In Search of
The Authentic Life
“Pater Meus Servat Vineam”
Let us re-live the extraordinary events which took place at Fatima, Portugal, 100 years ago! Let us walk together across the US and the world, in the footsteps of the three children-Lucia, Francisco & Jacinta! Join us in this joyful time of prayer, solidarity & celebration!
Please see the Home Page for more info and please spread the word! Thank you!
PS-Can't you hear the angels tuning their instruments like an orchestra before a concert, on this eve of this glorious anniversary?
Sometimes, by the time I get around to writing about something, it's already old news. Its amazing these days, how a big event could take place and literally a week later, no one is talking about it. So, what's the stupid old news I want to provide a random thought about? The Oscars. Yes, stupid and old. The night they were on, I was sitting in a booth in an Italian restaurant waiting for my veggie pizza and there it was, on the big screen right in front of me. For a moment, I had a macabre fascination, like rubber-necking when you pass a car accident. You just can't help yourself, even though you know you might see something you don't want to. When I finally came to my senses, I moved to the other side of the booth and felt a great sense of relief, like I had just been dangling off the edge of a cliff and someone rescued me. After all, why would I be interested in watching a bunch of creepy people giving themselves awards? They don't have the great sacrament of Penance. All they can do to assuage their guilt is praise themselves. When we don't worship God anymore, we make men our gods. Do they know how foolish they look? Grown women posing in their princess dresses like 4-year-olds, our modern-day clowns and jesters (freak show might be more like it) preaching to us about politics, a collection of drug-addicts and adulterers, people who can't even run their own lives, telling us what we should think. Theater....of the absurd.....
This is what the world does to us....its like a many-tentacled evil octopus (yes, I just said that-go easy on me-I'm trying to get through this day without Advil)....attacking us from all angles, even when we are innocently waiting for a pizza, reaching around our throats. We must use our heavenly sword to cut the tentacles, free ourselves....the fact is, we are indeed dangling off a cliff....and below is hellfire. If it were an actual cliff, would you go right up to the edge? Or would you stay far from the edge? We must remind ourselves, in this increasingly pagan, atheistic culture, of the spiritual dangers all around us. What is the true answer? I believe the answer is radical: a new culture. But that's another post for another day!
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How do I know there is a God? Coffee. Its the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. When I take those first few sips of that divine liquid, hot and fresh....yes, I know there must be a God. If you're not a coffee drinker....no idea what you're missing!
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And another morning contemplation: There is a sparkling white marble staircase that leads straight to Heaven. Each and every day, we as faithful Roman Catholics, ascend one step higher...now that's exciting! Better than coffee and better than....the Oscars!
Courtesy nytimes.com, below is all business-related content of Trump's press conference speech of last week. Pay particular attention to the last paragraph, which specifically mentions jobs in Michigan, Michael Moore's home state, which he supposedly has been so concerned about. It even mentions General Motors, the company that "Roger & Me" was centered on, Roger Smith being the CEO. It even mentions Ford abandoning plans for Mexico, which was the issue which "Roger & Me" focused on...jobs moving from Michigan to Mexico. Trump is moving jobs from Mexico to Michigan and still Mr. Moore is unhappy with him!
What "Roger & Me," really is, and what all Moore's films really are, is a diatribe against capitalism. He is an admitted socialist. Yes, he wants jobs, but he wants the government to provide them....and everything else apparently. The same people who scream "Freedom! Freedom!," don't seem to realize (perhaps the intellectuals do, but not the average college kid holding a placard) that with EVERY government regulation, comes one LESS freedom. When the state gives, it is in control. Let us remember the words at every traditional Catholic Mass, during the Washing of the Hands, from Psalm 25: "In whose hands are iniquities, their right hand is filled with gifts." In one line, we have our description and indictment of socialism. Oh, the genius of God's word!
President Trump is Moore's latest male obsession of hatred. I'm no psychologist, but this guy sure seems to have Daddy issues. He has a habit of focusing on male figures to an irrational, obsessive degree. He did it to Roger Smith, to Charlton Heston in "Bowling for Columbine," and now his latest Dark Lord of All Evil is Donald Trump. He seeks power over these individuals, even to the point of lies and distortions. Its sad, really, because Moore is quite talented, perhaps a genius. His films are riveting, he re-created the documentary genre, everyone copies him...if he put his talents to some good use, he could actually make the world a better place. I do have to give him credit for shedding light on some very real problems but at the end of the day, he is a socialist propagandist, waving his flag at just the right time...when Americans have become terribly vulnerable to it. It is a war we are fighting and Moore knows this. He is waging it and we must also. Remember the words of Saint Paul:
"Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God)." Ephesians 6:11
Mr. Moore came out with a film entitled "Michael Moore in Trumpland," just a few weeks before the election. This film followed Moore interviewing Trump supporters (not very articulate ones) and performing a one-man anti-Trump show. Didn't swing the election, did it? Moore's latest fun is, "Do these 10 things and Trump will be toast." After Trump's pronouncement that jobs will now be coming in droves to Moore's beloved home state, it took the filmmaker all of 5 days to publish his oh so shiny & streamlined set of directives, apparently to make sure these jobs get immediately directed back to Mexico. Has he turned his back on Flint after all these years? He and his friends have also come out with something called "The Resistance Calendar," which provides local event info for those who oppose Trump. How about a Catholic response to Moore's "10 Things?" He was actually raised Catholic, once considered becoming a priest and used Christianity to attack capitalism in his film "Capitalism: A Love Story," complete with several interviews of Catholic priests. But we know the truth: the state is no friend of the Church. So what 10 things can we do this coming Lent for the good of souls and the good of our country? I can certainly come up with a few....and you'll have to stay tuned for Part III to see some of my ideas!
"No one can be at the same time a sincere Catholic and a true socialist." Pope Pius XI
"The stock market has hit record numbers, as you know. And there has been a tremendous surge of optimism in the business world, which is — to me means something much different than it used to. It used to mean, 'Oh, that’s good.' Now it means, 'That’s good for jobs.' Very different. Plants and factories are already starting to move back into the United States, and big league — Ford, General Motors, so many of them...
We’ve withdrawn from the job-killing disaster known as Trans Pacific Partnership. We’re going to make trade deals but we’re going to have one on one deals, bilateral. We’re going to have one on one deals. We’ve directed the elimination of regulations that undermine manufacturing and call for expedited approval of the permits needed for America and American infrastructure and that means plant, equipment, roads, bridges, factories. People take 10, 15, 20 years to get disapproved for a factory. They go in for a permit, it’s many, many years. And then at the end of the process — they spend 10s of millions of dollars on nonsense and at the end of the process, they get rejected...
Now, they may be rejected with me but it’s going to be a quick rejection. Not going to take years. But mostly it’s going to be an acceptance. We want plants built and we want factories built and we want the jobs. We don’t want the jobs going to other countries. We’ve imposed a hiring freeze on nonessential federal workers. We’ve imposed a temporary moratorium on new federal regulations. We’ve issued a game-changing new rule that says for each one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. Makes sense. Nobody’s ever seen regulations like we have. You go to other countries and you look at indexes (ph) they have and you say 'let me see your regulations' and they’re a fraction, just a tiny fraction of what we have. And I want regulations because I want safety, I want environmental — all environmental situations to be taken properly care of. It’s very important to me. But you don’t need four or five or six regulations to take care of the same thing....
We have also taken steps to begin construction of the Keystone Pipeline and Dakota Access Pipelines. Thousands and thousands of jobs, and put new buy American measures in place to require American steel for American pipelines. In other words, they build a pipeline in this country, and we use the powers of government to make that pipeline happen, we want them to use American steel. And they are willing to do that, but nobody ever asked before I came along. Even when this order was drawn and they didn’t say that. And I’m reading the order, I’m saying, why aren’t we using American steel? And they said, that’s a good idea, we put it in....
So we’ve begun preparing to repeal and replace Obamacare, and are deep in the midst of negotiations on a very historic tax reform to bring our jobs back, to bring our jobs back to this country. Big league. It’s already happening. But big league...
Jobs have already started to surge. Since my election, Ford announced it will abandon its plans to build a new factory in Mexico, and will instead invest $700 million in Michigan, creating many, many jobs. Fiat Chrysler announced it will invest $1 billion in Ohio and Michigan, creating 2,000 new American jobs. They were with me a week ago....General Motors likewise committed to invest billions of dollars in its American manufacturing operation, keeping many jobs here that were going to leave. And if I didn’t get elected, believe me, they would have left. And these jobs and these things that I’m announcing would never have come here. Intel just announced that it will move ahead with a new plant in Arizona that it probably was never going to move ahead with. And that will result in at least 10,000 American jobs. Walmart announced it will create 10,000 jobs in the United States just this year because of our various plans and initiatives. There will be many, many more, many more, these are a few that we’re naming."
Trump announced at his press conference yesterday that he'll be bringing jobs back to Michigan. The vehement Trump-hater was made famous by his (questionable) film "Roger & Me," which dealt with the economic demise of Flint, Michigan. Mr. Moore, you want jobs in your home state so much.....here you go! A campaign promise kept!
Following is a wonderful traditional prayer (abbreviated), written specifically for the United Stated of America, in 1791 by Archbishop John Carroll. He was the first bishop, and later the first archbishop of this country, of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. His cousin was Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence....
We pray Thee, O almighty and eternal God, Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name. We pray Thee, O God of might, wisdom, and justice, through Whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides, by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion, by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty. We pray for the Governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled by Thy powerful protection to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability. We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy Law, that they may be preserved in union and in that peace which the world cannot give, and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Amen.
Virtually the entire inside of the Yasenevo church is mosaic iconography in glittering glass and gold. There have been but a handful of churches decorated like this in all of history, and this church ranks fifth among them in area of mosaics....It is a vision of medieval splendor the likes of which have never before been seen in Russia, and only rarely in all the world...Astonishingly, this church, constructed in just seven years, had no major individual donors....the money came in small donations from ordinary people...800,000 donors in total. Likewise, the astonishing mosaic work was not the work of a professional studio, but of students and amateurs..."
Its the newly consecrated (as of December 2015) Russian Orthodox "Church of the Protection of the Mother of God," in Yasenevo, Russia, the outskirts of Moscow. The above words are dramatic, but seeing is believing. It's dumbfounding.
The exterior is appropriately painted white and bright blue, the colors Our Lady wore at Lourdes. However, when approaching the entrance, it is Our Lord who occupies the center place of honor, with Our Lady to the left and Saint Joseph to the right. Upon entering....well, let's just say that if someone drugged you in your sleep and you woke up in this church, you would think you died and went to Heaven. It is amazing to me that this church was built in only 7 years....it takes me about that long to clean from one end of my house to the other.
This incredible church also houses a crypt with replicas from the Holy Land....the Holy Sepulchre, Mary's Tomb and the Nativity site. Around the outer foundation are war memorial crosses etched into stone. Eerily, there is a memorial after WW II which has been left blank.
What a message of hope that the "Church of the Protection of the Mother of God" could be built in a capitol that once stood for brutal atheistic communism. Our Holy Father Pope Francis met with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill one week ago in an historic meeting, complete with a joint Declaration. Let us pray that some time soon, we may see a full union with Rome....and perhaps this glorious church may indeed one day be transported to Heaven itself!
Read full article and SEE pictures! Orthodox Arts Journal
And more: Official Website
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