THE ATHANASIAN CREED
__ Late fourth century: attributed to St. Athanasius (296-373)
Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith, except a man keep whole and integral, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. Now the Catholic Faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. For such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, the Holy Ghost uncreate; the Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet, there are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated, nor three incomprehensibles; but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise, the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Ghost is Lord. And yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. For, as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord; so we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there be three Gods or three Lords. The Father is made by none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is before or after the other. None is greater or less than another, but the whole three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal together. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. He therefore that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity. Furthermore it is necessary unto eternal salvation that he believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ is God and man. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the world; and Man of the substance of His Mother, born into the world. Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Godhead as touching His Manhood. Who, although He be God, and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven; He sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their works. And they that have done good shall go into everlasting life, and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This, then, is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.
Ecumenism: embracing others and devouring our own
There are many Catholics these days who embrace a loss of Catholic identity and find its loss to be but gain; for it is a mighty tool to be wielded for the sake of ecumenism. To such an end the use of secular conclusions for both the troubles within the world and the Church now trumps Catholic praxis that both fortifies and preserves Catholic Teaching. So the thinking seems to be that even a false peace is more important than truth and that half truths are not only permissible but necessary to win ecumenical favor with the world. To this ecumenical end the means are no longer important enough to endure division. Unity at any cost, even the loss of faith, seems the battle cry and they are gaining adherents to this movement in unprecedented numbers; perhaps even eclipsing the rush to Arianism that was endured early in the history of the Church.
Ecumenism has wrought in its wake a promotion of the idea of the salvation for those outside of the faith. Though the Church has always given the Lord full reign and sway over decisions regarding the salvation of souls, it now seems unimportant whether one is of one denomination or another, of the same religion or even whether or not a soul adheres to any religion whatever. As the late Fr. Gabriele Amorth once lamented (in words to the effect): more people will be saved during our lifetime due to invincible ignorance than by any other means.
Have we downplayed the clear teaching of the Catechism and overplayed the exception to the rule? For the teaching is most plainly stated in the Catechism of St. Pius X:
27 Q. Can one be saved outside the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church?
A. No, no one can be saved outside the Catholic, Apostolic Roman Church, just as no one could be saved from the flood outside the Ark of Noah, which was a figure of the Church.
29 Q. But if a man through no fault of his own is outside the Church, can he be saved?
A. If he is outside the Church through no fault of his, that is, if he is in good faith, and if he has received Baptism, or at least has the implicit desire of Baptism; and if, moreover, he sincerely seeks the truth and does God’s will as best he can such a man is indeed separated from the body of the Church, but is united to the soul of the Church and consequently is on the way of salvation.
16 Q. Is Baptism necessary to salvation?
A. Baptism is absolutely necessary to salvation, for our Lord has expressly said: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”
17 Q. Can the absence of Baptism be supplied in any other way?
A. The absence of Baptism can be supplied by martyrdom, which is called Baptism of Blood, or by an act of perfect love of God, or of contrition, along with the desire, at least implicit, of Baptism, and this is called Baptism of Desire.
It seems obvious that we have made of the exception, the rule — and of the rule, the exception. In doing so, it seems that the Catholic Church has lost much of its zeal for souls and has relativized all Christians to the degree that they no longer require the Eternal Teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church which Christ founded and left to us. The question now remaining is whether we deserve the privilege of belonging to this Church if we no longer find Her Teachings and Sacraments essential to our quest for happiness. Have we lost the urgency to preserve the Teachings of the Church which was entrusted to the care of the Apostles and the Pope? For if ecumenism now dictates that we not engage in proselytism for fear that we make the Teachings clear to all men and replace such clarity with a muddy concept of unity in essentials whether or not the essential words of the Apostle’s Creed or Nicene Creed are understood in the same way and manner from one group to another, then the purpose of a Single Apostolic Church founded by Christ is no longer relevant. Relativistic truth is more than adequate and it seems no longer admirable or advisable to die the death of a martyr for such ideals and principles if they are not sacrosanct.
And sadly the idea in #17 above of perfect contrition is lost on us moderns. It is no longer important to feel shame, guilt or to undergo deep suffering in the soul for our many offenses against God and His Church. It is far more important to stress that God’s mercy will accept us as we are and that we have no responsibility to even desire or try to change that in our lives which is opposed to the Will of God. His love and mercy will supply for my lack of effort and cooperation with His Will. It seems funny to me why, if this is the prevailing attitude of Christians, we should bother with religion at all or why God would even require that we live a life on this planet since salvation became our inheritance immediately after His Resurrection from the dead. Reason could presume that since Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross that men should be born into Heaven and reap the reward that Christ has won for us without all of the drama of a life lived in half light and half dark.
As these last 50 years have progressed so has our identity and understanding of Catholicism regressed. Our language has become more worldly and our concepts more political or sociological in scope. The ‘other worldliness’ aspect of religion has been decimated as we have one by one eliminated from our vocabularies a number of words or have modified their meanings into more practical expressions that aren’t necessarily related to spirituality or religion at all. A loss of the sense of sin, probably led this parade. On its heels came a loss of the sense of meaningful suffering, a loss of shame and guilt, a loss of a desire to bring non-Catholics to conversion or to strive to become a saint. We see now a corruption of caritas into kindness and niceties and a growing tolerance for every perversity that the world engages in. And the most common response or lack of response has turned into indifference if not a perceived bastardization of a virtue — bootlicking hiding behind obedience. But obedience to what? To Truth? Or have we made of our prelates gods to worship and adore whether they defend Catholic Truths or abandon them? Everything, and every change being made to our Church is not an expression of the Holy Spirit speaking through these men. To think that is to give up on a rational faith; one that is supernatural but which is in keeping with rationality as well. The Holy Spirit will eventually lead us to overcome the gates of Hell but it does not mean that attacks against the Church and the Truths of the Church will only come from without — from the world. It can and does come from within the Church itself as well and it would be wise that we be concerned about the latter; for it is of far greater danger than attacks from without.
I do not understand those who celebrate or ignore the internal attacks against our Church or against the Catholic Culture that has been handed down to us while those who obviously want to disassemble our Faith and turn it into that which it never was; just another Christian denomination — no better, no worse than any other. In fact, of late the idea is being floated that Christianity is no better than other religions. In other words we are just people and it does not matter what faith one belongs to. The cry these days seems to be that anybody, no matter their beliefs will (if they are sincerely trying to live a good life) go to heaven and reach the beatific vision. If we no longer believe that the Catholic Church makes a difference or that it is not the One Church that Christ founded for mankind’s salvation then we should just close the doors and live our lives as secular humanists. The final state of our souls will not be affected anyway; so why should we fight the world, the flesh or the devil.
So I no longer know what I am defending anymore. Apologetics is frowned upon and proselytism is anathema. Tolerance and acceptance of all things is the character of the new Church unless one believes as we all did around 50 years ago; in which case those people should all be condemned and brought to scorn. It is getting harder to believe that this is the same Church of the Saints. But then nobody said that following Christ would not be without crosses to bear, sheep to defend and wolves to be routed. I just never thought that in so short a time the Church Herself would turn to devouring its own.
Confusion reigns
This is St. Francis not the Pope
This is the Pope not St. Francis
Are you baffled, confused, totally lost or find yourself at the brink of losing your faith? Do you feel the Catholic Faith has crumbled at breakneck speed and can’t keep up? Don’t be alarmed. it is simply the Francis effect. It is not just you, it is not a nightmare. Unfortunately, it is real. Yes this really has happened . . . it is not fake news.
The following article reminds us of just some of the reasons that may have put you into a Catholic funk. The original article can be found here.
Summary and Highlights
2013 – Pope Benedict XVI announced “resignation” and lighting struck Saint Peter’s Dome hours later; In his first speech Francis announced himself as the Bishop of Rome from the ‘end of the world‘; Masonic lodges congratulated Jorge Bergoglio on becoming Pope Francis and wrote ‘nothing will be as it was before‘; Pope Francis claimed that the miracle of Jesus multiplying the bread and fish was really a miracle of ‘sharing‘, not multiplying; Said ‘Who am I to judge?‘ about gay priests; Restricted use of Latin Mass by Franciscan Friars; Said to youth ‘I want a mess‘ and ‘I want trouble in the dioceses‘; The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League tweeted ‘Thank you Pope Francis from prochoice women everywhere‘; Said we are ‘living the myth of Shiva‘; Cover of the leading LGBT magazine, The Advocate; Said atheists who do good are redeemed; Started taking selfies with fans…
2014 – Held the first Muslim/Jewish prayers and Koran readings at the Vatican; Sent an iPhone message to evangelicals through prosperity-gospel TV preacher Kenneth Copeland; Peace doves attacked; Said to ‘scold the Lord‘ and also that he would baptize aliens; Cover of Rolling Stone; Accidentally said ‘the F word’; Cardinal Dolan claimed Francis said ‘Catholic Church should not dismiss gay marriage‘; Mentioned re-thinking celibacy for priests; Said he’s ‘not interested in converting evangelicals to Catholicism‘; Initial synod document suggested shift in Church’s position on homosexuality, but was revised; Said man is ‘the king of the universe!‘…Told a woman in invalid marriage it’s alright to take Holy Communion, saying ‘A little bread and wine does no harm‘; Compared Islamic terrorists to Christian fundamentalists…
2015 – Claimed lost souls do not go to Hell; Joked about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ; Claimed that Jesus begged his parents for forgiveness and the Virgin Mary ‘reproached‘ Christ; Became PETA’s Man of the Year; Met with a transgender dubbed ‘The Devil’s Daughter‘; Left Lutherans wondering if they can now take Communion in the Catholic Church; Routinely scolded and mocked ‘rigid‘ Catholics; Projected images of animals and humanity onto Saint Peter’s for climate change support on the Feast day of the Immaculate Conception…
2016 – Released a video promoting his prayer intentions featuring Muslim prayer beads, a Buddha statue, and Menorah, but no cross; Changed Roman Missal to include women in Holy Thursday foot-washing; Lutherans received Holy Communion at Saint Peter’s Basilica; Announced he will participate in a joint ceremony with the World Lutheran Federation to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation; Suggested that John the Baptist doubted that Jesus Christ was the Messiah; Taught priests that those confessing need not verbalize their sins but can confess through ‘the language of the gesture‘; Proclaimed that a US Presidential candidate is ‘not a Christian‘; Approved of contraception in special circumstances; Praised an abortion rights advocate; Issued an Exhortation that changes the practice of denying Holy Communion to those who are in ‘irregular unions’ (divorced and remarried, etc.); Discussed possibility of women deacons; Compared idea of Islamic conquest to Jesus’ Words in the Gospel of Saint Matthew; Said that Mother Earth is the one who ‘gave us life and safeguards us‘; Taught that Jesus ‘knew temptation in Himself‘; Elevated memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to rank of Apostle; Said that the ‘thegreat majority of Sacramental marriages are null‘ then issued a clarification changing ‘the great majority‘ to ‘a portion’; Said some priests ‘are animals’; Said the ‘intentions of Martin Luther were not mistaken; Said the Church should ‘ask forgiveness to the gay person who is offended’; Said if he speaks of Islamic violence he ‘must speak of Catholic violence‘; Met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Added an eighth Work of Mercy, ‘Caring for Our Common Home‘; Prayer intention to build a society ‘that places the human person at the center‘; Said ‘It’s not right to convince someone of your faith‘; Put a red statue of Martin Luther in the Vatican; Completely overhauled Congregation responsible for liturgical questions; Signed joint pledge with Lutherans to remove obstacles to full unity; Created 6 new ‘Beatitudes’ for ‘modern’ Christians; Said Martin Luther was a prophet and he ‘admired him‘; Said inequality is ‘the greatest evil that exists‘; Said ‘communists think like Christians‘; Cardinals publicly and formally ask for clarity on Amoris Laetitia after being ignored by Francis; Attributed ‘weakness‘ and a ‘bad memory‘ to God; Warned that media who spread ‘ugly things‘ (even if true) could suffer from ‘coprophilia‘ (arousal derived from excrement); Said God was ‘unjust with his son‘; Reportedly said he may ‘enter history as the one who split the Catholic Church‘…
2017 – Appointed protestant pastor as Editor of Argentinian Holy See’s newspaper; Said ‘Jesus was always the servant of all, and this is what gave Him authority‘; Vatican to release a Martin Luther postage stamp; Says Martin Luther’s intention ‘was to renew the Church‘; Took over religious order whose leader defied him in clash over condoms; Ordered review of the new Mass translation; Said obeying all the commandments ‘paralyzes you‘; Anglican Liturgy to be celebrated in St Peter’s; Recorded video message for Superbowl, didn’t mention God once; Denounced ‘Restorationist’ Orders, Poked fun at Medjugorje; Cardinal Kasper said allowing intercommunion with Protestants in some cases is the “position of the current Pope.”; Said there is no such thing as Islamic terrorism; Seminarians told they can leave if they don’t agree with Pope Francis; Said ‘Jesus did not say whether it is lawful or not lawful‘ about divorce; Reduced sanctions for sex abusers; Signaled openness to ordaining married men; Joked saying ‘Inside the Holy Trinity they’re all arguing behind closed doors, but on the outside they give the picture of unity‘…
At least we now know that we are not crazy. We actually have a reason for taking our anti-anxiety meds and should not sit around asking ourselves questions like: “I wonder if it is just me?” No, it is not you. It is the Francis and friends carnival from South America that has left you muddled and confused. The inmates really are running the asylum.
Pope Leo XIII’s Prayer to St. Michael
O GLORIOUS Prince of the heavenly host, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and fearful warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come thou to the assistance of men, whom Almighty God created immortal, making them in His own image and likeness and redeeming them at a great price from the tyranny of Satan. Fight this day the battle of the Lord with thy legions of holy Angels, even as of old thou didst fight against Lucifer, the leader of the proud spirits and all his rebel angels, who were powerless to stand against thee, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast forth, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, who seduces the whole world; and he was cast forth upon Earth, and his angels were sent with him.
But behold! the ancient enemy of mankind and a murderer from the beginning has been fiercely aroused. Changing himself into an angel of light, he goes about with the whole multitude of the wicked spirits to invade the earth and blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to plunder, to slay, and to consign to eternal damnation the souls that have been destined for a crown of everlasting life. This wicked serpent, like an unclean torrent, pours into men of depraved minds and corrupt hearts the poison of his malice, the spirit of lying, impiety and blasphemy, and the deadly breath of impurity and every form of vice and iniquity.
Be favorable to Thy Church, the Bride of the Lamb without spot, whose enemies have filled to overflowing with gall and inebriated with wormwood. They have laid profane hands upon Her most sacred treasures. Where the See of the most blessed Peter and the Chair of Truth has been constituted as a light to the nations, there they have placed a throne of their abomination and impiety; so that with the Pastor struck, they may prevail to disperse the flock.
Therefore, most invincible Leader, be with the people of God against this spiritual wickedness and bring about victory. Thou art venerated by Holy Church as Her guard and patron; Thou art glorified as our defender against the impious powers of earth and of hell. Unto thee the Lord hath handed over the souls of the redeemed to be placed in happiness above.
Entreat the God of peace, to obliterate satan beneath our feet, lest he prevail further to hold men captive, and to injure the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that the mercy of the Lord may swiftly overtake us, and apprehend the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan, and send him bound into the abyss, so that he may seduce the nations no more.
Henceforth having been confided to thy escort and protection, [may our] sacred ministers by the authority of the Holy Mother Church, undertake to repel the infestations of diabolical deceit in the Name of Jesus Christ, Our God and Lord.
V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered hostile powers.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Juda has conquered, the root of David.
V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
R. As we have hoped in Thee.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let us pray.
O God, and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we invoke Thy Holy Name, and we humbly implore Thy clemency so that, through the intercession of Mary, the Immaculate ever-Virgin Mother of God, of blessed Michael the Archangel, of blessed Joseph, the Spouse of the same blessed Virgin, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the Saints, Thou may deign to offer us aid against satan, and all the other unclean spirits, who wander through the world to injure the human race and to destroy souls. We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
We are Responsible for Everything that has Happened in the Middle East and as Christians we Must Provide for all the Refugees who come to our Nations: Its the only Christian thing to do, don’t you know?
THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO AN ARTICLE BY CHALCEDON ON AATW ABOUT THE REFUGEE CRISIS IN THE WEST: https://jessicahof.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/islam-the-west/
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Well all the good Christian’s in Europe and America really were quite welcoming to the Jews after the Second World War; being turned away by the shiploads which perhaps was the biggest reason for the establishment of Israel because nobody wanted them. And in the annals of warfare since the Christian era we did not invite back the Moor refugees or the defeated and displaced Muslims who had invaded Europe. We are more Christian in this post-Christian era than we ever were in the past it seems. The idea of letting the vanquished set about to rebuild their countries ended when we did the Christian thing and poured copious amount of money and expertise into their countries to help them recover from their losses. We helped them get back on their feet. So the winner of the conflict not only rebuilt our own damaged lands but also became responsible for that of our enemies.
So a different opinion might say that the “lazy thinking” (C alluded to in his post) is to limit one’s analysis to a single precedent action (our reactionary involvement in the Gulf Wars) and of course blaming ourselves (or more specifically the U.S. – the victims of their preemptive violence) for the refugee crisis resulting from these Middle East conflicts. Of course, we do not mention the unprecedented attacks of Bin Laden’s group on the World Trade Center, the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam, the failed attempt some years before on the World Trade Center, or the Iranian hostage crisis some years before . . . not to discount the sporadic terrorist attacks on planes and ships.
And for the (very tired) argument that it was fought for their oil the facts don’t support the thesis. We could have taken their oil or demanded free oil to pay for the cost of the war. We did neither.
And neither does this single approach take into account the historical incompatibility between Mohammed’s new and novel religion with the Christian West which codifies everything from a society where men rule and women have no voices, female mutilations, honor killings, spreading the “faith” by the sword etc. which naturally sets an uncomfortable and rocky relationship between Christian principles at the heart of our societies and those that were formed by the prophet Muhammed. They have their own laws, their own tyrannical imams who are but the faces and voices of a collective theocratic oligarchy of despots who decide everything from education, morality, fighting undeclared wars of terror around the world and extending a glorious final outcome for those who die in the service of ethical and religious cleansing of their enemies; which are everyone that is not them. They even have factions amongst themselves that for each side demands the blood of the others. They are, of course, rather egalitarian in their treatment of non-muslims though they do have a specific hatred for the Jew and the Christian; but their clear goal is to eliminate all religions but their own . . . or should we say the ideology of their own; since it incorporates much more than simple beliefs in a deity and his worship [a motivational component for the weak coupled with the fear of the loss of their lives]. It utilizes a face of religion to conceal a political center that is a complete ideological system that encompasses a “final solution” to their plight; which is better looked at as our plight and their goal to eventually defeat and/or bring a demise to all things not Muslim.
Neither can one dismiss the founding of the Jewish state in the Middle East and once again we blame the Jews in regards to the Palestinian’s constant attacks against the State of Israel for their struggle to keep their nation safe. Once again False Compassion paints the Jew as the bad guy and the Palestinians as the victims; surely another case of siding with the murderers against the murdered . . . a case of False Compassion as Archbishop Sheen speaks in the video posted yesterday. We look back and blame ourselves once again for how we drew up the borders in the region [which is mostly true] and we show False Compassion for those who sided with the Nazis during the war and gave aid and comfort to our enemies. But that was not unforeseen because we have had a long a storied relationship in the West with the forces of Islam. They desire the elimination of the West, the Jew and the Christian.
There were the Barbary Pirates, which we can thank for the creation of the United States Marines who to this day are called leather necks which came from their dress to try to protect themselves from the brutal beheadings of these barbarians. There was the clashes in Vienna and Istanbul and the driving of the Moors from Gaul. It seems our ancestors knew that the Muslims would destroy Christendom if they ever got the upper hand. Of course we can also take blame for the Crusaders which seems like more self-blame without placing any responsibility at all on the Muslims for their part in this episode of history. We have been turned into a self-loathing society that places blame on ourselves constantly and excuses our enemies. I think much of that can be attributed to the new PC handbook of neo-Marxism that seems to have swept the Modern World. From Vietnam forward we have not had a conflict where we did not take on our shoulders the blame; and somewhat justified when we look at the changes in societal thinking that made its way into virtually every aspect of our lives. And since the Korean War we have not fought a war to the finish. Our new strategy seems to kick the can down the road to successive generations and let them deal with the problems that we wouldn’t solve.
So, for this new PC culture we now live in, let us not leave out of the mix the ‘Frankfort School’ (the Marxist think-tank and progenitors of radical activists) that migrated to NYC and got involved at Columbia University after fleeing the Nazis [since many of them were Jews], who gave us much of what our modern US and European politically correct ideals of egalitarianism and was directed toward overthrowing our Christianized societies to make room for their new incremental infestation of our societal norms; and we spread the ideas far and wide throughout the Western world. These same people divided our societies into oppressors and the oppressed. A new PC morality was born that freed us from the Christian ideas of morality and posed everything in ideas of unbridled freedoms of the libido and the necessity of equality of outcomes and financial status. They concentrated on the blacks, the poor and the homosexuals to bring about their revolution in ethics and to destroy the ‘repressive’ state of Western morality; and they were not and are not adverse to using violence and terrorist methods to bring this about. It opened the door to our modern progressive left activists including Saul Alinsky and George Soros to name but a few . . . and we know well their political recruits that inhabit our political parties today.
And although these carefully formed ‘newly educated’ political leaders may well have sold us into an un-winnable war, I for one don’t think that the people must pay the price for their misdeeds. We paid for their misdeeds with the life and limbs of the young and the patriotic lower and middle class soldiers who thought they were fighting to win a war and then withdraw and return home. They thought, as young people often do that they were giving the people a chance to throw off the chains of their oppressors and to protect our own country from future attack but we now have our professors telling us that we are nothing but oppressors and that the fallout of our failed policies must be visited upon our own societies as though it is a moral obligation to write our own obituaries for a dying society founded upon Christian principle. In fact, it is this new modern thinking that would not fight any war to the finish and this new egalitarian sense of right and wrong that has us spending tons of money fixing everything that was blown up and destroyed and care for all displaced people rather than help them build a new and better society than the one that was destroyed. We could not, of course, find a single Middle East coalition that would care for and protect these refugees so, of course, they must be incorporated into Western society as though it is a moral imperative to do so. It matters not that their fundamental principles are 180 degrees opposed to that of Western society . . . only that the optics make us look compassionate.
Never mind that a nuclear Pakistan and Iran are unstable and we must one day face this crisis instead of simply trying to talk to them . . . as we do with North Korea as well. The alliance between North Korea and Iran assures us that the real conflict lies ahead and that we have amongst our populations a large contingent of people that will support our future enemies in such a showdown. We will have to fight terrorism at the same time we confront global conflict and, God forbid, fought with nuclear weapons as these people are not averse to using them preemptively.
It is a pretty picture of these refugees to paint them all as those who want to find a better way of life; I’m sure that some do, just as I am sure that many do not. Recent problems with these refugees throughout the world paint a more sober reality however. But when these refugees one day create madrassa schools, demand sharia law, have grown their populations to find leadership roles in government and their children are radicalized into terrorists then what we have effectively accomplished will be an end to our own national identities and we will have handed it over quite willingly to the refugee so they can form us into a new society of their liking. Say good-bye to restoring our society to its Christian roots.
We need new leadership in America and in Europe if we are going to stave off the inevitable; though I think we have gotten in too deeply to extract ourselves in any way that is not going to involve the world in a great conflict. And besides, I do not think the Western World has the resolve to do what is necessary and take the criticism of the UN; the court of world opinion. Best go to the Mass of Reparation every 1st Saturday and ask for Mary’s help through Her Immaculate Heart. I think that is about all that is left at this point.
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Shangri La-sur-Loire
More interesting thoughts on the Benedict Option.
The chances are that you are reading this because you want to know what the odd title means. I will come to that presently but first I want to talk about cults. The word has acquired a sinister connotation in modern English but its Latin original cultusmeans “care, labour; cultivation, culture; worship, reverence.” It retains something of that meaning in French so Anglophone visitors to Francophone regions are sometimes bemused to see references to the culte Catholique. We can see that culture, cultivation and religious cult share a common root of some kind. I would suggest that community is an implied component of the concept “cult.” People come together to produce culture and worship (also crops but that’s not my interest here.) That is, however much individual creative work an artist may produce or however intense a person’s particular spiritual life may be they do so as…
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Sorry for my short break in blogging
I’ve been working on revamping an old news website: News for Catholics. It has a feature where you can write a post/opinion piece or article and submit on the site as an editorial. It will appear in posts and in the editorial tab where people can discuss the post. It also has many links to news and opinion pieces from the secular news to Cathoic news and blogs etc. Id be interested in your feedback: what could make it better, what you like, what you don’t like etc. Let me know.
Did Christ Establish a Church with an Expiration Date?
There is a popular and recurrent theme amongst many non-Catholic Christians that the promises given to Peter and Christ’s gift to him of the keys (to bind and loose), is not indicative of an office per se but a one time gift to Peter and that when Peter died so did the keys vanish with him. Likewise, using the same logic, the powers given to the Apostles after Christ breathed on them and gave them the power to forgive sins was also buried with them at their deaths. Thereby, any Christian Church is no better than any other as nobody has a special gift of the Holy Spirit to lead them to all truths. It died when the apostles died and its a great way to avoid any notion of there being any reliable and lasting authority in the practice and teaching of Christianity no matter the claims.
I like to be logical about these things so here is what bothers me about such notions.
If that is the case then all churches have become corrupted in their belief, teachings and their practices; as fallen creatures, men have a habit of doing that. There is thereby no inerrant authority to pronounce on a doctrine and there is no authority to stop the next generation from altering or actually opposing what was taught previously. There is neither a way to evaluate one church against another nor the changes that are on-going that may and do overturn previous teaching. It is simply ‘growth’ and ‘development’ due to the times and each church has a right to do as it sees fit. Even if people sit up and claim that they are not syncretists or believers in relativism it is all that is left unless an authority is still alive and working in this world.
If we believe that Christ sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell in the Church and to lead it to all Truth then Christ let us down or the Holy Spirit decided to lead a large variety of separate beliefs even though they hold contrary doctrines and teachings. That would make the Holy Spirit capable of blessing the notion that 2+2=4 in one church and 2+2=5 in another church or any other novel answer that a church might come up with. Now that kind of authority is not authority at all but permissiveness which claims that error is on a par with truth. And I doubt that is what Christ had in mind when He said that He would not leave us as orphans; can it really mean that he’ll support whatever anybody wants to believe in their own version of Christianity?
Sadly, if these gifts died with the Apostles, then the Nicene Creed and the Canon of Scripture were simply unauthorized man-made decisions that have no actual authority to compel one to believe them. And if we do somehow believe these for some personal reason, there is no authoritative reason that each of us should understand and interpret their meaning in the same way. A free for all ensues religiously and we are really no better off than the personal preferences that the pagans had for the gods of their choice. We are free to do as we like and nobody is right and nobody is wrong. Its only defensible in as good as are the apologists of each particular church or individual if they think that a personal belief, without a church, is all that is needed. In fact, if the church has no authority, then these people without a church are the most honest of all Christians.
Furthermore, is there then an expiration date on the necessity of Baptism, or of Belief and is it enough to say that God is Love and Mercy and that nobody will suffer loss and that all will find heavenly beatitude? For we can refer to Scripture and interpret our new form of Christianity based upon our personal preferences. For me; I think I very much like the idea that we all go to heaven and nobody will suffer. But others are free to make up their own minds and who is to say that they are wrong. Certainly not an authority that had a very short expiration date which died with the apostles. So, Who am I to judge?
It is very alluring to think that because we hold certain truths in common that the churches are basically the same. And without a clear authority that is the only conclusion one could rationally come up with if we are to believe that Christianity is not a hoax even though Christ did renege on His promises to the apostles and to the Church He founded.
So I chose the Catholic Church and think that it is still the Church that continues to have the authority that was vested in Peter and the apostles. For if it no longer exists then Christianity in my mind no longer is believable and is totally devoid of any veracity that it may once have had. In fact it is proven logically to have been a sham.
Thank God, however, the dogmas and teachings of the Catholic faith are never overturned and continue to operate from their inclusion into our body of faith, until the end of time as we know it. We do not one day wake up and decide that contraception is now OK, or that same sex marriage is now acceptable. We argue these issues and there are some who would love to change our teachings; but alas, they can’t. It is the protection of the authoritative nature that I would have expected the Church founded by Christ to have built into Her very DNA. And that is why I am Catholic. For without this assurance I am not sure that I would believe anything at all.
Servus Fidelis ~ The Faithful Servant 