The Young Pope: My Review

First of all, I want to mention that I haven't watched all episodes of this new show called "The Young Pope" yet. In fact, I have not watched complete episodes. What I have watched is a large selection of 1-5 minute clips available on YouTube of this show.

The show seems somewhat interesting from a fictional point of view. But I think it's very far from reality. As with most shows and movies from secular sources, they portray the Vatican, the pope, and cardinals in a very particular way. Let me know explain.

In most fictional portrayals of the Holy See, the pope and cardinals are seen as very and exclusively political. They have little, if any, spiritual aspect whatsoever. Usually cardinals are scheming and plotting in order to advance their own causes. They are seeking most power, but also wealth and notoriety. These "church politicians" have people blackmailed, assaulted, or even killed to advance their evil. Plus they are so powerful, little can be done about it.

This particular series is no different. It is produced by Sky and HBO, and it has a clear resemblance with the Sopranos, also produced by HBO. The pope, played by Jude Law, is ambitious, rigid, and Machiavellian. He is a control freak and power hungry. He is not very Christ-like.

The activity within the Vatican seem no different than within a political party or something portrayed on West Wing, except in West Wing the characters aren't nearly as evil.

In the show, the pope and cardinals discuss doctrine as if it is as changeable as the policies of any political party. For example, the pope and a bishop who was almost elected are discussing abortion. But the way they talk about it was the bishop was urging the pope to change the Church's teaching on abortion. To say that it's not the intentional killing of a human person and therefore murder. They made it seem like the pope, on a whim, could easily just change the Church's teaching.

This betrays a complete lack of understanding of how doctrine works. It's not a "coincidence" that most popes don't change anything with regards to doctrine. Rather, once something is declared a doctrine it does not change. The only things that are changeable are disciplines. For example, not eating meat on Friday is a form of penance and practice, but not an eternal moral law. Therefore, a pope, or the church in general can change this teaching. But the Church does not see itself as having the ability to change the teaching on murder or abortion or marriage, or other issues such as this. I hope that makes sense.

The sad part about all of this is that people are left with completely incorrect views of how the Church functions and the people in it. The pope isn't a politician who can change any law, no more than a physicist can change any law of physics, even if he is the head of a department. Also, after watching the show, many non-Catholics and fallen away Catholics are left with the impression that the pope and cardinals, and others in the Church are conniving, ambitious, immoral people, which is very far from the truth. To see why, we need look no further than the last several centuries of popes to see their personal holiness which is usually exemplary.

For example, both Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI were known for living very simply. JPII didn't even usually remember what he ate because he was too focused on his dinner guests. They had small rooms and did not live in luxury. To improve himself spiritually, John Paul II would even use a discipline or small whip to "mortify" his flesh. These great holy men would pray (and in the case of Benedict XVI continue to pray) for hours daily for the needs of the Church and the world.

The papacy is not somewhere a traditionally ambitious person would want to end up. Most of a pope's days are spent entertaining guests and dignitaries, attending events and making big decisions. When a bishop is first elected pope, he goes to a room to get his outfit. This room has been dubbed the Room of Tears, given that most new popes break down in tears upon realizing the huge responsibility they are now charged with. Pope Benedict XVI made clear his desire not to be pope, but when elected anyway, he accepted.

On the bright side, it is possible that if people find this show interesting, they may seek more information themselves. Perhaps in their search they will find the truth and be attracted to it.

In the Netherlands, this prodigy would have been killed!

Last night my fiancée and I were watching a show about a man named Derek Paravicini.  He's an extraordinary piano Prodigy who can play any piece of music after hearing it just once. He is also able to improvise with very complex patterns of music. But there's something unique about this person. He was born premature and after being exposed to high levels of oxygen he became blind. He is also extremely autistic and cannot even take care of himself to do normal day-to-day activities. He doesn't interact with people in a normal way. However his musical genius outperforms almost anybody currently living.

 Then this morning I was going through my Facebook feed and I noticed an article from lifesitenews where they explained that doctors in Groningen Netherlands are legally allowed to kill children who have been born if the doctor believes that the quality of life of this child won't be sufficient. And their definition of what constitutes a good quality of life to these doctors is more stringent than you may think. As far back as 1992 the Dutch  Royal Society of Medicine decided that it's best to kill a child if that child would not be able to live independently and experience self realization which includes the ability to hear read write and labor among other things as well as having meaningful interpersonal relationships. They decided that if a child does not meet these criteria he does not have the right to even live and should be killed by the doctor.

Obviously Derek Paravicini would not qualify for life under these strict conditions. Clearly Derek does not have the ability to live independently as he requires people to take care of him. He is not able to read or write or labor in the normal sense of the word. Obviously killing Derek would not make the world a better place but this is precisely what doctors in the Netherlands feel is the best course of action. This is absolutely unbelievable and extremely shocking and sad. That a so-called modern society can even get away with such atrocities is unimaginable. We are currently seeing Eugenics and genocide occurring before our very eyes in countries we thought more advanced but clearly are more barbaric than almost any others.

Even though the situation is particularly terrible in places like the Netherlands and Belgium, where the Culture of Death is, ironically, alive and well, we too have our fair share of blame. In our so-called modern Western cultures, over 90% of unborn babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. Down Syndrome people are some of the happiest, joyful, and unconditionally loving people in the world. And yet, they are killed before they see the light of day.

Whenever a small opening is allowed for the culture of death into a society, it inevitably expands. At first, doctor-assisted suicide was allowed in some countries under strict conditions. But as years go by, the conditions are continually reduced, and more and more people start being killed. Before you know it, anyone can become a victim. And so it goes in so many area.

Let's do everything we can to end these barbaric practices in our so-called modern societies.

Here's the video about Derek:

Latin Mass Tip: Read the English

I hope I don't cause any controversy by saying this and if I'm making some kind of a mistake or doing something I shouldn't be doing please let me know as soon as possible in the comments section below. But what I wanted to mention was an idea that I have for facilitating and making the Latin Mass more approachable. One of the things that I like to do is especially when the priest is doing silent prayer and there is silence in the church is to read the English side of the prayer book to keep track of where the priest is and to follow along with the Mass.

I find this extremely beneficial because you are engaging your mind and your soul in participating in the Mass. I will also do this during parts of the Mass where the priest is reciting passages out loud. I find reading the English side of the Missal to be very beneficial in my spiritual attendance at Mass and I do not drift off in thought.

Now, as I mentioned, I'm not sure if this is what you are supposed to do. Are we always supposed to just read the Latin side and to recite the Latin prayers? I'm not 100% sure. In fact it is my understanding that we are not required to recite all parts of the Latin Mass designed for the congregation. I find in the Latin Mass that I attend that a lot of people will read the vast majority of these parts but while I was speaking with one of my friends who is very knowledgeable in this area he said that it is not required for Catholics to read aloud most of the parts of the Mass.

In fact he said the requirement is only to read two or three things during the Mass such as the Nicene Creed. Anyway as I mentioned this is just a tip that I find beneficial for connecting to the Mass on a deeper level. I hope to share more of these tips in the future weeks and months ahead. Have a great New Year!

Reason #152 I Like Latin Mass: No Talking Before and During Mass

One of the things I really prefer about Latin Mass over the typical vernacular Mass is the atmosphere. I went to mass this past Sunday and when I walked in there weren't a whole pile of people just talking about anything under the sun. In fact there were very few, if any, people talking whatsoever.

Usually when I walk into a church for Mass every single person is talking - many are talking at a very loud volume. But when I go into the Latin Mass church, people are silent and praying and being reflective as they should be. I even remember in one of the other churches that I attend where they have the ordinary Mass and they have a sign up that says "please respect the peace and quiet of this church while you were waiting for Mass to begin". But very few, if any, people actually follow this.

So from that standpoint being able to go into a church where people are prayerful and Silent is a really huge help and also during mass people listen to and respond to the prayers as they should and nobody is talking during the mass. It's so much better.

Forgotten Tradition of Blessing Mother After Birth

I found a fascinating article about an ancient tradition in the Catholic Church wear by a mother was reintroduced back into the church after giving birth to a new child. It was a form of blessing for the mother and for her health and for the health of her new baby and a form of Thanksgiving for the birth of the child. In earlier times children were always baptized very soon after birth often the same day or the next day. Nowadays it can be a little bit longer because the fear of a child dying soon after birth are diminished and often children are baptized a week or maybe 2 weeks after birth. But check out this fascinating article about this form of blessing for a new mother after giving birth.

The Forgotten Tradition of “Churching,” the Ancient Post-Partum Blessing

WARNING: Pot-Smoking Nuns FAKE

CAUTION: THESE ARE NOT REAL NUNS!



 There has been a video that has been circulating widely about a group of nuns who are in the business of growing and selling marijuana. They wear a habit just like ordinary Catholic nuns but it must be pointed out that these are not legitimate real actual Catholic nuns that are sanctioned by the Catholic church in any way shape or form.

These are in fact imposters who for some reason are trying to make themselves look like their actual Catholic nuns or sisters but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact I don't believe they follow any form of Catholic spirituality whatsoever. The only reason they are wearing a seemingly Catholic outfit is to give themselves an appearance of legitimacy. Obviously all around the world especially in the United States there are all kinds of people who are growing and selling marijuana. But nobody is covering them as a news story because they don't seem  noteworthy. But when they don a religious habit all of a sudden they appear to be more legitimate.

I strongly urge you to reject these people and to call them out to tell them to stop imitating Catholic nuns because they have no business doing so and they should stop doing it immediately.

Happy New Year AND Feast Day of Mary, Mother of God

First of all I want to say Happy New Year to all of the people who read this blog. I hope 2017 is your best year yet and that it brings all kinds of joy peace and happiness in your life. January 1st is celebrated as New Year's Day in most of the world but for Catholics it also marks another very special day. It is the solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. It is celebrated exactly one week after Christmas and it is especially celebrated to contemplate Mary's unique motherhood of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

 The title of  Mother of God in relation to Mary was officially adopted and defined at the First Council of Ephesus in the year 431 however even before then Mary had been called the Mother of God. It follows an unavoidable series of logic:

1. Jesus is God.
2. Mary is the mother of Jesus.
3. Therefore Mary is the mother of God.
In Greek the name is Theotokos which technically means God Bearer or She Who Gave Birth to God.

 In Canada the solemnity of Mary the Mother of God is a holy day of obligation. Every country has its own list of holy days of obligation which by definition are days on which Catholics are obliged to attend Mass but which are not Sundays. In Canada there only two such days. One is Christmas day and the other is January 1st, the solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. This particular Christmas season both of these days fall on a Sunday which means you actually do not have to attend any additional masses this year.

 So once again happy and joyful New Year and may 2017 be your best year yet!