Reflection on Recent Events of the 2015 Synod So far: Stay Calm and Keep on Being Catholic!

Hello Everyone,

Well, just like I predicted last month, that nasty, hateful, blog machine is now in full tilt, and daily reports are coming in on the Internet about the Synod that was supposed to be so secretive. Between bishops who are blogging themselves, and Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists or ones with connections to those who can be at Rome, there is some new secret of who said what coming out every day, with bishop against bishop, cardinal against cardinal.

If you are like me, one of those few Catholics who care about his Faith to stay informed of Church politics, its TRUE teachings, and such, you are likely feeling as if every corner seems to be doom and gloom, and we all might as well find some bunkers, acquire all sorts of provisions and means of self defense like those "preppers," and re-emerge from our bunkers triumphant and to usher in a new era for the Church, right????

Honestly, we should all just stop, I repeat, STOP! Now breathe in, and breath out. Repeat the process at least two more times, because three = Holy Trinity. Now let's continue.

Based on what we have seen from the Synod, we all should probably be in a panic because our Church is giving way to the route of other Christian Sects, those not in union with Holy Mother Church. In some sects, such as certain parts of Anglicanism, United, Episcopalian, etc. sexual mores have been lowered, female "bishops" have been allowed, etc. Particularly, some issues have been brought up, with GREAT encouragement from bishops and spokesmen from my neck of the woods in Canada (specifically, Quebec and Toronto), which are not boding well for the reputation of the Church, or looking like another assault on Christ's priesthood/Holy Orders.

So let me give you a much BETTER, and less bile and hate filled evaluation of what is going on here with my blogging opinions for Synod 2015 so far, to help you gain a better hold of reality, as well as so that you are aided in NOT falling to spiritual despair.

General: That Dark, Nasty Blog-o-sphere with its Radicals Misinterpreting Traditionalism. 

Let's start off by saying this much: these Individuals have an axe to grind with the Church, are NOT directly reporting from the Synod, and if one evaluates the bulk of their work, can discern that they cannot be trusted in spiritually guiding the lay faithful, whether they be cleric or disgruntled layperson (cause some of these bloggers are women too!). We need to remind ourselves, just WHERE the Lord is Found, and that He loves us so Much, and wants us to join Him in Heaven, that he would not give us a faulty man-made Church made of sand.  Otherwise, why would Holy Mother Church give us One, HOLY, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

From scripture in 1 Kings 19:11-12: "... the Lord was not in the wind; ... the Lord was not in the earthquake ... the Lord was not in the fire; ... he was found in the breeze.

And one of the BIG ONES for Catholics, in explaining the Church, MATTHEW 16:18! ``And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.``

With these two passages, this reminds us that,
1) Our Lord is not present where there is a bulwark of sin, destruction, and acts not becoming of the Love of the Lord, who is all GOOD. The Lord is not found, for example, in those who speak of heresy. The Lord is not found in those who steal from others. The Lord is not found in those who lie, especially who lie purposely to destroy another's livelihood or character. The Lord is not found in those who slander, detract, or spread malicious gossip, as Pope Francis as declared gossip the work of the Devil!.
2) While the Church does not guarantee that specific people will not abuse his Church's institutional or finite means of existence in our world, for personal power or gain, he will definitely NOT allow them to ravage Christ's Gospel and declare outright the opposite, nor that the Church will depart from the world before the End of Time.

When one is bombarded with the amount of social media and messages describing that which is good in humanity, is it no wonder we lose Hope? All this "noise" from our smartphones and electronic devices including computers, drowns our ability to listen to the Lord, and mainly shows us dark and despairing things, even from our own brothers and sisters of Christ. Look above again at the passage from 1 Kings. The Lord was found in the gentle and quiet breeze.

Therefore, we all need a reality check and to be careful, just how much of this Synod news we receive online. Francis Phillips, in this editorial in the Fr-Z acclaimed Catholic Herald of Britain, rightfully describes how the online coverage of the Synod, can actually cause one to lose their Faith, if followed intently. Here I have picked out the most important statements of his editorial piece:

`` .... [Edward] Short writes: “Mgr Ronald Knox, ... once advised that ‘he who travels in the barque of St Peter had better not look too closely into the engine room’ ....  I had a glimpse of this cast of mind yesterday myself. Talking to ... [my] friend, a devoted, lifelong Catholic, [he] replied: “Don’t talk to me about the person you just mentioned [Pope Francis]. I have a lot of issues with him.” I wasn’t able to stay to hear what these “issues” were, but I can guess them; they are constantly raised – often in highly intemperate language – in the blogs of those who describe themselves as traditional Catholics ... if we fix our eyes on the “engine room”, the Vatican, we might well begin to drown in our sorrows. There is only one sure remedy. Blogger Fr Dwight Longenecker stated it in his own vigorous fashion on Tuesday, in his blog for Patheos, where he advises: “To be sure, the Church seems to be under threat – undermined by corruption and heresy within and attacked by persecution and infidels without. Read your history. When was it otherwise? … Love the Body of Christ but go beyond the Church to Jesus Christ himself for he is your true goal, your destiny and your desire.”

I realize that it is frustrating that Pope Francis set up the Synod in such a way as to be not transparent to the Church, and further that he may forego the usual protocol of releasing a summary Apostolic Exhortation at the end of the Synod. However, we must agree that in light of the article from Phillips, there is a point to NOT pay too much attention to the talking heads at Rome. Knowing that many of our shepherds are not acting as the best role models of Church leadership, why keep knocking ourselves down when they repeat the same behavior? Instead, how about we pay more attention to our local Church and parishes, serving, and fighting when absolutely necessary, at the grassroots level, to restore our Church leadership, and perhaps inspire our pastors to become those desired men, eligible for the bishop's chairs when they retire or die?

Further, we could give the benefit of the doubt to Francis. Perhaps he has become clever and adaptive to the media and wants to prevent fiascoes of two kinds:

• The first would be intra-Church, where in posting documents and the like, the angry RMT bloggers would come out in full force, further undermining his Papacy and bombarding other bishops with hate mail (regardless of the correctness of people's points). 
• The second fiasco to prevent would be worldwide, in fact, perhaps avoiding repeating history itself in order to stop further division and moral disobedience. Back when Pope Paul VI released Humanae Vitae, which DID deal with the family, specifically the procreative aspect of it being assaulted by chemical contraception and abortion, the world revolted when he did, and needless to say, bishops' collegiality aided the world in rejecting Church teaching on those areas of sexuality. 

So if he releases a post-syndoal exhortation in the form or similar writing (or even his more abstract way of speaking,) with content of Humanae Vitae, I can guarantee you there will be fury in the Church, and history will repeat itself, with a Church further divided. Not to mention it will be further compounded by the facts that the new "rage" currently in society is those with same-sex attraction and its sympathizers, and as proven recently by that priest who quit the CDF after outing himself as a practicing homosexual, spouting a "gay manifesto" as it were.

In short .... stop accusing the Holy Father of manipulation and purposeful damnation of the Church! He is not an insurgent bent on destroying the Church, and his personal history from bring just a lowly priest in Buenos Aires, up to his cardinal-ship before being elected, says he bucked much of the "trend" of the day, to the extend he was ostracized by his own order, the Jesuits.

Specific Bitter Points: The Women Deacons Issue

Ok, so being Canadian, I have to be somewhat concerned about this, as a bishop from Quebec, Paul-Andre Durocher, former Canadian Catholic Conference of Bishops head, made this, and it got leaked in public by press and media. Of course, the RMTs are having brain aneurysms over this, so much so a number of people took to the bishop's post and attacked him, almost as if he had said something heretical.

Now, my take on this, being Canadian AND trying to aid you in cooling your jets and not losing hope in the Church:

• The format of the Synodal arguments or "speeches" from participants, is limited to 3 minutes per prelate. They absolutely CANNOT lay out in 3 minutes their detailed plan about what they mean in what they say. To spill out exactly what they are meaning, those bishops would need a 40 minute lecture, with detailed diagrams and plans and the like.  
• The media, depending on the source and their theological-political slant, will either ruthlessly damn +Durocher, or praise his intervention. You cannot blindly trust media, especially that of personal conjecture, of which all blogs mainly are. 
• Only +Durocher can truly explain himself what he meant by Female "deacons." His 3 minute speech did NOT say whether they were equated to the level of the Male Diaconate which is formally part of the Major Orders, or Holy Orders of the Church, Therefore we cannot directly accuse him of such an understanding, unless he discloses this personally and it is on the record.
• In a way, as to admission of women to any form of Holy Orders, in the Priesthood, NOT THE DIACONATE, has been dealt with, and is closed, by John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, 4. However, there has not been a major document dealing with women and the diaconate. In fact, Vatican II in Apostolicam Actuositatem, 9, acknowledges the greater role women are playing in Church ministry. 
• Apparently in some of the rites, and even one specific order of Nuns in the Church`s history, there is some existence of the Deaconness, as touched by Deacon Greg Kandra in this article with weblinks at the Deacon`s Bench. However, there was no kind of sacramental/ordinatorial equivalency of those Deaconesses to the male diaconate in service at the altar. 
• Already I say, there is a foundation in a practical sense for Women Deacons in the modern, 21st Century Church. Women today, have taken leadership of MANY of the roles of the normal parish and ministry life, such as head catechists, pastoral associates, lead youth ministers, etc. With the major and only increasing problems present in society, there is likely even a bigger need for women in the Church. With a general, natural strength of emotional and social complexity and understanding, allowing for better nurturing, they could become major players in crisis or spiritual-educational types of ministry, requiring pastoral counselling, catechesis, and/or evangelization (though NOT at the level of the priest in certain ways e.g. exorcism and demonic possession, sacramental ...)
• HOWEVER, it is pretty much close and shut, that any sacramental or holy orders level ministry, the Church will NOT grant to women Deacons. 
• Finally ... +Durocher is only one voice among the Church on this issue. I say, Women in the Church truly deserved its own Synod in the future, particularly focusing on their role in the constantly shifting culture of the world in the 21st Century Church, and yes, Women Deacons should be discussed, with a template formulated for their exact role in the Church, the appropriate liturgical procedure for conferring the role on them, etc. In other words, lets leave it to a future Pope to iron out the nitty gritty details.  

Close to Home: ++Collins and Toronto

Well, I say that we should hold our horses here in the Archdiocese of Toronto, because our main man, His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, has NOT spoken yet with his 3 minute intervention. I say that we wait and see what he says, or at least a more full summary of his speech, becomes laid out in the open. We can use this as a better gage, at least here in Toronto, to see just where leadership in the Church locally will go. As to what it will contain, He has given reporters a "sneak peek" of the content and direction of his homily, but of course, individual threads do not make a whole rug. Regardless, he might be speaking in the next few days, if he is already releasing previews. 

Final Words

People, relax. Don't believe everything the talking heads say, be they in Rome, or in their domiciles spewing out their internal, spiritual turmoil onto online word vomit. Keep Calm, and continue being an Orthodox Catholic. 

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

P.S. Go Blue Jays! Thanks Archdiocese of Toronto! 

A Sweet Reminder: Please Send MAGS to NASHVILLE!!!

Hello Everyone.

Please click here: http://torontotlmserving.blogspot.ca/2015/09/help-my-catholic-gal-pal-maggie-aka.html

Send my gal pal to Nashville!!! If you care about the future of our Church, then aid a young lady and Catholic role model/future Church leader in expressing herself through her God given talent of music.

Pax, Julian.

Freyr is Missing Again .... This Time ... for Good it Seems ..... :(

Hello everyone.

I have been checking my blogger feed's statistics, and in a weird and unexplained way, this post I did on the "rescue" of a blogger I liked, "Freyr", has attracted the most views in the month of September. Aside from possible "spam robots" on google, I don't get it. I wrote that two years ago. Well whatever brings people here to Servimus, I guess. However, I bring this post up in light of some unfortunate recent events I want to discuss, revolving around the sickening of the Catholic blog-o-sphere in the Francis pontificate. Another victim has been claimed.

When a blogger you admire for bucking the trend of his contemporaries or the status quo leaves, it's truly sad. Today, someone fighting on the side of balanced orthodoxy in Catholicism left the fray, at least on his own blog. That would be Freyr.

Yesterday, on his group blog, Freyr decided to remove himself as a contributor (now the 2nd of the original `4 horsemen` to depart from there.) On his group blog, he parted ways in the comment box, which can be summed it up to leaving an environment not conductive of the Joy of the Gospel. This is actually a pain I can relate to as I will reflect on below.

Now in my 3rd year of blogging, I've noticed a stark change in the Catholic blogosphere. In the Benedict XVI Papacy, both "orthodox" bloggers (e.g. The Anchoress at Patheos and Aleteia, Fr Longenecker, Mark Shea ...) and the so-called, mis-nomered, "Traditonalist" bloggers, were usually on the same side and co-existed online. Also, the environment of the Latin Mass associated with the "Trad" blogosphere in real life and online, was more welcome in past, in members' conduct and charity. Or at least, any misconduct was usually kept internal and not broadcast publicly, worldwide.

Lo and behold, Pope Francis appears after Benedict XVI abdicates the Seat of Rome, and the mis-nomered "Trads" are revealing their true colours, proving once again when Christ admonished Pharisees in Scripture, how their behavior is not fitting with the Way, Truth, and Life He was giving to the world.

Suddenly, numerous blogs began a hate train of bile and spew against the falsely "liberal" Pope who does everything wrong. Any cleric from Pope Francis downward, or layperson who (rightly or wrongly) behaves "badly" according to the ridiculous standards of the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists (RMTs, what they truly do and are,) are punished with anything from: e-mail, Twitter, snail mail bombs, etc. to slander and detraction on the Internet, to public humiliation. These actions are in the hopes that their intended target will  bend to their will. It has even gone as far as threat of lawsuit, be it layman vs. layman, and even layman vs. cleric, or even vice versa. While I am not condoning heresy, harassment of good people, sexual sin, etc., I will say that slander and detraction online only aids the Devil in his revenge against Christ and his triumphant victory on the Cross. As for the calumnious and detractors, they only dig their own spiritual graves, and weigh their souls further down to Hell.

While I still blog, I am one of these examples of those who have felt the sinful and barbaric wrath of this RMT community, in person and online. Witnessing over 4 years my local Trad communities, and engaging in 3 years of blogging, while rejecting the status quo for only that fitting of the Lord, has resulted in continual harassment, online and in person. As a result of being un-welcomed by these leaders and their respective communities, I severely limit my exposure to the TLM. I rarely even go to parishes in my archdiocese with the TLM, because people loyal to the radical elements spy for their masters, and give them fodder for additional abuse. That or the parish communities express sicknesses of sorts, lacking joy and the Life of Christ I hunger for, and have become closed off and guarded to outside people, just like Pope Francis has been warning about, with a Church that turns inward on itself and becomes sick. These days, even among praise and worship music, and priests who are lukewarm or boastful in character, I am finding this joy more often in the Novus Ordo Church and communities I frequent.

This Joy of the Gospel should be found also in the Extraordinary Form, with its Gregorian Chant, its orthodoxy among its adherents, and in the liturgy itself. This joy should also be found online on Traditionalist blogs, with the bloggers knowing that it`s an uphill battle to convert the world and those within the Church back to better holiness. These grounds which should have been fertile, are wasting, and continue to waste, opportunities to be vital components for the New Evangelization. Now, because they have missed the boat, in my personal/spiritual life, I assist through altar serving with just one Latin Mass affiliate in my Archdiocese, the St. Patrick`s Gregorian Choir. I do not feel welcome at any other affiliate connected to the Latin Mass, even those that are the ``Latin Mass`` parishes.

Sadly, people are taking notice, and getting sick of it.  Even "Traditionalist/Orthodox" blogs and media pundits, that once hosted these misguided "right fighters" known for crossing a fine line with Pope Francis one too many times, like Maureen Malarkey., or Patrick Archbold, are getting axed from their pulpits. Normal blog readers are even cutting these bloggers/sites out of their normal viewing.

Worse, the Vatican and other clergy are noticing, and guess what? Those intended targets are rarely stopping their actions when it is not blatantly obvious they are screwing the laity. If anything, the efforts are backfiring, and the Church's enemies and liberals are emboldening their efforts under the Franciscan papacy, falsely believing the Pope has given them a green light to go ahead.

What I am saying, is that the Catholic Blog-o-sphere, often aligned to the Latin Mass, is becoming a cesspool of hate, anger, and pride. As Scripture says in 1 Kings 19:11-12: "... the Lord was not in the wind; ... the Lord was not in the earthquake ... the Lord was not in the fire; ... he was found in the breeze." Thankfully, Freyr has made a wise, spiritually awesome decision for himself and his eternal salvation, to not be around what is possibly, an occasion of sin for him.

However, as a whole, losing even one good, balanced voice that is an orthodox catholic and not an RMT, is sad for the whole online Catholic blog-o-sphere, and that does resonate on the ground in person with our parishes and communities. When these people leave or cut their involvement, that is one less voice proving that these RMTs are the minority in Catholic orthodoxy, and in traditional circles, even the Latin Mass.

When the voice of the devilish, hypocritical minority becomes the majority of leadership, people will reject Traditional Catholicism, and even the Latin Mass because of bad example. This means the young, "wired" generations of X (mine, late 80's to early 90's), and Millennials (born late 90's to 2000's), will only have but rotten example left to see. They will either reject all forms of Catholic traditionalism based on those few examples, or worse, inherit the sickening poison of the bloggers they see, including a erroneous form of the Hermeneutic of Suspicion. This suspicion will exhibit itself, either in becoming an RMT and isolating themselves in their online, real, and spiritual lives, or rejecting anything besides standard Catholicism in our outdated parish community structure of the Church, even rejecting Holy Mother Church Herself because of the "bad men" within it, including those supposed to be "true faithful."


So, to Freyr, here is my personal message:

Freyr, it is unfortunate that you have decided to remove yourself from the presence of the Catholic Blog-o-sphere for hopefully, just a while. I and likely other readers of your blog, enjoyed hearing your voice and being the "voice of reason" on issues in the Church, and to remind us, that our Catholic Faith is about just one social justice or liturgical cause.

We need more people like yourself out there to demonstrate and provide evangelical Witness in the Church, that this is a great place to be filled with Hope! Not the home of "pickled-faced pepper" people who are liturgical and moral policemen, akin to fictional super (/anti-?) hero,  Judge Dredd, whose famous catchphrase is "I AM THE LAW!!!".

I do applaud your reasoning for leaving, as you have been wise enough to realize what the Joy of the Gospel is, and that one must care for their soul and hopeful eternal salvation of such, as a precious pearl of great price. I do hope that this will not end your foray into blogging. I do hope you can re-visit the blogosphere one day.

If you will not do it on your own, then I would be happy to, for the first time, open up my blog to a secondary author to contribute posts, whether as a guest, or as a formal contributor. You are always welcome (save violating my blog rules), to comment here on Servimus Unum Deum. Please Freyr, do not give up hope in this Archdiocese of Toronto, nor online or in person with the Catholic/Trad communities. We must continue to shine forth.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

Triple Highlight: Terry Nelson, Mark Shea, and Catholic Culture Hit It on the Head!!! Re +Daneels Conspiracy and Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalism!!!

Hello Everyone.

So it looks like Pope Francis' visit to the USA, as well as some stupid documentary where a cardinal in the Church "plotted" with others to sway the conclaves of 2005 and 2013, has made the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists froth at the mouth like crazy.

Thankfully, to protect the Catholic faithful from being swayed by detraction and slander of the Holy Father, as well as from acts of the Devil, a number of bloggers have risen to the Church's defense against, sadly, the slings and arrows from their own disgruntled members.

First up is one of my favourite bloggers, Terry Nelson, an outstanding young man who blogs at Abbey Roads. This young buck, like me, hates radical traditionalism and sees the damage it is causing the Catholic Church, especially in the wake of the Francis Pontificate. Adding to his credibility, is that he is a chaste man, who carries the cross of Same-Sex Attraction, yet he is faithful to Holy Mother Church, an important stance to take especially with the whole Synods of the Family occurring. He`s even not afraid to take to task other SSA individuals, whose approaches to being gay and Catholic, steer somewhat in a darker direction, despite appearances of being ``chaste.``

In the comment box of one of his posts, "Papal visit - it's not over till the fat lady sings ... and I'm sure she will," Mr. Nelson comments on how he is keeping his soul pure by avoiding certain blogs. He states his reasoning why:

"Terry Nelson4:24 PM
These are a few blogs I consider poisonous gossip-mongers:

Vox Cantoris
Pat Archbold
Carol McKinley
Ann Barnhardt
and a few others they link to.

Other blogs by people with admitted mental health issues or who give indications of it, I simply avoid.

This type of conspiracy chatter and traditionalist extremism has plagued me my entire adult life - since my return to the sacraments. This constant vitriol and suspicion and requirement to check the papers of all who profess to be Catholic. The constant repetition of false visionaries and reinterpretation of Fatima and pulling out ancient encyclicals to bang over people's heads. Today Medugorje is very near to be being discredited, The Locutions to the World lady is backtracking and saying the time of collapse has been put back. The fake prophets are falling - yet doomsayers are repeating their warnings. Even the politicians who promise an end to abortion if we elect them - and when we do - nothing happens - let it all fall to pieces.

Who cares if the economy collapses? Who cares about predicting the future? Why do we waste our time worrying about the Synod? Defaming people who went to see the pope or did the readings? Pray - yes - but working ourselves up over this stuff? To what end?

How can we keep doing this? Why? Just to taunt and drive OCD people nuts? To heap guilt upon the guilty? To shame the shameful? 

I don't get it.

LarryD once said my blog is littered with road kill - I laughed so hard because it's true. My entire life is too.

Nutcases have come and gone. Doomsayers predicting the Ball of Redemption - aged, infirm, some dead now - I hope they saw it before they died - just like Joey Lomangino and Padre Pio before they died, huh? Who taught people to believe this crap? To talk this crap? 

The Pope spoke about salvation. The Pope came preaching Jesus Christ. The Pope came to teach us about mercy. I need mercy. I need salvation. My fear and trembling is before God - not the Catholic blogosphere.

Sorry - I'm tired of it."

Well Said Terry. He's also not the only one, who is fed up with this nonsense which is damaging souls. Another commentator by the name of "Joshua" also comments, with this zinger in the comment:

".... One identity I do own is Catholic, which is why I can't read any of the blogs Terry mentioned. (Terry, I think you left off one. Starts with R, ends with orare Caeli :) ) They attack the Church. They attack her priests and bishops. They don't critique in charity--they attack. Just like a man can commit adultery in his heart without ever touching anyone other than his wife, you can do the same with schism (which is really just ecclesiastical adultery). They make me angry, so I don't read them. (Also, there is absolutely nothing to learn from them that can't be learned elsewhere, assuming it's worth learning.) .... "

Wow .... Joshua really has a great point about sinning via spiritual adultery and schism. Sins apply in more than just one specific context, and we don't need flesh acts to commit them. 

So in that post, Terry quotes from another fighter against RMTs and also, those "conservatives" who are falsely pro-life and anti-social justice, Mark Shea. The post of Shea's he quotes from concerns the release of a book chronicling the life of some cardinal named Danneels. So the short story is him, and a bunch of cardinals, including the oh so anti-doctrine front man of the 2014 synod, Cardinal Walter Kasper, were meeting together to try and influence the Synod to get Francis in, and therefore Pope Francis I`s election was invalid and Super Trad Hero, Pope Benedict XVI, is reigning pope and will come back and save the Church from the total ruin it is becoming!!!!

Well all I got to say ... is THEY ARE DARN TOOTING WRONG!!!

Mark has this to say on his blog, "Catholic and Enjoying it!" about the stupid Daneels conspiracy plot to overthrow the Papacy via rigging the conclaves, ironically involving Pope Benedict XVI himself as part of his reply to these conspiracy theorists: 

``... Here’s the thing: Benedict has already schooled the Conspiracy Theorists on this:

“There is absolutely no doubt regarding the validity of my resignation from the Petrine ministry,” Benedict, 86, who now has the title “pope emeritus,” said in a letter to the Italian website Vatican Insider published on Wednesday.

“The only condition for the validity of my resignation is the complete freedom of my decision. Speculation regarding its validity is simply absurd,” he wrote in answer to a request by the website for comment on recent Italian media reports.

What’s hilarious is that the Always Obviously Wrong Charism of Discernment of the Reactionaries manages to ignore the plainly truthful Benedict while somehow managing to make the person they themselves declare to be a Deceiver the fount of all truth–and all on the say-so of two guys hawking a book. The spectacular ability of Reactionaries to be wrong about everything, and to believe whatever their itching ears want to hear, is just breathtaking.

And it’s amazingly postmodern. What matters is not facts, but how it hits Francis Haters in the feels. Facts are unimportant. What matters is truthiness.

Sorry guys. Francis really is the Pope. Deal with it.``

Not to mention that he added an update to the post, which includes analysis from a canon lawyer with the chutzpah to put his name out there and blog, who is often sought by Trad blogs for his analysis on Canon Law, Ed. Peters.  

Finally, to truly cast the final nail on the coffin of the conspiracy theory of rigging the 2013 Conclave and Pope Francis being ``invalidly elected,`` Catholic Culture, a balanced orthodox blog with useful Catholic resources and balanced news and reporting, covered the whole issue of the supposedly rigged conclave thanks to that biography, and blew it out of the park with proper deductive reasoning and logic:

``On the other hand, there are compelling reasons to dismiss the claims of conspiracy:

• Even if the authors of the Danneels biography were quoted accurately, they had an obvious incentive to exaggerate the power of the St. Gallen group, to create publicity for their book. A story about a secret cabal is more likely to sell briskly than the life story of a retired cardinal.
• If the St. Gallen group did make an effort to control the conclave of 2005, they failed miserably. The conclave almost immediately turned to Cardinal Ratzinger: the man whose influence the group was allegedly fighting to curtail.
• Cardinal Martini was widely seen as the leader of the liberal group that might have sought for an alternative to Cardinal Ratzinger. But Vatican insiders know that Cardinal Martini was not at all favorably disposed toward his fellow Jesuit, Cardinal Bergoglio, and would never have supported his election.
• Since the St. Gallen group stopped meeting in 2006, it was not likely to be an important factor in the conclave of 2013, which elected Pope Francis. By that time Cardinal Martini was dead, and other members—Cardinals Silvestrini and Murphy-O’Connor—were too old to participate in the conclave.
• In the days leading up to the 2013 conclave, virtually no one expected the election of Cardinal Bergoglio. If a group of cardinals had been working for years to generate enthusiasm about his candidacy, they must have been singularly inept .``

And I`d say that between these wonderful bloggers and their defense, not much more needs to be said, other than that with each strike from these RMTs, credibility is diminished as to the value of their words, ramblings of internal discord being expressed publicly, and further damages the good name of the Pope, the Church, Catholicism, and good movements of the Reform of the Reform such as the revitalization of the Latin Mass. 

Finis.  

Euge! Annum Tertium per Servimus Unum Deum!!!!

Source: Archdiocese of Toronto Facebook Page. 

Happy Third Anniversary to this blog, Servimus Unum Deum, under the patronage of St. Michael, and brought to existence on this day, in the year 2012.

San Michele, Ora Pro Nobis. Pax. Julian.

Highlight: Professional Apologist Dave Armstrong Counters RMT Anger at Pope Francis Not Being Clear on Abortion in USA

Hello Everyone,

Professional Catholic Apologist, Dave Armstrong, over at the Patheos Catholic channel, at Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, has just delivered an excellent apologetic post today.

He is countering the awful and bile-laced complaints of the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists' (RMTs) blogs, who are slandering and committing calumny against Pope Francis, all because he was not explicit in his language today when he was speaking on a number of occasions, especially that he did not speak directly about "abortion."

The ironic thing is, these people didn't crap on Blessed Mother Theresa, when she spoke about these matters to the UN and elsewhere in the 1990's, yet didn't speak about abortion explicitly. But thanks to the marvel of the Internet and the False "Traddies" or as Dave has used before, "quasi-schismatics' ," supreme hatred for anything that doesn't smell like Benedict XVI, they've once again assisted the Devil through the grievous sins of gossip/calumny, and struck out against the Vicar of Christ, and henceforth, Christ Himself.

I'd say Dave shares my thoughts exactly in this snippit:

".... What is not acceptable, though (I agree) is truly grumbling or complaining or thinking that oneself knows how to be pope better than the real pope does. Thus, each instance of a registered criticism would have to be examined on its own. A lot of it may indeed be unsavory whining ...."

Allow Mr. Armstrong, to cleverly debunk the hatred of these RMTs in their latest bile filled hate trains, and explain to those desiring true education, on true Catholic teaching on obedience/disobedience to the Pope in non-ex cathedra matters. Please direct yourself to the link below:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2015/09/must-the-pope-explicitly-mention-abortion-to-congress.html

Pax, Julian.

Example #224 of Why People Reject Catholic Traditionalism and the Latin Mass ... RMT Combox "Trolling"

Hello Everyone,

You know, I was just having a pleasant time as of late blogging less frequently and uploading more spiritually fruitful and charitable posts in the form of my Liguorian Series, as well as promoting one of my fellow young Catholics, Maggie a.k.a. "MAGS" Wang in her endeavours. Seems there can be no peace in "Traddie Land" as someone had a speckled-filled nutty in my combox today.

Recently, I've been allowing for anonymous comments, because my friends have desired to leave comments on the comment box, but do not desire these radicals chasing them down online or in person. So I did, but did not allow for automatic comment release. Well I knew eventually someone would use the combox to harass me after being considerate to my friends.

Upon creating my support post for crowdfunding Maggie's latest musical endeavor (please click above! She still needs your support!) some Radical Misrepresenting Traditionalist (RMT) with a bone to pick for MAGS, left me this statement, anonymously:

"Misrepresenting the facts again, I see."

My guess is this person decided to be an RMT at this statement from my post: "The Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists tried to harass her and her family. They tried and failed miserably."

Alright, "Anonymous," Time to break things down, shall we?

1. The fact that you didn't have the gall to leave even a pseudonym or at the absolute worst, your initials, while taking a nice little shot at me and Mags, is quite cowardly. Further, you sound like you KNOW intimately the full details of the situation, so how about coming out from your shadows and perhaps saying who you are, and even sharing with me your details??? You can even link to your own blog then and show the world your entry. 

2. I have a pretty good idea who this could be based on what the comment reveals, Thanks to your anonymous comment, you didn't leave your name, but it reveals enough, pointing to a past history with MAGS and or intimate knowledge of certain things, either because you were involved with the situation, or you work for her diocesan chancery, or the parish she filmed at. Just forget it, move on, go to the Latin Mass, and turn a new leaf away from the computer. 

3. This is my blog, and if I choose to editorialize or add flair to my writing, that's my style, it's a "free country" still for blog writing, so tough. You don't like it, go write your own blog, or find somewhere else to comment to your liking. 

4. What I said in the statement above is true. Mags is still writing music, has three or four albums out on Itunes, and is continuing her foray into music. She has not quit her hobby or career (if she does it full time in future), nor is suffering from some sort of psychological/spiritual/physical trauma, just because a couple of local bloggers had some sort of hangup with RMT liturgical stuff shooting a video in a parish a few years ago. SO WHAT I HAVE SAID IS TRUE. She's thriving and the RMTs lost.   

5. Finally, going back to my title of the post, you are not the only one who has maligned my comment box like this. I've also seen this online, even on good, "Traditional," Catholic sites. This kind of behaviour, raiding people's comboxes and/or email addresses, is standard fare for RMTs who do not like the person, or consider them heretics, or who write things that are not correct. This kind of behaviour gives Latin Mass attendees and Traditional Catholics (the good ones, who don't think Francis is violating doctrine) a bad name, and deters people from wanting to pursue the lifestyle/deepening their Faith, in person and online. 

Worse, the lot of you then give the chancery the "crazy person" signal to them, and believe me, they are not stupid and will know who the frequent offenders are and take note. And if you have a ``ministry`` of any sort trying to promote the good of the Church and it`s teachings, liturgical or  doctrinal, well consider your ministry unsupported by the (arch)diocese and it will not be received by the Catholic public and parishes. Then again maybe you belittle those 95% or so of lukewarm Catholics anyways who don`t meet your standards. Just don`t whine in the same breath when your ministry is stagnant because you alienated yourself from the bulk of the Body of Christ in your beliefs and behaviour. 

Keep it up boys and girls. I am sure with behavior like that in 5, exemplified above, all Latin Mass parishes with their offerings will be bursting out of the pews in every Mass, full of joyful, loving Catholics who are evangelizing the Church and their neighbours anew. You will surely convert lots of non-Catholics to the Church that way. 

Oh, and for the record, I'm not officially releasing that comment, nor anything else you throw at me in the combox. However, send me something delicious and juicy, in my combox or email, and it will be ripe for posting, to show the blog-o-sphere your maturity level and the state of your soul. 

Or maybe I won't, cause I have better things to do with my time than hate my fellow "pagan" Catholics or those outside of the faith you see as pagans. 

Finally .... just give it up to Him. Our Church, despite errors due to human concupiscence, is not really that bad. There IS Joy, and that Joy is in the Gospel, in Christ, and if you truly invested in it, you`d be spreading joy too. 

Ahhhhh ..... My Mark Shea moment for today. Pax Tibi Christi, Julian. 

Help my Catholic Gal Pal, Maggie (a.k.a. MAGS) Wang, Kickstart Her New Album!

Mags. 

The Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists tried to harass her and her family. They tried and failed miserably.

Well she's back with a musical vegenance! A professional producer down in Nashville behind some of today's most successful "artists" is taking an interest in her!!! Help my Catholic role model gal pal make her next album!!!

Details here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1280916141/help-fund-one-of-mags-nashville-song-recordings?ref=video

Pax. Julian.

Liguorian Series Posting 1A: Preparation for Death: You Should Have Cared While You Could OR You Can't Take it With You

Hello Everyone,

 

My first postings, 1A to 1D, in the "Servimus Liguorian Series" will focus on the content and teachings of St. Alphonsus, via the first volume of his Ascetical Works. Volume I is called "Preparation for Death" and is self evident as to what that volume is about. 

This is the copy of the Ascetic Works that I am using:

de Liguori, A. Ed. Rev. Eugene Grimm. Preparation for Death. Volume I of The Ascetical Works. Comissioned by the Redemptorist Fathers. Reprinted in the 1970's or the 1980's by Our Blessed Lady of Victory Mission in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A. 

Should you use or read free copies on the Internet of his works, realize that the translations of the work into English can be different, or even abridged in some format, and that the numbers might not align to the page references I am using. 

In this book, one could divide the areas that St. Alphonsus focuses on into three central themes/teachings with regard to this book: 

1) What happens to those who do NOT live a holy life, when death comes to take their soul away, as well as on Sin, and what surrounds it in the life they commit to, 

2) What happens to those who have lived a holy life, and in essence, WHY one should NOT like be the person in the first topic, and 

3) What must we do to prepare for our death so that we do not fear it in the end of our lives. 

A fourth posting might also include some prayers that are deep and spiritual, from the volume, but will include a couple of other interesting facets that don't quite fit neatly into the three themes, but support them and deserve their own merit to highlight. 

 

One of the great things I've come to discover in his writings, as I've delved into this book, is that each chapter is moving, deeply probing, and pretty much makes sense to any regular person reading his material. While he doesn't overflow you with lots of theological terms and ambiguous terms, he does use descriptive language in a way to drive a point across. He does so with some variance, but many of the writings tend to tie into a main theme. True to the very style of his preaching, it is simplistic enough, for the common layperson in the pews to get a point across. Liguori also uses many other small quotes and passages from the writings of Saints in Church history, even some famous ones, as well as much scripture, again even some well known passages.

 

In the first of four parts to my posting series, I will focus on topic 1: What happens to those who aren't prepared for death, including SIN, and what surrounds that sin in the life those lost souls commit to. 

LIGUORI AND SIN

To begin with, one should examine Sin itself, before we move into what the unfortunate soul who chooses a habitual, sinful life, experiences at death.

 

Should you need a reminder from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 

1849 Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."¹²¹

1850 Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight."¹²² Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like gods,"¹²³ knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt of God."¹²⁴ In this proud self-exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.¹²⁵

Liguori, of course, strays not from the doctrine of sin presented in the Catechism. He says the following of sin:

".... In committing sin, man dares to declare himself the enemy of God, and to content dingle-handed with the Lord .... In consenting to sin, the sinner stretches out his arms against the Lord .... He raises his neck, that is, he swells with pride, and runs to insult God; he arms himself with a fat neck, that is, with ignorance; for a fat neck is the symbol of ignorance .... What an Insult! What temerity! What blindness! .... When the sinner deliberates whether he will give or refuse his consent to sin ... when he consents to sin, he declares that his passion, vanity, or pleasure is of greater value than the friendship of God. Behold the Lord covered with shame by the sinner!" (Preparation for Death, 154-156) 

There are two kinds of sin that one commits, the venial, and the mortal. While Liguori does not focus heavily on the venial sin in of itself (thought it will be tied to obstinate sinners later on,) he does expand much on Mortal Sin. Liguori does not mince words and clearly follows the line of Catholic doctrine and the CCC. When a man sins in such a profound manner (or one could say, habitually without care ...): 

".... He insults God, he dishonours him, he afflicts him .... God punishes sin with the pains of hell ; ... [Man] says to God, Lord, I will not  serve Thee. "Thou hast broken My yoke, thou has burst My bonds." (Jeremiah II:20.) .... The sinner says the same -- "Lord, I know Thee not, I will do what I please; in a word, he insults the Lord to his face, and turns his back upon Him. Mortal sin is precisely a turning away from God. (152-154)

LIGUORI AND MERCY

I must say, those prior words cut deep with fear into your heart, the fear of the Lord. But always, with justice, its companion is mercy. What do we say, on the mercy of God (Christ) to forgive sin? On that note, St. Alphonsus comments as such: 

" Dearly beloved Christian, how often have you been deaf to the calls of God? You deserved that He should call you no more; but your God has not ceased to call you, because He wishes to make peace with you, and to save you .... Oh! with what love and tenderness does God embrace the sinner that returns to Him! This love and tenderness Jesus Christ wished to give us to understand by the parable of the sheep ... "Rejoice with me; because I have found my sheep that was lost." (St. Luke XV: 5) .... This tenderness the Saviour declared more fully in the parable of the prodigal son; in which he tells us that He is the Father who, when he saw His lost son returning, runs to meet him, and before he his son utters a word, embraces and kisses him ..." (165, 168-169)

Does Liguori score once again with the Teachings of the Catholic Church? Yes he does, in the Catechism's 1864: 

1864 "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."¹³⁶ There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.¹³⁷ Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss. 

 

Clearly, our God is merciful ... to a point. Right after the chapter on God's Mercy (Consideration XVI,) Liguori brings us back to serious thought on our souls, by explaining how we can all too easily abuse Our Lord's Divine Mercy, as well as speaking "Of the Number of Sins" in Consideration XVIII. St. Alphonsus comments on the "time limit" for forgiveness of sin AND the number of sins that God can forgive as follows:

" ... O Sinner! you must tremble even on account of the sins which I have forgiven you; for if you add another, it may happen that this new sin, along with those which have been pardoned, may complete the number, and then there will be no more mercy for you; .... God waits till the measure of iniquities is filled up, and then he chastises the sinner. (183) 

  

What you say? There is a fixed number of sins that God can forgive???? So I only get X tries and then I am predestined for Hell???? Now stop right there!!! Before you accuse St. Alphonsus of being a heretic, there are a number of things to consider.

 

1. Remember, that predestination, and the LITERAL forgiveness of only X sins, betrays the Divine Mercy of Christ, and is heresy in the Church. This would be a subset of heresy under Calvanism. Were St. Alphonsus to be a practitioner of heresy, he would NOT be a saint, never mind a doctor of the Church. 
2. When a priest, up to the Pope, speaks of matters that are not 100% dogma and doctrine of the Church, it is in our spiritually best interest to interpret the action/speech in the MOST orthodox light, with exception to outright, formal heresy, and moral evil. Otherwise, what respect or trust can we give to our clergy on any matter at all? It would be utter disobedience, as some questionable groups, societies, and internet trolls or Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists, express, even today. 
3. Further, St. Alphonsus, and the establishment of the Redemptorists, were not to uphold predestination and heresy, but to COUNTER them, particularly those who expressed elements of, or were absolutely practicing the heresy of, Jansenism.
4. Finally, St. Alphonsus, when speaking about the Mercy of Christ to forgive sins, clarifies his stance on this "number" of sins himself: ".... " (189).  

 

Now, how can this be understood, in the best possible way a Catholic should? Remember that the preaching of the past could be easily claimed to be "fire and brimstone." Generally speaking, priests spoke in such a matter and were not afraid to instill, (rightly so,) the fear of hell and committing sin to place you in Hell. St. Alphonsus rightly did so, because he genuinely cared about the salvation of souls in his duty to the Church, not because he was a profound heretic.

 

As for what to make of said passages, it could be said in this manner: 

• We all have a finite existence on this Earth. We have a limited lifespan only titling X days. That number is different for everyone. 
• Death knows no boundary of age, and even children could meet their demise at an early age. Yes, a child could commit such a mortal sin to separate their souls from Christ, around and before their age of reason, particularly if their parents fail to raise their child in the teachings of the Church, willingly, or lacking resolve to deepen their faith (sloth, laziness). 
• Children might know simply, but they DO know of such sins in their innocence. Everyone, YOU are responsible for the lifelong formation of you and your children, ensuring that all of you live a Holy Life in Christ, so as not to make that fatal error of sin, or to become habitually chronic in a lifetime of sin. 
• Do so, for death comes whenever he pleases to claim one's life. Be it 5 from cancer, 12 from an accident or teen suicide, or 102 from old age.

LIGUORI AND RELUCTANT SINNERS 

Next, what does sin do to the reluctant sinner who refuses the Mercy of the Lord, pleasing themselves in wanton ways of the carnal pleasures of life? Obstinate sin, or reluctance to curb sin:

"... blinds the understanding, hardens the heart, and thus makes the sinner obstinate till death. (Chapter XXII: pp. 221 - 228).

" ... A bad habit hardens the heart. And this hardness of heart God justly permits in punishment of resisting his calls .... According to St. Augustine, ... he subtracts his graces in punishment of their ingratitude for past favours, and thus their hart becomes hard like a stone. ...." (225)

" .... instead of regretting his sins, he rejoices at them, he laughs at them, and boasts of them. ``They are glad when they have done evil.`` .... Proverbs II: 14) .... They are ... all signs of damnation." (226)  

"... would it not be the extreme of folly to play for ... to lose, all your property, with the hope of winning it back at the last game? Such is the folly of the man who continues to live in the midst of sins, and hopes at the last moment of life to repair all the evil he has done ... the habitual sinner, in the end, abandons himself to despair. such is the manner in which his life terminates." (228)

Looks like once again Liguori and the Catechism agree, or perhaps ... the Catechism is leaning on Liguori's writings?

1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin .... 

1865 Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root. 

Allow me to add my own personal reflection to St. Liguori's, perhaps, trying as best to imitate his style, especially on that last passage. 

Our age is awash in sin and men, weaker than before, attracted to our ever aggressive world, their flesh, and the Evil one. In its wake, those holy and virtuous men are missing, with fewer alter Christi abound, and even fewer men listening to the Call of the Lord to His Holy Priesthood. Many of us in our age of social excess, expect life's amenities to be there, material and spiritual, including a confessor for Last Rites/Anointing of the Sick with viaticum. 

But I awaken thee to the truth .... there will not always be that Alter Christus available. It is ever more possible in this age of the busy, the tired, the sinful, the weak ... that even Christ's workers do not tend his vineyard. Perhaps they care not or limit their "work," or they are spread as the sole priest for multiple parishes, with too few opportunity for calls, or are too busy to attend the banquet of the King on invitation for they have "other duties." Lest you are a noble and good practicing Catholic with but one mortal sin ... the circumstances of the world are such your priest may not arrive, and your death is unpredictable or unpresident! Then you are judged, guilty of the first degree of that one mortal sin!  

And what if a priest is available, but your physical disease is one that strips you of conscience and voluntary function, such as Alzheimer's or dementia, or you experience a traumatic incident that turns you into the mentally disabled? How will you be able to remember, and/or communicate your sins to the merciful doctor, when you cannot even tell him? Alas, confession is not laboratory science, whereby despite unconsciousness, one can analyze and spiritually test the soul for abnormality, and the doctor can treat you in absentia with intravenous liquid medicine. 

The Church may be referred to as a "hospital" by modern clerics, but it is of no use if one cannot tell the doctor your symptoms, or you never visit the clinic or emergency room to begin with!  And in more cases today, there are closures of said hospitals, due to the staff shortages, with the next available hospital possibly being miles away! One's spiritual "health" then, should not be taken lightly, but with the same observance and value we place on our physical health to remain alive!

LIGUORI AND CHRONIC SINNERS AT THEIR DEATH BEDS 

Now, what becomes one whose life is of chronic sin, or has not TRUTHFULLY repented of their ways by their deathbed? We can start with St. Alphonsus' writings on the dying person's thoughts and seeking of medical remedy to buy them time:

 

"Ah! at that hour all earthly goods are viewed only with pain by those who have had an attachment for them. And this pain will serve only to increase the danger of their eternal salvation; for we see by experience, that persons attached to the world wish at death to speak only of their sickness, of the physicians to be called to attend them, and of the remedies which may restore their health. When any one speaks of their soul, they soon grow weary, and beg to be allowed repose." (44)

 

Perhaps in modern time, have you heard of people having regrets on their death bed? Yes, that regret, if not materially based/success based, is truthfully them saying, "I've sinned so much. I can't make it up to myself, X, Y, ..... etc." The person laments that they cannot at least remedy their past situations to the ones they have offended in their selfish sin. Another way of saying these regrets, are as St. Alphonsus tells us, is the is the torment of their inner souls:

"Poor sinners! They seek for happiness in their sins, but they find nothing but bitterness and self remorse .... The torture of the remorse of conscience is so great even in this life, that to free themselves from it, some have committed suicide. (pp. 214-216)

 

"He will then say, O unhappy me! I have had so many lights from God, so much time to tranquilize my conscience and have not done so .... What would it have cost me to have avoided such an occasion of sin, to have broken off such a friendship, to have frequented the tribunal of pennace ... Oh! if I had put into execution the good resolutions which I made on such an occasion; if I had continued the good works which I began at such a time, how happy should I now feel! But these things I have not done, and now there is no more time to do them ...." (80)

LIGUORI AND JUDGEMENT AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH 

As for the soul at Death, St. Alphonsus describes the fate that we meet at our death's instance. Yes people .... it's one of the four final things ... JUDGEMENT:

"... the particular judgement takes place at the very moment of death; and that on the very spot where the soul is separated from the body, it is judged by Jesus Christ, who will not send, but will come himself to judge it according to its works .... Oh! how great will be the terror of the soul the first time it sees the Redeemer, and sees his countenance full of wrath! .... The wounds of the Redeemer will console the just and terrify the wicked .... Now what answer will the sinner make to Jesus Christ? .... He will behold an angry judge above; hell opem below; on one side his own sins accusing him; on the other, the devils ready to inflict chastisement; and within, the remorse of his conscience...." (241-243)

 

And of course, our CCC does not ignore what the Church always teaches on that here: meaning that St. Alphonsus is in congruence with the Church's teaching! 

1022 Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification⁵⁹⁴ or immediately,⁵⁹⁵ -- or immediate and everlasting damnation.⁵⁹⁶

1023 Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they "see him as he is," face to face:⁵⁹⁸

1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."⁶¹² Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren.⁶¹³ To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell." 

1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire."⁶¹⁷ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs. 

1039 In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's relationship with God will be laid bare.⁶²⁶ The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life: 

Sorry fellas, not everyone goes to heaven, and as there are good judgments, there must be bad judgments. In addition, this judgement process is perfectly in line with scripture in the Old Testament, for There will be no arguing with God (Job 40:1-2; cf. 42:3) when one is being judged about their salvation. 

LIGUORI WAS JUST LIKE TODAY ON DESCRIBING WHAT IS HELL?

So when a soul goes to hell, what is it like? Perhaps you have heard an analogy used by your parish priest of an "eternal darkness." Guess what? They aren't the first people to use it, though they might do so, in order to stray away from  making it "bad" or sounding like a fire and brimstone preacher. 

Liguori actually described Hell with this analogy,of eternal darkness, but he is darn serious about it and doesn't water it down the way modern preaching does. It is actually moving to make a person quite frightful of Hell and despairing of all hope should that be their final destination:

"What is this Hell? .... A place of torments, where all the senses and powers of the damned will have their proper torment, and where the more a person has offended God by any sense, the more he will be tortured in that sense .... The sight will be tormented with darkness ... Hell is a dungeon closed up on every side, into which a ray of the sun, or of any other light, shall never enter ..." (263)

Or perhaps an illusion of light is more your fancy? This is also another analogy that has been used in modern preaching about Hell, should you be lucky to have encountered such preaching. But this light, or this "fire" of Hell, is not radiantly happy ... no ... rather ...

" ... St. Basil says, that the Lord will separate the light from the fire, so that this fire will burn, but will not illuminate ... In that glimmering light they will see the deformity of their associates, and of the devils, who will assume horrible forms in order to increase the terrors of the damned. (263)

The way modern preaching has described it, is that the light of the Lord will be radiant to the joyful, hopeful and joyful, and purifying. To the sinner who damned themselves, it will burn even hotter than scalding water or a five-alarm fire, and be like poison to them. 

FINALE: NO ONE IS SAFE FROM DEATH

When we are at death, we all are death's property. When death come for us, our status, wealth, money, and such, DO NOT MATTER! We are all going to die. What kind of legacy, myself included, of our lives, will you leave at the moment of lifelessness? 

Will you leave yourself a legacy of "wealth," built on material and spiritual corruption in your treasury of sin? 

Should that be what is stored in the vault of your soul, it doesn't matter whether you are a corrupt politician or businessman, a cleric, a layperson affiliated with the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, or a Novus Ordo Catholic who is part of the Knights of Columbus/CWL and serves soup kitchens every winter. Christ looks past all your good deeds. His only currency: That upon your soul. 

When He finds your "treasury" do you think He will be pleased? He will discover a foul stench and horrid sight, and ye will be judged for the dark and plunging depths of Hell. 

I shall leave you with some of Liguori's words, 

"Death, in time, strips man of all the goods of the world .... The servants leave him in a grave ,,, There is no longer anyone to esteem or flatter him, no longer anyone to attend to his commands ... his flesh drops off; and behold his skeleton can no longer be distinguished from others .... In a word, when death comes, the end comes; all ends, we leave all things; and of all that we possess in this world, we bring nothing to the grave." (36) 

  

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

NEXT POST: Liguorian Series Post 1B: Souls who are in Sanctifying Grace and are "Saintly" with God ‏

Liguorian Series Posting 0: Introduction

Hello Everyone,

Throughout my faith journey, I have been blessed to have encountered the Order of the Redemptorists (C.Ss.R), via St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the downtown of my Archdiocese of Toronto.

The Redemptorists are an order of priests in the Church who serve (arch)diocesan parishes. They were founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori on November 9, 1732 in Scala, Italy (near Amalfi). Today in Canada, their main parish here in Ontario is the downtown Toronto parish of St. Patrick`s Catholic Church. Their order, to quote Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., who oversees the Archdiocese of Ottawa, "... whose spirituality focuses on the Crib, the Cross and the Sacrament. Redemptorists follow Christ in his incarnation, death and resurrection and believe that he is always with them. They hold the belief that there is always a graced encounter with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament ...." (http://archbishopterry.blogspot.ca/2015/07/installation-of-fr-peter-tuan-bui-cssr.html).

The parish of St. Patrick's serves as the North Amercian Shrine for Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and carries on the charisms and missions of St. Alphonsus in numerous ways, some of which I have participated in directly (e.g. High School Gr. 10 Social Justice Retreats, which contain a prayer walk with some outreach to the poor. I`ve done my own things on my own volition as well outside of St. Pat`s.)

This parish has, and continues, to administer to my spiritual needs via its Sacraments. Might I also add that in this way, via sacraments, that the order continues to serve out the charisms of its founder, St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori. When St. Alphonsus lived in this life, it was a bit of a merciless and brutal time, socially in the Church in Italy, especially in his native region of Italy. The heresy of Jansenism was widespread, with many a priest applying its wrong tenets to the sacraments. In a nutshell, to paraphrase the current pastor of St. Pat`s from a youth Theology on Tap I went to a couple of years ago: "You gotta pray and beg for mercy ... but you aren't worthy of his mercy and grace you sinners. His sacraments only go to the worthy." So people were being deprived of the sacraments, such as Communion and worse, even Reconciliation/Penance!

Liguori thought to himself, SATIS! Enough! He emphasized reception of the sacraments, and not barring them from people (save of course those who were obvious excommunicates as Church law dictates,) and had a real devotion to the spiritual salvation of all souls. When it comes to Confession, many parishes and pastors and associates, fail in regards to supplying the Church's mercy via reconciliation, only giving parishioners just a 1/2 hour before Saturday vigil Mass every weekend, and once that 1/2 hour is up, bolt out of the confessional. Not the Redemptorists!!! Even today, the Redemptorists do not deprive the Body of the Church from sacraments. At St. Patrick's, as an example of the Redemptorist charisms, they have confession before most Masses, even during the week! Oh how many times I have been in need of Christ's forgiveness in my struggles, and with my busy work schedule, the lunch hour confession has been my saving restoration of Sanctifying Grace!

I must also credit this parish and its order, in a different way, because it is here with this Church whereby St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir resides, whereby I was first introduced to the Latin Mass. In addition, I have found a good and receptive priest in the aforementioned pastor, as well as his associates, with the pastor even bearing a connection to my  family via my Italian heritage in my family's hometown. This priest has also been a blessing to other members of my family on my Italian side.

With the combination of these influences, I began to love, and to delve deeper, into WHAT is the charism of the Redemptorists? Who is this phenom that is St. Alphonsus? What consistutes the central tenets and beliefs of the Redemptorists? While the website of the order has given me a starting place, and the New Catholic Encyclopedia provides quite a factual account of his time on Earth, I was hungering more for what spiritually constituted his works and charism. As I found out more information, I found out he had penned some prolific works in the Church, the most well known, deepest, and famous of his, being the Ascetical Works, books which covered a number of topics of the Faith.

Well ... I started to cough up some of my earnings to get these hard to find works. Yes, they are available online as pdf documents, but seriously, I feel these screens are burning out our brains and attention spans, even if the effect is reduced by special "gloss/glare" formatted e-readers. So I wanted actual books to read, and optimally stimulate my mind and my soul. However, these books aren't necessarily accessible by the general public! Perhaps if I was an alumnus of U of T, particularly aligned to St. Michael's College @ U of T (USMC, NOT my Alma mater, though the Basilians are somewhat connected to it ... even architecturally with those "yellow bricks" [inside nugget for those who went to my high school]), I'd have access to their Kelly library to read the works. But I didn't go to U of T. So what's a person like me to do who wants non-abridged, or botched (read: liberalized or modernized) translations of these works that are true to exactly what Liguori thought and said?

You buy the old school books or verified, faithful re-productions! For the most part I bought a number of the works from eBay, in the form of old paperbacks that was published by Liguiori Publications(TM) in the 80's, that certain catholic bookstores and missions purchased and distributed to people who ordered them. Another book I just happened to have at home, and I used an Ontario rare Catholic book seller in Combrere to buy another other book.

Currently I have volumes 1 - 12 and 16 which are as follows:
Volume I: Preparation for Death

Volume II: The Way of Salvation and Perfection.

Volume III: Great Means of Salvation and of Perfection.

Volume IV: The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ

Volume V: The Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ (Great Lenten reading material, alongside Liguori's classic Way of the Cross!!!) 

Volume VI: The Holy Eucharist.

Volumes VII and VIII: The Glories of Mary 

Volume IX: Victories of the Martyrs

Volume X and XI : The True Spouse of Jesus Christ 

Volume XII: Dignity and Duties of the Priest (Selva)

....

Volume XVI: Sermons for Sundays (TAN Reprint)
.... 

I have henceforth decided, as a long term project, to discuss what Liguori is all about via his Ascetic Works and his great teachings of the Faith for all of us, using the editions I have. In addition, does what he teach correlate with post-Vatican II documents and teachings of the Church? This little side project, is not only to express my admiration for this great theologian and Saint of the Church who brought me to the Redemptorists, but also to provide additional content of merit to my Servimus Blog outside of the usual Latin Mass/Church Traditionalist politic items. I will add a tab to the top of this blog that will serve as a home page for links to the various postings that I create, like my altar serving ones I've done over the years.

I hope you will enjoy what is to come .... but don't expect too much all at once. I get weird ebbs and flows of inspiration/lack of motivation in my life and approaching the sacrament of Marriage next year, really takes a lot out of you and doesn't give you oodles of time to your self to be glued in front of a computer screen. Not to mention ... I like to have a life away from this screen at times, and that does include actually reading the books from front to back for the content for the posts. Regardless ... there is a treasure trove of wisdom and beautiful Faith to be unraveled From St. Liguori's works, points I hope will illuminate our Church, and the beauty, even in modern times, of the saint's order of the Redemptorists.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

The Machine is Whirring Again: Ordinary Synod XIV on the Family .... With Some Good News for my Archdiocese of Toronto!!!

Hello Everyone,

So once again, the internet is a-buzz with dark tidings and forecasts of Hellfire to begin with regard to the 2015 Ordinary Synod of the Family (or Officially, Ordinary Synod XIV). If you are curious as to documents from certain past Synods, please see the following website link from the Vatican here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/index.htm

Now, as it turns out, the working document, called an Instrumentum Laboris, came out this past Tuesday. Currently, it is only available for public viewing on the Internet in Italian, which one can find here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20150623_instrumentum-xiv-assembly_it.html

For a better examination in English, it would be best to wait until an English translation is produced. Still one can use basic Google or Bing translate with their computers to do a cursory examination of what our bishops will be using for their Synod this October. Unlike other contrasting bloggers who imply that modernist (read: Satanic) Rome is introducing decay into society (of which such sentiments, even mentally or typed, betray the mark of the Church as being "Holy"), this instrumentum is already chock full of good points being addressed in society. Alone it is calling out or saying:

• That a huge amount of people support the Catholic Church's teaching on Marriage and the Family
• That many different factors are attacking the family, including fear of youth to commit to relationships, feminism, and later covered in more depth in the document, reproductive technologies
• A big one in paragraph 13: That because of growing poverty and job insecurity and/or taxation it's better to NOT marry and to co-habitate in the minds of the people. I do well agree with this, and Ontario is too perfect an example right now, with many workplaces relying on part time/contract or temporary work to fill spots vs. expensive and/or unionized full time work which costs the employer in terms of health care benefits for the employee and pension payouts too. Oh, not to mention governments who think its fun to line the pockets of unionized workers and homosexual/liberal allies to secure votes at the expense of the taxpayer.  
• The elderly as a burden upon families already in a crunch! You know that what is implied is "let's euthanize the useless old codgers who do nothing but fart around all day!" However, we should be valuing these elders. Of bigger note, he acknowledges that the grandparents these days are passing on the faith and initiating my generation and below into Christianity, NOT THE PARENTS!!!! Shame on them!
• That Scripture shouldn't be just left for Mass, it should be read in the home too!!!
• That even since Vatican II has the promotion and dignity of marriage and the family been affirmed in Church Documents (e.g. Gaudium et Spes, 47-52)

Clearly, there's more that is covered here, but I'd need much more room to expand on things. Now, it seems that one accusation of this working document is that once again, Kasper's canard of the Church doing an option of "graduality" to admit the remarried couple back to communion is being pushed. NO, this is not what the document is pushing, even with this partially poor computer translation from Italian to English. This is focused on from "The integration of divorced and remarried ..." Under paragraph 120 to about 125.

Now look, as Catholics, we must give the best possible perspective on that which is associated from the Church, even if it is poorly translated or worded. It does NOT say here about re-admission to communion. Yes it talks about couples in co-habitating and civil marriages being guided towards marriage under some sort of penitential process, under the authority of the bishop. BUT, it goes back to John Paul II's process in his Apostolic Exhortation , Familiaris Consortio, 84. The steps are: awareness of failure (obviously remorse for your sin,) repentance, CHECK THE POSSIBLY NULLITY of MARRIAGE, THEN commitment  to spiritual communion and decision to live in continence.

NOWHERE, even in that process, IS readmission to SACRAMENTAL Communion. Spiritual communion, is NOT the same as the REAL COMMUNION. Spiritual is as simple as saying a prayer to want to be in union with Christ, but you cannot receive at that time because of  x, y, z, etc. Not to mention if your check of nullity does NOT check out, then of course, you WILL NOT be admitted to communion. Now, of course, unless the diocese sense some sort of poster with your face on it saying "Don't admit this person to communion" would any old priest know if you are purposely committing the mortal sin of sacrilege, and of course, priests and bishops WILL circumvent the teachings of the Church and Francis because of their selfish sin and betrayal of the Church. It isn't perfect, but it is NOT implying what others think it means.

Oh, let's also add to boot that it states even in the poor translation, that "there is no foundation to assimilate or establish similarities, even remote, between homosexual unions and the plan of Fod on marriage and family."

Now if I just got all that from a rough Bing translation of the Italian, it'll likely be the same or even better translated when the full English translation comes out. I might come back to that for a post, if I have the time, or not.

But my main point is this. Do NOT believe the naysayers on the Internet, including those self-elected or "obvious" RMTs, Latin Mass or Not, who are implying in this Synod, or at least in this document, that this is part of the beginning of the Hell Show against the Family, being introduced by the Church.

............................


Now, in good news, just last week, Pope Francis decided to announce the list of delegates for the Synod, which can be found here:
http://www.news.va/en/news/members-and-substitutes-for-the-14th-general-ordin

Well guess what .... MY OWN CARDINAL ARCHBISHOP, HIS EMINENCE THOMAS CARDINAL COLLINS, GOT SELECTED FOR CANADA FROM THE ENGLISH BISHOPS!!!!!!

This is just super awesome!!!! I am so thrilled that His Eminence was chosen for the delegation for this very topic. While others, even some in my archdiocese, balk at him and think he's aiding the Devil in their hearts and minds, and seems to be more focused on money with that Family of Faith campaign over the spiritual reigning in of heretics and violators of the faith  welfare of Toronto, I am but thrilled and happy for this appointment.

I know for a fact that His Eminence cares about the spiritual welfare of his archdiocese, especially the youth and young adults, and clearly is concerned for what awaits my, and the generations after me in their future for the family and/or marriage.

He ++Collins also, takes the faith seriously in this issue of the family, between being part of the Coalition of Life and the Family (COLF), appearing ANNUALLY in May at Canada's March for Life in Ottawa and being one of the keynote speakers to speak prior to marching, and even though he was not picked as a Synod 2014 delegate, he nonetheless spoke out about the divisive wedge issue of communion for the divorced that the deceiving and guilty of lying, Cardinal Kasper, forced upon the Synod.

You want to hear what he had to say at that time? Read this interview here, which even a few of the Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists picked up on. Might I also mention that Word on Fire programming is being used constantly in parishes at least in North America, especially their Catholicism series? So this is no backwoods company or right-wing interest group interviewing ++Collins.

Well what can I say, I'm rooting for ++Collins, and I'm glad that a sensible bishop who will properly interpret and implement the workings of the Synod of 2015 in his archdiocese, has been selected by the Holy Father himself to represent Canada for the English division. Oh, and he's MY cardinal archbishop! So I am even more proud of my local Church community and who's leading it.

Pax, Julian.