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Showing posts from January, 2022

“Judge not, that you be not judged"

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 Matthew 7:1-6 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you." I wanted to share this Tim Mackie exposition of judgement which I found profoundly helpful. Even if it is not true, the impression most non-Christians have of Christians is that they are judgemental, hypocritical & anti-gay. Westborough Baptists then: a vocal minority. Tim, quite shockingly says we are guilty of judging other Christians way...

Discarding the library

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  Another great take from Brian Holdsworth. In this video he asks some very important questions based on the vast wealth of knowledge available to Catholic Christians from the Magisterium: the teachings of the Church. The intellectual tradition, teaching & dogma of the Church is like a 2,000 year old library. No other institution has been thinking about thinking for as long as the Catholic Church. Why then, specifically with regard to the ridiculous "Synod on Synodality", would we seek to add detail before we understand the great wisdom we already hold? Synods historically are called to address heresy and controversy. The Church does not speak unless there is a challenge, she doesn't when it is not necessary: she lets the library speak for itself and invites us to study it. A Church that seeks to be synodal for no reason appears to be ignoring the content that exists and instead adding contemporary content.  What evidence is there that those seeking to add to the libr...

Pope Francis returns to the Sistine Chapel for The Baptism of Our Lord

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Another first for Pope Francis last Sunday. On the Baptism of the Lord, a versus populum altar was wheeled out for the Pope's Mass in the Sistine Chapel. Apart from its use at the end of conclaves, Holy Mass has always been celebrated at the main altar of the Sistine.  Perhaps it's just a coincidence that the new papal MC has a doctorate in liturgical studies from Sant'Anselmo? The change in orientation necessitated covering over a good chunk of the beautiful mosaic floor in a bland concrete grey coloured frame and, as Messa in Latino remarked, not even a crucifix on the altar. I can't help but find some poignant symbolism in what appears to be a forced modernism in one of the best known chapels in the world. A turning away from what is there and a covering of it, to what end? What do we gain? Pope Francis baptised a 16 babies, the first time he has done so since the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. In a brief, off-the-cuff homily beneath Michelangelo’...

Catholic Faithful Boo Cupich at Prolife Rally

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  For just how long will the Catholic faithful accept a bishop who is consistently problematic before they start to speak out? This weekend, Cardinal Blaise Cupich spoke at the March for Life rally in Chicago. He was heckled and booed and eventually led away by security. Catholics clearly have had enough. Cardinal Cupich started the day off with a VERY pro-abort tweet (corrected after outrage but awful nonetheless): CNA wrote a decent report on this which presents the reasons for Cupich's poor reception from marchers:  Cupich was criticized by some in the pro-life movement last year for leading an effort to head off a direct confrontation between the United States Conference of Bishops and President Joe Biden, who as the country's second Catholic president has pursued policies at odds with official Church teaching against abortion and same-sex marriage. A year ago Cupich took to Twitter to issue a scathing criticism of what he called an "ill-considered" statement the...