One of the best things about St. Stephen the First Martyr is that boys will tell me very freely that they are considering priesthood and/or religious life. That is a sign of a healthy Catholic culture.
A healthy Catholic parish is not something I have seen since 1970, and I belonged to eleven: St. Anne, St. Cecilia, St. Anastasia, St. Ignatius, St. Apollinaris, St. Lucy, Holy Family, Our Lady of the Pillar, All Souls, St. Joseph, and St. Joseph Marello.
Why? The modern Mass and everything associated with it wiped out Catholic culture. Any Catholic in my age category knows what I have said is the truth.
The modern Mass needs to die. I know that sounds harsh. There are many good Catholics who attend the modern Mass. Update: I met one today, 6-4-22, at confession. She is probably in her 70s and has her prayer book from second grade! I go to confession occasionally at St. Teresa of Avila in Auburn because it is 10 minutes away. The church is very beautiful, and the confessor plays a recording of Gregorian Chant, which is subdued and helps us not hear the penitent.
Several years ago, when I was buying at the cemetery, I was talking to a nun at the main desk. You would never have known she was a nun. I told the Sister of Mercy about my cousin and that she entered in 1961. She said, “O yes, when there were lots of vocations.” She stopped herself. She must have sized me up. I was not going to tolerate her explanation.
How could a brainwashed person acknowledge that others had a vocation but were sent packing? How could she acknowledge that others with a vocation never followed it to the end because they would not consent to mediocrity and cowardice in religious life? How could she acknowledge the nuns who abandoned the schools, and for what, or the priest who couldn’t get his ass out of bed to bring my brother the Sacrament of the Sick?
The arrogant woman is not God and therefore cannot save the world, and she is typical of my bankrupt generation, entrenched in lies just as our entire school system is, so much so that she cannot get out of it and her whole economy depends on it. Follow the money.
I hope wishy-washy Catholicism dies the way the Anglican church did.
On the other hand, here is Father Borgia casting out a demon...
A healthy Catholic parish is not something I have seen since 1970, and I belonged to eleven: St. Anne, St. Cecilia, St. Anastasia, St. Ignatius, St. Apollinaris, St. Lucy, Holy Family, Our Lady of the Pillar, All Souls, St. Joseph, and St. Joseph Marello.
Why? The modern Mass and everything associated with it wiped out Catholic culture. Any Catholic in my age category knows what I have said is the truth.
The modern Mass needs to die. I know that sounds harsh. There are many good Catholics who attend the modern Mass. Update: I met one today, 6-4-22, at confession. She is probably in her 70s and has her prayer book from second grade! I go to confession occasionally at St. Teresa of Avila in Auburn because it is 10 minutes away. The church is very beautiful, and the confessor plays a recording of Gregorian Chant, which is subdued and helps us not hear the penitent.
Several years ago, when I was buying at the cemetery, I was talking to a nun at the main desk. You would never have known she was a nun. I told the Sister of Mercy about my cousin and that she entered in 1961. She said, “O yes, when there were lots of vocations.” She stopped herself. She must have sized me up. I was not going to tolerate her explanation.
How could a brainwashed person acknowledge that others had a vocation but were sent packing? How could she acknowledge that others with a vocation never followed it to the end because they would not consent to mediocrity and cowardice in religious life? How could she acknowledge the nuns who abandoned the schools, and for what, or the priest who couldn’t get his ass out of bed to bring my brother the Sacrament of the Sick?
The arrogant woman is not God and therefore cannot save the world, and she is typical of my bankrupt generation, entrenched in lies just as our entire school system is, so much so that she cannot get out of it and her whole economy depends on it. Follow the money.
I hope wishy-washy Catholicism dies the way the Anglican church did.
On the other hand, here is Father Borgia casting out a demon...
St. Francis Borgia Helping a Dying Impenitent
By Francisco de Goya 1746 - 1828
oil on canvas c. 1788
By Francisco de Goya 1746 - 1828
oil on canvas c. 1788
“Francis Borgia, 4th Duke of Gandía S.J. (1510–1572), venerated as Saint Francis Borgia, was a great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, a Grandee of Spain, a Spanish Jesuit, and third Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
“In 1546 his wife Eleanor died, and Francis then decided to enter the newly formed Society of Jesus, after making adequate provisions for his children. He put his affairs in order, renounced his titles in favor of his eldest son Carlos de Borja-Aragon y de Castro-Melo, and became a Jesuit priest.
“He helped in the establishment of what is now the Gregorian University in Rome.
“Upon Francis’ return from a journey to Peru, Pope Julius III made known his intention to make him a cardinal. To prevent this, Borgia decided, in agreement with St. Ignatius, to leave the city secretly and go to the Basque Country, where it was thought he would be safe from the papal desires.
“He felt incompletion to spend time in seclusion and prayer, but his administrative talents also made him a natural for other tasks. In time his friends persuaded him to accept the leadership role that nature and circumstances had destined him for: in 1554, he became the Jesuit commissary-general in Spain where he founded a dozen colleges.
“After only two years, St. Francis was crowned for missions in the East and West Indies. In 1565, he was elected the third ‘Father General’....”
Source: Wikipedia
The current Father General is a disgrace. I pray the FSSP brand will replace the SJ brand and produce saints. It will take time, and then once again we will have honorable men on whom we can rely. Amen.
“In 1546 his wife Eleanor died, and Francis then decided to enter the newly formed Society of Jesus, after making adequate provisions for his children. He put his affairs in order, renounced his titles in favor of his eldest son Carlos de Borja-Aragon y de Castro-Melo, and became a Jesuit priest.
“He helped in the establishment of what is now the Gregorian University in Rome.
“Upon Francis’ return from a journey to Peru, Pope Julius III made known his intention to make him a cardinal. To prevent this, Borgia decided, in agreement with St. Ignatius, to leave the city secretly and go to the Basque Country, where it was thought he would be safe from the papal desires.
“He felt incompletion to spend time in seclusion and prayer, but his administrative talents also made him a natural for other tasks. In time his friends persuaded him to accept the leadership role that nature and circumstances had destined him for: in 1554, he became the Jesuit commissary-general in Spain where he founded a dozen colleges.
“After only two years, St. Francis was crowned for missions in the East and West Indies. In 1565, he was elected the third ‘Father General’....”
Source: Wikipedia
The current Father General is a disgrace. I pray the FSSP brand will replace the SJ brand and produce saints. It will take time, and then once again we will have honorable men on whom we can rely. Amen.