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“For where I found truth, there found I my God, who is truth itself.”
St. Augustine, Confessions
Saint Joseph, Terror of Demons, Pray for Us
A Time for Reflection
Christians around the world are embarking on the solemn season of Lent. This is a period for reflection, prayer, fasting, and repentance. For Catholics it is part of the liturgical year, the cycle of feasts and celebrations, much like the cycle of feasts God instructed the Israelites to observe after He brought them out of…
Death: Are You Ready?
I fell in my driveway yesterday, landing on my shoulder and banging my head right above the eye hard on the concrete. My wife insisted on taking me to the emergency room. Anyone who has been to the E.R. for anything knows what that is like – perkatory. Perkatory is that agonizingly endless interval endured…
UNITY
While written for my local Knights of Columbus Council Newsletter, the issue of unity is an important one for our Church. It is also important for our country. I am afraid that we have forgotten our national unity as well as our need for oneness with God and each other as part of His family.…
A New Beginning
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” (Is 9:2) Christmas is right on top of us. Twenty to thirty years ago the television networks would have multiple showings of “A Christmas Carol” (several versions), “Miracle on 34th Street,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “White Christmas,” “The Bishop’s Wife,” and several others. A quick…
True Marriage and Christian Love
[Jesus said] “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one’? So they are no longer two but one. What therefore God has…
Babes in Arms and Toddlers at Mass
I love to see the little ones at mass. I know they can be disruptive at times, but they are really such a joy to watch. I love it when I am a Eucharistic Minister, and someone comes to communion with a child in their arms – I get to touch heaven when I touch…
Somewhere There’s a Bottom – We Hope
“People who are happy or breathing easier because of the outcome of this election now own its consequences. Inflation, high gas and food prices, and an open border are likely to continue. … Maybe another two years of suffering will do it, assuming the country survives.” —Cal Thomas How low can we go? We have…
Love (Charity) is at the Heart of Catholic Social Doctrine
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:35) “A virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself.” (Catechism 1803) Simply put, Catholic social doctrine supports…
Catholic Vote
Dear Editor: I have a response to Maria Mastromarino (Letters to the Editor, Oct. 29: Catholics should not be single-issue voters). Our issues are the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church. Here are some guidelines for how I think Catholics should vote. Ask yourself the following questions: New York has an opportunity this year…
Transparency: What are They Trying to Hide?
“For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (Jn 3:19) Who is really running things? Why do all of the Democrats refuse to debate? What are they hiding? Why did the government send all of those immigrants around the country at night, without…
Elections Coming: Check your conscience
(This is the full version of my essay on checking one’s conscience for the coming election. The previous election post, “2022 Elections Coming: Is your conscience ready,” was condensed from this so it could be submitted for publication in the Richmond Diocesan Newspaper, The Catholic Virginian, and was published on September 19, here.) Pope St.…
The Left Quotes Scripture
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Quoting Sacred Scripture to try to support abortion, the latest tactic by the left, is almost as laughable as VP Harris declaring “the border is secure” while watching hundreds of illegal…
2022 Midterm Elections: Is Your Conscience Ready?
“In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law … always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience [which] speaks to his heart…” Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes The midterm elections are less than 100 days away. Now is time to review our duties and responsibilities as Catholics in the…
Feeling Lost? Try God
I think it was The Muppet Movie where some character told Kermit he felt lost and Kermit asked, “Have you tried Hare Krishna?” Lots of people feel lost today and many more are lost but don’t realize it. Our world has rejected God causing anxiety and discomfort across all levels of society. In a recent…
Be Not Afraid
Published on the Patriot Post July 1, 2022. Below is the unedited version. “We need to tell our story of salvation in a new way. With charity and confidence, without fear.” Archbishop Gomez of LA, Address, Madrid Spain, November 4, 2021 “The liberty of love, therefore, is not license. Freedom implies not just a mere…
Victory for Life and America: SCOTUS Overturns Roe v Wade
The decision has been announced. The Supreme Court has overturned Roe and Casey in a 6-3 Decision. This is an overwhelming victory for life and for freedom for all, born and unborn, in the United States. Now we need to work doggedly within our states to make sure that life is preserved and the dignity…
Sin Always Goes to the Extreme
“For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” Jn 3:20 “Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived…” 2 Tim…
Transformation
Darkness, evil. Evil darkness. Shame. Emptiness, revelation, truth. Hope. Repentance, atonement, changing heart. Mercy. Bright light, circle of light. Eternal glory.
I Don’t Need Church to Worship God
Do you know someone who has said this, or someone close who has left the Church? I do, including some close friends and relatives. Here are some of my thoughts on what I might say to them. God is Calling. And He’s calling YOU! “And the Lord God said: It is not good for man…
Jesus and the Cross
At the beginning of Holy Week and in anticipation of Easter I was reflecting on our Lord’s passion, suffering and death on the cross. I began to think about those non-Catholic Christians and wondered what they did in preparation and how they reflected on the events leading up to Our Lord’s glorious resurrection on Easter…
70 Bishops worldwide criticize Germany’s Synodal Way
Several months ago George Weigel commented that bishops needed to band together and tell the German Bishops to wake up and that their synodal way was heretical, to which I commented in agreement. Well, it has taken quite awhile, but now 70 bishops around the world have written an open letter to the German Bishops…
TRUTH
What is truth?” Pontius Pilate (Jn 18:38) “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.”George Orwell People today have a hard time with the truth. The news media lie to us, our politicians lie to us, even our Church leaders lie to us; all in an effort to exert power…
All Hail the State Church
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging freedom of speech, ….” Constitution of the United States, Amendment 1 While not explicitly establishing a state religion by law, the progressives in power have, nonetheless established, by a combination of executive orders, mandates, school board and…
On Weigel’s “Liquid Catholicism and the German Synodal Way”
George Weigel is right in describing the German Synodal Way as “liquid Catholicism” and a form of liberal Protestantism. In an earlier article in The Tablet, he noted that the rest of the bishops around the world needed to take the matter in hand and correct their brothers in Germany. (March 10, 2021) They didn’t…
Personal Prayer to the Holy Trinity
By your grace and mercy, O Lord, you called me back to you. I don’t know how long I resisted your call or did not acknowledge it, but you finally called loudly enough that I answered. Then you gently, but firmly, guided me to discern you more and to get to know you better. You…
Abortion: A Product of the Father of Lies
Abortion Kills Babies Watching the 2022 March for Life I heard the witness of a woman who had been pressured to have an abortion in her youth. She listed the lies that she was told throughout the process of getting an abortion. Despite being told that she would recover and heal, she is still suffering.…
Some Thoughts on the USCCB Document “Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church,” November 2021
In November, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops published their “teaching document” on the Eucharist after years of Catholic faithful pleading for more clarity on the Eucharist and worthiness to receive it and for how to teach and deal with wayward politicians. Here are some of my thoughts. Well, it’s out. The US Conference of…
In Hoc Anno Domini, by Vermont Royster
“A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. AND, “There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it…
Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Mary, the Mother of Jesus “Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does it happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’” (Lk 1:41-43, emphasis added) During this time…
To Clarify Previous Post on the Sabbath
In my previous post on the sabbath, I implied that the Apostles had “changed” the sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. My arguments actually supported the observance of Sunday as the primary holy day of the week, with observances commensurate with the Jewish Sabbath. However, the Church still recognizes Saturday as the sabbath but, as I…
Is “Woke” Catholic (or even Protestant)?
To paraphrase Pope St. Paul VI, “From some fissure, the ‘woke’ of Satan has entered the temple of God.” A recent article from the Washington Examiner stated, “The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., has reportedly displayed a painting that depicts George Floyd as Jesus Christ in two locations on campus.” While the death…
Catholic Progressives and the Culture War, by George Weigel
As usual, George Weigel is spot on. He has amazing insight into the Church, world events and the Church’s role. He also has some great biographical writings on Pope St. John Paul II
The Magisterium: A Gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church
As Catholics we believe, and the Church teaches that we have the line on truth where faith and morals are concerned. Now, by baptism (and confirmation, if we are confirmed), we are all blessed with gifts of the Holy Spirit (in varying degrees and varying gifts). Protestants claim that the Holy Spirit guides them, too.…
Sabbath Observance: Saturday or Sunday
Recently I got into a discussion with a non-Catholic concerning what was the appropriate day to observe the sabbath. He requested that I read an article on the United Church of God (UGC) website entitled, “Was the Sabbath Changed in the New Testament?” I read the article and, while I found it interesting, to me…
Election time, form your conscience
Eartly voting has been going on in Virginia since mid-September. Therefore, it is time to review our duties and responsibilities as Catholics in the public square. As Catholics our social obligations include political involvement and being informed voters, voting in consonance with the doctrines of our faith. Through the USCCB guide Forming Consciences for Faithful…
Prayers after Mass
The following prayers, which I referred to in my recent post “Pray,” were ordered by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII to be recited kneeling after mass. They were said after mass when I was young (pre-Vatican II). Prayers to be said: Hail Mary (3 times) Hail Holy Queen Let us Pray: O God, our refuge…
PRAY
“Pray at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” Eph 6:18“Rejoice always, pray constantly.” 1Thes 5:17 “There is but one good, and that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him. And the higher and mightier it is in the natural order,…
In re “Statement of Principles” 18 June 2021
I read with interest the letter from 60 “Catholic” representatives hoping to find some sign of repentance and understanding of the true meaning of the Eucharist and what is required to properly receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Instead, all I found was arrogance and a blatant denial of any need to follow the teaching…
Be a Man of St. Joseph like Nathan and Ambrose
In a recent discussion of a parish men’s group, our local chapter of the Men of St. Joseph International (MOSJI: mosji.org), we were discussing how we need to act and to profess our faith in this secular, morally relativistic world. During the discussion, the phrase came up, “Be a Nathan,” referring to Nathan the prophet.…
Favorite John Henry Newman Quote
“I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created. I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world, which no one else has. Whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name. God has created…
“Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee, for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.”
St. Augustine, “Confessions”
Letter to “Catholic” Politician Supporting Abortion
Dear Senator/Congressman ____________, As a fellow Catholic I was shocked and dismayed to learn that you recently voted against protecting the life of a child who had survived an abortion. I had already been deeply concerned that you, as a Catholic, supported abortion at all, but to take it to the level of infanticide is…
Conversion and God’s Time
While reading the Ratzinger Report just prior to my birthday a comment he made on heresy and apostasy made an impact on me. It caused me to reflect on my own faith formation in the fullness of God’s time. I realized that, in order to get where I am in understanding the fullness and the…
Some Background on the Prayer to St. Michael
From the June 10th 2021 “Wanderer.” “Then, one morning in 1884, during the papacy of Leo XIII, the Pope appeared discombobulated and seemed to lose consciousness after saying morning Mass. His aides came to his assistance and after the episode passed he told them what had happened. He said he had witnessed a conversation between God and…
Teaching Opportunity on Communion
There are a lot of letters being sent to diocesan newspapers (I subscribe to two) with negative comments to the bishops building a document to educate the faithful (and others) on the Eucharist, to be entitled, “The Mystery of the Eucharist and Why it Matters. Some have complained that too many Catholics are one subject…
Letter to Bishops re Communion
I wrote this letter to several bishops after reading the “statement of principles” signed by 60 congressional representatives. If you agree, feel free to copy all or part and send to your own or other bishops on your behalf. Excellency, May God bless you and your endeavors to maintain the teachings of the Gospel, Canon…
Tom Klocek
Actual Catholic who rediscovered the Church in the ’80s and since has grown to love and appreciate all the Church has to offer. Conversion is continuous and I’m still learning.
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