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Saturday 15 February 2014

Parents, Where Are You?

Why do you let your children watch these things?

Bruno Mars in 2014 is now the most-watched halftime show in history, with 115.3 million viewers.


Here are the words to the song this group sang. It is a reference to satan.


And the Grammies were a direct calling up of Satan.

Where are you, parents? And, why do you allow your children living in their houses to watch Ellen?

Do not have a television in your house.




Why Relativism in the American Schools

http://www.iep.utm.edu/dewey/

Just a reminder that the movement of relativism in our schools, including Catholic schools, has been a long time coming. And remember that Dewey was an aetheist who wanted to separate religion from education.

I see this is Catholic schools, other than NAPCIS schools...

One traditional question that Dewey addressed in a series of essays between 1906 and 1909 was that of the meaning of truth. Dewey at that time considered the pragmatic theory of truth as central to the pragmatic school of thought, and vigorously defended its viability. Both Dewey and William James, in his book Pragmatism (1907), argued that the traditional correspondence theory of truth, according to which the true idea is one that agrees or corresponds to reality, only begs the question of what the “agreement” or “correspondence” of idea with reality is. Dewey and James maintained that an idea agrees with reality, and is therefore true, if and only if it is successfully employed in human action in pursuit of human goals and interests, that is, if it leads to the resolution of a problematic situation in Dewey’s terms. The pragmatic theory of truth met with strong opposition among its critics, perhaps most notably from the British logician and philosopher Bertrand Russell. Dewey later began to suspect that the issues surrounding the conditions of truth, as well as knowledge, were hopelessly obscured by the accretion of traditional, and in his view misguided, meanings to the terms, resulting in confusing ambiguity. He later abandoned these terms in favor of “warranted assertiblity” to describe the distinctive property of ideas that results from successful inquiry.

Open Letter to The Laity

Dear Lay Friends/Readers,

This is an open letter to you all. The time for taking a leap is now. What is the leap? There are four areas where one must "leap".  The first is that one must believe in the coming persecution of Catholics. No longer can anyone pretend that there will be a Church Triumphant in our lifetimes. Follow this blog on persecution and community tags.

The second leap is to stop pretending that the Catholic Church will be there for your support. God told us through the Church 50 years ago that this is the age of the laity. Why? Because God knew, of course, that the laity would be the main group to carry on the Faith into the next generation. Stop blaming priests and bishops for the weakness in the Church. The weakness in your house and mine is our own fault. We have all the information we need to become orthodox and the only way to become a saint is to begin with orthodoxy.
Stop relying on the clergy and rely on your daily relationship with God.

The third leap is to train your children to be saints and martyrs. Even as early as 2003, I was telling high school students that they were the age of the martyrs. About half believed this. The other half most likely decided not to prepare themselves for a real decision for Christ and for His Church. Part of being a martyr is not only dying for Christ, but for His Church, as did SS. John Fisher, Thomas More, Margaret Clitherow and her baby, and so on. If you are not training your children in the virtues, they will not be able to withstand the coming difficulties. Parents, it is part of your duty to train your children to be saints, now.

The fourth leap is to create community now, and the series I wrote is there for you. I shall not keep writing about these points, as you have enough information with which to work at this juncture. You do not have time to mull over this but need to act now. Do not, again, pretend that you be able to move. You may have restrictions on gasoline, mileage in your cars, or be under curfews.

I write this after four discussions in the past several days. Two with couples who understand and are on board with the real signs of the times, and two who refuse to look at these signs. We are not children. We are adults. And God has given us to grace to withstand these times.


“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”


― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring


We are the generation who must persevere in a time of darkness. Even the ancient desert fathers prophesied about our generation. If we persevere, we shall be the greatest generation of all Catholics.


From Palestine, Abba Hilarion went to the mountain   to  Abba Anthony.  Abba
Anthony  said to him,  'You are welcome,   torch which awakens  the day.' Abba
Hilarion said, 'Peace to you, pillar of light, giving light to the world.'

The holy Fathers were making predictions about the  last generation. They said
'What have we ourselves done?' One of  them, the great abba Ischyrion replied,
'We  ourselves have fulfilled  the commandments of  God.' (and done great works against the devil).
 The others replied,
'And those who come after us, what will they do?' He said, 'They will struggle
to achieve half our works.' (but they will spread the Gospel throughout the world) They said, 'And to those who come after them, what will happen?' He said,  'THE MEN  OF THAT GENERATION  WILL NOT  ACCOMPLISH ANY WORKS AT  ALL AND  TEMPTATION  WILL COME  UPON THEM; (but they will persevere) AND  THOSE WHO WILL BE APPROVED IN THAT DAY WILL BE GREATER THAN EITHER US OR OUR FATHERS.'

Abba Copres said, 'blessed is he who bears affliction with thankfulness.'


Old People Dying More in Britain-Why?

Read the whole article, please....
Simon Wessely, the head of the department of psychological medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, who is also a practising clinician, put it like this: “It is hard to think of a single policy that will do more to extend the health gap between rich and poor than Hunt’s latest plans. GP practices are going to be rated on a scale of one to four. Guess who won’t be seen by the top-scoring practices: those who can’t travel very far, because of a medical condition or because they don’t have transport; those ill-informed about how to play the system; those mentally troubled, or with learning difficulties or dementia. Guess who will be seen: the affluent, information-rich and mobile.”
The recent increase in deaths among the elderly in England has been so great that, by winter 2013, the ONS announced an overall decline in life expectancy over age 65 as measured against previous expectations. TheGuardian reported this as a drop of 2 per cent in post-retirement UK life expectancy compared with the 2010-2011 projections, and raised the idea that this coincides very closely with the roll-out of the incoming 2010 Conservative-led coalition government’s unprecedented programme of cuts to local authorities as well as cuts to numerous social support schemes, housing and welfare payment.....


By November 2013 the NHS was giving out this advice to the elderly on the internet:
If you are 65 or over, it is important to spend most of your time in a warm environment during the winter months. There are a number of things you can do to cope in cold weather. Keep your main living room at around 18-21°C (65-70°F) and the rest of the house at least 16°C
(61°F). If you can’t heat all the rooms you use, heat the living room during the day and the bedroom just before you go to sleep. Make sure you are receiving any benefits you are entitled to, such as the winter fuel payment and cold weather payment. Regular hot drinks and eating at least one hot meal a day will help keep energy levels up during winter and keep your body warm. Finally, make sure you get the seasonal flu jab.

Oppsie-Another Mistranslation?

Remember that this Pope is Hispanic. And few Hispanic people go to the Tridentine Mass, even in parts of California. I would bet that the Hispanic culture has determined an antipathy to the Tridentine Mass-comments?


Yesterday (Friday, Feb. 14), Pope Francis held an audience with the Bishops of the Czech Republic who came to Rome for their ad limina visit.

In the visit, as it usually happens in such cases, other than the formal address, the Pope heard the questions and comments of the bishops. Archbishop Jan Graubner, of Olomouc, told the Czech section of Vatican Radio how it went:

[Abp. Jan Graubner speaks:] When we were discussing those who are fond of the ancient liturgy and wish to return to it, it was evident that the Pope speaks with great affection, attention, and sensitivity for all in order not to hurt anyone. However, he made a quite strong statement when he said that he understands when the old generation returns to what it experienced, but that he cannot understand the younger generation wishing to return to it. "When I search more thoroughly - the Pope said - I find that it is rather a kind of fashion [in Czech: 'móda', Italian 'moda']. And if it is a fashion, therefore it is a matter that does need that much attention. It is just necessary to show some patience and kindness to people who are addicted to a certain fashion. But I consider greatly important to go deep into things, because if we do not go deep, no liturgical form, this or that one, can save us."

[Tip and translation: reader MC, from the Czech Republic.]

And for those upset about terminology--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic

More on Malta Re-Post

Mary, Malta, and Freedom--Can It Happen Again?

I have a special devotion to Our Lady of Carafa, whose beautiful icon, one of the most lovely in 
the world, is on the right side-bar of this blog. Here are two amazing histories relating to Malta 
and Our Lady. The war goes on, but it is spiritual warfare. May Our Lady of Carafa save Malta 
again. Here is her chapel in Valletta. 



 In 1942, during one single month, in an attempt to stem out the attacks on their supply lines to Africa, 
the Luftwaffe dropped 6,500,000 Kilos of bombs upon the Maltese Islands. If the Maltese Islands were 
to serve as a British base, food supplies were badly needed for the survival of the starving population. 
On August 15, 1942, the American Texaco Tanker ‘Ohio’ entered the port of Malta, the event was seen as a grace obtained by Our Lady and the starvation on the Islands was averted. ‘Operation Pedastal’ referred to by the 
Maltese as ‘Il-Convoy ta Santa Maria’ or ‘Saint Mary’s Convoy,’ initially consisted of two battleships, four aircraft carriers, seven cruisers, sixteen destroyers, and fourteen Merchant ships. By the time this convoy reached the 
Islands of Malta, off Southern Sicily, fifteen ships were destroyed; many were damaged and left for Gibraltar. 
Into the Maltese port entered the Tanker SS-Ohio, HMS Penn, HMS Ledbury, HMS Branham, MV Melbourne Star, 
MV Brisbane Star, Aircraft Carrier Furious, MV Port Chalmers and MV Rochester Castle. The SS-Ohio was towed 
into port; the convoy brought fifty-five tonnes of supplies, including ammunition and aviation oil. The significance 
and success of this Allied mission was greater than initially observed. Apart from restocking the garrison of Malta 
and disrupting the usual supply lines to Africa, the spitfire fighters from the aircraft carrier ‘Furious,’ were 
transferred onto the Island. These planes were instrumental at blocking Axis supplies to Africa before the 
second Battle of El Alamein (October 23 – November 3, 1942) which success was a turning point for the Allied 
forces in the Western Desert Campaign. During the first centuries of Christianity, November 3, was one of the 
calendar dates reserved 
for the commemoration of Saint George of Lydda, (Georgian writer George Zosimo also indicates April 23 and November 23 as dedicated to this saint). On September 19, 1946, the SS-Ohio was towed ten miles from shore 
and sunk by gunfire, Captain Dudley Mason of the Ohio was later awarded the George Cross. So was Malta
 awarded the George Cross, which is proudly incorporated within the Maltese flag. 
On December 7, 1943, President D. Roosevelt in Malta commemorated the second anniversary of the entry 
in the war of the American People: “In the name of the people of the United States of America I salute the 
Island of Malta, its People and defenders, who in the cause of freedom and justice and decency throughout the 
world have rendered valorous services far above and beyond the call of duty. Under repeated fire from the skies, 
Malta stood alone but unafraid in the center of the sea, one tiny bright flame in the darkness, a beacon of hope 
for the clearer days which have come. Malta’s bright story of human fortitude and courage will be read by posterity 
with wonder and gratitude throughout all the ages. What was done in this Island maintains all highest traditions of gallant men and women who from the beginning of time have lived and died to preserve civilization for all mankind.”
(5) The following day on December 8, 1943, the Feast commemorating the Immaculate Conception was celebrated throughout the Christian world. A votive procession of the Icon of Our Lady of Carafa was organized in Malta; the procession exited Saint John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta and passed through the city streets. The Archbishop and Bishop of Malta solemnly read the Act of Consecration by His Holiness Pope Pius XII (October 30, 1942). The telegrams exchanged between the Vatican and the Maltese Curia read as follows: “Cardinal Maglione – Vatican City – Occasion Consecration of Malta and Gozo Immaculate Heart Mary we beg assure HH filial devotion Clergy and 
Laity two Dioceses fervent prayers His August Person and Peace He desires – Archbishop Caruana, Bishop Gonzi.” The reply, “Archbishop Caruana – Malta – Holy Father acknowledging kind message paternally blesses Pastors 
Clergy Faithful Dioceses Malta and Gozo – Cardinal Maglione."

Text from:
http://catholicsouthernfront.wordpress.com/chapter-951-the-world-wars-and-our-lady%E2%80%99s-feasts/

Europe to avoid NSA

http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-hollande-discuss-possible-european-communication-network-avoids-135711921--sector.html;_ylt=Aifv_RnFOxmHWgcdgTzAhhXQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBsaGVqY3E0BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNzcg--

Merkel said in her weekly podcast she disapproved of companies like Google and Facebook basing their operations in countries with low safeguards on data protection while being active in countries like Germany with high data protection.
"We'll talk with France about how we can maintain a high level of data protection," Merkel said before her visit to Paris on Wednesday.

Pray for England, Please

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2014-02-04/floods-flooding-winds-storms-in-britain/

Updated photos of horrible damage.