Fort Worth Carmelites—A Thought Experiment

See my last post about this. If the Sisters accept the new governing body, what are the odds they are allowed to practice traditional Catholic religious life, traditional Catholicism, and have only the TLM?  Imagine they submit, the new governing body takes over, and they ask just for the TLM. 

The bishop already denied it, he is the liturgical legislator of the diocese, so why should the Sisters think he/they will approve it?  If he won’t approve just the TLM, why can he/they be expected to allow them the traditional Carmelite Rule, or traditional priests, the kind who would preach openly about the theological problems of Vatican II and the Novus Ordo?  

Or to not go with contemporary innovations like guitar Masses or a modernized habit or hanging goofy banners in the sanctuary.  Let’s say they try to work this out for better or worse, as they have been on some level at least for a year, and put in writing a request for all these things they have a right to. 

Considering everything that has already happened, and considering all the public facts, what are the odds their rights are protected and put into writing permanently?  Would not the Sisters already be in a reasonable enough place to predict what is likely to happen? This is what they could do.

Place all these requests in writing but expect the almost moral certainty in the months ahead they are not respected. They could go the extra mile and submit themselves to this to report back to the universal Church how they are treated, to garner more understanding and support, especially if/when they are further persecuted to the point they consider again resistance. 

Or, they can already do this thought experiment to help them make a prudential, common sense decision now. I’m not advocating for rebellion or taking a schismatic posture, but if these Sisters are faithful to Catholic Tradition going forward, they are likely to be treated as such even if that is not the case. 

I see two beautiful outcomes. One, they work everything out with Bishop Olson/the Vatican who honors their rights and allows them to govern themselves apart from the modernized Carmelites, as they have already for decades.  Or if their rights are not honored, retain their property, maintain obedience to and union with authority in principle, and in practice as much as moral circumstances will allow, but under those extreme circumstances affiliate with the SSPX. The SSPX already serves the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so hopefully they could send a chaplain to say Mass, hear confessions, and give conferences, while the Sisters would remain Carmelites. 

In either situation that would be glorious. Glorious for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and glorious for the universal Church, to have such a large, beautiful, and faithful traditional Catholic presence. I pray the Sisters completely shun post-conciliar Modernism and fully embrace instead Catholic Tradition, and be prepared to defend the Faith and their religious life as far as this goes, even if indefinitely for many years to come.  

We Catholics adhering to Tradition are all in this together facing the same threats going forward. My last thought is the next pope will very likely be a Pope Francis II, with Tradition more and more suppressed, so part of the thought experiment is to visualize what will likely unfold under the next pope. 

Regarding the Carmelite Sisters in Fort Worth, TX

(Edit: I meant to type Fort Worth, not Arlington. am neither supporting nor opposing the decisions of the Sisters regarding their exchange with the diocese and Vatican. This situation seems very complex, and we are not meant to know all the nitty gritty details. But regardless, based on what we do know, what has been publicly disclosed from both sides, that is enough to defend the Sisters, since everyone is entitled to a good defense, and I generally trust the testimony of this community as a whole)

The tradition-minded Carmelite Sisters in Fort Worth Texas are in the news.  They’ve released a statement on their website about the current situation between them and their bishop, Bishop Olson.  

LINK

They state that he has opposed in the past their desire to have the Traditional Latin Mass, and shown a pattern of extreme, unjust scrutiny of their community.  Since 2013 at least, traditional monasteries and convents, attached to one degree or another to our Catholic Tradition, as well as to the traditional cloistered vocation, have been methodically targeted because of those attachments.  

The story became dramatic when the Mother Superior was completely removed from religious life and reduced to the lay state, after 25 years of religious life at their convent. She was investigated for allegations of having sexual interactions with a priest over the phone and through video chat on a few occasions, which apparently she confessed to, while explaining mitigating circumstances.  

She has been recently very ill including having seizures, which she says she believes seriously affected her state of mind contributing to her sin.  She also took medical marijuana, legal in Texas, to try and help her symptoms.  When the diocese observed the medical marijuana at the convent, they notified the police as if she could be breaking the law. 

There has apparently been a long list of interventions by the diocese regarding the convent to address what they regarded as problems. The result is the convent is now under management by an outside Carmelite organization, which they are contesting to Rome. At present they are not allowed Mass nor the sacraments.  

What the Mother Superior did sexually was wrong. It makes sense to remove her from her position, especially considering her overall medical state.  But is it an act of justice, Your Excellency, in accord with her dignity as a human being, as a child of God, and her moral dignity over the years as a faithful Catholic and religious (in reference to Pope Francis’ recent document on human dignity), to strip her entirely of being a nun, after all these years, reduced to the lay state?  Does that punishment really fit the crime?

I do not know all the details, but by all appearances these nuns seem to be being persecuted by the diocese for being devout and traditional.  Recall the same pattern appeared in my own diocese by removing within months of the consecration of the new bishop two traditional religious communities that happened to be attached to the Traditional Latin Mass.  

These Sisters have rights.  They have a right to the traditional Mass and traditional sacraments, traditional doctrine, and traditional religious life.  If this new managing organization tries to push them away from Tradition into post-Vatican II modernism, which can be assumed will happen unless stated otherwise, considering the pattern in the Church the last 50 years, how will they survive and maintain the integrity of their community?

The SSPX serves the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Have the Sisters reached out to them?  Has the bishop considered they could end up affiliated with the Society if he treats them extremely unjustly?  Does he really want an SSPX-affiliated convent in his diocese?  

Again, I don’t know all the details, as to how completely innocent the Sisters are in all of the exchanges, but as a Catholic man this angers me, making me want to defend these Sisters, hence this post.  Please call the diocese and respectfully voice your concerns, as I have.  You’ll end up talking to the bishop’s secretary, a very nice woman who will write down what you have to say and convey it to the bishop. 

817-560-3300

 

Trump WILL be President

President Trump WILL be re-elected.  We will have a victory this year.  He and Melania will be back in the White House.

Through lawful authority, God will bring down His retribution through President Trump on the Democrats and DOJ in their political persecution of patriots who contested the Coup.  The leftist policies of Biden will be reversed. Trump must be re-elected.  He will be re-elected. 

It isn’t about Trump. It is about a patriotic movement that is more energetic and soulful than any other patriotic movement since the Revolutionary war.  It is about The People, liberty, the rights of the family and the Church, the sanctity of human life, and standing up to godless, statist communism in this country. 

The leftists overshadowed this patriotic movement with a political witch-hunt to discredit and disqualify Trump.  Just as they were wrong in 2016, they will be wrong in 2024.  And it will be glorious once again. An antidote to despair.  A shot in the arm of hope for this country.  

Remember how the sun came out in the sky when Trump was elected, his excellent achievements, all the pushback on leftism, and the ecstatic energy of crowds everywhere he went, as it is now.  But this election is more critical than the last two.  Even more is at stake.  

Readers of this blog in swing states, you must be gearing up to promote Trump in your neighborhood, workplace, churches, etc, to swing people sitting on the fence to vote for a highly flawed man who has great patriotic spirit, who is ready to also become a political prisoner for this country. 

It’s real. It’s authentic.  The man continues to be sincere and not owned by anyone. Let us rally behind him now in the months ahead, flying our Trump flags and wearing our Trump hats in public.  The momentum is building. 

It’s going to be intense. But I am willing to risk my blog stats and predict he wins, as I was sure he would win in 2016.  In 2020 I predicted he would not remain in the White House.  But now I can feel this in my bones. President Trump WILL win this election.  

Dr. Allen Harrelson, The Pipe Cottage Podcast

I listened to him for the first time at The Catholic Man Show, then on a recent Pints with Aquinas podcast.  He has a podcast called The Pipe Cottage talking about pipes, tobacco, and history. 

He has a PhD in History and is a history professor.  He owns 240 acres of farm land in Kentucky.  He has a deep southern accent and academic personality.  

Recently he converted to Catholicism as well as his wife and children. He describes himself as a traditionalist and conservative, having a vitriolic dislike of urban settings and modernity.  

If per chance he might come across this post, or someone forwards it to him, I would highly encourage him to find a Traditional Latin Mass near him.  One commenter suggested one in his vicinity. 

Professor, you converting to the Church during the post-Vatican II Crisis in the Church is akin to someone converting to the Church during the Arian crisis. Just as Arianism had invaded the structure of the Church back then, so Modernism has invaded the structure of the Church today. 

This began in the late nineteen century.  I highly recommend reading first Iota Unum giving the history of the modernist Crisis.  As one southern Catholic traditionalist to another, welcome home. 

Health Update

The swelling from the tooth abscess post root canal is 85% resolved. Thanks be to God. Pain is gone.  But since yesterday I’m having gout in left knee and left toe, waking up with it, which I’ve had before. Haven’t been eating much meat lately or any organ meat, or drinking alcohol, or sugary drinks.  But realized the cause must be the 2000 mg of Vitamin C I’ve been taking daily for two weeks to fight the tooth and sinus infection, which can cause gout.  Hard to walk on left leg, but tonight it’s better plus I’m taking cherry tart extract for it.  Still feeling a bit sickly from the tooth and sinus infection plus now also from gout which weakens your system. God willing soon in days ahead will feel okay. Please pray for that. 

If I Were Netanyahu

I would immediately call for a peace summit, give the Gaza Strip to Palestine, and sign a pledge with Iran to stop supporting the US military industrial complex empire in the Middle East. If I were him.  But I’m not.  Ever since they rejected and crucified Christ, the Jews are no more special a people than Nigerians, Lithuanians, or Filipinos.  They ended their covenant with God permanently.  They have a natural right to their land, but not to special protection from the world. But I predict they will retaliate against Iran, then Iran will retaliate stronger against them, we will defend Israel again, and then Iran will retaliate against us, and then we against Iran. Beyond that, God knows how far this will go. Lord have mercy on us. 

Prep Now

As in be a Prepper asap, if you aren’t already. We are on the edge of WW3.  Some say it already is a world war on two fronts: Ukraine and Israel. One bloc of nations aligned against another bloc of nations. The globalists vs. the anti-globalists. Driven by different religious or philosophical views of life and lust for money. Two powder kegs.  It sounds crazy but it’s real. Better to prep now and be ready for when global annihilation takes place as foretold by Our  Lady than to not be ready if this happens.  

You can get prepared relatively quickly.  It will take a few shopping trips to Costco, ALDIs, Tractor Supply, and your local gun and ammo.  And a handful of hours arranging a new prepper pantry. 

At Costco, get large bags of rice, beans, flour, and sugar, as well as bulk oatmeal, honey, cooking oil, canned chicken breast and tuna, coffee, peanut butter, ramen, yeast, propane, duck take, twine trash bags, liquor, and lighters.  At ALDIs get as many canned veggies and fruit as you can.  Swing by the gun and ammo and pick yourself up a used shotgun and AR-15 for home defense, and a lot of ammo for each.  Last stop is Tractor Supply to get cheap food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids. 

You’re also going to want to buy some oxygen absorbers off of Amazon. 

When you get home organize your pantry and clear out any clutter.  Best if you can store your supply on shelves. Tape a sheet across any window to keep the room dark.  In the warm months keep the vent open to let in the AC. In the winter, close the vents to keep heat out.  The room should be cool and dark. 

Next, wash out and dry the buckets, fill with flour, sugar, rice, or beans to the rim, place an oxygen absorber on the top, seal the lid, then duct tape the lid, lastly labeling the container. Most of the food will last decades. 

You could do all the basic Prep work in a couple Saturdays and then sit back and forget about it.  

Health Update

Scroll down for more details in recent post. The tooth abscess pain and swelling reached its peak last night.  Today, thank God it is nearly a zero pain level and now only mild swelling. When I realized that waking up, my first thought is readers must be praying for me as I had asked.  Plus the antibiotics are working.  Also, finally got in to see the neurosurgeon Friday. Good news, no need for surgery or anything else.  All low back issues on MRI are at worst mild.  But was warned to lose weight or risk needing surgery one day. Today my perspective is there is light on the horizon.  I got the root canal and should clear up the infection, God willing, this week. Please pray for that. 

The SSPX Remains the Leader of the Remnant Despite Sexual Abuse Cases

When I heard about the story, I chose to be silent, or even hear the details,  but now that it is out in the open being actively discussed, I will comment here.

A former district superior of the SSPX has plead guilty in Europe to molesting  children.  Bishop Fellay had know already of his sexual perversion and  still appointed him to prominent positions, including at times work with children.  

That the priest was the actual district superior over one of the largest and most prominent districts is the worst case to top the list of SSPX priests credibly accused of committing acts of sexual perversion as priests against the laity, especially children.  It is very sad and worthy of criticism.

That said, this does not gravely harm the reputation of the SSPX.  Bishop Fellay was not trying to enable pedophilia.  He actually followed the routine of bishops long before Vatican II keeping the accused priest in the priesthood, transferring them, but also punishing and getting professional help for the priest. 

There are 700 priests in the SSPX, and many who have left the SSPX or the priesthood in the past 54 years.  The list of accused priests is not so long as to demonstrate that there is more clerical abuse among their ranks per capita than in the FSSP, Institute, any religious order, or any diocese, let alone among the laity.  

And any errors in prudential judgment from Society leadership also does not demonstrate anything worse than your average decent bishop in the past trying to figure out how to handle a case of a priest committing sexual acts towards children.  Typically, these are men who were likewise abused as children, that develops in them a disease, which compels them like an addiction to abuse children.

There have been a very small percentage of SSPX priests who committed sexual acts against the laity, and children.  They have been disciplined, and in some cases brought before the law to answer for their crime.  Bishop Fellay himself and probably other leadership were very imprudent at times in how they handled these cases. which does diminish at least somewhat his legacy.  That said, Bishop Fellay has been a holy priest and bishop, doing countless things to advance the cause of Tradition.  There would never have been a Summorum Pontificum had not Bishop Fellay tirelessly talked to Rome and the pope begging for the freedom of the TLM, and to seriously hear traditionalist concerns about the Council and liturgical reform.

I pray for this priest, that he will receive a fair punishment, receive rehabilitation, and conquer his sin.  The same goes for other Society priests named in these cases. 

That said, at the heart of the post-conciliar Church is the Remnant, those Catholics remaining faithful to Tradition against modernism, and while not being the exclusive traditional group, the SSPX, despite its flaws, remains the center of the Traditional movement, and therefore is the #1 leader in the Church in terms of a) preserving Tradition and the true Mass, b) publicly maintaining the fight against the errors of the Council, liturgical reform, and papal leadership since the Council, and c) seeking to bring Rome back to Tradition. 

The SSPX as an international organization, and in terms of its history preserving Tradition, its colleges, schools, and seminaries, its priories and chapels all over the world, most of its priests working hard all week, living a holy religious life in community, and then tirelessly traveling every weekend like missionaries to provide the traditional Mass and teachings to the faithful, its many holy priests, brothers, and sisters, and the many large, devout Catholic families attending its chapels helping to promote Tradition, despite these scandals, remains a shining city on a hill.

The Society has already made its policies about accused priests more strict and showing zero tolerance.  Hopefully it can make amends to the victims, and rebuild any trust lost.  But we should continue to support the SSPX because it remains vital and central to preserving the Catholic Faith. 

We Are at a Very Critical Moment

Iran is preparing to attack Israel directly, not via terrorist proxies but as a nation. It will be a direct act of war, and then Israel will be directly at war with Iran. Biden is sending ships to defend Israel against Iran, our sworn enemy. Rumor is Iran launched a nuclear ICBM at Israel who shot it down.  World War III is crystallizing before our eyes.  Will we go to war against Iran to defend Israel?  

Trump’s Latest Statements on Abortion/IVF

Abortion IS and REMAINS the #1 voting issue. Trump fails to see that. He is far from being 100% pro-life. And he contradicts himself saying abortion should only be decided at the state level but then opposes the recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling that upholds prohibition on abortion.  All of this shows he is not our candidate as much because of personal integrity as because he and the MAGA movement are practically the best we have. Therefore it is nonsensical to now become a NeverTrumper  which would only compromise this years’ elections. 

Health Update

Please pray my tooth infection/swelling/pain resolves. If you’re reading this, please add it to your daily prayer list or offer a sacrifice for this recovery.  It’s been going on for a week and a half. 

Last week had urgent root canal dentist couldn’t finish since the tooth was badly infected. Have been on antibiotics and heavy pain killers since.  Yesterday he was able to finish the root canal but the infection wasn’t cleared up completely. 

Still on antibiotics and heavy pain killers.  That side of my face is swollen including all the gums around the treated tooth, plus jaw muscle on that side is tight, it’s hard to chew.  Normally you have a bad tooth and get a routine root canal and are pretty okay by the next day, but in this case it had to be done because of infection.  

Before he finished it yesterday morning, the good news is the pain, infection, and swelling had subsided to a low level, but now the higher pain and swelling have come back it seems due to ongoing infection, plus my tooth now having two root canal procedures all in a week compounding the inflammation to that area already caused by the infection.  

The other aspect is right when all this started I also developed a bad sinus infection which also adds pain across my face.  

The sinusitis increased the tinnitus in my left ear already spiked due to the perforated ear drum, which my doc on Tuesday  said has already somewhat healed and gotten smaller.  If you’ve been following my health updates this last year, you know how much by God’s grace I’ve recovered.  

Aside from the eardrum which will resolve, seeing an ENT in a couple weeks, this seems to be the final challenge right now, the final hump to get over, to kill these dang bacteria and resolve the pain and swelling, and then, God willing, life will become normal again.  All for the greater glory of God. 

My Thoughts on Human Dignity. After Reading the Infinite Dignity Document

When you read a problematic document like Infinite Dignity, it forces you to remind yourself what the Church has already taught on the subject.  You don’t want to dissent from any Magisterial teaching, but you also don’t want to dilute your faith.  

You don’t want to assume the role of pope and issue a magisterial judgment against him because you aren’t the pope or the Magisterium.  But at the same time you want to be clear with yourself and others on what is the clear Catholic doctrine on a subject.  That is my purpose in this post.  

We have human dignity because we are made in the image and likeness of God, because we possess intellect and free will, and therefore are able to acquire virtue and holiness. Baptism elevates this dignity giving it the grace to reach perfection, whereas sin, especially mortal sin, rips us of this dignity.  

Our dignity is finite because we are creatures, and every attribute in a creature is finite.  At the same time because we are made in God’s image, and through baptism can share in heaven in God’s own divine life, we are destined to share in His own infinite dignity, which He only possesses in His nature, but which, in the Beatific Vision, saints are able to be drawn into and be blessed by, while remaining finite creatures.  

Even from within the Beatific Vision, in which we share in the inner, divine life of the Trinity, we still remain finite in our own nature, including our dignity.  Yet the all-powerful God chooses to bless us with His infinite dignity without making it part of our own created nature, because creature cannot literally become Creator which is an absolute contradiction, but unlike Judaism, or Islam, or the naturalistic religion of the new age, taught by the United Nations, only in Christianity, through Christ, is man given the potential of being drawn into the divine life, and having an infinite-LIKE dignity.  

We are like God. God is infinite. That qualify is REFLECTED in our own human nature without literally being or becoming a part of it. It is precisely because we are made in God’s image, destined to share in the infinite dignity of the Holy Trinity, that makes man sacred with sacred rights.  

The abortion holocaust and now the LGBTQ attack on gender, sexuality, marriage, and the family are the gravest attacks on human dignity today. They are a diabolical, immeasurably violent attack on our nature as the image of God.  That seeks to destroy rather than promote life.  These two evils are bringing down God’s chastisement on the modern world, even more so than human sex trafficking as horrific as that is.  

There are many other secondary yet grave evils the Church condemns which come from rejecting God and man as made in God’s image:  euthanasia, abuse of the poor, and unjust wars.  But the greatest crime against human dignity in the current contemporary period is the holocaust in the womb, murdering hundreds of millions of God’s innocents. Any nation that continues to legalize, tolerate, and minimize this most Satanic of modern evils will be first to be chastised by God, our Creator who gave to us a great, sacred dignity which we must safeguard.  The most universal governmental organization, the United Nations, is the first and foremost promoter of the abortion Holocaust, the worst example of a governmental body violating human dignity. 

Lord have mercy on us. 

My “Rad Trad” Reading of the New Infinite Dignity Document

Well, my prediction the next controversial document would be about female deacons did not come about. My powers of prognostication proved to be finite.  That’s because I am finite.  Everything about me is finite.  Since I have human dignity, and everything about me is finite, therefore my dignity is finite.  According to basic logic. 

I am going to give comment here as I read this document, paragraph by paragraph, raising any question or concern in accord with the rights given us by canon 212.

The document’s introduction labors long to explain the five year process of groups in the Vatican forming this document by examining false ideas about human dignity, but then in the very first paragraph after the introduction it claims that human dignity is infinite. How is that not a false idea? In the very first paragraph, after 5 years of rooting out false ideas about human dignity? Only God’s dignity is infinite. How is our dignity also infinite?

It doesn’t explain, except in paragraph 6 to quote Pope Francis saying God confers upon us infinite dignity since His love for us is infinite, which still begs the question how can a quality in us, finite creations, be infinite? Is Pope Francis literally saying human dignity is infinite? Or is he saying it has an infinite-LIKE quality? At face value he seems to be asserting our dignity is literally infinite, which my childhood and adult catechism has taught me would be false. If you square the circle, you might assert he is being metaphorical.

Paragraph 12 says: “For Jesus, the good done to every human being, regardless of the ties of blood or religion, is the single criterion of judgment.” This sentence would only make sense if it ended “except of course for love of God first and foremost, and also faith in Christ and membership in His Church.” But it didn’t say this. They’re teaching that the judgment that determines our salvation is only how we treat each other. In other words humanistic good works only. How does that not lead a person into the heresy of Pelagianism, that it is only our own efforts and good works that save us, apart from faith, grace, baptism, or following Jesus Christ?

Paragraph 35 says the death penalty is always against human dignity in all circumstances and affirms total rejection of it. On one hand Tradition and Scripture uphold the right of the state to sometimes use it. On the other hand taking human life does violate dignity in that the body is suppose to remain alive and killing it objectively goes against its nature to remain alive, yet the document seems to be morally condemning the death penalty as intrinsically morally evil and therefore absolutely a sin, which would violate the constant teaching up until Pope Francis. Pope Benedict even said that opinions in favor of the death penalty continue to be valid. Yet again if you try to square the circle, I suppose one might say Pope Francis is not officially condemning absolutely the death penalty but making a pastoral teaching it shouldn’t be allowed anymore under any condition, but that one can still hold to the traditional teaching.

Paragraph 39 seems ambiguous. It does read like a pacifist condemnation of all war, while not overtly condemning any form of just war, but it repeats words from Pope Francis saying we cannot base our support for war on religion and God, which he says is a contradiction.

But if a war can be just, then of course it is rooted in God, religious faith, and religious morals, otherwise it isn’t a just war. War is inevitable because there will always be evil nations and tribes threatening relatively innocent nations and tribes, requiring self-defense. Evil men will always start wars, and innocent men will always be required to be ready to engage that war.

The pope mentions the right to self-defense which would implicitly support just war. But he condemns war absolutely as something unnecessary which seems utopian and impossible. He says no war is worth the loss of even one human life. Yet consider all the men on the right side of World War II who gave their lives for world peace and the common good. Surely loss of some life in a just war is worth the peace it gains for the majority. At face value this statement makes no sense, but if we square the circle in charity I suppose he means we must make every effort to stop war.

Paragraph 40 on migrants condemns countries not letting them immigrate into their country since, according to the pope, they have a right to participate in the life and society of that nation . Yet he states this like it is self-evident without any reasoning or support for the statement.

There are natural rights and there are civil rights. Migrants seeking to enter a country have natural rights to be treated with dignity, which means given charity when they are in extreme poverty, but being a migrant does not give the person automatically civil rights to enter that country and participate in its society. To suggest it does would go against the rights of the state to also protect its borders, economy, and way of life.

Perhaps Pope Francis meant that because migrants have human dignity, given their current circumstances, and the relative wealth of countries they are seeking to enter, that nations should be encouraged to welcome them in charity, but he doesn’t make this distinction, but on its face value seems to suggest the country is morally obligated to accept all migrants, including illegal migrants.

In conclusion, there are many questionable statements, that is statements we can question, which is not a surprise, and I don’t expect any clarifications to demonstrate a clearly orthodox reading of those statements. At the same time it is good the document condemns gender theory in particular.

As a lay Catholic it is hard to understand the purpose of this document, except perhaps that it is preaching to the secular sphere at the level of the United Nations. It would seem more of a reference in that context of Church moral teaching relative to contemporary problems than something Catholics would benefit from reading. The questionable statements don’t seem to be something new, but an extension of similar statements made by recent post-Vatican II popes. I personally don’t see this to be controversial on the level that the same-sex blessing document was, and perhaps part of the process of rolling out gradually in waves more controversial changes like female deacons. Lord have mercy on us.

Health Update. Please Keep Me in Your Prayers

The good news is generally speaking my arm and leg symptoms have resolved including nerve pains, except for some temporary flare up after realizing after the fact I had overdone it at the gym. Prognosis remains good. On the flip side, I’m still fighting allergies, healing from the ruptured eardrum, but the increased tinnitus from it has greatly subsided.  Couldn’t get in to see an ENT until later this summer anywhere in the Tulsa area, but found one available soon in Tahlequah worth the drive in case I need a patch over the eardrum perforation to help it fully close, plus could swing by Clear Creek monastery afterwards.  Another cross, I think from the stress, I developed a tooth ache which turned into an infection needing an urgent root canal earlier this week, which couldn’t be completed until next week once the infection clears. The infection hit my system pretty hard resulting also in a pretty bad sinus infection so I’ve been feeling sick this week nursing the tooth and sinuses. Offering it all up to God. I can see light at the end of the tunnel soon once, God willing, both infections heal, and even more so once the eardrum rupture heals and tinnitus returns, God willing, to previous mild levels. All as I continue on my health plan of keto-carnivore and gym.  Please keep this recovery in your prayers, as I also pray for readers. 

New Vatican Document: INFINITE Dignity

It is supposed to be released early this month under that title. I commented in a recent post predicting it will allow lay deaconesses. You know from the start it isn’t a good sign when the very first word in the title does not sound right.  If human beings are finite, then that includes our dignity, unless it means since we are immortal, our dignity remains eternal with no limit in terms of our existence. But that explanation would seem dubious since it would be a very awkward point to make in the title, and our immortality is not under dispute.  Only God’s dignity is infinite. I do predict critics will object to this title as a sign those authoring it and promoting it are pantheistic, acting as though the infinite God and His creation, especially mankind, are one and the same. The new religion inside the structures of the Church elevates man as an object of worship, and therefore treated as having unlimited rights. Lord have mercy on us. 

Breaking Vatican News: Pope Francis Frees the Latin Mass

Breaking news from the Vatican, Pope Francis releases a new Motu Proprio on the Latin Mass called Restitutio Traditionis, on The Restoration of Tradition.  In the first paragraphs he describes an apparition he received after the Easter vigil, at Santa Marta, in which heaven reprimanded him for his severe restrictions he placed on the ancient rite in his Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, characterized by cardinals and other Church authorities as draconian.  Later in the document Pope Francis went so far as to mandate every parish to offer a weekly traditional Mass and for every priest to learn it and offer it without restrictions.  What joy this April 1st, 2024. ;) 

I Actually Like Fetterman

When he ran against Dr. Oz I thought of him as a radical leftist. But I don’t think he is. He’s more of a classical liberal than a progressivist. He does support certain leftist policies like legalized abortion, but he’s anti-establishment both from the Left and the Right, which is why he dresses casually as a protest to the ruling elites.  He has come out at times against Trump, and at other times in support of Trump.  He was bought by the Democrats to help pass liberal legislation, but he is willing to stand up to them.  Caring for the poor, protecting the environment, building local community, supporting the arts, all objectively good policies in themselves. They ridiculed him after his stroke which was below the belt.  I had to appreciate his tenacity to keep running and retain his office despite the stroke and hospitalization.  He’s been made out as some kind of loser I guess because of the stroke, and his ultra-casual lifestyle, but the man was a mayor and lieutenant governor.  He is a man conservatives can reach across the aisle and work with especially on issues like illegal immigration, or should we say the mass invasion. 

My Thoughts on Recovering Trads Conference

There is a woman who started a website for recovering Trads, who is organizing a conference for recovering Trads. She posted a video recently about her work commented on recently across the trado-sphere.  The conference will feature the chief of anti-traditionalist popesplainers, known for his lack of charity to Trads.  Here are my thoughts.

There is some truth in this because there are pathological elements in the trad movement.  Archbishop Lefebvre himself experienced a lot of that from some of his own priests and laity following him.  Not the majority, but some. Many have been driven away and spiritually and psychologically damaged. They need something to help them heal. 

On the other hand, this women’s approach seems false.  She is characterizing Trads as a whole, as a movement, in this bad way, as by and large bad, as something to come out of and distance yourself from.  She characterizes objections to Vatican II and the liturgical reform as schismatic and disobedient.  

Like other popesplainers, her error is dogmatizing ultramontism aka papal maximslism.  She acts as if Catholics are required to believe the pope is infallible outside his ex cathedra statements, a view which is not official Church teaching, one that Vatican I decidedly did not take up and teach.  There are indeed doctrinal errors in certain conciliar texts and in the Novus Ordo, according to cardinals, bishops, priests, and theologians.  

To support that view is not unorthodox.  But to insist it is unorthodox is itself unorthodox and an error.  We all need spiritual healing from the Crisis in the Church, including from within the trad movement on all sides, but those problems are ultimately the outcome of a Church not being led by its shepherds, who often persecute Catholics faithful to Tradition, generally speaking. We all need healing from that. 

The solution remains the traditional movement, but at the same time practicing charity and humility within it, and showing the proper respect for Church authority, neither rebelling against it nor treating it as absolute. 

Visit Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma

I recommend early November for the cool temps and Fall colors. Lay out your clothes and books in your room then spend some time alone with Christ in the chapel.  Stroll over to the bookstore and visit with always friendly Fr. Brown.  Buy some sacramentals and have him bless them. In the traditions rite.  Oh, and buy a hunk of their organic, homemade cheese.  Better and actually cheaper than down at Walmart. 

There are a few special moments you will never forget.  One example is sitting in the refectory for meals, done in the most excellent of Catholic ways.  You will experience a moment of serenity listening to the introductory reading before eating watching steam rise poetically from the soup which accompanies most lunches and dinners.  

You will be enchanted at the High Mass with Gregorian chant in its most pristine and organic form.  But the must sublime experience will be in the almost complete silence of Low Mass, united to one particular Mass but aware there are many taking place simultaneously at nearby altars. It is very intimate and personal being around that little side altar united with a monk priest who you know by this singular daily act is continuously giving up life in the world to give pure worship to God.  

Working with the monks is also invigorating, as you are also called to pray while working, and when done you feel tired physically but refreshed spiritually, making dinner later that much more satisfying and edifying.  Don’t forget to ask to take a hike down to Eagle’s Bluff, and watch for bald eagles.  

Clear Creek Abbey. A metaphorical epicenter of Catholic Tradition. As an Okie, it has had an instrumental role in my own conversion—yes conversion—-to traditional Catholicism. Don’t forget to later email your bishop to let him know of the splendors of Catholic Tradition represented there.