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Tuesday 11 September 2012

To Tyburn

I shall be in the Tyburn monastery for three months for a trial period as to whether I have a vocation to the Benedictines. I humbly ask your prayers. Of course, I am excited, nervous and very humbled by the opportunity. I shall leave within 14 days.

I ask for your prayers. I shall know if I can continue the blog most likely by Thursday. Keep reading. I shall share more details within the next two weeks.

Here is their website. http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/index2.html

Supertradmum

By Popular Demand


And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Revelation 12:9 DR



Satan is a deceiver. He will take truths and twist them into half-truths. He feeds some people false hope about salvation, especially those who have loved ones, family members who are far from God. There is only one way to be saved and that is accept Christ and His Church. The merits of the Catholic Church save some who are outside but we cannot say who. Christ created the Church to give us sanctifying grace through the sacramental life of the Church. There is no other way to get sanctifying grace. God is merciful, but in the economy of salvation, He sent His Son into the world to create the one, true Church. This is part of our creed. If we depart willingly from the Creed, we may lose our own salvation. Do not depart from the graces you have been given through the Church. I repeat the Creed here for you.

Thanks to Wiki for Icon 


I believe in one God, 
the Father almighty, 
maker of heaven and earth, 
of all things visible and invisible. 
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Only Begotten Son of God, 
born of the Father before all ages. 
God from God, Light from Light,  
true God from true God, 
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; 
through him all things were made. 
For us men and for our salvation 
he came down from heaven, 
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, 
and became man. 
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,   
and rose again on the third day 
in accordance with the Scriptures. 
He ascended into heaven  
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 
He will come again in glory 
to judge the living and the dead 
and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, 
who proceeds from the Father and the Son, 
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, 
who has spoken through the prophets.  
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. 
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins 
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead 
and the life of the world to come. Amen




Here is an incomplete list of some of the errors I found on "The Warning" website. This is a short list. I find the messages have become more Catholic and less Protestant. I wonder if this is because so many Catholics are falling for this false seer. All of the points may be found either in the CCC or in the larger archive of documents which makes up the Teaching Magisterium of the Church.

1) There is no additional Revelation after the Book of Revelation. This has been decided by the Church in several councils and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Anything or anyone claiming to be or put forward a doctrine or a new revelation is false.


2) The Seven Sacraments of the Church alone provide us with sanctifying grace, and, as in the Sacrament of Confession, that is the only way in which sins can be forgiven and absolution received. I shall repeat this error which is said over and over in the messages.


3) The Church teaches that sins are only purified through purgatory, or purgatory on earth (something which only a spiritual advisor can decide with a person). There is no other way to be purified except through the obedience to the Church and the sacramental life of the Church. Sanctifying grace is necessary for purification.


4) Protestants believe that forgiveness of sins and purification happen directly with Christ. Catholics believe in the sacraments.


5) The Last Judgement happens at the Second Coming. At the Second Coming is the end of the world. There is no Kingdom of God on earth after the Second Coming. This was clarified as early as the 12th century in the Catholic Church.


6) Christ does not give plenary indulgences, the Church does. Through the bishops and the Pope, indulgences are granted. A vision in which Christ is supposedly giving a plenary indulgence or any indulgence would be false and undermining the hierarchy of the Church. Only the Church can approve indulgences


7) The is no such thing as a "seal of protection". We receive as Catholics a permanent seal in the Sacrament of Confirmation-here is John Harden on the subject: "To establish or determine irrevocably, in the sacrament of confirmation, when a bishop anoints a person with chrism and says, "[Name], be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." Thus, by confirmation a baptized Christian becomes permanently marked as a witness of Christ and is enabled to preserve, profess, and communicate the faith even (if need be) with the price of his blood."


This idea of a separate seal undermines the Church's teaching on the sacraments and the authority of the bishops.


8) The only titles we can call Mary and Jesus are those approved by the Church. We cannot make up names for them.




9) The Word of God is the Scriptures only and Christ Himself only, the Word of God made Flesh. Nothing or no one else may be called the Word of God.

10) The Church states through the Fathers and many commentaries on the Book of Revelation that the seven seals have already been opened in the time of the Romans and although there will be times of trial and tribulations, we cannot apply new revelation to those times. There is, as seen in the first point, no new revelation. The Fathers of the Church are clear on these points.


11) As I read, on the site, Christ said that faith alone secures salvation. No, that is the Protestant idea of sola fide, faith only, held by Luther and others and condemned in the Council of Trent. Salvation though the Passion and Death of Christ is only through the merits of the Catholic Church, through deeds, the sacraments and not merely faith.


12) The Catholic Church is said to be going to cause discord. NO. The Church never does, but the enemies of the Church within may do so. Also, one cannot say that the next Pope will be a false pope as claimed on the site.  God is in charge of the election of popes through the Holy Spirit, and although we have had false popes, there has been clarity after the elections on this, not before.




13) The website commentary has moved from Lutheran theology to more of a Catholic perspective in the last few months, indicating contradictions and a pandering to the number of Catholics reading and supporting the site.


14) Mary will not crush Satan in the future, but has done it already in the Incarnation of Christ, Who through His Passion, Death and Resurrection has already crushed Satan. This is the teaching of the Catholic Church in the Creed.


15) The Catholic Church ALONE has the fullness of the Holy Spirit through Whom the Church interpret the Scriptures. The Church has condemned private interpretation of the Bible. All the Books of the Bible, the Canon and the Tradition of the Church is true and none other has the fullness of Truth. Catholic believe in Tradition, Protestants do not which is why they threw out sacramental theology, the doctrines concerning the Church, Our Lady and the Nature of the Person of Christ.


16) Christ DID NOT say that all creeds would be united in Him in the Church. There is only one Creed, which is true, that of the Catholic Church. All others are false, incomplete and man-made and therefore will pass away.


17) Absolution is only given in Confession, not when you repent. That is a Protestant idea skipping the sacrament. Only the priest can absolve sins.


18) Christ tells the see His messages are confusing. NO. Christ is never confusing and His message is the Gospel, which is clearly taught through the Catholic Church.


19) One cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit outside the sacramental life of the Church. There is no such thing as the coming of the Holy Spirit outside of Baptism and Confirmation. Protestants separate the filling of the Spirit from the sacraments. Those who receive baptism and confirmation  receive the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit, which can be stunted through sin and unrepentance.


20) Christ would not give total absolution through prayers as stated on the site. This is a serious error, again undermining sacramental theology, the role of the priest as absolver and the authority of the apostolic Church.  Rome, through special indulgences, such as that of the Divine Mercy indulgence, proclaimed by the Pope alone determines such graces. 


21) Love is in the will and not in the feelings, as is stated on the site. Christ does not say "feel my love" but accept my love when He talks to the saints, as love is an act of the will. Frequently, the saints did NOT feel the love of God, even for years and years. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was one. Feelings are deceptive.


22) None of the prayers on the site has an nihil obstat or permission from a bishop.




23) Christ or Mary would never say accept my "churches" plural. There is only one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. There is only one Church instituted by Christ and that is the Catholic Church. 

A German View on Our Debt in the States

http://www.cnbc.com/id/48982485

On private revelations in general

I had a very long talk with a friend whose family is involved in meeting with and promoting a false seer.


I tried to point out the many doctrinal errors of her argument, but she is closed. She is also disobedient to Rome in following this particular person I have highlighted on this blog more than once.

The Church has stated that the seer's teachings are not revelations, but personal meditations.

Here are the problems not being addressed:

1) if Rome has made a statement about a visionary or seer, we must take that stand seriously;

2) if Rome states that one should not attend prayer meetings or talks given by a person, we must obey, even if we disagree or do not understand;;

3) our own judgements are not infallible and we must rely on authority;

4) even if a bishop or cardinal is "liberal", when they make publish either guidelines or prohibitions, we are under obedience to follow those; the Holy Spirit protects the Church;

5) we sin in pride for not being humble when being corrected by the Church and may even be in serious sin;

6) if our brothers and sisters in Christ try and show us the Truth and we are closed, we are in serious danger of losing our communion with the Church; if one follows a heretic, one becomes a heretic;

7) we should be studying the teachings of the Church and not the teachings of seers.

8) if there is a conflict between what a visionary states and what the Church states, you must follow the Church.

9) to go to meetings, conferences, and prayer groups under these false seer's direction becomes a temptation to disobedience and pride.

I pray for my friends. May their eyes be opened.

Good on ya, Andy Murray

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tennis--andy-murray-ends-british-drought-with-epic-u-s--open-win.html

With all the news, do not forget this moment for Britain. Murray wins a grand slam!

Figures for an Apocalypse by Thomas Merton



As a foreigner in a foreign land, I shall not be able to talk about 9-11 as I would want to do today. But, I was in Canada on 9-11. Father Z has part of Thomas Merton's poem on his blog. Check out this site for a great medieval window as well. Here is the entire poem:


Figures for an Apocalypse


VI: In the Ruins of New York

The moon is paler than an actress
We have beheld her mourning in the brown ivy
Of the dendric bridges,
In the brown, broken ivy
That loves but a span of air.

The moon is paler than an actress, and weeps for you, New York,
Seeking to see you through the tattered bridges,
Leaning down to catch the sham brass
Of your sophisticated voice,
Whose songs are heard no more!

Oh how quiet it is after the black night
When flames out of the clouds burned down your cariated teeth,
And when those lightnings,
Lancing the black boils of Harlem and the Bronx,
Spilled the remaining prisoners,
(The ten and twenties of the living)
Into the trees of Jersey,
To the green farms, to find their liberty.

How are they down, how have they fallen down
Those great strong towers of ice and steel.
And melted by what terror and what miracle?
What fires and lights tore down,
With the white anger of their sudden accusation,
Those towers of silver and of steel?

You whose streets grew up on trellises
With roots in Bowling Green and tap-roots in the Upper Bay:
How are you stripped, now to your skeleton:
What has become of your lie and dead flesh:
Where is the shimmer of your bawdy leaves?
Oh, where your children in the evening of your final Sunday
Gunned after one another in the shadows of the Paramount,
The ashes of the leveled towers still curl with tufts of smoke
Veiling your obsequies in their incinerating haze
They write, in embers, this your epitaph:

”This was a city
That dressed herself in paper money.
She lived four hundred years
With nickels running in her veins.
She loved the waters of the seven purple seas,
And burned on her own green harbor
Higher and whiter than ever any Tyre.
She was as callous as a taxi;
Her high-heeled eyes were sometimes blue as gin,
And she nailed them, all the days of her life,
Through the hearts of her six million poor.
Now she has died in the terrors of a sudden contemplation
Drowned in the waters of her own, her poisoned well.”

Can we console you, stars,
For the so long survival of such wickedness?
Tomorrow and the day after
Grasses and flowers will grow
Upon the bosom of Manhattan.
And soon the branches of the hickory and sycamore
Will wave where all those dirty windows were--
Ivy and the wild-grape vine
Will tear those weak walls down,
Burying the brownstone fronts in freshness and fragrant flowers;
And the wild-rose and the crab-apple tree
Will bloom in all those silent mid-town dells.
There shall be doves’ nests, and hives of bees
In the cliffs of the ancient apartments,
And birds shall sing in the sunny hawthorns
Where was once Park Avenue.
And where Grand Central was, shall be a little hill
Clustered with sweet, dark pine.

Will there be some farmer, think you,
Clearing a place in the woods,
Planting an acre of bannering corn
On the heights above Harlem forest?
Will hunters come explore
The virgin glades of Broadway for the lynx and deer?
Or will some hermit, hiding in the birches, build himself a cell
With ths stones of the city hall,
When all the caved-in subways turn to streams
And creeks of fish,
Flowing in sun and silence to the reedy Battery?

But now the moon is paler than a statue.
She reaches out and hangs her lamp
In the iron trees of this destroyed Hesperides.
And by that light, under the caves that once were banks and theaters,
The hairy ones come out to play--
And we believe we hear the singing of the manticores
Echo along the rocks of Wall and Pine.
And we are full of fear, and muter than the upside-down stars
That limp in the lame waters,
Muter than the mother moon who, white as death,
Flies and escapes across the wastes of Jersey.

Excerpt taken with permission pending from:

Figures of New York
By Thomas Merton
New Directions: Norfolk, Connecticut, 1947

The Battle of Vienna and the Holy Name of Mary

Tomorrow is the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, made a universal feast by Pope Innocent XI after the Intercessor, the Blessed Virgin, saved Europe for Christianity.

Here is the article from the Catholic Encyclopedia on John Sobieski, the hero at the Gates of Vienna, followed by the article on the feast day:

Born at Olesko in 1629; died at Wilanow, 1696; son of James, Castellan of Cracow and descended by his mother from the heroicZolkiewski, who died in battle at Cecora. His elder brother Mark was his companion in arms from the time of the great Cossackrebellion (1648), and fought at Zbaraz, Beresteczko, and lastly at Batoh where, after being taken prisoner, he was murdered by the Tatars. John, the last of all the family, accompanied Czarniecki in the expedition to Denmark; then, under George Lubomirski, he fought the Muscovites at Cudnow. Lubomirski revolting, he remained faithful to the king (John Casimir), became successively Field Hetman, Grand Marshal, and — after Revera Potocki's death — Grand Hetman or Commander-in-chief. His first exploit asHetman was in Podhajce, where, besieged by an army of Cossacks and Tatars, he at his own expense raised 8000 men and stored the place with wheat, baffling the foe so completely that they retired with great loss. When, in 1672, under MichaelWisniowiecki's reign, the Turks seized Kamieniec, Sobieski beat them again and again, till at the crowning victory of Chocim they lost 20,000 men and a great many guns. This gave Poland breathing space, and Sobieski became a national hero, so that, KingMichael dying at that time, he was unanimously elected king in 1674. Before his coronation he was forced to drive back theTurkish hordes, that had once more invaded the country; he beat them at Lemberg in 1675, arriving in time to raise siege ofTrembowla, and to save Chrzanowski and his heroic wife, its defenders. Scarcely crowned, he hastened to fight in the Ruthenianprovinces. Having too few soldiers (20,000) to attack the Turks, who were ten to one, he wore them out, entrenching himself at Zurawno, letting the enemy hem him in for a fortnight, extricating himself with marvellous skill and courage, and finally regaining by treaty a good part of the Ukraine.
For some time there was peace: the Turks had learned to dread the "Unvanquished Northern Lion", and Poland, too was exhausted. But soon the Sultan turned his arms against Austria. Passing through Hungary, a great part which had for one hundred and fifty years been in Turkish hands, and enormous army, reckoned at from 210,000 to 300,000 men (the latter figures are Sobieski's) marched forward. The Emperor Leopold fled from Vienna, and begged Sobieski's aid, which the papal nuncio also implored. Though dissuaded by Louis XIV, whose policy was always hostile to Austria, Sobieski hesitated not a instant. Meanwhile (July, 1683) the Grand Vizier Kara Mustapha, had arrived before Vienna, and laid siege to the city, defended by thevaliant Imperial General Count Stahremberg, with a garrison of only 15,000 men, exposed to the horrors of disease and fire, as well as to hostile attacks. Sobieski started to the rescue in August, taking his son James with him; passing by Our Lady'ssanctuary at Czefistochowa, the troops prayed for a blessing on their arms; and in the beginning of September, having crossed the Danube and joined forces with the German armies under John George, Elector of Saxony, and Prince Charles of Lorraine, they approached Vienna. On 11 Sept., Sobieski was on the heights of Kahlenberg, near the city, and the next day he gave battle in the plain below, with an army of not more than 76,000 men, the German forming the left wing and the Poles under Hetmans Jahonowski and Sieniawski, with General Katski in command of the artillery, forming the right. The hussars charged with their usual impetuosity, but the dense masses of the foe were impenetrable. Their retreat was taken for flight by the Turks, who rushed forward in pursuit; the hussars turned upon them with reinforcements and charged again, when their shouts made knownthat the "Northern Lion" was on the field and the Turks fled, panic-stricken, with Sobieski's horsemen still in pursuit. Still the battle raged for a time along all the line; both sides fought bravely, and the king was everywhere commanding, fighting, encouraging his men and urging them forward. He was the first to storm the camp: Kara Mustapha had escaped with his life, but he received the bow-string in Belgrade some months later. The Turks were routed, Vienna and Christendom saved, and the news sent to the pope and along with the Standard of the Prophet, taken by Sobieski, who himself had heard Mass in the morning.
Prostrate with outstretched arms, he declared that it was God's cause he was fighting for, and ascribed the victory (Veni, vidi, Deus vicit — his letter to Innocent XI) to Him alone. Next day he entered Vienna, acclaimed by the people as their saviour.Leopold, displeased that the Polish king should have all the glory, condescended to visit and thank him, but treated his sonJames and the Polish hetmans with extreme and haughty coldness. Sobieski, though deeply offended, pursued the Turks intoHungary, attacked and took Ostrzyhom after the a second battle, and returned to winter in Poland, with immense spoils taken in the Turkish camp. These and the glory shed upon the nation were all the immediate advantages of the great victory. TheOttoman danger had vanished forever. The war still went on: step by step the foe was driven back, and sixteen years laterKamieniec and the whole of Podolia were restored to Poland. But Sobieski did not live to see this triumph. In vain had he again and again attempted to retake Kamieniec, and even had built a stronghold to destroy its strategic value; this fortress enabled the Tatars to raid the Ruthenian provinces upon several occasions, even to the gates of Lemberg. He was also forced by treaty to give up Kieff to Russia in 1686; nor did he succeed in securing the crown for his son James. His last days were spent in thebosom of his family, at his castle of Wilanow, where he died in 1696, broken down by political strife as much as by illness. His wife, a Frenchwoman, the widow of John Zamoyski, Marie-Casimire, though not worthy of so great a hero, was tenderly beloved by him, as his letters show: she influenced him greatly and not always wisely. His family is now extinct. Charles Edward, the Young Pretender, was his great-grandson — his son James' daughter, Clementine, having married James Stuart in 1719.


Thanks Wiki
We venerate the name of Mary because it belongs to her who is the Mother of God, the holiest of creatures, the Queen ofheaven and earth, the Mother of Mercy. The object of the feast is the Holy Virgin bearing the name of Mirjam (Mary); the feastcommemorates all the privileges given to Mary by God and all the graces we have received through her intercession andmediation. It was instituted in 1513 at Cuenca in Spain, and assigned with proper Office to 15 Sept., the octave day of Mary'sNativity. After the reform of the Breviary by St. Pius V, by a Decree of Sixtus V (16 Jan., 1587), it was transferred to 17 Sept. In 1622 it was extended to the Archdiocese of Toledo by Gregory XV. After 1625 the Congregation of Rites hesitated for a while before authorizing its further spread (cf. the seven decrees "Analecta Juris Pontificii", LVIII, decr. 716 sqq.) But it was celebrated by the Spanish Trinitarians in 1640 (Ordo Hispan., 1640). on 15 Nov., 1658, the feast was granted to the Oratory ofCardinal Berulle under the title: Solemnitas Gloriosae Virginis, dupl. cum. oct., 17 Sept. Bearing the original title, SS. NominisB.M.V., it was granted to all Spain and the Kingdom of Naples on 26 Jan., 1671. After the siege of Vienna and the gloriousvictory of Sobieskl over the Turks (12 Sept., 1683), the feast was extended to the universal Church by Innocent XI, and assigned to the Sunday after the Nativity of Mary by a Decree of 25 Nov., 1683 (duplex majus); it was granted to Austria as d. 2. classis on 1 Aug., 1654. According to a Decree of 8 July, 1908, whenever this feast cannot be celebrated on its properSunday on account of the occurence of some feast of a higher rank, it must be kept on 12 Sept., the day on which the victory of Sobieski is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology. The Calendar of the Nuns of Perpetual Adoration, O.S.B., in France, of the year 1827, has the feast with a special Office on 25 Sept. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary, is the patronal feast of theClerics Regular of the Pious Schools (Piarists) and of the Society of Mary (Marianists), in both cases with a proper office. In 1666 the Discalced Carmelites received the faculty to recite the Office of the Name of Mary four times a year (duplex). At Rome one of the twin churches at the Forum Trajani is dedicated to the Name of Mary. In the Ambrosian Calendar of Milan the feast of theHoly Name of Mary is assigned to 11 September.




A Manifesto and Blessed Margaret Pole



Blessed Margaret Pole is one of my role models. Check out my posts on her earlier this year.

and

I wrote this on Father Z's blog, but I wanted to make sure you all read it. This is what I have been trying to say for years and years. Get ready. Get a community. Create a community. Pray, reflect, act. 

People, from where I stand in Europe, there is little if any religion. People are materialistic in the Marxian sense, and only see the here and now as utopia. Cynicism and utilitarianism push the politics and economics. America will see the same, and when the fall of civilization comes, it will be worse in the States than here because the evil will be more organized. It is every man and woman for themselves.
The Pope was prophetic when he wrote those words. We shall see priests having to work as labourers, as the professional jobs will be closed to Catholics as they were under the Soviets. Look at English history. In the areas where there were strong Catholic families, there were underground Masses and catechesis. In places where there were no strong families, the Church died. We shall be hand ploughing fields or foraging for food waiting for the priest to come to our area.
Islam is a religion of the material. Even the afterlife is defined in material terms. Few of that religion understand the spiritual. They seek a perfection of a material kind. A material utopia will never last. Only the Catholic Church teaches consistently that the only utopia is in heaven. We have the Church which is the New Jerusalem, but not for here, not for now.
The Church Militant will be the Church suffering. Do not kid yourself. We shall endure, with grace, and maybe without regular sacraments, but the Church will endure, if only in scattered communities of those who are orthodox. I suggest creating communities now, and evangelizing daily in the way God granted you to do that. We must, as the time is short. The Pope gave us those words over 40 years ago. Some of us were listening. We may have been lulled into complacency for awhile, but now we are awake. We cannot afford to pretend anything else will happen. I see a world divided between the Marxists and Islam. We shall be persecuted by both. Even in France already, there is an unholy alliance between those two groups, as the Christians are hated by both. We have been given time.

Where There Are Human Remains, the Land is Sacred


End of my summer

I have had a fantastic time living in W2 on the edge of W11 all summer and I am sad to leave. But, my suitcases are packed and I am wrapping up odds and ends.

Some people call this Bayswater, some Westbourne Grove and some Notting Hill, as I am right on the boundaries.

All the people I have met have been wonderfully welcoming, interesting, and energetic. I love London for its vibrancy and opportunities.

Here are some photos of "my" area taken from the Net, of places which I am leaving as the winter creeps closer.

I am saying goodbye to London, as I organize my life to meet new challenges.

Goodbye to new friends and old. Hello to new friends...

By the way, the robin was correct. It is getting colder. It will be 55 F tonight.

Here it comes; the Church against the World again

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/10/massachusetts-gay-couple-sues-church-over-nixed-house-sale/?test=latestnews

On going to a priest when one has aborted a baby


This information is from a woman I know well and love well. She found this out. All the priests in the Archdiocese of Boston have been given the faculties to remove the excommunication from an abortion in that diocese. Why do not all bishops do this?

God bless Archbishop Sean O'Malley for this pastoral decision.

May other bishops do the same.