FROM the wonderful little book, Patience, Meditations for a Month, by Richard F. Clarke, S.J., that makes good Lenten reading: On Impatience 1. Impatience is one of the most foolish of all faults. It gains nothing for us; it does not relieve our sufferings, but aggravates them. No one enjoys any peace as long as he is yielding to feelings of impatience; he is discontented, miserable, uneasy. He finds intolerable what he could bear well enough if only he would make the necessary effort, and gulp down the rising irritation or suppress the angry words. He is always in a fever, and is a nuisance to himself and to all around him. Do not I know this by experience? If not, I must thank God for giving me so happy a disposition. 2. Impatience is also one of the most ridiculous of all faults. There is something laughable and contemptible in the fuming of the impatient man over some trifle, in his rage because he cannot overcome some difficulty or have his own way as he desires. An impatient man always makes a bad impression. If I could see myself as others see me when I give way to impatience, I should be thoroughly ashamed and very careful not to make myself so foolish again. 3. Impatience, when voluntarily indulged, is a sort of indirect rebellion against God. It is a practical refusal to bear willingly the trials that He has…

TRUMP has dropped Obama’s federal bathroom edict, provoking the usual temper tantrums. This is a good step by Trump, but the conflict is far from over.

“The consequences of this decision will no doubt be heartbreaking,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “This isn’t a states’ rights issue; it’s a civil rights issue.”

“Heartbreaking.”

Get a life, Mr. Griffin. It is heartbreaking when a child gets cancer. It is heartbreaking when a child does not have a normal family life. It is heartbreaking when a child lives without any bathrooms at all. It is heartbreaking when a child is fed toxic hormones because he supposedly identifies with the opposite sex. It is heartbreaking when a child is never taught the purpose of life and is led to believe human existence is an utterly meaningless struggle for achievement and material things.

It is not heartbreaking when a boy has to use the cinderblock school lavatory marked “boys” or has to wear normal boy clothes so that he will not be taunted in cinderblock lavatories marked “boys.”

This country does not deserve sewers. (more…)

THE radioactive weapons used by the U.S. in its attacks in Syria are likely to cause cancer, birth defects and other illnesses for many years to come. See the report by Daniel McAdams. (more…)

THE INVENTIVENESS that HoloHoaxers bring to the art of propaganda is truly unparalleled.

DUE to illness, I can’t post much today, but I want to say a few words about the repulsive Milo Yiannopoulos, a major celebrity in the Trump Cult. I will refrain from posting Yiannopoulos’s Cooler-Than-Thou visage. It is all over the Internet and news already. If you are not familiar with why this political performance artist and false opposition figure is in the news this week, you can catch up here.

Yiannopoulos is a change agent who, like Trump himself, receives substantial financial backing from powerful people.  How do we know the former is well-funded, aside from his already extensive visibility and the gobs of free publicity he has received for quite a while? Immediately after his resignation from the website Breitbart, Yiannopoulos announced that he would be starting his own news platform and had another publisher (Simon and Schuster canceled) already lined up for his new book. Wow! That’s quite an instantaneous comeback for someone who has been nationally disgraced by his comments about adolescents and pedophiles. Seems that he was prepared for this orchestrated controversy to happen, doesn’t it? That suggests planning. (more…)

FRANCE makes it illegal to protect its own children with a new law criminalizing the dissemination of negative information about abortion.

THE woman who was the chief plaintiff in Roe vs. Wade said her participation in the case was “the biggest mistake of my life.” She died last week at the age of 69.

She also said:

“I long for the day that justice will be done and the burden from all of these deaths will be removed from my shoulders.” (more…)

SO MUCH fake news out there.

The Christian Mommy blogger who marries a female athlete just reeks of staging.  Manufactured news for the gullible.

We’re supposed to get all upset and say, “But that’s not Christian!” rather than say, “These two play actors are being shoved down the throats of the public for obvious reasons.” (more…)

THOMAS F. BERTONNEAU writes:

Speaking of pizza rolls, here is Stan Freberg’s brilliant 1970s ad for Jeno’s Pizza Rolls.

In case the pizza rolls give you digestive problems, here is Stan Freberg’s brilliant 1970s ad for Sunsweet Pitted Prunes.

Apropos of absolutely nothing, I have a simple recipe for what I call un-pizza.  Slice two very firm Roma tomatoes as close to paper-thin as you can get.  Arrange the slices on a plate.  Salt and pepper them to taste.  Then add shavings of Pecorino Romano.  Dribble the best olive oil that you can find over the tomato slices with cheese and then shake malt vinegar to taste.  Let the result sit for five minutes in the refrigerator and then – enjoy! (more…)

PENELOPE writes:

I had to write you on this topic of Pit Bull Discrimination.

In 2012, I was attacked by an “American Bulldog,” which is a type of pit bull. I was walking in my neighborhood. It was a gentrifying area and the Hispanic owners apparently left the dog in a confined room all day, but it had gotten out.

I turned a corner and the dog left its property; jumped in the middle of the street; bit me on my rib cage; and then locked onto my right forearm while pulling me down in the middle of the road. It would not let go. This is what these dogs do. The owner’s brother came and tried to pull the dog off of me as it shook my entire body. It took about a full minute for it to release me. If the owner had not been there, I may have been killed. (more…)

I WAS having coffee with a friend in a café last week when my friend mentioned that her son, who is in his twenties, has acquired a pit bull. The dog is a puppy and is reportedly charming and lovable.

By coincidence, at the next table, a group of young people in their twenties were at that very moment working on a related project. A nice young man perked up when he heard the mention of a pit bull and volunteered some information.

He and his friends were starting a non-profit coffee company, he said. The proceeds will go to finding homes and “companions” for abandoned pit bulls. Yes, abandoned pit bulls, of which I am sure there are many.

“We hope to put an end to breed discrimination,” he said.

I thought perhaps he was joking or that this was a live skit put on by The Onion.

But it was obvious from his earnest expression that he was not joking. He showed us on his friend’s laptop a photo of the coffee bag they were designing (they were going to be using the coffee roasted at this café.) The logo was an artistic (well, sort of) rendering of a pit bull’s face (ugh!) in rainbow colors.

“Ooh, that looks scary,” my friend unthinkingly said.

The young man seemed a little put-off. But he recovered quickly and said, “Thanks for your honest input.”

My friend obviously needs to shed some conditioning. (more…)

THE SAKER reflects on the forced resignation of Gen. Mike Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor:

Frankly, my heart goes out to all those who sincerely hoped that Trump will be the man to free the US from the Neocons and restore the power of the “basket of deplorables” over the many minorities and special interests.  Some will now indulge in a lot of “I told you so” but they will be wrong.  To hope for the best was the right thing to do.  Those who voted for Trump did the only thing in their power to prevent Hillary from occupying the White House.  That was the right decision, they did the right thing, both morally and pragmatically.

But now we also need to gather our courage and accept the reality of what has taken place.  Minimizing the implications of this deep state coup makes no sense whatsoever, neither morally nor pragmatically.  And the reality is this:

It took the Neocons and the US deep state less than a month to overturn the results of the Presidential election.

See more analysis here by Robert Parry, who writes:

Flynn’s real “offense” appears to be that he favors détente with Russia rather than escalation of a new and dangerous Cold War. Trump’s idea of a rapprochement with Moscow – and a search for areas of cooperation and compromise – has been driving Official Washington’s foreign policy establishment crazy for months and the neocons, in particular, have been determined to block it.

Though Flynn has pandered to elements of the neocon movement with his own hysterical denunciations of Iran and Islam in general, he emerged as a key architect for Trump’s plans to seek a constructive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Meanwhile, the neocons and their liberal-interventionist sidekicks have invested heavily in making Putin the all-purpose bête noire to justify a major investment in new military hardware and in pricy propaganda operations. (more…)

PARENTS can download free audio recordings of the children's works of Father Francis Finn, S.J., who was born in St. Louis in 1859. At True Restoration Radio, Father Finn's books and other wholesome literature for children are discussed today.

THE Protestant pastor and author Church Baldwin, writing on the occasion this week of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanhu’s visit to the White House, condemns the Christian Zionism he once supported and warns of war with Iran. He writes:

Since my lengthy personal research and study into the Biblical teaching on Israel, I have come to learn this: the entire faith system of many professing Christians depends on their allegiance to the modern State of Israel. These Christian Zionists might recite a pledge of allegiance to the United States of America, but their true allegiance is to the State of Israel.

It is no hyperbole to say that for many professing Christians, the modern State of Israel is every bit as important as Jesus Christ Himself and their own personal salvation. In fact, many of these folks equate their allegiance to the State of Israel with their own personal salvation. And they are quick to condemn anyone to hell who does not share their allegiance to the State of Israel. I find this extremely perplexing. I truly wonder if this cultish infatuation with the modern faux Israel might be the great “falling away” and devilish deception of the last days. But I digress. (more…)

"POPE" Francis remarks this week on the right of Native Americans to protect their traditions were in sharp contrast with the many negative, scolding statements he has made about Europeans trying to protect their cultures. As Novus Ordo Watch writes: Far from it! Instead, Francis denounces the “indigenous Europeans” for rigidly clinging to their traditions, for being “closed in on themselves” and not welcoming the stranger! He accuses them of seeking refuge in certainties and “safe havens” that do not leave room for doubt, of suffering from psychological insecurity that “hides something”! He admonishes them for not being inclusive enough, for building walls instead of bridges, and for failing to see that every so-called “migrant” is basically a second Incarnation! But then, the Native Americans practice pagan idolatry, and the heritage of Europeans is, well, the Catholic Church. Humble Francis, as we know, is opposed to the Catholic Church, as were his less bumbling predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. The latter never saw a form of pagan idolatry, even the worship of snakes in Africa, that he didn't respect. Francis did not mention this week, of course, that justice to the traditions of the Native Americans can never be achieved, nor true peace and stability be attained, unless they turn away from their false gods and recognize the One True Faith. Only then can the good in their heritage and their distinctive identity shine forth.

DON VINCENZO writes:

A restaurant in Italy is offering a discount to families with well-behaved children. It’s a different approach in dealing with wayward children in restaurants.

Truth is, I’ve never witnessed the kind of behavior described in this article, but there is always a “first.” I find it amusing that the owner has devised his strategy of dealing with children without the experience of having his own. (more…)

ONE OF the proofs of the immortality of the human soul is the fact that most people in history have believed in it. Even when their own culture denied it, the common people often embraced it. Perhaps God conveyed this knowledge to the earliest humans and they passed it down from generation to generation so that, while it appears in many forms, it can never disappear or fail to become a common opinion, even if ill-defined and vague. In the modern world, many people say they believe the soul is annihilated after death, but at the same time they sometimes talk, especially at funerals, as if it will live on, as if they cannot truly accept what they say they believe. This constant gravitation toward the belief in immortality suggests that it is true.

The Ancient Egyptians had a very strong sense of immortality and, as is well known, the tombs of the wealthy were intended to be actual dwelling places during the afterlife. Here is one of the remarkable true-to-life scenes that decorated the Tomb of Meketre, the royal chief steward who began his career under King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II during the Middle Kingdom. Entire model scenes such as this were created out of wood for the homes of the prosperous dead so that they would have a comfortable afterlife: (more…)

P. L. FORD writes:

I have been reading your website every day for the past couple of years. The information you provide has been very helpful and encouraging as I make my journey from the Protestant to the Catholic Church. You appear to be a very traditional Catholic, as evidenced by the content of your site, so I value your opinion and beg a few minutes of your time. I live in rural West Georgia where there are few Catholic Churches, however there is a very nice church not far from us although it is a Novus Ordo Church. Is it wrong to attend the Novus Ordo Mass?

My wife and I were both raised in the Southern Baptist Church and unfortunately both have a previous marriage that ended in divorce so we cannot be confirmed into the Catholic Church. I am 64 and my wife is 62 years of age. Since the fall of 2014 I have been reading and studying the Catholic faith and discovered that I am Catholic in my beliefs. The Protestant church is becoming more difficult to accept and attend and it seems so wrong not to attend any church at all. There are no traditional Catholic Churches within a few hundred miles from our home.

Your opinion is valuable based on the wonderful articles you have posted on your website.

Thank you for your time to read this. (more…)