St. Dominic Teaches Us How To Pray

Are we an angel on Sunday and
a devil the rest of the week?

Many, if not most, in today's world compartmentalize their lives.  They have their business lives, their family lives and their "spiritual" lives (At least some people have a spiritual life.  Far too many completely neglect this aspect of their lives).  They pray on Sunday (or at least a small percentage do) and then work and/or play the rest of the week.  They feel free to take part in almost any activity they want, never thinking of whether it is "right" or "wrong" in the sight of God because their spiritual lives, if such even exists, are completely disengaged from their every day lives.

This is a very dangerous way to live our lives because everything around us, including our very lives, is temporary.  Everything that we can see, touch, taste, smell and hear is going to fade away, and all we will have left is the spiritual  If our entire lives have been consumed with the physical and material, we will fade away right along with it.  Matthew 6:19-24 tells us:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and the moth consume, and where thieves dig through, and steal.
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor the moth doth consume, and where thieves do not dig through, nor steal.

21 For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.

22 The light of thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be simple, thy whole body shall be lightsome.

23 But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be darksome. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great will the darkness itself be?

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 

Christ further warns in the the next chapter, Matthew 7:

21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father, who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many wonderful works in thy name?

23 And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

24 Every one, therefore, that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock.

25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.

27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.

How do we separate ourselves from this world so that we do not perish with it? It is only through prayer, through communion with God. The devil is actively pursuing you, and unless you are actively and constantly resisting him, you will fall prey to his trap. Our strongest weapon in the fight against the devil is prayer, unceasing communion with God. As St. Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5:17, Pray Without Ceasing. The question is, how do we do that?

Pope Benedict XVI recently gave a wonderful talk on this very subject.  I have frequently posted the weekly talks by Pope Benedict XVI because I have found them so very helpful and inspirational.  He has been focusing heavily on prayer in his talks as can be seen here, here and here.  The Holy Father has also included several talks on silence, which is intimately linked to prayer as can be seen here and here.  He continues this theme from his summer vacation home in Castel Gandolfo in a talk he gave on August 8.  This was the feast day of St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominicans.  The Holy Father emphasized the importance of prayer in St. Dominic's life and how he incorporated it into everything he did, leaving us a strong example of how we should live our lives.

Here is the English translation of the transcript from his talk:

On the Prayer of St. Dominic

"The day he dedicated to his neighbor, but the night he gave to God"

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 8, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held at Castel Gandolfo. This morning the Holy Father reflected on the prayer of St. Dominic.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters!

St. Dominic

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Dominic de Guzmán, priest and founder of the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans. In a previous catechesis, I presented this illustrious figure and the fundamental contribution he made to the renewal of the Church of his time. Today I wish to highlight an essential aspect of his spirituality: his life of prayer. St. Dominic was a man of prayer. In love with God, he had no other aspiration than the salvation of souls, especially those who had fallen into the snares of the heresies of his day. An imitator of Christ, he radically embodied the three evangelical counsels, uniting to the proclamation of the Word a witness of a life of poverty. Under the Holy Spirit's guidance, he advanced along the way of Christian perfection. At each moment, prayer was the force that renewed and rendered his apostolic works increasingly fruitful.   

Blessed Jordan of Saxony (who died in 1237), his successor as head of the Order, writes: "During the day, no one showed himself more sociable than he … Conversely, by night, there was none more assiduous than he in keeping watch in prayer. The day he dedicated to his neighbor, but the night he gave to God" (P. Filippini, San Domenico visto dai suoi contemporanei, Bologna 1982, pg. 133). In St. Dominic we can see an example of the harmonious integration between contemplation of the divine mysteries and apostolic activity. According to the testimonies of the persons closest to him, "he always spoke with God or of God." This observation points to his deep communion with the Lord and, at the same time, to his constant commitment to leading others to this communion with God.

St. Dominic, to whom the Blessed Mother
gave the Rosary to fight heresy

He left behind no writings on prayer, but the Dominican tradition has collected and handed on his living experience in a work titled: The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic [click on the link if you wish to read about this]. This book was composed between the year 1260 and 1288 by a Dominican friar. It helps us to understand something of the saint's interior life, and it also helps us, as different as we are, to learn something about how to pray.

St. Dominic in prayer

According to St. Dominic, then, there are nine ways of prayer, and each of these -- which he always carried out in the presence of Jesus Crucified -- express a bodily and a spiritual attitude that, intimately interpenetrating, favors recollection and fervor. The first seven ways follow an ascending line, as steps on a journey toward communion with God, with the Trinity: St. Dominic prays standing, bowed down to express humility; prostrate on the ground to ask pardon for his sins; kneeling in penance to participate in the sufferings of the Lord; with arms outstretched gazing at the crucifix to contemplate Supreme Love, his gaze turned toward heaven, feeling drawn to the world of God. Thus, there are three forms: standing, kneeling, and lying prostrate on the ground -- but always with one's gaze turned to the Crucified Lord.
          

   FIRST WAY OF PRAYER                       SECOND WAY OF PRAYER



Illustrations from The Nine Ways of Prayer from St. Dominic





The two final ways, which I would like briefly to consider, correspond to two forms of piety the saint normally practiced. First, there was personal meditation, where prayer acquires a still more intimate, fervent and comforting dimension. At the end of the recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, and following the celebration of the Mass, St. Dominic prolonged his colloquy with God, without placing any limits on time. Seated quietly, he would recollect himself in an attitude of listening, reading a book or gazing upon the Crucifix. He lived these moments in his relationship with God so intensely that even outwardly his reactions of joy and tears could be perceived. Thus, through meditation, he assimilated the realities of the faith. Witnesses recount that at times he entered into a kind of ecstasy, his face transfigured; but immediately afterward, he would humbly resume his daily activities, recharged by the power that came to him from above. 



Then, there was his prayer during journeys between one friary and another; he recited Lauds, the Midday hour and Vespers with his companions, and as he crossed valleys and hills he contemplated the beauty of creation. From his heart there flowed a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for so many gifts, especially for the greatest wonder: the redemption wrought by Christ.

Dear friends, St. Dominic reminds us that prayer, that personal contact with God, is at the heart and origin of the witness of faith that every Christian must give within family life, at work, in social commitments, and even in times of relaxation. [To separate God from one part of our lives is to be separate from Him in every aspect of our lives.  A relationship with God is an all or nothing proposition.] Only this real relationship with God gives us the strength to live each event intensely, especially the most painful moments. This saint also reminds us of the importance of exterior attitudes in our prayer: kneeling, standing before the Lord, fixing one's gaze on the Crucified, pausing to recollect oneself in silence are not secondary; rather, they help us to place ourselves interiorly, with the whole of our person, in relation to God. I would like to recall once again the need in our spiritual lives to find quiet moments for prayer each day, to have a little time to speak with God. We should take this time especially during the summer holidays, and make a little time to speak with God. It will also be a way of helping those around us to enter into the luminous rays of the presence of God, who brings the peace and love that we all need. Thank you.

St. Dominic was one of the greatest saints of the Catholic Church.   But as with all other great saints, this did not just happen.  He completely gave his life to God.  Every moment was somehow in communion with the Lord, either talking about Him, meditating, reading and of great importance, praying.  He was so united with the Lord that everything he said and did flowed out of that relationship.  That is what it means to be a saint, and that should be the goal for each and every one of us.  "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."  (Matthew 19:26). 

Prayer - intimate communion with the Great Almighty God - is the most powerful spiritual weapon God has given us.  Let us not neglect it, as our Holy Father has exhorted us over and over. 

Assisted Suicide: Just Another Way to Say "I Love You"

Mankind has lived in a fallen world since the time our first parents said yes to the serpent and no to God and as a result were thrust out of the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve had to deal with fratricide when one of their sons, Cain, killed another, Abel.  There is no evil in the world today that has not existed since the beginning of time. 

But there is one big difference in the era in which we live.  Much of what was once deemed totally unacceptable and evil is now being accepted and even embraced as normal, e.g., homosexuality, living together without marriage, having babies outside of marriage, drug use, etc. etc.  And now the New York Times tells us that even suicide is acceptable and further, helping someone to commit this evil act is now considered an act of love.  The Bee Gees sang back in the 70's:

You know it's all right, it's ok
I'll live to see another day
We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man

Assisted suicide?  Why, you just might be up for a
humanitarian award from The New York Times!

Well, in 2012, the New York Times' "effect on man" may be that we will not live to see another day.  A week of so ago in the New York Times Magazine section, there was a question to The Ethicist that just made my mind go tilt, and the answer given was directly from Satan himself.  A woman wrote in very concerned because her mother has asked her to give her books on suicide.  The answer from The Ethicist says everything about how secular and anti-God and anti-life our society has become.   Read on.

SUICIDE WATCH

I am one of five children of two aging parents. My father, 88, is in the early stages of dementia. My mother is 83 and has macular degeneration. I’ve always enjoyed a close relationship with both parents, especially my mother. She is the most practical, intelligent person I have ever known. She is my best friend. I go to her for advice on everything, but I need help with the one thing she has turned to me for: My mother asked me to get her books on how to commit suicide, so that she can read up on it before her vision deteriorates to a point where she can no longer read at all. When pressed, she told me she does not want to commit suicide now — but that when the time comes, knowing how to end her life will give her great comfort. I love her, and I understand how she feels. Do I get her books on suicide? [How low have we fallen as a culture where this question can even be asked?  This woman obviously loves her mother, but she cannot see that helping her mother kill herself is not an act of love!] I also have four siblings — do I have to clear it with them? [She wants to know if giving books on suicide to her mother is something she should clear with her siblings.  We as a society have no idea what love even means anymore.] R.C., Westchester, N.Y.

And here is the understanding, compassionate answer from "The Ethicist":

This is a heavy problem. The request, however, is straightforward and reasonable [!!!!!!!!]. Your mother is not asking you to help her commit suicide; she is asking you for books that explain how such an act could be done without pain or error. [Yes, you're reading it right. This is the answer given in America's "paper of record."  The only thing wrong with suicide is if it is painful or you make a mistake, not like suicide itself is a mistake!] You describe her as “practical and intelligent,” so it’s not as if she’s making this request from a position of confusion or naïveté. She may never act on this urge, and it’s possible that reading about the reality of suicide might make her less willing to consider it. But the fact that she’s asking you to acquire these books is meaningful. She could undoubtedly find them on her own, but she specifically asked you to do it for her. What this suggests is that she’s indirectly asking for your permission to consider this option and potentially helping you prepare for the inevitable end of her life. [I guess it didn't occur to "The Ethicist" that possibly the woman's mother is reaching out to her daughter and saying  "help me." ]  It’s doubtful that simply withholding these books will stop her from making a decision this profound [Note, suicide is a "profound" decision, not a morally wrong decision], so I would get her what she requests. But keep in mind that this is more than a favor. This is an attempt to communicate much deeper information to a child she trusts. As for your siblings, you don’t need their permission [!!!!!], but you should absolutely tell them that your mother has made this request (and that you elected to fulfill her wish) [isn't this thoughtful of The Ethicist]. If they find this upsetting or shocking [I can't imagine why they would be shocked by the news that their mother wants to kill herself and their sister is going to give her books on how to do it], explain your reasoning and tell them that they need to talk to your mother about why this is important to her.

Ah, so now we have been told by The New York Times that telling someone you want to kill yourself is just another way of saying I love you and trust you.  And if we love the person who confides so in us, we will respond in the most compassionate way possible and help him or her do it, but do it in the right way, with no errors or pain.  After all, life with any kind of discomfort or suffering just isn't worth living, and so if someone does not have a perfect life, the most loving thing we can do is help them end it if that is what they wish. 

Back in the 70's there was a very funny movie made called "The End" with Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise.  Burt Reynolds played a man who has just been told he has a fatal disease, and he decided the only way to deal with it was to kill himself.  After he attempts suicide, he meets Dom DeLuise's character in a psychiatric hospital.  When Burt tells Dom he wants to kill himself, Dom feels the best way to be his friend is to help him in his morbid goal.  Each time Burt would come close to it, he would chicken out.  Here is the trailer:


The truth is, Burt's character didn't really want to die. He just wanted to find a way out of the pain he was in. We laughed at Dom DeLuise's character because we knew that his "assistance" to Burt wasn't really the right thing.  By the end of the movie both Burt and the audience know that life is always the best choice.  But the New York Times would treat this story as a serious drama, and Dom DeLuise would be the hero of the movie. 


Where does thinking like this come from?  It may sound strange, but it all comes from the use of artificial birth control.  When we use birth control we are cutting ourselves off from life, and to cut ourselves off from life is to separate from God.  When you are separate from God, your only other choice is the devil, whose only goal is to destroy you.  So you have now made a partnership with your worst enemy.  We have now separated ourselves from the author of Life and from the One who gave his Life for us so that we may spend eternity in complete bliss and happiness with him.  Instead, we are now in league and controlled by the very one who is the author of death and who wishes to destroy us.  What else can we expect?  Of course suicide is going to be glorified in our society.  We celebrate the "right" of women to kill their babies.  We run from pain and suffering, and by doing so, we run right into the arms of the devil.  Instead of taking the Cross from Christ that will lead us to life, we take up the cross from the devil upon which he will kill us.  As Blessed John Paul II said, we are a culture of death.

And we honestly think there is still hope for a society that thinks assisted suicide is a form of love?  America, America, how I mourn for you!

The Greatness of the Mother of God

Those outside of the Catholic Church, and sadly, far too many in the Catholic Church, are very critical of the veneration and devotion the Church gives to Mary, the Mother of God.  The Catholic Church is often accused of worshipping Mary and putting her above our Lord.  I can only attribute this to the fact that these people are not aware of the great role our Blessed  Mother plays in our salvation.  She, above all other women, was chosen to be the Mother of God. As our Lord hung dying on the cross, one of His very last acts was to give her to us as our mother.   Our Lady reigns in heaven with her Son as the Queen of Heaven and Earth. The angels praise her as their queen. She is the arch enemy of Satan and the crusher of all heresies because it was her "yes" that crushed the head of the serpent, the devil. 

The Litany of Loretto gives us some of the titles for our Blessed Mother.  Here is a portion of that Litany:

Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Heath of the Sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of Angels,
Queen of Patriarchs,

Queen of Prophets,
Queen of Apostles,
Queen of Martyrs,
Queen Confessors,
Queen of Virgins,
Queen of all Saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,




In yesterday's traditional breviary, there was a beautiful reading from St. Gregory the Great on the importance and magnificence of Mary.  As the great saint, St. Maximilian Kolbe said,

 “Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.”

St. Maximilian Kolbe

The Lesson is taken from the Exposition
of the Books of Kings by St. Gregory the Pope

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim of Mount Ephraim. The Mount, whence this man came forth, mindeth us of the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. For she is like unto a mountain, in that she is raised up above the height of any other elect creature by the dignity to which she was preferred. Did not Mary, like as a wondrous mountain of holiness, tower to a height above all the angelic choirs, so as to approach toward the very throne of God, in that she reached so high as to conceive the Eternal Word? Now Isaias hath a prophecy concerning the most excellent dignity of such a mountain : And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains. And verily Mary, in the height of her holiness, sitteth on high, above all the other Saints, like as a lofty mountain piled on top of another range of lofty mountains.

* * * 

St. Faustina

In the words of St. Faustina:

"To give worthy praise to the Lord's mercy, we unite ourselves with Your Immaculate Mother, for then our hymn will be more pleasing to You, because She is chosen from among men and angels. Through Her, as through a pure crystal, Your mercy was passed on to us. Through Her, man became pleasing to God; Through Her, streams of grace flowed down upon us." (Diary Entry 1746)

You will not be able to find any great saint in the Catholic Church who did not have a deep devotion to our Lady.  This is what just a couple of those great saints have told us:

'Mary having co-operated in our redemption with so much glory to God and so much love for us, Our Lord ordained that no one shall obtain salvation except through her intercession.'
--St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori 

“The greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue will be the most assiduous in praying to the most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them.”
--Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

St. Louis Marie de Montfort

In just a few days we will be celebrating the feast of our Lady's Assumption into heaven.  She alone of all human beings has been assumed body and soul into heaven because other than her Son, she has been the only sinless human being in the history of mankind.  There is no praise too high for this most magnificent of all God's creatures.  We cannot please Jesus more than when we give praise and glory to His Mother:

”The honor of Mary is so intimately connected with the honor and glory of Jesus that to deny the one is at the same time a denial of the other.”
--Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

”Jesus honored her before all ages, and will honor her for all ages. No one comes to Him, nor even near Him, no one is saved or sanctified, if he too will not honor her. This is the lot of Angels and of men.”
--Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Martyr

In these evil times we live in, we have no safer and more sure refuge than with our Blessed Mother. 

“In trial or difficulty I have recourse to Mother Mary, whose glance alone is enough to dissipate every fear.”
--Saint Therese of Lisieux

“No matter how sinful one may have been, if he has devotion to Mary, it is impossible that he be lost."
--Saint Hilary of Poitiers -Bishop, Father, and Doctor of the Church

"Seek refuge in Mary because she is the city of refuge. We know that Moses set up three cities of refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed his neighbor. Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides shelter and strength for the sinner."
--Saint Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church

How can we not love this most beautiful Creation of our Lord!  As St. Augustine has told us, we cannot praise her too much or hold her in too much esteem.   And her love for us is more than we will ever be able to fathom in this life. 

“Think of what the Saints have done for their neighbor because they loved God. But what Saint's love for God can match Mary's? She loved Him more in the first moment of her existence than all the Saints and angels ever loved Him or will love Him. Our Lady herself revealed to Sister Mary Crucified that the fire of her love was most extreme. If Heaven and earth were placed in it, they would be instantly consumed. And the ardors of the seraphim, compared with it, are like cool breezes. Just as there is not one among all the Blessed who loves God as Mary does, so there is no one, after God, who loves us as much as this most loving Mother does. Furthermore, if we heaped together all the love that mothers have for their children, all the love of husbands and wives, all the love of all the angels and Saints for their clients, it could never equal Mary's love for even a single soul.”--Saint Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary

Saint Alphonsus Liguori

We hear many dissident and heretical voices in the Church today, calling for active disobedience to the Magesterium and the plain teaching and dogma of the Church, e.g., the acceptance of birth control, married priests, women priests, acceptance of homosexuality.  Is it coincidence that none of those in conflict with the church have a devotion to Mary?  We never see any heretics or dissidents praying the Rosary or praising our Lady.

There is no more sure or safe road to salvation than through our Blessed Mother, and no surer way to damnation than to reject her.  Give yourself to Mary and you will be assured of finding Her Son.  Let us give praise and honor to the Great Mother of God as we prepare for the great Feast of the Assumption.

The Immaculate alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan. She seeks souls that will consecrate themselves entirely to her, that will become in her hands forceful instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spread of God's kingdom."
--St. Maximilian Kolbe

'After the love which we owe Jesus Christ, we must give the chief place in our heart to the love of His Mother Mary.'
--St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

 "But the power of Mary over all the devils will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lay his snares against her heel: that is to say, her humble slaves and her poor children, whom she will raise up to make war against him. They shall be little and poor in the world’s esteem, and abased before all like the heel, trodden underfoot and persecuted as the heel is by the other members of the body. But in return for this they shall be rich in the grace of God, which Mary shall distribute to them abundantly. They shall be great and exalted before God in sanctity, superior to all other creatures by their lively zeal, and so well sustained with God’s assistance that, with the humility of their heel, in union with Mary, they shall crush the head of the devil and cause Jesus Christ to triumph."
--Saint Louis de Montfort True Devotion to Mary

American Military Preparing to Fight Americans

On December 31, 2011, while the US was partying on New Year's Eve and no one was watching, President Barack Obama quietly signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which allows the president to instruct the military to arrest any American at any time with no charge and place them in an undisclosed place for an indefinite period of time with no trial.  You can go here and here to read about this.  As I posted on March 20, President Obama further signed an executive order as follows:

In a stunning move, on March 16, 2012, Barack Obama signed an Executive Order stating that the President and his specifically designated Secretaries now have the authority to commandeer all domestic U.S. resources including food and water. The EO also states that the President and his Secretaries have the authority to seize all transportation, energy, and infrastructure inside the United States as well as forcibly induct/draft American citizens into the military. The EO also contains a vague reference in regards to harnessing American citizens to fulfill “labor requirements” for the purposes of national defense. 

Now the latest news is that the military is putting a plan in place to fight Americans.  Oh yes, you read that correctly.  The American military is making plans to go to war against American citizens. Here is the editorial from The Washington Times, lamenting that this is going too far:

EDITORIAL: The Civil War of 2016

U.S. military officers are told to plan to fight Americans

Imagine Tea Party extremists seizing control of a South Carolina town and the Army being sent in to crush the rebellion. This farcical vision is now part of the discussion in professional military circles.

At issue is an article in the respected Small Wars Journal titled “Full Spectrum Operations in the Homeland: A ‘Vision’ of the Future.” It was written by retired Army Col. Kevin Benson of the Army's University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and Jennifer Weber, a Civil War expert at the University of Kansas. It posits an “extremist militia motivated by the goals of the ‘tea party’ movement” seizing control of Darlington, S.C., in 2016, “occupying City Hall, disbanding the city council and placing the mayor under house arrest.” The rebels set up checkpoints on Interstate 95 and Interstate 20 looking for illegal aliens. It’s a cartoonish and needlessly provocative scenario.

The article is a choppy patchwork of doctrinal jargon and liberal nightmare. The authors make a quasi-legal case for military action and then apply the Army’s Operating Concept 2016-2028 to the situation. They write bloodlessly that “once it is put into play, Americans will expect the military to execute without pause and as professionally as if it were acting overseas.” They claim that “the Army cannot disappoint the American people, especially in such a moment,” not pausing to consider that using such efficient, deadly force against U.S. citizens would create a monumental political backlash and severely erode government legitimacy.

The vision is hard to take seriously [no, unfortunately, it is not hard to take seriously at all]. As retired Army Brig. Gen. Russell D. Howard, a former professor at West Point, observed earlier in his career, “I am a colonel, colonels write a lot of crazy stuff, but no one listens to colonels, so I don’t see the problem.” [They are trying very hard to deflect attention from this.]  Twenty years ago, then-Air Force Lt. Col. Charles J. Dunlap Jr. created a stir with an article in Parameters titled “The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012.” It carried a disclaimer that the coup scenario was “purely a literary device intended to dramatize my concern over certain contemporary developments affecting the armed forces, and is emphatically not a prediction.”

The scenario presented in Small Wars Journal isn’t a literary device but an operational lay-down intended to present the rationale and mechanisms for Americans to fight Americans. Col. Benson and Ms. Weber contend, “Army officers are professionally obligated to consider the conduct of operations on U.S. soil.” This is a dark, pessimistic and wrongheaded view of what military leaders should spend their time studying.

 A professor at the Joint Forces Staff College was relieved of duty in June for uttering the heresy that the United States is at war with Islam. The Obama administration contended the professor had to be relieved because what he was teaching was not U.S. policy. Because there is no disclaimer attached to the Small Wars piece, it is fair to ask, at least in Col. Benson’s case, whether his views reflect official policy regarding the use of U.S. military force against American citizens.

Visions of Sister Lucy

I wish I was making this up. Interestingly, it is planned for 2016. That is very close to coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of our Lady of Fatima, which occurred in 1917. What does this have to do with anything? Read the following from fatima.org:

At Rianjo, Spain in August 1931, Our Lord communicated to Sister Lucy His dissatisfaction with the Pope’s and the Catholic bishops’ failure to obey His command to consecrate Russia [Sister Lucy was one of the visionaries of Fatima and the only one to survive past childhood, as predicted by our Lady]. He said:

Make it known to My ministers, given that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My requests, they will follow him into misfortune. It is never too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary.

In another text Lucy wrote that Our Lord complained to her:

They did not wish to heed My request! Like the King of France they will repent of it, and they will do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread its errors in the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. The Holy Father will have much to suffer.

The reference by Jesus to the King of France’s disobedience and punishment is as follows:

On June 17, 1689 the Sacred Heart of Jesus manifested to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque His command to the King of France that the King was to consecrate France to the Sacred Heart. For 100 years to the day the Kings of France delayed, and did not obey.

So on June 17, 1789 [100 years to the day from St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's warning] the King of France was stripped of his legislative authority by the upstart Third Estate, and four years later the soldiers of the French Revolution executed the King of France as if he were a criminal.

In 1793 France sent its King, Louis XVI, to the guillotine. He and his predecessors had failed to obey Our Lord’s request that France be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and thus misfortune had befallen both the King and his country.

Execution of King Louis XVI

Now, after more than seventy-five years, another consecration requested by God Himself, the solemn public Consecration of Russia, has still not been performed. In the meantime, we see that the prophecies predicted by Our Lady of Fatima are being fulfilled, and the Pope and bishops will be punished if they continue delaying the execution of God’s requests.

In the vision of the Third Secret of Fatima, released by the Vatican on June 26, 2000 the Pope and bishops were shown the results of ignoring Our Lord’s requests. The vision depicts a bishop dressed in white, who is shot and killed by a band of soldiers while he is kneeling at the foot of a large wooden cross atop a hill, after having traversed a half-ruined city filled with corpses. The execution of the bishop dressed in white is followed by the execution of many bishops, priests and laity. This prophetic vision of death and destruction should serve as a warning to those who persist in delaying the requests of God, for Our Lord warned Sister Lucy that if the bishops continue to do this, "they will follow him (the murdered King Louis XVI of France) into misfortune."

We are seeing our government turn against the Catholic Church before our eyes. The handwriting is on the wall. We know that the government views anyone who speaks out as a potential terrorist. Even those who pray in front of abortion clinics are suspects.  As I have stated and shown on this blog, soon anyone who "discriminates" against homosexuals will be prosecuted for hate crimes.  This will allow the government to close churches.  Just as the Catholic Church in China has been forced underground, so it will happen here in the United States. 

There is no more time to bury our heads in the sand.  We are headed for times of great persecution and martyrdom.  We must start preparing now and asking our Lord and our Lady for the grace and strength to stand up for what is right as the United States government more and more becomes the force of evil.  And it will not matter who is president or controlling the Congress, Republican or Democrat.  Voting for the "right" person will not make a difference.  Prayer is our only weapon.

Romney - Faux Conservative

I was recently told by a good and devout Catholic recently that I must vote for Mitt Romney because to choose not to vote is the same as voting for Barack Obama, and to vote for any other candidate is throwing my vote away, which again amounts to voting for Barack Obama.  When I tried to point out that I really see no difference between the candidates, I was basically told I was crazy, that Romney is our only hope.

I have posted several times on this blog about my great disappointment in Mitt Romney, from his approval of homosexuals adopting children, to his support for the National Defense Authorization Act which allows the president to order the military to arrest any American citizen at any time with no charge and hold them indefinitely at an undisclosed location for an indefinite period of time with no trial, to the fact that Romney had a fundraiser at the house of the manufacturer of the morning after pill. 

Now the Catholic League is "astonished" that Romney will not take a position on the Chick-Fil-A controversy.  If Bill Donohue of the Catholic League had been the least aware of just how liberal Romney really is, he would not be in the least shocked at Romney's reaction, or lack of reaction, to the condemnation the owner of Chick-Fil-A received from the liberal establishment for stating he was  in favor of traditional marriage and against same sex marriage. 

Conservatives so badly want a candidate that they believe represents them that they are willing to accept anything that is thrown their way.  Back in the 2008 election, the liberal mantra was "anyone but Bush."  As a result, we got Barack Obama, who has led this country rapidly down the road to atheistic socialism.  Now in 2012 the conservative mantra is "anyone but Obama."  As a result, conservatives stand behind Mitt Romney, whose record is almost as liberal as that of Barack Obama. Until recent years, Romney was a strong supporter of abortion, his healthcare law in Massachusetts was the blueprint for Obama's pro-abortion, anti-Catholic healthcare law, and as I have shown, he is most definitely in favor of big government intruding into our lives, e.g., the National Defense Authorization Act.  Romney says he is not in favor of same sex marriage or "civil unions that are identical to marriage", as he says in this quote:

“Well when these issues were raised in my state of Massachusetts, I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name. My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate but that the others are not.”

As Josh Marshall of talkingpointsmemo.com states:  "What does that mean exactly? I’m not sure why Romney wouldn’t say, I’m against gay marriage. I’m against civil unions. But I could support visitation rights, some domestic partnership benefits etc. But he didn’t. He seems to be saying that some civil unions could be okay as long as they’re clearly inferior to ‘marriage’, rather than simply being a different name for the identical bundle of rights."

So why are we surprised when Mitt Romney refuses to take a position on conservative issues, such as the controversy of Chick-Fil-A?  People need to stop hearing and seeing only what they want to believe and face up to reality.  We do not have a choice in this presidential election.

Here is the article from Newmax:

Catholic League Chief ‘Astonished’ By Romney Chick-fil-A Stance

Monday, 06 Aug 2012 01:49 PM

By David A. Patten


The Romney campaign’s decision to duck the Chick-fil-A controversy over gay-marriage appears to have reopened old wounds with social conservatives, who were never fully sold that the former Massachusetts governor would represent their concerns in the marbled halls of Washington.

“This is the most disheartened that certainly I’ve felt looking at this entire race,” said Catholic League president Bill Donohue. He told Newsmax in an exclusive interview that social conservatives will now have to decide whether to sit out the race.  [Where have you been on all the other issues, Bill?  You wouldn't be surprised if you had been paying attention.]

On Friday, Romney told reporters he does not intend to address the controversy that was touched off when big city mayors threatened to punish the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain after its president, Dan Cathy, voiced support for the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

“Those are not things that are part of my campaign,” said Romney.  [Why aren't they part of his campaign?  We really need to ask ourselves that question.]

Romney’s aides have explained that while the presumptive GOP presidential nominee favors the traditional definition of marriage, he is trying to structure his remarks to keep the focus solely on the economy in order to have the best possible chance of defeating President Barack Obama in November.  [Romney doesn't want to talk about this issue.  Could it be that he is hiding his true agenda, which isn't all the different from Barack Obama?]

Longtime columnist and former GOP presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan waded in on the issue Friday, telling Politico that Republicans must push back against gay marriage or risk losing social conservatives for a generation.

“I don’t understand why Mitt Romney doesn’t just get his Secret Service detail and take his press corps down to a Chick-fil-A and show solidarity with these people,” Buchanan said, adding: " . . . Reagan would have walked right on down there naturally.”  [Wake up and smell the coffee, Pat.  Romney is folding on this issue, and he will be no different than Barack Obama if elected president.  That is why he won't "show solidarity with these people."]

Donohue, pointing out that constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz and the ACLU issued bold statements condemning the effort to punish Chick-fil-A, told Newsmax that Romney’s decision to be “agnostic on this issue” could prove to be “the defining moment” of the 2012 campaign.  [We've had tons of "defining moments" in this campaign.  This is only the latest.]

“Social conservatives have to make up their mind whether they should just simply stay at home, or go out there and vote for Romney [my point exactly],” said Donohue. “I’m astonished that he couldn’t even come to grips with the question — leaving gays out of it — do we want the chief executives, the mayors of large cities trying to intimidate, using the power of government against private enterprises whose politics they disagree with? I think it’s a pretty simple issue.” [It is a simple issue, Bill, and Romney by his silence is telling you exactly where he stands on it.]

Donohue noted that many social conservatives were skeptical before Romney decided to sit out the controversy, which has only aggravated that uneasy relationship. He said the campaign’s response “does not bode well” for the role social conservatives and their issues will play in the upcoming convention, and beyond.

Donohue voiced his appreciation that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a favorite of evangelicals and other conservative voters, has been invited to address the convention. But he said that placate social conservatives.

“No one’s going to be allowed to speak at any great length on this issue,” he predicted in regard to the convention. “All we’re going to hear is that marriage is between a man and a woman. That’s flatulent.”  [I can only repeat, there is no real difference between the Republicans and Democrats.]

More feedback to Romney’s no comment came from conservative direct marketing pioneer Richard Viguerie, who told Newsmax: "Governor Romney has once again disappointed the conservative base of the Republican Party by refusing to support Chick-fil-A when they were attacked by Democrat politicians and others who favor the radical homosexual agenda.

While President Obama united the base of the Democratic Party by appealing to those interests, Governor Romney's silence has merely served to unite the Fortune 500 and other establishment interests he already had behind his candidacy."

Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition counseled social conservatives not to overreact to Romney’s response, however.

“I would certainly recommend Mitt Romney or any other candidate stop by a Chick-fil-A while on the campaign trail,” Reed told Newsmax.

“But on the salient and defining issue of what constitutes marriage, Romney has with great moral clarity made it unambiguously clear that he believes that marriage should be defined between a man and a woman,” said Reed. “Voters of faith will remember that when they go to the polls in November.”  [Oh yea? See Romney's "great moral clarity" in the comment I posted above about his stance on same sex marriage.  From Romney:  "I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name. My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate but that the others are not.”]

And the hits keep coming.  There is now a story from cnsnews that Mitt Romney has no problems with homosexuals being boy scout leaders.  And this is nothing new.  He has always supported homosexuals being part of the Boy Scouts.  Read on.

Romney Says Boy Scouts Should Admit Homosexuals

By Patrick Burke
August 9, 2012

(CNSNews.com) – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has reiterated his view that the Boy Scouts of America should admit homosexuals as Scouts and Scout leaders. He also supports the right of the Scouts to decide their own policies.

Currently, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) do not admit homosexuals as Scouts or Scout leaders.

In 1994, when Romney was running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts against Democrat Sen. Ted Kennedy, Romney said “all people should be allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation.”

Tovia Smith of WBUR radio in Boston asked Romney during an October 1994 senatorial debate, “Mr. Romney, you say you’re a moderate on social issues, one who will defend abortion rights, equal rights for women, for blacks and for gays -- in fact, you say you will do more to promote gay rights than Senator Kennedy.”

Smith continued, “You also sit on the national Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, which has an exclusionary policy banning gay members. Do you support that policy and, if not, have you ever done anything as a board member to oppose it?”

Romney said, “I believe that the Boy Scouts of America does a wonderful service for this country. I support the right of the Boy Scouts of America to decide what it wants to do on that issue. I feel that all people should be allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation.”

Romney campaign spokesperson Andrea Saul confirmed to the Associated Press on Aug. 5 that Romney maintains the position he took back in 1994.  [At last, an issue on which Romney has not flip flopped.]

When asked for direct confirmation that Gov. Romney maintains the same position he held in 1994, the Romney campaign referred CNSNews.com to several past quotations regarding Romney’s opposition to the ban, including that of the 1994 debate.

Zach Wahls, an Eagle Scout and founder of Scouts for Equality, hailed Romney’s stance as “the right thing to do,” as well as the fact that President Obama apparently shares the same view on this issue.

“I think more generally, if you look at the fact that both President Obama and his opponent in the presidential election are on the record together in this incredibly polarized political climate, I think it really speaks to both the moral validity and also the critical importance of ending this policy,” Wahls told CNSNews.com.

“There aren't a whole lot of areas in the American political sphere where you see this kind of overlap, and I think it really does speak volumes about how important this is,” he said.

As reported by CNSNews.com, the Boy Scouts of America came under scrutiny after a petition was released by ousted Cub Scout den leader and lesbian Jennifer Tyrell on Change.org, urging the Scouts to change the policy on openly gay members.

Although the petition has been signed by 320,000 people across the country, including Hollywood celebrities, the Scouts have not changed the policy.

“Contrary to media reports, the Boy Scouts of America has no plans to change its membership policy. The introduction of a resolution does not indicate the organization is ‘reviewing’ a policy or signal a change in direction,” according to an official statement from the Boy Scouts of America national office on June 7.

“The BSA is a voluntary, private organization that sets policies that are best for the organization,” reads the statement. “The BSA welcomes all who share its beliefs but does not criticize or condemn those who wish to follow a different path.”

Upon becoming a Boy Scout, each member takes the following oath:

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

In June of 2000, the Boy Scouts of America went to the Supreme Court to preserve their right not to admit homosexuals after the New Jersey Supreme Court had ruled that the Scouts policy was in violation of New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law.

The Boy Scouts in that state had been sued by a former Eagle Scout who came out as a homosexual after becoming a Scoutmaster, and was consequently removed from that post.

The brief filed by the gay advocacy organization Lambda Legal argued that the phrase “morally straight” does not necessarily apply to sexual orientation. 

“Likewise, members and sponsors can have widely divergent views on what it means to be ‘morally straight’—and whether that tenet relates to sexual orientation in any way again, so long as they are not known to be gay themselves,” reads the Lambda Legal brief.  [This is emblematic of what has happened in our world today.  Sin is no longer called sin, and if we don't accept it as normal, then we are the ones with the problem.  Mitt Romney being in favor of homosexual scout leaders only adds to this problem, and as president, he will enforce this sin.]

However, the Court ruled in the Scouts’ favor and, in the majority opinion, the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist rejected the argument that homosexuality could constitute “morally straight” behavior, by citing the Boy Scouts’ statements to the contrary.

“And the terms ‘morally straight’ and ‘clean’ are by no means self-defining. Different people would attribute to those terms very different meanings. For example, some people may believe that engaging in homosexual conduct is not at odds with being ‘morally straight’ and ‘clean,’” Rehnquist wrote. 

“And others may believe that engaging in homosexual conduct is contrary to being ‘morally straight’ and ‘clean.’ The Boy Scouts says it falls within the latter category,” wrote Rehnquist.  [Obviously, those "others" does not includes the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, who sees no problem with homosexuals leading the Boy Scouts.]

The current BSA policy on sexual orientation reads as follows:

“While the BSA does not proactively inquire about the sexual orientation of employees, volunteers, or members, we do not grant membership to members who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the BSA."

And if Mitt Romney has his way, the Boy Scouts will accept homosexuals as leaders of their Scouts.  What, pray tell, is the difference between Obama and Romney?  Romney nuances his words while Obama says it right out.  But whether Obama is re-elected or Romney wins, our society will continue to devolve into moral depravity.  There is no politician who can or even wants to change that, and this includes Mitt Romney.

Meditation on the First Joyful Mystery - The Annunciation

Yesterday, August 4, was the First Saturday of the Month. The First Saturday Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was first mentioned by Our Lady of Fatima on July 13, 1917. After showing the three children a vision of hell she said, "You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace... I shall come to ask for... the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays..." The First Saturday devotion is as follows:

It consists in going to Confession, receiving Communion, reciting five decades of the Rosary and meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary on the first Saturday of five consecutive months. The Confession may be made during the eight days preceding or following the first Saturday of each month, provided that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. Should one forget to form the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it may be formed at the next Confession, occasion to go to confession being taken at the first opportunity 

The young girl Mary in prayer

Today I wish to post a meditation on the first Joyful Mystery, the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to our Blessed Mother. This Mystery involves the beginning of the Gospel story in which we see our Lady as a young girl, probably about 14 years old, living in Nazareth who is recently engaged to Joseph. She is somewhat upset about this because it had been her intention to dedicate her life to God as a virgin. But she was an extremely obedient young girl and did as her parents wished.  

A great miracle had occurred with Mary's cousin, Elizabeth and her husband, Zachary, who lived in Jerusalem. They were an older couple and had never been able to have children. Elizabeth was now past the age of child bearing. However, an angel appeared to Zachary and told him Elizabeth would conceive. Zachary disbelieved and laughed at the angel, but to both his and Elizabeth's amazement, she did conceive and was now in her sixth month of pregnancy.

This same angel, the angel Gabriel, now went to Nazareth where Mary lived and appeared to her. We are told in Luke 1:28 - "And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." This is now the first part of the "Hail Mary" prayer which every Catholic learns from the time they can talk (or at least we use to learn it at an early age).

 The book of Luke tells us of Mary's reaction to the angel: "Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be." I think this is probably a bit of an understatement.  Anyone would be quite frightened if a supernatural being suddenly appeared in front of him. Gabriel immediately addressed Mary's concerns and said: "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God."   Our Blessed Mother has appeared many times over the centuries, and especially in the last couple of hundred years, to many people. Like Gabriel, one of her first statements is usually "Do not be afraid." I am sure she keeps in mind how she felt when Gabriel appeared to her.

There is no doubt that Mary was still very confused at this point and could not fathom what possible reason an angel could have for appearing to her.   She was just a poor little Jewish girl in an unimportant town without any influence on anyone or anything.  Why would God single her out? 

The angel Gabriel went on with his message:  "Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.  And of his kingdom there shall be no end. "

Mary's mind most likely reeled at this message.  She was engaged to be married, and this could most certainly cause major problems. If she became pregnant outside of marriage, she could be stoned to death.  And what is this about giving birth to the Son of the Most High who will reign over the house of Jacob forever? How was she, a little non-entity Jewish girl with no prestige in the world and probably not even able to read, going to give birth to the Son of the Most High?

 Mary had to be completely overwhelmed with this message.  Unlike Zachary, she did not laugh at or disbelieve Gabriel.  She did not protest in any way with Gabriel or try to go into the many arguments that most likely popped into her mind.  The only question Mary asked the Angel Gabriel was, "How shall this be done, because I know not man?"   No when, where, what or why.  As far as Mary knew, it was not possible to become pregnant while still a virgin.  But there was no looking for a way out, no hesitation at all.  She merely wanted to know how this would be done. 

And Gabriel told her, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.."  Gabriel also told Mary about the miracle of her cousin Elizabeth becoming pregnant in her old age.  "And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God." 

I think it is safe to say the young Mary still did not understand how or what was happening to her.  All she knew was God was asking her to bear a Son for him.  Without hesitation, without argument, she gave her answer to Gabriel. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word." 


At that point one of the most momentous events in history occurred. As we say in the Angelus, "And The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."  With her "Yes", Mary became the new Eve.  Our first mother Eve said no to God and yes to Satan, and condemned herself and all her progeny to be born with original sin and live cut off from our Creator.  Mary's "yes" brought Christ to this earth and through His Sacrifice, cleanses us of the sin we have inherited from our first parents and brings us into the Kingdom of God.  With her "Yes", Mary crushed the head of that old serpent, Satan, and became the destroyer of all heresies.  “Thou alone, O Mary, has crushed all heresies in the whole world,” sings the Church in the Divine Office. We are told in Genesis 3:15:

I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

When Mary said "Yes," God in the second Person of the Trinity left his throne in heaven and took up residence in the womb of a young girl on earth.  She became the Ark of the Covenant, the Gate of Heaven.  Through Mary's "Yes," God became Man.  The Creator became one of the created.  Christ took on the form of a slave, as the Apostle Paul wrote in the Book of Philippians 2:6-7:  

Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,

Mary gave Christ the human nature which, 33 years later, was poured out on the Cross to redeem mankind from eternity in hell.  Mary was a part of this great Sacrifice by our Lord and Creator from the beginning.  She shared equally in His Sufferings, in His Passion and in His Triumph over sin and now reigns with Him in heaven as Queen of Heaven and Earth.  In one of his very last acts before his death, Christ gave His Mother to be our Mother, this great symbol of humility and obedience to God.  The Queen of Heaven and Earth is our Mother just as much as she is the Mother of God. 

No other religion in the world has their god sacrificing himself to save men.  Christianity is unique among all beliefs because it is the true belief. And it was the young unknown girl in Nazareth, Mary, who gave Christ to us in the form of a man through her Yes to the Angel Gabriel.