Fallen Ideals

My niece doesn't want any religion for her child and so on with the brainwashing stuff. I tried to put forth some logic into her view but to no avail. She considers herself liberal and she wants to teach her child just what it is to be human. Her ideal president is Uruguay's Jose Mujica.

I was tempted to tell her, "I think you will like our new pope, Francis." Of course, I did not. She isn't a Catholic, she's with the Victory Church. I do love her and I am not going to reinforce her humanistic idea by telling her about the pope. Soon enough, without my help, she had an FB post with adulations for the pope.

Oh my! Surely Mujica and Francis.

José Mujica is a non-believer in God but he believes in austere living, championing the poor, legalized marijuana, legalized abortion, legalized same-sex marriage, strict ban on cigarettes, and environmental protection. All this, he was able to accomplish in a predominantly Catholic country.

For a brief period in my life, I was inclined to socialism as influenced by my university. It seems so ideal. Equality. Freedom. Concern for the poor. Concern for the environment. Coexistence.These are all good things wherein believers or non-believers can agree upon.

When Pope Francis says communists are closet Christians who’ve “stolen our flag", it drew varied reactions from professional media and bloggers. Actually, I had the same line of thinking but I do not think Communists or Socialists as "closet Christians". It was more like the Communists/ Socialists aped Catholicity but removing God. It was a similar thing that Julian the Apostate (b 331, d 363) did but with pagan gods. For Julian albeit with most of Socialism adherents, there is resentment or hatred for Christianity because of the actuations of some Christians. In his case, it was the massacre of his family. He could not accept the God of the Christians. The God of the Christians had been obscured by the Judases among them. He cried out when dying: Nenikekas Galilaie (Thou hast conquered, O Galilean).

For Julian the Apostate, it was the Christian virtues that he liked most especially charity, mercy, and justice. On the other hand, socialism is like the monastic life wherein there is common ownership of goods. There is work according to one's capacity that brought dignity to manual labor. There is discipline. Yet, paradoxically even if the structure of socialism is the same with Christian monasticism, the product is different.

I did not have any underlying anger towards "perceived" Christians, I just find socialism sounding so right and good. Yet, even when socialism wants to empower the masses, there will still arise a pyramid of power, just different personalities from that which was rejected.

As one grows in experience and exposure, we recognize the difference between permissiveness and freedom. Most of the things permitted like abortion, illegal drugs, euthanasia, same-sex marriage are all short cut solutions to man's ultimate desire but only leads him/her to a dead-end wall of bondage. Sameness is not equality but a grave injustice because it suppresses the uniqueness of each person in the seasons of life.

All these liberal ideas of abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage have gone against the connectivity of all things and all humanity and most importantly our First Source, God. It would be so crazy,to think of someone so adamantly against smoking and yet find no qualms in killing the life of a child in the womb where human life begins. It would be so crazy to care so much for the environment and go against the very basic natural law of man-woman marriage.

We all love. We love our family. We love our neighbors. We love the poor. Yet, without our relationship with God, we really would not know how to love. We will not know what is good for us, let alone what is good for others.

In the socialist / humanist way of life, there will be someone or something who would replace the true God, and that idol will be the source of our way of love and goodness and our sense of humanity. A false god is a false god and it will invert the way. The only way to find happiness and contentment in a socialist/ humanist environment is to be a robot. It keeps on moving with all semblances of activity and life, but in reality, it has fallen to sloth and numbness. Creativity has been stifled. And one can not ask one's self if this is really love and is this really life.

Socialism and humanism will breed people with messianic complex. A suppressed woundedness masked in the idea that "I can do good, charity, mercy without having a need for God." In spite of its "equality, liberty, and fraternity" slogan, it is in socialism and humanism where you will find . And behind the picture-perfect love for the poor and the minorities are atrocious denigration of human life. Behind every liberties granted is a dependency borne. Still, a creative minority will still exist impelled by higher goods beyond what the world could give.



Back to P. Francis, he may be technically orthodox, but in all practicality, what he had been doing is affirming and reinforcing people in a humanist/ socialist worldview that will not bring them joy here and the hereafter. Perhaps... that is what he really wants.

Humanity of the Popes

Wave to the Cam







Eating lunch...





Group pic...





Embracing and embraced....





An ID?

Come What May

So easily it has gone viral. Admittedly, it appeals to believers and non-believers alike. A shepherd who eats with the sheep.

But who am I to judge? Most especially by appearance, photo op, and mass media.

It's hard to have a photo op that will illustrate Pope Francis saying "to recover mankind, restoring him to the centre of reflection and the centre of life. He is the king of the universe!” he exclaimed. “And this is not theology, it is philosophy and human reality."

Or a photo op that will manifest a decision to appoint a false prophet, Enzo Bianchi, to ecumenical council.

It's really okay to have such photo circulated but why aren't Catholic pages posting the other news? Are we positivist who choose to talk only about the "nice" and "positive" looking things? Can't we look at the whole picture and say I still trust this is the Church Jesus instituted and this is where I will be?



Thank you St. Corbinian's Bear. The Bears' "By Rivers of Babylon": We must plant our vineyards and live out our lives out in the era we have been given. And yet,...

Thank you Cardinal Ratzinger. Ratzinger's letter on Ecumenism, translated by Beatrice of Benoit et Moi
Excerpt: This is simply an attempt to leave to God what is only his business, then explore, in all seriousness, what is our task. To this sphere of our tasks belong acting and suffering, activity and patience.

Thank you Pope Benedict XVI.
This is our response, we are realists in expecting that evil always attacks, attacks from within and without, yet that the forces of good are also ever present and that, in the end, the Lord is more powerful than evil and Our Lady is for us the visible, motherly guarantee of God’s goodness, which is always the last word in history.
- Benedict XVI, Portugal, 2010

Center of the Universe

Pope Francis
I believe that this is the strongest moment for anthropological reductionism," he said.

"What is happening to humanity at the moment is what happens when wine becomes brandy: it passes through a phase of distillation, in organizational terms. It is no longer wine, but it is something else: perhaps more useful, more qualified, but it is not wine!"

He said that for mankind, it is the same: "man passes through this transformational phase and ends up – and I am serious – losing his humanity and becoming a tool of the system, a social and economic system, a system where imbalance reigns. When mankind loses his humanity, what happens to us? What occurs is what I would describe in simple terms as a throwaway policy or sociology: what is no longer useful is discarded, because man is not at the centre. And when man is not at the centre, there is something else in his place and man is at the service of this other thing."

"The idea, therefore, is to save mankind, in the sense of restoring him to the centre: to the centre of society, of thought, of reflection. Restoring mankind to the centre. You do good work. You study, reflect, hold conferences for this reason – so that mankind is not discarded."

"Children are discarded – we all know about today's birth rates, at least in Europe; the elderly are discarded, because they are not 'useful'. And now? An entire generation of young people is discarded, and this is very serious! I have seen a figure: 75 million young people, under the age of 25, without work. The 'neither-nor' young: those who neither work nor study. They do not study because they do not have the opportunity, and the do not work because there is no work."

"Who will be the next to be discarded? Let us stop this in time, please!”

The Pope thanked those present for their work and their initiatives “to restore balance to this imbalanced situation and to recover mankind, ” he exclaimed. “And this is not theology, it is philosophy and human reality."


Benedict XVI.

The divine and universal law of creation is divine love, incarnate in Christ. However, this should not be understood in a poetic but in a real sense.
The Son of man himself epitomizes the earth and Heaven, the Creation and the Creator, the flesh and the Spirit. He is the centre of the cosmos and of history, for in him the Author and his work are united without being confused with each other.
And it is precisely with the resurrection of the dead that he became "pre-eminent in all things" (Col 1: 18). Jesus himself affirms this, appearing to his disciples after the Resurrection: "all authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Mt 28: 18). This awareness supports the way of the Church, Body of Christ, on the paths of history. There is no shadow, however dark, that can obscure Christ's light. This is why believers in Christ never lack hope, even today, in the face of the great social and financial crisis that is tormenting humanity, in the face of the destructive hatred and violence that have not ceased to stain many of the earth's regions with blood, in the face of the selfishness and pretension of the human being in establishing himself as his own God, which sometimes leads to dangerous distortions of the divine plan concerning life and the dignity of the human being, the family and the harmony of the Creation. Our efforts to free human life and the world from the forms of poison and contamination that could destroy the present and the future retain their value and meaning as I noted in the Encyclical Spe Salvi mentioned above even if we apparently fail or seem powerless when hostile forces appear to gain the upper hand, because "it is the great hope based upon God's promises that gives us courage and directs our action in good times and bad" (n. 35).

Sadly

Sadly, it seems true.

Slum Pleasures goes... I have received, and published already, the following comment:

This Francis fool was the perfect candidate to weaken Papacy to the point of irrelevance, I visited Argentina 2 years ago, when I was working for a russian news agency and visited some slums in Buenos Aires to cover the work of the “curas villeros” (slum priests) in the many shanty towns of the capital, I was shocked to see that practically all those priests had concubines and had sons with them, other were openly homosexual or had transexual partners and everyone knew about this!I talked with people from the slums and asked them what did they think about this? their answers were basically the same: “it’s ok, they love each other, they harm nobody” I also talked with more cultured (and minoritarian) sectors of the catholic church in Buenos Aires who were infuriated by the situation but they were unable to do anything about it, they said they were largely outnumbered by the “populist priests”.They also told me that all the high hierarchy of the church in Buenos Aires, Bergoglio included, were aware of the dubious morality of the slum priests, the argentine traditionalist catholics also told me that in those slums the priest is considered a “fairy godmother” by the poor people who live there, in fact the priests are to many of them the only “help” since the hypecorrupt state is practically absent, thus the priest is perceived as a ” good nanny” who feeds and takes care, so no one dares or bothers to question his life and morality, to slum people everything the priests do is ok as long as they keep supplying them with free stuff…. a doctrine of sterile assistentialism that leads nowhere, keeps the poor in poverty, the lazy in laziness and the sinner happy with his sins.Bergoglio has started to export this model of spiritual misery and moral decay to the rest of the world since he was elected and sadly he will continue vomiting the filthy populist nonsense that’s been coming out of argentina provincial, ultracorrupt politics for decades.

Read the entire article.



One commenter said:

María Victoria Álvarez on September 18, 2013 at 4:53 pm

Dear Mundabor, I’m argerntine and what this post says it’s absolutely true, Bergoglio condoned , tolerated and encouraged all kind of transgresions, heresies and sins here in my country, now I’m seeing that he’s doing the same in Rome and he wants to spread this pestilence all over the world. The ricca scandal pales in comparisson to the myriad of sex scandals that the argentine catholics have witnessed during “The bergoglio era” but as this post says: since the traditionalist catholics are a minority the voices of those who denounce these scandals are lost in the maremagnum of praises and justifications from low, little people who get some “welfare benefit” from them.

Prayer and Peace

Surely everyone wants peace. Surely any believer would believe that prayer is powerful. So who would be against the peace initiative of Pope Francis in a "together praying" event at the Vatican Gardens. So, let's just hold our peace and pray.
As a tourist, I have entered a Mosque and Buddhist Temples. I have prayed with Protestants, in spite of, some differences.
Many had invoked that it was all in keeping with Jesus' prayer before Ascension, John 17:21 "That they all may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in US: that the world may believe that thou hast SENT ME."
The unity and oneness that Jesus desires is a unity with Him. It is "one in faith" that Jesus is the Messiah sent by God. It is being one with the Holy Trinity.
If what we really want is any kind of unity then we can simply submit to the United Nations or to the New World Order. Still, we do not because it is Truth that we ultimately desire communion with. We were created for the Truth... to find it and then, to accept or reject it.
For all the good intentions of the "peace and prayer" initiative and it's warm gesture to seek resolution to world problems, there will be an unsettling feeling that the Truth is being obscured.

Technically Two Popes

Ratzinger has not retired to private life. That's why we really have two Popes
from Corriere della Sera , Wednesday, May 28, 2014, Vatican

(Vittorio Messori) "Dear brothers, I also called today to announce a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After a long examination of my conscience before God, well aware of the gravity of the act, in full freedom, hereby renounce the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter ... ".
Totally unforeseen, said in Latin, in a low voice, those words were like a whip which he did in a few minutes around the globe. And that even in countries with no Catholic majority and not even Christian, but where is immediately understood the historical novelty of the event. Do not forget that - even according to the words of the recent Protestant Obama, the orthodox Putin, dell'anglicano Cameron - the Roman Pontiff today would be the highest moral authority in the world.
To return to that of 11 February, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, who knows the Catholic world still knows that there are questions and we compare it even harder. Seem to be two sides: on one side the keepers of tradition, for which the "unsubscribe" (no discharge, not having the Pope in any land where present), despite being required by the Code of Canon Law, would have constituted a kind of defection, almost Benedict XVI considered his office as the president of a corporation or of a State. And, therefore, it was necessary to retire to private life at the age of decline, in the name of efficiency considerations, rejected, however, by the long agony in public, chosen by John Paul II.
On the other hand, here is the deployment of those who rejoice: the renunciation would be the end of the sacredness of the Papacy, the mystical aura around him and then the adjustment of the bishop of Rome to the standard common to all the bishops, desired by Paul VI. Give up, that is, the government of a diocese and official positions in the Roman Curia to the achievement of 75 years.
In the background, however, were still questions that seemed to have no adequate answer: why not choose to be called "retired bishop of Rome" (as suggested by the same Catholic Civilization), but "Papa Emeritus"? Why not give up the white dress, despite having removed the cape and the annulus piscatorius on his finger, a sign of the authority of government? Why not retire in the silence of a cloistered monastery, instead of staying within the confines of the Vatican City, next to St. Peter's, dealing often - albeit privately - with the successor, receiving guests and participating in ceremonies and as the recent canonization of Roncalli and Wojtyla? I confess that I myself had asked similar questions, it being puzzled.
An answer to those questions is now a study by Stephen Violi, esteemed professor of canon law at the Faculty of Theology of Bologna and Lugano. It is worthwhile to examine those crowded pages, as with the decision of Benedict XVI, the Church is open to new scenarios and somewhat disconcerting. It is expected that the conclusions of Professor Violi arouse debate among colleagues, as this canonist assumed that the act of Ratzinger innovate deeply and that the Popes are now living two really. Even if one of them voluntarily "halved", to put it in a somewhat 'simplistic but, it seems, is not wrong. To understand, to be cleared first of all the delusions of conspiracy and conspiracy, taking seriously Benedict XVI spoke of the growing burden of old age as a reason first and only of its decision: "In recent months I have found that my strength had decreased ... my resources, physical and intellectual, advanced age, are no longer appropriate to exercise properly the ministry ... ".
But, studying in depth the highly controlled Latin with which Joseph Ratzinger has accompanied its decision, the eye of the canon lawyer discovers that it goes far beyond the few historical antecedents and beyond the regulations set forth by the "unsubscribe" Code of the Church today. It turns out, that is, that Benedict XVI did not intend to give up the munus Petrinus, the office, the task, that is, Christ himself attributed to the head of the Apostles and has been handed down to his successors. The Pope wished to give up just Ministerium, ie exercise, practical administration of that office. In the formula used by Benedict, stands first among the munus, the papal office, and the executio, that is the active exercise of the office itself. But the executio is twofold: there is the aspect of government that exercises et loquendo acting, working and teaching. But there is also the spiritual aspect, not less important, which is exercised in suffering praying, praying and suffering. This is what would be behind the words of Benedict XVI: "Do not return to private life ... I do not wear more than the power of leadership in the Church, but for the good of the Church and in the service of prayer, rest in the yard of St. Peter." Where 'fence' should not be understood only in the sense of a place to live but also a "place" theological.
Here, then, why the choice, unexpected and novel, to be called "Papa Emeritus". A bishop is the bishop when age or illness requires him to leave the government of his diocese and retired to pray for it. Especially as the bishop of Rome, to which the munus, the office, the task of Peter, was given once and for all, for the whole of eternity, the Holy Spirit, using the cardinals in conclave only as tools. That is also the reason for the decision not to abandon the white dress, while private signs of active government. That's why the desire to stand next to relics of the Chief of the Apostles, venerated in the great basilica. In the words of Professor Violi: "Benedict XVI is stripped of all power of governance and control inherent in his office, without abandoning the service to the Church this continues, through the exercise of the spiritual dimension of the pontifical munus entrusted to him. At this, he did not intend to give up. He has not given up to the task, which can not be revoked, but at the implementation stage. " Perhaps for this reason Francis does not seem to love to call "Papa," as it is aware of the munus pontifical share, at least in the spiritual dimension, with Benedict? However, what was inherited entirely by Benedict XVI is the office of Bishop of Rome. That is what this, as you know, is his preferred self-definition, right from the first words of greeting to the people after the election? So much so that many, surprised, wondered why he had never used the word "Pope" or "Pope" on an occasion so solemn, in front of the TV the whole world, and he just talked about his role as successor to the Roman episcopate.
For the first time, then, the Church would really have two Popes, the reigning and emeritus? It seems that this was the will of Joseph Ratzinger himself, with that waiver of only the active duty who has been "a solemn act of his teaching," in the words of the canon law. If indeed it is so, so much the better for the Church, a gift that there is, next to each other physically, who directs and teaches and who prays and suffers for everyone, but above all to support the brother pontifical office daily .

Mano Po si Papa

Mano po is a wonderful Filipino tradition. It is often translated to "kissing the hand" but the hand or mano (in Spanish) actually touches the forehead rather than the lips. It, most likely, was an adaptation of kissing the ring of bishops.
Both the "mano po" and kissing of the bishop's ring is a sign of respect for the elder and the office of bishop being a representative of Jesus. At the same time, it is also a plea for blessing.



Pope Francis kissed the hand of a priest with questionable advocacy. He is old. One doesn't have to put much more into the gesture other than respect for elders. It's the same with the Holocaust survivors. We accord respect to elders whether they are nice, cranky, and what have you.

Photo from mundabor.blogspot.com

Of course, Pope Francis could, in turn, give his blessing. I don't know if he did but during his first address with the media, he withheld his apostolic blessing.



Gestures do transmit a message which could have different interpretations culturally. In Thailand, one bows to people with your palms together. It would be a praying hand for Christians, but for the Buddhists, it was a sign of respect. Of course, there will be limitations in adopting other cultures. We should be comfortable and in accord with the meaning it conveys.

The Hidden Cross

St. Corbinian's bear questions why Pope Francis hides the Cross.
It would seem that he does that deliberately when he is in "ecumenical mode".



It is so weird for a Pope to do that. As if the Cross is getting in the way.


Well, priests now a days would rather hide their priesthood. It's terrible when even at the Holy Mass and they can't get vested properly. So, it trickles down and the laity don't get dressed for Mass.



Of course, people will argue that what is "essential is invisible to the eye". What is important is... what is in the heart. Somehow, we have to manifest what is in the heart. Love just can't stay in the heart or it is no love at all.

Holy Land and the Leaders

I don't really know but there is something eerie with Pope Francis' apostolic journey to the Holy Land.

There isn't really much Catholic commentary about it but there are news from non-Catholics. Arab Newspaper: Maronite patriarch's Jerusalem visit would be 'historic sin'. The pope who I see as a great politician and to my opinion a terrible pope seems to be going overboard using the barque of Peter.

The politically tone deaf pope hits hard on the pope's actions in the Holy Land.

"The logo also expresses this desire for unity, representing the embrace of Saint Peter and Saint Andrew, the first two disciples called by Jesus in Galilee. Saint Peter is the patron of the Church in Rome and Saint Andrew is the patron of the Church in Constantinople. In Jerusalem, in the Mother Church, they embrace. The two apostles are in a boat that represents the Church, whose mast is the Cross of the Lord. The sails of the boat are full of wind, the Holy Spirit, which directs the boat as it sails across the waters of this world." (from Vatican News)





I don't like the logo. It reminds me of this photo. The Peter in the logo looks so much like Jesus in the icon.




It's probably the way they embraced, too, in the logo looks so much as the embrace of Judas.

The Contrast: Joseph and Jorge

The contrast between Benedict and Francis by Fr. Ray Blake.

Mundabor has a contrast too, but... of course Mundabor doesn't hide what he thinks of P. Francis.

The Future of the Catholic Church?

Oh my! Sell the Churches!



Then, we might have a need a lot of this portable altar!



The Church will survive with street Masses!

Awww! Priests shortage!

Wait, they are talking of a flourishing traditional community. Oh! But..but they are strangling the community of Franciscan Friars and Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate. They... who could really be "they"?

There is the SSPX, but I hardly know them. From V2 history, Cardinal Santos was sympathetic to the side of the Lefebrevists.

The other remnants of Christianity: Protestants, Sede Vacantists, and others have become irrational.

Well, Jesus said "the gates of hell will not prevail against it" and "I will be with you always until the end of time". Yes, the Church will make it through. I don't know how, but it will.

Holy Father's Prayer Intention for May

Tired Warriors

"That is why Pope Francis can be readily said and rightfully considered as the gift of God to the Church and to the world. And this is neither but poetry nor illusion. The world is becoming worse. The Church is getting tired. This is why not only the Church but also the world needs an honest-to-goodness spiritual leader in order to energize the Christians, to inspire humanity. Both the Church and the world are in dire need of shepherding that leads the sheep to the right path, cares for them the right way, and protects them from evil and harm.". The quote is from Archbishop Emeritus Oscar V. Cruz in his blogpost Shepherd-in-Chief.

Surely, I can understand his admiration for Pope Francis. I may raise my eyebrows on the suceeding lines because the two predecessors were (to me) honest to goodness spiritual leaders who inspire the church and the world. So be it, to each his own opinion.

What struck me more was "the church is getting tired". What could he possibly mean? As Benedict XVI reminded us, "the church is Christ'", as sure hope his eminence is not referring to Jesus Christ. Jesus is patient and faithful even with the likes of me. Could he mean the bishops? Oh, many bishops around the world are obviously not tired of dissenting. And we just had an old priest in Syria who died because he didnot want to abandon the flock. Could he mean the laity which constitute the majority of the Church? Well, there are lots of nominal Catholics, dissenting Catholics, but there is a vibrant Catholic youth movement. And there is also what Benedict XVI called the "creative minority".

I think Archbishop Cruz is referring to himself. I think he had grown tired. He had been fighting the jueteng and many of the political maladies of our land.

I do get tired too and sometimes we just surrender and let things happen. We just face the consequences.

The popular anecdote, though, is a good reminder.

The old man walks into the seashore and found a young girl picking up the starfishes that had been washed ashore. She would head back to the sea and throw the starfishes back. The man talked to the young girl, "young lady, there are are just too many starfishes ashore. You can not possibly save them all." The young girl smiled and replied, "it doesn't matter to me if I can not bring them all back," Then picking up one starfish she said, "but for this ONE, it matters".

Finding Jesus

“You can’t know Jesus in first class. You get to know Jesus out and about in your everyday, daily life. You can’t know Jesus where it’s peace and quiet, or in the library.” - Pope Francis

Oh, but Holy Father, I was out there. Out with real people- of different economic status and various belief system. I was using my talent, not just in self-serving ways. I volunteer in helping the poor. In the eyes of other people, I may actually be perceived as good.

But, Holy Father, there is the danger of 'busy'ness which afflicts the modern world. It is not that we are unbelievers. It is not even the lack of desire for God. It's just that the 'busy'ness gives a false sense of purpose and a false sense of self-sufficiency. We are not really in touch with our emotions or our thoughts. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described it well,
"This, however, is the beginning of a sort of "justification through works": the human being justifies himself and the world, in which he does what clearly seems necessary yet completely lacks the inner light and spirit."

I became less mobile, less out there because I had to take care of my mother in her progressive Alzheimer. It was difficult, I need to be Martha who is moving about and not Magdalene who was just sitting at the foot of Jesus. But in time, I realized what a precious gift it was from God- to be just still and quiet.

It was about PRESENCE. It was simply "being there". Not trying to cure. Not even advising. Not trying to change the situation. It was the still and quiet power of presence. And Jesus had deemed to be that way, too, for us in His Real Presence in the Eucharist. Jesus is there. Just simply there in stillness and quiet. Yet, how life-changing a presence can be. We, somehow, are faced with our woundedness and the woundedness of others. We are confronted with the problems that had been there that our 'busy'ness ignored. We are in touch with God, a loving Creator, a suffering Messiah, a faithful Spirit. So, in as much as we are beset with the woundedness, we are also infused with the gifts.

It is a lifestyle that our utilitarian age would look down upon but I have no regrets for the choice I have made. If St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Tereesa Benedicta in their monastic life can be saints like Blsd. Mother Teresa of Calcutta who is out there with there; We all have a chance, and that is God's divine justice.

I have no doubt that Jesus can be found out there, in here, in the library, or in the dumps because Jesus initiates the reaching out; and He will never give up on us.

More Words After the 12000

After the 12,000-word interview were more words from all over the world including the Philippines. In the Philippine setting, the spin is that the Philippine Catholic Bishops are acting not in accord with the Pope with its strong opposition to Reproductive Health, Same-sex marriage, Divorce. Naturally, Catholic defenders had to explain it away. Fr. Nono Alfonso, S.J. likewise, also interpreted the Pope on Radio Veritas846.

The article on Rorate Cæli featuring an article of a Conservative non-Trad Spanish writer, Juan Manuel de Prada was perhaps the most touching of all. It reminds me of some heart breaking reactions when Pope Benedict XVI renounced the papacy. The papacy is a vocation of fatherhood and it is of greater import in a fatherless society- a Papa, it must be, to the universal church..

Then, there is the spin on the "parable of the Prodigal Son". The Pope is the good, merciful father who welcomes with a feast the atheists, divorcees, gays, pro-abortion. On the other hand, the Catholics who react negatively to the pope's words are likened to the other son filled with interior sins. Well, there is a prodigal son and the other son in each of us, but the Pope, though the Vicar of Christ, is not God. The Sensible Bond is a great piece. It is neither defensive nor offensive.

Ultimately, we will be confronted with what we are truly convicted of.
Do we really believe that Jesus is God who instituted the Catholic Church?
Do we really believe in Jesus' promise that "the gates of hell will not prevail against it"?
Do we really believe in the teachings of the Church on Contraception, Abortion, Marriage, Family?

It is an ever increasing challenging times for Catholics, demanding white martyrdom and in many places, red martyrdom. Things are not going to get easier. Somehow, I predict this will be a short pontificate but a highly visible one. It is after this pontificate wherein the simmer reaches a boiling point and schism will happen.

Continually, we must pray, reflect, and keep aflame the thirst and quest for Truth. Do I stand with Jesus, Mary, the saints, the Church, the Bible, the magisterium, and the valid Pope?

Church Alive and Kicking Each Other

Oh, the exchanges in the internet world! I wonder which blogs and articles St. Jerome and St. Augustine would be responding, too. Today, must be like the time of Luther when pamphletering abound, and there were many voices. Should I laugh, be sad or must I be worried? Majority of Catholics do not read encyclicals, Pope's addresses, or homilies. They simply rely on quotes from priests and Catholic speakers. And they persevere in the faith, knowing deep down that it was the Church established by Christ Himself. The first encyclical I ever read was Pacem en Terris. I do like reading including spiritual books like Henri Nouwen and books about or by the saints but rarely would I be interested in papal documents. It was when I was convicted of the wisdom of the Church regarding artificial contraception [admitting to myself that I was wrong and the Church got it right] that I became more interested in what the Church has to say. But even then, it was just a few that I read: Cathechism, Humanae Vitae, Splendour of the Truth, and Familiaris Consortium. It was Benedict XVI who got me hooked on reading more including homilies and addresses. I read/listen to Benedict XVI because his words and messages are beautiful, educational, and inspiring. He is an outstanding writer. With the new papacy, others kept on reading everything Pope Francis says even when they can't seem to grasp the message. I guess they have to because they are Catholic writers. And then there are the writers who just can't accept any negative commentaries on the Pope... because they are Catholic apologists. Are all these making the Church crumble from within? I hope not. As always, there will be converts, reverts and there will be fallen away. Will the great apostasy happen or will the great mass conversion happen as we near the end times? I don't know, we all have our deaths to reckon with. Maybe what is happening is just a cultural gap. When Pope Francis was elected, I felt orphaned because he was just like our parish priest. Benedict XVI was a pope. However, Pope Francis is the pope and I accept. In the Third World, a priest must only have old, impractical cars which he can rant about. Car is a big deal. Bishops from rugged countryside were castigated for accepting/ soliciting SUVs from the PCSO. Our parish priest when he bought a motorcycle was readily petitioned for ousting. There is great divide between the "have" and "have not" in the Third World. The "have" has BMW, Benz, Porsche. The locally manufactured vehicle would be the Sarao jeepney for the "have not". The "have" use signature apparels- bags, clothes, shoes since they are all imported from the "first world". The "have" has helpers, drivers, and nannies. The "have not" does everything for themselves and if in a much worse situation, be the helpers, drivers, and nannies of the "have". Pope Francis is a politically and socially correct Third World priest. In the Third World, charity is associated with giving something to the poor. The sharing of truth in words (like Benedict's) would hardly pass as an act of charity. In the Third World, the Church is the watchdog of the government. So priests are very political and social justice is often the shout out. And hardly would a Third World Priest be concerned about the Liturgy. He just appears for the Liturgy. A Third World Priest is focused in giving hope amd reaching out. Street, Mall, TV Masses so as to accomodate the bustling Third World people who have to labor much and need rest or shopping. Even the homilies of Pope Francis are quite typical. Like Mother Mary lets in everyone to heaven while St. Peter was away. Then, there's the sermon about gossipers which is a burden to Third World priests. I am not sure if the pope had a sermon about corruption which is often a theme in homilies. A "Third World" priest attends processions, watches the Choir's concert and the Youth group's play. A priest must be game; Sing, dance, clap, and joke with the people. These make for a vibrant church with many religions around. All these are in no way indicative of a good priest or a bad priest. It is just the social setting they are placed. But how about the Pope of the Universal Church? Maybe in time, Pope Francis will be less of himself. Or perhaps, this is what Jesus wants for our time. No matter what, we have the Word of God, the Sacraments, and the Magisterium. We can pray. So we go on, allowing God to transform us that we may be conformed to Him.

Mystery Round-up

History Channel featured Pope Francis, the pope from the end of the world. It briefly mentioned St. Malacchi's prophecy of popes and the prophecy of the black king. But the feature wasn't really of any mystery, it just showcased the expectations and delight of Pope Francis' admirers and those who continually wished for a new church that will suit them.

More interesting is Missouri's mystery priest that appeared and disappered in an automobile accident, and the search for him.

Yes, there are lots of times in our lives when persons would be a part of our life for just a moment. We would never know their names or thank them enough. They would never even know the worth of what they have done. I can recall a few in my life like the local airport worker who picked a rose and simply gave it to me. Or that Maryknoller who gave me bus fare money when I realized too late that I was not able to bring one with me. Then, there was that seminarian who congratulated me when I passed the Architectural Licensure Exam, for him to take interest and look for my name in the list. People do come and go, and we will never know what would become of them.

But the greatest mystery of all is the Holy Eucharist. God had chosen to become Incarnate and then, institute the Sacrament that He may forever be present and Incarnate for all of us. Not just a symbol, but a Real Presence- an everyday miracle so many take for granted.

Reactions to Pope's Restrictions on FI's TLM

Rorate Cæli reported the Pope's restrictions on the Latin Masses officiated by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Although, I don't attend EF Masses, I was saddened that somehow it will hold back the propagation of the TLM which of yet has not flourished. Its presence would certainly bring back the solemnity and sacredness of the Holy Mass in the Novus Ordo and bring Jesus as the Center and Source of the Mass.

I have not read Fr. Z's article on this but it seems, he got more passionate reactions than the Pope's actuation. It surely did for Ars Orandi, I find Ars Orandi a beautiful website that posts the Collect of the Day. Another reaction and a sobering one was from Australia Incognita.

Dr. Taylor Marshall also wrote about the TLM and FI and advised readers not to go to Traditionalists' blogs like Rorate Cæli. Somehow, I like the Traditionalists' blogsites, even the satirical ones. They don't gloss over Church events and personalities. They critique or praise when warranted. And to me, it shows their conviction of the True Church that remains holy and fount of truth not because of its members but because of its founder - Jesus Christ.

Versus News

Retired Bishop tells Catholics to IGNORE the Archbishop Well, it was on a specific issue- receiving Holy Communion for those promoting Same-Sex Marriage. He insists punitive has no place in pastoral work. Oh yeah... like fathers who do not know tough love. No standing in the corner. Never grounded. Just love. Whatever that means.

And so... UK Liturgist says DON'T IMITATE the Pope ... that is, on Liturgical practice. Well, he is the Pope.

So... okay. Then... To HELL with Uniform; Let's just Love. Yeah, what is important is what's in the heart. I use that excuse when I want to cop out.

EXPLOSIONS Rock Finish of Boston Marathon on April 5, 2013. Now, don't tell me this is love. What could be in their hearts to do such a thing.

Amidst all the strifes and darkness, we can go Go FORWARD with Certainty. The world is broken but there is still hope and true love.