It is typical of modern people to focus on the material degradation and neglect the metaphysical degradation that precedes it. 

ALAN writes:

What a difference a century makes.  Here is one example:

It must have been in 1964 when I first walked into the Cleveland Rexall Pharmacy on South Grand Boulevard in south St. Louis. We were living then about half a mile from there. I distinctly remember walking many times, sometimes in early evening, to the nearby Sears department store and Ben Franklin dime store. The Cleveland Pharmacy was midway on the path I walked.

I bought magazines there in 1965-’67. A radiator stood in a corner near the window. The magazine rack was to the left as you walked into the store. It was a very modest affair, compared with today’s magazine displays festooned with sensation, filth and ugliness. The storefront consisted of a large plate-glass window and the entry door. Among the magazines I purchased were Fate, Life, The Saturday Evening Post and a 1966 issue of Look with Jackie Gleason on the cover.

Sometimes my mother and I stopped there to have a prescription filled. Toward the back of the store was a classic old telephone booth with wood partitions and folding glass door.  I recall using that telephone several times.  I remember walking through those residential streets on summer days in 1963-’64.  I came to know the neighborhood by heart.  It was always clean and orderly.  It never occurred to us that it could be otherwise.

Years went by, and then decades. I stopped at the Cleveland Pharmacy less often. My last visit there was in the 1980s or early 1990s.  It was still pretty much the same as it had been in the 1960s.  But the neighborhood around it was changing–gradually at first, and then increasingly obviously but not for the better.  Standards were declining. Lawbreaking was increasing. The old setting and neighborhood were all-White. The new setting and neighborhood were being made increasingly Black.  I did not realize it at first, but I was now witnessing the surrender of an orderly neighborhood to an undeclared “public-private partnership” of thugs (on the streets) and excuse-makers (in the legislature and the courts).

The time soon arrived when I realized I had now become an alien in the neighborhood where I roamed at will in boyhood — because that neighborhood had been made wholly alien to me. Street thugs were the obvious villains, but they were not alone.  Change agents in government were the engineers, and they were hard at work. They still are.

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“IN Old Testament times only kings and priests were anointed, a practice faithfully followed in Christendom. Each in his own sphere is alter Christus, one as King, the other as Priest. No President has ever been accorded this dignity from on high. The contrivers of Revolution, knowing their program does not truly conform to natural law, are aware it is deeply repugnant to human nature. What to do? Rousseau, again, gave the bald answer in La Nouvelle Heloise:

“He who dares to undertake the making of a people’s institutions ought to feel himself capable, so to speak, of changing human nature, of transforming each individual, who is by himself a complete and solitary whole, into part of a greater whole … of altering man’s constitution for the purpose of strengthening it and of substituting a partial and moral existence for the physical and independent existence nature has conferred on us all. He must, in a word, take away from man his own resources and give him new ones alien to him.

“So runs the utopian dream of all revolutionaries from the devil on down, for without such a program no artificial government could subsist long. It explains brain-washing, social engineering, transactional analysis, cursillo, compulsory education, much of psychiatric practice and all the other tools of the superstate for the moral and spiritual butchery by which natural man is put into unnatural shape. The State no longer conforms to human nature as God created it, but human nature to the state as man created it.”

— Solange Hertz, The Star-Spangled Heresy: Americanism

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Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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“THE Word of God is living and effective, so it enters the soul, awakens it from its lethargy, stirs, softens, and wounds the heart — that hardened heart, that heart of stone, ever sick. It also begins to uproot and destroy, to build and plant, to water what was arid, to illuminate what was in darkness, to open what was closed, to burn what was frozen, to straighten what was crooked, and to smooth the crooked paths; so that then the soul blesses the Lord, and all its faculties praise His holy name.” 

— St. Bernard, Doctor of the Church (+1153), Serm. LXXIV

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FROM Vigilant Citizen:

If I told you that multiple heads of state, CEOs of mega-corporations, military leaders, and even the King of the Netherlands all met behind closed doors for several days, would you consider it newsworthy? Well, that’s exactly what happened, and ALL mainstream media outlets completely ignored it. Here’s a look at the 2026 Bilderberg meeting.

The 2026 Bilderberg meeting took place from April 9 to 12th at the Salamander Hotel in Washington, D.C., and exactly zero media outlets talked about it.

Indeed, despite the magnitude of the event and its potential repercussions for the world, there was virtually no media coverage before, during, and after the meeting. Searching the web for information on Bilderberg 2026 is a harrowing experience because NOT A SINGLE mainstream media outlet has published anything about it, except for one article in The Guardian that is mainly about … the media not covering Bilderberg 2026.

What’s even more absurd is that the Bilderberg included high-level representatives from media outlets such as CNN, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, and The Economist. And none of them even mentioned the meeting’s existence. It is almost as if there is “a secret agreement between two or more people” to commit this media blackout … which happens to be the definition of a “conspiracy.” When the elite decides to push a narrative, all mainstream outlets spout out the exact same message, in complete unison. And when it decides to bury a story, a media blackout occurs. Even if the event is newsworthy. (more…)

“IT is the last time that Jesus walks through the faithless city. He is invisible to the eyes of the people who denied Him, but visible to His disciples, and goes before them, as heretofore the pillar of fire led on the Israelites. How beautiful and imposing a sight! Mary, the disciples, and the holy women accompanying Jesus on his heavenward journey, which is to lead Him to the right hand of his eternal Father! It was commemorated in the middle ages by a solemn procession before the Mass of Ascension day. What happy times were those, when Christians took delight in honouring every action of our Redeemer! They could not be satisfied as we are, with a few vague notions, which can produce nothing but an equally vague devotion.”

— Dom Prosper Guéranger, “The Ascension of Our Lord”

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“Ascending on high, he led captivity captive: he gave gifts to men.” — Ps. lxvii

“HE ascended because the glorious kingdom of the highest heavens, not the obscure abode of this earth, presented a suitable dwelling place to Him whose glorified body, rising from the tomb, was clothed with immortality. He ascended, not only to possess the throne of glory and the kingdom which He purchased at the price of His blood, but also to attend to whatever regards the salvation of His people. He ascended to prove thereby that His; ‘kingdom is not of this world,’ (8) for the kingdoms of this world are earthly and transient, and are based upon wealth and the power of the flesh; but the kingdom of Christ is not, as the Jews expected, an earthly, but a spiritual and eternal kingdom. Its riches, too, are spiritual, as He shows by placing His throne in the heavens, where they who seek most earnestly the things that are of God abound most in riches and in abundance of all good things, according to these words of St. James: ‘Hath not God chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him?'”

                          — Source

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Now it is very much like this: as if we were sailing
in ships across cold water, over the sea-waves,
beyond the wide ocean in water-steeds
traversing the floods. The waters are perilous,
the waves immeasurable, amid which we journey here
through this frail world, the stormy oceans,
across the paths of the deep. Dangerous was that life
before we came to land
across the rough waves. Help came to us
that we might be led to a haven of healing,
God’s Spirit-Son, and gave us grace
that we might find, by the ship’s side,
where we could moor our water-steeds,
our ancient wave-horses securely anchored.
Let us fasten our hope on that haven
which the Ruler of the skies opened for us,
holy in the heights, when he ascended into heaven.

— excerpt from the Old English poem, Christ II

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“THE natural man understandeth not the things that are of God. A holy life, a supernatural life, is deemed visionary, idle, superstitious. If there is to be any virtue at all, it is to be only within the sphere of sense and nature to round and perfect both, such as the manly virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, provided they strike not deeper nor rise higher than the life that ‘now is.’

“It is idle to speak of the expediency of the Ascension or, indeed, of the supernatural at all to such as these; nor do I, except by way of warning. We live in an age of no belief, or half belief, or make belief. But the truth, ‘The word of the Lord endureth forever,’ and our attitude towards it, can make no difference. God is still in the world, behind its forces, and guiding and controlling them, even though men neither see nor believe in Him. Men and women are still His creatures, the works of His hands–adorned with grace and destined for glory. We are on earth, it is true, but our eyes and heads, aye, and hearts too, point to the skies. No sophist, nor school of sophists, with all their arts of style and argument, have ever yet persuaded mankind at large that life ends at the grave, and that the happiness we crave and strive for and can never reach on earth is an empty dream, never to be realized. No! God made nothing in vain. We are made and destined for a higher, larger, and nobler life than the present, of which the Ascension forcibly reminds us. It reminds us, too, of the life of grace, the life of true, pure holiness over and above mere natural rectitude, a necessary precedent to the life of glory; and which our Lord, by withdrawing Himself visibly, enables us, if we will, to live.

“Let us therefore lift up our hearts to heaven where Christ has gone ‘to prepare a place for us.’ We have not seen Him ascend; but we know by faith He is there. He is the head of the mystic body of which we are members, and limbs should join the head. ‘Ubi caput praecessit ibi spes vocatur et corporis.‘ Be faithful, then, to grace, lead a life not of pleasure, but of duty. Peace is only found where God placed it – in a dutiful, self-denying life.”

                           — Rev. William Graham, “The Ascension of Our Lord,”

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PATRICK O’Brien writes from Denver:

That article from May 5, “To Whom Obedience Is Not Due,” brought to mind this poem by Belloc.

BALLADE OF THE HERESIARCHS

John Calvin whose peculiar fad
It was to call God murderous,
Which further led that feverish cad
To burn alive the Servetus.
The horrible Bohemian Huss,
the Tedious Wycliffe, where are they ?
But where is old Nestorius ?
The wind has blown them all away.

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“FINALLY, we paternally exhort all students and ministers of the Church to approach the Sacred Scriptures with ever greater affection, reverence, and piety, for their understanding will not be opened to them in a salutary and fitting manner unless they distance themselves from the arrogance of earthly knowledge and stir within themselves the holy desire for the wisdom that comes from above. Once introduced to this discipline and enlightened and strengthened by it, they will be in the best position to discover and avoid the deceptions of human science and to perceive and refer its solid fruits to the supernatural order; thus warmed, their hearts will strive more vehemently for the reward of virtue and divine love: ‘Blessed are those who investigate its testimonies and seek him with all their heart.'”

— Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Providentissimus Deus; November, 1893

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“THE catechism is always a lesson. The Gospel is a story. Why try to teach as a lesson what can be taught as a story? A child can ‘endure’ a lesson, but never tires of stories. A child doesn’t listen to a story as we do, distant, leaving us strangers to the action: the child enters, is completely absorbed, with their imagination, their sensitivity; everything takes shape, everything comes alive for them, and then, if they are told about Our Lord, if they are told about His life, where the simple and flowery tales of the parables are woven into the Palestinian narrative, with the marvelous element of miracles, through which His Divinity shines forth, the child sees Jesus, hears Him, listens to Him, follows Him, and very soon begins to love Him; and if care is taken to direct their faith, their heart, their piety toward the tabernacle to constantly remind them that the Jesus of the Gospel, the same Jesus, is there hidden, alive in the Sacrament, with us, for us, the work of formation, of religious education, is done effortlessly. Can one conceive of a practical Catholic who has never read the Gospel? Well, that is the case for the vast majority. One could be perfectly instructed in religion simply by knowing the Gospel, because it contains all the substance of the Catechism; but the reverse is not true, because the Catechism does not contain the entire Gospel.”

— Bishop Maurice Landrieux, (1857–1926), Bishop of Dijon [Pastoral Letter]

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Motherhood is a statement from God that things will be alright. The first person you meet in this world is the person who bore the most pain to bring you into it. She will be the first to fully embrace you. She will be the first to feed you. She will be the first to love you.

Motherhood is a declatory statement that human life will continue. It may not be easy, but life is worth it. Every mother is a sign of God’s love.

— Padraig Martin

Happy Mother’s Day! Your sacrifices, past and present, matter.

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Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

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ALAN writes:

It must have been in 1955 or ’56 when my mother permitted me to stay up long enough to watch a TV police drama that was telecast in St. Louis at 9 or 9:30 p.m. She would likely have watched it anyway, even aside from my enthusiasm for it.  It was a syndicated program called Highway Patrol. It featured tough-guy movie actor Broderick Crawford as the hero, Captain Dan Mathews.  I was six to seven years old.  Something in the program inspired my respect. I looked forward to it every week. But of course at that age, I could not articulate why it impressed me.

Now, seventy years later, it is perfectly clear. In recent months, I have watched dozens of episodes of Highway Patrol.  The essence of that program lay in its moral-philosophical frame of mind.  The stories were well-written and tightly edited.  They were about good and evil.  They embodied a code of moral standards that were shared by nearly all Americans in those years.  There was no moral ambiguity or uncertainty in those episodes.  The job of the Highway Patrol was to defend the lives, property, and rights of law-abiding citizens.

I was in the early years of parochial school when Highway Patrol inspired my respect. I enjoyed watching it and two other syndicated programs in those years — Rescue 8 and Sea Hunt — because they showed confident men doing heroic things to uphold a fixed code of moral-philosophical-cultural standards.

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