Christus Resurrexit!

 

Christ is Risen!

Happy Easter!  

English & Latin Propers for Easter

Here is a link, hosted by the Maternal Heart of Mary Latin Mass Community, for the Latin and English propers for Holy Saturday Vigil and Easter Sunday Mass.

In black and white and in .PDF format made for easy printing.

Cristiada Trailer

A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country. 

http://www.cristiadafilm.com

G.K. Chesterton Wallpaper

Being a great devotee of Gilbert Kieth Chesterton, I've attempted to create a desktop wallpaper (I was barely able to fit him on the screen...) featuring one of his numerous witty and extremely true quotations:

"It isn't that they can't see the solution.

It is that they can't see the problem."

                                      - G.K. Chesterton 

You can view the wallpaper in its full resolution(1280x960) at this link or click the preview image below.

Wallpaper Preview

Happy Brithday Pope Benedict! Ad Multos Annos!

Many more holy and sanctified years to his

Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

A prayer for Pope Benedict:

V. Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto.

R. Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius. [Ps 40:3]

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, famulum tuum Benedictum, quem pastorem Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti, propitius respice: da ei, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere: ut ad vitam, una cum grege sibi credito, perveniat sempiternam. Per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Amen.

_______________________________________________

V. Let us pray for Benedict, our Pope.

R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. [Ps 40:3]

Our Father ...

Hail Mary ...

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross video I made for Lent. Make sure to use the pause button to read all the text. Also, fullscreen is best. I've uploaded it to Gloria.tv.

Appeal to the Holy Father on Summorum Pontificum

An Appeal to the Holy Father

Pertaining to the Instruction/Clarification of the 

Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum

 Please sign the petition to our Holy Father:

(English - Deutsch - Español - Français - Italiano - Nederlandse - Português)

Please sign this petition which will ask our Holy Father to keep the original integrity of his Summorum Pontificum. Also, please email and share this with all of your friends. And, most of all, pray for the Pope and Holy Mother the Church!

Thanks to Rorate Caeli for the original alert.

A prayer for Pope Benedict:

V. Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto.

R. Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius. [Ps 40:3]

Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, famulum tuum Benedictum, quem pastorem Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti, propitius respice: da ei, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere: ut ad vitam, una cum grege sibi credito, perveniat sempiternam. Per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Amen.

_______________________________________________

V. Let us pray for Benedict, our Pope.

R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. [Ps 40:3]

Our Father ...

Hail Mary ...

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Right of Choice: Subjectivism & Relativism

The two ideas of subjectivism and relativism have plagued our society ever since mankind has acquired a need to justify and dismiss its barbaric and dehumanizing activities. The barbaric activity that is being referenced here is that of the slaughter of innocent children in the crime of abortion. Such dehumanization can be seen plainly at Margaret Sanger's starting of the sexual revolution, to the acceptance of birth control, and, as Pope Paul VI warned, the festering of the culture of death. The so-called pro-choice movement and its proponents in Planned Parenthood, Susan G. Komen, and other pro-death organizations are, in truth, though unwittingly, the largest anti-choice force in this nation and the world.

Relativism and subjectivism are the closely related beliefs which teach that all things and laws are indeed subject and relative to one's own personal feelings, emotions, beliefs, circumstances, and ideas. Not only has Holy Mother the Church, the teacher of Divine Revelation, denied such absurd ideas, but nature herself, through logic and commonsense, casts a ghastly countenance of disapproval upon them. It is quite apparent that a vast problem with the world at large in these times is a lack of commonsense and the use of logic.

If truth is subject to the ever changing heart of each individual human being, then there can be, in truth, no truth. Any sin can be justified or accepted as not sinful, as sin is merely the subject of what one person finds distasteful at this or that particular moment in time. Sin is no longer something that offends Almighty God, but something that displeases the ego or causes a disruption or discomfort in one's life. This being the case, what happens to laws and the rule of the land? If right and wrong are relative, or don't even exist at all for that matter, how can someone enforce a law which he thinks is just, when another person finds it unjust? In a world of no absolutes, there is only one absolute and that is chaos.

Many defend their pro-choice adherence using a sort of relativism saying, “I personally wouldn't have one, but I wouldn't stop somebody else” or, “if you don't like abortion, then don't have one.” If you believe abortion to be murder, then how can you defend someone else committing murder? It would be the same as saying, “I personally wouldn't murder someone, but I wouldn't stop somebody else” or, “if you don't like murder, then don't kill anyone.” Now, if you say that abortion isn't murder, then I will charitably refer you to science, biology, and to something as simple as a 4-D ultrasound.

Those people who support the murder of the innocents therefore, are, in all honesty, those who really advocate for no choice; no choice for the child in the womb. In order to spread their eugenics business and the culture of death, the pro-choice crowd will present the case that truth is relative. However, in a society of no truth, a society without The Truth, even the killing of God's most innocent maybe justified.

“But Jesus, calling them together, said: Suffer children to come to me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”(Luke 18:16).

Compromissum: Practicing What One Preaches

It can be observed, especially as of late, that a number of Catholics who are in positions of public regard appear to make compromise in what might seem like menial matters. No names will be mentioned here however, and this writing is not specifically for them. It is directed more towards those Catholics who, not placing their trust in any public figure, wish to conform themselves to Christ entirely, and forsake all human respect.

The first matter in which people have made a compromise is in the area of entertainment. Following the release of the new movie, The Rite, a film about exorcism, two Catholics in Catholic media have recommended the movie as a good and sound film.

It should be noted however, though it is not the main point, that movies produced by Hollywood on the Church's sacramental of exorcism have spread a distorted image of something that is very serious and holy; namely: the prescribed, orderly, holy, and thorough rite of exorcism. Not only has this image given the Church and her rite of exorcism an outlandish, 'nutty', and superstitious face, but it has overshadowed and clouded the facts. The fact of the matter is, the majority of exorcisms are done with great care, having very little of the special effects and spinning heads of Hollywood.

That aside, the Pharisaical compromise that one has to come to terms with when watching these movies (not just on exorcism or religion, but in many movies) must be at least mentioned. When has taking our entertainment or even our education(though there is little of that to be found in entertainment these days) in things that are perverse, whether sexually or not, become something that is permissible? “As long as the message is not explicitly against the Church then it is OK to partake in”, is the mentality that they adhere to, and it is this mentality that is very dangerous and sinful. Such movies, The Rite being a prime example, contain much sexual perversion and vulgarity. The following is an excerpt from Kids in Mind's entry for The Rite,

(Explicit Content Warning)

SEX/NUDITY 4 - A woman caresses a man's hair and says she'll meet him after work (sex is implied). A man looks at a woman's bare leg, he smiles at her and she smiles back.

A young pregnant woman thrashes and screams and tells a man "Rape me" while licking her lips seductively. A man asks a woman if another man has "done it to you yet" and goes on to use crude terms to describe her breasts. A man makes a joke about another man going to a seminary and that they would remove his genitals (using a crude phrase).

A woman wears a short skirt and a backless top that reveals her bare legs and bare back and shoulders. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage. We see a man's bare back while he shaves in a bathroom mirror. A woman's body is shown on a table and covered to the shoulders with a sheet. We see a woman's bare pregnant belly and it moves as if a baby is thrashing inside her. We see a statue of a dog with numerous teats and pups feeding from it.

(....)

PROFANITY 5 - At least 1 F-word, 2 sexual references, 4 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (liar, coward, doubter, sonny boy, deceiver), 2 religious exclamations.

Now, if anyone can justify watching this, for entertainment or educational purposes, I doubt his own moral and judgment capabilities. Even if one was to know the various points when sexual content was to appear and was able to then 'fast-forward' past, they would still be subject to a great occasion of sin. Also, one might be able to use a TV Guardian of sorts to avoid hearing profanity and blasphemies, however, no-one can justify supporting Hollywood and encouraging them to continue crucifying Christ as they corrupt society.

A second point of hypocrisy that people often engage in when recommending objectionable types of entertainment are the phrases, “You might want to watch this when the kids are in bed”, “We are all adults here”, and “This movie contains mature themes, so don't watch it with your kids.” Such phrases are grossly hypocritical and lacking in any logical commonsense. One may watch certain movies that contain to much violence for children, such as The Passion of the Christ, and this would be a proper use of the word mature. However, it is not in any way shape or form mature to watch films with perversion and vulgarity. In fact, it is the exact opposite, being that sin is the height of human immaturity. Also, sin is sin, being an adult makes it no less sinful to watch soft-porn, listen to profanity, and support the industries which corrode our society.

In conclusion, those who have a true desire to follow Christ in all ways will not compromise in these seemingly small matters, as they cause a great peril for our souls. Listen to St. Luke,

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little is unjust also in that which is greater.”(Luke 16:10)

What is more important in this earth, two or so hours of so-called entertainment or Christ and Heaven? Pray and make a wise choice.

For Latin Students: Latin Declension Quiz Program

Being a student of the Latin language, the language of Holy Mother the Church, I am always looking for opportunities to improve my knowledge, especially in terms of grammar.

For memorizing the five declension I highly recommend Dowling's Wheel (found here). That, and plain old fashion rote memorization, will lead to the noun endings being ground into one's head sooner or later.

However, after memorizing the declension endings, I needed something that would help me retain what I had learned and, at the same time, improve the grasp that I had on each ending for each declension. So, I decided to program a simple PC application that would pick a random case and declension and quiz me for the answer.

You can download the program here.

Also, make sure you have the latest .Net frameworks installed on your computer. You can find them here or run Windows Update.

Make sure to message me or leave a comment if you are having trouble or if you find a bug or something.