Blowing Off Steam,..

Lord Jesus I thank you for the gift you gave Holy Mother Church.  The Holy Spirit selected Pope Francis and I along with all the baptized faithful, pledge obedience, loyalty and respect.  These are exiting times.  I think back to 2008, when 'Confessions' was launched, I Optimusmastro was in a relationship with an amazing woman, discerning marriage,.. (actually was running away fro priesthood! ) and we were in the middle of Pope Benedict's reign.  All Popes are gifts to the Church and in many respects, represent where the Church's mission is at the moment.  Pope Francis has already indicated that he is a man of prayer, deeply devoted to the Blessed Mother, and to the poor.

What saddened me, were the reactions almost immediately that the so-called 'Spirit of VII' crowd was diappointed,....again.  This Pope has about as much chance of ordaining women and marrying gays, as of repealing the laws of gravity.  He is a stalwart defender of orthodoxy, but what makes him truly dangerous, (in the socialist view) is the fact that he is extremely pro preferential option for the poor!  WOW!  Truth and humility?  Has there been any other?  Well,.. All Popes charism's were necessary at the time of their elevation to the Papacy,..But this Pope has shown strength and humility,..

On the other side of the coin,. **sigh**.  I have never hid the fact that I love the Liturgy.  Though I consider myself a Blessed JPII kind of guy, I admired Benedict for his Liturgical appreciation.  Ordinary Form and Extraordinary both accepted and promoted.  Liturgy at the end of the day is the work of God, and the people participate in it.  What I do have a problem with is the angry radical crowd of Liturgical perfectionists angry at anything not Latin.  Then within minutes of Francis' election they were complaining that he didn't celebrate the EF Form?  C'mon!!!!!!!  First off, I love the Extraordinary Rite, I really do,.. but a well celebrated Ordinary Form is great too,.. This is not a question of 'either' 'or'... But instead of, 'Both' 'And!'...I appreciate Church Militant TV, as well as EWTN, Catholic Answers, and of course Word on Fire!!!! (Fr Barron is my modern intellectual hero while I await the day to train with Fr Steve Grunow! ;)) What I do have a problem with is not so much the Vortex, with Michael Voris, but the fanbase who eagerly await the next episode exposing liturgical abuses within an Ambrosian Rite parish in Iceland,.. These people remind me of people, (sorry to say this,..) who are addicted to porn, complete (sorry for the image, but,..) with a box of kleenex beside them.


The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, but She is also very human.  Jesus promised infallibility, not impeccability, and we at times seem to forget that.  In St Matthew's Gospel, we read that the gates of hell will not prevail.  That, my friends, is Jesus speaking!  So whatever Pope steps out on the balcony is the will of God!  By obedience do we attain sanctification!  Pope Francis, I, your lowly seminarian pledge my obedience to you.

Thanks be to God for the gift of Pope Francis!

Habemus Papem!

We have a Pope!!!!!!!!  We are no longer orphans.  The fun part is the trick that the Holy Spirit played on us in selecting a candidate who was a front runner back in 2005, and is now the Pope.  Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is now Pope Francis.  We know that he is staunchly pro-life, while being a champion of the poor and the oppressed.  What is interesting is that a Jesuit, names himself after a Franciscan (Francis of Assisi) and then puts on the white dominicain soutane!  Then again, South American, yes but born to Italian immigrants!!!  Socially and doctrinally conservative, yet an authentic voice for the poor!

St Francis of Assisi, ................................................ora pro nobis!

Sedevacante Day 1,..

     Well aware that Jesus is head of the Church, His vicar St Peter’s chair is empty.  Times like this, I can’t help but feel like an orphan.  In 2005, we watched Grandpa (Pope John Paul II) pass away with a teaching catechism on aging and death.  Fast forward to 2013, and Benedict XVI Pope Emeritus has taught the world that the Papacy is not power, but a very large responsibility to be at the service of. 

I will post some prayers to St Peter for the next few days; 

-Thou art the Shepherd of the sheep, the Prince of the Apostles, unto thee were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. "Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my Church." Raise us up, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the apostolic assistance of blessed Peter, Thine Apostle; so that the weaker we are, the more mightily we may be helped by the power of his intercession; and that being perpetually defended by the same holy apostle, we may niether yield to any iniquity, nor be overcome by any adversity. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.-

Lord Jesus, send us a strong, holy and heroic Pope!  Let us confer this request to the intercession of the most Blessed Mother!

Veni Creator Spiritus!