francis

Who is the True Pope?

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Recent headlines from Catholic news outlet LifeSiteNews (LSN) have been shocking:

“We shouldn’t be afraid of concluding that Francis isn’t pope: here’s why” (October 30, 2024)
“Prominent Italian priest claims Francis is not the pope in viral sermon” (October 24, 2024)
“Doctor Edmund Mazza: Here’s why I believe the Bergoglian pontificate is invalid“ (November 11, 2024)
“Patrick Coffin: Pope Benedict left us clues that he did not validly resign” (November 12, 2024)

The authors of these articles must know the stakes: if they are right, they are on the vanguard of a new sedevacantist movement that will reject Pope Francis at every turn. If they’re wrong, they are essentially playing chicken with Jesus Christ Himself, whose authority resides with Peter and his successors to whom He has given “the keys of the Kingdom.”Continue reading →

On the Mass Going Forward

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…each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church
not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs,
but also as to the usages universally received from apostolic and unbroken tradition. 
These are to be observed not only so that errors may be avoided,
but also that the faith may be handed on in its integrity,
since the Church’s rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds
to her rule of faith (lex credendi).
—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, 397

 

IT might seem odd that I am writing about the unfolding crisis over the Latin Mass. The reason is that I have never attended a regular Tridentine liturgy in my life.[1]I did attend a Tridentine rite wedding, but the priest didn’t seem to know what he was doing and the whole liturgy was scattered and odd. But that’s exactly why I am a neutral observer with hopefully something helpful to add to the conversation…Continue reading →

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 I did attend a Tridentine rite wedding, but the priest didn’t seem to know what he was doing and the whole liturgy was scattered and odd.

There is Only One Barque

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…as the Church’s one and only indivisible magisterium,
the pope and the bishops in union with him,
carry the gravest responsibility that no ambiguous sign
or unclear teaching comes from them,
confusing the faithful or lulling them
into a false sense of security. 
—Cardinal Gerhard Müller,
former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
First Things, April 20th, 2018

It is not a question of being ‘pro-’ Pope Francis or ‘contra-’ Pope Francis.
It is a question of defending the Catholic faith,
and that means defending the Office of Peter
to which the Pope has succeeded. 
—Cardinal Raymond Burke, The Catholic World Report,
January 22, 2018

 

BEFORE he passed away, almost a year ago to the day at the very start of the pandemic, the great preacher Rev. John Hampsch, C.M.F. (c. 1925-2020) wrote me a letter of encouragement. In it, he included an urgent message for all my readers:Continue reading →

Francis and The Great Shipwreck

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…the true friends are not those who flatter the Pope,
but those who help him with the truth
and with theological and human competence. 
—Cardinal Müller, Corriere della Sera, Nov. 26, 2017;
from the Moynihan Letters, #64, Nov. 27th, 2017

Dear children, the Great Vessel and a Great Shipwreck;
this is the [cause of] suffering for men and women of faith. 
—Our Lady to Pedro Regis, October 20th, 2020;
countdowntothekingdom.com

 

WITHIN the culture of Catholicism has been an unspoken “rule” that one must never criticize the Pope. Generally speaking, it is wise to refrain from criticizing our spiritual fathers. However, those who turn this into an absolute expose a grossly exaggerated understanding of papal infallibility and come dangerously close to a form of idolatry — papalotry — that elevates a pope to an emperor-like status where everything he utters is infallibly divine. But even a novice historian of Catholicism will know that popes are very human and prone to mistakes — a reality that began with Peter himself:Continue reading →

You Have the Wrong Enemy

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ARE you sure your neighbours and family are the actual enemy? Mark Mallett and Christine Watkins open up with a raw two-part webcast on the past year and a half — the emotions, sadness, new data, and imminent dangers facing the world being torn apart by fear…Continue reading →

For the Love of Neighbour

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“SO, what just happened?”

As I floated in silence on a Canadian lake, staring up into the deep blue past the morphing faces in the clouds, that was the question rolling through my mind recently. Over a year ago, my ministry suddenly took a seemingly unexpected turn into examining the “science” behind the sudden global lockdowns, church closures, mask mandates, and coming vaccine passports. This took some readers by surprise. Remember this letter?Continue reading →

To Vax or Not to Vax?

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Mark Mallett is a former television reporter with CTV Edmonton and award-winning documentarian and author of The Final Confrontation and The Now Word.

 

“SHOULD I take the vaccine?” That’s the question filling my inbox at this hour. And now, the Pope has weighed in on this controversial subject. Thus, the following is crucial information from those who are experts to help you weigh this decision, which yes, has huge potential consequences for your health and even freedom… Continue reading →

The Secret

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…the daybreak from on high will visit us
to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
(Luke 1:78-79)

 

AS it was the first time Jesus came, so it is again on the threshold of the coming of His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven, which prepares for and precedes His final coming at the end of time. The world, once again, is “in darkness and death’s shadow,” but a new dawn is quickly approaching.Continue reading →

Francis and The Great Reset

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Photo credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk

 

…when conditions are right, a reign will spread across the whole earth
to wipe out all Christians,
and then establish a universal brotherhood
without marriage, family, property, law or God.
—Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire, philosopher and Freemason
She Shall Crush Thy Head (Kindle, loc. 1549), Stephen Mahowald

 

ON May 8th of 2020, an “Appeal for the Church and the World to Catholics and All People of Good Will” was published.[1]stopworldcontrol.com Its signatories include Cardinal Joseph Zen, Cardinal Gerhard Müeller (Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith), Bishop Joseph Strickland, and Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute, to name but a few. Among the appeal’s pointed messages are the warning that “under the pretext of a virus… an odious technological tyranny ” is being established “in which nameless and faceless people can decide the fate of the world”.Continue reading →

Footnotes

Choosing Sides

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Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another,
“I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely men?
(Today’s first Mass reading)

 

PRAY more… speak less. Those are the words Our Lady has allegedly addressed to the Church at this very hour. However, when I wrote a meditation on this last week,[1]cf. Pray More… Speak Less a handful of readers somewhat disagreed. Writes one:Continue reading →

Footnotes

Human Sexuality and Freedom – Part IV

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As we continue this five part series on Human Sexuality and Freedom, we now examine some of the moral questions on what is right and what is wrong. Please note, this is for mature readers…

 

ANSWERS TO INTIMATE QUESTIONS

 

SOMEONE once said, “The truth will set you free—but first it will tick you off.”

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Human Sexuality and Freedom – Part II

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ON GOODNESS AND CHOICES

 

THERE is something else that must be said about the creation of man and woman that was determined “in the beginning.” And if we don’t understand this, if we don’t grasp this, then any discussion of morality, of right or wrong choices, of following God’s designs, risks casting the discussion of human sexuality into a sterile list of prohibitions. And this, I am certain, would only serve to deepen the divide between the Church’s beautiful and rich teachings on sexuality, and those who feel alienated by her.

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Papal Puzzlery

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A comprehensive response to many questions directed my way regarding the turbulent pontificate of Pope Francis. I apologize that this is a bit lengthier than usual. But thankfully, it is answering several readers’ questions….

 

FROM a reader:

I pray for conversion and for the intentions of Pope Francis everyday.  I am one who initially fell in love with the Holy Father when he was first elected, but over the years of his Pontificate, he has confused me and made me very concerned that his liberal Jesuit spirituality was almost goose-stepping with the left-leaning world view and liberal times. I am a Secular Franciscan so my profession binds me to obedience to him.  But I must admit that he scares me… How do we know he is not an anti-pope?  Is the media twisting his words? Are we to blindly follow and pray for him all the more?  This is what I have been doing, but my heart is conflicted.

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A Catholic Answer to the Refugee Crisis

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Refugees, courtesy Associated Press

 

IT is one of the most volatile topics in the world right now—and one of the least balanced discussions at that: refugees, and what do with the overwhelming exodus. St. John Paul II called the issue “perhaps the greatest tragedy of all the human tragedies of our time.” [1]Address to Refugees in Exile at Morong, Philippines, Feb. 21st, 1981 For some, the answer is simple: take them in, whenever, however many they are, and whomever they may be. For others, it is more complex, thereby demanding a more measured and restrained response; at stake, they say, is not only the safety and wellbeing of individuals fleeing violence and persecution, but the safety and stability of nations. If that is the case, what is the middle road, one that safeguards the dignity and lives of genuine refugees while at the same time safeguarding the common good? What is our response as Catholics to be?

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Address to Refugees in Exile at Morong, Philippines, Feb. 21st, 1981

Will You Leave Them for Dead?

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, June 1st, 2015
Memorial of St. Justin

Liturgical texts here

 

FEAR, brothers and sisters, is silencing the Church in many places and thus imprisoning truth. The cost of our trepidation can be counted in souls: men and women left to suffer and die in their sin. Do we even think in this way anymore, think of the spiritual health of one another? No, in many parishes we do not because we are more concerned with the status quo than quoting the state of our souls.

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The Reframers

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent, March 23rd, 2015

Liturgical texts here

 

ONE of the key harbingers of The Growing Mob today is, rather than engage in a discussion of facts, [1]cf. The Death of Logic they often resort to simply labeling and stigmatizing those with whom they disagree. They call them “haters” or “deniers”, “homophobes” or “bigots”, etc. It is a smokescreen, a reframing of the dialogue so as to, in fact, shut down dialogue. It is an attack on freedom of speech, and more and more, freedom of religion. [2]cf. The Progression of Totalitarinism It is remarkable to see how Our Lady of Fatima’s words, spoken nearly a century ago, are unfolding precisely as she said they would: the “errors of Russia” are spreading throughout the world—and the spirit of control behind them. [3]cf. Control! Control! 

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Footnotes

Why Aren’t the Popes Shouting?

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With dozens of new subscribers coming on board now each week, old questions are popping up such as this one: Why aren’t the Pope’s speaking about the end times? The answer will surprise many, reassure others, and challenge many more. First published September 21st, 2010, I have updated this writing to the present pontificate. 

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Opening Wide the Doors of Mercy

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Saturday of the Third Week of Lent, March 14th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

 

Due to the surprise announcement by Pope Francis yesterday, today’s reflection is slightly longer. However, I think you will find its contents worth reflecting on…

 

THERE is a certain sense building, not only among my readers, but also of mystics with whom I’ve been privileged to be in contact with, that the next few years are significant. Yesterday in my daily Mass meditation, [1]cf. Sheathing the Sword I wrote how Heaven itself has revealed that this present generation is living in a “time of mercy.” As if to underline this divine warning (and it is a warning that humanity is on borrowed time), Pope Francis announced yesterday that Dec. 8th, 2015 to Nov. 20th, 2016 will be a “Jubilee of Mercy.” [2]cf. Zenit, March 13th, 2015 When I read this announcement, the words from St. Faustina’s diary came immediately to mind:

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Sheathing the Sword
↑2 cf. Zenit, March 13th, 2015

The Progression of Totalitarianism

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Thursday of the Third Week of Lent, March 12th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

Damiano_Mascagni_Joseph_Sold_Into_Slavery_by_His_Brothers_FotorJoseph Sold Into Slavery by His Brothers by Damiano Mascagni (1579-1639)

 

WITH the death of logic, we are not far from when not only truth, but Christians themselves, will be banished from the public sphere (and it’s already begun). At least, this is the warning from the seat of Peter:

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Mercy for a People in Darkness

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Monday of the Second Week of Lent, March 2nd, 2015

Liturgical texts here

 

THERE is a line from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings that, among others, jumped out at me when the character Frodo wishes for the death of his adversary, Gollum. The wise wizard Gandalf responds:

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The Most Important Prophecy

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday of the First Week of Lent, February 25th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

 

THERE is a lot of chatter today about when this or that prophecy will be fulfilled, particularly over the next few years. But I frequently ponder on the fact that tonight might be my last night on earth, and so, for me, I find the race to “know the date” superfluous at best. I often smile when I think of that story of St. Francis who, while gardening, was asked: “What would you do if you knew the world would end today?” He replied, “I suppose I would finish hoeing this row of beans.” Herein lies the wisdom of Francis: the duty of the moment is the will of God. And God’s will is a mystery, most especially when it comes to time.

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The Joy of Lent!

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Ash Wednesday, February 18th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

ash-wednesday-faces-of-the-faithful

 

ASHES, sackcloth, fasting, penance, mortification, sacrifice… These are the common themes of Lent. So who would think of this penitential season as a time of joy? Easter Sunday? Yes, joy! But the forty days of penance?

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My Young Priests, Be Not Afraid!

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Wednesday, February 4th, 2015

Liturgical texts here

ord-prostration_Fotor

 

AFTER Mass today, the words came strongly to me:

My young priests, do not be afraid! I have put you in place, like seeds scattered among fertile soil. Do not be afraid to preach My Name! Do not be afraid to speak the truth in love. Do not be afraid if My Word, through you, causes a sifting of your flock…

As I shared these thoughts over coffee with a courageous African priest this morning, he nodded his head. “Yes, we priests often want to please everyone rather than preach the truth… we have let the lay faithful down.”

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Touching Jesus

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015
Opt. Memorial St. Blaise

Liturgical texts here

 

MANY Catholics go to Mass every Sunday, join the Knights of Columbus or CWL, put a few bucks in the collection basket, etc. But their faith never really deepens; there is no real transformation of their hearts more and more into holiness, more and more into Our Lord himself, such that they can begin to say with St. Paul, “yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.” [1]cf. Gal 2:20

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Gal 2:20

What it Means to Welcome Sinners

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THE call of the Holy Father for the Church to become more of a “field hospital” to “heal the wounded” is a very beautiful, timely, and perceptive pastoral vision. But what exactly needs healing? What are the wounds? What does it mean to “welcome” sinners aboard the Barque of Peter?

Essentially, what is “Church” for?

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The Thin Line Between Mercy and Heresy – Part III

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PART III — FEARS REVEALED

 

SHE fed and clothed the poor with love; she nurtured minds and hearts with the Word. Catherine Doherty, foundress of the Madonna House apostolate, was a woman who took on the “smell of the sheep” without taking on the “stench of sin.” She constantly walked the thin line between mercy and heresy by embracing the greatest of sinners while calling them to holiness. She used to say,

Go without fears into the depths of men’s hearts… the Lord shall be with you. —from The Little Mandate

This is one of those “words” from the Lord that is able to penetrate “between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” [1]cf. Heb 4:12 Catherine uncovers the very root of the problem with both so-called “conservatives” and “liberals” in the Church: it is our fear to enter men’s hearts as Christ did.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Heb 4:12

The Thin Line Between Mercy & Heresy – Part II

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PART II — Reaching the Wounded

 

WE have watched a rapid cultural and sexual revolution that in five short decades has decimated the family as divorce, abortion, redefinition of marriage, euthanasia, pornography, adultery, and many other ills have become not only acceptable, but deemed a social “good” or “right.” However, an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases, drug use, alcohol abuse, suicide, and ever multiplying psychoses tell a different story: we are a generation that is bleeding profusely from the effects of sin.

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The Thin Line Between Mercy & Heresy – Part I

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IN all the controversies that unfolded in the wake of the recent Synod in Rome, the reason for the gathering seemed to have been lost altogether. It was convened under the theme: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” How do we evangelize families given the pastoral challenges we face due to high divorce rates, single mothers, secularization, and so forth?

What we learned very quickly (as proposals of some Cardinals were made known to the public) is that there is a a thin line between mercy and heresy.

The following three part series is intended to not only get back to the heart of the matter—evangelizing families in our times—but to do so by bringing to the forefront the man who is really at the center of the controversies: Jesus Christ. Because no one walked that thin line more than Him—and Pope Francis seems to be pointing that path to us once again.

We need to blow away the “smoke of satan” so we can clearly identify this narrow red line, drawn in Christ’s blood… because we are called to walk it ourselves.

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We are God's Possession

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for October 16th, 2014
Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch

Liturgical texts here

 


from Brian Jekel’s Consider the Sparrows

 

 

‘WHAT is the Pope doing? What are the bishops doing?” Many are asking these questions on the heels of confusing language and abstract statements emerging from the Synod on Family Life. But the question on my heart today is what is the Holy Spirit doing? Because Jesus sent the Spirit to guide the Church to “all truth.” [1]John 16:13 Either Christ’s promise is trustworthy or it’s not. So what is the Holy Spirit doing? I will write more about this in another writing.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 John 16:13

Without a Vision

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for October 16th, 2014
Opt. Memorial of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Liturgical texts here

 

 

 

THE confusion we are seeing envelop Rome today in the wake of the Synod document released to the public is, really, no surprise. Modernism, liberalism, and homosexuality were rampant in seminaries at the time many of these bishops and cardinals attended them. It was a time when the Scriptures where de-mystified, dismantled, and stripped of their power; a time when the Liturgy was being turned into a celebration of the community rather than Christ’s Sacrifice; when theologians ceased studying on their knees; when churches were being stripped of icons and statues; when confessionals were being turned into broom closets; when the Tabernacle was being shuffled off into corners; when catechesis virtually dried up; when abortion became legalized; when priests were abusing children; when the sexual revolution turned nearly everyone against Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae; when no-fault divorce was implemented… when the family began to fall apart.

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The Inside Must Match the Outside

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for October 14th, 2014
Opt. Memorial of St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr

Liturgical texs here

 

 

IT is often said that Jesus was tolerant towards “sinners” but intolerant of the Pharisees. But this isn’t quite true. Jesus often rebuked the Apostles as well, and in fact in yesterday’s Gospel, it was the entire crowd to whom He was very blunt, warning that they would be shown less mercy than the Ninevites:

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A House Divided

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for October 10th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

“EVERY kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” These are Christ’s words in today’s Gospel that must surely reverberate among the Synod of Bishops gathered in Rome. As we listen to the presentations coming forth on how to deal with today’s moral challenges facing families, it is clear that there are great gulfs between some prelates as to how to deal with sin. My spiritual director has asked me to speak about this, and so I will in another writing. But perhaps we should conclude this week’s meditations on the infallibility of the papacy by listening carefully to Our Lord’s words today.

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Can the Pope Betray Us?

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for October 8th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

The subject matter of this meditation is so important, that I am sending this to both my daily readers of the Now Word, and those who are on the Spiritual Food for Thought mailing list. If you receive duplicates, that’s why. Because of today’s subject, this writing is a bit longer than usual for my daily readers… but I believe necessary.

 

I couldn’t sleep last night. I woke up in what the Romans would call the “fourth watch”, that period of time before dawn. I began to think about all the emails I’m receiving, the rumors I’m hearing, the doubts and confusion that are creeping in… like wolves on the edge of the forest. Yes, I heard the warnings clearly in my heart shortly after Pope Benedict resigned, that we were going to enter into times of great confusion. And now, I feel a bit like a shepherd, tension in my back and arms, my staff raised as shadows move about this precious flock that God has entrusted me to feed with “spiritual food.” I feel protective today.

The wolves are here.

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The Two Guardrails

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for October 6th, 2014
Opt. Memorial for St. Bruno and Blessed Marie Rose Durocher

Liturgical texts here


Photo by Les Cunliffe

 

 

THE readings today could not be more timely for the opening sessions of the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family. For they provide the two guardrails along the “constricted road that leads to life” [1]cf. Matt 7:14 that the Church, and all us as individuals, must travel.

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Matt 7:14

The Guiding Star

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 24th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 

 

IT is called the “Guiding Star” because it appears to be fixed in the night sky as an infallible point of reference. Polaris, as it’s called, is nothing less than a parable of the Church, which has its visible sign in the papacy.

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Prophecy Properly Understood

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WE are living in a time when prophecy has perhaps never been so important, and yet, so misunderstood by the vast majority of Catholics. There are three harmful positions being taken today regarding prophetic or “private” revelations that, I believe, are doing at times great damage in many quarters of the Church. One is that “private revelations” never have to be heeded since all we are obligated to believe is the definitive Revelation of Christ in the “deposit of faith.” Another harm being done is by those who tend to not only put prophecy above the Magisterium, but give it the same authority as Sacred Scripture. And last, there is the position that most prophecy, unless uttered by saints or found without error, should be mostly shunned. Again, all these positions above carry unfortunate and even dangerous pitfalls.

 

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Who Am I to Judge?

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Photo Reuters
 

 

THEY are words that, just a little under a year later, continue to echo throughout the Church and the world: “Who am I to judge?” They were Pope Francis’ response to a question posed to him regarding the “gay lobby” in the Church. Those words have become a battle cry: first, for those who wish to justify homosexual practice; second, for those wish to justify their moral relativism; and third, for those who wish to justify their assumption that Pope Francis is one notch short of the Antichrist.

This little quip of Pope Francis’ is actually a paraphrase of St. Paul’s words in the Letter of St. James, who wrote: “Who then are you to judge your neighbor?” [1]cf. Jam 4:12 The Pope’s words are now being splattered on t-shirts, fast becoming a motto gone viral…

 

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Jam 4:12

The Coming Wave of Unity

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 ON THE FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF ST. PETER

 

FOR two weeks, I have sensed the Lord repeatedly encouraging me to write about ecumenism, the movement toward Christian unity. At one point, I felt the Spirit prompt me to go back and read the “The Petals”, those four foundational writings from which everything else here has sprung. One of them is on unity: Catholics, Protestants, and the Coming Wedding.

As I began yesterday with prayer, a few words came to me that, after having shared them with my spiritual director, I want to share with you. Now, before I do, I have to tell you that I think that all of what I’m about to write will take on new meaning when you watch the video below that was posted on Zenit News Agency’s website yesterday morning. I didn’t watch the video until after I received the following words in prayer, so to say the least, I have been utterly blown away by the wind of the Spirit (after eight years of these writings, I never get used to it!).

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Francis, and the Coming Passion of the Church

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IN February last year, shortly after Benedict XVI’s resignation, I wrote The Sixth Day, and how we appear to be approaching the “twelve o’clock hour,” the threshold of the Day of the Lord. I wrote then,

The next pope will guide us too… but he is ascending a throne that the world wishes to overturn. That is the threshold of which I am speaking.

As we look at the world’s reaction to the pontificate of Pope Francis, it would seem the opposite. Hardly a news day goes by that the secular media isn’t running some story, gushing over the new pope. But 2000 years ago, seven days before Jesus was crucified, they were gushing over Him too…

 

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Fighting the Ghost

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for January 6th, 2014

Liturgical texts here

 


“The Running Nuns”, Daughters of Mary Mother of Healing Love

 

THERE is much talk among the “remnant” of refuges and safe havens—places where God will protect His people during coming persecutions. Such an idea is firmly rooted in the Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. I addressed this subject in The Coming Refuges and Solitudes, and as I reread it today, it strikes me as more prophetic and relevant than ever. For yes, there are times to hide. St. Joseph, Mary and the Christ child fled to Egypt while Herod hunted them; [1]cf. Matt 2;13 Jesus hid from the Jewish leaders who sought to stone Him; [2]cf. Jn 8:59 and St. Paul was concealed from his persecutors by his disciples, who lowered him to freedom in a basket through an opening in the city wall. [3]cf. Acts 9:25

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Matt 2;13
↑2 cf. Jn 8:59
↑3 cf. Acts 9:25

2014 and the Rising Beast

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THERE are many hopeful things developing in the Church, most of them quietly, still very much hidden from view. On the other hand, there are many troubling things on the horizon of humanity as we enter 2014. These too, though not as hidden, are lost on most people whose source of information remains the mainstream media; whose lives are caught in the treadmill of busyness; who have lost their internal connection to God’s voice through a lack of prayer and spiritual development. I am speaking of souls who do not “watch and pray” as Our Lord asked us.

I can’t help but call to mind what I published six years ago on this very eve of the Feast of the Holy Mother of God:

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The Lion of Judah

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 17th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

THERE is a powerful moment of drama in one of St. John’s visions in the Book of Revelation. After hearing the Lord chastise the seven churches, warning, exhorting, and preparing them for His coming, [1]cf. Rev 1:7 St. John is shown a scroll with writing on both sides that is sealed with seven seals. When he realizes that “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth” is able to open and examine it, he begins to weep profusely. But why is St. John weeping over something he hasn’t read yet?

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Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 cf. Rev 1:7

The Rest of God

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 11th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

MANY people define personal happiness as being mortgage free, having plenty of money, vacation time, being esteemed and honored, or achieving big goals. But how many of us think of happiness as rest?

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The City of Joy

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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 5th, 2013

Liturgical texts here

 

 

ISAIAH writes:

A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you. (Isaiah 26)

So many Christians today have lost their peace! So many, indeed, have lost their joy! And thus, the world finds Christianity to appear somewhat unattractive.

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