BUT I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of justice, and of judgment. Of sin: because they believed not in me. And of justice: because I go to the Father; and you shall see me no longer.
— John, 16: 7-9
On the Sign of the Cross
The Ursaline Manual, 1857
“THERE is nothing which can more effectually assist you to recollect the presence of God, and remind you of the duty of consecrating all that you say or do to his honor and glory, than the frequent and devout use of the sign of the Cross. This sacred sign has always been used by the Church to signify, that all graces and spiritual assistance are derived from the cross and passion of Jesus Christ. When accompanied with corresponding sentiments, it is an excellent form of prayer, a fervent act of faith, of hope, and of charity, beside being a public and solemn Profession of our belief in those mysteries of our religion, which we must all believe and profess in order to be saved; namely, the Unity and Trinity of God, the Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection of our Savior.
“Our Saviour did not think the time between His Resurrection and Ascension a fitting one for glorifying the Instrument of His victory. The Cross was not to be brought into notice, until it had subjected the world to Him Whose glory it so eloquently proclaimed. Jesus was three days in the tomb; His Cross is to lie buried unknown to men, for three centuries: but it is to have its Resurrection, and the Church celebrates this Resurrection today. Jesus would, in his own good time, add to the joy of Easter by miraculously revealing to us this sacred monument of His love for mankind. He intrusts it to our keeping, it is to be our consolation, as long as this world last: is it not just, that we should love and venerate it? (more…)
“FURTHERMORE, if anyone has once been apprehended in schism or heresy, or confessed or condemned for these, such a person can never be elected Roman Pontiff; otherwise, the election would be null and void, nor will it be revalidated by the passage of time or long possession, and anyone, when this offense appears, may withdraw from his obedience, without waiting for any declaration in this regard, according to the Bull of Paul IV, Cum Ex Apostolatus, and therefore has an exception that can be presented against the election of the Pope.”
—- Carolo Antonio Thesauro SJ, De Poenis Ecclesiasticis Praxis Absoluta et Universalis, 1831
[Source]
“VITALIS was a soldier, and the father of Saints Gervasius and Protasius. Coming one day into Ravenna, in company with the judge of Paulinus, there was being led to execution, for his having confessed the Christian faith, a certain Ursicinus, a physician. Vitalis observing that his courage was somewhat staggered by the tortures, cried out to him: ‘Ursicinus! thou that art a physician, and curest other men, take heed lest thou wound thyself with the dart of eternal death!’ Encouraged by these words, Ursicinus bravely suffered martyrdom. Whereupon, Paulinus was exceedingly angry, and ordered Vitalis to be seized, tortured on the rack, and then thrown into a deep pit, where he was to be buried alive by stones being thrown upon him. This done, one of the priests of Apollo, who had excited Paulinus against Vitalis, was possessed by a devil, and began shouting these words: ‘O Vitalis, Martyr of Christ, thou burnest me beyond endurance!’ Mad with the inward burning, he threw himself into a river.”
— Dom Prosper Guéranger, “St. Vitalis, Martyr, The Liturgical Year
“HE could not restrain his feelings when he saw nature born again with her Saviour in these days of spring, the flowers blossoming under the steps of his Risen Lord, the birds celebrating his victory in their harmonious songs. His heart was full to overflowing with love and poetry; he touched the flowers gently with his stick and upbraided them, saying, ‘Hold your peace, hold your peace.’ ‘To whom do these lands belong?’ he said one day to a companion. ‘to whom do these lands belong, I say? You do not understand. They belong to our great God.’ And his biographer relates that he was rapt in an ecstasy of love and carried some distance through the air. ‘Love God, my brethren,’ he repeated to all those he met. ‘love God, who so well deserves our love. Do you not hear the very leaves on the trees telling you to love God? O love of God, love of God!”
— Dom Prosper Guéranger, “St. Paul of the Cross,” The Liturgical Year
ALAN writes:
Two years ago I wrote about peace-loving Communists in St. Louis who staged a riot outside city hall in 1932. (TTH, Feb. 22, 2024) They “demanded” more welfare handouts to more people.
Two weeks ago, a group of Communist-trained agitators returned to city hall and tried for twenty minutes to shout down the mayor of St. Louis as she was giving a speech. They “demanded” more of other people’s money to benefit victims of a tornado last year. Five agitators were arrested and charged with peace disturbance.
Standard Communist operating procedure in both cases. They are so funny. They would have us believe they possess a “right” to “demand” other people’s time, attention, or money, and a “right” to shout down anyone they please whenever they profess good intentions. Aha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Of course they have no such rights because there are no such rights. Communist agit-prop is so predictable. (more…)
THIS is a cute graphic. Most of it’s true, but there’s one inaccuracy. Trump has not made a single “dumb” decision.
It’s all been a series of smart moves to enrich himself and be the chaos agent he was hired to be. He’s done a great job, energizing those who hate him and demoralizing those who don’t.
The fake assassination attempts are getting old though. The script writers need to move on.
MY life is but a weaving
Between my God and me;
I may but choose the colors —
He worketh steadily.
Full oft He weaveth sorrow,
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper
And I the under side.
— Fr. Tabb
IN HIS recent reverential visit to the third-largest mosque in the world, Bob Prevost, aka “Pope” Leo XIV, followed in the footsteps of his five Vatican II predecessors in open apostasy, all of whom have scandalously honored Islam as part of their One World, All-Religions-Are-True-and-All-Believers-Are-Super-Nice Religion. Prevost’s visit to a mosque in Algeria on April 13, 2026 came at a time when Muslims continue to engage in violence against professed Christians in Africa, including some 50,000 killed in the last 14 years in Nigeria alone.
Pope Leo XIV [who removed his shoes in accordance with Muslim custom] marked the beginning of his apostolic journey to Africa with a visit to the Grand Mosque of Algiers, where he highlighted the site’s spiritual significance and paused in silent meditation.
Welcomed by the Rector of the Mosque, Mohamed Mamoun al Qasim who offered words of fraternity, the Pope said “I thank you for these reflections and for these important words during this visit, from a place that represents the space that belongs to God, a divine and sacred space, where many people come to pray and to seek the presence of the Most High in their lives.” (Source; emphasis added.)
It was not necessary to visit an actual mosque or bow in prayer in a mosque in order to engage in friendly dialogue with Muslims. There is nothing wrong with friendly discussions with Muslims and in fact charity is owed them. But worshipful prayer in a mosque? No. The Grand Mosque of Algiers is not a space that belongs to God. It is a space that denies God and puts in His place an idol, which is why the Crusades were launched and why true popes had to work to liberate Christians captured, killed, surgically castrated or enslaved by Muslims. According to author Robert Davies, 1.25 million European Christians were captured and enslaved by Muslims from 1500-1800. But all that is of the past. The important thing is what Muslims still believe:
O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion. Say nothing about Allah except the truth: that the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is but a messenger from Allah and His Word which He communicated to Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say “Three.” Enough, it will be better for you. Allah is but One God. Glory to Him. To have a son…To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth…And Allah is sufficient as a protector. (Koran: Surah An-Nisa, 171) [emphasis added]
A quick reminder:
— John, Chapt. 1:2
And this:
Apostasy
Objection 2. Furthermore, infidelity lies in the intellect. Apostasy, on the other hand, seems to reside more in outward actions or words, and even in the inner will, as we read in Scripture: “A apostate man is worthless; he goes about with a lying mouth; he winks, rubs his feet, and chatters with his fingers; his heart is full of evil, and he always stirs up conflict” (Prov 6:12). Likewise, if someone were to circumcise himself or worship at the tomb of Muhammad, he would be considered an apostate. Therefore, apostasy does not belong directly to infidelity.
— Saint Thomas Aquinas, Theological Summa – Part II-IIae – Question 12 [quoted here]
Vatican II’s Declaration Nostra Aetate, nn. 3 set in stone for the future of the Conciliar Church the notion of Islam as worshipping the Christian God: (more…)
Regina Coeli
V/. Regina cæli, lætare; Alleluia.
R/. Quia quem meruisti portare; Alleluia.
V/. Resurrexit sicut dixit; Alleluia.
R/. Ora pro nobis Deum; Alleluia.
V/. Gaude et lætare, Virgo Maria; Alleluia.
R/. Quia surrexit Dominus vere; Alleluia.
(more…)
“GOD often works more by the life of the illiterate seeking the things that are God’s, than by the ability of the learned seeking the things that are their own.”
“[ST.] John Climachus observed that ‘to the spiritual man patience is more essential than food,’ and justly so; for food strengthens the body, and preserves it from weakness, but patience fortifies the soul, and without it no virtue can be firm and solid. But as we are bound to take more care of the soul than of the body, it is evident that we ought to be more solicitous for patience than for food. For, in the words of St. Peter Damian, ‘the man whose patience breaks down may have other virtues, but he will never have their strength and solidity. Patience is concerned in all that we have to resist, in all that we have to deny ourselves, in all that we have to endure, in all that we have to adhere to, and in all that we have to do. This includes all human acts that bear the character of duty or devotedness, whether those acts be purely interior, or come forth into the exterior life and conduct. For wherever patience fails, the act is weak and the work imperfect.
“[T]HE effect of treating sex as only one innocent natural thing [is] that every other innocent natural thing [becomes] soaked and sodden with sex. For sex cannot be admitted to a mere equality among elementary emotions or experiences like eating and sleeping. The moment sex ceases to be a servant it becomes a tyrant. There is something dangerous and disproportionate in its place in human nature, for whatever reason; and it does really need a special purification and dedication. The modern talk about sex being free like any other sense, about the body being beautiful like any tree or flower, is either a description of the Garden of Eden or a piece of thoroughly bad psychology, of which the world grew weary two thousand years ago.”
— G.K. Chesterton, St. Francis of Assisi, Image Books, 1957; p. 29
“HUMAN souls are sick, and sick with a terrible disease: they are tired of the truth and afraid of it! In souls that are still Christian this disease manifests itself in a lack of horror for heresy, in a chronic state of complacency towards error, in a certain fascination for snares, often in a shameful eagerness to let oneself be caught. It is not an entirely modern ailment, for it is rooted in the very heart of man. ‘I love to be caught,’ exclaims St. Augustine. Father Faber speaks of it as the characteristic political physiognomy of our time. The liberal siren conceals her poisonous locks, shows her rosy face, and holds the cross in her hand. She easily lures victims to the brink of the abyss; she seduces the eyes, the reason, the heart. Unless the spirit of obedience guards us, we are taken captive. We must be eternally vigilant, in order to remain the same, in order not to become suddenly different. (more…)
MAN’S days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish.
For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be: and he shall know his place no more.
But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon them that fear him: And his justice unto children’s children,
To such as keep his covenant, And are mindful of his commandments to do them.
The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven: and his kingdom shall rule over all.
