Hope for Western Civilization
IRRESISTIBLE!! THE PRIESTS SINGING PIE JESU
08/12/08 22:02
I found this over at Purcell's Chicken Voluntary and could not resist posting it. It is so rare to find something so beautiful that truly gives glory to God. It makes me wonder how so many can resist the beauty of God and His Church.
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CONVERT MAGDI ALLAM FORMS EUROPEAN POLITICAL PARTY TO DEFEND CHRISTIAN VALUES
30/11/08 20:36
From Yahoonews: "Magdi Cristiano Allam said his "Protagonists for Christian Europe" party would work to defend Europe's Christian values, which he sees threatened by secularism and moral relativism. He said his new party would be open to people of all faiths and would be close to the conservative European People's Party.
"Allam, who took the name Cristiano upon converting, has credited Benedict with being instrumental in his decision to become a Catholic and has said the pope had baptized him to support freedom of religion."
"The 56-year-old Allam has lived most of his adult life in Italy, becoming a citizen in 1986. In recent years he was given a police escort after receiving death threats from radical Islamic groups. While working to encourage tolerance between cultures he has also grown increasingly critical of his former faith.
"He said in leading daily Corriere della Sera, where he has worked as deputy editor, that the "root of evil is inherent in an Islam that is physiologically violent and historically conflictual."
DEO GRATIAS: A NEW FSSP PRIEST
29/11/08 19:44
Roger, a reader in New Zealand, photographed the ordination of Deacon Anthony Sumich and graciously forwarded some wonderful photographs of the event. Among those photographed are the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr John Berg, newly ordained priest, Fr Romanoski, and Fr John Rizzo.
As Roger stated -"It's great to see traditional catholicism come back to NZ in such a magnificent style".
AN AUTHENTICALLY CATHOLIC CHRISTMAS GIFT
25/11/08 09:59
"What influences the way Catholic children and adults think and feel about their faith has more to do with the entertainment they choose than anything else. Bad books and bad movies so quickly destroy the Catholic faith in youth, drive one’s children away from you and eventually destroy their souls.
"Old Dingledorf Square" is a collection of three Catholic Christmas stories in verse that teach adults and children to love their Catholic faith, appreciate and emulate the virtuous life, and learn detachment Read More...
VISIT THE AMERICAN CATHOLIC
08/10/08 22:05
Please visit
a new website entitled The American
Catholic. The site is the
brainchild of Tito Edwards (Custos Fidei). He has assembled
twelve bright, engaging, thoughtful, and faithful
Catholics to blog on American politics from a
Catholic perspective. God knows the world needs
this kind of thing especially in view of the
growing popularity of Barak Obama. May God Bless
them and permit them to make an impact on the
culture.
A RESURGENCE OF LATIN AND CLASSICAL EDUCATION
06/10/08 17:33
While all
evidence seems to point to the breakdown of
civilization one can nevertheless find a resurgence
of faith and authentic culture in the most unlikely
places.
Here is a New York Times article on the resurgence of Latin which is described as the "language of scholars and educated people"--and I might add the devout. My own father was a latin teacher in a very wealthy public school school system. Parents who wanted their children to become doctors and lawyers demanded the latin language as preparation for higher education. Most in my homeschooling community are also teaching their children latin because it is and always will be the language of the Church.
Speaking of homeschooling here is another interesting renaissance concept in education called the Chesterton Academy which is headed by Dale Ahlquist.
Here is a New York Times article on the resurgence of Latin which is described as the "language of scholars and educated people"--and I might add the devout. My own father was a latin teacher in a very wealthy public school school system. Parents who wanted their children to become doctors and lawyers demanded the latin language as preparation for higher education. Most in my homeschooling community are also teaching their children latin because it is and always will be the language of the Church.
Speaking of homeschooling here is another interesting renaissance concept in education called the Chesterton Academy which is headed by Dale Ahlquist.
A CULTURAL RETURN TO FEMININITY AND DOMESTICITY
24/08/08 15:06
Excerpts from the guardian: "A new breed of young women is embracing the image of the 1950s housewife, celebrating baking, afternoon tea and knitting.
For Nikki Shail, the aesthetic of the 1950s housewife has always been attractive. "My mother was not remotely like that, so for me it's a glamorous, romantic thing," she says. "I love the way it's very feminine and I find a strength in that femininity." The events marketing manager from Kingston, Surrey, devotes her spare time to dressing up as her alter ego, Cherry Bakewell, a 50s goddess who whisks up batches of fairy cakes for the good of humanity.
Together with friend Lorraine Williams, aka Fondant Fancy, Shail hosts the Great Cake Escape - part-hobby, Read More...
A MOVING LETTER FROM A PREGNANT NUN WHO WAS RAPED
31/07/08 16:29
Here is an
extraordinary letter written by a young nun, Sister
Lucy Vertrusc, to her mother superior. Sister
Vertrusc became pregnant after she was raped in 1995
during the war in the former Yugoslavia. The letter
appeared in an Italian newspaper at the behest of her
Mother Superior.
"I am Lucy, one of the young nuns raped by the Serbian soldiers. I am writing to you, Mother, after what happened to my sisters Tatiana, Sandria, and me.
Allow me not to go into the details of the act. There are some experiences in life so atrocious that you cannot tell them to anyone but God, in whose service I had consecrated my life nearly a year ago.
My drama is not so much the humiliation that I suffered as a woman, not the incurable offense committed against my vocation as a religious, but the difficulty of having to incorporate into my faith an event that certainly forms part of the mysterious will of Him whom I have always considered my Divine Spouse.
Only a few days before, I had read "Dialogues of Carmelites" and spontaneously I asked our Lord to grant me the Read More...
"I am Lucy, one of the young nuns raped by the Serbian soldiers. I am writing to you, Mother, after what happened to my sisters Tatiana, Sandria, and me.
Allow me not to go into the details of the act. There are some experiences in life so atrocious that you cannot tell them to anyone but God, in whose service I had consecrated my life nearly a year ago.
My drama is not so much the humiliation that I suffered as a woman, not the incurable offense committed against my vocation as a religious, but the difficulty of having to incorporate into my faith an event that certainly forms part of the mysterious will of Him whom I have always considered my Divine Spouse.
Only a few days before, I had read "Dialogues of Carmelites" and spontaneously I asked our Lord to grant me the Read More...
NO-TO-POPE GROUP TO MARCH AGAINST "HOMOPHOBIC" AND "ANTIQUATED IDEAS"
30/06/08 18:44
From couriermail: "As Pope Benedict XVI prepares to visit Sydney to address pilgrims at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse on July 19 - a key event of World Youth Day - protesters are planning a separate protest march.
They will also distribute condoms to Catholic youths."
"We think the Catholic youth will be very interested in what we have to say."
"Ms Evans said the protest would be peaceful and no one would be forced to take the condoms.
"It will be a very fun event with a lot of performances," she said."
Performances?
WHY MUSLIMS SHOULD FEAR POPE BENEDICT XVI
17/06/08 13:39
For all that lament the de-christianization of the West and Islamization of Europe, Spengler of the Asia Times foresees a resurgence in Christianity that could threaten the predicted proliferation of islam throughout Europe.
Excerpts from Asia Times: "Benedict XVI may preach against violence, but in his own fashion he takes a tougher stance than the American president. That surely is not the way it looks at first glance. Bush invaded an Arab country, while Benedict preaches reason to the Muslim world, receiving in the past few months Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah as well as delegations from Iran. He has agreed to a meeting with a group of 138 Muslim scholars at the Vatican in November. Why should Muslims fear Benedict?
"For the first time, perhaps, since the time of Mohammed, large parts of the Islamic world are vulnerable to Christian efforts to convert them, for tens of millions of Muslims now dwell as minorities in predominantly Christian countries. The Muslim migration to Europe is a double-edged sword. Eventually this migration may lead to a Muslim Europe, but it also puts large numbers of Muslims within reach Read More...
ENGLAND AND WALES: THE LATIN MASS IN EVERY PARISH
14/06/08 16:32
Excerpts from Telegraph: "Asked whether the Latin Mass would be celebrated in many ordinary parishes in future, Cardinal Castrillon said: “Not many parishes – all parishes. The Holy Father is offering this not only for the few groups who demand it, but so that everybody knows this way of celebrating the Eucharist.”
"The Cardinal, who heads the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, made his comments as he was preparing to celebrate a traditional Latin Mass at Westminster Cathedral yesterday, the first time a cardinal has done so there for 40 years.
Cardinal Castrillon said that the reverent silence of the traditional rite was one of the Read More...
A EUROPEAN PRINCESS RETURNS TO HER CATHOLIC ROOTS AND SPREADS THE JOY
13/06/08 14:35
Excerpts from telegraph: "In the 1990s, she was one of those European aristocrats whose names we came to know only because they were forever appearing in glossy magazines, attending all the right grand weddings and openings. She even published an A-to-Z guide to good manners with her great friend, the German Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, better known in the society pages as the 'punk princess' or 'Princess TNT'.
Alessandra Borghese was one of the heirs to the San Pellegrino water fortune. She founded her own cultural centre in Rome, and then married Greek shipping tycoon, Constantine Niarcose who later died of a cocaine overdose.
It was Princess "TNT" Gloria von Thurn who encouraged Borghese's return to the faith after her own conversion.
"Catholicism is not a philosophy, neither is Read More...
IRISH CATHOLICS MUST VOTE NO ON LISBON TREATY
08/06/08 15:26
From Irish Society For a Christian Civilization: "Can I approve of the Treaty of Lisbon?
The violation of non-negotiable principles raises a grave question of conscience for
Irish Catholics in the face of this referendum.
A spectre is haunting Europe—it threatens you, the Christian future of your family, of Ireland, and of the Continent. It is a European Union without God and without moral principles.
The Treaty of Lisbon seeks to reform, for you and for all Irish Catholics, the fundamental values which govern the functioning of the European Union. These new values are in stark contrast to the non-negotiable principles given by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Pope insists that, in the construction of Europe, there are three areas in which the Church defends “non-negotiable principles”:
* “the protection of life at Read More...
ONCE A CAPITAL CRIME TO SAY MASS --SCOTLAND HAS BECOME A CATHOLIC NATION
25/05/08 15:45
And they
cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord,
holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Rev
6:10
Scotland has become more Roman Catholic than Protestant. Scotland's Roman Catholic congregations now outnumber the Church of Scotland for the first time since records began. This in a Nation that once hunted down priests for the crime of saying the Mass. Although it is certain that God will one day avenge the blood of the martyrs, it is nevertheless nice to see temporal justice.
From Scotland on Sunday: "Figures compiled by the independent group Christian Research reveal that in 2005 the number of Catholics who went to Mass surpassed those who attended Church of Scotland services."
"The change is due to the huge numbers of Catholic Polish immigrants who are boosting church attendance, raising numbers by some 50,000 people since the last time figures were published in 2002."
This calls to mind a wonderful outspoken Scottish martyr of the Reformation, John Ogilvie, who made it his mission to restore the Catholic Faith to Scotland.
He was born into a respected Calvinist family in Keith, Banffshire c. 1579. He was exposed to the religious controversies of his day and became impressed with the faith of the martyrs. He decided to become a Catholic Read More...
Scotland has become more Roman Catholic than Protestant. Scotland's Roman Catholic congregations now outnumber the Church of Scotland for the first time since records began. This in a Nation that once hunted down priests for the crime of saying the Mass. Although it is certain that God will one day avenge the blood of the martyrs, it is nevertheless nice to see temporal justice.
From Scotland on Sunday: "Figures compiled by the independent group Christian Research reveal that in 2005 the number of Catholics who went to Mass surpassed those who attended Church of Scotland services."
"The change is due to the huge numbers of Catholic Polish immigrants who are boosting church attendance, raising numbers by some 50,000 people since the last time figures were published in 2002."
This calls to mind a wonderful outspoken Scottish martyr of the Reformation, John Ogilvie, who made it his mission to restore the Catholic Faith to Scotland.
He was born into a respected Calvinist family in Keith, Banffshire c. 1579. He was exposed to the religious controversies of his day and became impressed with the faith of the martyrs. He decided to become a Catholic Read More...
HELP A MAN PAY OFF HIS COLLEGE DEBT AND BECOME A PRIEST
08/04/08 16:07
A reader of this blog has contacted me about his desire to become a priest with the Order of Basilian Salvatorian Fathers in Massachusetts - a semi-contemplative Melkite Byzantine order. The Melkite Rite is Catholic and under Pope Benedict XVI--it is one of the several Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church whose Divine Liturgy is Byzantine.
Unfortunately he has incurred $72,000 in school debt while attending the Franciscan University Of Steubenville over the last four years. This debt must be paid off before he can enter the Order. To further this purpose he has put together a website and has recorded an album of Catholic music.
Won't you please help a man become a priest. He can be reached at: neven7@hotmail.com
He has provided me with his conversion story and his journey to becoming a priest. Here it is :
Singing Towards Seminary
I’m a son of Croatian Immigrants who first emigrated to Italy and subsequently to America Read More...
POPE TO BAPTIZE PROMINENT EX-MUSLIM MAGDI ALLAM AT EASTER VIGIL
22/03/08 16:01
As previously reported here Magdi Allam was a non-practicing Muslim who has become a staunch opponent of the Islamization of Europe. He is an Egyptian born columnist and vice-director of Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading daily newspaper. He has become Italy’s most prominent critic of Islam and his views have become highly regarded in more conservative Catholic circles.
Allam's mother sent him to a Catholic boarding school in Egypt, where he began studying Western culture and civilization. He later immigated to Italy.
He has supported a ban against building new mosques in Italy and has sought to expose underground relationships between Italian mosques and international terrorist groups. His writings and opinions have led to numerous death threats and have necessitated him to be under constant guard.
Allam on the Islamization of Europe: "Europe is already a bastion of Islamic extremism. Just look at the attack on Mike's Place in Tel Aviv, which was carried out by British suicide bombers drafted by Hamas; the massacre by Islamists in Madrid and in London; the slitting of director Theo Van Gogh's throat in Amsterdam; and the dozens of Islamic terror attacks that were prevented in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Holland."
"This bastion exists thanks to a widespread network of mosques, Koran schools, financial bodies and charitable institutions linked to the Muslim Brotherhood; Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian Read More...
THE LAUNCH OF A UNITED EUROPEAN PATRIOTIC PARTY BASED ON CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS TO FIGHT ISLAMIZATION
27/01/08 13:19
EXCERPTS FROM DEUTSCHE WELLE: "Leaders of right-wing nationalist parties from four EU member states have announced plans to create a European "patriotic" party that would protect the continent against immigration, "Islamization" and globalization.
"The heads of Austria's Freedom Party, France's Nationalist Front, the Bulgarian Attaca party and Belgium's Vlaams Belang on Friday, Jan. 25, told journalists in Vienna that they had agreed to set up a new party in order to defend Europe from numerous challenges that it faces today.
"We say: patriots of all the countries of Europe, unite," Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache said at the news conference, also attended by French right-winger Jean-Marie le Pen, among others. "Because only together will we solve our problems."
"Warning about the dangers that immigration and "Islamization" pose for Europe, the Read More...
YOUTHS REJECT RELATIVISM FOR TRUTH AND CATHOLIC DOGMA
06/12/07 15:10
While the world grapples with the depths of sin and darkness, God is pouring His grace upon the earth to restore and transform His Church. It is the only thing that is capable of transforming the world from a death seeking suicidal culture to one that reveres light, life and truth. The last 50 years have seen the Bride of Christ beaten down by scandals, divisions, and disobedience-- leaving her often-times beyond recognition. But the tide has turned. The truth in all its splendor is irresistable in dark days. And the truth contained in the Latin Mass will be a beacon in the world where nothing remains sacred and everything is empty and mundane.
ZENIT recently conducted an interview with David Hartline, author of "The Tide is Turning Toward Catholicism".
"Instead of turning away from the faith and embracing the relativism of society, more and more youths are actually embracing the teachings of the Church, says Catholic author David Hartline."
"Many have asked me since the release of my book earlier this year if this tide of good news will continue or if it just a temporary cause for joy.
"The answer is that this tide continues to gather strength. Good news is abounding in the Church."
"When the young gravitated toward Pope John Paul II," said Hartline, "many skeptics said this was only temporary. When Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pontiff, many said the young would leave.
"However, just Read More...
QUEBEC --LONGING FOR ITS CATHOLIC ROOTS?
08/11/07 14:57
Take time to watch this music video--pay close attention to the lyrics. The song was voted song of the year by the Quebec public.
From globeandmail.com: "The song – whose title is a play on words that evokes both history and decline – was originally rejected by radio stations when it was released in 2004. Programmers thought its preachy tone praising great-great-grandfathers for clearing the land, and dissing their descendants for selling it off to become civil servants, would not fly with listeners. They thought the song's glorification of great-great-grandmothers with 14 kids, and its contempt for young women who today cover up their “stupidities” by getting an abortion, was definitely not Top 40 material.
"Its lyrics sparked living-room discussions and newspaper Read More...
CHURCH OF IRELAND PARISHES SEEK TO BECOME ROMAN CATHOLIC
24/10/07 17:26
"A
federation of Christians is inconceivable in which
each member retains his own opinions and private
judgment in matters of faith.
Pope Pius XI.
From Independent Catholic
News via Michael
Kelly,
Deputy
Editor The Irish Catholic: "Three
Church of Ireland parishes have asked to be
received into full communion with the Catholic
Church The Irish Catholic newspaper reports this
week.
The
parishes, in counties Down, Tyrone and Laois are
members of the 'traditional rite' within the Church
of Ireland.
The Irish Catholic newspaper, has learnt that the
members of these parishes, along with traditional
Anglicans from twelve other countries, have signed a
letter to the Vatican seeking "full, corporate,
sacramental union" with the Catholic Church under the
authority of the Pope. The dramatic move would see
the entire parish communities received in to the
Catholic Church.
While only a few hundred
Anglicans
A MUSLIM WHO STANDS AGAINST EURABIA AND THE ISLAMIC CULTURE OF DEATH
10/09/07 12:54
Allam's mother sent him to a Catholic boarding school in Egypt, where he began studying Western culture and civilization. He later immigated to Italy.
He has supported a ban against building new mosques in Italy and has sought to expose underground relationships between Italian mosques and international terrorist groups. His writings and opinions have led to numerous death threats and have necessitated him to be under constant guard.
But as recently as 2002 Allam was espousing a more liberal mindset that Islam is compatible with democracy and pluralism. But in recent years Allam has had a change of mind and heart that is reflected in his latest book entitled, "Long Live Israel - From the Ideology of Death to the Civilization of Life: My Story", in it Allam argues that Israel represents a culture of life, while Islam’s represents a culture of death.
In a recent interview with an Israeli news agency, Allam was asked about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His response: “I hope that someday Israel will capture Ahmadinejad and force him to live the rest of his life Read More...
FRENCH PRESIDENT SARKOZY BACKS RELIGION IN SCHOOLS AND CALLS FOR A "RENAISSANCE"
04/09/07 13:15
Sarkozy explained that such a national rebirth would only be possible through a reform of the French education system. Sarkozy clarified that such a reform must include "rewarding the good, punishing the faults, cultivating an admiration of that which is good, just, beautiful, great, true and profound and [cultivating] a detestation of that which is bad, unjust, ugly, insignificant, untrue, superficial and mediocre. That is how a teacher renders his service to a child in his care."
In his letter, Sarkozy bucked the secularist establishment Read More...
TROUBLED TIMES
09/08/07 08:41
THE NETHERLANDS--THE FUTURE HOME OF "JUDEO-CHRISTIAN-ISLAMIC TRADITION"
01/08/07 11:04
"On Jul. 16, Vogeelar said that the Netherlands should in the future be home to a "Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition." The following day, the Council of Moroccan Mosques in the Netherlands (RMMN) released a statement, saying the minister’s comments showed a 'great deal of courage.'"
Earlier this month, integration min Read More...
FOURTH CHILD BECOMES A STATUS SYMBOL
02/07/07 15:19
"Forget the yacht or the holiday home in Tuscany, the latest must-have “status symbol” to measure power and success in Wales could now be a fourth child.
Some of the richest and most powerful people on the planet – the Blairs, the Gores, the Jaggers, and the Pitt-Jolies – have four children.
And social commentators say these “alpha” mums and dads have fuelled a vogue, sending a “virility/fertility” message out to the world as they strive to fill up every available seat of their people carriers.
Of course there are those who believe that anyone who would have more than the average 2.4 children are either "rich or mad".
Delyth Purchase, 37, lives in Port Talbot with her husband, Matthew, who works for the military services, and their two daughters, Seren, five and Taryn, two.
She joked that she thinks anyone having four children must be rich Read More...
DUTCH REJECT DEBAUCHERY AND "ANYTHING GOES" CULTURE
01/07/07 11:56
"People in high political circles are saying it can't be good to have a society so liberal that everything is allowed," said Kranendonk, editor of Reformist Daily and an increasingly influential voice that resonates in the shifting mainstream of Dutch public opinion.
"People are saying we should have values; people are asking for more and more rules in society."
In cities across the Netherlands, mayors and town councils are closing down shops where marijuana is sold, rolled, and smoked. Municipalities are shuttering the brothels where prostitutes have been allowed to ply their trade legally. Parliament is considering a ban on the sale of hallucinogenic "magic mushrooms."
Orthodox Christian members of Parliament have introduced a bill that would allow civil officials with moral objections to refuse to perform gay marriages. And Dutch authorities are trying to curtail the activities of an abortion-rights group that assists women in neighboring countries where abortions are illegal.
The effort to rein in the famed social liberties of the Netherlands is not limited to the small, newly empowered Read More...
