AND THE ANTI-CATHOLIC BEAT GOES ON!

 Liberal progressives have denounced every kind of racism, homophobia and political incorrectness. The only prejudice they allow and promote is anti-Catholicism. It is the only prejudice they allow and promote today to further their secular and religious ideologies opposed by the Church.

Thus the Macon Telegraph prints an anti-Catholic diatribe that slams two Catholics in the Macon area for simply telling the truth. The diatribe is a pathetic liberal attempt to silence, to censor and to end the discussion. But it won't work!

Here it is, read at your own risk:

Your Say: Comprehending attacks on Cummings’ recent column

By NEIL M. CULLINAN Special to The Telegraph

No profession deserves our collective respect and gratitude more than the medical community and no one has more respect for medical doctors than I. Physicians are exceptionally bright, their training rigorous and their daily dedication to healing merits on-going recognition.

Although I have respect for the accomplishments of Miguel A. Faria M.D., an associate editor-in-chief of the Surgical Neurology International, and a published author, my respect fades when he, as well as Father Allan J. McDonald, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, recently wrote responses to Dr. William Cummings’ Sunday column.

It is clear both of these educated men find strength and comfort in their Catholic beliefs, which I trust make them more at ease in this confusing and dangerous world. They are Catholic true believers, and it has to be upsetting to have someone point out that church memberships are declining. For every person joining the Catholic Church, Cummings informs us, six people depart. Neither Faria nor McDonald disputes the fact of this decline. To the contrary, both men grudgingly acknowledge the truth in Cummings’ statements. McDonald puts the best spin on this dramatic loss of Catholics by referring to “mustard seeds” and “the cyclical history of the Catholic Church.”

Admittedly I do not fully understand McDonald’s “cyclical” reference, but let us hope this next cycle does not include a repeat of the Catholic Church’s multiple crusades in which Catholic soldiers killed thousands of Arabs, Jews and nonbelievers as they made their way across the Arab World and into Jerusalem, while the blood of Arab and Jewish men, women and children, flowed ankle deep. Nor, hopefully, does McDonald’s “cycle” include the systemic return of priestly pedophilia, homophobia or the church’s well-documented, painful history of anti-Semitism.

Faria’s vision of civilization’s decline is far more alarming. He not only notes the Catholic Church’s decline but, given his view of the church’s “central role” in Western civilization, he foresees civilization itself collapsing. The disturbing dimensions of Faria’s vision reminds one of Hieronymus Bosch, the 15th century Dutch painter, who also predicted civilization’s destruction which he attributed in part to Adam and Eve, depicted in his famous painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights.”

Today’s world must be an extremely stressful time for Faria. His dark vision of the immediate future has become the impetus, I gather, for his definitive typology about which he lectures us as the only “three obvious choices.”

I am accustomed to members of the soft sciences (e.g.: sociology, psychology, political science and economics) regularly coming up with numerous typologies, most of which have little value except perhaps as heuristic tools. Faria’s three choice typology doesn’t even seem useful as a teaching mechanism. Faria’s methodology is to state a single fact. For example, “China’s economic might,” and then intuit from a plethora of spurious correlations, a series of “causal” breakdowns in Western civilization. His ideas may be creative and entertaining to some, but as a prognosticator of future international political events, Faria would be better served by remaining in his own medical field, editing his neurology journal where causal predictions are more easily ascertained.

What is most disturbing about the diatribes of both Faria and McDonald is they contain a lack of contravening facts to Cummings’ statements. Both men simply rely on the pathetic tactic of attempting to tarnish a good man’s reputation, regardless of the factual truth. If Faria and McDonald don’t like the message, then they shoot the messenger.

Faria’s references to Cummings as “gleeful” and “gloating,” and his reference to Cummings as “having the self-satisfaction of being a ‘modern day Voltaire,’” as well as McDonald’s claim that Cummings “is no pontiff” are merely red herrings. They serve as attempted distractions from the focus of the discussion. Both men resort to ridicule and name-calling because they cannot dispute the facts that run contrary to their own wishes.

I know Dr. Cummings very well. I know his entire lovely family. I am proud to say Cummings is a longtime friend. With other mutual friends, we gather regularly to discuss the issues of the day. I often disagree with him, but I continue to have tremendous respect for him. I know from numerous encounters, Cummings is as kind, thoughtful, humble, gentle and vibrant an intellectual force as any one I know. I find the pathetic attempts of Faria and McDonald to suggest otherwise in very poor taste.

In conclusion, I would offer a final observation to each man. To McDonald, who made a point of saying Cummings “is no pontiff,” I would first point out Cummings never claimed such a foolish title. I would also suggest I knew “Father” (now Monsignor) Cuddy. Father Cuddy was a friend of mine; and you, McDonald, are no Father Cuddy. I suggest you stop judging so harshly those with whom you disagree. Learn from your own pontiff, Pope Francis, who earned the world’s affection when he said: “Who am I to judge?” Try to give up your hubris, the arrogant belief you possess the “truth.” We have enough of those people already scattered around the world. Try to practice humbleness. You may even find a few more Catholics returning to the fold.

To Faria I ask: What was the purpose of your snide, gratuitous denigration of spending health-care dollars on octogenarians, noting “such dollars would be better spent on the young”? How generous of you. Are you suggesting Cummings, as an octogenarian, should die because you do not like his factual statements? Or are you generalizing all octogenarians should be denied health-care dollars? If that is the case, then may I ask why you focused only on octogenarians? How about denying health-care dollars to those in their 70s or perhaps even in their 60s? Why waste precious dollars on old people in general?

Admittedly you raise a serious ethical question which merits more dialogue and consideration by society, but I am more interested in knowing whether your flippant comments are a reflection of your Catholic piety, or merely your personal medical viewpoint.

Neil M. Cullinan is a resident of Macon.

 My proposed letter to the editor sent this morning: 
My less than 250 word letter to the editor, all that is allowed by the Telegraph, has engendered a full length, several hundred words op ed  by Neil M. Cullinan printed by the Telegraph. If the Telegraph wishes for me to write a full length editorial that it will then publish, I'll be happy to do so.

What I find interesting in Cullinan's clearly anti-Catholic diatribe and his denigration of both Dr. Miguel Faria and me is that he is doing the exact same thing he accuses us of doing to poor Dr. Cummings but his denigration of us is on steroids replete with self-righteous anger. His anti-Catholic diatribe is simply pathetic.

 I might remind Cullilnan that the worst atrocities committed against humanity occurred in just the last century and revolved around godless, secularist ideologies, that of Nazism and Communism.

 I might also remind Cullinan that each of us has our own gifts and talents and while I might be nothing like Msgr. John Cuddy as we are all uniquely created in the image and likeness of God, I am very much like him with the indelible mark of Holy Orders on our souls and thus we are priestly brothers. I am sorry that he felt necessary to pit brother priests of the same family against each another and unjustly so. Msgr. Cuddy would not be pleased! I know Msgr. Cuddy  as a brother priest, you do not.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald

Pastor

St. Joseph Catholic Church

Macon, GA

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article33866856.html#storylink=cpy

ANOTHER VERY EXCELLENT EDITORIAL IN FRIDAY'S AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, THIS TIME ON ASHLEY MADISON!

Pope Francis says sowing divisions and discord is a sickness within the Church and described a person who indulges in gossip as like a terrorist who throws bombs.

MY COMMENTS FIRST: The libido is a powerful thing and wonderful when used properly within the stability of a loving, self-giving natural marriage of one man and one woman that nurtures family and its life. But its dark side is that it is like a narcotic if not tamed and can become an addiction if not regulated by God and His laws. It leads to concupiscence.

According to St. Augustine, concupiscence is a consequence of original sin. Concupiscence is ardent, usually sensuous, longing or sexual desire; lust. The Catholic definition of concupiscence is broader: Insubordination of man's desires to the dictates of reason, and the propensity of human nature to sin as a result of original sin. More commonly, it refers to the spontaneous movement of the sensitive appetites toward whatever the imagination portrays as pleasant and away from whatever it portrays as painful. However, concupiscence also includes the unruly desires of the will, such as pride, ambition, and envy.

Gossip is never a wonderful thing, even when what is gossiped might be the truth. Gossip is serious matter. Christians, especially Catholics should know that it is serious matter and if they gossip to denigrate even the worst sinner and do so for entertainment or revenge and do so with full consent of the will, it is a mortal sin which needs the Sacrament of Confession.

To add insult to injury, gossip can also become libel and slander. The mortal sin of slander is the spoken word which is used to ruin the reputation of a person, deserved or not. Libel is the same thing but put into writing. Libel happens everyday on the internet and from Facebook pages where in an instant and forever gossip is enshrined and used like a weapon. People are treated as objects of ridicule rather than loved as being created in the image and likeness of God.

The threat of gossip and slander can also lead to blackmail or extortion.

So far, and fortunately, no one is trying to turn the mortal sin of adultery or planning adultery into a virtue as has been done with fornication, of either the homosexual or heterosexual type. And no one is using the court system seeking to mandate through cover of law that adultery  be enshrined in civil law with civil benefits extended to paramours. And post-Christians aren't trying to say that Sacred Scripture was wrong about adultery. That's a good thing, at least so far. In the future, who knows?

From this morning's Augusta Chronicle's Editorial page:

Enough sins to go around

Unseemly Ashley Madison episode covers no one in glory

It’s easy to be unsympathetic to anyone exposed by the Ashley Madison hack.

Those who registered with the adultery service (slogan: “Life is short. Have an affair.”) were either cheating on a spouse, trying to cheat, or, at the very least, conducting “research” on the possibility.

But it is the most devout Christians, who are likely the most offended, who are advised by Jesus against casting the first stone.

And infidelity, except when it intrudes on public life, is largely a matter between the individuals, their spouses and their God.

Publicly shaming the more than 30 million Ashley Madison customers won’t make the rest of us better or more righteous people, nor will it strengthen the bonds of our marriages or interpersonal relationships. What it will do, however, is legitimize the illegitimate conversion of confidential data into fodder for salacious entertainment and mass ridicule.

No doubt, some Ashley Madison customers were people we probably wouldn’t want as a neighbor. 

But many more of them were probably decent people like Georgia Rep. Allen Peake, the Macon Republican who recently confirmed he had an account “several years ago” during “a very difficult period” in his marriage.

“It was stupid and I was an idiot for going on there,” he said in an e-mail to friends and family. “Through tears and heartache, much pain and anguish, and with intense professional counseling, we made the decision to work to save our marriage.”

We have no reason to doubt his contrition, and little room to stand in judgment.

At any rate, having an Ashley Madison account doesn’t prove much. Considering the site required no e-mail address verification, a person could use any name they wanted.

But we doubt that mattered to the hackers, whose stated goal was to get the site to cease operations. To us, that comes across as ham-fisted moralizing from a criminal subset not known for high-minded ethics.

They likely hacked the site for the same reason they released its data: simply because they could.

No one has covered himself with glory in this unseemly episode. The hacking of Ashley Madison was no more permissible, or less criminal, because it involved a cheating service instead of Citibank, Target or Weight Watchers. And anyone trolling for affairs, particularly on the infamously insecure Internet, is playing a foolish and dangerous game.

Do they deserve our disapproval? Perhaps.

Do they need our prayers? Absolutely.

NEWEST PEW SURVEY VINDICATES THOSE WHO HAVE SAID ALL ALONG THAT THE DECLINE IN PRACTICING CATHOICS IS DUE TO A LOSS OF FAITH AFTER VATICAN, THE LOSS OF THE DEPOSIT OF FAITH EPITOMIZED BY WHAT THE ORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS SHOULD SUPPORT BUT DOES NOT

 Former PI has unwittingly proven why Catholics not formed by the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and the complete Deposit of Faith and Morals of the Church have left in high numbers often becoming "nones!" Thank you FORMER PI!

It is clear to those with common sense that the changes in the Church, to include the reordering of the traditional Mass into the new non-traditional Mass because of its new order which isn't traditional, that we have loss Catholics to the nones and other denominations.

At the basis of this is the loss of Catholic Faith in the Magisterium and the Deposit of Faith symbolized by the Mass at its foundation.

Former PI belongs on the other side of the spectrum from those with common sense. He thinks that the changes in the Church symbolized by the changes in the Mass does not account for this loss. He supports his delusional thinking by showing the following new Pew Survey results:

The Pew Research Center actually asked people why they left, and their data indicates that it wasn't "the changes":

Just gradually drifted away 71% (Isn't this a loss of the Deposit of Catholic Faith and identity????)
Stopped believing the teachings 66% (Isn't this a loss of the Deposit of Faith and Identity?????)
Spiritual needs not met 56% (Isn't this a loss in the belief of what the Catholic Mass is and means???)

Unhappy with teaching on:

abortion/homosexuality 56% (Isn't this a loss of Catholic morality and identity????)
birth control 48% (Isn't this a loss of Catholic morality and identity rooted in the Mass????)
treatment of women 39% (Isn't this a loss of Catholic dogma concerning Holy Orders & Mass????)
divorce/remarriage 33% (Isn't this a loss of Catholic morality and identity????)

Dissatisfied with atmosphere at worship 26%  (Isn't this a loss in the belief of what the Mass is????)
Clergy sexual abuse scandal 27%  (Isn't this a lack of spiritual maturity which the OF does not foster???)
Opposed to celibacy for clergy 24% (Isn't this a loss in what the Catholic Mass does and offers to the sinner which the OF Mass doesn't seem to counter???)

Religion drifted too far from traditional practices such as Latin mass 8% (Isn't this a sign that the OF Mass as celebrated doesn't make as obvious the Sacrifice and Real Presence of Christ and the Fear and Awe one has in God's presence?????)

If the other 92% who left did not cite "drifting from tradition" as a cause for their departure, why keep claiming that's the reason they left? (FORMER PI: read what you just said!!!!The 92% who left not only drifted from the Tradition of the Church, her Mass, her Magisterium, her Deposit of Faith, her sacramental life, her morality, her faith and good works, they have chosen to do so in most cases because of Catholicism LITE reflect and symbolized by the manner in which the OF Mass is celebrated and the preaching that comes from it. WAKE UP and SMELL THE COFFEE!!!!)

Read the whole thing HERE!

POPE BENEDICT STILL AS CLEAR AS A BELL IN HIS TEACHINGS: WHAT HE TEACHES YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK (EXCEPT OF COURSE THE VATICAN BANK!)

Pope Benedict still looks good and he looks so much better than Saint Pope John Paul or Blessed Pope Paul VI or even Pope Pius XII did at the end of their papacies. Thus this begs the question, did Pope Benedict resign, not from any external pressures, although surely these were there, but from depression, clinical depression over the state of the Church and in His Holiness' depressed state, felt he had to resign, an internal feeling, but pressure nonetheless.

We all thought he was terminal three years ago. But he looks better now than then! This photo is from a Mass he celebrated this past Sunday, August 30, 2015:

And here is an article on what Pope Benedict said this past weekend, what he taught and with such clarity and without ambiguity:
By Andrea Gagliarducci

Vatican City, Sep 1, 2015 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- When Benedict XVI said Mass on Sunday for the annual meeting of his former students, his homily focused on how God's Word frees us from the forgetfulness of a world that no longer even thinks about God.

“The truth, love, and goodness which come from God render man pure; and truth, love, and goodness are encountered in the Word, which frees us from 'forgetfulness' in a world which no longer thinks of God,” the emeritus Pope said Aug. 30 while saying Mass for the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis at the chapel of the Teutonic Cemetery in the Vatican.

The Ratzinger Schuelerkreis has gathered annually to discuss topics in theology and the life of the Church since 1978, shortly after their mentor was pulled from academia to become a bishop.
Ratzinger participated in the Schuelerkreis until his abdication as Bishop of Rome; since then, he has come only for the concluding day of the meeting to say Mass for the group.

In his homily, which was delivered in German, Benedict recalled that three years ago the group had heard the same passage from the Gospel of Mark which was proclaimed in the Mass, and that Cardinal Christoph Schonborn had asked, “Shouldn’t we be purified from the outside and not only from the inside? Does evil come solely from the inside, or from outside as well?”

Calling it a very interesting question, Benedict replied to it in his homily, saying the answer must draw from the whole of the Gospel.

He asked whether the evil that attacks the Church comes from the world, and suggested: “We could say that we should respond with an exterior hygiene to the many maladies and, at times, epidemics which threaten us.”Such an attitude is necessary, he said, so that death cannot prevail; yet he also maintained that it is insufficient, because the “epidemic of heart” is interior, and it is this interior disease which “leads to corruption and to other dirty things, those that lead man to think only of himself and not of the good.”

“What makes man pure?” Benedict asked. “What is the true strength for purification? How do we reach a cleanness of the heart?”

He then explained that Christ told his followers they are pure because of the word he announced to them, and so it is the truth, love, and goodness of God which make man pure.

“The Word is much more than words, because it is through words that we encounter the Word himself,” Benedict explained. “The Word is Jesus Christ himself, and we encounter the Word in those who reflect him, who show the face of God and who reflect his mildness, his humility of heart, his simplicity, his affection, his sincerity.”

“May the Lord grant us this ‘cleanness of heart’ though the Truth, which comes from God: this is the strength of purification,” Benedict concluded.

The emeritus Pope was speaking to a group of some 70 persons: both the original Schuelerkreis of his former students, and a younger group of scholars who studied his work after he was consecrated a bishop.

This year's theme for discussion at the Schuelerkreis was “speaking about God in the contemporary world.”

Though Benedict was not present at the discussions, he is, in a sense, “always present among us, as we are in his footsteps, and as he always chooses the topic of discussion of our annual gathering,” Fr. Stephan Horn, who organizes the annual meetings, told CNA. He added that the former Bishop of Rome “was very lucid, and spoke for some time with each of us.”

The Schuelerkreis met this year at Castel Gandolfo Aug. 28-29, and was addressed by Msgr. Tomas Halik, a Czech priest and philosopher who has contributed to dialogue with non-believers. The group moved to the Vatican Aug. 30 for the Mass with Benedict.

Msgr. Halik told CNA he was “particularly impressed by the members of the Young Schuelerkreis: in them I saw the spirit of the young Ratzinger.”

In his lectures, Msgr. Halik said that “many say that Christianity is living a decay, while others say that it is completely dead … in my view, we are living the afternoon of Christianity; that is, Christianity is now having a siesta, a little rest.”

Following this afternoon, Msgr. Halik believes there will be a new day: recounting the traditional understanding of the day as beginning in the evening, he said that the stars which appear while Vespers are said “are the beginning of a new day; so, there will be a new day for Christianity.”
He added that many non-believers “are in fact seekers, and the Church’s task is now that of accompanying these seekers.”

The priest's understanding was shared by the Schuelerkreis. Fr. Horn recounted that the group considered the crisis of current society, but found that there are reasons for optimism even within the crisis.

Following the Mass with Benedict, there was a ceremony to inaugurate the Pope Benedict Hall. It was announced that the Teutonic College will in November open a library dedicated to the former Roman Pontiff, cared for by the Ratzinger Foundation.

PRAYTELL'S POST ON THE PAINFUL LITURGIES OF POPE FRANCIS! AND KUDOS TO CHARLES CULBRETH'S STROKE OF GENIUS IN POSTING SOMETHING ON PRAYTELL THAT THEY HAVE NOT COMMUNICATED IN THEIR BLOG!

Praytell, which has become very, very boring and with few comments on its boring posts (most commenters that provoked interesting comments are now banned including yours truly) has an interesting post on "The Painful Liturgies of Pope Francis." You can read the whole thing there.

Here's an excerpt:

The painfulness of the Holy Father’s liturgies, I think, arises not from the character or celebration of the Mass itself, but from the clear lack of affection that Pope Francis maintains for the finer points of liturgical precision and splendor. It goes without saying that each of the pope’s Masses has been valid, undeniably reverent, and probably more visibly beautiful than all but a handful of Masses throughout the world. There is noticeably absent, however, the positive liturgical zeal of Benedict—that which many already (wrongly) construe as a negative and destructive force in itself.

These are the comments so far and very, very few, but Charles Culbreth's is precious and hits them between the eyes (be sure to hit the link he posts!). I print these now before his is deleted by the Praytell censor gestapo:

LET'S SAY A TIME TRAVELING CATHOLIC FROM THE 1950'S WENT TO THE 1970'S AND THEN THE 2000'S TO EXPERIENCE MASS, WHAT WOULD HE THINK?

Let's say a time traveling  well-formed Catholic in all aspects of Catholic life, embracing his faith as an adult, but fully immersed in the Mass celebrated this way from the 1950's point of his origin:

But then his time travels brought him to the 1970's and a Mass like this:

And then he went forward to the 2000's and experienced the Mass like this:

And then after his experiences of the Mass in most places in the USA in 2015, he reads the following which he had never read before:

"In order that the Christian people may more certainly derive an abundance of graces from the sacred liturgy, holy Mother Church desires to undertake with great care a general restoration of the liturgy itself. For the liturgy is made up of immutable elements divinely instituted, and of elements subject to change. These not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they have suffered from the intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the liturgy or have become unsuited to it." (SC 21)

To which two Masses pictured above and the whole host of other Masses he experienced from 1970 forward would he think this paragraph refers if he did not know the date of the writing of the paragraph?

SUCH A SHAME FOR A RURAL CATHOLIC COMMUNITY WHICH HAS SUCH A PRETTY CHURCH BUILDING--HOPE THEY GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER THROUGH PRAYER AND RECONCILIATION!

This is hot off the press from The Dodge County News!

Eastman Catholic church is shut down

Posted by

Tuesday, September 1. 2015

By Taelor Rye

A press release from Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah published on August 22 announced the immediate closing of the Saint Mark Parish in Eastman and the Holy Redeemer Parish in McRae.

Saint Mark and Holy Redeemer, parishes within the Macon Deanery, serve 36 and 33 households, respectively, according to Father Allan J. McDonald of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Macon.

As stated by Diocese of Savannah Director of Communications Barbara D. King, there are no current plans to reopen either parish.

According to Hartmayer’s release, the reason for the closings is the resignation of Father Daniel Oghenerukevwe, MSP. Hartmayer attributes Oghenerukevwe’s resignation “in part, because of internal conflicts and discord that has existed in the communities in recent years.”

Hartmayer continued, “This is a serious and unfortunate situation that has not been able to be resolved.”

McDonald said, “Hopefully and with the grace of God things can be reconciled in the two communities. Closing two rural parishes is very rare in the Catholic Church so this should send a message to these communities to pray and reconcile with the Church and her pastors.”

While succession (determining who will be the next priest for the two churches) may be the preferred option, especially for the parishioners who must now travel to other parishes for worship, because of “a priest shortage there is no priest available for pastoral care at the two parishes,” according to Hartmayer.

The closest parishes to the area include those in Dublin, Kathleen, Vidalia, Hazlehurst, Douglas, Fitzgerald and Cordele.

In addition to his announcement of the closings, Hartmayer wrote, “I strongly recommend the entire communities at St. Mark and Holy Redeemer bring this matter to prayer and reflection so that a suitable solution may be found to remedy this difficult issue.”

King echoed, “The bishop is waiting on people to pray about the situation and hoping for it to be resolved soon.”

THIS COULD BE ANYWHERE, USA, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT IS EVERYWHERE, USA!

This is an actual letter over a befuddled and depressed Catholic who can't find a parish that is, well, normal and with traditional elements. This could be anywhere in the USA. Unfortunately, it is Everywhere, USA. I've deleted names and places to protect the innocent and guilty.

But really, this is sad for the person and it isn't helping her Faith to grow but hindering it. This reminds me of what the bishops of the USA once said about the Liturgy: Good liturgy builds up the faith; poor celebrations can weaken or destroy the faith (or something like that):

I am really struggling to find a church here (Anywhere, USA, but Macon). The churches are all relatively modern and so they feel very institutional, with cement and tile, lots of gray, not a lot of statues, and they tend to be "in the round."  Almost none of them have the tabernacle in the worship space.  One of them was just beyond terrible!  It had the congregation facing EACH OTHER on opposite sides of the aisle, with the altar sort of jutting out from one end with the chorus behind the altar!!  I couldn't believe it.  Their tabernacle was in a completely separate part of the church, so they have to carry the host out of the sanctuary and through two rooms. 

There are almost no nurseries, so parents pay no attention to Mass, sometimes having loud, unrelated conversations with their children or friends.  There is a constant flow of people in and out of Mass with kids.  The churches frequently do not have crucifixes (a couple just have crosses, some have nothing but the cross which comes in with the Priest during the procession, some have what I call "Happy Jesus" which is a cross with an ascending Jesus on it), people participating in the Mass wear shorts or jeans, most people do not genuflects, the music is all "modern" and people applaud for it, like we're at a concert, and the altars do not contain the small crucifixes I'm used to.  It was my understanding that, post Vatican II, when the priests decided they could face the congregation, they basically abandoned high altars and made the table altars.  But I thought that they still had to have some sort of crucifix or something that faced the priest? Oh, and they all do that “raise your hand to pray over someone” thing.  Not my style.

I am really struggling to feel like Mass is “real.” I even went to the Cathedral for Mass with the Bishop, but it was no better.  They had a “Happy Jesus” and the lector wore jeans.  I understand that some of this is education, but I’m just feeling very hopeless.  There’s a large Catholic population here and many churches (somewhere around 20 in the area) so I thought it was going to be easy to find ONE that suited us.

I’ve tried reading the Catechism to alleviate my worries, but I can’t find the specific answers I’m looking for.  How can a Catholic Church have no crucifix?  No visible Mary statue?  What about the smaller crucifix on the altar?  Sorry to bother, but I truly feel like I am losing my faith out here.  I miss St. Fill in the Blank more than I could have ever imagined.  People in You Name the State do not understand how blessed they are to have three great churches in You Name the Town alone, and the beauty and pure joy of St. You Name the Saint.  You truly feel the presence of God when you walked into those doors and it lifted the entire Mass.  Here, I feel like we could be anywhere and it would be the same.  That’s not the way a sanctuary should feel.

My final comment: Please pray for this wandering Catholic in the liturgical desert which could be Anywhere, USA and worse yet, Everywhere, USA (except Macon of course!).

BE AFRAID! VERY AFRAID! MACON IS ALREADY DEVASTATED:COMING YOUR WAY IN 2016!

The movie trailer, much of the movie filmed here in Macon. I was so afraid!

Actual photos from the set here in Macon during filming:

THE TRADITIONALISM OF POPE FRANCIS AND EVEN THE PROGRESSIVES WHO AT ONE TIME WOULD HAVE SCOFFED AT SUCH STUFF SEEM TO EMBRACE IT!

Francis has made it clear that the Jubilee of Mercy will be a time for confession

When I was in the seminary in the 1970's, Confession was denigrated by many people to include faculty members. What they wanted was general absolution rather than auricular confession and general absolution was being touted as the way to go. The very progressive Bishop of Memphis at the time (can't remember his name, he was a big man in girth) held a Penance service in a stadium in Memphis which was jammed with Catholics where general absolution was promoted. It was a success as everyone their got absolution, general absolution but without confession! Eventually,  under Pope Paul VI, the Vatican stepped in to stop it. You can only imagine the howls over this in the seminary!

Then indulgences. Well, we were taught that Martin Luther was right and Catholics wrong and good riddance! Enough said!

And Confession before Mass and Holy Communion. Hell no!  Children received their First Communion in Second Grade and First Confession in 4th grade to make clear that there was no relationship between the two! In other words, no need for Confession prior to Mass and receiving Holy Communion!

Well, read what the Catholic Herald has to say about Pope Francis' Jubilee Year of Mercy. There is no promotion whatsoever of General Absolution! None, nadda, nothing! And Confession prior to Mass is encouraged. Indulgences are encouraged. It is all very Jesuit  and traditional! And the progressives, the Holy Father has won them over--no complaints or snickering as in the 1970's from them whose souls actually were most in danger!! Here is the article from Great Britain's Catholic Herald:

What is immediately interesting about the Pope's letter ahead of the Year of Mercy is the old-fashioned nature of his concerns

 

The Pope has let us know some more details about the forthcoming Jubilee of Mercy, which is due to start on the feast of the Immaculate Conception this year, in a letter he has written to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who is in charge of the Council for the New Evangelisation, which is dealing with the running of the Jubilee. The text of the Papal letter can be found here.

What is immediately interesting about the letter is the old-fashioned nature of the Pope’s concerns.

Most of the letter is about the Jubilee Indulgence, and going to confession, and the faculties he is granting to priests of the Society of Pius X to grant absolution. All of this is very cheering, though I imagine a few Catholics, and many non-Catholics, will wonder and scratch their heads.

First of all, the Pope makes it absolutely clear that the Jubilee of Mercy is a time to go to confession. He says: “It is important that this moment be linked, first and foremost, to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with a reflection on mercy.” Mass, preceded by confession, is the order of the day.

The going through the holy door is merely a way of limbering oneself up for confession. So let us hope that his Jubilee Year does what is hoped of it, and brings people back to confession, especially those who have not been for years.

The second thing is indulgences, which can be applied to the living and the dead – a welcome reminder of the comforting doctrine of Purgatory. Indulgences are not fashionable in certain circles, but we should remember that the Jubilee itself is rooted on the Old and New Testaments, as is the concept of Indulgence. It is clear that Our Lord was the first to give “indulgence” to sinners – consider the case of the Good Thief, who is promised paradise that very day with Jesus. This is in keeping with the generosity to the land and to people that is laid down in the twenty-fifth chapter of Leviticus. Indulgences are the canonical form of this divine generosity. The person who neglects to obtain an indulgence for the living or the dead during this Jubilee of Mercy will be missing out on the opportunity of lifetime.

The third thing is the question of faculties. Most laity may not realise this, but priests who hear confessions do so with the permission of the bishop which is granted if the priest is found suitable after examination, and which is removed when the priest is no longer in good standing. The priests of the Society of St Pius X do not have faculties granted them by the local bishop (I assume because they have not asked them, and also because their ordinations, though valid, are illicit). The Pope, by this letter, grants them faculties, so that laity who confess to them may receive valid and licit absolution and thus take part in the Jubilee. Moreover, he goes on to say that he hopes that a permanent reconciliation with the Society may soon be possible. This represents a genuine overture to the Society and we can only hope that they respond in kind.

A Jubilee is a time to brush up on one’s Catholicism, and this letter from the Pope may come as a bit of a surprise to some – in which case, brush up on your Purgatory, your Indulgences, your theology of the Church and of Grace, and your Canon Law. And find out where your nearest church is where you can obtain the indulgence.

by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith

posted Tuesday, 1 Sep 2015, The Catholic Herald

MAY A PERSON BORN AS A MALE OR A FEMALE, THEN WHO CLAIMS THEY ARE NOW THE OPPOSITE SEX BE ALLOWED TO BE A GODPARENT FOR BAPTISM OR CONFIRMATION?

There is a definitive ruling from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concerning a brouhaha over this question in Spain. This is what Rorate Caeli is reporting:

Important - Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responds: Transsexual cannot be Godparent

The Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta, Spain, Bp. Rafael Zornoza, was the object of intense media persecution in his country after he refused the request of a lady (now claiming to be a "man") from being the "godfather". In early August, it seemed that he had caved in. As Breitbart reported on August 8, "A Spanish bishop has caved in to pressure and allowed a transsexual man to become a godfather. The Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta will now allow Alex Salinas, who was born a woman, to become godfather to his nephew, his local parish priest has said."

Alas, thankfully, that was not exactly the case. Today, the Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta published a long communiqué, which includes this central excerpt (first translation in English of the relevant CDF response):

[Bishop:]... Considering the disorientation caused among some of the faithful by some words having been attributed to me that I had not pronounced, and due to the complexity and media relevance of this subject, taking into consideration the possible pastoral consequences of any decision regarding it, I raised up a formal consultation before the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose response was:

[CDF:]"Regarding this particular [issue], I inform you of the impossibility that it be admitted. The transsexual behavior itself reveals, in a public manner, an attitude that is opposed to the moral demand of resolving one's own problem of sexual identity according to the truth of one's own sex. Therefore, it is evident that this person does not possess the requisite of leading a life according to the faith and to the position of godfather (CIC [Code of Canon Law] Can 874 §3), not being able, therefore, of being admitted to the position either of godmother or of godfather. Discrimination is not to be seen in this, but only a recognition of an objective lack of the requisites that by their own nature are necessary to take over the ecclesial responsibility of being a godparent."

...

[Bishop:] For these reasons, it has been made known to the interested parties that their request cannot be accepted.

The Church welcomes all persons charitably, wanting to help each one in his position with sentiments of mercy, but without denying the truth that she preaches, that she proposes to all as a path a faith to be freely embraced.

[Source: Diócesis de Cádiz y Ceuta, in Spanish]

My Comment: Certainly as controversial as this decision would be today (and that itself tells you how our world and Church are devolving) one can deduce that Pope Francis was consulted, especially as we enter the year of mercy where the pope is making very clear what sin is and isn't and striving mightily to revive the practice of Confession. To do so, His Holiness must make clear what it is that a penitent must bring to confession--his mortal sins, all of them, and his venial sins if he so chooses.  The pope cannot revive the practice of Confession without reviving the awareness of what sin is and our culpably. 

The Church welcomes all persons, sinners and saint, although most of us are in the category of the former. How can we experience conversion and a change of direction when mortal sin has entered our lives if we call sin good, which in a sense is the mortal sin and unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is calling something that is evil, disordered and sinful, good. If one believes it is good and attributes it to God there is no repentance and no asking for forgiveness and thus no mercy or forgiveness--it is unforgivable under this circumstance!

SILLY DIVISIVE CATHOLICS WHO ARE ANTI-POPE FRANCIS NEED TO CUT HIM SOME SLACK AND RESPECT HIM AND HIS OFFICE, IN OTHER WORDS THEY NEED TO BE CATHOLIC

THE POPE HAS NEVER USED A COMPUTER OR A CELL PHONE. THE FULL LENGTH INTERVIEW WILL BE SEEN ON 20/20 ON ABC ON FRIDAY:

ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos

BOMBSHELL: POPE FRANCIS WANTS FULL COMMUNION WITH FSSPX AND GRANTS THEM THE AUTHORITY TO HEAR CONFESSIONS AND ABSOLVE SINS!

"A final consideration concerns those faithful who for various reasons choose to attend churches officiated by priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X. This Jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one. From various quarters, several Brother Bishops have told me of their good faith and sacramental practice, combined however with an uneasy situation from the pastoral standpoint. I trust that in the near future solutions may be found to recover full communion with the priests and superiors of the Fraternity. In the meantime, motivated by the need to respond to the good of these faithful, through my own disposition, I establish that those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins."

REPENTANCE RATHER THAN PROMOTING AN AGENDA OPPOSED BY GOD AND HIS CHURCH

Around the world  people who have registered at the adultery website Ashley Madison have been outed since it was hacked for nefarious reasons. Some are relishing the fact that this has happened. Revenge seems to be a motive.

Our state representative has been outed too. It appeared in the Macon Telegraph. This is his response:

“I’m deeply, incredibly sorry to the people I’ve hurt,”  “I was a complete idiot to go there in the first place.”

(The representative) went through “a very difficult period in my marriage” several years ago. About two and a half years ago, he said he told his wife, “about every detail of my involvement” on the website.
“Through tears and heartache, much pain and anguish, and with intense professional counseling, we made the decision to work to save our marriage. Her powerful and merciful gift of forgiveness helped us make it through some very dark and lonely days,” it read in part.

“This was a private matter that we thought we had resolved,” 

“I fully realize I have disappointed many people,” “There is no excuse or justification, what I did was wrong, and I am truly, deeply sorry to all those I have clearly hurt.”

MY COMMENTS: I suspect what you read above is true repentance. In no way is the state representative trying to change the Church, the bible, or the fidelity that husbands and wives owe one another. He is not in our faces saying his moral choices or immoral choices shouldn't be judged. He has sinned and acknowledged it. He isn't asking his colleagues or his constituents to accept his adultery as a legitimate way of life to be sanctioned even by churches. No one is giving him a party for trying to push the envelope in getting people to accept adultery and he doesn't expect a party or to be treated as a hero pushing forward an agenda.

He's acknowledged his wrong; he doesn't have a social agenda to make adultery acceptable; and he is going to make amends and already had done so with his wife.

The way of repentance and a desire to avoid the sin in the future is the way to go in the world and in the Church. In your face attitudes about adultery or any other immorality as having to be accepted because this is how a person is born or the way society is going is simply ridiculous.

Pray for people caught up in all of this and pray for the conversion of the USA and the world! Kudos to our state representative for his frankness and repentance!

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/article32897085.html#storylink=cpy

POPE FRANCIS, THE WHO AM I TO JUDGE POPE, JUDGES AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN

(And it ain't just for those who strictly follow the law externally but their hearts are far from the Lord!)

On Sunday, Pope Francis at the Angelus had some off-the-cuff remarks about Catholics who appear to do everything right as Catholics, go to Sunday Mass, Holy Days of Obligation, observe the fasts and abstinence, pray devotions and seem well versed in the faith, but there is a disconnect with their everyday lives.

They gossip, cheat on their spouses, fail to repent, don't honor their commitments, swindle their friends, cuss, cheat and steal. I suspect they don't go to confession frequently about these things, but I could be wrong.

I suspect too, the Holy Father may have had in mind the elaborate funeral given to a mafia don in Rome last week. How does a public sinner like that get such a wonderful send-off by Catholics who should know better but loved the don?

What do you think Pope Francis had in mind in his off the cuff remarks reported by the Vatican Insider:

Pope Francis has strongly criticized Catholics who brag that they are perfect followers of the church's teachings but then criticize or speak ill of others in their faith communities, saying they cause scandal and even offer a "counter-witness" to Jesus.(I have to admit that I've never heard of a Catholic in any parish I've been brag they are perfect followers of Christ, never! Have you? Certainly, though, I have heard and seen practicing Catholics cause scandal and offer a counter-witness to the faith, think Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and other pro-choice politicians who are also pro-gay marriage and proudly receive Holy Communion thinking they are perfect?)

"We all know in our communities, in our parishes, in our neighborhoods how much hurt they do the church, and give scandal, those persons that call themselves 'Very Catholic,'" the pontiff said Sunday.(Again, the only ones I know who fit this are politicians and public persons who claim to be Catholics in good standing and yet do not live the faith but make sure to have a photo op receiving Holy Communion from the pope or bishop or anyone else for that matter. Keep in mind that Pope Francis does not distribute Holy Communion to the laity because he said in Argentina people were looking for a photo-op receiving from high church officials, corrupt Catholic politicians in particular).

"They go often to church, but after, in their daily life, ignore the family, speak ill of others, and so on," he continued. "This is that which Jesus condemns because this is a Christian 'counter-witness.'" (there is nothing new about this.)

Francis was speaking Sunday in an off-the-cuff moment during his weekly Angelus address in St. Peter's Square, which focused on one of Jesus' teachings about the role of the proscribed laws of the faith of his time.

The Gospel for the day, taken from Mark, sees Jesus questioned by Pharisees about why his disciples did not follow Jewish law regarding the cleansing of hands before eating. Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites, quoting the prophet Isaiah and saying they honor God with their lips but not their hearts.

Jesus' response to the Pharisees, Francis said Sunday, "has the force of a prophetic pronouncement."

"They are words that might fill us with admiration for our teacher," said the pope. "We feel that in him there is the truth and that his wisdom liberates us from prejudices."

But then the pontiff sharply warned that Jesus words apply also to Christians today.

"Caution!" Francis exhorted the crowds in the Square. "With these words, Jesus also wants to put us, today, on guard against considering that the exterior observance of the law may be sufficient to be good Christians."

"As it was for the Pharisees, there also exists for us the danger of considering our place as better than others for the only fact of observing the rules or customs, even if we do not love our neighbor, [even if] we are hard of heart or prideful," said the pontiff.(It isn't just those who strictly follow the rules, though, that do this! And certainly we cannot paint with a broad brush all people who strictly follow the rules as being hypocritical as many also do the right thing in their lives too! )

"The literal observance of the precepts is something sterile if it does not change the heart and is not translated into concrete attitudes," he said, giving examples: "Opening yourself to the encounter with God and God's word in prayer, searching for justice and peace, giving help to the poor, the weak and the oppressed." (Those who break the rules, like priests who don't follow the rubrics and do things their way rather than obedient to what the Church requires can have very corrupt lives too and in fact the breaking of small rules may be an indication of other moral disorders, so it works both ways!)

Exterior attitudes, Francis said, are determined by what's in our hearts.

"The exterior attitudes are the consequence of what we have determined in the heart," said the pope. "Not the opposite! With outside attitudes, if the heart does not change we are not true Christians."

"The border between good and evil doesn't pass outside of us but rather inside of us," the pontiff continued. "And we can ask ourselves: Where is my heart?"

"Jesus said your treasure is that where your heart is," said Francis. "Which is my treasure? Is it Jesus and his doctrine? Then the heart is good. Or is your treasure another thing?"

Beginning the Angelus prayer, the pope said they would ask Sunday that the Lord grant those present "a pure heart, free of every hypocrisy."

"This is [what] Jesus says to the Pharisees: Hypocrites," said Francis. "Because they say something and then do another."
  
[Joshua J. McElwee is Vatican Correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.]

THIS DOESN'T PASS THE SMELL TEST, BUT MUCH ON THE HUFFINGTON POST DOESN'T WHEN IT COMES TO CATHOLICISM

The article below may well be true of the Diocese of Rome where Pope Francis is its chief shepherd. However, bishops all over the world have the discretion to allow ordinary confessors in every parish to absolve a woman who has had an abortion or any accomplices in assisting her, even those who perform them and now for decades!

If I am not mistaken, and former PI can correct me, we've had it in the Diocese of Savannah for decades. Ever since I've been ordained in 1980 we were permitted to offer absolution. I think public excommunications for any thing is a different matter of course. Only the bishop can lift that.

Pope Francis To Allow Priests To Forgive Women Who Had Abortions

Posted: 09/01/2015 06:57 AM EDT | Edited: 4 minutes ago

VINCENZO PINTO via Getty Images

Pope Francis will give all priests discretion to formally forgive women who have had abortions and seek absolution during the Roman Catholic Church's upcoming Holy Year, in the Argentine pontiff's latest move towards a more open and inclusive church.
by the Vatican on Tuesday, Francis described the "existential and moral ordeal" faced by women who have terminated pregnancies and said he had "met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision."
In church teaching, abortion is such a grave sin that those who procure or perform it incur an automatic excommunication.
It can usually only be formally forgiven by the chief confessor of a diocese -- known by the Italian term "penitenziere" -- or a Christian missionary, Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said.

CONTRAST THIS VIDEO FROM POLAND WITH THE ONE FROM SAINT MONICA'S CHURCH IN SANTA MONICA CALIFORNIA

Recently there was a conference in Poland attended by Bishop Schneider of Kazakhstan on the art of celebrating the EF Mass. To his credit, (I am no fan of the cappa magna) His Excellency doesn't wear it but simply his bishop's choir dress prior to the Solemn Mass.

I am no fan either of the truncated fiddle back chasuble, although I have three in our sacristy which I have worn for the EF Mass. I much prefer the fuller version of it that Pope Benedict often wore, but I truly prefer the Gothic style the best.

The only other concern that I have about liturgy geeks is that one wonders if that is their only interest in Catholicism. What about good works on the corporate level where the EF Mass is the predominant Mass in a parish? Is there concern for the Church's social teachings and putting these into practice? Others who are in parishes of this nature need to chime in to the discussion about this. To focus exclusively on worship without good works (I'm not just speaking about individuals, but how the parish and diocese carried this out) would be a corruption of Catholicism.

This is a very nice video and contrasted to the Liturgy in Saint Monica's in the post below this one, it is nice to see and gives the proper ethos of the Mass and the reverence due the Mass, meaning the real presence of Christ: