The Sea Turtles of Lent

 Ash Wednesday 2023

I have to admit it, I struggle with Lent. To be honest, I like my food too much.

But I deeply appreciate the vital important of this most solemn season of Penance.

This year I have decided to give Lent a real chance.

Reflecting on the power of a good Lent has brought to my mind something I saw on YouTube. If you look on there you will find a number of videos of fishermen and Marine Biologists helping poor beleaguered sea turtles.

They haul them onto a boat and start vigorously scraping of barnacles, parasites and other things that have become stuck to their shells with a brutally sharp knife.

Check out this deeply satisfying video

Rescue sea turtles, removing barnacles from poor sea turtles. They suffered pain for long time! - YouTube

This is what God wants to do for us during Lent.

In our day to day lives we pick up attachments. We pick up the parasites of our vices. The clutter. The shallow nonsense of our petty loves.

God wants to free us. He wants to scrape off those things that hinder us from Holiness and from Him.

But it is deeply uncomfortable. The knife that He uses is the knife of Penance, Fasting and Suffering.

We, like those sea turtles, wriggle about. We try to escape His loving hands. We like the comfort of our sins.

Lent is the best time for us to allow God to free us from the crustiness of our sins.

Let us ask Our Lady's help, that we let God act. Let's ask for the grace to offer our little penances and sufferings borne patiently until we arrive at Easter Sunday with our souls less crusted.

God bless

The impact of a beautiful death

It has been such a long time since I have written anything on this blog.

It's a long story and I don't want to bore you with the details.

I would, however, like to share with you a story. It it something that has made a huge impact on me. I am sure it will impact you too.

Many years ago I met a lovely Catholic Arabic family in England. They very kindly invited me to their home for dinner one evening.

The food was absolutely delicious and I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening learning some Arabic phrases (which I still remember) and hearing of their experiences as Catholics who had grown up and lived surrounded by a somewhat hostile Muslim culture.

These people were warm hearted, had a deep tried and tested faith and were as tough as boot nails.

Towards the end of the evening they shared a story with me. It was the anniversary of the death of a 7 year old boy who had died in the house I was visiting. His mother told me the story.

Her son had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. They and the rest of the family had prayed desperately for his healing. One day, as they were driving on a motorway, the boy exclaimed

"Mummy, Mummy! I can see Our Lady. She is travelling in the sky!"

The parents decided that it was a sign. They were going to take the boy to Lourdes and seek a cure in the sacred waters there.

They went to Lourdes. They had a beautiful pilgrimage. But...the boy was not cured.

They returned to England feeling very sad and disappointed but they continued to pray for a miracle.

As the cancer progressed the boy lost the ability to speak and to walk. One day he was laying on the sofa staring intently at the corner of the room.

He mother said "Son, what is it? Can you seen something?

He nodded.

"Is it something bad?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Is it good?"

He nodded very slowly, still staring at the corner of the room.

"Is it Our Lady?" she pressed him

He shook his head.

"An angel?"

Again he shook his head.

"Well, is it Jesus?"

This time he smiled gently and nodded. He was seeing Jesus.

Yet, the boy was not cured. He got worse.

One evening just before 6pm the boy was being cradled in his mother's arms as a district Palliative care nurse was checking on his vitals.

As the clock struck 6pm the boy let out his last breath. Just at that moment his mother cried out in grief saying

"Please God, I beg you. Please, please don't take my son!"

Suddenly the boy took in a sharp breath and started breathing again. His mother cradled him, kissing his forehead through tears.

The nurse sat next to her and, gently putting her hand on the mother's shoulder said

"You have to let him go. He won't go unless you let him. Let him go to be at peace."

The mother, sobbing, turned to her son and said

"Son, go to God and be at peace"

Then the boy let out a very long, gentle breath and died.

Even after all these years whenever I recount this story it brings me to tears.

I am ashamed to say that I don't remember his name. But I do remember his story. 

There is so much that we can draw from this. One could be that God does answer our prayers, even if the answer is no. Another is the power of faith in the family.

For me there is something else.

Even though I never met that boy and I don't remember his name, his short life has made a big impact on me. He never became a famous footballer or actor. He did not create a multi million pound company. He was never a King or a President.

He was a relatively unknown little lad who died aged 7.

But his faith, his suffering and his death have left an inspiring legacy. Perhaps this why God, who is truly mysterious, did not permit him to be healed. That in dying as he did he would inspire others to live as they should.

Many people rightly honour those who are killed for the Faith. But I believe that there are other forms of 'Martyrdom'. There are those who witness to the power of the Catholic Faith through illness, pain and suffering patiently borne.

His simple faith and his beautiful death teach us to imitate him. Remembering his story has certainly sustained me in my faith and has given me much hope, especially in the dark times.

I believe that he will continue to inspire others.

So...

Little lad, I am sorry that I cannot remember your name. Please forgive me. But I have never forgotten you and your story.

I ask you that you pray for me to Our Lord that, when I come to breathe forth my soul I may breathe it forth in peace like you did.

I hope that, on that day, I will finally meet you and thank you for your witness and the way you have inspired me.

Then together, filled with wonder and joy, we will fall down in adoration, praise and love at the feet of the One who loves us.

God bless

Pfizer Pain

 16th September 2021

I watched this video. I cried.

'Pfizer vaccine killed my son': Grieving father speaks out (lifesitenews.com)

This is what is happening to so many families. So many people. So many young lads.

Please watch this video and kindly pray for this poor man and his son (RIP)

Please, inform yourselves. Protect your children.

'Pfizer vaccine killed my son': Grieving father speaks out (lifesitenews.com)

When things get toxic in Tradland.

 15th September 2021

Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Blessed Lady

In some quarters of the Church Traditionalist Catholics have a bad reputation of being somewhat toxic. Toxic Trads they call us.

But is there any truth in this?

A recent discussion with someone I respect made me give this whole subject some thought. The discussion centred over an article written on a blog.

The article was titled "The myth of the chaste Homosexual".

As I read the article I could understand the anger, especially among American Traditional Catholics, at what has happened and continues to happen in the Church.

They are, as we all are, very angry at the whole McCarrick scandal. The disgusting behaviour of perverted clerics has destroyed the lives of the little ones so loved by Our Blessed Lord.

Then there are the likes of the wayward priest James Martin S.J who go unreproached, who are praised and lauded, spreading falsehoods whilst good priests teaching the Catholic faith are censored, bullied, ousted and cancelled. Trads are understandably and rightfully angry. I am very angry at this grave evil.

But we also have to be careful that our anger does not blind us. 

This is where the article comes in. Basically the author of the article argues that those, especially in the priesthood, who self identify as "Gay" or "Homosexual" may be sexually abstinent but they can never be truly chaste. This in itself is not false. Obviously if a person identifies with an ideology that is completely at odds with Catholic doctrine then that person cannot live out Catholic teaching in a full and flourishing manner.

However, that is not the issue with the article. The problem is that it lacks what I would call Catholic nuance. It doesn't stem from a pastoral heart and I had this confirmed by a Traditional priest with whom I shared the article's contents.

The author does not address those Catholics who suffer from Same Sex attraction, acknowledge it to be a disorder and live fully Catholic lives through prayer, penance and the Sacraments.

These people exist. People afflicted with Same Sex attraction yet striving for real holiness. I was blessed to make friends with such a person.

In 2013 I moved London. 

London is wonderful, crazy, weird and fascinating place. You find all sorts of people there. The good, the bad, the ugly and everything else. Honestly, it sometimes reminded me of scenes from the Men in Black films.

London is also a place where the Catholic Faith flourishes beautifully. There is the Tyburn Convent and many wonderful Churches. Think of the amazing Brompton Oratory.

Whilst at Church I met and made friends with an Irish Catholic gentleman who was in his 70s. I shall call him Patrick to protect and respect his privacy.

Over time I got to know this quiet, gentle and unassuming man. One day we were speaking about our lives and families when the conversation turned to why he never married and had children.

"Well, I'm Homosexual" he told me. He must have seen my eyes widen because he continued

"I knew that I was since I was young. I was always surrounded my women as a child. My mother and my aunts. There was no real father figure, no real male role model so I guess I was soaked in the feminine."

I asked him how the whole LGBTQ ideology had affected him.

"Oh I have never been a part of that. I have never even watched Pornography. I honestly could never offend Our Lord like that! My strength comes from Our Lord. I am blessed to spend three hours a day in Adoration."

Wow. THAT is holiness, dear friends. This one man (there are others) puts to flight the utter nonsense that those afflicted with same sex attraction cannot be chaste.

How many of us can say that we have been that pure, that devout and that dedicated to prayer?

Patrick is a witness to both the James Martins and those Trads who say that chastity for those attracted to their own sex is a myth. 

Both the writer of that article and James Martin are angry. Their anger comes from different sources but it has blinded them. For James Martin it has blinded him into thinking that chastity is impossible because "gays should be able to love" and for the Trad writer it has blinded him because of the likes of McCarrick.

God's Grace, however, does do wonders.

If a "Satanist priest" like Blessed Bartolo Longo can end up repenting and getting into Heaven then those who look most lost can be saved too.

Let us look at these people and not be blinded by our anger. Yes, be angry at the horrific scandals in the Church. But be not blind.

Right now, when the LGBTQ crowd seem to have the upper hand and their screams are deafening there are wonderful stories of men and women who have encountered Christ, thrown aside a false identity and have put on the Lord Jesus.

There are the likes of Joseph Sciambra, for example. Look him up on YouTube or here Sons of St. Joseph (josephsciambra.com)

Our Lady in Fatima asked for prayer and penance for sinners. She did not say "except this group or that group of sinners".

Now, if you are a person (especially a teenager) reading this blog post and you are same sex attracted please do not listen to people who leave you feeling hopeless or try to give you false hope. Here is my advice

1) Lady Gaga is wrong. You were not born that way. 

2) You are not disordered but your sexual attractions are. God made male and female. There is no third option.

3) There are people who have been healed of their unwanted SSA. It is not guaranteed to happen but there is help out there. Here is a good place to start National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (narth.us)

4) God loves you and has always loved you from all eternity.

5) You can be chaste. Go to Confession and Holy Communion (Better to go to the Traditional Latin Mass).

6) Pray the Rosary everyday. Read and reflect on the 15 Promises of the Rosary. Get close to Our Lady.

7) Get officially enrolled in the Brown Scapular by a priest.

8) If you fall into any serious sin, pick yourself up, get to Confession and don't listen to the lies of the devil.

9) Do some sort of penance. A little bit of fasting (no seconds for example). A cold shower (if you can take it)

10) Don't isolate yourself. Make good, Catholic friends. Mix with people who don't have SSA and are living good Catholic lives. Sin, SSA and dirty, dark secrets thrive in isolation.

11) Find a good, Traditional priest to be your Spiritual Director and Confessor. 

12) Never let the devil or toxic people steal your hope. God wants your salvation more than you do and it is God who has the final word.

As for Traditional Catholics please examine your conscience. Have you become too embittered to the point of making sweeping, negative statements?

Are you praying for the conversion and salvation of people have been mislead by the evil LGBTQ ideology?

Do you try to spread hope even whilst you fight corruption?

Do you encourage those who struggle with this disorder to repent, convert and grow in grace?

Finally, what would you do if it was your own kid?

People, being a Traditional Catholic means both firm orthodoxy and charity. We are all sinners. Let's encourage each other to become Saints.

Whilst we must fight the evil that has slithered into the Church we must also practise charity. Let us not tear people down.

Be truthful. Do not water down the truth but do not present it as an ideal beyond reach either.

Encourage people to set aside sin. Encourage people to embrace the Catholic Faith in its fullness. Encourage people to abandon Modernism and false ideologies.

Encourage people to become truly, really and deeply Holy and in love with God.

God bless

* Some details have been altered to protect the privacy of others

A letter...I concur

 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is with great sadness that we learned of Pope Francis' decision to abrogate the main provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI on July 7, 2007. After decades of divisions and quarrels, that Motu Proprio was, for all the Catholic faithful, a work of peace and reconciliation.

Rome violates the word given by Pope Benedict XVI with brutality and intransigence, far from the much vaunted fraternal welcoming.

The explicit will of Pope Francis, stated in the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, of July 16, 2021, is to see the celebration of the Mass of the Tradition of the Church disappear. This decision drives us to great dismay. How can we understand this rupture with the traditional Missal, a “venerable and ancient” actualization of the “law of faith,” which has bore fruit through so many nations, so many missionaries, and so many saints? What harm is done by the faithful who simply want to pray as their ancestors had done for centuries? Can we be unaware that the Tridentine Mass converts many souls, that it attracts young and fervent assemblies, that it arouses many vocations, that it has given rise to seminaries, religious communities, monasteries, that it is the backbone of many schools, youth groups, catechism activities, spiritual retreats, and pilgrimages?

Many of you, Catholic brothers and sisters, priests, and bishops, have shared with us your failure to understand this and your deep sorrow: thank you for your many testimonies of support.

To promote peace within the Church, in order to build unity in charity, and also to lead Catholics to reconnect with their own heritage by making as many people as possible discover the riches of liturgical tradition, the treasure of the Church: those were the goals pursued by Summorum Pontificum. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI witnesses his work for reconciliation destroyed during his own lifetime.

In a time steeped in materialism and torn by social and cultural divisions, liturgical peace appears to us as an absolute necessity for the Faith and for the spiritual life of Catholics in a world that is dying of thirst. The drastic restriction of the authorization to celebrate Mass in its traditional form will bring back mistrust, doubt, and it heralds the return of an agonizing liturgical war for the Christian people.

We solemnly affirm, before God and before men: 

We will not let anyone deprive the faithful of this treasure which is first of all that of the Church. 

We will not remain inactive in the face of the spiritual suffocation of vocations laid forth in the Motu proprio Traditionis Custodes. 

We will not deprive our children of this privileged means of transmitting the faith which is faithfulness to the traditional liturgy.

As children to their father, we request Pope Francis to reverse his decision, by abrogating Traditionis Custodes and restoring full freedom to celebrate the Tridentine Mass, for the glory of God and the good of the faithful. 

Bread rather than stones.

 September 8, 2021, 

on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

*** Copied and pasted from Rorate Caeli

RORATE CÆLI: Open Letter of Traditional Lay Faithful to the Catholic Faithful of the Whole World - Francis, time to revoke Traditionis Custodes: WE WILL NOT DEPRIVE OUR CHILDREN (rorate-caeli.blogspot.com)

Tolle, Lege! Book recommendation

 27th August 2021

I would really, really like to recommend The Incredible Catholic Mass by Fr Martin Von Cochem.

The Incredible Catholic Mass: An Explanation of the Catholic Mass (tanbooks.com)

I bought and read this book a number of years ago after reading the great influence it had on Fr Kenneth Walker FSSP (RIP) and his family. You may remember Fr Walker as the priest who was murdered in Arizona.

A tribute to Fr. Kenneth Walker, FSSP (1985-2014) - LifeSite (lifesitenews.com)

It was thanks to this book that Fr Walker's family experienced a conversion and fell in love with the Traditional Mass. Furthermore, his priestly vocation has, in many senses, its roots in this very book.

Please, if you have not read this book, read it.

When I read it I cannot express how much it moved me. It brought me to tears of joy at the sheer beauty of the Traditional Latin Mass.

If you are looking for something to read that will make you appreciate the depth, meaning, spirituality and beauty of the "most beautiful thing this side of Heaven" then get a copy of this book.

Trust me. You will not be the same afterwards.

God bless

It's what they do that matters.

 26th August 2021

You've heard the expression

Actions speak louder than words

In the Catholic Church that could not be truer, especially in the crazy times in which we now find ourselves.

So with that in mind take a look at this little beauty

Messe dans la Basilique St-Pierre de Rome, chapelle saint Pie X • La Porte Latine

What you are seeing is the Tridentine Mass or TLM celebrated by a priest of the SSPX (Society of St Pius X) in ST. PETER'S BASILICA.

Let's note a few things

1) There are no Altar Cards

2) The priest is using a Novus Ordo style semi Gothic Chasuble

3) He is not wearing a Maniple

4) The Missal is much smaller than usual.

What can we draw from these points?

The Altars in St. Peter's Basilica are not set up for the TLM, hence why there are no Altar cards.

Also, this is a group of French Pilgrims. They have gone to Rome with their Priest, Abbé Michel de Sivry who, understandably, hasn't brought an entire sacristy with him. 

Imagining that they were there for about a week, it would be too much to lug a trunk load of Chasubles around and about the city of Rome. So they used what was available in order to have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

There is no Maniple in most Novus Ordo vestment sets. The SSPX is not so rigid as to make a song and dance about it. He gets on with it.

The Missal is small because it is a Travel Missal. SSPX priests are used to travelling light to bring the Sacraments to the Faithful.

No rigidity here.

Yet what is most telling is that this Mass, offered by a priest of the SSPX in early August of 2014, is taking place in St. Peter's Basilica.

Why is a "Schismatic priest" offering the Mass in the very heart of the Catholic Church???

Remember that actions speak louder than words.

Using common sense here we can deduce what happened. The priest and Faithful turned up at the Basilica and asked the officials if they could say Mass.

The officials would have asked them who they are.

KNOWING FULL WELL that they were SSPX, the officials let them use the Altar dedicated to none other than St. Pius X, Patron of the SSPX.

Remember, actions speak louder than words.

The Roman Authorities know full well that the SSPX are not, nor ever were, Schismatic.

They know full well that the state of being "illicit" or "canonically irregular" is, in fact, completely unjust.

The SSPX are truly Catholic.

However, they will not openly admit this.

Why? Because is pulls down the entire Modernist edifice that they have built.

This leads us to where we are today. It answers why Francis is doing his utmost to murder the TLM.

The Plandemic exposed the utter futility and inherent weaknesses of the whole Novus Ordo set up. They closed their Churches over a virus that gives you roughly 99% chance of surviving it.

But is has been all but fatal for the Novus Ordo ideology.

The SSPX and other TLM Communities largely carried on as normal, with same adaptations.

Many people saw it. They made the logical move to where they could get the Sacraments. That and seeing the Theological mess pushed by Francis et al.

The Modernists "had to act". Traditional Catholicism, being truly Godly, is a huge threat to their nefarious and demonic dogmas.

That is why they are trying to destroy it. They know that it is uncompromisingly Catholic.

So next time someone tries to tell you that you are a Schismatic, show them this video and ask them

Why were Schismatics allowed to say Mass in the Vatican?

Of course someone may quip that things are different now as such Masses have been restricted in the Vatican.

The point still stands.

This was 2014. This was before Francis "gave them Faculties to hear Confessions" etc. If they were Schismatic back then what were Vatican Officials doing by allowing them to say Mass?

If in 2014 the Tridentine Mass was permitted in the Vatican, why is it suddenly verboten in 2021?

What is really going on?

Remember

Actions speak louder than words!!!

SSPX Mass in St. Peter's Basilica: video - District of the USA