“[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.

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“[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

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“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. 

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FROM Pope Pius XII’s address to newlyweds on May 7, 1941:

Springtime of nature’s beauty, springtime of Easter joy, springtime of weddings. You are now enjoying this threefold spring; you are reveling in it almost as if the world around you is drawing together everything in your life for you. However, if you interrupt for a moment the sweet converse of your honeymoon and happen to read a paper, you will find in its columns another life and another world: operations of war, immense battles on land, at sea and in the air, but also magnificent examples of generosity towards those who suffer, of dedication, heroism and sacrifice.

In the midst of these dreadful upheavals, dear sons and daughters, you yourselves in a great and beautiful act of Christian faith have not been afraid to establish your new families, well knowing and believing that the unperturbed renewal of spring in the tumult of human events is neither mockery nor jest, nor the cold indifference of blind nature nor an empty fancy of foolish dreamers, but witness and proof to our senses of the reality of life and beauty reborn of that supreme and paternal “love which moves the sun and the stars,” whose abiding care never for an instant deserts the governance of the universe, and whose mercy controls and moderates the turmoil of humankind. Is not your faith really a reliance on the sovereign Hand of God, gentle and strong, watchful, alert, perpetually guiding the events of this world, great and small, sad and joyful? Learn the beautiful and lofty lesson God gives you in the threefold spring which you are living in these days and which confirms your trust.

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A PRAYER IN SPRING
— Robert Frost

OH, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

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EASTER is more than a day. It is — or it should be — an entire season, a time of spiritual joy that complements the earthy pleasures of spring.

“The practice for this holy season mainly consists in the spiritual joy which it should produce in every soul that is risen with Jesus. This joy is a foretaste of eternal happiness, and the Christian ought to consider it a duty to keep it up within him, by ardently seeking after that life which is in our divine Head, and by carefully shunning sin which causes death. During the last nine weeks we have mourned for our sins and done penance for them; we have followed Jesus to Calvary; but now, our holy Mother the Church is urgent in bidding us rejoice. She herself has laid aside all sorrow; the voice of her weeping is changed into the song of a delighted Spouse.

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RECENT comments made to a group of athletes in Rome offer a striking example of why Bob Prevost (aka “Pope” Leo XIV) is not Catholic, not a member of the Catholic Church and most certainly not a pope. Though his remarks would not offend most listeners today, who in fact would likely find his message appealing, they are devoid of any real supernatural content. Bob delivers a humanistic, pagan message — with no acknowledgement of the dangers of excess or making sports the goal of life —  the sort of thing the president of a secular college might say in a speech before a sports championship.

His speech embodies the spirit of pagan Rome today — focused on the pleasures of warm relationships, lumping all religions into one sugary cake, and glorifying the human god. It is the sterile, religious counterpart to the dehumanizing New World Order.

Compare his remarks with those of Pope Pius XII on the exact same subject. (Warning: The site Novus Ordo Watch should be read with great caution. It promotes illicit “mass centers’, tempting readers to jump from the frying pan, so to speak, into the fire.)

From Pope Pius XII’s commentary in 1945:

Sport is the school of loyalty, of courage, of fortitude, of resolution and universal brotherhood: all natural virtues, these, but which form for the supernatural virtues a sound foundation, and prepare man to carry without weakness the weight of the greatest responsibilities.

…

Thus conceived, sport is not an end in itself, but a means. As such, it is and must remain subordinated to its end, which consists in the perfect and balanced formation and education of the whole man, for whom sport is an aid in the ready and joyful accomplishment of his duties: be they in his sphere of work, be they in the family. (more…)

“THE ‘mystery of iniquity’ gradually developed over the centuries cannot be fully consummated while the Papacy remains, but only now that ‘what restrains it is removed.’ During the interregnum, ‘the man of sin will reveal himself’ in his fury against the Church.

“It is a matter of history that the most disastrous periods for the Church have been times when the papal throne was vacant, or when antipopes opposed the legitimate head of the Church. The same will be true in the bad times to come.

“The Church, deprived of its chief pastor, must seek sanctuary in solitude to be guided by God himself during these days of trial.”

— Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, The Apocalypse of St. John, (John W. Winterich (editor), 1921) pp. 124-125. 

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“THE world suffers nothing from Christians, but hates them because they reject its pleasures.”

— St. Justin Martyr (162)

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CAN the Catholic Church be found in the buildings — the churches, schools, colleges, social services agencies — that go today by the Catholic name and profess allegiance to Rome?

No, the Catholic Church cannot be found today in these buildings, no matter how beautiful or ancient, because they do not profess the Catholic religion, but a syncretistic, modernist faith and all their priests, bishops and popes since Vatican II have lost their offices because of heresy and apostasy. (See the bull issued by Pope Paul IV in 1559, Cum ex apostolatus officio).

Can the Catholic Church be found in churches, such as those run by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, that offer the Traditional Latin Mass and appear to accept all of Church doctrine while professing allegiance to apostate Rome?

No, the Catholic Church cannot be found in diocesan churches that offer the Traditional Latin Mass because they are in communion with heresy and apostasy and all of their priests are either laymen or clerics who have fallen from office. These alleged clerics profess by the fact of their position a syncretistic creed, not the Catholic faith.

Can the Catholic Church be found in the Society of St. Pius X, which acts in opposition to Rome while at the same time recognizes the authority of the Vatican II hierarchy? (more…)

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“DEATH awaits us; it is daily advancing towards us; we cannot escape its vengeance. The wages of sin is death: in these few words of Scripture, we are taught how death is not only universal, but even necessary; but we have all sinned. This, however, does not make the law less severe; nor can we help seeing a frightful disorder in the violent separation of soul and body, which were united together by God Himself. If we would truly understand death, we must remember that God made man immortal: this will explain the instinctive dread we have of death—a dread which one thing alone can conquer; and that is the spirit of sacrifice. In the death, then, of each one of us there is the handiwork of sin, and consequently a victory won by satan: nay, there would be a humiliation for our Creator Himself, were it not that, by sentencing us to this punishment, He satisfied His justice.

“This is man’s well-merited but terrible condemnation. What can he hope for? Never to die? It would be folly; the sentence is clear, and none may escape. Can he hope that this body, which is to become first a corpse, and then be turned into a mere handful of dust, will one day return to life, and be reunited to the soul for which it was made? But who could bring about the reunion of an immortal substance with one that formerly united with it, but has not seemingly been annihilated? And yet, O man! this is to be thy lot! Thou shalt rise again; that poor body of thine, which is to die, to be buried, forgotten, and humbled, shall be restored to life. Yes, it even now comes forth from the tomb, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ; our future resurrection is accomplished in His; it is today that we are made as sure of our resurrection as we are of our death. This, too, makes part of our glorious Feast, our Pasch!”

— Dom Prosper Guéranger, Thursday in Easter Week

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‘GOD is all-powerful and delights in showing himself in that which is weakest; he is infinitely good and glorious in rewarding such as love him. This explains how it was our Jesus gave to Magdalen and her companions the first proofs of his Resurrection, and so promptly consoled them. They were even weaker than the Bethlehem shepherds; they were, therefore, the objects of a higher preference. The Apostles themselves were weaker than the weakest of the earthly powers they were to bring into submission; hence they too were initiated into the mystery of Jesus’ triumph. But Magdalen and her companions had loved their Master even to the Cross and in his tomb, whereas the Apostles had abandoned him; they therefore had a better claim than the Apostles to Jesus’ generosity, and richly did he satisfy the claim.””

— Dom Prosper Guéranger, Thursday in Easter Week

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 “AFTERWARD Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

“‘Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.  He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’

“‘No,’ they answered. He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”

— John 21:1-6

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Observe that a man who advised Americans to mind their own business at home instead of get dragged  into international adventurism is painted as a Bad Man — whereas men whose policies led to the death of thousands of American men and thousands of Japanese civilians (in 1945) are painted as Great Men. Even those who profess admiration for Lindbergh the pilot will accommodate claims that there was something wrong in his advocacy of self-defense for Americans instead of self-immolation.  Such is the power of decades of propaganda and the credulity of people who are willing to be deceived.

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ALAN writes:

One of the few titles that my father kept in his modest collection of books was Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis, the autobiographical account of his 1927 flight from New York to Paris.  It stood there on his bookshelf  for decades, but I was never smart enough to ask my father what the book meant to him.  I had reason to regret that failure last month when I watched the 1957 motion picture based upon that book and with the same title.

My father was born only a decade after the Wright Brothers experimented with heavier-than-air flight. He was 14 when Lindbergh made his flight in 1927.

Now I sit here 99 years later, watching that movie and trying to imagine how my father must have felt at that age.  St. Louis in those years had four daily newspapers, some of which cost two cents.  I imagined my father must have read about Lindbergh’s flight in those newspapers.  The flight and the courage it required must have made a big impression on my father, along with the St. Louis connection in the plane, the men who backed him, and the fact Lindbergh had flown many times out of Lambert Field in St. Louis County.

St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg was nine years old in 1927.  Decades later, he wrote: “In May, along with our neighborhood (the Mount Pleasant neighborhood in south St. Louis)…I listened in fascination to radio bulletins about” Lindbergh’s flight.  “In my home area, folks gathered outside Art Meyer’s filling station through the night as the radio boomed out messages describing the plucky pilot’s flight….”  (Bob Broeg: Memories of a Hall of Fame Sportswriter, Sagamore Publishing, 1995, p. 11).  And I wondered whether my father and his family listened to those same radio messages that night in their own neighborhood a few miles away.

A month later, Lindbergh’s tour of the nation brought him back to St. Louis.  He was given a tumultuous welcome.  He rode in a parade through the streets downtown that were lined with thousands of people.  I wondered whether my father stood somewhere along that route.  At age 14, he must have had a desire to see in person the man who had become a national hero.

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“GOD is a Lamb that avails you not, my Christian, if you become not also a lamb of God. The cross on Golgotha redeems not from evil, if it is not also erected in thee. The dear Christ’s death aids you not, until in Him and for Him you also have died.”

— Angelus Silesius

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“SINCE the day when he gained his first victim, Abel, he has swept off Countless generations; but never has he held in his grasp a prey so noble as this that now lies in the tomb near Calvary. Never has the terrible sentence of God, pronounced against our first parents, received such a fulfilment as this; but, never has death received such a defeat as the one that is now preparing. It is true, the power of God has, at times, brought back the dead to life: the son of the widow of Naim, and Lazarus, were reclaimed from the bondage of this tyrant death; but he regained his sway over them all. But his Victim of Calvary is to conquer him for ever, for this is He of whom it is written in the prophecy: ‘O death! I will be thy death!’ [Osee, xiii, 14]. Yet a few brief moments and the battle will be begun, and life shall vanquish death.”

— Dom Prosper Guéranger, The Liturgical Year, Easter Sunday

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