Divine Intervention and Archbishop Vigano

Torch of The Faith News on Monday 03 September 2018 - 11:49:33 | by admin

Just over a week ago, with the sacrilegious World Meeting of Families in full swing and the final preparations in place for the engineered Youth Synod, it appeared as though the Bergoglian assault had secured its key battle objectives and that the mopping up of the final redoubts of Catholic orthodoxy was about to begin.

And then, like manna from Heaven, the searing revelations of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano burst forth into the light, exposing evil and giving faithful Catholics a renewed and unexpected hope for the derailment of the whole wretched plan.

Who can doubt that the timing of this whole thing is, as The Remnant so discerningly suggests, an example of Divine Intervention?

Yet, it is an example which, whilst demonstrating the hand of Providence, also illustrates the great good that can be done when faithful Catholics do their part, as Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano has done, and make a clear stand for Truth.

Just look how those implicated subversives are behaving in the wake of these revelations: Francis refuses to answer straight questions about his part; Wuerl initially does a spooky runner; Cupich obfuscates with red herrings about the environment, immigration and rabbit holes; whilst Maradiaga... Well, with startlingly outlandish hubris, Mariadaga suggests it is a sin against the Holy Spirit - as in the Unforgivable Sin folks! - to ask for the resignation of the pope.

I wonder if any of the St. Gallen Mafia had any such qualms of conscience...

Without a doubt, the Church is at a moment of unprecedented import. 

Although I had little time to post articles last week, I was aware of the news. Indeed, in those days, there were moments when the spiritual battle was so intense that the very atmosphere seemed that it might suddenly burst out in golden fire.

That, and the accompanying Good Friday anguish, was an experience that, like so many of you, I had also experienced in the weeks running up to, during, and just after the ''Robber Synod'' of 2015.

There was a particularly heavy sense of brooding in the atmosphere on Saturday evening.

And yet, whenever I thought of, and prayed for the safety of, Archbishop Vigano last week, there was a deep sense of ''cotton wool'' peace.

Truly God is with him.

May Our Lady and the Holy Angels protect and preserve him.

Yesterday, the courageous young priest at Holy Mass asked that, within this time of revelations and turmoil in the Church, the faithful pray each day the Collect prayer from yesterday's Traditional Latin Mass.

We reproduce the prayer here and invite all our readers to please join us in praying it for the defeat of the Church's internal and external enemies, and for the Church to come through this dark night with renewed splendour.

Collect Prayer for 15th Sunday After Pentecost in the Traditional Latin Mass: May Thy continual mercy, O Lord, purify and defend Thy Church: and since without Thee it cannot abide in safety, may it always be directed by Thy grace. Through Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who livest and reignest with Thee and the Holy Ghost, One God for ever and ever. Amen. 

The Truth is Coming Out! Keep the Faith!

0

Veritas!

Torch of The Faith News on Saturday 01 September 2018 - 12:44:34 | by admin

It is startling to compare the response of the mainstream media in the UK, and other places, to Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano's claims relating to Pope Francis, with the manner in which the media used to deal with Pope Benedict XVI.

For instance, whilst Pope Benedict actually made solid moves to drastically improve and toughen the Church's stance against sexual predators who had infiltrated the sacred priesthood, the mainstream media went to town on him whenever the problem of priestly sex abuse arose. Yet when it comes to Francis, who rehabilitated figures like the disgraced Mauro Inzoli - nicknamed ''Don Mercedes'' - and, allegedly, even Theodore McCarrick, the media gives him an easy pass. 

It is certainly remarkable that the mainstream media has even turned a blind eye this week to the more recent claims at LifeSiteNews, which suggested that Francis dismissed Cardinal Muller from the CDF, for actually following the toughened rules on abuse cases.

In short, if the kind of accusations being made by Vigano against Francis had been levelled at Benedict, he would have faced a massive media firestorm calling for his abdication.

However, what has instead been seen this week, in relation to Francis, is the construction of a media narrative which - whilst encouraging the rest of the world to go back to sleep over the issue, as though sexual predators in the Catholic priesthood no longer mattered one jot - tries to make it appear as though the whole Vigano affair is nothing more serious than a bunch of outdated - they say ''homophobic''- conservatives, who want to throw a spanner in the works of Francis' programme of ''liberalisation'' of the Catholic Church.

That this narrative has gained a certain hegemony, can be seen in the fact that most people in this media-saturated age have already forgotten the core issue: that of the predatory sex abuse carried out by Theodore McCarrick and what, and importantly, when Francis knew of all this; and whether and why Francis rehabilitated McCarrick from sanctions imposed by Benedict.

Toward the end of a BBC report, which itself has been sliding steadily down the main news items every day this week, one reads:

Francis did not reply to the cardinals' letter. Nor has he replied to Carlo Maria Vigano's accusations... The Pope has clearly decided that there is nothing to be gained by engaging in open battle with conservative critics.

Given the usual treatment by the mainstream media of all things Catholic, especially reigning pontiffs, and their historical use of crises in the Church to go on the offensive, it is truly remarkable to witness this kind of approach.

The more so, when one remembers Francis' massive airplane interview fail this week, when he refused to answer clear questions to the media. Had he handled this in a more honest-looking manner, instead of weirdly palming off his interlocutor, he could have cleared his name right there and then.

Were the media ever so generous to someone in that kind of compromised position?

It is also remarkable that the general mainstream media narrative dovetails so neatly with the messages of support being put out by various Bishops' Conferences, as well as such notable space cadets as Cupich with his unentered rabbit hole, which have been bleating unfailing support for Francis against those they suggest are trying to ''split the Church''...

None of this nonsense must be permitted to obscure the basic facts that have to be investigated in light of Vigano's claims; facts, indeed, which Vigano himself is consistently asking to be investigated and brought out into the light of truth.

The key facts include:-

1. Did Pope Benedict impose sanctions on Theodore McCarrick?

2. Did McCarrick and his fellow-travellers ignore those sanctions?

3. Did Francis lift those sanctions and rehabilitate McCarrick? 

4. Why?

5. Did Francis know, from at the very least 23rd June, 2013, that McCarrick was a serial sexual predator?

6. Was McCarrick a kingmaker to - in addition to Francis himself! - the likes of the Modernists Cupich and Tobin?

7. Will Francis honour his own demand for ''zero tolerance'' to be shown to sexual abusers and their enablers, by being transparent; and also by stepping down if found to be guilty of the accusations made by Vigano?

As this week has progressed, and the news has lurched from one dramatic bombshell to the next, the appearance of honesty and integrity in Vigano only looks to have increased.

Just witness the basic fact that, like some hero in an apocalyptic Michael O'Brien novel, Vigano has had to go into hiding to protect his own safety; whereas Wuerl has given every impression of fleeing to escape the arm of justice and the law!

Neither of those actions could be said to improve the impression of Francis' transparency in this issue.

All of this can be easily settled.

Let Vigano's claims thus be investigated.

In the end, the Truth will prevail.

CCC 2468: Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness, sincerity, or candour. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy. 

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom - Pray for us!

0

Airplane Magisterium Stutters Out...

Torch of The Faith News on Monday 27 August 2018 - 17:00:34 | by admin

From questions about Amoris Laetitia on all the way to the Zika Virus, the ''Airplane Magisterium'' of Francis has so often been a veritable A-Z of confusion, contradiction and ''go read it for yourself'' obfuscation.

Francis' non-answer to the journalistic questions, posed to him on the return flight to Rome from the gravely sacrilegious and scandalous World Meeting of Families in Dublin, is in perfect continuity with that tradition.

We might even say that it may only be fully understood within that hermeneutical continuity!

It is, first of all, interesting to notice on the on-line video footage, how Francis immediately lowered his microphone and drooped his shoulders, when the lady journalist asked him to comment on the bombshell document, which had just been published by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.

When asked the question whether it was true that Vigano personally told Francis about the behaviour of, and sexual abuse by, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, in 2013, and even that Pope Benedict XVI had imposed key sanctions on McCarrick, Francis did what he basically used to do when asked searching questions about Amoris Laetitia: He told journalists to go and read the statement through carefully for themselves and then make their own judgement.

Again, to the subsequent question, ''When was the first time that you heard about the abuses that the former cardinal had committed?'' Francis replied: ''Study and then I will say something.''

This failure to answer a simple and direct question is a dramatic revelation before the whole world.

No matter what happens after this to obscure or slight Vigano, or to hinder those who are seeking the truth, everyone with eyes to see has now witnessed this radical inability of Francis to provide a straight answer to an honest and direct question.

It has already been interesting, and indeed most disturbing, to see how various mainstream media sources, as well as the usual ''journalistic'' supporters of Francis, are already trying to undermine Vigano's sincere call for the truth to be exposed. They are doing this by slighting the archbishop's claims, and the work of faithful Catholics, without even first searching for the truth as one would expect authentic journalists to do.

Nevertheless, the truth is beginning to come out and everyone who cares for the truth will indeed read carefully through those eleven pages of Archbishop Vigano's letter and draw their own conclusions.

And Cardinal Burke has alluded that this will lead to legitimate ecclesiastical action.

Although I imagine that this is only the beginning of a very difficult and painful road for the Catholic Church and the persecuted, orthodox members of the faithful, it certainly looks as though the ''Airplane Magisterium'' of Francis has now begun to stutter out.

And by the reality of that refusal to answer a straightforward question - which could have proved or disproved his innocence involving a very grave matter - the confusions, obfuscations, and indeed outright errors, of Francis' whole ''Airplane Magisterium'' of interviews and acts on aeroplanes must be judged.

And, when the truth is established, likely his whole time in the role of pope, to boot.

Ladies and gentlemen, please buckle up your seatbelts; for I believe we are in for a very bumpy ride.

PS: That bit about the sanctions applied by Pope Benedict XVI to McCarrick certainly casts an interesting light on Cardinal Kevin Farrell's video denials of knowledge. 

The Truth is coming out.

Let us heed the words of Cardinal Raymond Burke, who has noted that the truth of each of Archbishop Vigano's declarations must be established and then appropriate sanctions must be applied: ''All good Catholics must pray and sacrifice for the Church at this tumultous time.''

Our Lady of Fatima - Pray for us!       

0

The Cascading Descent of Revolution

Torch of The Faith News on Saturday 25 August 2018 - 13:47:52 | by admin

The bishops at the World Meeting of Families presenting a spectacle of frivolity, somewhere between a circus, a sports fixture and a pagan ceremony. At last night's Mass, whilst bedecked in the pinkish set of ''swirl'' vestments, the American homosexual activist, Deacon Ray Dever, stood alongside Theodore McCarrick's long-time house-mate, Cardinal Kevin Farrell...

I've been reading LifeSiteNews' overview of Dr. Thomas Ward's presentation at Lumen Fidei Institute's Catholic conference; an orthodox alternative to the official, and clearly pro-homosexual, World Meeting of Families in Dublin.

It is certainly notable that, with 400 attendees, the alternative family-friendly event pulled in double the number that attended for Cardinal Vincent Nichols' presentation at the official Francis-Vatican sponsored event.

From what I have read of his presentation, the good Dr. Ward has made a very accurate prognosis of the situation now facing the Church and society, as well as the historical context which has brought everything to this distressing point.

This is something I speak of in terms of a cascading descent of revolution.

And so, Dr. Ward asks whether we are witnessing ''an intent at a Vatican revolution which would be a culmination and fulfillment of all three previous revolutions (French, 1789), Communist (1848), and sexual (1968).''

To which I would only add the earlier 16th-Century Protestant Revolution, which contained the seed of these later revolutions in germ-form and paved the way for them.

All faithful Catholics now find themselves in an excruciating position of seeing the One True Faith infiltrated, obscured, subverted and maligned.

Francis, his entourage and their liberal fellow travellers throughout the Church are out in the open taking as many opportunities to undermine the Faith and the faithful as they possibly can. They do this by their words, their actions and the photographic visuals for which they pose during these kind of events.

Worse still the defence of the Faith, which continues to fall on less than a handful of prelates, and a small number of suffering clergy and lay people around the world, takes place in the midst of a hostile cultural situation, with an increasing propensity for persecution.

It is certainly revealing of the true nature and mission of Francis that his choice of words, actions and supporters increasingly exposes orthodox Catholics to the grim winds of persecution.

For example, at the World Meeting of Families, Francis has given a platform for his homosexualist friend James Martin SJ to promote homosexual ideology within the Church, complete with the LGBT nomenclature, at an official Catholic event.

Yet, when Catholics stand up to defend the Faith and souls with the full catechetical teachings of the Church, Martin labels them, and this in mainstream media, as ''haters''.

Not only is this an unjust label which misrepresents the motivation of orthodox Catholic commentators, but it is also a dangerous one to put about in jurisdictions which increasingly interpret such defences of traditional morality as ''hate crimes''.

Then, too, Francis' identification of ''clericalism'' as the central cause of the unfolding sex-abuse and cover-up crisis, ignores the fact that, in around 70% of the recently revealed cases, the clericalism in action was only a secondary problem to the fact that homosexual men were abusing post-pubescent males and being protected after doing so by their superiors.

That is merely a statement of the evidential facts.

Again, such targeting of ''clericalism'' is itself a loaded term in a liberal environment which, unjustly, confuses clerical abuse of power with the legitimate expressions of clerical life.

For example, many orthodox Catholic priests and seminarians are already persecuted for supposed ''clericalism'', just because they wear the Roman collar and cassock, comport themselves reverently in a priestly manner, hold to the male hierarchical structure of priestly authority, and order their lives, personal prayer, liturgical practice and pastoral activities around the canonical norms of tradition.

It is easy to see how the unjust identification of ''clericalism'' in relation to these men will only be accelerated by Francis' un-nuanced application of ''clericalist'' guilt in his recent Letter on the Sex Abuse Crisis.

Indeed, such is already happening; as was witnessed in the since-removed tweet by a certain ''Brother Joseph'', who tweeted: ''If you guys want to lessen the clericalism in the Church, then STOP the Extraordinary Form mass: it is clerical worship through and through.''

By the way, that use of a small ''m'' for Mass looks telling in itself.

Actually, one of the key reasons that so many Catholics are rediscovering their true liturgical patrimony, is to enable them to worship the most holy and infinite Triune God without the hindrance of man-centred liturgies.

It is, rather, the too-frequent experience of the Novus Ordo culture, to find priests who think and act as though they were themselves at the centre of all things. The internet is replete with video evidence of this disturbing phenomenon.

Beyond this, Francis arrives in Dublin today for the concluding period of the World Meeting of Families; on a weekend which marks the third month since that very city witnessed the enormous and diabolical ''celebration'' of Ireland's deathly abortion referendum.

And yet, as the picture and caption above portray, the bishops are brazenly parading themselves at the WMOF in Dublin, bedecked in frivolous vestments which, whilst being at once inappropriate for the dignity of either their office or the Sacred Liturgy, also demonstrate an acute lack of awareness of the gravity of these times.

And this is happening even when some members of the hierarchy who are in attendance are themselves being investigated due to the unfolding sex-abuse/cover-up scandal.

Instead of the penitence of liturgical purple, they thus present a spectacle which falls somewhere between a circus act, a sports fixture and a pagan ceremony.

One is reminded of the awe-inspiring words of St. Padre Pio, spoken to a man who had presented himself before the saint in an initially unrepentant state. St. Pio fixed his eyes penetratingly on his soul and asked, ''Do you not realize when the hand of God is upon you?''

What the Church, the unborn, the family, the peoples of Ireland, and the entire world needed from this event was an authentic public demonstration of penance and reparation, as well as a dramatic call to conversion and repentance.

Instead, we are witnessing, as did the people in the days of the collapsing Roman Empire, nothing more than bread and circuses.

When one recalls Ireland's glorious past, with the sending of monastic missionaries across Europe and the globe, and then compares all of that to Francis' junket to Dublin, it becomes clear that we are reaching an unprecendented nadir for the Catholic Church in particular and Western civilization in general.

At the conclusion of his presentation, Dr. Thomas Ward wondered whether, with the removal of parental rights and the scandalous case of little Alfie Evans, we have now entered into the last battle.

The final battle over marriage and family.

The definitive battle between God and the enemy of souls.

Dr. Ward concluded by reminding his hearers not to be afraid, for they have the Queen of Heaven with them.

Given the frivolity and radical dissent which has so sadly subverted the previously-orthodox tradition of the World Meeting of Families, it seems appropriate to conclude with the words of Sr. Lucia of Fatima to Fr. Fuentes from 1959.

In an interview during which she also spoke of the final battle, Sr. Lucia said:

We should not wait for the Holy Father's call to penitence for the whole world to come from Rome; neither should we wait it for it to come to us from the bishops in their dioceses, nor from the religious orders. No, Our Lord has already, very often, used these means and the world has not paid attention. This is why it is now necessary for each one of us to reform himself spiritually. Each person must not only save his soul, but also the souls that God has placed in our path...

...Regarding the Holy Rosary, look, Father, the Most Holy Virgin, in these last times in which we live, has given a new efficacy to the Holy Rosary. So much so, that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or, above all, spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, our families, of the families of the world, or even of the religious communities, or even of the life of peoples and nations, that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by praying the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves, we will sanctify ourselves, we will console Our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.

Finally, the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our Most Holy Mother, consists in considering Her as the seat of mercy, of goodness, and of pardon, and as the certain door by which we can enter Heaven.

Dear readers: Let us Run To Our Lady and the Holy Rosary!

Our Lady of Fatima - Pray for us!

0

WMOF 2018: As Empty as Balthasar's Hell?!!!

Torch of The Faith News on Thursday 23 August 2018 - 18:46:48 | by admin

Westminster's Cardinal Vincent Nichols, speaks to the, erm, crowds at the Parish...sorry!...World... Meeting of Families in Dublin!

Whilst perusing Gloria TV News a little while ago, I spotted this remarkable photograph beneath a headline which reads, Pro-Gay World Meeting of Families - No Interest Among Catholics. 

The picture shows Westminster's Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who is at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin to deliver a keynote speech on the theme of, ahem, Support and Preparation for Marriage in the Light of Amoris Laetitia.

Because of all the heterodox subversions being peddled at the World Meeting of Families, we've been particularly concerned about how this theme of marriage preparation and Amoris Laetitia might go. I am not exaggerating when I say that I have lost sleep over all of this.

That is because, and if you've been reading this blog long enough you will already know, Torch of The Faith was set up, in no small part, to offer marriage preparation rooted in the true, orthodox teachings of the Church regarding faith in Christ, cohabitation, contraception, IVF, divorce, re-''marriage'' and homosexuality.

As we had discovered during preparation for our own marriage in 2002, orthodox Catholics could experience bullying and mockery when they tried to resist the dissent and heretical views which were too often being pushed on young engaged couples, during their compulsory marriage preparation programmes in England. Certainly, that is what happened to us.

Quite simply, we wanted young Catholic couples to receive the true and beautiful teachings of the Church for the good of their souls, their families and for the good of society. When we could not get anywhere through official channels, we started our own apostolate.

Perhaps, if the small numbers in the above photograph are anything to go by, then we need not have been so worried this week...

To be honest, I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I read a comment beneath the picture at Gloria TV, which jested that most of those present had been bussed in anyway!

I don't know, perhaps the organisers of the World Meeting of Families might need to get Bishop Robert Barron to draw on Balthasar's depiction of Hell to develop them a specific theology for the event...

You know, something along the lines of: The World Meeting of Families; yes, we're told it does exist, but probably there isn't anybody there!

Do you know, I don't think I've laughed so much since the Archdiocese of Liverpool had to cancel its 2015 conference exploring the continuing impact of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in the life and mission of the Church, because of a lack of numbers!

Oh, the poetic irony.

Then again, it isn't really funny to see the Church being emptied by heretical teachers or teachings, because the ongoing spread of ''Spirit of Vatican II'' Modernism will only make sure that Hell isn't anything like empty...

And Our Lady of Fatima warned us, through the little seers, that most souls go to Hell because of the sins of the flesh.

It also reminds me of the HLI founder Fr. Paul Marx's discerning line that Modernists were ''spiritually contracepting'' themselves out of existence.

Then again, I'm sure we all needed a bit of a laugh at this testing time.

Perhaps we should have sent the family along to WMOF after all, if only to double the numbers...

Sorry, I just couldn't resist that!

0

THIS is Clericalism!

Torch of The Faith News on Thursday 23 August 2018 - 13:24:04 | by admin

No Wuerl, but the Whirl: At the launch of the World Meeting of Families, Cardinal Kevin Farrell said he is always open to respectful dialogue. Well, I wonder how that's working out for the more than 16,000 faithful - and yet totally ignored - Catholics who petitioned for the disinvitation of the event's radically dissenting homosexualist, James Martin SJ?

In his Francis-backed capacity as Prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, Theodore McCarrick's long-time friend and house-mate, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, has given a press conference which provides a very clear indication of the agenda running right through the World Meeting of Families in Ireland.

Having claimed to be ''open to respectful dialogue with everybody'', Farrell continued his theme with an obvious allusion to James Martin SJ's homosexualist book, Building a Bridge, by opining: ''We have to learn how to deal with each other, and the most important aspect of dialogue and building bridges is to listen to people. We don't all have to agree with each other every time; we don't all see the world, or the future of the world or the changing culture of the world in the same way.''

He went on: ''I have always in my life tried to listen and enter into communication and dialogue with all groups of people.''

In light of that, we must ask: Why has the petition calling for the disinvitation of the event's keynote speaker - and radical dissenting homosexualist - James Martin SJ, so far been totally ignored; even though that petition has been signed by more than 16,000 concerned and faithful Catholics?

This mystery calls to mind the time when half-a-million of the faithful signed the famously ignored petition, calling on Francis and the Synod Fathers to uphold and reinforce Church teaching on marriage at the infamous Rome Synods.

Now this, my friends, is the very definition of Clericalism!

In light of this careful engineering of consent, it becomes clear that, in its own unique way, the World Meeting of Families in Ireland is shaping up to be no less of a grotesque parody of orthodox Catholicism, than the disgusting Met Gala in New York ever was.

Just ask yourself this: Do you really imagine that the Holy Family would be truly welcome, or even likely to wish to attend, an event which so deliberately subverts Church teaching as this?

Exactly!

May the Holy Family - pray for us!

0

World Meeting of Families? We're Telling Irish Loved Ones and Friends: Don't Go!

Torch of The Faith News on Monday 20 August 2018 - 11:06:58 | by admin

The Crucifixion scene at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland. Given the circumstances, it would be far more appropriate for a period of prayer, penance and reparation to be made.

Although we feel sad that we have to do so, we are nevertheless counselling our Irish loved ones not to attend this week's World Meeting of Families over there in Ireland. Our main reasons for this are as follows:-

1. Reparation Would be More Appropriate

From his consistent refusal to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, on through the subversive Synods of '14/'15, the creation and application of Amoris Laetitia, and on and on via many other sagas to the most recent catechetical subversions, Francis' entire leadership must by now have done such damage to the Church that only our Heavenly Father could put things right.

It has encouraged untold numbers of sacrilegious communions by adulterers and even Protestants, as well as weakening the institution of marriage per se and countless individual marriages in actuality.

This is to say nothing of the wider damage caused to the Church and to the faithful, or to the general perception and understanding of the papacy, the hierarchy, the priesthood, the sacramental order, the Catechism, the moral life, and even the conception of ethics and right reason.

All of these things would be enough in themselves to require a global movement of prayer and penance.

However, the horrid scandals emerging from Pennsylvania, and so many other places, the dreadful criminal cover-ups which have gone on for decades, together with Francis' belated and lacklustre response to all of this, positively demand it.

Francis has released a letter inviting Catholics to prayer and penance over the abuse crisis. Well, let's see this penance, instead of the ongoing promotion of heresy and sin, begin at this World Meeting of Families in Ireland.

Instead of Francis and compromised-looking figures like Cardinal Kevin Farrell hosting an event like this, it would be better to bring in Archbishop Morlino of Madison to extend his local, and among the present hierarchy all too rare, expressions of honesty and calls to penitence to the whole universal Church.

2. The Sign of Approval Which it Gives

Francis remained largely silent before, during and after Ireland's Referendum on homosexual pairings in 2015 and the Referendum on abortion earlier this year.

If he again fails to communicate effectively a call to repentance to the people of Ireland and the rest of the world, and so far all the indications are that he will continue to do so, then his presence at this World Meeting of Families will be taken by society as a sign of his, at least tacit, approval for the ''new Ireland'' and for the ''new model of family life''.

Indeed, this is happening already.

3. More Amoris...

Whilst the event's officially commissioned triptych icon of the Holy Family is beautiful in itself, and was painted carefully by religious sisters as part of their prayer for families, the fact that it is mounted on a base announcing the legend ''Amoris Laetitia'' will only serve to further the sacrilegious communions and further eroding of marriage and married life, which that writing of Francis has itself massively accelerated.

A disaster of such magnitude needs not the active cooperation, but rather the holy and prayerful resistance, of religious sisters and true Catholics everywhere.

4. The Direct Promotion of LGBT Ideology

The Lumen Fidei Institute has put out an on-line video which warns that Fr. James Martin SJ and Cardinal Christoph Schonborn are to present keynote speeches at the World Meeting of Families.

Lumen Fidei Institute reminds that Martin has really become the ''chief propagandist of LGBT ideology within the Catholic Church''. The institute points out that, as such, Martin tweeted a blasphemous image of Our Blessed Lady; said that Catholics should ''reverence'' homosexual pairings; supports transgenderism, even for children; favours homosexual kissing, even during Holy Mass; called a dissident pro-homosexualist nun a ''saint''; and continues to undermine Catholic teaching with his book, ''Building a Bridge''.

Further to these things, Martin took part, last week, in a homosexualist Quest conference in England, which featured a child's hand being ''walked towards'' by an adult male hand, in its promotional materials.

Lumen Fidei Institute also recalls that, last December, Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna co-hosted a homosexual themed ''prayer service'' in his cathedral, which was followed by an official address by the pop-culture transvestite, Conchita.

Again, the Cardinal's deep involvement with Amoris Laetitia and its obscurations is manifest.

Although it is true that the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics has been refused a stand in the exhibition hall at the World Meeting of Families, the exhibition's co-ordinator has said that this was done because of ''uncertainties over the amount of space'' and other ''logistical considerations''.

That this cannot be taken as a certain defence of Catholic teaching is clear from the statement by the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics themselves. In response to the refusal of their stand at the exhibition, the organization has stated that they hope this is not because of their pro-LGBT stance, and that they hope to have a stand at the next World Meeting of Families. Again, the organization boasts that it has, in any case, succeeded in getting official press credentials to report on the event.

5. What's with the Whirls?

Numerous commentators have drawn attention to the official vestments, which have been chosen for the event...

Obviously, the effeminate overtones have already been much spoken of.

So, too, has the strange swirl logo, which also features in the letter ''o'' in the word ''of'', in the official literature for the World Meeting of Families.

Various people around the world have been asking if the logo is pagan, or even represents ''666''.

I'd make the sign of the cross, and ask for Holy Michael the Archangel to protect your spirituality before perusing this next bit.

You see, funnily enough, we spent a day of intense prayer at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland, in the summer of 2011. When we left that day, we began to spot ''666'' and other occult logos subliminally, and liberally, peppered throughout contemporary culture. For example, and as though we had suddenly become able to discern, we noticed for the first time that there were ''666'' logos and swirls, zeus lightning-bolts, all-seeing-eyes, 5-pointed stars and flowers angled like pentagles, pointed devil tails and infinity signs practically everywhere in our society.

These things showed up, and continue to do so, on adverts, brand logos, patterned clothing, sandals and shoes, watches, greetings cards, food and drink packaging, supermarket signs and many other things.

Once aware of them, it becomes easy to see that these things have been in advertising, and that they have even featured in old black and white movies, for many, many decades.

Here are just a few that we spotted back in 2011... 

If you look more closely at the curly hair of the face above, then you will see what I mean...

That wouldn't be an allusion to the mark of the beast on the forehead and hand in Revelation 13:16-18, now would it?!!!

Weirdly, such an impression was only reinforced by the fact that the pricing on nearby shelves featured ''£6'' listed three times in unison.

Then there were these kid's hammers in a different store...

Is that a ''swirly six'' in the middle of the orange hammer heads? And why are they stacked in threes to make three lots of sixes appear in a row? Is the ''3 for 2'' sign a hidden-in-plain-sight subliminal clue? And is the small image of a hand with writing on the palm another nod to the mark of the beast on forehead and hand again?

How about this crazy-looking pink sheep in Ireland?

Are they two sets of ''swirly six-six-six'' logos?

Or, what about this chocolate sheep in England, one Easter?

Does the eye subliminally direct the attention to the three ''swirly sixes'' and the angled 5-pointed flower?

If you think this is all a bit left-field, then what about the subliminal ''666'' on the side of this chocolate-cake box?

Or how about the three equally spaced ''swirly sixes'' running along the bottom part of this Mother's Day sign. Did you also see the angled 5-pointed flowers just above each of the sixes?

One thing that our sudden awareness of these things throughout contemporary culture eventually led us to discover was that swirling ''6'' patterns were originally found throughout ancient cultures, including the Celtic, Greek and Chinese.

In Celtic culture this is known as the triskelion.

This was an ancient pagan symbol, with thousands of years of history. In Ireland, this would thus be representative of part of the druidic culture.

It appears from our research, that the early Christians in Ireland did incorporate swirl designs into their upright stone carvings, for example at ancient monastic sites.

Eventually, these upright stones were developed into large stone Celtic crosses, which continued for some time to feature many such designs of interlocking swirls. The intricate carving on the stonework is often incredible to look at, in terms of the workmanship and precision. Such was also mirrored in metalwork as that fine craft developed.

However, it looks to me that, gradually, the swirl patterned crosses at monastic sites gave way to actual Crucifix designs, which principally featured Our Blessed Lord as the true focus on the Cross.

Even allowing that the ''666'' meaning might be a little far out, and acknowledging that triskelion swirl patterns are Celtic, and did even feature for some time in early Celtic Christianity, one must ask why a multi-coloured swirl design is deemed suitable to feature in 2018, in an Ireland which is all too sadly returning to its pre-Christian paganism, mingled with a deal of post-modern relativism, on such already un-Catholic looking ''vestments'' for the World Meeting of Families.

After all, St. Patrick drove druidic paganism away from Ireland...

Why not simply use an overtly Catholic symbol? Or more to the point, why not just use traditional Catholic vestments?

Given the stylistic ambiguities, the fact that the three ''6'' swirl pattern will appear also on chalices, to be sold after the event to parishes all across Ireland, is little comfort either.

And while we are on this theme, it is tragic that an officially ''Papal Mass'' will likely only encourage further irreverences toward the Blessed Sacrament, through the use of these flippant logos, such effeminate vestments, false preachers and the invitation to vast crowds to go up to receive Holy Communion, standing and in the hand.

6. Spiritual Dangers

In these days when so much diabolical confusion is all around, I generally counsel people not to attend events where there may be an atmosphere of irreverence, dissent or spiritualities which are not certainly Catholic.

Quite simply, I think that the times are so spiritually dangerous as to always invite caution.

With all the things listed above, I could never recommend such an event to a loved one, or to anyone else who asked my advice.

It makes me sad to say it, for if this had been led by a pope like John Paul II or Benedict XVI, we would likely have done all we could to get there, being as it is so close to loved ones and friends in Ireland. Then again, after all these years attending the Traditional Latin Masses, I think the contemporary approach to ''Papal Masses'' would have itself put us off from going. 

7. There is an alternative!

Last week, I quipped to someone in an e-mail that it has come to something when there has to be an orthodox Catholic event to provide an alternative to the heteredox one being provided officially by the Vatican!

Nevertheless, and may God bless them for doing it, Lumen Fidei Institute are providing just such an alternative. It will feature such loyal Catholic speakers as Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Fr. Thomas Weinandy and a live-link video input from Cardinal Raymond Burke.

If I was to counsel anyone about attending a Catholic conference on the family, this alternative by Lumen Fidei Institute is the one I would heartily recommend.

8. The Mystery of Knock     

The Francis-backed World Meeting of Families is due to commence on the date that Our Lady actually appeared in Ireland, at Knock, on 21st August, way back in 1879. Francis will even lead prayers at the hallowed shrine next Sunday.

We've noted a few times in recent years, in light of the research of Mr. Gregory Johnson at Tradition in Action, that the literally Apocalyptic vision of the Lamb of God, Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist and the Angels appeared at Knock, in perfect silence, at the very time that Our Lady of La Salette, and her shrine, had been granted, and was receiving, a coronation approved papally by Pope Leo XIII.

And, what is more, Our Lady of Knock was looking in the directon of the south-east; in other words in the direction of La Salette and even on beyond to Rome. Surely, there could have been no coincidence in the link between these two heavenly visitations. What was Heaven trying to warn us about?

Given the apocalyptic nature of current events, and the discernable messages contained in the apparitions at Knock and La Salette for those who pray and think, we suggest that this week, Catholics everywhere would do well to spend all their available time praying and drawing close to Our Blessed Lady in prayer, penance and intercession.

To Conclude: Staying with our Irish theme, and given that they are an Irish group originally from Dublin, it seems to us that the name of a song by the Hothouse Flowers might sum things up, in regard to this year's World Meeting of Families.

Now how did that song start now? Oh yes, that was it: Don't Go!

Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland - Pray for us!    

0

Our Lady's Consecration - A Consoling Theme for Contemplation

Torch of The Faith News on Sunday 19 August 2018 - 16:20:50 | by admin

The dreadful revelations emerging from Pennsylvania and elsewhere have made this a harrowing week for Catholics everywhere. And with the hugely compromised World Meeting of Families in Ireland still ahead of us, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to sense that this will likely be another one.

Given these realities, and the proximity of these present days to the Feast of the Assumption, it seems opportune to present a meditation on the Coronation of Our Lady as Queen of Heaven, as an encouraging theme for edification and contemplation.

What follows is taken from Raphael Brown's splendid compilation in the book, The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics. A text published by Tan Books, this compilation has been a great help to many Catholics during times of trial, or even just as a source for contemplative prayer and reflection.

With the usual caveats about private revelation, we highly recommend it, because it features a compilation of private revelations recorded in the lives of St. Elizabeth of Schoenau, St. Bridget of Sweden, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and Venerable Mary of Agreda.

What follows is the concluding section from the chapter on The Assumption and Crowning. As you will see, the concluding section seems particularly apt for these times.

Now amid celestial music a magnificent triumphant procession ascended from the tomb to Heaven. First came the rejoicing angels and saints, and then Christ the King with His Immaculate Mother at His side, while the souls of all the blessed in Heaven gladly welcomed and praised their new Queen and the whole universe seemed to be chanting exultantly:

''Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her Beloved?''

At the Throne of the Divine Trinity, the three Divine Persons received and welcomed Mary in a mystical embrace of eternal love, after she had bowed before Them in deep humility and reverence. She was attired in a marvellous sparkling robe that trailed behind her and scintillated with multi-coloured iridescence.

Then the Eternal Father announced to all the angels and saints:

''Our Daughter Mary has been chosen by Our Will from among all creatures as the first in Our favour, and she has never fallen from the position of a true Daughter. Therefore she has a claim to Our Kingdom, of which she is to be acknowledged and crowned the lawful Sovereign and Queen.''

The Incarnate Word declared:

''To my true and natural Mother belong all the creatures that I have created and redeemed. And of all things over which I am King, she too shall be the rightful Queen.''

And the Holy Ghost said:

''By the title of My only chosen Spouse, to which she has faithfully corresponded, the crown of Queen is also due to her for all eternity.''

Then the three Divine Persons solemnly placed on Mary's bowed head a splendid gleaming crown of glory which far exceeds in beauty any crown that ever has been, or ever will be, awarded to a creature by God.

At the same time, a Voice sounded from the Throne, saying:

''Our Beloved and Chosen One among creatures, Our Kingdom is yours. You are the Queen and Sovereign of the Seraphim and of all Our ministering angels and of all the created universe. We give you power, majesty and dominion over it. While filled with grace beyond all others, you humbled yourself to the lowest place in your own estimation. Receive now the supreme honour which you deserve, and participate in the sovereign power exercised by the Divinity over all that Our Omnipotence has created. From your royal throne you shall rule over Hell and earth and nature. Our own Will shall be ever ready to accomplish your will. You shall be the Protectress, Advocate and Mother of the Church Militant. Whenever any of the children of Adam call upon you from their hearts or serve you, you shall relieve them and help them in their labours and necessities. You shall be the Friend and Defender of the just and of Our friends. All of them you shall comfort, console, and fill with blessings according to their devotion to you. Therefore We make you the treasury of all Our graces. In your hands We place the distribution of Our grace and blessings. For We wish nothing to be given to the world that does not pass through your hands. And We will refuse nothing that you wish to grant. Whatever is Ours shall be yours, just as you have ever been Ours. And you shall reign with Us forever.''

In execution of this divine decree, all the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Heaven, all the angels and saints and blessed, and especially St. Joachim, St. Ann and St. Joseph, joyfully rendered homage and obedience to their glorious new Queen and Sovereign.

Meanwhile, on the morning of Mary's Assumption into Heaven, St. Peter and St. John had been watching and praying at her tomb with some of the faithful. Suddenly they noticed that the music of the angels had ceased. Looking up at the sky, the two Apostles were partly enlightened by the Holy Spirit and guessed that the Blessed Virgin's body might have been taken up to Heaven by God.

As they were debating whether to open the tomb, St. Thomas arrived from the Orient. When they told him that Mary was already dead, he burst into tears and earnestly begged them to have one last look at the Mother of his Lord. Peter and John consented and proceeded to open the tomb.

John and Thomas went in and reverently knelt down in prayer. Then John stood up, while Thomas held aloft a torch.

There was nothing on the bier but Mary's robe and mantle.

In wonder and awe the two saints gazed at the ceiling of the tomb. Then John ran to the entrance and cried to the others outside:

''Come and see - She is no longer here!''

St. Peter and the rest entered two by two in the narrow grotto. In mixed joy and sorrow they all wept as they slowly realized what an extraordinary honour and privilege God had accorded to Mary.

Peter carefully folded and took with him her mantle and robe. Then they all stood outside the tomb and sang hymns of praise to the Lord and to His holy Mother.

After they had replaced the large stone, they were standing gazing silently at the sepulchre when suddenly an angel appeared to them and said:

''Men of Galilee, why do you tarry here? Your Queen and ours is now living body and soul in Heaven and reigning in it forever with Christ. She has sent me to confirm you in this truth. And she recommends to you again the Church, the conversion of souls, and the spread of the Gospel. She wishes you now to return to your ministry. From her throne she will watch over you and protect you.''

Then, celebrating this first feast of Our Lady's Assumption with deep joy and peace of heart, the Apostles and disciples went back to the Cenacle, praying together and singing hymns of thanksgiving to God.

How extremely relevant was that concluding section for the Church in our times! 

Let all Catholics everywhere thus take these words to heart in the difficult days through which we are all presently living.

Our Lady recommends to you again the Church, the conversion of souls, and the spread of the Gospel. She wishes you now to return to your ministry. From her throne she will watch over you and protect you.

That's the Church we joined! - Stay close to Our Lady and Keep the Faith!         

0

UK's Latest Appalling Threat to the Vulnerable

Torch of The Faith News on Saturday 18 August 2018 - 13:42:11 | by admin

A procession of souls being taken in wheelchairs through the domain at Lourdes; demonstrating that one does not eradicate suffering by eradicating those who suffer. Human suffering finds its deepest answer in the Cross of Christ, in His promise of the Resurrection and in the truly Christian charity which flows from those central mysteries of our Faith.

Just a couple of weeks ago, we lamented the fact that the UK's Supreme Court had made it possible for British doctors to withdraw life-sustaining nutritional supplies from patients suffering from permanent vegetative state (PVS) or minimially conscious state (MCS), without even needing to apply anymore to the Court of Protection, provided that they had the ''permission'' of a patient's family.

In response to that dire rejection of God's Law and human dignity, I posted an article which reiterated the truth that food, nutrition and oxygen are not extra medical treatments, but the ethical bare minimum of care which has to be given to patients who are suffering.

At the conclusion to that article, I reflected that all British people were now in danger from such enforced euthanasia. This is because none of us ever knows whether such a threat may be forced upon us in a society which has rejected God and His Holy Law.

It is, as Evangelium Vitae so clearly teaches, ''We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and man, typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism, which, with its ubiquitous tentacles, succeeds at times in putting Christian communities themselves to the test. Those who allow themselves to be influenced by this climate easily fall into a sad vicious circle: when the sense of God is lost, there is also a tendency to lose the sense of man'' (EV 21).

Such existential danger to human life in the UK, has only increased dramatically this week, with the news that the British Medical Association (BMA) has now proposed new ''guidelines'', recommending that doctors be allowed to also withdraw tubes supplying food and water to those who cannot feed themselves - even in cases where such persons could live for many years with the right level of care and support.

In a disgracefully callous-sounding section of their proposals, and according to a report in the Catholic Herald, the BMA has proposed that this ''authority'' (!) to end the lives of those near death, or in vegetative or minimally conscious states, be extended to also include ''the much larger group of patients who have multiple co-morbidities, frailty, or degenerative neurological conditions.''

These are later spelled out in the proposals as including advanced dementia, Parkinson's or Huntington's disease and potentially stroke patients and others with brain injuries described as ''rapidly progressing''.

These ''proposals'' are evil in their very essence, but to families caring for vulnerable loved ones, their gravity hits home with particular force.

What a truly horrible country we are becoming!

Although such proposals for what is essentially a ''licence to kill'' may seem so extreme as to remain unlikely, and it is heartening to see a number of doctors already standing up to reject them, the fact that they are being put forward at all by the BMA is a very disturbing development indeed.

As Catholics we would suggest that mounting a robust defence of vulnerable human life against these gathering threats would be a key and immediate task facing the Bishops of England and Wales.

Alas, it appears from the active involvement of some, and from the strange silence of others, that ''Queering the Church'' is much more in their line...

St. Joseph, Patron of a Happy and Holy Death - pray for us! 

St. Camillus de Lellis - pray for us!           

0

The Real Dark Ages

Torch of The Faith News on Friday 17 August 2018 - 12:40:21 | by admin

The technical ingenuity, precise structure, coherent order, beautiful colouring and deep theological meanings expressed in the refracted light of medieval stained glass. Nothing ''Dark Aged'' about any of that!

Holy Stillness

Back in the days when I was still a young bank clerk, my employer used to have us all back to work after Christmas much earlier than many other industries. I sometimes felt like Bob Cratchit as I trudged through the dark and empty streets on late-December mornings, whilst the neighbourhood slumbered peacefully on.

I remember looking out early on one cold, yet deeply peaceful morning, and feeling a distinct reluctance to disturb the fresh virgin snow, much less the almost mystical tranquillity that lay suspended over it. So still was the world that morning, that even putting on the house lights seemed a dreadful impropriety.

All of this happened many years before I learned intellectually of the grace-filled character of the 12 Days of Christmas; or of the spiritual treasures which are open to those who spend those unique days immersed in prayer and contemplation. However, having already experienced that there was something tangibly sacred about those days of the year, I was subsequently able to accept and understand this reality when I did come to learn about it, at the level of the intellect, much later in life.

I mention these things during these brighter days of August, because the spiritual intensity of the Traditional Latin Mass can be such that one similarly hesitates to intrude on the holy stillness at its conclusion. 

Unholy Intrusion...

It was during such a period of reverie that we were loading up our vehicle after the Traditional Latin Mass for the Feast of the Assumption on Wednesday, when the atmosphere was suddenly, and rather rudely, broken by the intrusion of the complaining tones of a woman of retirement age.

As I turned, I made a mental note that this person was adhering to the increasingly normative fashion for older people these days, to dress as though they were teenagers in the first flush of youth; wearing sports shoes, long shorts and logoed T-shirts. The retirement-aged man with her was also dressed similarly, apart from his own choice of colours.

From the complaints, which though we had been attending quietly to our own vehicular loading were directed right at us, it became clear that, even though it was a Holy Day of Obligation, this retired Catholic couple had spontaneously cut short their bus-trip to the shops, when they had spotted that there must have been a Mass ''on'' in the church.

The woman then went on animatedly about how she had not known what was happening, how she much preferred the liturgical ''changes'' and how she felt like she had just been ''taken back to the Dark Ages!''

The fact that this woman's sharpness was disturbing our peace, trampling all over that which we most love and hold dear, and that she had merely wandered in, whilst the other people praying there that day had carefully planned and structured their whole day around getting to that particular Holy Mass in good time to celebrate Our Lady's great feast, seemed wasted on her.

Welcome to the age of the Enlightened...

It is difficult to imagine such persons doing the same kind of thing to the adherents of any other religion, or disparaging any other religious ceremonies in this manner.

However, as usual, it is taken as fair play to attack both Traditional Catholicism and Traditional Catholics.

And this even by those who consider themselves to be ''good Catholics''!

I've already related how I had a similar experience last year, when a ''trendy priest'' came up to me as I prayed quietly in a Church and how, even though we were in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, he scoffed at me and announced that he considered it, ''Bl***y ridiculous, that people still want to go to the Traditional Latin Mass!''

We are witnessing evil phenomena indeed.

Even at the human level, it makes no sense to despise the very foundations of one's own religion. It is akin to sawing off the branch, upon which one sits. But then, we are compelled to ask, are these people really of the same religion as ourselves?

At the same time, such displays only show up the ignorance of such persons. If a fast-food employee were to enter a classy restaurant and complain about the rich pickings on the menu, they could expect to receive little sympathy from those who had taken the time to educate their palates.

Then, too, much as I depise the sacrileges, irreverences, heresies and the immature banalities, which too often characterise Novus Ordo culture, I could not imagine myself going up to, and haranguing, a quiet family, who were emerging reflectively from any Mass, just because they had attended a Novus Ordo.

And yet, it is Traditionalists who are frequently labelled as being, somehow, divisive.

I didn't want to get into a slanging match with this woman during those special moments after Mass, but as Angie steered our vehicle out into the fast flowing lines of traffic, I began to express how incensed I was at this insult to Our Blessed Lord and to His Holy Mass. Then, with some animation and a deal of exasperation, I lamented, ''The Dark Ages?!!!''

At this point, my wife reminded me not to loose my cool, nor to let this spoil the day we had ahead of us, nor the feast day fayre which we were all heading off to enjoy. Thanks be to God for the influences of female wisdom.

The Best of Times? Francis, Donald Wuerl and Pennsylvania... Really?!!!

Still, I did ruminate during the rest of our journey on the crazy distortion which sees these times of the Church as somehow being the glittering ''Best of All Times!'', whilst nastily disparaging the Catholic past as an age of darkness.

I mean to say, the horrific news of all the grave evils emerging from Pennsylvania right now - where it has been disclosed that, during a 70 year period, around 300 clerics, one hesitates to call these evil characters priests, have been abusing, raping and destroying the faith and lives of some 1,000 youngsters and their families - should have put paid to that.

Incidentally, on that note, it is very important to notice the chronological correlation between those wicked crimes, and the absolutely disgusting cover-ups and pay-offs done by bishops, with the revelations of the former Communist Bella Dodd; as well as with the coincidence of a large proportion of that period of abuse with the giddy Vatican II era of aggiornamento, and the destructive decades which have followed on from it, like a hangover from a drunken party.

And again, in these times we have the world-shaking travesty of Francis' silence about this whole Church-quaking matter.

At the same time, there persists the enormity of his chum Donald Wuerl remaining in a red-hatted position of power, and preparing himself to head off to the increasingly chilling-looking World Meeting of Families in Ireland; even though Wuerl has himself been mentioned many times in the Pennsylvania report, and has gone three years beyond the 75-yr age mark for retirement.

The news from Pennsylvania also throws that image of an adult male hand approaching that of a young child's hand on the homosexualist Quest materials last weekend, into even sharper relief. Far from attending the World Meeting of Families in Ireland, James Martin SJ, and England's Bishop Peter Doyle, should be giving a repentant account of themselves and their scandalizing actions.

The beautiful Early English Gothic cloister arcading (circa 1220 - 1258 AD), at the medieval Salisbury Cathedral in England; just one fine example of the wonders created in an age which, whilst post-modernity is blindly viewed as the best of all times, is disparagingly, and inaccurately, described as ''dark''.

And yet, none of this invites the censure of your average liberal ''teenaged-pensioner''. Instead they reserve the vocal expression of their deep-seated ire for the Holy Mass which gave such immense glory to God, formed millennia of saints and blesseds, ordered a civilization, saved and sanctified untold numbers of souls around the world and maintained the reputation and respect of the Catholic Church even in the midst of Her enemies.

And such people also reserve the worst of their ire for those who, in continuity with ages of our fathers in the Faith, still attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

Debunking the ''Dark Age'' Myth

Just while we are on this point, it is essential that none of us ever gives in to the false notion that the so-called ''Dark Ages'' were in fact really ''Dark'' at all.

It is this black myth, which views the Enlightenment as though it were some kind of cultural panacea, which has hideously shaped the present religio-cultural situation and led to a domino-effect of disastrous consequences.

Just as a starting point on this important theme, readers might enjoy a discerning reading of texts such as: How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, by Thomas E. Woods; Those Terrible Middle Ages! Debunking the Myths, by Regine Pernoud; Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History, by Rodney Stark; and Monasteries of Western Europe - The Architecture of the Orders, by Wolfgang Braunfels. 

Seeing Rightly with God's Light

In terms of discernment of spirits, I have become increasingly aware that to still think rightly in these times of diabolical confusion is an enormous gift of God's grace and a sign of His love and protection of a soul.

On this theme, there was a succinct comment by a chap named Michael, a couple of days ago, at 1 Peter 5, on Steve Skojec's article entitled, Playing with Fire: Rosica, Francis and the Spirit of Antichrist.

This gentleman called Michael said: ''Those who are able to discern these wolves have a great gift from God. This is not because of any merit on their part, but because God, in His great love and mercy, has willed that some should see in the darkness, that some should understand the chaos.''

We are living through, I think, the most tumultous time in the history of the Catholic Church and the world. It also appears that things are coming increasingly to some kind of essential moment.

For both sides in this primarily spiritual battle.

If you can still see the darkness for what it is, at least to some degree, and still seek Christ's Light, then thank God for that grace and ask Him to increase your fidelity to Him and to preserve you in His grace.

Many good people are being, or have been, tempted to give up their Faith in these times. May God spare all who read this from ever doing so.

We can see that the evil attacks on children are completely against the very essence of the Catholic Faith.

Therefore, in these times, when so much corruption, evil and sin are being exposed to the light, it is absolutely essential that we become more and not less Catholic.

Only God's supernatural grace and help will get us through these times. Yet, with these helps, and the assistance of Our Lady and the Saints, plus the Sacraments received worthily and with devotion, we can be well equipped.

Catholic Tradition is not the Dark Age. Neither is the present era an age conspicuous for its light...

And yet, we know from Sacred Scripture, Tradition and the Sacred Liturgy that: ''In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men: and the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.''

Let us remain close to OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, FOR HE IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!

0