"IF we have found that any passions are profaning the sanctuary of our souls, let us dismiss them; let us beseech our Lord to drive them out by the scourge of his justice, for we, perhaps, might be too lenient with these sacrilegious intruders." - Dom Prosper Guéranger (Source)
THE sins classified as sins against the Holy Ghost are those of pure malice. They are directly opposed to the love and mercy of God, and on that account, render conversion very difficult. (Source)
1.Presumption of God’s mercy
We continue to sin with the intention of repenting before death comes; or if we make our salvation depend upon our own strength alone and not upon God: or if we rashly expose ourselves to the proximate occasions of sin in the expectation that God will come to our rescue.
There are two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God’s almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit.)
2.Despair
Despair is the willful rejection of hope in that one judges the duties necessary to obtain eternal life impossible to fulfill. Despair is a mortal sin when it arises from distrust of God’s goodness and fidelity.
“By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God’s goodness, to his justice – for the Lord is faithful to his promises – and to his mercy.” (more…)
These are four very dreadful crimes, against which God expresses his anger in the most strongest terms. These four sins are said "to cry to heaven for vengeance," because we find them so represented in Holy Writ. Willful murder (including abortion) Gen. iv. 10. The sin of Sodom. Gen. xviii. 20. Oppression of the poor. Exod. xxii. 22-24. Eccl. xxv. 16-19. Defrauding laborers of their wages. James v. 4. Source
Nine Ways of Being an Accessory to Sins of Another Person There are some persons, who concern themselves but very little about the sins which they cause their neighbor to commit; although they are as guilty before God, as if they had committed the sinful acts themselves; and even more so. 1. By counsel. 2. By command. 3. By consent. 4. By provocation. 5. By praise or flattery. 6. By concealment. 7. By partaking. 8. By silence. 9. By defense of the ill done. Source
IF YOU want to understand a bit more about Freemasonry and the role of this secret society in the history of America, you might appreciate this video tour of the palatial Masonic Temple of Philadelphia. Freemasonry existed since the 1700s in Pennsylvania, where Benjamin Franklin was a prominent member of the lodge. The ornate temple built in the 1800s, in the medieval Norman style, stands across from Philadelphia City Hall The massive granite cornerstone, weighing ten tons, was leveled on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1868. The ceremonial gavel used on that day by Grand Master Richard Vaux was the same gavel used by President George Washington in leveling the cornerstone of the nation's Capitol building in 1793. The construction was completed five years later, in 1873, and dedicated on September 29th of that year. This is an amateur tour from a visitor five years ago, but it's a fascinating glimpse inside this historic home of Masonry.
'WISDOM preacheth abroad, she uttereth her voice in the streets. At the head of multitudes she crieth out; in the entrance of the gates of the city she uttereth her words, saying: O children, how long will you love childishness, and how long will fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge? Turn ye at my reproof. Behold I will utter my spirit to you, and will show you my words.' --- (Proverbs i. 20-23)
"THE spirit of Christ is a spirit of martyrdom, at least of mortification and penance. It is always the spirit of the cross. The remains of the old man, of sin and of death, must be extinguished, before one can be made heavenly by putting on affections which are divine. What mortifies the senses and the flesh gives life to the spirit, and what weakens and subdues the body strengthens the soul. Hence the divine love infuses a spirit of mortification, patience, obedience, humility, and meekness, with a love of sufferings and contempt, in which consists the sweetness of the cross. The more we share in the suffering life of Christ, the greater share we inherit in his spirit, and in the fruit of his death. To souls mortified to their senses and disengaged from earthly things, God gives frequent foretastes of the sweetness of eternal life, and the most ardent desires of possessing him in his glory. This is the spirit of martyrdom, which entitles a Christian to a happy resurrection and to the bliss of the life to come." --- Rev. Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints (1866 Edition)
YOU gotta admit, Paula White is one heck of a fundraiser.
For only $1,000, she’ll arrange “seven supernatural blessings.” She’s got some powerful connections.
MANY more examples from social media here.
ALAN writes: Thank you for posting portions of the Motion Picture Production Code. What a difference nine decades have made in the lowering of standards. Observe the moral-philosophical frame of mind reflected in motion pictures from the 1930s-'40s, and then compare it with the palpable hatred of moral standards depicted in today's motion pictures. Two things could not be more different, yet both are called entertainment. The word applies properly to the former. But for the latter, the right word is Junk. We are fortunate indeed that old movies are still available in which we can see concrete expressions of the good advice reflected in that Code: Uplifting stories brought to life by actors like Ronald Colman, James Stewart, Walter Pidgeon, and Fred Astaire, and actresses like Greer Garson, Claudette Colbert, Loretta Young, and Irene Dunne. What they created represents a moral-philosophical-esthetic world of entertainment as different from today's degradation-called-entertainment as day from night. That was my world. I cannot stand anything in or about the indescribable junk that is now called entertainment. Friends and acquaintances are shocked when I tell them this. They cannot imagine that anyone could be so untrendy and uncool as not to appreciate any motion pictures made since the 1960s (and very few in that decade).
S. H. writes:
If you study the Movie Production Code, you can interpret recent movies and see where they go wrong.
Look at this scene from the 1990 film Misery. Look at how Katherine Bates is dressed, she’s practically the trad-wife meme wearing a cross. Since she lives in the wilderness, in a way she represents the pioneering independence of heritage America.
She complains about the profanity. He defends the profanity saying, “that’s how we talk.” The code says it doesn’t matter if some people talk that way, it’s the effect on the souls of the viewer.
So the Bates character goes crazy — proving to the viewer that Christian traditional women are evil. They are pent up authoritarians.
Read too in the code how powerful they knew theater to be. And how people confuse the characters with the actors and real life.
Do you have to “early- life” the guy who wrote the screenplay to Misery? Cause you shouldn’t have to! (more…)
I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD
By William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. (more…)
A beautiful musical recording of the Angelus can be found here.