Monday, April 20, 2009

Divine Mercy...

Yesterday was Divine Mercy Sunday,..one of the most Grace filled days in the Catholic Church. Based on the Revelation to St Faustina in 1932, Divine Mercy implores poor sinners to Trust in Jesus as a font of Mercy. In many respects it is a continuation of the Sacred Heart Devotion and can also be linked to Fatima. Pope John Paul II issued that an indulgence to be granted to those who participate in the Divine Mercy. The conditions are Confession, Eucharist and prayers for the intentions of the Pope, along with the prayer, Jesus, I trust in You! Because I live in liberal looney-toon land Montreal, I had to drive out to the West Island where one english parish was celebrating a bilingual service. Truly sad how progressive theologians along with their subjective philosophy and relativistic morality have indeed crippled the Faithful and robbed them of an amazing opportunity to receive God's grace sacramentaly,..

Jesus, I trust in You! St Faustina,..pray for us...

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Easter Madness...

I'd like to begin by wishing everyone a Happy and Holy Easter season,.and with it the joy of the Resurrection bringing about abundant Grace to change our lives. This Easter like other Easters I found myself attending the Easter Vigil on Saturday night at St Patrick's Basilica in Montreal. What an impressive sight! The darkness, the incense, the procession into Church,..all commemorating the Lord's passing from death to life! Finally the Gloria is sung and the Sanctuary comes alive with the Ressurection! What an intense feeling! I personally don't care what anyone thinks, but anyone who calls themselves Catholic and doesn't appreciate that Liturgical moment is in need of a lobotomy! The joy of celebrating the Eucharist with new Catholics is incredible!

Then there's Easter morning,.although not obligatory because the Vigil is considered a Mass, it is still nice to attend....Except.....(All you politically correct people, I'm about to drop a bomb, cause Lord knows the priests won't do it!) the twice a year catholics(small 'c') are out in force! My question is simple,.What the hell are they going for? Is it customary? To please Grandma? Perhaps its just something they 'do.'? I know a lot of these people and they range from universalists(everyone is going to Heaven cause God is Love...)to atheists who think Jesus was a really nice man...But the Resurrection is sooooo far from their thought process that if we ask the ones who are parents, you'll wind up with answers ranging from Jesus is a magic man who travels with the Easter bunny(in december its Santa Claus)bringing chocolates,..all the way to blank stares. Wait though, here is the kicker! As if this exercise in the absurd isn't enough, they rush up for Communion as if it were a cafeteria line and exit the Church quicker than Judas at the Last Supper. The ones that don't, still occupy pews that the church pillars sit in. Not the concrete pillars, I'm speaking about the little blue haired old ladies praying the Rosary and faithfully attending, it becomes painful to see them standing because there isn't enough room, and some of that crowd need a place to put their Tim Horton's coffee.(I kid you not!...)

Is there a positive side? Yes they are there. We can petition Almighty God during the Eucharist that some grace may penetrate just one soul, and it will all be worth it. We must be compassionate to these people, but we must love them enough to tell them the truth. This, my friends is where we as Catholic Christians are failing miserably.

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven especially those who are in most need of thy Mercy.

Amen.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Holy Thursday,..

Ora Pro Nobis,..

Holy Thursday,..Lord let me stay awake with you,...ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmW5pD9Qdvch

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

A 'Pastoral' Lenten Retreat

Throughout Holy Week, my thoughts began turning towards the reality that I feel the Holy Spirit calling me to,.the defense of the Catholic Faith. Last year, I attended a Lenten retreat inspired by some youtube content by the Fathers of Mercy. The youtube stuff was powerful! A challenging and inspiring wakeup call to live my Faith more fully both from a worship and active perspective. Needless to say, the retreat I attended was nothing more than a reaffirmation of my 'okayness' and that we must move forward to be yet even more 'inclusive' 'tolerant' and most of all socialist! (listen to the little Obama cult salivating at that word!)

What the hell happened? Well, anyone who has read this blog knows what happened,.Vatican II was hijacked by a subjective/liberal agenda. The reality we are facing right now is a changing of the guard,..the liberals are dying out and the Catholic Church in the West is about to return! The John Paul II generation is poised and ready with orthodox seminarians (although still in hiding...)and a generation of Bishops about to retire. So what do the youth do in the meantime? A gallop poll showed that younger people who practise their Faith are generally more orthodox than their parents, and therefore don't relate to the 'anti-establishment' mentality. Simply put,..the youth must pray, and do penance. Social justice will flourish out of that, (authentic social justice that protects the unborn as well...)in the end we win. In the now, we suffer, we offer up our Lent,..we grin and bear it just as Jesus bore his cross. Believe me, there are times when I feel like attending an evangelical service just to hear a challenging homily, and then run back to the Catholic Church when it is time for the Eucharist.

To get back to my title, when did the word 'pastoral' become 'effeminate.' Is it 'pastoral' to allow someone to continue in their sin and risk hell? But what about validating their little feelings? Oh,.I forgot, liberal 'clergy' don't speak of hell because just like the Real Presence, to them it is medieval non-sense. Their always talking about discerning what the Holy Spirit is doing,..well, the fact remains that worldwide vocations are up and the Extraordinary Form of Mass is back. Remember you hippie parriahs, the same Holy Spirit who convened Vatican II is the same one who chose Pope Benedict! Chew on that!

St Michael the Archangel,..pray for us.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

The Oratory's Divide...

Being a Montrealer has several advantages, a wonderful multicultural city, enthusiatic hockey fans(I being one of them..)and Saint Joseph's Oratory. The Oratory which is no doubt the fruit of the Holy Spirit operating through Andre Bessette by the intercession of Saint Joseph has been a spiritual oasis for many Catholics in Montreal. Many a night, one can find pilgrims entering the deafening silence that is the Crypt Church, lit only by candles and a faint smell of incense calling to mind your visit on Holy ground.

The last few visits, however call to mind a divide existing within the Church of today. The fact that many of the priests are foreign born, does not strike me, yet their adherence to orthodoxy does. As many of you know, I am of the John Paul II generation, and have no time for sillyness and dissidence in the Faith. Yet at the Oratory, I am confronted by two different worlds, the Quebec born priests wearing their suits and the 'others' wearing clerical garb. Even going to confession is different. A quebec priest will stress about psychology while the foreign priest will invite the penitant to repentance,...

I am just sayin,..isn't it curious? (And we wonder why Quebec has a 'vocation' crisis...)