The Pope - The Chair of Peter the Apostle

The following is from "The Pope" [pages 73-76]– Source: “The Fountain of Catholic Knowledge: A Comprehensive Statement of All the Truths of Holy Religion” copyright by Office of Catholic Publications, 1900. 

As I stated yesterday, one of the things I am doing for Lent is re-reading from my collection of 100+ year old Catholic books and my plan to share these writings on my blog. Today being "The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle" I thought this was appropriate. 

I really love this writing, and in particular the part about Peter answering Our Lord three times that he loves Him (this is one of my favorite Bible verses). So reading this and reflecting on it in light of our current situation with Pope Francis, a few things really stood out to me, I have underlined them in the text below. 

I'd really like to hear what your thoughts are on this book passage about the pope and our current situation. 

"The first Pope, the first Vicar of Jesus Christ, was the Apostle St. Peter.

   Who cannot recall the memorable passages of the Gospel in which Jesus Christ first promised and afterward conferred upon him the sovereignty of the universe? Our Lord was in Judea, in the country bordering upon the town of Cesarea. To try the faith of His disciples, He asked what men thought concerning Him. They answered, “Some believe that Thou art John the Baptist, other Elias, and other Jeremias, or one of the prophets risen from the dead.” Jesus said to them, “But whom do you say that I am?” And immediately St. Peter, falling on his knees, exclaimed, “Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then it was that the Saviour allowed too fall from His lips the words which have travelled down the centuries with such marvellous fertility, and which still shine resplendently at Rome, graven in gigantic characters above the tomb of the Apostle-“Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee, That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.”

   You have doubtless often heard this passage of the Gospel read, but have you ever fully fathomed the depth and the strength of its meaning?

First of all, we see that it was God Himself who had inspired St. Peter, and had made known to him the truth of the faith.

“Flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father who is in heaven.” St. Peter was already the elect of God the Father, and for this reason he became the elect of God the Son. “And I”- the Son of God made man, the Christ, the Messiah, to whom thou hast just rendered witness-“I say to thee.” Jesus Christ to St. Pete! the Master to His disciple! God to His Pontiff! the Head of the Church, who has reigned in heaven since His ascension, to him whom He had chosen to be, in His name, and by His authority, the visible head of the Church upon earth. I say to thee, “That thou art Peter.” I change they natural name of Simon into a new and symbolic name. “Upon this rock,” this living rock, as upon an immovable foundation. “I will build My Church,” and the very strength and firmness of the foundation shall give to it so perfect a stability, and so mighty a power, that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Thou shalt teach the truth to My Church, and for this reason it shall be infallible in faith: thou shalt guide it in the path which leads to a glorious eternity, and for this reason it shall be holy. I intrust My Church to thee; I have but one true Church, as a husband has but one lawful wife. And by what clear and evident sigh shall men recognize this one true Church, among the innumerable religious societies which lay claim to her glorious title? By one certain and distinctive mark; if she rest on and centre of unity-her father, pastor, doctor, and pontiff. “Upon this rock I will build My Church.” My kingdom shall be that in which thou shalt reign. My law shall be that which thou shalt teach. Whoever shall be with thee, shall be, for that reason alone, with Me, and whoever shall separate himself from thee, shall separate himself from Me, and from life eternal.

The powers of hell shall not be able to prevail against the Church, since they shall be powerless against thee. Persecutions shall come, heresies, and revolutions. Fear not, I am with thee, and upon thee ever rests My Church, which shall endure unto the end of the world. Those who desire to break thee shall be broken against thee, since thou art the corner of attraction to the whole moral world.

And the power that I will give thee shall be proportioned to the glory conferred upon thee, and to the vast requirements of thy ministry: “Whatsoever thou shalt bind or loose upon earth, shall be found or loosed in heaven;” and thus thy voice shall be as the voice of heaven, and thy infallible dictums shall precede the dictums of the eternal truth. That which though shalt bless, I will bless; that which thou shalt curse, I will curse… Blessed is the man who is obedient to the voice of Peter!

Such is the true meaning of those scriptural words which have ever confounded, and shall eternally confound, the irrational rebellion of Protestants against the Catholic Apostolic Roman Church, which is governed by the Pope, the legitimate successor of St. Peter.

Before ascending into heaven the Son of God solemnly confirmed His promise, of which some might have imagined that St. Peter by his sin had forfeited the fulfillment. “Simon, lovest thou Me?” Jesus asked three times of his Apostle. “Yea, Lord,” St. Peter three times answered; “yea, Thou knowest that I love Thee!” thus effacing by a triple protestation of love and devotion the triple denial of which he had been guilty. Then said Our Lord to him, “Feed My lambs-feed My sheep!” The lambs of Jesus Christ are Christians who are obedient to the voice of this good Shepherd; His sheep are the bishops and priests by whose God-given power and spiritual fatherhood all Christians must be born again-born to the life eternal, by means of baptism, the sacraments, and the teaching of the one true faith.

And thus St. Peter was solemnly appointed pastor of the universal Church by Jesus Christ before His ascension into heaven.

The Pope, Bishop of the city of Rome, of which St. Peter was the first bishop, is the successor of this great and holy Apostle.

Leo XIII., the present Bishop of Rome, descends by an uninterrupted line of pontiffs from the prince of the Apostles. St. Peter commands, teaches, and governs the Christian world by means of Leo XIII., or rather it is Jesus Christ; it is Jesus Christ Himself who dwells within him, in order to be in Him and by Him,  the divine Head of his own Church. It is not the man whom Catholics revere in Leo XIII.; it is the Vicar of Jesus Christ; it is Jesus Christ Himself who covers him with His shadow, and endows him with a royal supremacy over His disciples.

The man in the Pope should be, and generally is, by the providence of God, worthy of esteem, by reason of his virtues; but even were he an utterly bad man, the divine majesty of his authority would remain uninjured; just as a father, who has a claim upon the honor and obedience of his children because he is their father, although they may know that, as a man, he has been guilty of many blamable actions. There are two persons in the Pope: the Pope and the man-as a man, he is more or less estimable, according to the virtues that he possesses; as a Pope, he is always worthy of all our reverence, and has a right to our entire and unquestioning obedience. It is not the man, it is the Pope who is always guided by the Holy Ghost.

There have been two hundred and fifty-nine popes, from St. Peter to the time of our Holy Father Leo XIII. now reigning. Of this number more than eighty have either borne the palm of martyrdom, or have led lives of such eminent holiness that they are numbered among the saints. Scarcely two or three have soiled the chair of St. Peter by notorious vice. The greater part have been men eminent either for their capacity, their piety, or their benevolence. But it may safely be affirmed that not one among them has possessed more charm of virtue than our present Pontiff, Leo XIII.

The peace of God shines from his face. The well known characteristics of his calm and equable nature are goodness and benevolence-a clear intellect, and a constant cheerfulness. His regular features, his eyes of an undefinable expression, and the calm dignity of his manner, are in him the visible signs and outward revelations of the beauty of holiness. He is at once the sovereign Pontiff and the good Father. It is a great happiness to receive the blessing of the Pope, and especially of such a Pope. It is a great happiness to be able to make a pilgrimage to Rome, and to see the successor of St. Peter celebrating the Holy Sacrifice upon the very tomb of the Apostle, and offering to the adoration of the faithful the hidden God of whom he is the Pontiff and the Vicar." 

Thoughts? 

In Christ, 

Julie

Source: The Fountain of Catholic Knowledge, A Comprehensive Statement of All the Truths of the Holy Religion Together With Notable Presentations of the Glorious Truth Triumphant – Office of Catholic Publications, 1900.  

Spending Lent looking back at what the Church used to teach

Greetings in Christ to all my readers! 

I've mentioned before on this blog that I am a collector of old Catholic books - I'm a bit obsessed with them to be honest. If they are over 100 years old I want them. 

They played an enormous part in my conversion. I don't think just visiting any Novus Ordo Mass around me would have done it on its own because the parishes around here hardly reflect the Faith found in these old Catholic books. It was the combination of prayers, Mother Angelica's EWTN (side note here-if you're not watching Fr. Mitch's Scripture&Tradition you are missing out on some great teachings!), my need for the Truth, good Catholic family & friends and these wonderful old books that eventually led me and my children to become Catholic. 

Yesterday I decided to pull them out and read them for Lent. I've done this before and enjoyed it very much. This year I am going to share them on my blog for anyone interested in reading what our beloved Catholic Church used to teach us. 

There is one book I am likely to focus on the most, its "The Catholic Church Alone The One True Church of Christ" published by Catholic Educational Company, New York, Philadelphia in 1899. It's a personal favorite of mine.

Ebay offers this book: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1899-The-Catholic-Church-Alone-The-One-True-Church-of-Christ/264598032939

One of my plans for Lent is to not complain on this blog about the Pope or the goings on at the Vatican. Rather I want to go back to the teachings our previous Shepherds gave to help save our souls. With all the horrible news coming from the Church: corruption, scandals, abuse, homosexual clergy, heresies, etc., I really need to submerge myself in the good stuff- the stuff that helped me fall in love with the Church and want to be a part of it.

So for Lent, I will be sharing what I find in these old books on my blog. I hope you will check in and share your thoughts on these writings and maybe share some quotes from some of your own favorite books. 

I would love to hear your thoughts on Lent and what books you have decided to read or prayers you're doing. 

God bless you all! 

Julie 

Was Jesus confused about who he was?

So I see this Tweet...

Asking "Who did Jesus think he was?" 😒

My first thought is: Where do you begin with 'Catholics' like this? As if God didn't know He was God!

I clicked the link to this retreat... 

"This is a series of 3 study days.
The first part of the course will examine how Jesus fits into the Jewish and political world of Roman Palestine and how he understood himself and his mission in that context.  (He seems to have directed his mission only to Jews and not to Gentiles: why?  How did he view his death?)  These questions have been extensively studied in recent ‘Life of Jesus Research’, sometimes in a very sceptical way.  What can we say about his self-understanding?  
The second part will consider how his self-interpretation was elaborated and amplified in the Church’s teaching that this particular man should be understood as the incarnation of God’s Word.  Is the idea of someone who is ‘divine’ and human’ credible?  When you focus on Jesus the Galilean Jew, does this undermine belief in him as the divine Son of God?  Or does it ‘flesh out’ what Incarnation really might mean?" 

At first I was just disgusted and angry reading this. Then I felt fear. I've been reading a lot of end times things, Bible, Saints, prophecies etc, lately and all I am left with is fear for the flock. Our shepherds aren't protecting us or educating most of us to give us the tools against modernists and those hell bent on destroying the Faith and leading people into confusion and doubt. And then I took a moment and thought maybe its not what I thought, cause I don't think very highly of the Jesuits these days (minus Father Mitch over at EWTN). 

So perhaps this retreat is truly about answering people who have these questions. I'm going to hope for the best here, and believe this isn't a modernist retreat meant to cause confusion and sew protestant theology into the minds of the Catholic Faithful.

That said, anyone considering this "retreat" save yourself the cash and confusion. Just open your Bible, all the answers are right there.

1) Who did Jesus think he was? 

John 10:30 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition30 "I and the Father are one."

2) He seems to have directed his mission only to Jews and not to Gentiles: why?  

Because he was the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for. The pagans were not waiting for a Messiah, they had their idols. That said, Jesus wanted all to come to Him for salvation, but he came first to preach to the Jews and show them He was their Messiah. 

Mark 7:25-30 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition 25 For a woman as soon as she heard of him, whose daughter had an unclean spirit, came in and fell down at his feet.
26 For the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophenician born. And she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
27 Who said to her: Suffer first the children to be filled: for it is not good to take the bread of the children, and cast it to the dogs.
28 But she answered and said to him: Yea, Lord; for the whelps also eat under the table of the crumbs of the children.
29 And he said to her: For this saying go thy way, the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
30 And when she was come into her house, she found the girl lying upon the bed, and that the devil was gone out.

3) How did he view his death?

Jesus viewed his death as a sacrifice. God was Incarnate for the purpose of being our Sacrifice so we might have eternity in Heaven with Him. 

John 10:16-18  Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition 16 And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.
17 Therefore doth the Father love me: because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
18 No man taketh it away from me: but I lay it down of myself, and I have power to lay it down: and I have power to take it up again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

4) What can we say about his self-understanding?

We can say Jesus had a perfect self understanding about himself because he says so. There is no confused bewildered Jesus wandering around in the Scriptures trying to find his inner God.

John 10 24 The Jews therefore came round about him, and said to him: How long dost thou hold our souls in suspense? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25 Jesus answered them: I speak to you, and you believe not: the works that I do in the name of my Father, they give testimony of me.
26 But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep.
27 My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me.
28 And I give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand.
29 That which my Father hath given me, is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father.
30 I and the Father are one.

5) Is the idea of someone who is ‘divine’ and human’ credible?  

Yes, if you're a Christian.

John 1:14 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

and... 

Romans 1:1-4 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 Which he had promised before, by his prophets, in the holy scriptures,
3 Concerning his Son, who was made to him of the seed of David, according to the flesh,
4 Who was predestinated the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead;

6) When you focus on Jesus the Galilean Jew, does this undermine belief in him as the divine Son of God?  

No. Never. 

Philippians 2:5-11 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition 5 "For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man.
8 He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.
9 For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names:
10 That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth:
11 And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father."

7) Or does it ‘flesh out’ what Incarnation really might mean?

1 Timothy 3:16 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition 16 "And evidently great is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, appeared unto angels, hath been preached unto the Gentiles, is believed in the world, is taken up in glory."

I love being Catholic, but right now I am heartbroken for my Church and souls being lost. I truly hope this retreat is sound and faithful to the Faith and not more modernist poison. 

Jesuit quote: "These questions have been extensively studied in recent ‘Life of Jesus Research’, sometimes in a very sceptical way." 

The answers to all these questions are right in the Bible. There is no reason to be skeptical or debate what is clearly stated in Sacred Scripture and has been taught by the Church for more than two thousand years.


God help us all in these troubled times.


In Christ, 

Julie 



Link: https://www.pathwaystogod.org/courses-events-retreats/jewish-jesus-and-divine-christ 

EWTN Press Release: Conversations with Consequences

EWTN Radio Launches ‘Conversations with Consequences’

A Weekly Radio Show From the Network’s D.C. Studios

“Conversations with Consequences,” a co-production of EWTN & Guadalupe Radio Network, features the powerhouse staff of The Catholic Association. The show, hosted by Dr. Grazie Christie, a practicing physician & mother of five (third from left), premieres 5 p.m. ET, Saturdays, beginning Feb. 1 on EWTN Radio

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – The EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network will launch a weekly radio show Feb. 1 from the Network’s Washington, D.C. studios. “Conversations with Consequences,” a co-production of EWTN and Guadalupe Radio Network, features the powerhouse staff of The Catholic Association. The show premieres 5 p.m. ET, Saturdays, beginning Feb. 1 on EWTN Radio. (Find EWTN radio at https://www.ewtn.com/everywhere/radio).

“Whether discussing issues of Life, Religious Liberty, the Church, or Human Dignity, listeners can expect an intelligent and thoughtful conversation from a faithful Catholic perspective with the leading thinkers of our time. EWTN is proud to bring this new program to our audience,” said EWTN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael P. Warsaw.

February is jam-packed. Upcoming guests include George Weigel, who will discuss Cardinal George Pell, who many believe is imprisoned in Australia for a crime he didn’t commit, the abuse crisis and religious liberty; Mary Rice Hasson, who will discuss transgenderism and gender ideology; U.S. Congressman Chris Smith, who will discuss pro-life issues from a federal perspective; and U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, who will discuss religious liberty issues.

“Our idea is to have a conversation, most of the time with guests but sometimes with each other, that is intellectual enough to spark consequences of thought – different ways of looking at difficult subjects – in our listeners,” said Dr. Grazie Christie, the show’s host, who will be familiar to many EWTN viewers from her appearances on “Morning Glory,” “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly,” and “EWTN News Nightly.” “We thought there was room for a show where we could take the time to tackle issues in a deeper way than normally can be done on radio. I also think it’s important that we are well-informed professional women and well as mothers and wives. The culture is always telling us what’s good for women. It’s important for women themselves to be in that conversation, to say this is the real world as we’re experiencing it.”

Dr. Christie, a practicing physician, embodies this concept as she is also the mother of five. Her team includes Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, CA’s Legal Advisor and mother of 10, whose extensive legal career includes work as an appellate attorney; Maureen Malloy Ferguson, CA Senior Fellow, mother of five and a former National Right to Life Committee spokeswoman and Congressional liaison; and Ashley McGuire, CA Senior Fellow, author (“Sex Scandal: The Drive to Abolish Male and Female”), editor of the Institute for Family Studies blog, a policy fellow with the American Conservative Union Foundation, and a mother of three.

EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 38th year, is the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN’s 11 global TV channels are broadcast in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 300 million television households in more than 145 countries and territories. EWTN platforms also include radio services transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and over 500 domestic and international AM & FM radio affiliates; a worldwide shortwave radio service; one of the largest Catholic websites in the U.S.; electronic and print news services, including Catholic News Agency, “The National Catholic Register” newspaper, and several global news wire services; as well as EWTN Publishing, its book publishing division.

Had to ditch Disqus from my comments section.

I've been having horrendous issues with Disqus all month. I have not been getting any email notifications when someone comments on my blog so I decided to delete Disqus and return to Blogger's original comment option. 

Now comments from 2018-2020 have disappeared from my blog, and I am really, really not happy about that, but I have to move on. Know that I did read them-even commented myself this morning before my frustration kicked in and I ditched Disqus for good.

Sorry for any inconvenience or annoyance this has caused to my readers- I feel the same trust me. 

God bless you all, 

Julie

Prayers please for my Grandmother

Greetings in Christ, 

Some you who've followed me over the years knows I am a Catholic convert, my Grandmother Maybelle was my sponsor in becoming Catholic. And I will always be especially thankful to her for helping me and my children become Catholic. I have wonderful memories of my conversion and my Grandmother plays a big part in it.

I have always been close to my Grandmother (to all my grandparents actually-I was blessed to have them all most of my life even my great-grandparents). When my Grandmother began to show signs of Alzheimer disease and could no longer drive, I did all her driving and shopping. After a few years with in home care she got too bad to live in her home and needed 24/7 care that our family could no longer provide so she went to a nursing home. 

At that time, I told the nursing home my Grandmother was Catholic and had asked the nursing home if they had a visiting priest. I was told yes that a priest visited each week, so I had my Grandmother added to the list of patients the priest visited.  

My parents got a phone call yesterday from my Grandmother's nursing home that she had stopped eating and while she is still taking some fluids they were letting us know she is now in a "hospice" situation and that they didn't expect she would live beyond a few weeks or a month. 

Yesterday after the phone call, I went to the nursing home's website to see if it had been updated before calling them (their website in years past hadn't mentioned any clergy so I didn't know where the priest came from). On their website I found a page for "hospice patients" options and services. I figured this is the page that will tell me where the priest comes from. I scroll down the page and find "...all our Chaplains are non-denominational..." and my head explodes! 

I am so stinking mad right now! I had specifically told them my Grandmother was Catholic and I wanted to know if they provided a Catholic priest or I would have gotten one to visit her myself over the years. Now I find out all these years she never had a Catholic priest visit her or bring her any of the Sacraments! I am steaming mad, but thankful to Our Lord that she didn't die before I found this out. 

So I am getting her a real Catholic priest today to give her Last Rites. 

And I am asking all who read this post, to please take a moment and say a prayer for my Grandmother Maybelle, her Patron Saint is "Saint Therese, the Little Flower". 

Thank you all and God bless you, 

Julie 

Prayer Vigil for Life in Connecticut

Prayer Vigil for Life

St Ambrose Parish at St Monica's Church (Northford)

Wednesday, January 22, 2020
the 47th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

5pm - Holy Hour before the Most Blessed Sacrament
6pm - Holy Mass celebrated by Fr Robert L. Turner

The Church has designated January 22nd - the anniversary of Roe v. Wade - as a day of prayer for the protection of the unborn and penance for sins against the dignity of the human person. Join us at St. Monica's for a vigil of prayer on behalf of life. All are welcome and no RSVP is necessary.

"A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer."

- Pope Saint John Paul II, The Gospel of Life 

++++
Paul A. Zalonski
Catholic Connecticut
255 Foxon Hill Road
East Haven, CT 06513-1216 USA

Email Paul: CatholicCT@gmail.com

Follow Paul on Twitter @CatholicCT
Connect with Paul on Facebook "Catholic Connecticut CatholicCT"

Church Militant's The Download is New Coke

Anyone who has followed my blog knows I support Church Militant and I am a big fan of their programming. The first thing I do each morning when getting online is go to CM-before any other site- and watch the latest Vortex episode. My day always begins with Church Militant. 

My three favorite programs Church Militant has ever done are the 'One True Faith' series, the 'Case Files' series by Simon Rafe and the old 'Download' show. 

Last summer the Download went off the air and didn't come back until yesterday because CM was doing extensive construction and remodeling work. I couldn't wait to have The Download back.

I was so very disappointed when I tuned in because The Download I loved was gone. What it was replaced by had none of the charm of the original. We had original Coke and what CM gave us yesterday was New Coke- from the comments on CM's website and their Youtube Channel I wasn't alone in my feelings. 

I'm not only sad for myself but also for the people at CM because I know they all worked so hard and they were excited about what they were doing. Everyone wanted it to be great, but its not.

I didn't like anything about the new Download. I hated it and I want to talk about why I hated it today. 

I am a news hound. I watch too many hours of secular news every day. I watch local news, Fox News, MSNBC and even some CNN to hear what everyone is saying about what is happening in the world. 

When I tune into Church Militant the last thing I want is to be brought back to secular news. I want something above that. I want something steeped in Catholicism. I want not only what I hear to draw me into my Faith, I want what I see to do the same. I want to be pulled out of the secular world and planted firmly back into the Catholic world. The way a beautiful old Catholic church rich in stained glass and art is always worlds above a modern church that has nothing visual to offer its people. Church Militant's The Download used to do that for me. 

I want to start with the music. Oh how I miss the old music! The old show used to begin at 1 pm so I would typically go to CM about 10 minutes before the show and listen to their music leading up to the show. During this time I would make my tea, read some mail etc, always keeping my ear to the music playing because that spoke to me. I knew exactly when the show would start because the music changed. I would put down the mail, grab my mug of tea and settle in to watch The Download just as Christine Niles would appear on screen giving me the Catholic news headlines. I adored my ritual and getting the news headlines from Christine before we all settled in to a one topic discussion on The Download. 

You might think I am being dramatic, but I miss that. This was an important part of my day, a daily ritual for me that I have truly missed. Yesterday I was so happy to get back to my ritual I couldn't wait for 1:30 pm (new time slot) to get here. I was crushed when the music was gone. I had been missing that...more than I knew. It never occurred to me that CM would change the music leading up to the show and I was terribly disappointed because my ritual was ruined and gone. Then the show appeared and I was heartbroken. 

CM's The Download used to be filmed inside their "Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Studio" complete with the spectacular large St. Michael statue and the soothing colors of blues and purples - to me and others who also mentioned this in CM's comments, Mary and Jesus colors. The tone and feel was not at all like mainstream secular media and that was a very good thing. The table CM's hosts sat behind was inviting and calming. It was like they were sitting across the table from me, talking to me about a Catholic topic-one topic so the discussion was in depth and I learned from it. Even if the topic was tragic, the people and the setting were calming to me-we were in this together-sort of thing. I was engaged, charmed and I wanted the discussion to go on for hours while I drank my tea. Most days when the show ended I would get a refill of my tea and watch the show all over again. This was my must see show every day and I am completely heartbroken its gone.  

The Download January 14, 2019

The new studio that the people at Church Militant refer to as "the pit" is not charming, it's off putting. 

The Download January 14, 2020

The Download went from an inviting room where I felt welcome to sit down and join in, to a vast warehouse stuffed with wires, blaring lights, distracting secular media screens and a ticker. The tiny bar stool type table is the same one shown on MSNBC! And I hate it.

They went from Catholic to secular. I am stunned. I honestly can't believe CM did this. I can't believe no one at CM saw the problems with this. 

As one person commented on CM's Download yesterday, there is no way Michael is going to dance on the new table like he did election night in 2016. 

And the problems aren't just the visual and music, its the content too. The greatness of the one topic Download's of the past where one topic is discussed in depth has been tossed out the window and replaced by multiple topics mentioned in passing because time is ticking. No deep discussions, no thoughtful reflections because there is no time for those things anymore. 

They've morphed the Download into a sort of 30 minute evening news show and it stinks. I'm all for CM doing that sort of thing if they want to, but it should have been done with Christine Niles' headline news, not The Download show. 

I can't say enough how very disappointed I am with everything CM has done. I miss the old music, I miss the Fulton Sheen studio, I miss the long in depth discussions, I miss Simon Rafe, I miss having four people at the table rather than three on bar stools. 

Church Militant made some huge unfortunate mistakes this time. I pray and truly hope they ditch "the pit" and bring back the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen studio we all loved so much. 

Chalk it up as a mistake and return to what people fell in love with about the show. You don't need to fix what ain't broken. Ditch the New Coke and please, please give us back old Coke!

I'm praying CM listens to their supporters.

In Christ,

Julie