Cardinal Burke is in the hospital

Poor Cardinal Burke who has done so much to uphold tradition is in the hospital with Covid-19. We must all pray for his recovery. I thought he was older but apparently he's only 73.

The worst part about this is how the evil media is so thrilled about him being in the hospital. All the headlines are mocking him. Stuff like "Cardinal Burke, who is a Covid vaccine skeptic, is in the hospital". They just love to rub that in everyone's face. Who cares what he thinks about the vaccine. We should care about him in this moment. Truth is, they probably wouldn't have even reported on him were it not for his opposition to the vaccine.

The idea is that you must accept their narrative no matter what. They aren't reporting the news, they are trying to force their opinions on everyone else. It's evil and vile. They act like he deserves it because he has questions about the vaccine. Any sane person would have questions!

Anyway, we must ignore this nonsense and just pray for the cardinal.

What does a priest do all day? [Video]

Very cool video of what a priest does in a day.

Funny part is he wears his clerical clothing all day, even in bed and in the shower lol

This priest's schedule is very jam-packed. I'm surprised at how much prayer he does in the run of a day. I know he's a priest, but he essentially does two holy hours each day. Very impressive.

Virtue-Signaller-in-Chief Pope Francis Appoints Non-Ordained Woman as Undersecretary of Synod of Bishops

Pope Francis once again attempts to outdo himself on his "wokeness" by appointing a female to be undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops along with voting rights. This is the first time a woman or even an non-ordained person will have voting rights in this institution. Her name is Nathalie Becquart and she is a French Sister.

It seems to me this pope asks two questions when considering making a decision:

1) Is it technically possible?

2) Will it cause controversy for true Catholics and win brownie points from the secular media and those who hate the Church?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, he will do it. The pope is really doing little if anything to protect and defend orthodox Catholicism. Instead, he is trying to appear hip and relevant - probably the last things we need from a pope in this time of confusion.

Isn't the pope supposed to be someone we can rally around rather than being the primary source of confusion and division for the Church, even when including those outside the Church? It's really sad.

So why am I so upset about all of this? Well, many will assume I am anti-woman, that's the standard go-to for those who don't understand Catholic teaching.

That simply is not the case. The truth is there is a basic Catholic understanding called Apostolic Succession, which was instituted by Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior. He chose 12 apostles who were men to lead the Church. He could have chosen women as well, but he did not. Then for all the centuries of the Church since then, there has been male-only apostolic succession. All bishops are men because of this.

What Pope Francis is doing is weakening and causing confusion regarding apostolic succession and the male-only priesthood. Is he in direct violation and attempting to ordain women? No, he's not. But he's confusing the teachings of the Church. He is causing scandal. All for what? To score brownie points with his buddies in the secular media? Those people will never be happy. They understand nothing of the structure and history of the Church. They are just "woke" SJWs. Even if there were a female pope, they wouldn't be satisfied. They would want a female "person of color" pope, then someone with a disordered sexuality, and so on. They would never be satisfied.

The pope has said that women need a bigger role in the Church. I don't necessarily disagree with this. They can be researchers and professors and even Doctors of the Church. But I think it becomes a problem when they start taking over roles that were dedicated to bishops. The synods make major decisions regarding the Church and implementation and specification of Church teaching. This is a role proper to bishops.

The pope is either unaware of this or purposely looking to subvert this. He can go on and on writing lovely-sounding speaking points that sound like they were written by Hallmark, but that's not what we need right now. He's all about show. He's all about being in the headlines. He is terrified of being unpopular. These are not the qualities we need from a pope, especially not now in this time of confusion!

Why can't the pope just sit home and take a far more low-key approach. Why is he so thirsty for attention all the time? These are not the characteristics of someone who is qualified to be Supreme Pontiff. My advice to the Holy Father is to stop playing politics, stop trying to be popular, and start bringing together faithful Catholics and teaching the true beauty of the Faith given to us by Jesus Christ.

If you think we have it bad here...

Religious freedom in the United States and Canada is being threatened, we know of many examples. Yet, we must be thankful we are not being persecuted to the extent that our brothers and sisters in other countries have been persecuted.

Here is the story of a priest from Vietnam. Warning, the article contains graphic descriptions, but not pictures. It goes to show how horrible things were and continue to be in some parts of the world:

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/father-raphael-nguyen-profile

Feast Day of the Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket

Today, December 29, is the feast day of St. Thomas Becket who was killed by knights of King Henry II after the king uttered his famous words "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" There are other translations as well.

To summarize, very basically, the king wanted to remove some of the privileges enjoyed by the Church in England. St. Thomas objected to these changes. Although Thomas and the king had been friends for some time, and the king assumed Thomas would support his ambitions, Thomas remained steadfast in supporting the Catholic Church.

After St. Thomas was killed in the cathedral of Canterbury, the king expressed remorse and did public penance. He confessed publicly and then monks and others whipped him.

I found a really good summation of the whole thing here: https://epicpew.com/st-thomas-becket/

Unfortunately the Canterbury Cathedral is no longer under Catholic control. Also, part of the public contrition of King Henry II was to build a shrine to St. Thomas a Becket. In his insane lust for power, Henry VIII, several hundred years later, destroyed the shrine and then put the deceased Becket on trial. What an absolute mockery and sacrilege to such a great man of God.

91% of Living Catholic Bishops can be traced back to...

Scipione Rebiba

I was looking through catholic-hierarchy.org and I started with my own archbishop and found out his episcopal consecrator was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. I kept going back through the episcopal lineage of Pope John Paul II until ultimately I hit upon Cardinal Scipione Rebiba, but there was no way to go any further. I then did a google/wikipedia search and found out that Pope Benedict XVI could trace his episcopal lineage back to this same Cardinal. I realized that JPII did not consecrate B16, so I got curious.

I searched for Scipione Rebiba, and apparently 91% of living Catholic Bishops can trace their episcopacy back to him. But my question is who consecrated Rebiba?

Many believe he was consecrated by Pope Paul IV, but supporting documentation does not exist. This is very unfortunate. I have not done much research on this, but it would be an interesting topic to look into more deeply.

My bishop's connection with Pope John Paul II

I was just doing some research on catholic-hierarchy.org, a great website. I located my local Archbishop, Martin Currie, to see who consecrated him. He was consecrated by an Italian cardinal named Paolo Cardinal Romeo. Cardinal Romeo in turn was consecrated in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. This kind of reminds me of the 6 degrees of Bacon where people try to connect two actors via other actors. In this case, it would look like this:

Pope John Paul II consecrated Cardinal Romeo
Cardinal Romeo consecrated Archbishop Martin Currie

Just thought it was interesting!

Ban on Women's ordination does not mean they are inferior

The priesthood is reserved for men and any violation of this carries the penalty of an automatic excommunication. But this does not mean that women are inferior. The priesthood is simply not the role of the woman.

Jesus only selected men for apostles. He could have easily chose his mother for whom he had much love, but he didn't. We would not claim that Jesus was sexist.

When the priest says "this is my body, this is my blood" on the altar, he is acting in the person of Christ. Integral to Christ is his maleness. The priest does not say "This is Christ's body" he says it's his body, because he is in persona Christi.

The Church is not refusing to ordain women. It simply has no right to ordain them. God did not give them this right. If it has been forbidden since the beginning of Christianity, it cannot suddenly be allowed. The doctrines of the church can develop but they cannot be abrogated.

Check out the full article here:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002915.htm

Patron saint of the Internet? Feast Day is April 4th

The internet was founded a few decades ago in efforts which began in the 50s and culminated in the creation of the world wide web. But did you know there is a Catholic saint who is the patron of the Internet.

He is Isidore of Seville. Although you may never have heard of him, he has actually been very important in the Catholic Church. Isidore died in the 7th century and was the bishop of Seville, in Spain. He was canonized in 1598, and was the twelfth person raised to status of Doctor of the Church, which for him was in 1722. He is not the official patron saint of the Internet, but many consider him as such, and perhaps in the future, he will receive this title officially. He is also the patron of computers.

Isidore is famous for writing Etymologiae. In this encyclopedia, he touches on dozens of topics. There are 21 books which range from law, war, agriculture, grammar, animals, and of course, religion. It was compiled near the end of Isidore's life (he died in 636). In his treatise, Isidore takes information from Christian and pagan writers. One interesting note is that in Etymologiae, Isidore asserts that the Earth is in fact round. Apparently it isn't true that people always thought the Earth was flat.

I know this article is a bit late because Isidore's feast is April 4th, and today is April 5th. Today, say a prayer for this saint and Doctor of the Church.

Vatican Wealth: The myth that's contrasted with voluntary poverty

Many people accuse the Vatican and the Catholic Church in general of hording up money and retaining vast wealth. In fact, many say the reason priests are celibate is so that they do not have a family to pass down their possessions to. Many look at the large basilicas and cathedrals and wonder why they aren't being sold off to help the poor. I will analyze these questions and show how they are based on falsehoods.

One of the main proofs that the Catholic Church and specifically priests and bishops are not members of the clergy to gain wealth is the way the wealth they have is used and to contrast that with how others use wealth. When you look at the lifestyles of the rich and famous, whether it's the show or just the activity, what do you notice? They have huge houses, several expensive cars, a swimming pool, huge tvs, etc. And a major thing you will notice is that they are usually not celibate! Contrast this now with clergy. They usually live in a small place, have a utilitarian car, are voluntarily celibate, etc. They have forgone the trappings of this world in order to come closer to the spiritual life.

When Pope John Paul II, the head of the Catholic Church, died in 2005, he had very few possessions of personal property. Just a few little things. It is said he did not remember the meals he ate but could remember almost all the conversations he had with people. He was most interested in being a shepherd to the people of God. There are countless examples of saints living in voluntary povery in the Catholic Church, from St. Francis of Assisi who could have taken over his father's textiles business, or Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists and Doctor of the Church, who could have had a lucrative career as a lawyer in Italy but renouced that to follow a spiritual path. Mother Teresa gave up her life to be a nun in the poorest part of India. Ten thousand books could be written about saints who renounced a life of luxury to live a Catholic spiritual life and you would still not have scratched the surface.

As for basilicas and cathedrals, these were works of love. They were built by donations given by people. The people wanted places of worship where they could celebrate the Mass. Many times, people of the community actually helped in building these monuments. Brother André Bessette, who founded St. Joseph's Oratory, one of the largest churches in Canada and the world, was known for his harsh austerities. He had a tiny room and did many forms of penance. His aunt was worried that he would die because he was already frail. He in fact lived into his nineties.

As far as hording up wealth goes, the Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization on the planet. Bigger than the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, or any other institution or organization in the world.

If you are seeking personal material wealth, you better look elsewhere than the clergy of the Catholic Church.

Waiting for a new Archbishop

A couple of months ago in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, Archbishop Brendan O'Brien was sent to Kingston Ontario to be their new Archbishop. So, St. John's is waiting patiently for the arrival of a new Archbishop.

The following is information from the official archdiocesan website concerning this situation:

Father Francis Puddister Elected Archdiocesan Administrator (St. John's) The priests of the Archdiocese of St. John's of the Presbyteral Council which is also the Archdiocesan College of Consultors have elected Father Francis Puddister, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of St.John's and Parish Priest of Mary Queen of Peace Parish, Torbay Road, St.John's as the Archdiocesan Administrator for the Archdiocese of St.John's.

After Archbishop Brendan O'Brien took possession of the Archdiocese of Kingston on July 25, 2007 the College of Consultors was required by Canon Law to assume the administration of the Archdiocese and to elect a priest as Archdiocesan Administrator. Following a secret ballot, Father Francis Puddister was elected according to Canons 419 and 421.

Father Frank Puddister is originally from Bay Bulls. He received his elementary education at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish School, Bay Bulls. He later moved to St.John's where he attended St. Patrick's and later St. Bonaventure's College. He completed his high school studies at Brother Rice High School, St.John's.

He holds academic degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland (B.A.,1971) and St. Paul's University of Ottawa (Bachelor of Theology, 1976; Licence and Master's in Canon Law, 1986).

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1977 by Archbishop Patrick James Skinner.

Since ordination he has served in a number of parishes throughout the Archdiocese of St.John's. In addition to being responsible for the pastoral administration of a number of parishes he has also been responsible for the Archdiocesan Marriage Tribunal (1982-1994, 2007 to the present) and has served as the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of St.John's since 2001.

Upon his election, as the Archdiocesan Administrator, Father Puddister assumes the administration of the diocese until a new archbishop is installed or takes possession of the diocese (Canon 430).

Until his installation in the Archdiocese of Kingston, Archbsihop O'Brien was mentioned in the usual way during the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass. The name of the archbishop is now omitted until a new one is named by the Holy See. The Archdiocesan Liturgy Office suggests that prayers be offered from time to time for the Archdiocesan Administrator (Father Francis Puddister), and for all who work with him in Archdiocesan offices, in the Prayers of the Faithful of the Mass, of the Liturgy of the Hours and of the Liturgy of the Word.

May the Holy Spirit be active in the process of selecting our new archbishop. May he be a man of deep faith, integrity, fidelity and compassion. Let's pray daily!

Prayer for the election of our new bishop

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose the new Archbishop for the Archdiocese of St. John's, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries. We ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Padre Pio: "My real mission will begin after my death."

Padre Pio, born Francesco Forgione in 1887, was one of our centuries most miraculous saints. Throughout his life, Padre Pio journeyed with Christ, in a very intimate way. As one may have guessed, this caused anger from Satan, whose attacks become all the stronger the closer someone comes to Christ. With this relationship, Padre Pio suffered greatly, and bore the afflictions of Christ. In this essay, I will explore the life of Padre Pio, and explain the sufferings and joys he endured.

At a very early age, Padre Pio was very pious. His family, though illiterate, memorized the Bible and passed down religious tradition to their children. As a child, Pio communicated with Jesus, Mary, and his Guardian Angel, and did so with such ease that he at first though anyone could easily.

As a youth, Padre Pio experienced visions and ecstacies, and was drawn, by the age of 10 to the life of a Capuchin friar. When he was the right age, his family brought young Pio to the Capuchin community to see if he was eligible to enter their ranks. They said they would willingly accept him, on condition that he further his education first.

Pio's father had to go to the United States in order to make the money necessary for young Pio to get the right education. At the age of 15, Pio entered the Capuchin community. During his novitiate, it is believed that Pio was subjected to attacks by the Devil, which appeared in the form of a monstrous black dog with red eyes.

Padre Pio is famous for his visible stigmata in the form of the wounds bore by Christ. However, much before receiving visible stigmata, Padre Pio was subjected to inivisible stigmata, in which he received the pain of the wounds, without the wounds themselves. The pain was often quite severe.

Padre Pio spent much time in prayer, until he was assigned to go to war during the first world war. Padre Pio disagreed with the War, calling it "the suicide of Europe".

During this period of spiritual suffering, it is believed that Padre Pio was frequently attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. It is believed that the devil also used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. (Thanks to Wikipedia for this information).

As one of his most supernatural sufferings, Padre Pio received Transverberation. World War I was still going on, and in the month of July 1918, Pope Benedict XV who had termed the World War as "the suicide of Europe" appealed to all Christians urging them to pray for an end to the World War. On July 27 of the same year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of the war. Days passed and between August 5 and August 7, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and pierced his side. As a result of this experience, Padre Pio had a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is considered as a "transverberation" or piercing of the heart indicating the union of love with God.

Padre Pio was very embarrased of his visible stigmata, and tried to hide it as much as possible. Padre Pio prayed, not to be released from the pain of stigmata, but from the visible signs of it. He said: "I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation."

Although Padre Pio would have rathered remain in secret, the world soon knew of the stigmata he suffered, and the miracles he worked. Eventually, everyone in the Christian world and beyond knew of Padre Pio.

People close to Padre Pio affirm that he received many gifts including the gifts of healing, bilocation, levitation, prophecy, miracles, extraordinary abstinence from both sleep and nourishment (One account states that Padre Agostino recorded one instance in which Padre Pio was able to subsist for at least 20 days at Verafeno on only the Eucharist without any other nourishment), the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues, the gift of conversions, and the fragrance from his wounds.

The Death of Padre Pio
The deterioration of Padre Pio's health started during the 1960s in spite of which he continued his spiritual works. On the day after the fiftieth anniversary of his receiving the Stigmata, he experienced great tiredness. On September 22 his voice was weak when he said Mass. Early in the morning of September 23, 1968, Padre Pio made his confession and renewed his Franciscan vows. As was customary, he had his Rosary in his hands, though he had not the strength to say the Hail Marys. Till the end, he repeated over and over the words: Gesú, Maria – Jesus, Mary. At around 2:30AM, he said,"I see two mothers" (taken to mean his mother and Mary). At 2:30AM breathed his last in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo with his last breath whispering, "Maria!". His mortal remains were buried on September 26 in a crypt in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, and his funeral was attended by over a hundred thousand people. He was often heard to say, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death." The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the end state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without even leaving a scar . Only a red mark "as if drawn by a red pencil" remained on his side which also then disappeared.

May we all say a prayer to Saint Padre Pio, whose powerful intercession we can count on every day!

The Basilica of St. John the Baptist

I am very excited about this blog posting, because it is number 50! I would like to thank everyone who has read this blog and is a regular visitor to this site. I appreciate your feedback and comments about this site, and I encourage you to send in your topic suggestions. Thanks. Now on to the article!

The Basilica of St. John the Baptist is located in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. This is where I am from and write my blog. This basilica, which is now considered a cathedral, has a very special place in the ecclesiastical history of Newfoundland, as well as Canada, and even North America.

The Basilica was completed in the year 1855 after 16 years of construction. Amazingly, at the time of its building, it was the largest church in size in all of North America, including all of Canada, the US, and Mexico. It was built under the direction of Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming, who came from Ireland in the 1800s. Bishop Fleming was integral to shaping Newfoundland culture in those years, and was even responsible for developing the old Newfoundland Flag, which today is used by those seeking an independent Newfoundland. The flag is divided into thirds: pink, white and green. The pink represents Protestants (English pink), the green represents Catholics (from Ireland mostly), and the white in between represents peace between the two. This flag is still in use today, although not officially, as the flag representing those who want an Independent Newfoundland.

The Basilica is the current seat of the Bishop of Newfoundland, Brendan O'Brien, and is the most beautiful structure in Newfoundland. Because of its importance in Newfoundland spirituality and worship, the Basilica of St. John the Baptist holds a special place in the hearts of everyone here.

The Chief Exorcist of Rome Tells his Story in a Great Book

I am currently reading a book called “An exorcist tells his story” by Father Gabriele Amorth. The Introduction for the English version is written by Fr. Benedict Groschel, who is a famous priest and psychologist from New York, NY.

The book gives information on the work of exorcists. I have not yet read the entire book, but so far it is very fascinating. In it, Fr. Amorth says that more dioceses need an exorcist, and that their role has not been given the careful attention it deserves. Amorth goes deeply into the subject of exorcism, and the nature of demonic influences, which go beyond famously portrayed possessions. The Devil can influence and cause suffering to victims in various ways, such as causing scary things to happen around the person, while not actually possessing the person.

Some of the most interesting points in the book so far are that during things such as séances, any voices that people hear are not from the dead, but from demons. People are either in heaven, hell or Purgatory, and do not walk the Earth as spirits. Another interesting subject is how to tell if something is demonic and whether it is from God. Sometimes people are given special abilities, such as being able to speak in other languages, knowing information which is hidden, etc. Fr. Amorth gives ways to determine the source of various seemingly inexplicable phenomena. One indication is the effect a supernatural ability has on a person. If the ability has beneficial effect, such as giving the person greater humility, peace, joy, and comfort, it is usually from God, but if it makes the person more selfish, arrogant, or proud, or gives them a great fear of death where there was none before, it is quite possible this influence is from the Devil.

This book counters the popular belief that all things can be explained by science, such as psychology. The author acknowledges the beneficial role that science plays in society and points out that the Church recognizes the validity of science. However, he cautions that it is unwise to put all belief in it. Many times a person that could not be helped by psychology and psychiatry finds healing in exorcism. No one knows this better than Fr. Amorth, who is the chief exorcist of Rome, and the author of this book. Fr. Amorth makes a great point - that exorcisms can only be beneficial. Even if someone is not possessed or oppressed by Satan or demons in any way, an exorcism can do nothing but help, and will even help those who are not afflicted.

This book contains valuable information which is fascinating to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It is written in an easy-to-read style and appeals to a general audience. To find out more about this book, or to order it from Ignatius Press (the Publisher), please click here.

A Girl's Heroic Holy Hour with the Blessed Sacrament, which inspired Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

A few months before he died in 1979, Bishop Fulton Sheen gave a television interview. The reporter asked, “Your Excellency, you have inspired millions. Who inspired you? Was it the pope?”

Bishop Sheen responded that it was not the pope or a cardinal or another bishop or even a priest or nun. It was an eleven-year-old girl. He explained that when the communists took over China in the late forties, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory. Looking through the window, he saw the soldier enter the church and break open the tabernacle, scattering the Blessed Sacrament on the floor. The priest knew the exact number of hosts: thirty-two.

Unnoticed by the soldiers, a young girl had been praying in the back of the church and she hid when they came in. That night the girl returned and spent an hour in prayer. She then entered the sanctuary, knelt and bent over to take one of the hosts on her tongue.

The girl came back each night, spent an hour in prayer and received Jesus by picking up a sacred host with her tongue. The thirty-second night, after consuming the final host, she made an accidental sound, awakening a soldier. He ran after her and when he caught her, he struck her with his rifle butt. The noise woke the priest – but too late. From his house, he saw the girl die.

Bishop Sheen said that when he heard about this, it inspired him so much that he made a promise that he would spend one hour each day before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He always said that the power of his priesthood came from the holy hour.

Tonight, brothers and sisters, we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist. At the end of the Mass we will have a procession inside the church to adore our Savior. We will invite you to spend an hour with Jesus. From him comes our strength.

(Special Thanks for this article goes to Fr. Phil Bloom from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2964/homilyholythursday.html)