Hungary's Pro-Life and Pro-Family stand



King St Stephen I of Hungary



A Christmas Present from Hungary

Posted on December 28th the feast of the Holy Innocents and the Holy Family

Like the other countries from Central Europe, Hungary are making a strong stand for the Family against the militant secularism of the decadent West and have written into their constitution that a marriage is only between a man and a woman. So we would like you to sign this petition thanking Hungary for their pro-Life and Pro-family stand, below is the text from CitizenGO and please pass the link on:

On Friday, December 5, CitizenGO joined Hungary at the United Nations to sponsor the Political Network for Values' Transatlantic Summit on the role of the family in sustainable global development!

Mr. Zoltan Balog, the Hungarian Minister for Human Capacities, told participants that "family is the most important national resource of Hungary.” He said that the Hungarian constitution is committed to marriage between one man and one woman, since it is the best structure for children.

Mr. Balog also told the Summit that Hungary is working to defend the personhood of all human beings, from the moment of conception. He quoted from the new Hungarian constitution, which says: "Human dignity shall be inviolable. The fetus shall be protected from the moment of conception."

This was a major international victory, as we were able to join Hungary in bringing together so many policy-makers who support family and life! It was a breath-taking success! Let's thank the Hungarian ambassador for his leadership for the family at the United Nations:

Thank Ambassador Kőrösi and Minister Balog: http://citizengo.org/en/14671-thank-hungary-promoting-family-un

More than 60 parliamentarians from 20 countries in Africa, South America, North America, and Europe came together to sign the "Declaration on the Rights of the Family," which affirms that "family is the natural and fundamental unit of society” and that "everyone has the inherent right to life, commencing from the moment of conception until natural death.”

Hungary's support for marriage and personhood was vital! In fact, they delivered the Declaration to the U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon!

Sign the thank you note here: http://citizengo.org/en/14671-thank-hungary-promoting-family-un

We must encourage our allies to continue to stand for life and marriage in international institutions like the United Nations. It happens rarely, and we want to see more pro-life, pro-family leaders take a stand!

Will you join CitizenGO in extending a warm thanks to the Hungarian Mission to the United Nations? Their stand for the family deserves to be recognized.

Sign here: http://citizengo.org/en/14671-thank-hungary-promoting-family-un

From CitizenGO  



The Water protest in Ireland



The News From Ireland,

Water Water and more Water.

·         The Water protest in Ireland may mean that the Irish Government may not introduce the Household broadcast charge.

 Shamrock- image Wikipedia





Well, the news in Ireland for the last few months has been water, water and more water. The media has given it saturation coverage (pardon the pun). It has been a tsunami. The Irish government has been instructed by the Troika¹ to make the Irish people pay for their water. Even in good times this would be a hard sell. But after years of austerity this has proved a step too far and people are up in arms; some have even taken to arms, with those appointed to fit water meters being threatened at gun point. It has brought people on to the streets. On one particular day it brought out 150,000 people protesting, probably the highest number of people ever to protest. (Today as I write this there is another protest, with the organisers claiming 100,000 people out protesting; if you tune into The Late Debate tonight, RTE Radio 1, it will be all water, water, water, - I haven’t heard what will be on but that’s my guess). As a result the govt have had to drastically reduce the proposed water costs. This is what has filled the media’s sails for the last while.  Another unexpected off-shoot of this dam burst of Irish anger is that the govt has been on the back foot as regards its austerity measures and as a result it has had to lessen the blow. So out of the blue the govt is unlikely to be introducing the Household broadcasting charge that it was due to introduce in Jan. They’re not doing it out of any sense of fair play but to cling to power. So prayer does work and God has heard our prayers; we continue hoping and praying that this is the case.There is another big water demonstration scheduled for Dec 10^th, this Wednesday, it is forecast to be a big one. People are still not happy about paying for water. After all selling water to the Irish is like trying to sell ice to the Eskimos. This govt could fall over the issue. The only danger is that if the polls are correct there could be a big rise on the left where they would introduce all sorts of grotesque policies such as abortion on demand.

The new feudalisation of the old by RTE as they continue to phase out Catholicism 

                 RTE has been up to its usual sleight of hand acts. On Sunday mornings since as far back as I can remember - possibly since the station has been founded - it has broadcast Sunday morning Mass for the sick, elderly and housebound as its main broadcasting programme. In recent years it would divert to LW for these religious programmes. (RTE operates on FM and LW) and continue its other normal  programming on FM. Recently it has stated it will no longer be operating on LW and that there would be no interruption  to its Sunday Mass broadcasts as people would be able to tune in to it on digital. How many old people have a computer? How many old, sick, poor people are going to bring their computer to hospital with them? It’s another aspect of the phasing out of the Catholic religion in Ireland with the charge been led by RTE.

            You may remember in one of my briefings I told you about The Joe Duffy programme, - how the B.A.I. had ruled against them, twice actually. There has been another ruling against the RTE Mooney Goes Wild programme. Mooney who is publicly ‘Gay’, who constantly peddles the ‘Gay’ agenda at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, was this time found guilty of biased promotion of ‘Gay’ marriage in an unbalanced way with no-one there to put across the opposite view point.

St Vincent de Paul Society in Ireland give 40,000 Euros to LGBT

                As if the Media weren’t doing enough to promote the ‘Gay’ lifestyle, a Catholic organization has thought they need an extra digout. The Vincent de Paul gave 40,000 euros to the lgbt organization to build their own centre. Their argument is that they are a marginalized group so they needed help. The Bishop has demanded an explanation from them. I don’t think any explanation is possible. This had to happen at the highest levels; this wasn’t some member acting on their own to give this amount of money away. There should be a serious overhaul of this group if they still want to retain the title Catholic organization.

                The Catholic world is crying out for its own radio station. By this I mean a radio station that gives current affairs and everyday news with analysis and fair debate through the prism of the Catholic faith. The nearest I have seen to this or heard to this is Catholic Connections in America. It’s a Catholic  Radio Programme, as the name suggests, which deals with church issues and secular issues (American issues generally) through the prism of the Catholic faith. It’s hosted by Teresa Tomeo who has written a book or two on the media. If I could make a suggestion, if you could get an mp3 player in your car it’s possible to download these radio programmes on to a usb, and many others besides. Catholic programmes can also be downloaded from EWTN. There are many other free talks that can be downloaded by good Catholic speakers such as Bishop Fulton Sheen and Scott Hahn. I find the easiest way to find them is to type in ’Bishop Fulton Sheen free mp3’ etc. and they come up and you can listen to these good Catholic speakers as you drive along.

           Well, that’s just some of the things going on here in Ireland.  So I’ll bid you a Shona Nollaig (merry Christmas) and God Bless.

Prayer Crusader under the patronage of St Rita

1 The term Troika, which comes from the Russian meaning 'group of three', was increasingly used during the Eurozone crisis to describe the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

The Stolen Childhood 2

The Stolen Childhood 2

In my second article I want to demonstrate how we can not only reclaim this lost childhood but receive a great deal of joy bringing up children. In this whole exercise what also is important is we can actually learn more about ourselves whether parents or grandparents through our children and grandchildren.

We now live in an age of "earnest " articles or programmes conducted by so-called experts in child psychology or behaviour which all novice mothers and fathers are expected to adhere to. I was fortunate to have a wife and mother who never read a book on childcare and relied on intuition and instinct. I wonder how many of these publications make a young mother feel insecure and can be counterproductive. It may be reasonable to read some of these books but one should also rely just as much on advice from older members of one's family or social group for their advice which has often one important ingredient: Common Sense and experience!

However we must first acknowledge that in today's climate it has become increasingly difficult to bring up children. From the economic position due to very high property costs mothers are forced to work. Parents are also highly stressed with the nature of much of the work today. What is also of great concern is the whole of family life is under attack by the media with its atheistic hedonism that envelops every part of family life. We have had successive governments that are "family unfriendly" To counteract these very real problems we must try to recruit other members of our family to become involved with the children's upbringing and also some of our friends who have less family commitments. Many people don't have children of their own and it can be quite rewarding for them to have contact and be part of the bringing up process. However it is only common sense to engage people one really knows who also have similar ethics.

One of the unseen problems of today is that we have entered a sort of Age apartheid. Adults and children must try to join in doing things together.

From starting with the mundane chores of doing washing-up together, preparing vegetables to house cleaning to the more exciting options like playing games. We need to engage from the youngest to the oldest and they don't need to be family members either! What it does allow for is a lot of incidental chatting and humour, more importantly nobody, whether they're seventy or seven, feels left out. Further: we can all teach each other a lot and these activities are an important part of informal education.

So with all these problems what can be done, because we need to explore ways so that our children have happy fulfilled childhoods? The first and easiest task is to get rid of the electronic "babysitter". I know how often parents find themselves tired and the temptation of the TV is great. But it is no remedy because it actually makes your children's behaviour worse in the long term.  The same can be said also for the computer; however, if they need it for schoolwork it must only be used with adult supervision.

Of course children will suffer comments from their peers about an absence of a TV, but if the children are doing exciting things their peers may become interested and join them in far more imaginative pursuits than being "couch potatoes" gawping at a screen. This leads on to the important subject of toys.

Modern toys are generally lacking enough input from the child. All these brightly coloured plastic toys don't allow children to make up their own toys or develop the fantasy world so important in children's play. Also they cost the parents a fortune. What children need is much of the material that goes for re-cycling nowadays. Favourites are cardboard in various forms, old containers, string, rubber bands and a pot of glue. Have a look also at some of the old books for children from a charity or second hand shop. Many of these books were produced when money was very short and children made their own toys. Trips also to any local open grounds are useful; children can forage for sticks and all manner of things. One thing my children would spend hours doing was playing shop; they would find all kinds of things to fill their shop.

The next considerations: are our houses, and if we are lucky enough to have them gardens, child friendly? Do visiting children feel comfortable in them?

In our very materialistic age furnishings apparently have to be pristine like some TV commercial. Adults become totally neurotic when children bounce up and down on sofa or drop plasticine on immaculate carpets. It is the same with gardens and their immaculate manicured sterile lawns and flowerbeds, where there is no room for children to dig holes or play.

Where adults seem terrified that children will despoil their suburban - as they see it - "shangri la". Isn't it better to have shabbier furnishings where children can use the sofa as a trampoline?  Anyway it saves a lot of money on buying furniture and one no longer has to worry about keeping up with the Joneses; the neighbour's children can encourage their parents to come down to your level! The neighbour's children also can seek refuge from their neurotic parents in a house and a garden with lots of evidence of children's play. Of course children should be taught respect for other people's possessions and one can provide "no go" areas in gardens and houses. But generally the joy of children playing outweighs any transient material consideration.

Finally: a vital part of a child's development is playing with other children. Today we have the dreadful isolation of children sat up in a bedroom whose only companion is a computer or play station. Play is vital and one should make every effort to engage all the local children and school pals. There is also safety in numbers when children play in the local park or open space. Without this play children can never grow into mature adults because of the importance of social interaction. However one word of warning: one should engage other parents to help keep a "distant" discreet eye on the play to ensure there is no bullying. Unfortunately that is often the unpleasant side of children's play.

Bishop Mark Davies dispels media nonsense on the Synod for the family

 

Bishop Davies on the crisis caused by ideologies opposed to the sanctity of life and the family



Bishop Mark Davies on the distructive pagan ideologies
that would destroy the civilised world
photo Wikipedia



The plain speaking bishop Davies of Shrewsbury has once again spoken out in defense of Life and the family. In a pastoral letter read out in all his diocese churches on Remembrance Sunday he says “The first Christians required great courage to overcome and transform a vast, pagan world whose ideas about marriage and sexual morality were not unlike those which prevail in our own culture.”

If bishop Davies is right and we believe he is, the ‘civilized’ Western world is regressing into a pagan world not seen for over sixteen hundred years. He also points out that Pope Francis recently declared that the “Christian family and marriage are under great attack,” due, he said, to the growing relativism regarding the very concept of marriage (Address to the Schoenstatt Movement, 27th October 2014).

We can only hope that both Bishop Davies continues with his outspoken excellent pastoral letters and both he the Synod Father and Pope Francis realise who is really teaching their flocks on moral values – it’s the TV and the rest of the secular media.

The full text of the pastoral letter:

On Overcoming the Crisis of Marriage and the Family

To be read in all churches and chapels of the Diocese on Sunday 9th November 2014

My dear brothers and sisters,

On this Remembrance Sunday we recall the great crises faced by generations before us in the conflicts of the past century. Last month, Pope Francis invited bishops from around the world to meet with him in Rome to address what we might call a crisis of our time: the crisis of the family. This is experienced in some parts of the world in poverty, war or persecution; but in western countries like our own, it is a crisis most often caused by ideologies opposed to the sanctity of human life and the institution of marriage and the family.

The Catholic Church has long opposed these mentalities and the devastation they have wrought on individuals, societies and especially among the young and most vulnerable. Pope Francis recently declared that the “Christian family and marriage are under great attack,” due, he said, to the growing relativism regarding the very concept of marriage (Address to the Schoenstatt Movement, 27th October 2014). God’s plan of marriage, which is written into human nature and raised by Christ to be a Sacrament is being replaced by the idea that we can each make our own truth according to our own ideas and desires (cf Gaudium et Spes 47).

The first Christians required great courage to overcome and transform a vast, pagan world whose ideas about marriage and sexual morality were not unlike those which prevail in our own culture. Today we need this same, supernatural, courage to give witness to all the Church believes and teaches about marriage, the family and human sexuality. The Synod of Bishops, gathered around Pope Francis, met precisely to consider how “the Church and society can renew their commitment to the family” (Final Synod Report, October 2014).

Yet, I am conscious that there have been many reports since the Synod suggesting the Church is about to change her constant teaching. Cardinal Nichols, who attended the Synod, wrote on his return that it is simply not true that this meeting was ever about changing the teaching of the Church on marriage, family life or sexual morality (Pastoral Letter of the Archbishop of Westminster, October 2014). The bishops considered the challenges being faced by families across the world. They sought a “pastoral response” which offers, in Pope Francis’s words, answers “to the many discouragements that surround and suffocate families.” The Church, he added, always seeks “to receive the needy, the penitent and not only the just or those who believe they are perfect!” Pope Francis insisted that we must not only welcome those who are lost amid this crisis, we must be ready to go out and find them!

The Church offers the truth she has received from Christ her Lord not with hostility towards those who have taken a wrong path, but with the greatest love and concern for every person. The Church on earth is made up of sinners called to become saints; our practice of frequent Confession is, indeed, a constant reminder that every one of us is called along this path! It would be the ultimate failure in pastoral care or charity, to mislead people by encouraging them to remain in sin, or fail to call them to repentance and renewal (cf Lumen Gentium 8). Pope Francis describes such an approach as “deceptive mercy,” a false mercy which bandages wounds but fails to heal them. Today I want to dispel any misleading impression that the Church will abandon her witness to the truth and change her teaching in the face of hostile trends in public opinion or the destructive ideologies of our time. Pope Francis spoke of this as: “the temptation to come down off the Cross, to please the people, and not stay there, in order to fulfil the will of the Father; to bow down to a worldly spirit instead of purifying it and bending it to the Spirit of God.”

Pope Francis has set before us the example of Saint John Paul II whom he named “the Pope of the family”; and of Pope Paul VI whom, at the end of the Synod, he declared among the Blessed, not least for his sometimes lonely witness to the truth. In the crisis we face today, let us look to the great inheritance of their teaching. May their courage and prayer inspire us to seek a greater faithfulness and a deeper understanding of what Christ and His Church truly teach about marriage, the family and human sexuality. At the end of the Synod, Pope Francis asked: “please do not forget to pray for me!” On this Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica which celebrates our unity in faith and love with the Holy See of Rome, may we never fail to pray for our Holy Father as he confirms us in faith amid all the passing crises of time. (Luke 22:32).

With my blessing,
+ Mark
Bishop of Shrewsbury



Is Cardinal Kasper a racist?

The Media, the Synod for the Family and Cardinal Kasper

The church and the bishops will come under severe media pressure during the coming year until the next and concluding Synod for the Family takes place in October 2015. The secular media will do what they are best at: cherry-picking the bits that suit them and ignoring the bits they dislike. However, there was enough coming out of the Synod to please the media and hurt the orthodox Catholic anyway. I’m not going to go into details here; we all know what has come out and most orthodox Catholics are shocked by it. On the one hand we have some Cardinals saying the Church can’t change its teaching; then we have Cardinal Kasper putting forward ideas that have be taken up by the pope and a growing majority in the Synod to create an ‘opening’ for the divorced and re-married (without an annulment) to receive Holy Communion. Then we have another bombshell, in that we are told that Gays have positives to offer the Church – I can’t think what though – an early death, an insanitary form of sex that is liken by St Paul in Romans (Chap 1: 18-32) to paganism. St Paul unlike some in the Church was never afraid to preach against homosexual acts. He says “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Romans 1: 16).

Is Cardinal Kasper a Racist?

Cardinal Kasper
photo Wikipedia

Cardinal Kasper’s remarks about Africans have been largely ignored by the BBC and the mainstream media – why? Here is a transcript of part of a Zenit interview with Kasper and the Vatican reporter Edward Pentin.

Kasper:] Africa is totally different from the West. Also Asian and Muslim countries, they’re very different, especially about gays. You can’t speak about this with Africans and people of Muslim countries. It’s not possible. It’s a taboo. For us, we say we ought not to discriminate, we don’t want to discriminate in certain respects.

Q - But are African participants listened to in this regard?

[Kasper:] No, the majority of them [who hold these views won’t speak about them].

Q - They’re not listened to?

[Kasper:] In Africa of course [their views are listened to], where it’s a taboo.

Q - What has changed for you, regarding the methodology of this synod?

[Kasper:] I think in the end there must be a general line in the Church, general criteria, but then the questions of Africa we cannot solve. There must be space also for the local bishops’ conferences to solve their problems but I’d say with Africa it’s impossible [for us to solve]. But they should not tell us too much what we have to do.

Cardinal Kasper has denied saying these things. However he has apologized for offending Africans – he seems to be contradicting himself. But Pentin had made an audio recording. Surely Kasper’s credibility is now at zero? Well no, sadly it is not and the reason for this is the ‘Gay’ agenda of the mainstream media and even some in the Synod who support so called ‘Gay’ issues.

Everything else is subjected to this untouchable issue; nothing else matters quite so much for the liberal media, even truth, and certainly not race issues. But the crux of the matter is that the main stream media has almost totally ignored the Kasper controversy. In any other walk of life Kasper would have been hung out to dry by the secular media – but as he is pro-‘gay’ etc. and a Cardinal he is untouchable.

Question - Is this is Kasper a racist and a liar?

For the Family and the Catholic Church

18^th Crusade of Prayer

For the next year starting on All Saints Day 1^st November we continue to pray for the Family and Catholic Church.

Please pray that the Pope and Synod Fathers will strongly affirm the traditional Catholic teachings on the Family in 2015.

The BBC continues to undermine the Family

To understand the pressures on the family and the Catholic Church’s moral teachings one only has to turn on any main stream media channel in the western world. In Britain we have that juggernaut of relentless political ‘correctness’, the BBC. It will not be long before the perverse and the unnatural is championed. Just listen to Radio 5 live Breakfast Show with Nicky Campbell if you want to hear the BBC brainwashing machine working in all its gory glory.

Nicky Campbell is very interesting. He appears to be as anti-Catholic as he is fanatically pro-‘Gay’. In the lead up to Pope Benedict’s visit to the UK in 2010 his anti-Catholicism became almost hysterical; he even had a phone in programme called “Are children safe in the Catholic Church?” Today he still has a problem when mentioning the Catholic Church; it seems he just can’t do it without bad mouthing her. Just before the Synod for the Family started he said there are still those in the Vatican who should be “banged up”, - said with a venomous relish that even Ian Paisley would have been proud of. He was probably referring to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, most likely because he wrote some great papers on affirming that sex should only be between a man and a woman and only after marriage.

The morning of the 30 October on Radio 5 live Breakfast was particularly gory when it came to the family. First there was the new national sperm bank which was trumpeted unreservedly at 5 Live. Then a very positively presented interview with a single mother who had IVF to conceive her children; followed closely by an interview with a homosexual man who likes to donate to sperm banks. Earlier there was an interview with someone to do with promoting a positive and inclusive curriculum to stop homophobia in schools. Also there was what sounded like an exploitative interview with a sad mother over the death of her daughter due to drugs. The poor mother here wanted all drugs to be legal and regulated, and all users to be trained in their usage. Of course the Radio 5 live team using their best Sun Newspaper style journalism appeared to just milk the story without properly exploring the probable consequences of this distraught mother’s campaign.

Well there you have it – a typical Radio 5 Live Breakfast Show to listen to over your cornflakes. Sperm banks and their homosexual donors, IVF treated single mums, children’s educators more interested in homophobia than education, and the legalising of all drugs. Should the BBC and its presenters be tried for crimes against humanity?

Save the Family and prayers for the Extraordinary Synod

The 16^th Crusade of Prayer

Please pray for the Bishops who will take part in the Extraordinary Synod for the family

There are many wild media reports that this will change the Church’s teaching on many areas of Catholic moral theology – this of course is not possible.

However, please pray that the influence of the Media and the secular Zeitgeist will not prevail at this synod please pray the Prayer Crusader prayer and a Rosary every day please see below a reflection on the Holy Rosary:

 

The Holy Rosary
(best left in the past, where it belongs?)

A lecture on the true nature of the Rosary: "The Holy Rosary"  - May 1st 2014†

               One day, possibly in this very month of May, in the year 1915 the following incident happened in the trenches. The commanding officer of the neighbouring village one day saw one of the soldiers saying the Rosary in his trench. "Do you say it because you are afraid?" he asked. "No, mon Colonel," replied the soldier, "but because it helps me." "That's right," said the colonel; let's say it together." And with this he took out his beads and began to say them with the soldier. The example was infectious; one after another the men did the same, and soon the whole trench was saying the Rosary together.

               Another time, in the same year the Abbé Jarraud, who was in the Nancy region, made this report. He had seen at the Presbytery of Varangéville, and indeed venerated, a Rosary made of string, which had been made in the trenches by a young soldier. The knots were nicely spaced, representing exactly the Pater and Ave beads. The instrument was nearly worn out, having seen much active service every day of the defence of the Grand Couronné. "All the men of the section passed it on from one to another to say a Hail Mary," had explained very simply the good soldier, who had come to the Curé to ask in exchange for it a strong Rosary to use on the "Northern frontier".

               In the trenches every moment was a battle against a visible foe, but for that very reason the soldiers could not but be aware of the invisible battle in which each soul in the trench was engaged, in his shared solitude before the encounter with the forces unleashed forever by one lethal flying object. Before Eternity seconds counted.

               Before Eternity seconds always count, and the primeval foe of the soul knows it only too well. Hence it is that we observe his enthusiasm regarding all that sucks up very large quantities of them.

               During the exorcism of Anneliese Michel in Germany in 1975, many surprising truths came to the surface. Under obedience to Christ the High Priest, the demons and even the human demons present were obliged to make certain admissions. One such was their influence in the current trends. Thus we find Judas making remarks of this nature: "Nuns in monasteries are in front of the television  and are not praying enough, and they do not kneel, and they stick out their paws... The Rosary – they (the parish priests) do not regard it as modern... If only that one up there (sc. the Blessed Virgin) did not exist... The month of the Rosary does exist, but very few recite it, because the great parish priests do not look on it as modern. How imbecile they are!"

               In various exorcisms the utter hatred and dread of the Underworld with regard to the Holy Rosary is a constant. Even the use of a blessed Rosary during exorcism causes huge commotion. Understandable therefore is the keenness of that realm to insure that the Image of the Beast be duly enthroned in the hearth of every Christian home, and be ever heard, especially at the moments previously most noisome to it, that of the family Rosary. A great ally in its service is also the emitter of noise in the average vehicle. Hell is full of noise, and Earth must be brought to resemble it as closely as possible. It has the excellent side effect of excluding shared or even individual Rosaries during long or short journeys.

               Since we have hit on the monastic world, it is interesting to note the way in which noise has progressively replaced the silence of the hours of manual work, simply by the transformation of the same into an extension of Recreation. Traditionally, the option of manual work was deliberate because of the unbroken heritage of Desert Spirituality which saw the peacefulness of simple work as an extension of the prayer of the Liturgy, and hence had arisen the practice of the Prayer of the Heart, which maintained the soul in prayer mode between liturgical moments. To this day one can observe this at work in the East. Any You Tube of Mount Athos, closely watched, will disclose one simple truth: all the monks when working – be it in the olive trees or in the icon studio – have their lips unceasingly moving. They are praying the Jesus Prayer.

               Very early on in Trappist formation in France I found that the well observed Rule of Perpetual Silence became a natural invitation to recite mentally, while working, the Rosary or some other easy prayer. Even though it might not be possible to count the exact number of prayers, by going over the minimum one was sure of having them covered. And one could be sure that souls "out there" were being helped by this consecration of time. Who, I wonder, gains from the insistence that during working hours we are in fraternity...?

               The Church, being a good mother, and knowing the immense value of genuine fraternity, bonded by Our Lady, has desired to attract her children to collective moments with her. In this optic we find that we have at our disposal many fringe benefits. A plenary indulgence is attached to the recitation of the Holy Rosary in the family or in a religious community, or even in a pious association, or when it is recited in a church or oratory. A partial one is available in other modes of recitation.

               The enemy forces are fully aware of the power of this instrument. On October 10th 1975, Judas came out with the following admission during the exorcism of Anneliese: "If only they (the priests) had an idea of it! It is a powerful weapon against Satan and against us. I am obliged, alas, to admit it, but many do not believe it."  

               Hence it is that the foe in question is fairly keen on making sure that should it ever be brought into the battlefield, it should be as quickly as possible be rendered innocuous. His great means is the Divide and Conquer Tactic. This has been used with amazing success on the Western Front, for the Emerald Isle has a good track record of docility to his indications. It consists in the following strategy. Insure that as many Rosaries are said as there are pious souls present. Simply make sure that they never say the lethal formulae at the same time. Then make sure that the essence of the exercise is kept always in the forefront: reaching the finishing line. For this to happen, the greatest and most precious ally is the Fastest Draw in the West, thankfully nearly always present. Make sure that that person comes in before the first half of each prayer is finished, thus neutralizing completely the dangerous effect of the Name most hated. Make maximum use, just as at Mass, of the fact that these specialists at velocity are fully gratified by being heard loudly and clearly by their admirers, in such a way that they have the attention thus perfectly deflected from the Person or Persons addressed. Thus we have the very means of assuring that the worst possible calamity will not follow – that any young person will have any attraction for a place on Brands Hatch.

                It seems that St. John Paul was aware of the power of this weapon. He would invite the youth of Rome to use it with him at the Sala Nervi of a Saturday night. He also taught the Church how to exploit the arsenal at its disposal. I have seen electrified celebrations of the Rosary in the Charismatic Renewal in France. I have also had much consolation in gently shared and partly sung Rosaries celebrated in a car or an oratory. A meditation or a Scripture reading or quotation inserted here and there makes a huge difference. And on pilgrimage, by coach or by car, how precious has the meditated and sung Rosary been over the years in upbuilding in faith and even knowledge. People listen between the decades. Some years ago here in Ireland I would be asked, even before Ordination, to go to whichever house might have the special Fatima statue, for a full meditated Rosary. It would be well attended, and the effect of light and petal goes a long way towards creating a privileged place of encounter – both vertical and horizontal, for nothing in Erin runs without tea.

               At Fatima, only one thing was explicitly requested at each of the six apparitions. It was the daily recitation of Our Lady's Rosary. She did not actually ask for daily Mass. She could have. But it would seem that she preferred to make one simple Mother's plea to all throughout the world, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlettered, lay and, yes, cleric: "Recite my Rosary every day." If she made such a plea with such insistence, maybe there are reasons for it. And if the one at her heel has been so successful in getting this noisome pestilence out of reach, maybe there are reasons for it. And if we are doing so much for Heaven and drawing down so few of its blessings, maybe, maybe, there are reasons for it.

               The battle is on, my friends, the battle is on. It is not the moment to surrender our most powerful weapon to the enemy.

Fr. David Jones, D. D.,
1st May 2014, St. Joseph the Worker



On the Feast of St Michael the Archangel

The 16^th Crusade of Prayer

Please pray for the Bishops who will take part in the Extraordinary Synod for the family

There are many wild media reports that this will change the Church’s teaching on many areas of Catholic moral theology – this of course is not possible.

However, please pray that the influence of the Media and the secular Zeitgeist will not prevail at this synod please pray the Prayer Crusader prayer and a Rosary every day from today the Feast of St Michael the Archangel until it close on the 14^th of October.

Remember our last post on  The Rosary and perhaps reread the wise words of the wise hermit/priest under the patronage of St John Roberts.



An Aide Memoire of Spiritual Combat

The Holy Rosary
(best left in the past, where it belongs?)

A lecture on the true nature of the Rosary: "The Holy Rosary"  - May 1st 2014†

               One day, possibly in this very month of May, in the year 1915 the following incident happened in the trenches. The commanding officer of the neighbouring village one day saw one of the soldiers saying the Rosary in his trench. "Do you say it because you are afraid?" he asked. "No, mon Colonel," replied the soldier, "but because it helps me." "That's right," said the colonel; let's say it together." And with this he took out his beads and began to say them with the soldier. The example was infectious; one after another the men did the same, and soon the whole trench was saying the Rosary together.

               Another time, in the same year the Abbé Jarraud, who was in the Nancy region, made this report. He had seen at the Presbytery of Varangéville, and indeed venerated, a Rosary made of string, which had been made in the trenches by a young soldier. The knots were nicely spaced, representing exactly the Pater and Ave beads. The instrument was nearly worn out, having seen much active service every day of the defence of the Grand Couronné. "All the men of the section passed it on from one to another to say a Hail Mary," had explained very simply the good soldier, who had come to the Curé to ask in exchange for it a strong Rosary to use on the "Northern frontier".

               In the trenches every moment was a battle against a visible foe, but for that very reason the soldiers could not but be aware of the invisible battle in which each soul in the trench was engaged, in his shared solitude before the encounter with the forces unleashed forever by one lethal flying object. Before Eternity seconds counted.

               Before Eternity seconds always count, and the primeval foe of the soul knows it only too well. Hence it is that we observe his enthusiasm regarding all that sucks up very large quantities of them.

               During the exorcism of Anneliese Michel in Germany in 1975, many surprising truths came to the surface. Under obedience to Christ the High Priest, the demons and even the human demons present were obliged to make certain admissions. One such was their influence in the current trends. Thus we find Judas making remarks of this nature: "Nuns in monasteries are in front of the television  and are not praying enough, and they do not kneel, and they stick out their paws... The Rosary – they (the parish priests) do not regard it as modern... If only that one up there (sc. the Blessed Virgin) did not exist... The month of the Rosary does exist, but very few recite it, because the great parish priests do not look on it as modern. How imbecile they are!"

               In various exorcisms the utter hatred and dread of the Underworld with regard to the Holy Rosary is a constant. Even the use of a blessed Rosary during exorcism causes huge commotion. Understandable therefore is the keenness of that realm to insure that the Image of the Beast be duly enthroned in the hearth of every Christian home, and be ever heard, especially at the moments previously most noisome to it, that of the family Rosary. A great ally in its service is also the emitter of noise in the average vehicle. Hell is full of noise, and Earth must be brought to resemble it as closely as possible. It has the excellent side effect of excluding shared or even individual Rosaries during long or short journeys.

               Since we have hit on the monastic world, it is interesting to note the way in which noise has progressively replaced the silence of the hours of manual work, simply by the transformation of the same into an extension of Recreation. Traditionally, the option of manual work was deliberate because of the unbroken heritage of Desert Spirituality which saw the peacefulness of simple work as an extension of the prayer of the Liturgy, and hence had arisen the practice of the Prayer of the Heart, which maintained the soul in prayer mode between liturgical moments. To this day one can observe this at work in the East. Any You Tube of Mount Athos, closely watched, will disclose one simple truth: all the monks when working – be it in the olive trees or in the icon studio – have their lips unceasingly moving. They are praying the Jesus Prayer.

               Very early on in Trappist formation in France I found that the well observed Rule of Perpetual Silence became a natural invitation to recite mentally, while working, the Rosary or some other easy prayer. Even though it might not be possible to count the exact number of prayers, by going over the minimum one was sure of having them covered. And one could be sure that souls "out there" were being helped by this consecration of time. Who, I wonder, gains from the insistence that during working hours we are in fraternity...?

               The Church, being a good mother, and knowing the immense value of genuine fraternity, bonded by Our Lady, has desired to attract her children to collective moments with her. In this optic we find that we have at our disposal many fringe benefits. A plenary indulgence is attached to the recitation of the Holy Rosary in the family or in a religious community, or even in a pious association, or when it is recited in a church or oratory. A partial one is available in other modes of recitation.

               The enemy forces are fully aware of the power of this instrument. On October 10th 1975, Judas came out with the following admission during the exorcism of Anneliese: "If only they (the priests) had an idea of it! It is a powerful weapon against Satan and against us. I am obliged, alas, to admit it, but many do not believe it."  

               Hence it is that the foe in question is fairly keen on making sure that should it ever be brought into the battlefield, it should be as quickly as possible be rendered innocuous. His great means is the Divide and Conquer Tactic. This has been used with amazing success on the Western Front, for the Emerald Isle has a good track record of docility to his indications. It consists in the following strategy. Insure that as many Rosaries are said as there are pious souls present. Simply make sure that they never say the lethal formulae at the same time. Then make sure that the essence of the exercise is kept always in the forefront: reaching the finishing line. For this to happen, the greatest and most precious ally is the Fastest Draw in the West, thankfully nearly always present. Make sure that that person comes in before the first half of each prayer is finished, thus neutralizing completely the dangerous effect of the Name most hated. Make maximum use, just as at Mass, of the fact that these specialists at velocity are fully gratified by being heard loudly and clearly by their admirers, in such a way that they have the attention thus perfectly deflected from the Person or Persons addressed. Thus we have the very means of assuring that the worst possible calamity will not follow – that any young person will have any attraction for a place on Brands Hatch.

                It seems that St. John Paul was aware of the power of this weapon. He would invite the youth of Rome to use it with him at the Sala Nervi of a Saturday night. He also taught the Church how to exploit the arsenal at its disposal. I have seen electrified celebrations of the Rosary in the Charismatic Renewal in France. I have also had much consolation in gently shared and partly sung Rosaries celebrated in a car or an oratory. A meditation or a Scripture reading or quotation inserted here and there makes a huge difference. And on pilgrimage, by coach or by car, how precious has the meditated and sung Rosary been over the years in upbuilding in faith and even knowledge. People listen between the decades. Some years ago here in Ireland I would be asked, even before Ordination, to go to whichever house might have the special Fatima statue, for a full meditated Rosary. It would be well attended, and the effect of light and petal goes a long way towards creating a privileged place of encounter – both vertical and horizontal, for nothing in Erin runs without tea.

               At Fatima, only one thing was explicitly requested at each of the six apparitions. It was the daily recitation of Our Lady's Rosary. She did not actually ask for daily Mass. She could have. But it would seem that she preferred to make one simple Mother's plea to all throughout the world, high and low, rich and poor, learned and unlettered, lay and, yes, cleric: "Recite my Rosary every day." If she made such a plea with such insistence, maybe there are reasons for it. And if the one at her heal has been so successful in getting this noisome pestilence out of reach, maybe there are reasons for it. And if we are doing so much for Heaven and drawing down so few of its blessings, maybe, maybe, there are reasons for it.

               The battle is on, my friends, the battle is on. It is not the moment to surrender our most powerful weapon to the enemy.

By a hermit priest under the patronage of St John Roberts

1st May 2014, St. Joseph the Worker

Please pray the Crusader prayer on 29th September the feast of St Michal the Archangel, on of our patrons for the synod on the family which is coming up in October.



The Day TV Licensing man arrived

The TV Licensing inspector has finally knocked

on my door

After eleven years of running CUT, not paying the licence fee and campaigning that Catholics throw their TV’s out, a TV Licensing man finally knocked on my door. He didn’t know what he was letting himself in for. Poor man! “Mr Mazzeo TV Licensing” he said “According to our records you do not have a TV licence”. Ah, I said I’ve been waiting for you, do you know that I actually campaign against the TV? especially as the BBC is so anti-Catholic. I said, he is welcome to come in but I warned him that if he did I will record it on video and post it on line on our website. I know a thing or two about conducting interviews, creating a narration and making documentaries, this would be fun – I would give the whole episode a narration. But he stood outside looking slightly white by now. I’d always promised myself that when the TV licensing man did finally turn up I would ask him did he have an entry warrant. If he didn’t I’d tell him to go way and get one then I would video the whole experience. He would probably come back a few days later with the police I would then give a running commentary. However, as the local police sergeant is a friend of mine and we attend the same church, it’s probably just as well I didn’t, it would just be too embarrassing all round; and what about my long suffering wife who has often crept away from me in a store such as Currys when I start to expound to a hapless sales assistant on the dangers of the TV and children. Having the police knocking at the door especially as we’ve only been here for a few months, would mortify her.

I’m an atheist, I’m a Catholic but I’m and atheist – he said!

Back to the TV licence man, all he could come up with at the opening of my anti-Telly tirade was “I’m an atheist, I’m a Catholic but I’m and atheist”. I told him that can’t be both! He said he had been an atheist ever since as a young boy a priest came to his house and said that if he didn’t go to church he’d go to hell. After sympathising with him, but only slightly as his priest was right but there are ways and Ways of doing this and we should never forget the teaching on invincible ignorance. A good and orthodox priest will know how to teach this truth without putting people off. But you never know the full and real reasons why people give up their faith. If the priest came around to my house and said that I would have agreed with every word – but how many priests today are brave enough to teach the simple facts of the faith. Many of their congregations are able to brow-beat them into submission so that many are afraid to teach the essential truths of the Catholic faith. Their congregations have been ‘educated’ by the BBC and other media outlets. Many can reel off like rote as efficiently as most zealous Evangelical a few selective ‘truths’ about the ‘Black Legends’ of Catholic history or the ‘kinder’ more inclusive ideals of the secular zeitgeist.

I can however come up with a few reasons for  not having a TV – the Corporation’s televised litanies from hell that  sexualise the young, their bias in favour militant secularisation to the point of homophilia bran-washing and that is why this nasty box of tricks has been banished from this house. I went through a list of the BBC’s low points and explained why these programme were so bad and how they do not tell the truth about Catholic history. Ah ha he seemed to come to life again, “what about the Crusades?” I met his defiant challenge head on, having just spent the last 18 months working on a documentary on the Crusades, so I was able to defend them as having saved Christendom from Islam. He was surprised that I not only don’t have a TV I am actually a TV producer and scriptwriter. Now completely bewildered he actually refused to come in and turned to go. I gave him a list of Crusader Professors and historians that he could look up and find out what really happened and I said he could always watch EWTN’s documentary we just finished in October. I won’t be seeing it of course I do not have a TV. He said I’ll have a look, he stopped and stared at my car in the drive  – “I like Alfas” he said “I got a Mercedes but I think I’m going to buy an Alfa Romeo next”. I said I’ve had it for 14 years and it been very good I just couldn’t part with her. I see I’ve got a convert perhaps he will also think a little about his faith again as well.

A New Christendom

Is there a bleak outlook for Christianity in the West or will a new Christendom appear?

·        This post is in response to the comment left on the St Catherine of Siena post by our Prayer Crusader St Cecilia.

Prayer Crusader, St Cecilia’s comment was worthy of a post in its own right. The Crusader pointed out a number of desperately sad things that are happening to the West, an area that was once known as Christendom.

One is the almost unstoppable rise of Islam, and another is the infiltration of homosexuality into  almost every area of Western society – even in the Church. It is so desperately sad that the sacrilegious Masses still go on at Farm Street. It not only causes scandal, it is of course extremely injurious to the spiritual well being of all of those who take part. It is of course for the poor damaged souls of the homosexuals themselves we should be most concerned, for their sin is condemned in both the Old and New Testament. The teaching and traditions of the Church are very clear on this: homosexual actions are sinful – these teachings cannot be changed, there is no wriggle room!

The reason of course why homosexuality is so prevalent in today’s society is because homosexuals and their supporters have control of the media. Through sheer blatant militancy on one hand and placing themselves at the top of the hierarchy of victimhood on the other, they have infiltrated and control the media. They have created a new type of ‘ethos’ and have turned natural law and natural morality on its head. It is now impossible to speak out against the nonsense of the homosexual argument without being labelled in the same breath as the Nazis.

I believe it is a crime against humanity that the media led by the BBC have been so encouraging of these perverted and dangerous acts. I also believe that it is an act of charity to point out the danger of homosexual acts; this is a caring act. Of course the BBC will call us bigots or nutters or homophobics.

On Muslims and the TV, I am quite sure that the Muslims are not puritans when it comes to pornography and illicit sexual behaviour, just as secularists are not. After all look what has been happening in Rotherham and Rochdale with groups of Asian men grooming and molesting young girls – these girls became uncontrollable by their parents and would run after these men.  They have been let down by their parents first for not teaching them Christian values; they have been let down by the political leaders; they have been let down by Church leaders for not teaching clearly on Christian values and last but not least they have been let down by the media!

But the grooming was not only done by the Asian men. They are not to blame alone; with a TV in the front room of every house giving out false versions of sexual ethics these children have been spoiled, leaving them at the mercy of anyone who is devious enough to exploit them. The exploiting of young children is not only done by Asian men, as the BBC’s Jimmy Savile case has shown. Homosexuals, pop stars, celebrities, and anyone who wanted, could exploit the devastation left in the wake of the TV and the secular media.

If the parents of these children had enough Christian ethics left in them to understand what is right and good they would have turned off the TV at the first sex scene, and thrown the thing out at the first same sex kiss.  The devastation that has been wreaked on Christianity has left a moral vacuum that could be filled by whatever religion or philosophy that could get its act together the quickest – at the moment the secular militants are on top – but it won’t last, they will show themselves for what they are – Satanic.

A New Christendom

By the 1960’s Christendom was already dead as a geopolitical entity – but Christendom can be re-created in the hearts of every practicing Christian. I am optimistic that a new Christendom will emerge. Through prayer and action, like persuading Catholics to turn away from the secular media, and protect their children from the influence of the militant secularists, Our Lord and Our Lady will prevail.

St Catherine of Siena

 

‘Homosexuals cause Nausea to Our Lord’

 



St Catherine of Siena
Wikipedia



Whenever we may become concerned that we are perhaps being a little too strong in our warnings about the media and its support of homosexuality we must turn to Sacred Scripture, the teachings of the Church and her saints. There we will find courage to keep up the fight but we must always do this out of charity for as St Paul says ‘If I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries and all knowledge and if I should have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing’ (1 Cor 13:2). We believe that warning against media promoted homosexuality is a great charity, an act of love for homosexuals and the people affected by the media.

 

               The great saint and doctor of the Church, St Catherine of Siena, was not afraid to exercise this work of charity towards homosexuals. For she was a mystic to whom Our Lord appeared and said :

 

“They [the homosexuals] not only fail from resisting the weakness [of fallen human nature] …. but they do even worse when they commit the cursed sin against nature. Like the blind and stupid, having dimmed the light of their understanding, they do not recognize the disease and misery in which they find themselves. For this not only causes Me nausea, but is disgusting even to the devils themselves whom these depraved creatures have chosen as their lords.

         For Me this sin against nature is so abominable that for it alone five cities were destroyed by virtue of the judgment of My Divine Justice, which could no longer bear their iniquity …. It is disgusting to the devils not because evil displeases them or because they find pleasure in good, but rather because their nature is angelic and flees upon seeing such a repulsive sin being committed. For while certainly it is the devil that first strikes the sinner with the poisoned arrow of concupiscence, nonetheless when a man actually carries out such a sinful act, the devil goes away.”

This is pretty strong stuff, but remember who is saying it, not St Catherine but Jesus himself. The Jesus in the New Testament didn’t mince his words either, using language such as hypocrites, and brood of vipers and whited sepulchres outside but inwardly all full of dead men’s bones and all filthiness, to the Pharisees. Some would like to paint the orthodox Catholic as the Pharisee of today but they would be wrong: the Pharisees and Sadducees of today are those who teach the new secular law – the politicians and the Militant Secularists in the media.