ISIS has a new thing they are doing.
They put men in a cage and lower them into water a few times until they drown.
Of course they have underwater cameras.
They also put them in a car and then blow it up.
The Religion of Peace, ladies and gentlemen.
Sts. Nunilo and Alodia, pray for us.
St. Lawrence of Brindisi, pray for us.
Since Sunday a series of Earth-directed CME’s have created Aurora Borealis visible as far South in these USA as, I hear, Arkansas! I know I will go out to look.
Tonight, get out there if you have good viewing conditions, and look for the “Northern Lights“. They are events of terrible beauty, presaging we know not what.
One of these days, friends, there will be a huge coronal mass ejection from your planet’s yellow star that strikes your planet square on. The result could be a vast electromagnetic pulse (EMP) which fries almost all your electronic stuff.
You will be plunged in an instant back to something like the 19th century.
Millions would die in these USA. Will you have what it takes to survive?
On the other hand, there could be nuclear attacks that cause EMPs, or perhaps there will be a pandemic or other natural events which brings down the world’s economy, resulting in much the same chaos.
I remind you to reflect on what could happen to us if there were another Carrington Event.
This last Coronal Mass Ejection was Earth-directed. If it were larger… we could be in deep problems RIGHT NOW.
And… GO TO CONFESSION!
From SpaceWeather:
SOLSTICE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A series of CMEs hit Earth’s magnetic field on June 22nd, producing a severe G4-class geomagnetic storm. Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border into more than a dozen US states, including places as far south as Colorado, Georgia, Virginia and Arkansas. “The auroras did not disappoint,” says Chris Cook, who witnessed the display from Cape Cod, Massachusetts
“They were visible in deep twilight!” he adds. “I positioned myself on a beach overlooking Cape Cod Bay so I could capture the reflection in the water at low tide.”
More auroras are in the offing as Earth’s magnetic field reverberates from the CME strikes. NOAA forecasters estimate a 90% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on June 23rd, subsiding only a little to 70% on June 24th.
MEANWHILE … ANOTHER CME IS ON THE WAY: Big sunspot AR2371 erupted again on June 22nd (18:23 UT), producing a strong M6.5 class solar flare. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
X-ray and UV radiation from the flare ionized the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere, causing a blackout of some shortwave radio signals over North America (blackout map). Mariners and ham radio operators, in particular, may have noticed disturbances at frequencies below ~20 MHz.
The explosion also hurled a full-halo CME directly toward Earth: movie. NOAA analysts are still modeling the storm cloud to estimate its likely time of arrival. Best guess: June 24th. Sky watchers should prepare for more geomagnetic storms and auroras on Wednesday night.
Perhaps, since I am getting into Ham Radio now, tonight I’ll watch that movie with Jim Caviezel… and I shift some ammo cans from storage!
Click!
Last October we saw the disputes and problems that erupted during the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. There were behind scenes plots, thefts of books, attempts to repress the press, revolt on the floor, sudden changes in procedures… some were determined to ram into to the agenda certain items.
Now the Instrumentum Laboris for the upcoming October Ordinary Synod is out. This is the working document for the members of the Synod.
I have been exploring the 2015 IL.
I found in the section on “La via penitenziale… the penitential path”, an proposal (to the Synod for discussion) that the divorced and remarried who are in “convivenza irreversibile… irreversible cohabitation” (perhaps for the sake of children) can be admitted to Holy Communion through a period of penance under the direction of the local bishop.
Camel’s nose comes to mind.
And, I have to ask, will diocesan bishops undertake this penitential spiritual direction of couples personally? Can you imagine how that might work in a whole diocese? How about someplace the size of, say, Chicago? Would Archbp. Cupich handle all these couples personally? Could Card. O’Malley handle this himself for the entire Archdiocese of Boston? Or would he delegate? Might he delegate to, say, pastors of parishes? Subsidiarity, right? And will pastors, who are busy, take this on himself? Or will he delegate? He just might. To whom? To former Sister Randi, who now heads up RE?
I’m just asking.
Comment moderation queue is ON.
ACTION ITEM BELOW!
Today is the feast of St. Etheldreda, a 7th c. Angl0-Saxon. In some accounts she is portrayed as a “warrior queen”. I don’t think she’d like modern day feminists one little bit.
A long-time reader and commentatrix here is Supertradmum, who has a blog entitled Etheldreda Place. While she is of these USA, her son is a seminarian in the UK.
I think I am not stepping out of bounds if I ask that you join to your many daily petitions, also one for Supertradmum, who is undergoing a financially rocky time (and is pretty much homeless). I hope she figures out how to get some sort of electronic donation thing going. I really do. She needs some assistance from us, I think.
UPDATE: ACTION ITEM – She figured it out. She now has a GoFundMe button! Please use it?
Click HERE
Also… in the Novus Ordo calendar, it is the feast of Sts. Zacchary and Elizabeth, parents of St. John the Baptist. That makes sense since today is the Vigil of the Baptist! St. Zacchary’s tomb is in Venice. Here is a fairly recent pic.
Yesterday His Excellency Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, the Extraordinary Ordinary of Madison, was on with a popular radio show host, Vicki McKenna – who really ought to have a national show! – to talk about Laudato si’.
Also, since Rush’s critical remarks about the encyclical were played in the program, you might want to check his first two hours yesterday. He also took on Card. Wuerl, who had attacked Rush on Fox News Sunday. HERE
Bp. Morlino had a great hour. One of this things he mentioned was a troubling phrase in the encyclical, “integral ecology”. You can listen to the hour for free HERE.
In some spheres, “integral ecology” is troubling.
I found the phrase 9 times in the encyclical. Chapter 4 is: “Integral Ecology”
I’ll bet some of you know more about this than I do.
Question might be, if the phrase “integral ecology” has some less than acceptable connotations, why use it in an encyclical?
Of course we have to figure out what it means in this encyclical, not merely in some other source.
Possibility: We cannot separate human ecology and environmental ecology, and human ecology has logical precedence.
Discuss.
No, I’m not talking about the posts of a certain Fishwrap writer…
On my way back to the SPTDV from Acton U in Grand Rapids, I stopped in S. Chicago to meet friends for Chinese at the best Chinese restaurant I know (so far) in these USA.
Ma Po Tofu … a Chinese business associate of my host for the meal said that this is better than what he finds in China.
The house special noodles. I got a take out order to bring home for breakfast the next day.
Lamb in cumin. WOW… this is seriously intense.
Shrimp in orange and mayo, but… crispy!
Eggplants
Chicken
A birds eye view.
And I got a real fortune… a couple days late, perhaps.
It wasn’t easy to drive several hours after this meal, that’s for sure.
What a treat this was. The Chinese in my town is, frankly, barely mediocre at the places the locals tout as “the best”.
Fr. Hunwicke has an interesting post about the machinations of the late (Archbp) Annibale Bugnini with Paul VI to slam through the former’s desired changes.
Here is a taste…
(1) He relied upon dishonest people for advice. (a) From the Memoires of Louis Bouyer: “At different stages, be it with regard to the dumping overboard (sabordage) of the Liturgy of the Departed, or again in that unbelievable enterprise of expurgating the psalms in view of their use in the Office, Bugnini came up against an opposition, not just massive, but one could say pretty well unanimous. In some such cases, he did not hesitate to tell us ‘But the Pope wants it!’. [Which was probably false.] After that, to be sure, there was no longer a question of discussing it.” Bouyer recounts how he once met Bugnini in circumstances in which the latter, mistakenly, believed that he, Bouyer, had just been with Pope Paul … whom Bugnini was on his way to see. “On seeing me, he not only turned completely white but, visibly, was knocked for six (non seulement il blemit, mais, visiblement, il fut atterre)”. “The answer was to be presented to me, but some weeks later, by Paul VI himself. Nattering with me about our famous labours, which he had confirmed, he finally said to me ‘But why, then, did you put into this reform …’ (Here, I have to admit that I don’t recall any longer which of the details which I have mentioned particularly irritated him.) Naturally, I replied ‘But purely and simply because Bugnini guaranteed to us that you were absolutely set on it (avait certifie que vous le vouliez absolument).’ His reaction was immediate: ‘Is it possible? He said to me personally that you were unanimous in this respect!'”.
[…]
As well as the human and historical tragedy, there is an ecclesiological point here. If you blend together in one saucepan an exaggerated notion of papal authority (as analysed by Joseph Ratzinger) with the activities (described in detail by Louis Bouyer) of unscrupulous and dishonest and ruthlessly determined manipulative individuals who have the pope’s ear, you are gravely at risk of having a disaster the results of which it may well take generations to mitigate. Quod factum est.
From a reader…
QUAERITUR:
Who is a member of the Roman Catholic Church? Is baptism all that is required? What about people baptised into the RC Church who later in life do not believe in some of the teachings of the RC Church (eg regarding homosexuality) but still go to Mass & Holy Communion? Can they still claim to be members?
This seems like a simple question, calling for a simple answer. It isn’t.
From the perspective of the world, the Church, like any other “club” should have clearly demarcated lines of membership, with an initiation process, rules for membership, and penalties of exclusion for those who either violate the rules, or who choose to separate themselves.
The Church is not just a human institution. It is also a divine one. Therefore, it is a mystery. Founded by Christ the Lord, it is the gathering of all those called to faith.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
1267 Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ: “Therefore . . . we are members one of another.” Baptism incorporates us into the Church. From the baptismal fonts is born the one People of God of the New Covenant, which transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures, races, and sexes: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”
1268 The baptized have become “living stones” to be “built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood.” By Baptism they share in the priesthood of Christ, in his prophetic and royal mission. They are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that [they] may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called [them] out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Baptism gives a share in the common priesthood of all believers.
1269 Having become a member of the Church, the person baptized belongs no longer to himself, but to him who died and rose for us. From now on, he is called to be subject to others, to serve them in the communion of the Church, and to “obey and submit” to the Church’s leaders, holding them in respect and affection. Just as Baptism is the source of responsibilities and duties, the baptized person also enjoys rights within the Church: to receive the sacraments, to be nourished with the Word of God and to be sustained by the other spiritual helps of the Church.
1270 “Reborn as sons of God, [the baptized] must profess before men the faith they have received from God through the Church” and participate in the apostolic and missionary activity of the People of God.
We know the effects of valid baptism. Baptism makes the baptized members of Christ’s Body… the Church. Baptism is the ordinary means by which men are initiated into the Church. In one sense, every person who has ever been validly baptized is a member of the Church.
The Church often uses the language of “communion”. Every baptized person is initiated into the communion of the Church. But many baptized people, through their actions and beliefs, impair, or even break their communion with the Church. These people remain baptized. Baptism changes the person’s soul forever. In some senses, they are still “members” of the Church. Until they die, they are capable of repairing their communion with the Church.
In the early centuries of the Church, we faced the question of whether those who commit sin are excluded from the Church. The heresy of Donatism concluded that some sins, particularly the sin of denying one’s faith, rejecting Christ and His Church in order to avoid punishment by the State, were so heinous that those who committed these sins were no longer part of the Church. The Church responded that as serious as the sin of apostasy is, apostates and other sinners are still Christians in virtue of their baptism, which is not repeatable. Their communion with the Church was broken, but it could be repaired through penance and reconciliation.
Today, sinners who reject the teachings of the Church sometimes hide their break with the Church. They pretend that they are still in full communion with the Church, despite their rejection of the Church or of some essential teachings. We can think of examples.
Added to their sins of rejecting the Church’s teaching, they continue to receive Holy Communion, adding to their others sins the sin of sacrilege, a serious sin indeed. These people desperately need our prayers: they have been deceived by Satan, the Father of Lies.
As their sins pile up, they become jaded and can no longer see the dangerous cliff toward which they are speeding.
They remain baptized, however. The Church remains their Mother, ever solicitous for their care. We should pray for them to realize the damage they are doing to themselves, and hope that, before it is too late, they recant their misguided beliefs, return to full communion with the Church, and put their moral lives in order.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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