Calling all Catholic priests...why are you abandoning women?

I read a book years ago called "The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life" by Father Charles Aminjon because Saint Theresa of Lisieux wrote "Reading this book was one of the greatest graces of my life." 

After reading the book, I completely agree. In the book is a small passage where St. Bernard is quoting from his book on the life of St. Malachy. 

Quote page 153: "This saint [Malachy] relates that one day he saw his sister, who had been dead for some time. She was doing her purgatory in a cemetery. On account of of her vanity and the attention she had devoted to her hair and body, she had been sentenced to live in the very grave where she had been buried, and to witness the dissolution of her body. The saint offered the Sacrifice of the Mass for her for thirty days; at the end of this period he saw his sister again. This time she had been sentenced to complete her purgatory at the gate of the church, doubtless because of her irreverent demeanor in the holy place; perhaps she had distracted the faithful from the Sacred Mysteries in order to draw eyes and appreciation to herself. She was exceedingly sad, wearing a mourning veil, and was in extreme anguish. The saint offered the Sacrifice once more for thirty days, and she appeared to him for the last time in the sanctuary, with unruffled countenance, radiant in a white robe. The bishop knew by this sign that his sister had gained her deliverance."  

I came across another quote, that says nearly the same thing.

'We read also in Father Nieremberg that a noble lady, who was exceedingly pious, asked God to make known to her what displeased His Divine Majesty most in persons of her sex. The Lord vouchsafed in a miraculous manner to hear her. He opened under her eyes the Eternal Abyss.There she saw a woman a prey to cruel torments and in her recognized one of her friends, a short time before deceased. This sight caused her as much astonishment as grief: the person whom she saw damned did not seem to her to have lived badly.Then that unhappy soul said to her: "It is true that I practiced religion, but I was a slave of vanity. Ruled by the passion to please, I was not afraid to adopt indecent fashions to attract attention, and I kindled the fire of impurity in more than one heart. Ah! If Christian women knew how much immodesty in dress displeases God!" At the same moment, this unhappy soul was pierced by two fiery lances, and plunged into a caldron of liquid lead.' Source: Rev. F.X. Schouppe, S.J.[SaintsWorks.net] 

The issue of immodesty and women's vanity is a huge issue in society that most women today are completely unaware of. They do not know that immodest clothing and vanity are deadly to their souls. Hollywood, fashion, magazines and social media whores like the Kardashian's have blinded women to true virtue and dignity found in modesty. 

But the blame doesn't rest solely on them. The responsibility is really on the Catholic Church (Matthew 28:16-20) to lead by teaching these things to the laity to save our souls. If the Church doesn't do its duty to teach us right from wrong, secular society will poison us with their lies. 

Sheep are generally dumb, they follow whatever shepherd is leading and right now secular society's demonic shepherds are leading countless sheep to Hell because there are so few good shepherds among the wolves in the Church willing to lead the flock to Heaven. 

This week on Twitter, Catholic priest Fr. Kevin Cusick (whom I believe is a very good priest and I have enjoyed following him on social media for years) put out the following tweets: 

All Hell broke loose and swarms of diabolical idiots (Catholics included) attacked this priest for daring to tweet out Catholic teaching. 

'The parish priest and especially the preacher, when occasion arises, should according to the words of the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. iv, 2) insist, argue, exhort and command that feminine garb be based on modesty and womanly ornament be a defense of virtue. Let them likewise admonish parents to cause their daughters to cease wearing indecorous dress.' 
Decree of the Congregation of the Council (by the mandate of Pope Pius XI), 1930 A.D. 

Fr. Cusick decided to delete his entire Twitter account and leave the fight, much to my disappointment. His explanation can be read on The Wanderer. 

Recall just a few months ago in March, a Catholic mother of four sons wrote a letter to the Editor of her local paper about women wearing leggings to Mass. 

Quote: "The emergence of leggings as pants some years ago baffled me. They’re such an unforgiving garment. Last fall, they obtruded painfully on my landscape. I was at Mass at the Basilica with my family. In front of us was a group of young women, all wearing very snug-fitting leggings and all wearing short-waisted tops (so that the lower body was uncovered except for the leggings). Some of them truly looked as though the leggings had been painted on them.A world in which women continue to be depicted as “babes” by movies, video games, music videos, etc. makes it hard on Catholic mothers to teach their sons that women are someone’s daughters and sisters. That women should be viewed first as people — and all people should be considered with respect." "...  I wonder why no one thinks it’s strange that the fashion industry has caused women to voluntarily expose their nether regions in this way. I was ashamed for the young women at Mass. I thought of all the other men around and behind us who couldn’t help but see their behinds."

Mass hysteria erupted over this on social media attacking this Catholic mother and her sons (I wrote about it HERE). 

I don't have any expectations that non-Catholics in our secular society will understand the importance of modesty, but I am truly floored by the venom from 'Catholics' who attacked Fr. Cusick for his tweet. 

It's like modern society has put the stamp of approval on revealing clothing, so God must accept it too. 

Ummm...NO!  Doesn't work like that. 

More over, our Catholic clergy have a responsibility to TEACH THE FAITH whether we like hearing it or not! 

2 Timothy 4    

4 "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. 5 As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

Catholic priests are here for the sole purpose of saving souls! It's your calling! It's your duty! 

You are our Fathers (1 Cor. 4:15)! Correct us! Lead us! Love our souls enough to die for them. That's what Jesus did. It's what He called YOU our clergy to do. 

To all the Father Cusick's out there where ever you are, please, please do not run away from the flock! Souls are at stake here. Don't abandon the sheep to the wolves of secular society. 🙏



In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 

Links: 

https://thewandererpress.com/catholic/news/frontpage/a-leaven-in-the-world-when-the-twitter-mob-came-after-me/

https://connecticutcatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2019/03/yahoo-editor-elizabeth-di-filippo-makes.html 

https://ndsmcobserver.com/2019/03/the-legging-problem/  

Fr James Martin on men kissing men at Mass

Fr. James Martin: "I always say that LGBT people have more faith than straight people because of that. I mean imagine you, what you have just described is really interesting Brandon. You have internalized rejection already. You don’t even need to be told that you’re rejected in the Church, you’ve internalized it and that’s very sad. A lot of the people that Jesus came into contact with did the same thing. Think of like the woman with the hemorrhage who doesn’t even feel worthy to stand up and greet him, she reaches down and touches the hem of the garment; or the Samaritan women who comes to the well at noon in the heat of the day because, we think, she’s been married five times and she’s probably embarrassed. Maybe people didn’t know enough to tell her you’re not welcome to come out at the regular time when the other women come; she comes because she is embarrassed and she kinda internalized that and it’s sad. So I hope in ten years you will be able to kiss your partner or soon to be your husband. Why not? What’s the terrible thing?" 

Fr. James Martin is a disaster. I honestly don't know if my anger at this priest leading people toward Hell is stronger than my pity for him. It used to just be anger I felt for what Fr. James Martin has been doing, but over the last several weeks I have been reading on a single topic: HELL. 

And what is awaiting people, specifically priests in Hell is absolutely TERRIFYING. 

I would love to hear Fr. Martin speak about Hell. I wish to know what his thoughts are on the subject. Who does he think goes to Hell? What does he think Hell will be like for the damned? Does Fr. James Martin worry he might be headed for Hell because he opposes the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality and gay unions? 

I'd honestly like to know. 

He seems to be carefree about his opposition to the Catholic Faith. I fear for his soul. Truly I do. 

"O, how great is the priest!...If he realized what he is, he would die." 

-St. John Vianney-

I can't help but think, how he (and others like him) must break Our Lady's heart, because they are failing so miserably at their primary duty...saving souls for Christ.  

Lord Jesus, we your people pray to You for our priests. You have given them to us for OUR needs. We pray for them in THEIR needs.
We know that You have made them priests in the likeness of your own priesthood. You have consecrated them, set them aside, annointed them, filled them with the Holy Spirit, appointed them to teach, to preach, to minister, to console, to forgive, and to feed us with Your Body and Blood.
Yet we know, too, that they are one with us and share our human weaknesses. We know too that they are tempted to sin and discouragement as are we, needing to be ministered to, as do we, to be consoled and forgiven, as do we. Indeed, we thank You for choosing them from among us, so that they understand us as we understand them, suffer with us and rejoice with us, worry with us and trust with us, share our beings, our lives, our faith.
We ask that You give them this day the gift You gave Your chosen ones on the way to Emmaus: Your presence in their hearts, Your holiness in their souls, Your joy in their spirits. And let them see You face to face in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread.
We pray to You, O Lord, through Mary the mother of all priests, for Your priests and for ours. Amen.

Pray for Fr. James Martin and other priests. Their souls need saving too!



In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 


Links: 


Prayer for Priests: http://www.ewtn.com/library/prayer/prayprie.htm

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=235&v=xa2DXkw7Xuc 

Article: http://josephsciambra.com/why-not-james-martin-thinks-gay-men-should-be-able-to-kiss-in-church/ 

Saints who had visions of Hell: https://churchpop.com/2015/10/28/5-saints-who-had-terrifying-visions-of-hell/

Is Pope Francis Catholic?

Honestly, I wonder sometimes if Pope Francis is truly Catholic. I know I am certainly not the first to bring this up, and tragically, more than likely won't be the last.

Maybe it's me. Maybe I have the wrong idea of what being Catholic means. 

Has the Church changed so much that what She used to teach and ask of all the Faithful is no more?

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the Great Commission... 

Matthew 28 [18] "And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. [19] Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." 

Yet we have a pope who has stated on more than one occasion and proven on more occasions than I can count at the moment, that he has ZERO interest in converting anyone to the Catholic Faith. 

Why?  

Should not our Holy Father be like the disciples in the Bible and so many of our wonderful Saints who risked all to convert people in order to save their souls? 

What's the point in being pope if you don't save souls? 

Should not soul saving be a pope's primary duty in order to do what Christ asked of us all? 

I just don't understand this pope. 

Perhaps Francis thinks that the "spirit of dialogue and friendship which allows the followers of the world’s religions to work together to open new paths for peace in our human family" is how people become Catholic these days. 

That quote is part of a letter Pope Francis sent to Venerable Koei Morikawa, the Supreme Priest of the Tendai Buddhist Denomination recently. 

Is the "spirit of dialogue" anything like the "spirit of Vatican II"? 😕

Why would we want to "open new paths for peace in our human family" without conversion? Isn't the point of our lives here on earth to get us and all those we can to eternal life with Christ in Heaven? 

Who gives a rats ass about our "new path for peace in our human family" on earth if we end up in Hell? 

I have to ask (and I'd love to one day hear Pope Francis' answer)... does Pope Francis believe the Catholic Church is necessary for salvation? 

If he does, he's sure got a funny way of showing it... 

I truly believe that Pope Francis doesn't want to bring anyone into the Catholic Church. I think he believes the watered down, protestantized version of "catholicism" that is being toted about these days. The "Jesus is all love, and he'd never allow anyone to go to hell- and if he did, it would only be for a short time" crowd. 

That's not Catholic, its Protestant.

Pope Francis' definition of prayer is off-kilter too. 

Quote: “[prayer]inspires and sustains our efforts for peace, because it helps to deepen our reciprocal respect for each other as persons, strengthens the bonds of love between us, and spurs us to make decisive efforts towards promoting just relations and fraternal solidarity.”

Pope Francis' definition of prayer replaces God with men! It's all about men getting along for peace with other men and the love between them. Where's God? Shouldn't interfaith prayer be about people coming together to God, rather than "just relations and fraternal solidarity" among themselves? Again, where is God in all this? What's the point without God?

How is that definition of prayer even Catholic? Heck, that's not even mainline Protestantism! It's New Age! 

Where is Our Lord's Great Commission that He entrusted to His Catholic Church? 

Shouldn't all our "dialogue" be about converting people...saving souls? If they don't want to hear it, we do what Our Lord said and "shake the dust" off our feet [Matthew 10:14] and move on to the next. Time is short and souls are being lost while we embrace "the spirit of dialogue and friendship" minus God! Pointless! 

Has the Catholic Church under Pope Francis become the Church of Dialogue for Just Relations with no Conversion? What about souls going to Hell? 

"When you see a condemned man on his way to the gallows, it moves you to pity. If you could do something to free him, you would do it. Well, brothers and sisters, when I see a person in mortal sin, I see someone drawing nearer with every step to the gallows of hell. And seeing him in this unhappy state, I happen to know the way to free him: that he be converted to God, ask God's pardon, and make a good confession. Woe betide me if he does not." - St. Anthony Mary Claret

Our pope speaks bluntly and aggressively about the woes of our planet. He writes encyclicals warning us about global warming and the need to save our planet, yet says NOTHING about converting people and saving souls from eternal damnation. Why?

I want to know why our pope works so hard to save the planet yet refuses to tell the world we must be about Our Lord's business of saving souls. 

This is how it's done: 

[1] And having called his twelve disciples together, he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of diseases, and all manner of infirmities. [2] And the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, [3] James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, and James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus, [4] Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. [5] These twelve Jesus sent: commanding them, saying: Go ye not into the way of the Gentiles, and into the city of the Samaritans enter ye not.
[6] But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And going, preach, saying: The kingdom of heaven is at hand. [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils: freely have you received, freely give. [9] Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses: [10] Nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the workman is worthy of his meat.
[11] And into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till you go thence. [12] And when you come into the house, salute it, saying: Peace be to this house. [13] And if that house be worthy, your peace shall come upon it; but if it be not worthy, your peace shall return to you. [14] And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words: going forth out of that house or city shake off the dust from your feet. [15] Amen I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
[16] Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves. [17] But beware of men. For they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. [18] And you shall be brought before governors, and before kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles: [19] But when they shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what to speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak. [20] For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you."-Matthew 10

That is what Our Lord taught us. Go out and save souls.

Saint John of the Cross quote: "I am also driven to preach without ceasing by the sight of the throngs of souls who are falling into hell - for it is of faith that all who die in mortal sin are damned. It is estimated that about eighty thousand die each day, and how many of them die in mortal sin and hence are damned? As the saying goes, "talis vita, finis ita" - your death will be as your life has been. Behold how many there are who are called, and how few who are chosen! And behold, if you have no care for yourself, your perdition is more certain than your amendment, especially since the way that leads to eternal life is so narrow."

I wish our Holy Father would remember that Great Commission wasn't about saving the planet, its about saving souls from eternal damnation.



In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 



Catholic Catechism: 2559 "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." 2 But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? 3 He who humbles himself will be exalted; 4 humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," 5 are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God." 6


Links: 

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-sends-letter-to-interfaith-prayer-mee

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p4s1.htm

http://www.drbo.org/chapter/47028.htm

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

What's up with Life Teen Catholic Youth Ministry?

So I'm on Twitter when I see Ryan Fitz retweet a Creaky tweet about Catholic Life Teen Youth Ministry that caught my eye. 

Something about the Virgin Mary and "poop" to be specific. Be prepared, I'm gonna get all fire and brimstone in this post. 

Before I click on the blog post "Seeing Beyond the Poop: Mary’s Perfect Love" by RACHEL PENATE, I go see what "Life Teen" is all about. 

Our Mission"As a Eucharist-centered movement within the Roman Catholic Church, Life Teen leads teenagers and their families into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. With the Blessed Virgin Mary as our intercessor and guide, Life Teen seeks to unleash the fullness of the Sacramental power present within the young Church."

That part sounds great, so I clicked on the video...

...and I was more than a bit disappointed. As a convert to the Catholic Church, seeing anything remotely Protestant-like used to bring anyone (especially our youth) to a deeper understanding and love of our Faith is very bothersome to me. We are Catholic, we don't need Protestant gimmicks! Folks, this is NOT what Catholicism is supposed to look like. This is not the Catholicism of our great Saints and the Apostles in the Bible. This is what happens when Catholic clergy think they need to be "hip" and mimic Protestant mega churches and televangelists to keep the attention of Catholic youth. Life Teen claims their mission is "Eucharist centered"...I have to ask after watching that video, just what do they believe the Eucharist to be?

"When the Eucharist is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled with countless angels who adore the divine victim immolated on the altar." ~ St. John Chrysostom 

From watching the video, this screenshot (below) seems to be a Mass (I hope it's not,and if anyone knows for sure please share). But if it is...

...Mass is NOT a rock concert. Put your arms down, shut up, get on your knees and worship God the way the King of Kings is supposed to be worshiped! These youth sadly seem to have little idea what they are participating in. It's all about the happiness they feel, the joy, the music and holding hands and swaying back and forth. Isn't this fun?! Shout if you love Jesus! Woohoo! 🙌

The Mass IS Calvary. Does anyone seriously think, if they traveled back in time, that this is how they would act on Calvary while Jesus was nailed on the cross suffering for our sins? If you wouldn't behave like this THEN don't do it at Mass now! 

"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 47)

Before anyone gets on my case about shredding Catholic youth ministries, I am all for it. I love to see Catholic youth get together for love of their Faith. That's great, I'm not criticizing everything in the video. But lets keep it Catholic. Authentic Catholicism, not to ever be confused with Protestantism- who reject the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. When you blur the lines you get folks leaving the Church because hey, they're all the same right? The Church had no problem before the spirit of Vatican II came along, raising Catholic kids who stayed in the Church and became Catholic adults - without all the hands in the air and Kumbyah moments. Okay, enough about the video.

I clicked back to the "poop" post and read in part...

"Even the Poop - Have you ever felt as though you can’t relate to Mary because she is so perfect?
Being a mom has taught me that Mary actually doesn’t mind all of our “poop.” Before my daughter was born, I probably changed a total of three diapers, and each time I gagged a whole lot. I was a little bit surprised upon spending the first few days with my little girl that I didn’t care one bit about her poop. It was still poop, it was still gross, but it was somehow different – she was my daughter. Mary looks at all the “poop” in our lives – those dumb situations we often weasel ourselves into – and she

doesn’t bat an eye. It doesn’t bother her, but (the best part is) she doesn’t leave us in our filth. She sees the messiness in our lives, and with her assistance, she offers us a change of heart and practice.

For Real -Do you ever feel undeserving of Mary’s attention and love?
Me too. But the good news is this: By simply being her child (despite any insecurity or impurity), Mary loves us. My daughter hasn’t done much of anything to win my love. She poops, she sleeps, she does smile, but she also has a terrifying scream. There has been no conversation, no plea in which she’s vied for my attention or poetically tried to win me over. She is my daughter regardless of what she has, says, or does. And, I love her intensely. Mary’s love for us is even deeper than this, and thank goodness for that! Because, my insecurities and impurities are overwhelming sometimes and a life in which we need to constantly prove ourselves is exhausting. We don’t need to prove anything to Mary. Her love is unconditional." 

Horse-hockey! 

Really? "Mary looks at all the “poop” in our lives – those dumb situations we often weasel ourselves into – and she doesn’t bat an eye. It doesn’t bother her..." Maybe I am wrong here, but is "poop" supposed to be sin? If so, then the author is wrong. Any time we sin it bothers Mary because it hurts her Son and separates us from God! Duh! How anyone can say that the Holy Virgin Mary, the Mother God "doesn't bat an eye" when we sin is beyond me. But hey, maybe the "poop" the author is talking about is not sin. To be honest, its hard for me to tell from her post just what she is talking about by "those dumb situations we often weasel ourselves into". Like what? The author doesn't tell us so we are left guessing. 

'There are many who arrive at the faith, but few that are led into the heavenly kingdom.' -Pope St. Gregory the Great, Doctor and Father of the Church

All this "unconditional love" talk can be misleading. No one should confuse "unconditional love" with a free pass to sin -which is a mistake most Protestant groups make. Does Mary love us? Sure! Doesn't Jesus? Sure Jesus loves us and we are sinners, but he didn't come so we could stay in our sin and end up damned. That's the link that is missing in all this "poop" talk. Sin leads to Hell. I sincerely hope no Catholic of any age, actually believes that Mary "doesn't bat an eye" at people in sin. 

Read what the Virgin Mary, the Holy Mother of God told Saint Bridget of Sweden about sin: 

'They pierce his side when they have the intention of persevering in sin. 
I tell you truly, and you can tell this to my friends, that in the sight of my Son such people are more unjust than those who sentenced him, worse enemies than those who crucified him, more shameless than those who sold him. A greater punishment is due to them than to the others. . . 
Pilate sentenced him due to fear, in accordance with the petition and intention of others. These people sentence him for their own advantage and without any fear, by dishonoring him through sin that they could abstain from, if they wanted. But they neither abstain from sin nor are they ashamed of their already committed sins, for they do not take into consideration their unworthiness of the kindness of the one whom they do not serve.' -Our Lady, 'The Revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden'

Anyone still think Mary "doesn't bat an eye" at sin?

I think our youth and their parents need to learn more about the reality of hell and understand that they might very well end up there if they insist on following heretical nonsense because it gives them the warm-fuzzies. 

'Meditate on the horrors of Hell which will last for eternity because of one easily-committed mortal sin. Try hard to be among the few who are chosen. Think of the eternal flames of Hell, and how few there are that are saved.' - St. Benedict Joseph Labre

The confused author goes on to say: 

"There is nothing we can do to lose her favor as her children. Even when we don’t deserve it. I think of my own mom who always stood right by me in the mess I made but then pointed me to something greater. I want to be just like that – always there by my daughter’s side guiding the way; always there with her while she chases her dreams, even running right by her side if necessary. This is Mary, Our Lady. She has hope for our future and is always leading us back to the One — the only One — who has the power to fulfill our every hope and desire."

That my friends is NOT the Gospel message. Jesus is NOT there to "fulfill our every hope and desire." Sure, He's got the power, but the author is being misleading here. Jesus came as our SACRIFICE, our SAVIOR. He is not our genie in a lamp to grant us wishes so all our hopes and desires are *poof* magically given to us. 

Jesus was tortured and died so we could have eternal life in Heaven with Him, IF we repent of all sin, live our Catholic Faith as it was handed down from the Apostles. Jesus told us to pick up our crosses and follow him. He didn't say He'd give us "our every hope and desire" in this life. If we make it to eternity with Him in Heaven, then and only then will we have "our every hope and desire" precisely because we are in Heaven for eternity with Christ! What more could anyone want? The issue is, very few ever make it to Heaven. Our Catholic youth would do well to understand this and never forget it.

'Woe to you who command others! If so many are damned by your fault, what will happen to you? If few out of those who are first in the Church of God are saved, what will happen to you? Take all states, both sexes, every condition: husbands, wives, widows, young women, young men, soldiers, merchants, craftsmen, rich and poor, noble and plebian. What are we to say about all these people who are living so badly? The following narrative from Saint Vincent Ferrer will show you what you may think about it. He relates that an archdeacon in Lyons gave up his charge and retreated into a desert place to do penance, and that he died the same day and hour as Saint Bernard. After his death, he appeared to his bishop and said to him, "Know, Monsignor, that at the very hour I passed away, thirty-three thousand people also died. Out of this number, Bernard and myself went up to heaven without delay, three went to purgatory, and all the others fell into Hell."' -St. Leonard of Port Maurice

The road to salvation is not easy and along the way Jesus is NOT giving us "our every hope and desire", that is pure Protestantism and no one should be teaching our Catholic youth this heresy! What Jesus gives us in this life is the GRACE we need to get to eternity with Him. What we do with that grace is up to us. 

Our youth don't need gimmicks folks! Just the Truth. Tell the youth the Truth, teach them reverence and holiness and scare the Hell right out of them! Teach them that the Mass is Calvary and how to properly behave, dress and worship. Priests must feed the sheep with what God gave His Holy Catholic Church alone, and for the love of God Himself, quit feeding them Protestantism! It's poison! 

'I truly am supreme charity itself; for all things that I have done from eternity, I have done out of charity; and, in the same way, all things that I do and shall do in the future proceed entirely from my charity. For charity is as incomprehensible and intense in me now as it was at the time of my passion when, through my death and out of exceeding charity, I freed from hell all the elect who were worthy of this redemption and liberation. For if it were still possible that I might die as many times as there are souls in hell so that for each of them I might again endure such a death as I then endured for all, my body would still be ready to undergo all these things with a glad will and most perfect charity. But, in fact, it is now impossible that my body could once more die or suffer any pain or tribulation. And it is also just as impossible that any soul that after my death has been or will be condemned to hell would ever again be freed from there, or would enjoy the heavenly gladness that my saints and chosen ones enjoy at the glorious sight of my body. 
No, the damned will feel the pains of hell in an everlasting death because they did not will to enjoy the benefit of my death and passion and did not will to follow my will while they lived in the world.' - Christ, to St. Bridget of Sweden, 'The Revelations'

In Christ,

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 



Links: 

http://lifeteen.com/blog/ladys-perfect-love-looks-beyond-poop/

http://lifeteen.com/about/

https://twitter.com/Sir_Creaky/status/887723790343524352

Sunday Review

This post is about some things that caught my eye this week. The good, the bad, the ugly and the ironic. 

Before I get to that, I've come to the conclusion that the Holy Father has an extremely narrow view of the world. All his constant talk of helping the poor (a given for any decent human being) and pushing for a larger role of women in the Church (deaconesses etc) and of course more "dialogue" is because Pope Francis, for all his globalist talk doesn't actually look at the global Catholic Church. I think he sees only the environment he was in and applies that to the entire world. 

What the Church and status of people are/look like in Argentina is not what the Church looks like in the United States, the United Kingdom or any where else. This article by Rome Reports reflects my thoughts on the influence Argentina has on Pope Francis and the Bishops of Argentina. 

On Friday, Pope Francis (again) talked of expanding the role of women in the Church...

quote Catholic Online: If women are able to freely put their gifts at the service of the entire community, "the way in which society understands and is organized is positively transformed, reflecting better the substantial unity of the human family," he said.
Because of this, a beneficial model for society is one that amplifies the presence of women in social, economic and political life at the local, national and international levels, "as well as in the ecclesial," he said.
"Women have the right to be actively involved in all areas, and their right must be asserted and protected even by legal means wherever they prove necessary."
This, Francis said, involves "expanding the spaces of a more incisive feminine presence." 

And: 

quote: However, "women can also become fully involved in exchanges at the religious level, as well as those at the theological level," the Pope said, noting that many women "are well prepared to face encounters of interreligious dialogue at the highest levels and not just from the Catholic side.""This means that the contribution of women is not limited to 'feminine' arguments or to encounters of only women," he said, adding that dialogue "is a path that man and woman must accomplish together."

...has he seen the Church in the United States? Women run nearly everything! I'd like to hear the pope speak to the problems in the United States...abortion, euthanasia, birth control, fornication- specifically the number of Catholics who live together before marriage, immodest clothing- when was the last time anyone ever heard about dressing modestly so you don't cause someone else to lust? There are dozens upon dozens of topics that Catholics in the United States (and other countries) need to hear our pope discuss, but all we get is more social agenda speeches about women's roles and the environment. It's disheartening. 

*** 

Now for the Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Ironic stuff...

The Good... 

This story is from last month but I apparently missed it. A friend sent it to me this week. The fantastic story of Father Maniyangat, who died and was taken by his guardian angel to Hell, then Purgatory and finally to Heaven where Jesus spoke to him telling him “I want you to go back to the world. In your second life, you will be an instrument of peace and healing to My people. You will walk in a foreign land and you will speak in a foreign tongue. Everything is possible for you with My grace.." ! 

Quote: "First the angel escorted me to hell. It was an awful sight! I saw Satan and the devils, an unquenchable fire of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, worms crawling, people screaming and fighting, others being tortured by demons. The angel told me that all these sufferings were due to unrepented mortal sins. Then, I understood that there are seven degrees of suffering or levels according to the number and kinds of mortal sins committed in their earthly lives. The souls looked very ugly, cruel and horrific. It was a fearful experience. I saw people whom I knew, but I am not allowed to reveal their identities. The sins that convicted them were mainly abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, hatefulness, unforgiveness and sacrilege. The angel told me that if they had repented, they would have avoided hell and gone instead to purgatory. I also understood that some people who repent from these sins might be purified on earth through their sufferings. This way they can avoid purgatory and go straight to heaven. I was surprised when I saw in hell even priests and Bishops, some of whom I never expected to see. Many of them were there because they had misled the people with false teaching and bad example."

Source: Priest Testifies to His Experience of Heaven, Hell and Purgatory After Death and His Return to His Body

I highly recommend reading this story if you haven't already! Good stuff! 

***

The Bad... 

Whenever we see Catholic clergy leading people into mortal sin it is bad, there is nothing, zero, nada good to be found in this story for Catholics in the United States. 

Quote: "CHICAGO, June 9, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — American Cardinal Blase Cupich has written a glowing introduction to the English translation of a high-ranking Vatican prelate’s new book that calls for Holy Communion to be given to civilly-divorced-and-remarried Catholics living in adultery as well as to cohabiting Catholics." 

and...

"Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legal Texts, argues in his book that Amoris Laetitia “could allow access to Penance and the Eucharist for the faithful who find themselves in an irregular union.” He explains “irregular union” applies to “all those who are married only civilly or living with a de facto union or tied to a previous canonical marriage.”
He argues that Amoris Laetitia allows for Catholic couples regularly committing acts of adultery to only have a “desire to change and the inability to do so” in order to receive Holy Communion."

The seeds of Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia are being reaped and the crop is deadly weeds spawned from Hell. 

Source: U.S. cardinal writes forward to new book approving Communion for adulterers 

While that is bad, there is hope coming from the Bishops in Poland (God bless them!)

For more hope read: Polish bishops’ conference calls civilly-divorced-and-remarried Catholics to ‘true conversion,’ not communion

***

The Ugly...

This is ugly and evil. Yesterday in New York City a large group of people decided to protest something (I really don't understand what exactly) by getting completely naked covering themselves only in body paint and walking down the streets of New York in front of families, children and tourists who had no idea what they were in for. 

It was disgusting. As Wayne Dupree puts it..."These Americans decided to walk down the streets of New York City with nothing but just body paint in protest of freedom I guess. Most will call it repulsive and childish. I call it a spirit of evil." 

I agree with Mr. Dupree. 

Source: Liberals Go Super Extreme! Body Paint Protests Through NY City

*warning: don't click the video of the "protest" its full of nudity


***

The Ironic... 

Pope Francis is speaking out about "the people being scandalized" by priests and he's putting his foot down! The irony is he's not worried about the scandalized folks still reeling from the things he's said ('who am I to judge?', 'don't breed like rabbits' etc) or by liberal priests leading people toward Hell with heretical teachings. Nope. Rather the pope is putting his foot down (rightly so) to prevent people from being scandalized because priests in Nigeria are protesting the pope's pick for Bishop. 

Imagine for a moment, that the following statement by Pope Francis were about the people scandalized by priests supporting the LBGTQxyz agenda, or "Catholic" politicians supporting abortion, birth control, euthanasia etc., or priests giving Holy Communion to people in mortal sin, or Catholic clergy and parishes marching in gay pride parades! All we can do is imagine, because our Holy Father is silent on these scandalous situations and the damage it is doing to the laity. 

Quote: According to the pope's remarks posted by Kaigama, Francis said, "I think that, in this case, we are not dealing with tribalism, but with an attempted taking of the vineyard of the Lord." The pope also referred to "the parable of the murderous tenants" in Matthew 21:33-44.
"Whoever was opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the diocese wants to destroy the church. This is forbidden," the pope said.
Francis said he even had considered "suppressing the diocese, but then I thought that the church is a mother and cannot abandon her many children."
Instead, he said, every priest of the diocese, whether residing in Nigeria or abroad, is to write a letter to him asking for forgiveness because "we all must share this common sorrow."
Each priest's letter, he said, "must clearly manifest total obedience to the pope" and indicate a willingness "to accept the bishop whom the pope sends and has appointed."
"The letter must be sent within 30 days, from today to July 9th, 2017. Whoever does not do this will be ipso facto suspended 'a divinis' and will lose his current office," the pope said, according to the posts.
"This seems very hard, but why must the pope do this?" Francis asked. "Because the people of God are scandalized. Jesus reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences."

If only our Holy Father would put his foot down over the things that actually scandalize Catholic laity on a daily basis around the world! We'd have a whole new Church! Guess the people who are scandalized by these things just don't bother the Pope much.

Source: Pope tells Nigerian priests accept bishop or be suspended



In Christ, 

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner 




Sources:

http://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=75145

http://www.romereports.com/2017/06/10/the-homeland-that-shaped-pope-francis

http://catholicsay.com/priest-testifies-to-his-experience-of-heaven-hell-and-purgatory-after-death-and-his-return-to-his-body/

https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-tells-nigerian-priests-accept-bishop-or-be-suspended

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/u.s.-cardinal-writes-forward-to-new-book-approving-communion-for-adulterers

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/polish-bishops-conference-calls-civilly-divorced-and-remarried-catholics-to