The Ascension, School of Nottingham

From a sermon, “The Ascension of Our Lord,” by the Rev. William Graham:

In the beautiful panorama of hill country that unrolls to the eye of a pilgrim looking eastward from Jerusalem there is no point of view so picturesque or at the same time so rich in sacred memories, as Mount Olivet. Rough and narrow is the stony path winding to its summit, but its many associations more than repay the cost of ascent. On its lower slopes lies the Garden of Olives, lovingly tended by the Franciscan Fathers, who point out the spots in and around where Christ’s agony and prayer began and ended. The brook Cedron that He crossed with His disciples on the sad night of His betrayal He must also have passed in His risen body on His way to the hill, whence while they looked on He was raised up. Alas! a Mohammedan mosque now crowns the spot, and the followers of the prophet point out by favor a stone bearing the imprint of a foot, which, piety suggests, was left by the ascending Christ. Even they, however, reverence the spot consecrated by the last steps on earth of the great prophet Issa. Read More »

FROM a meditation on the Ascension of Jesus Christ from an Old English poem, Christ I, posted by Eleanor Parker at the wonderful blog on medieval England, Clerk of Oxford:

Then suddenly a loud clamour
was heard on high: a throng of heaven’s angels,
a brightly shining band, heralds of glory,
came in a company. Our king passed
through the temple roof while they gazed,
they who remained behind the dear one still
in that meeting-place, the chosen thegns.
They saw the Lord ascend on high,
God’s Son from the ground.
Their minds were sorrowful,
hot at heart, mourning in spirit,
because they would no longer see
the dear one beneath the heavens. The celestial heralds
raised up a song, praised the Prince,
extolled the Source of life, rejoiced in the light
which shone from the Saviour’s head.
They saw two bright angels
beautifully gleaming with adornments around the First-begotten,
the glory of kings. Read More »

“[T]HE famous Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge has issued a warning to viewers of this John Constable painting of Hampstead Heath.

“It has a “darker side” because it implies that ‘only those with a historical tie to the land have a right to belong [in Britain].’ This painting is from around 1820. I guess Constable should have included some Pakistanis.

“This ridiculous ‘warning’ is part of a ridiculous fashion of claiming that the British countryside ‘excludes’ non-whites.” (Source)

(Ridiculous? I would call it despicable and dangerous agitprop with the intention of dehumanizing an entire race of people.) Read More »

Anne Kirkpatrick

ANNE Kirkpatrick was sworn in last fall as as New Orleans police chief. She apparently is a skilled and industrious administrator with a long resume and a reputation as as “reformer.”

But whenever I see a woman in a police uniform, especially in the role of police chief, I see a person in costume. Nothing more. The 64-year-old Kirkpatrick in appearance, if you can disregard the uniform, reminds me of the older women who staff the annual herb sale nearby. (You can see her in action here and here.) Doesn’t New Orleans have some tough neighborhoods? If you were head of a criminal gang would she inspire fear? But then as a female mayor once put it, police departments are repulsive when they have a “toxic, macho culture.”

To me, a woman police chief is a case of social transgenderism and make-believe. Someday the world will be filled with enlightened people who think otherwise, who think it’s normal for women to command what is essentially a military operation in a crime-ridden city, but in the meantime, sick reactionaries like me exist.

A police officer, clearly of the “toxic, macho culture” type, once wrote to me:

Female sensibilities being applied to police work is the biggest reason that criminals are not scared of the police anymore. There should be a feeling among the criminal element that they might be physically hurt if they want to cross a certain line or if they want to fight a police officer. That feeling is largely absent now, due to misguided liberal policies and female sentimentality guiding policy.

That was back in 2010. Today, there are 300 women police chiefs and many thousands in the ranks.

Kirkpatrick was previously police chief of Oakland, California for some two-and-a-half years.

In addition to executive leadership experience, Kirkpatrick is a National Instructor for the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Association’s Leadership Training Program, where she instructs on topics including, but not limited to, Bias and Diversity, Emotional Intelligence and Leading Generations. (Source)

“Emotional Intelligence?” Not the kind of expertise you expect in a police chief. It’s the kind of expertise you expect in a government nanny. Read More »

HAVE both sides joined together to rebuild Gaza with American tax dollars?

“They’re going to make it a nice Mediterranean beach area,” says Fakenukes Phil, who has been documenting suspicious deaths and injuries in Gaza war. Video link. (This is not a blanket endorsement of Fakenukes.)

The incited campus protests have their own benefits, fueling Communist-style unrest and raising the specter of anti-semitism, which is ever-profitable for Jewish organizations.

Farmer in a Field, Vincent Van Gogh

FROM Dom Guéranger’s Liturgical Year:

Today, again, the great Litany, the Supplication, is heard in the House of the Lord: the solemn Procession re-appears in the streets of the city, and in the quiet lanes of the country. Let us take our share in this sacred rite; let us blend our voice with that of our Mother, and join the cry that pierces the clouds: Kyrie eleison! Lord have mercy on us! Let us think, for a moment, of the countless sins that are being committed, day and night; and let us sue for mercy. In the days of Noe, all flesh had corrupted its way; but men thought not of asking for mercy. The flood came, and destroyed them all, says our Savior. Had they prayed, had they begged God’s pardon, the hand of his justice would have been stayed, and the flood-gates of heaven would not have been opened. The day is to come, when, not water, as heretofore, but fire is suddenly to be enkindled by the Divine wrath, and is to burn the whole earth. It shall burn even the foundations of the mountains; it shall devour sinners, who will be resting then, as they were in the days of Noe, in a false security.

Persecuted by her enemies, decimated by the martyrdom of her children, afflicted by numerous apostasies from the faith, and deprived of every human aid, the Church will know that the terrible chastisement is at hand, for Prayer will then be as rare as Faith. Let us, therefore, pray; that thus the day of wrath may be put off, the Christian life regain something of its ancient vigor, and the end of the world not be in our times. Read More »

St. Elizabeth of Hungary joined processions with the poor on Rogations Days

MONDAY, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Thursday are known as Rogation Days in the true Catholic Church — days of penance and prayer before the great feast marking Christ’s departure from earth.

Can we do better than participate in this ancient custom this week?

The goal of these days, the great 19th-century French monk Dom Prosper Guéranger explained, is “to appease the anger of God, and avert the chastisements which the sins of the world so justly deserve; moreover, to draw down the divine blessing on the fruits of the earth.”

Stern, old-fashioned language!

But really new compared to nature worship — and much more fulfilling. Guéranger continues:

The Monk of St. Gaul’s, who has left us so many interesting details regarding the life of Charlemagne, tells us that this holy Emperor used to join the Processions of these three Days, and walk bare-footed from his palace to the Stational Church. We find St. Elizabeth of Hungary, in the 14th century, setting the like example: during the Rogation Days, she used to mingle with the poorest women of the place, and walked bare-footed, wearing a dress of coarse stuff. St. Charles Borromeo, who restored in his Diocese of Milan so many ancient practices of piety, was sure not to be indifferent about the Rogation Days. He spared neither word nor example to reanimate this salutary devotion among his people. He ordered fasting to be observed during these three Days; he fasted himself on bread and water. Read More »

BRING FLOWERS OF THE RAREST

Bring flow’rs of the fairest,
Bring flow’rs of the rarest,
From garden and woodland
And hillside and vale;
Our full hearts are swelling,
Our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest
Rose of the vale.

Chorus:
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May,
O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May. Read More »

Source

TRUMP made this country so much better. Millions accepted a loss of freedom they never would have accepted if a Dem had won. Lesson learned: It’s better to have natural rights abolished and billions paid out by your guy, than the other team’s guy. Read More »

“THIS documentary explores the highly controversial subject of the design of America’s capital. Was the city built to reflect the majesty of America’s newfound freedom? Or the hidden agenda of secret societies? With every major cornerstone laid by Freemasons, was the city built in a Masonic pattern? Embark upon this incredible journey as Riddles in Stone interviews experts on both sides of the heated debate. Watch as Freemason apologists defend some of the most direct and hard-hitting questions concerning the influence of Masonry in America, and its symbolism in Washington, D.C. Alongside them are leading researchers who maintain that occult architecture permeates the city, and conceals a secret agenda. Was D.C. laid out according to the pattern of the stars? Is there really a pentagram in the street layout north of the White House? Does a Masonic square and compass extend from the Capitol building to the Washington monument? And why is the city filled with zodiac symbols, mysterious faces, and various god and goddess images? If America was founded as a Christian nation only, where are the images of Jesus Christ? Or does Washington D.C. symbolize another Christ, the Masonic Christ?”

—Christian J. Pinto Read More »

Every mystery contains a central nucleus of truth that is comprehended, surrounded on all sides by things that we do not comprehend. Think of it as a globe of light surrounded by darkness. The man who rejects mystery is rejecting the central globe of light and accepting the impenetrable darkness. Whereas for the man who accepts it, the light grows and expands, sending longer and longer rays into the darkness around.

— Frank Sheed, The Map of Life

FROM “Perseverance in Good,” by Fr. Francis Hunolt:

God does not wish us to pray to him for the same reason that beggars are forced to ask alms from the rich: namely, to declare their poverty, or to excite pity and commiseration for their needs. No, the all-knowing Lord is better acquainted with our wants than we are ourselves. “Your Father knoweth what is needful for you,” says Christ, “before you ask him” (St. Matthew 6: 8). He knows your miseries before you expose them to him: and he has greater pity for our wretchedness than a good mother has for her sick child. Why, then, is it necessary for us to implore the help of God, if he already knows what we want, if his Fatherly love already inclines him to help us? It is true that God knows already what help and grace we are in need of from him; and that he can give us his grace without our co-operation, if he wishes to do so; but as a general rule, he will not give us any grace, the first alone excepted, unless we humbly ask it of him. God could have caused the fruits of the earth to come forth of themselves; but he does not do so. He requires us to do work, to till the fields, and sow the seed. In the same way he wishes all men to be eternally happy in heaven, and to that end, he is ready to give us all the assistance of his grace in liberal measure, but on the condition that we ask it of him so that we may always humbly acknowledge that he is the sole Lord and Giver of all grace, on whom depends our temporal and spiritual welfare. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you” (St. Matthew 7: 7).

St. Joseph with the Infant Baby Jesus, Guido Reni (1635)

IN 1955, Pope Pius XII proclaimed May 1st, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker in response to Communist May Day celebrations, which pandered to the working class while placing it under the merciless control of an oligarchy.  As a laborer who worked with his hands, St. Joseph was everything the Communist slave was not. In Divini Redemptoris, On Atheistic Communism, of March 1937, Pope Pius XI advocated that the battle against world Communism be entrusted to the great saint’s intercession. How far we have come since 1937 and 1955! The Vatican II Church has long since abandoned the fight against world Communism and in fact has joined in its ascendancy under the United Nations and centralized financial forces. That fact should only motivate us the more to honor the saint on this day.

St. Joseph, again, is the ideal representative of the working-class man (and woman), industrious in his labors, strengthened by virtue and unmoved by slogans of class envy. He is the construction worker, the appliance repairman, the plumber, the farmer, the truck driver and the electrician — uncelebrated, but necessary to everyday survival. One of the terrible fruits of the quasi-Communism everywhere has been the deprivation of a living wage to the working man so that his wife must now work outside the home too and, with feminism and state control of the family, he has lost any privilege as head of his home. His family, in many cases, has been blown apart or never really established, replaced by a series of temporary connections and confused offspring — or perhaps just a nice dog (cheaper in the long run.) More and more, he can’t even dream of buying a house (while his neighbor from India can). He’s offered bread and circuses — marijuana, alcohol, sports, online gambling, video games, tattoos, rock music — in return. The goal of the universal state is to animalize the working man (and working woman). The whips and chains of ancient slavery were better.

From Divini Redemptoris:

To hasten the advent of that “peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ” so ardently desired by all, We place the vast campaign of the Church against world Communism under the standard of St. Joseph, her mighty Protector. He belongs to the working-class, and he bore the burdens of poverty for himself and the Holy Family, whose tender and vigilant head he was. To him was entrusted the Divine Child when Herod loosed his assassins against Him. In a life of faithful performance of everyday duties, he left an example for all those who must gain their bread by the toil of their hands. He won for himself the title of “The Just,” serving thus as a living model of that Christian justice which should reign in social life.

With eyes lifted on high, our Faith sees the new heavens and the new earth described by Our first Predecessor, St. Peter. While the promises of the false prophets of this earth melt away in blood and tears, the great apocalyptic prophecy of the Redeemer shines forth in heavenly splendor: “Behold, I make all things new.”

Leger Poll

Doon, Ontario; Lucius O’Brien

CANAL BANK WALK

Leafy with-love banks and the green waters of the canal
Pouring redemption for me, that I do
The will of God, wallow in the habitual, the banal,
Grow with nature again as before I grew.
The bright stick trapped, the breeze adding a third
Party to the couple kissing on an old seat,
And a bird gathering materials for the nest for the Word
Eloquently new and abandoned to its delirious beat.
O unworn world enrapture me, encapture me in a web
Of fabulous grass and eternal voices by a beech,
Feed the gaping need of my senses, give me ad lib
To pray unselfconsciously with overflowing speech
For this soul needs to be honoured with a new dress woven
From green and blue things and arguments that cannot be proven.

 —-  Patrick Kavanaugh