Revisiting Common "Traditionalist" Complaints About Vatican II:

My words will be in regular font. Without further ado...

Bad things about Vatican II

Here we go again.

1. The altar turned into a “table” without a consecrated altar stone

The first part is simply (to put it bluntly) pure ignorance. The Greek term for "altar" is thysiastelirion, which literally means, "sacrifice table." An altar is a table. Fixed altars still have altar stones while portable altars at times no longer do. The idea of all altars having consecrated altar stones was a very Western idea. It is not one our Eastern brethren share but if this is "bad" then you are claiming that you think their usages are "bad" or "inferior" to western usages. 

2. The introduction of Mass facing the people.

To quote from a friend who covered this point in a traditionalist themed project he and I worked on over 20 years ago:

At the Last Supper, which way was Jesus facing? Every representation of this in the history of Christian art has him facing the Apostles not away from them. At a Passover meal, this would have been considered the polite way to act. Older Catholic scholarship tried to defend an apostolic origin for the Priest facing away from the congregation during the Consecration, but we honestly don’t know when this custom started. Fr. Jungmann on page 50 of his short book, The Mass states that there was diversity of practice in both East and West on this matter until the 4th Century. Most likely facing with the people became an entrenched as a custom as worship became more formalized and the Eucharist was performed using the usual conventions of other sacrificial rites from the surrounding cultures. There is nothing wrong with this practice, but there is also no reason to require it.{1}

And from the work of the Rt. Rev. Dom Fernand Cabrol whose 1934 work The Mass of the Western Rites was part of my apologetical repertoire back in my message board days{2}:

Today, as the altar usually has a retable and a tabernacle, the priest when standing before it turns his back to the people; so that when he greets them with 'Dominus vobiscum' he is obliged to turn round. The Bishop would be hidden on his 'cathedra' at the back of the apse, and could hardly follow the ceremonies, therefore his throne, as well as the stalls of the clergy, have been moved to places before the altar. But if we wish to understand the ancient positions, it will help us to remember that at that time the altar was a 'table' (hence its name of 'mensa') of wood or stone, forming either a solid block or else raised on four feet, but in any case without a tabernacle; so that the officiating priest would face towards the people, as he does to-day at 'San Clemente.' In our own churches, of course, he officiates on the other side of the altar; the Gospel side being the left and that of the Epistle the right. As we explain elsewhere, another consideration has brought about these changes: the practice of turning in prayer towards the East, the region of that light which is the image of Christ, Who Himself came from the East. The question of the orientation of churches was an important one in Christian architecture from the fourth-twelfth centuries.{3}

3. Concelebration

Concelebration was among the recommendations of the Eastern Melkites at the Second Vatican Council. To wit:

Here again is a desirable restoration inspired by the example of the Eastern Church. I likewise applaud without reservation this felicitous innovation, whose benefits will quickly make themselves felt. I shall merely take the liberty of making the following remarks:

a) 'The faculty to concelebrate is restricted to specific circumstances,' although it is concelebration which is the rule, and individual celebration the exception. The Eucharistic sacrifice is above all the sacrament of unity, and in the first place of priestly unity. There should be a truly serious reason for a priest to refuse to concelebrate with his brothers. Here again there would have to be a reversal of perspective. No limit should be placed on concelebration other than the necessity of assuring other Masses in the course of the day for the good of the faithful.

b) 'The concelebrants are only permitted to wear the alb and the stole.' We think that the concelebrants should wear all their sacred vestments and participate intimately in the liturgical action, which is simply presided over by the principal celebrant, notwithstanding the recent practice of certain non-Byzantine Eastern clergy. Moreover, it is not necessary that all concelebrants say all the prayers at the same time. Concelebration is not a simultaneous gathering of several individual celebrations, but rather a common action in which each one plays his role.

c) 'Only the ordinary of the place has the right to permit concelebration, on a case by case basis, and to set the number of concelebrants.' Again, this is an excessive limitation of an act that is not only more legitimate but even more consistent with tradition. Priests should be able to concelebrate as often as they wish, as long as this does not interfere with their pastoral duties, and to do so in as large a number as they choose.

d) Finally, 'concelebrants are permitted for good reason to receive an honorarium for a concelebrated Mass, just as for an individual celebration.' That is self-evident, for a concelebrated Mass is no less a Mass than a Mass celebrated individually. It is even surprising that the Roman Curia believed that it had to intervene, in the 18th century, to affirm this obvious fact. However, this affirmation should not be based on the assumption that in concelebration each priest celebrates a distinct sacrifice. In concelebration there are not several Masses, but one single Mass offered and celebrated in its entirety by several priests.{4}

Concelebration is eminently traditional and has always been prevalent in Eastern worship. It was once prevalent in the west too but fell out of usage over time. Bringing this custom back to the west could only be considered "bad" by someone either unfamiliar with Church history, contemptuous of the Eastern liturgical customs, or both. 

4. Mass celebrated in the vernacular.

Vernacular languages were used for all of the early liturgies. A wider use of the vernacular churchwide was among the recommendations of the Eastern Melkites at the Second Vatican Council. To wit:

We are resolute adherents of a much wider use of living languages, even in the celebration of the Mass. Whatever may be the advantages of liturgical Latin—and they are numerous—they should, it seems to us, be outweighed by the irreparable disadvantage that it is not understood by 99% of the faithful who participate in the sacred action. In the light of this painful consideration, we think that the example of the Eastern Church, which strongly advocates the use of language that can be understood by the people, should serve as a model. We fear above all that the fervor with which certain groups defend the almost exclusive use of Latin is not inspired by purely pastoral or ecclesiastical considerations, not to mention those who claim that Latin is 'the language of the Church,' forgetting that the Latin Church is only one of the Churches within the Catholic Church, and that latinism and Catholicism are in no sense identical.{5}

I am sure they and their other Eastern brethren will be glad to know they practice "bad", "lesser", or "defective" forms of worship.

5. Mass celebrated exclusively in a raised tone of voice.

As they do in Eastern liturgies. I am sure our Eastern brethren will be glad to know they practice "bad" forms of worship for not whispering during their liturgy. 

6. Mass separated into the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913 edition:

The Eucharist was always celebrated at the end of a service of lessons, psalms, prayers, and preaching, which was itself merely a continuation of the service of the synagogue. So we have everywhere this double function; first a synagogue service Christianized, in which the holy books were read, psalms were sung, prayers said by the bishop in the name of all (the people answering 'Amen' in Hebrew, as had their Jewish forefathers), and homilies, explanations of what had been read, were made by the bishop or priests, just as they had been made in the synagogues by the learned men and elders (e.g., Luke 4:16-27). This is what was known afterwards as the Liturgy of the Catechumens. Then followed the Eucharist, at which only the baptized were present.{6}

The old Liturgy of the Catechumens is now referred to as the Liturgy of the Word which is followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This division is very ancient and was a restoration in the west of a practice once common to them and has always been to liturgies of the east. But I am sure once again our Eastern brethren will be glad to know they practice "bad" or otherwise "lesser" or "defective" forms of worship.

7. The profanation of the sacred vessels

This is a vague statement. Without specifics, it is useless tradbabble.

8. Leavened bread as the matter of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist

Leavened bread has always been used as matter in the Eucharists of the east.{7} Let me guess, you did not know that did you? Can you see how an Easterner would feel insulted by such a claim?

9. The administration of Holy Communion by lay people

To quote from a friend who covered this point in a traditionalist themed project he and I worked on over 20 years ago:

When a duly appointed lay minister in the course of a sacred rite lawfully handles the Holy Eucharist there is no sign of disrespect. All of God’s people are consecrated to him in Baptism and are worthy to touch Christ’s Body and Blood. Once again we see the Integrists over-reacting to a practice that they do not like. Their personal dislikes are elevated to the status of objective moral faults in others. The opinion of St. Thomas Aquinas on limiting the handling of the host to 'the consecrated' is fine, but St. Thomas himself would be the first to admit that obedience to the hierarchy in this matter would override such scruples. Properly trained ministers of the Eucharist acting in accordance with Church law are no affront to God.{8}

And again:

If the laity in the Early Church were permitted to distribute Communion outside of Mass under their own recognizance, what problem is there with them doing it during Mass under the direct supervision of the priest? This type of illogical comment is typical of the over clericalization of the Integrist’s view of the Church.{9}

10. Communion admnistered in the hand

I dealt in detail with this already.{10} Repeating debunked complaints as if they are still viable is disingenuous. Communion in the hand was not uncommon for much of the first millennium. The principles outlined in point nine apply here as well.

11. The reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in a wall[instead of a tabernacle] 

Where are these supposed "walls" where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved? Every church I have ever been in has a tabernacle of some form or another. As far as placement goes{11}, the placement of the tabernacle on the main altar is a recent innovation dating from the late Middle Ages. It was not done uniformly in Catholic Churches until the Counter-reformation. 

12. Liturgical readings made by women

The Second Vatican Council in settling definitively the degrees of the sacrament of Order to bishops, priests, and deacons relegated the minor orders (including lector) and their functions to sacramentals.{12} As the minor orders have no participation in the sacrament of Order, these ministries can be said to be rooted in baptism rather than as stepping stones toward the ordained priesthood. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with a lector being a woman.

13. The administration of Holy Communion to the sick by lay people

See my response to point nine above. The same principles apply.

Notes:

{1} The project serves an important purpose twenty off years ago when it was published and I really appreciated the work of my friends who contributed to it. However, my own contributions to the work read wincingly to these older eyes in the tone and presentation I utilized. I was too emotionally invested in the project for a couple of reasons and it showed in my contributions. For this reason, while I am quoting verbatim material from it here, I will not actually link to the project itself in this posting.

{2} From 1998 through 2003.

{3} Rt. Rev. Dom Fernand Cabrol: From The Mass of the Western Rites (circa 1934)

{4} His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos IV Saigh: Intervention At the Second Vatican Council (circa Oct. 23, 1962) as cited in The Melkite Church At the Council Chapter 3 (circa 1967)

{5} His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos IV Saigh: Intervention At the Second Vatican Council (circa Oct. 23, 1962) as cited in The Melkite Church At the Council Chapter 3 (circa 1967)

{6} The Catholic Encyclopedia: From the Article Liturgy (circa 1913)

{7} Usually it is the Easterners accusing Westerners of departing from ancient practice in their use of unleavened bread as both west and east used leavened bread originally.

{8} See footnote one.

{9} See footnote one.

{10} To clarify, I had covered this subject in detail with this person previously using excerpts from my material in a cowritten essay The Red Herring of Communion in the Hand published online twenty years ago.

{11} Because I know the next gripe to follow.

{12} For this reason, Pope Paul VI suppressed the minor orders with the Apostolic Letter Ministeria Quaedam in 1972.

The Babe Ruth of talk radio died this week. 

I had not listened to him much since 2006 but I did catch an occasional opening monologue again if I was in the car during the past few years. We had some divergences in our views over time but I hope Rush Limbaugh is resting in peace right now.

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis:
Fidelium animae, per misericordiam Dei,
Requiescant in pace. 
Amen.

With the start of Lent, I am reposting for meditation on this Ash Wednesday an expository musing published last year to this website. Without further ado...

On the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, Obedience, and the Requirements of Faithful Catholics

 

They don’t think they’re too smart or desperate, They know the law always wins; They’ve been shot at before, But they do not ignore That death is the wages of sin.

Some day they’ll go down together; And they’ll bury them side by side, To a few it’ll be grief— To the law a relief— But it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.  [Bonnie Parker]

Time Magazine Gushingly Profiles The Successful ‘Conspiracy’ To Rig The 2020 Election

To reiterate what I said earlier in the week:

This is by far and away and without a shadow of doubt the most important media election article of the year. It exposes what a number of us have to varying degrees suspected and furthermore makes it clear why no one should take seriously anyone or anything that is pushed by the mainstream media, social tech giants, etc. 

...  

[A] healthy skepticism of anything and everything these outlets have been pushing is no longer just advisable but is now mandatory. Another requirement is presuming defacto that any story pushed by these outlets is false until proven to the contrary beyond a reasonable doubt. And that is the bottom line.

If I were John and Pete (Part Two)

If I were John and Pete (Part One)

Is It All Unraveling After the TIME Magazine Secret Cabal Piece?

More on the most important news article of the year by far.

Briefly...

For four years, we had leftist dipshittery from lunatics on the left who said Trump was "not my pwesident." Now, I am seeing in the social media feeds that same leftist dipshittery becoming the mantra of some on the right as if the presidency is a subjective determination based on feelings. 

The childish bullshit continues, it just changes political sides.

Anemic Jobs Report Reaffirms Pandemic’s Grip on Economy

Gee, is no one talking about the January jobs report?

Points to Ponder:

Grief is not, as I thought, a state but a process: like a walk in a winding valley which gives you a new landscape every few miles. [C.S. Lewis:  Letter to Dom Bede Griffiths, O.S.B.]

The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election

This is by far and away and without a shadow of doubt the most important media election article of the year. It exposes what a number of us have to varying degrees suspected and furthermore makes it clear why no one should take seriously anyone or anything that is pushed by the mainstream media, social tech giants, etc. 

It is not a license to believe any crackpot conspiracy kook shit out there of course. However, a healthy skepticism of anything and everything these outlets have been pushing is no longer just advisable but is now mandatory. Another requirement is presuming defacto that any story pushed by these outlets is false until proven to the contrary beyond a reasonable doubt. And that is the bottom line.

Briefly...

10 Superbowls played, 7 wins. You do not have to like the guy to recognize what he has accomplished. He joins Ruth, Jordan, Nicklaus, and Gretsky as the greatest to ever play their sports.

There is not a shred of doubt now that where football is concerned, Tom Brady is the GOAT. 

The debate is over.

Points to Ponder:

We inaugurated someone whose driveway does not go all the way to the street paired with someone who spent more time on their back than Barry Horowitz in a WWF ring in the 1980s.

Miscellaneous Musings:
(On the Election)

--Anyone who thinks after the past four years that the demented lunatics who stirred up so much unfounded shit and are now running the asylum are going to achieve "unity" is either sniffing glue or probably just started following politics today.

--"Never establish a precedent you do not want to come back and bite you in the ass." There are gonna be plenty of sore asses the next few years and those who whine about it do not deserve sympathy.

--Prepare for no shortage of hypocrisy by both Democrats and Republicans as each embraces positions they formerly held as anathema as recently as November 2nd.

Lincoln Project Predator: What Did They Know, And When Did They Know It?

Basically, the pompous grifters at the Lin-Con project posed as More Moral Than Thou during the past four years. It was just a pose because they endlessly tut tutted about the specks in President Donald Trump's eye while the beam in their own eye (harbouring a sexual predator) went conspicuously ignored.

Chief Justice John Roberts won’t preside over the Senate impeachment trial

With the absence of the only government official constitutionally required to preside over impeachment trials involving a president, this time wasting farce is delegitimized at the outset.

Points to Ponder:

The easiest way to avoid feeling the need to apologize for jumping to conclusions based on rash judgment is to stop jumping to conclusions based on rash judgment. [Circa January 22, 2019]

On Q, Conspiracies, "Patriots", "The Plan", Etc.

This is taken from a social media platform. My words will be in regular font. Without further ado...

We know for absolute certain that Q was never a larp.

We do?

There's way too many Q proofs and hat tips from the likes of Trump, Scavino, Pompeo and Flynn etc.

Or you are artificially imposing a pattern where one does not actually exist.

So, with that said, and in view of what happened today, I only see 3 possibilities:

There are more than three.

1) Q, Trump, Scavino, Flynn, Pompeo etc are all deepstate agents participating in a massive scam/psyop, for who knows exactly what reason.

Or some are agents while others are not and there is no massive scam/psyop involved other than Rudy Guiliani, Sydney Powell and Linn Woods' incompetent attempts to grift.

2) All those people are patriots, and there was a plan, but the plan has failed and perhaps patriots didn't have as much control as they thought.

You forgot the possibilities that (i) some or none are patriots and (ii) there was no plan. You brush up against probability when surmising that "perhaps patriots didn't have as much control as they thought."

3) The plan is still unfolding and patriots are still in control.

There is about as much "control" here as the 1986 Challenger explosion was a successful space mission.

Personally, I discount number 1. If the deepstate were always in control it doesn't make any sense that they wouldn't have installed Hillary and instead woken up millions of people to who they are.

Or you are hung up on the idea that Hillary is a necessary part of "the plan" when she is yesterdays trash and far less useful than you presume.

So, for me it's between 2 and 3.

I already pointed out that there are more possibilities than just the ones you noted.

Maybe I'm hopelessly optimistic, but I'm still leaning towards 3.

Well, the word "hopeless" does come to mind. For weeks now, I have told folks like you nothing was going to happen and that Trump was going to leave office on 1/20. The responses were always variations of gibberish grand plans with claims I had to "just wait" and "[I] will see when all is revealed" and all that jazz. 

Wait another week when we will win this or that court case which never happened. Wait and see 45 days after the election when Trump will enact his executive order on election fraud and take federal actions which did not happen. Wait until we challenge the certification and get Trump delegates installed in the controversial states which did not happen. Etc, etc, etc.

Every time, it was yet another "just you wait" prediction which falls flat. And now, rather than just man up and admit you and others like you were raving and drooling fools engaging in fantasyland bullshit that was never going to be, you again play the "well, something has to happen" card. It is a desperate attempt to try and salvage something from the mountains of conspiratard drivel you swallowed in the naive hope that those who conned you were right all along instead of just admitting you were had. No one wants to admit that they were so gullible as to be fooled like this but the sooner you do, the easier life will be for you. 

Trump seems to have 'given up' way too easily. He seems not to have played any of his 'Trump Cards' yet. He's never conceded and keeps insisting 'the best is yet to come'. We all know there's absolutely no way that life could possibly get better under Biden.

You presume there are "Trump cards" left to play. The truth is, the moment none of the cases were taken up by SCOTUS is the moment the train ran out of track. You have spent five weeks only fooling yourselves and now you cannot accept the reality that Trump is now a private citizen again and there is no plan to try and change that in the immediate future.

So don't give up yet folks. It may seem hopeless (and maybe it is). But I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not over yet and that the Trump Card has yet to be played.

And you will be played for a fool once again if you keep this up. Plugs is president now. Whether you like it or not, that is the reality you need to face and the sooner you do, the easier it will be deciding where to go from there.

Briefly...

Will any of those leftist lunatics who hyperventilated about Trump not turning over power apologize for their stupidity, admit they were morons, and acknowledge that no one should take them seriously again? Fat chance! We never got those concessions from the folks on the right who did the same shit with Obama.  Many of those same leftists whined in like fashion about Bush43 as rightist douches whined about Clinton back in the day. Etc, etc, etc.

And yet not a few wonder why I do not take much of politics seriously but instead view it as less authentic than pro wrestling!

Points to Ponder:

"[A]t this point, neither I nor anyone else knows whether the Democrats stole the 2020 election, and we may never know. But, given the lengths to which the Democrats went in order to facilitate voter fraud, there is no reason to cut them slack in judging whether their efforts influenced the result." [Excerpt from the Powerline Article Did The Democrats Steal The 2020 Election?]

Today in History:
(Posted For Future Reference)

Today is the Biden/Harris inauguration. Gas is currently $1.95 per gallon. Interest rates are 2.25% for a 30-year mortgage. The stock market closed at 30829.40 though we have been fighting COVID for 11 months. Our GDP growth for the 3rd Qtr was 33.1%. We had a strong economy until COVID and it is recovering well. We have not had any new wars or conflicts in the last 4 years. North Korea has been under control and has not been testing any missiles. ISIS has not been heard from for over 3 years. The housing market is the strongest it has been in years. Homes have appreciated at an unbelievable rate and sell well. And let us not forget the peace deals with 4 countries in the Middle East that were signed with Israel.

Unemployment sits at 6.7% in spite of COVID. Joe Biden becomes president today at noon. Let us see how the next 4 years go...

Briefly...

For those looking forward with baited breath for 1/20/21 at noon, remember this paraphrase of those great western philosophers The Who:

"Meet the new Establishment. Same as the old Establishment..."

Bill Maher's Warning to the Left About Its Own Hypocrisy and Presumptuousness Is a Must-See

Did The Democrats Steal The 2020 Election?

American Thinker disables its comment section

Just a taste...

The demise of comment sections has been happening for a decade.

Publishers mostly were disgusted with the vulgar tone of comments, which they didn’t have the time to moderate, so it was easier just to shut it down.

I was of course quite prescient on the many problems with comments boxes on sites from the beginning years of Rerum Novarum, a stance that got me some criticism from certain pundits, agenda provocateurs, and apologists at the time. Let the record show that as usual, I was right{1} and they were wrong. 

Note:

{1} My most recent long form revisitation of this subject matter can be read here:

On Reiterating Anew Our Comments Box Policy (circa December 1, 2008) 

Seahawks Must Hit on New Coordinator Hire to Bridge Gap Between Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll

Opinion: A Trump Future Candidacy Isn’t What Democrats and RINOs Are Afraid Of

Points to Ponder:

Smoking cigars is like falling in love. First, you are attracted by its shape; you stay for its flavor, and you must always remember never, never to let the flame go out! [Winston Churchill]

Briefly on the 2020 and Presumptive 2021 Impeachments:

I had barely touched on the issue of the 2020 impeachment of President Donald Trump when it was occurring but to reiterate anew here: there were no viable grounds for the 2020 impeachment. It established a precedent that will bite the Democrats in the ass in 2023 when a Republican House will impeach Joe Biden or Kamala Harris on some similarly stupid premise. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes basically.

Where 2021 is concerned, it is different insofar as one can at least make an argument for impeachment this time materially. And as all you need is a simple majority for impeachment, it will happen. They were hoping for a 25th Amendment approach which would make a trial unnecessary but they are not going to get it; ergo, they will with all likelihood successfully impeach.

My position on the latest one is simple: it is all kabuki theatre without 67 Senate votes to actually confirm it which they will not get. The charges will struggle to withstand Supreme Court precedents on First Amendment speech as set down in Brandenburg v Ohio and the Brandenburg test.{1} That does not exonerate what Trump did, only that the bar on this issue is a lot higher than many presume and there will not be 67 votes in the Senate to clear it.

So with the 2021 impeachment drive in brief (i) yes, one at least materially has grounds for impeachment; however, (ii) the attempt to invalidate Donald Trump's eligibility for a future presidential run will fail in the Senate.

Note:

{1} Also known as the imminent lawless action test.

Points to Ponder:

I re-read Hannah Arendt's Origins of totalitarianism recently to confirm my sense that every action Democrats have taken since 2009 looks just like the rise of ghetto's and camps in Central Europe of the 30's...[T]he calls from many prominent Democrats to begin pogroms and purges with camps for (tsk, tsk) re-education are all over the airwaves and powerlines and it demonstrates sheer depravity. ["CosmoKat"]

Don't expect charges against Trump or allies for inciting DC riot, say DOJ officials

5 Qs, 5 As with Field Gulls: “Russell Wilson is great...but I’m concerned”

5 Qs and 5 As with Turf Show Times: Is John Wolford a better option than Jared Goff?

Points to Ponder:

Anecdotal Observation: My conservative friends are split regarding tonight's activities. However, during the 'BLM Summer', my liberal friends were unified in their approval. [Trish Cusack (circa January 6, 2021)]

 

2021

New year, attitude, focus

Cobra Kai beckons 

Miscellaneous Musings:

(On Political Kayfabe) 

We are almost to that changing season where the days get longer, a new Congress is sworn in, and Republicans start once again tut tutting about being guardians against all ye deficits with a Democrat in the White House. Of course they gave as much of a shit about it in 2017-2019 as they did during 2001-2007 when Bush 43 was president which was none. 

Meanwhile, the Democrats who nitpicked a few billion dollars for the silly wall and pretended to care about things like PayGo and all that under Trump will suddenly want to spend trillions with no shame whatsoever under Biden much as they did under Obama but whined incessantly about when it happened under Bush.

In wrestling parlance, this is called a double turn and it happens when the parties out of executive power change just like clockwork. And that many of those who would claim that wrestling is "fake" actually think any of this government posturing is real? It is as predetermined as any wrestling event and frankly far less real.

About to depart

2020: truly a

Year of drizzling shits

Enemy Reaction 2020: Los Angeles Rams

Cigar Thoughts, Game 15: HANG THE F***ING BANNER

Adeste fideles laeti triumphantes
Venite, venite in Bethlehem
Natum videte regem angelorum

Venite, adoremus,
Venite, adoremus,
Venite, adoremus, 

Dominum!

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
Gestant puellae viscera
Deum verum, genitum non factum.

Venite, adoremus,
Venite, adoremus,
Venite, adoremus, 

Dominum!

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Venite, adoremus,
Venite, adoremus,
Venite, adoremus, 

Dominum!

 

Points to Ponder:

Your entrance and your exit should be devastating, and everything in the middle is filler. [Keith Moon]

A Tale of Two Packages...

It was the worst of shipping times, it was the even worse still of shipping times...

Two packages were ordered and shipped recently. Package #1 was of a decent size and shipped standard FedEx, Package #2 was via standard USPS. 

Package #1 was originally to ship out of Shanghai on 12/10, a delay meant it did not actually ship until 12/13. It arrived in Anchorage, AK on 12/14 and shipped out same day to Memphis, TN where it arrived on 12/15 and had to clear customs. After a 5 day customs delay, it cleared customs on 12/20 and departed Memphis arriving in Jamaica, NY at 7:21pm. From there, it was a short turnaround to get to Stamford on 12/21 and finally to my residence at 5:00pm on 12/22. Halfway around the world in 9 days with a 5 day customs layover? Not too bad considering the circumstances with understaffing due to Covid and all.

Package #2 is in a very small box and was ordered on 12/14 at 11:00pm and shipped out of Philadelphia, PA on 12/15. It took four days to get out of Philadelphia and to Jersey City, NJ on 12/19. From there it departed Jersey City arriving in Stamford, CT on 12/20 whereupon for the past four evenings, I have been told it was "arriving late" only to not arrive. Fortunately on nights I am not home, my neighbour is available if said package were to arrive to retrieve it for me but now we are going on 5 days of "arriving late tonight" texts from USPS and no package. To recap:

Package #1:

-Big Package

-Shipped FedEx

-Shipped from 8,387 miles across the world

-Took 12 days to arrive but involved two separate delays including an unavoidable customs delay of 5 days

Package #2:

-Small Box weighing not even half a pound

-Shipped USPS

-Shipped from Philadelphia or 134 miles away

-Took 6 days to get to Stamford and did not have to clear customs 

-Has been in Stamford for 3 days with false promises of late delivery on 3 straight nights so far and it has not arrived as of this status

Exit Questions:

1) Which outfit would you prefer handling your parcels?

2) Why on earth should we give USPS any more money?

Points to Ponder:

Never take a full humidor for granted. In fact, never take anything for granted. 

Is it Morally Permissible to Use the Covid-19 Vaccine?

I am normally very hesitant to say much about the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) for a number of reasons. However, when the above article was brought to my attention shortly after its publication, I took some time to read it. I found myself very impressed by how the aforementioned article handled the issue of Covid and the issues of vaccines for Covid and their liceity (validity) thereof. 

As some friends and I have discussed the above matter in various and sundry private social media platforms in the past few weeks, it dawned on me this morning{1} that I had not publicly said anything about it. Considering the seriousness of the issues touched upon, I feel in the interest of ethics and charity compelled to do so now. I therefore give the material at the above thread my full endorsement.

Note:

{1} While posting other material to this site.

Seahawks have three weeks to keep this franchise streak alive 

Never Trumpers Play the Moral Authority Card on Anti-Lockdown Conservatives, Get the Responses They Deserve

It would be less than honest if I did not admit that I was #NeverTrump back in 2015-2016 including supporting Gary Johnson in that election. (Not a chance in hell was I going to vote for #Hildabeast.) But over time, my views of President Trump changed insofar as I both liked many of his policies but did not like him personally. In some areas, he governed a lot better than I thought he would. And I am unaware of any president who was treated as unfairly as he has been by the loathesome media industrial complex so that factor brings about a certain degree of sympathy from me for what he has gone through -even if some of it was self inflicted by not knowing when the hell to shut up. But that is neither here nor there.

Despite all of that and much more, I grew over time to dislike and eventually loathe Never Trumpers for the skeevy grifting pieces of trash most of them are. The above article is just one example of countless ones I could post showing the depths of mental and other sickness prevalent on these most disgusting of people. And may they never be given relevance again by anyone with a normal intact functioning brain.

Apostolic Letter Patris Corde of Pope Francis on the 150th Anniversary of St. Joseph Being Made Patron Saint of the Universal Church 

As someone with a personal devotion to St. Joseph, I am looking forward to reading this apostolic letter in full and reflecting on its contents.

Cigar Thoughts, Game 13: Seahawks steal parachute, push New York out of the jet

 More on the End of the Road For 2020:

This was brought to my attention after my most recent election musings were put up on social media the other day. My response to it is to follow. 

All the states have been certified.

Almost all lower courts are rejecting these cases on procedural grounds and the ones that are not are being appealed to courts that likely will. 

SCOTUS is rejecting election cases that come before it on standing.

The electoral college meets [tomorrow] to vote and they will vote as the certified states indicate.

The new Congress on January 6th will not fail to certify the electoral college results. From there, nothing stops #SkeevyAndTheHo from being sworn in at noon on 1/20/21.

The train has run out of track.

More on the End of the Road For 2020:

This was a response to my most recent election musings were put up on social media the other day. My response to it is to follow. 

2022 might be too late

For what? Secure the Senate January 5th and Biden is about to be the most ineffective president since Jimmy Carter and that is even before the 2022 bloodbath to come. And I am not even counting the about to be bigly gerrymandered district map which will lock Dems out of holding the House for about ten years. Whether it is Skeevy or the Ho after 2022, they will face opposite party control in both chambers and about half the country viewing them as illegitimate: not exactly a good recipe for effective governance.

On the End of the Road For 2020, Etc:

The path forward is clear now with no election cases even getting heard on merits; namely, pivot to Georgia. Win there, solidify the Senate, and prepare for 2022.

Remember, fraud makes a difference only in very close races. The way to fight it is by winning the governorships of MI, WI, PA: all of which are up in 2022. From there, there can be a push of Republican state lawmakers to clean up their state election system. The emphasis above all needs to be on vote security. 

And those thinking any other cases are getting past procedural rejections are only fooling themselves.

Today was our first trip to the mausoleum where my wife's parents are buried since they finished engraving the names. The latter was done a few months back but my wife was not able to visit again after the internment until today. 

Please pray for the eternal repose of the souls of Raffaelina Illiano Barone and Frank Diego Barone.

Eternal rest grant unto their souls oh Lord and may thy perpetual light shine upon them...May their souls and all the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

O God of our Fathers, we guard in our hearts today the sacred memory of those who gave their lives on that day which will live in infamy. Bless us, O Lord, as we humble ourselves in Thy presence to remember our shipmates and friends who served our country so valiantly. Let us not disgrace those who still lie in the quiet places through our indifference or forgetfulness. Rather, help us to always remember Pearl Harbor and help us to keep America alert. May we never forget that more than 2,000 of our sons, fathers, brothers, and friends were killed and more than 1,000 citizens of our land were wounded on December 7, 1941. Their sacrifices were not in vain. They defended America’s freedom and demonstrated America’s goodness. Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the brave men who embodied your love by making this ultimate sacrifice. You have declared “greater love hath no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). May we be willing to follow their example when duty calls. We also give thanks for those who survived the attack on our country and who went on with their lives in a way that portrayed honor to a watching world. They carried on with life even as they bore deep within them the haunting memories of what they witnessed, heard, and felt. Bless them with continued grace and mercy from your holy hand. Guide us and direct us in all that we do. Let us live to bring glory and honor to Thee. This we pray in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

On Dogmatic Facts and Pope Francis' Election as Pope:

This is in response to the following poll which was sent to me from social media.

A few musings come to mind when reading the above; namely:

1) Those people saying Benedict XVI are still Pope are schmucks.  

2) Dogmatic facts are "any fact connected with a dogma and on which the application of a dogma to a particular case depends." [Catholic Encyclopedia: Article on Dogmatic Facts (circa 1913)]  

3) The Church is infallible in dogmatic facts:

"According to Catholic doctrine, the  infallibility of the Church's Magisterium extends not only to the deposit of faith but also to those matters without which that deposit cannot be rightly preserved and expounded." [CDF: Instruction Mysterium Ecclesiae 3 (circa 1973) referencing Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium 25 (circa 1964)]

"With regard to those truths connected to revelation by historical necessity and which are to be held definitively, but are not able to be declared as divinely revealed, the following examples can be given: the legitimacy of the election of the Supreme Pontiff or of the celebration of an ecumenical council, the canonizations of saints (dogmatic facts)." [CDF: Doctrinal Commentary on the Profession of Faith (circa 1998)]

4) Pope Benedict XVI abdicated the papacy by his own free choice in February of 2013.

5) The College of Cardinals elected Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina as Pope in March of 2013. He chose the name of Francis.

6) Pope Francis is the lawfully elected Pope of the Catholic Church.

7) As the Church could not err in a matter of dogmatic facts and the selection of Pope involves dogmatic facts, upon the man selected accepting the election, he becomes at that moment Pope.

8) The identity of Pope Francis as Pope as a dogmatic fact falls under the secondary realm of truths connected to revelation by logical necessity. Ergo, the fact that Pope Francis is Pope is considered infallible.

9) Those voting for Benedict XVI as the current Pope in that poll are in dogmatic error which if willfully doubted or denied means they should not present themselves for communion and priests or deacons aware of said willful doubt or denial by said persons should refuse to give them communion.

10) Benedict recognizes Francis as the lawful Pope along with the rest of the Catholic faithful.

Life's a cigar: the wasting body glows.
The head turns white as Kosciusko's snows.
And, with the last soul-fragrance still in air,
The ashes slowly sink in soft repose. [George Gordon McCrae]

Seahawks defeat Eagles week 12 with good defense again

Cigar Thoughts, Game 11: DK slays Philadelphia as Seahawks pluck Eagles 23-17

Reasons why the 2020 presidential election is deeply puzzling

This article to a macro extent encapsulates my view as I have been thinking along similar lines in recent weeks.

Points to Ponder:

Worship and charity are the paths, embodying the love of God and love of neighbour.

5 Qs and 5 As with Bleeding Green Nation: Is it time to bench Carson Wentz?

Reports: Israel Assassinates “Father” Of Iranian Nuclear Bomb Program Mohsen Fakhrizadeh

A Thanksgiving Poem

The sun hath shed its kindly light,
Our harvesting is gladly o’er
Our fields have felt no killing blight,
Our bins are filled with goodly store.

From pestilence, fire, flood, and sword
We have been spared by thy decree,
And now with humble hearts, O Lord,
We come to pay our thanks to thee.

We feel that had our merits been
The measure of thy gifts to us,
We erring children, born of sin,
Might not now be rejoicing thus.

No deed of our hath brought us grace;
When thou were nigh our sight was dull,
We hid in trembling from thy face,
But thou, O God, wert merciful.

Thy mighty hand o’er all the land
Hath still been open to bestow
Those blessings which our wants demand
From heaven, whence all blessings flow.

Thou hast, with ever watchful eye,
Looked down on us with holy care,
And from thy storehouse in the sky
Hast scattered plenty everywhere.

Then lift we up our songs of praise
To thee, O Father, good and kind;
To thee we consecrate our days;
Be thine the temple of each mind.

With incense sweet our thanks ascend;
Before thy works our powers pall;
Though we should strive years without end,
We could not thank thee for them all.

[Paul Laurence Dunbar]

Points to Ponder:

Obedience is easy when you like what is asked of you, a lot harder when you do not. But the latter is actually more meritorious than the former according to the masters of the Catholic spiritual tradition.

Briefly on Non-Dogmatic Statements of Fact: 

My words will be in regular font.

No. when the Church rules that the conditions do not exist in these times, claiming that they do is disobedience.

You are ascribing to the Church a power beyond its competence. There is no special protection by the Holy Spirit when it comes to non dogmatic statements of fact. Period.

Pretending there is such a charism is basically is to fulfill William Gladstones nineteenth century caricature of Catholics as mind numbed robots completely dependent on Rome. The church is no more qualified to pronounce on the efficacy of modern penal systems than she is on the best way to build a dam, design a ship, conduct meteorological experiments, or prepare breakfast.

Prudential judgment helps us determine *how* to best obey Church teaching, not *whether* to obey  it.

Prudential judgement is subjective. It is also not free from possible errors as even the Vatican admits in Donum Veritatis.{1} It is certainly erroneous to automatically dismiss any and all prudential judgments of the Church the way many do. But it is no less erroneous to treat every prudential judgment as if it is carved on stone tablets from Mt. Sinai as you are in essence doing. The truth is between the Scylla of frequent and flagrant disobedience and the Charybdis of your kind of faith asphyxiating neo-ultramontanism.

Note:

{1} For further reading on this and other magisterial matters, see the following thread:

On the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, Obedience, and the Requirements of Faithful Catholics

Miscellaneous Musings on Neoscholasticism:

Whatever one wants to say about the Second Vatican Council, the intentions of the Fathers, of Pope St. John XXIII and all, one thing bears nothing. Namely, whatever fits and starts, whatever incomplete elucidation were involved in the process, one unquestionable good was the Second Vatican Council smashed neo-scholastic crap and more or less buried it. However good the intentions of its promoters were initially in wanting to recover authentic scholasticism, the actual result was a sham and at best a shell of authentic scholasticism. 

This increasingly fraudulent form of scholasticism was dominant in the Church in roughly the century prior to the Second Vatican Council. The Council to its great credit oriented the Church towards viewing the faith in a far more genuinely traditional way: incarnationally and a faith manifested through charitable service. What was so damaging about neoscholastic methodology is it asphyxiated the faith by making of it not a lived faith but instead a series of dogmatic theological propositions.{1} When the latter become the primary point of focus to the detriment of an incarnational understanding, it causes ones faith to become very sterile and unlifelike. 

We can all take issue with some of the things that came out of the Council, things that could have been said or expressed or formulated better. However, one undeniable benefit was the Second Vatican Council to its great credit smashed the sclerotic neoscholastic approach to the faith and set about expressing the faith more incarnationally as a faith that is lived through embodying the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy, not merely a jumble of verbal formularies.

Note:

{1} It was also based less on the original scholastic sources than on later commentators and various glosses they put on their commentaries on original sources which were often erroneous but confused with the thoughts of the schoolmen. 

Points to Ponder:

Do not ever forget or forgive those who sought to make 2020 as miserable as possible for the sake of playing politics!

 The Dogma Doesn't Live Loudly In Him

To take a bit of issue with the above article, pastoral theology presupposes dogmatic theology. What many of my fellow conservatives fail to grasp is repeating dogmatic formulations into a void accomplishes next to nothing in moving people towards the faith. Faith without works is dead. For his occasional stumbles Pope Francis understands this. It often seems many conservatives do not or at least beyond paying lip service to the concept at best.

Here is my dilemma: the same big media and big tech sources insisting all is well and there is nothing to see here viz potential widescale fraud and all have proven themselves repeatedly over the years to be a bunch of untrustworthy fucking liars and scum. 

So when proven untrustworthy fucking liars and scum march in lockstep trying to censor legitimate inquiries, I instinctively will support the latter because I have zero trust with the untrustworthy fucking liars and scum of big media and big tech. I would not piss on them if they were on fire and I will immediately distrust apriori everything they say about anything.

Vatican report reveals omissions in Archbishop Vigano’s ‘testimony’

I have been pretty clear from the get-go that I did not trust Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano the way not a few should have known better who frequently raised his name as some all-certified shibboleth in years past did. Rather than spell it out anew at this time, I will put in a footnote{1} links to prior postings where his material was touched on in varying degrees of detail.

The release of the long awaited McCarrick Report has no shortage of interesting material in it but among the most interesting is a signal failure of Archbishop Vigano in late 2012 to initiate an investigation as requested by Cardinal Marc Ouellet of the Congregation of Bishops.{2} This and other oversights by Archbishop Vigano listed in the McCarrick Report provide ample vindication of my prior enunciated positions on Vigano.

Notes:

{1} I went over in detail a couple of years ago the red flag that from the outset poisoned the well in my eyes where Vigano's credibility was concerned. Subsequent testimony installments of his or responses of other clerics to installments of his did not acquit him any better to put it nicely.

{2} See the McCarrick Report pgs 380-389 for details.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

[Lt. Col. John McCrae (1872 – 1918)]

Vatican report tracks McCarrick’s rise despite allegations of abuse and misconduct

I may have more to say on this subject after familiarizing myself more with the contents of the report. 

Dear Democrats: Here's What You Can Do With Your Unity Candle

This article sums up a lot of what I am currently thinking{1}; ergo, I post it here as a reliable representation of my views on the issues it covers.

Note:

{1} To a macro extent anyway.

Drift Compatible Podcast: The Election. Yaaaaay.

Suppose They Stole An Election And Nobody Noticed

Purgatory Project Names 2020:

Richard Dunn McElhinney
Margaret Dianne McElhinney
Anna Maria McElhinney
Shawn McElhinney
Teresa Marie McElhinney
Frank D. Barone
Raffaelina Barone

Bobby Kanski

Silvana Barone

Sean Donovan

Harry Kanski
Mary Kanski
Paul McElhinney
Mildred McElhinney
Mark Usher
Virginia Usher

Joan Lucas

James Dunn McElhinney
David Kanski

Mark Cribbs

Ed Flynn
Cecilia Flynn
Hugh Dunn

Mel Denny
Hattie Denny

Sharon Colson

Ginny Riley

Steve Paul

Hugh Dunn

Don Hellstrom

Leta Allen
Steve Paul
Marlene Eiden

Natalie Holderness

Gail Kanski

Ann Ripplinger

Alice Romanick

Sharon Yotter
Lisa Yotter
Bob Kanski

Jessie Kanski

Brent McElhinney 

Denise Leese

Jody McElhinney

Judy Spence

Ann Spence 

Jack Spence 

Claudia McElhinney

Jerry Usher

Larry Usher

Pat Kane
Chris DiSomma
Mic Greubel
Jim Greubel
Cindy Greubel
Kathy Hanks
Shane Rasmussen
Tim Tull
Charles Tull
Daniel Tull

Bill Walkling

Pauley Perrette
Mike Mentzer
Ray Mentzer
Jack DeLisle
Larry Gonczy
Keith McDonald
Mona McDonald
Michelle Bigliatto

Melody Walkling

Yvonne Goodwin
Diana Louie Taylor
Marc Taylor
Beth Cleaver
Kender McGowan
Misha Lynn Nicastro
Miki Odendahl
Bob Klaus
Deborah Klaus
Art Sippo

Michael Lopez
F John Loughnan
Fr. Robert Taft SJ
Don Hale

Betty Hale
Linda Hale
Dave Altier
Vangie Altier
Fr. Augustine Hartmann
Fr. Christopher Hunter

Emilio Barone
Fr. Angel Sotelo
Kevin Tierney
Gwen Stefani
Fr. John Rizzo
Albert King
Albert Collins
Freddie King
Albert Cipriani
Rick Wright

The Rerum Novarum Miscellaneous site has been updated!!!

The above site is rarely updated but when it is, the material posted there is basically in a final form and I have no intention of revisiting the substance of those materials again. In this case, I have taken the unprecedented step of linking four Rerum Novarum expository musing threads to that site as these are subjects of no small importance. Those threads are as follows:

On Magisterial Interpretation (circa January 4, 2020)

On the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, Obedience, and the Requirements of Faithful Catholics (circa February 26, 2020)

On Clarifying and Retracting Some Prior Statements on the Magisterium (circa March 8, 2020)

More On Magisterial Interpretation (circa October 23, 2020)

I have said all I ever plan to say on the subjects contained therein. Ergo, it seems appropriate to post them there considering how much misunderstanding persists on the material covered in those threads.  

All things to the contrary notwithstanding. 

More On Magisterial Interpretation:

(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)

One common mistake made in the area of magisterial interpretation is the texts are not considered in the totality of what they say. As a result, most folks who have recourse to said texts{1} usually miss important nuances in a text that they then presume say one thing when in actuality, they say something if not significantly differently then at least differently enough to undermine those citing said texts. In essence, words mean things and words matter. 

When seeking to correctly interpret a presumed magisterial statement{2}, it is important to consider every word in the text or statement because omitting even a mere word or two can change the manifested meaning. I wrote in detail on the subjects of the magisterium and the obedience required earlier in the year{3} and will reference from that work at this time a pertinent part of it for the point I am making here. To wit: 

It helps to remember at the outset of treating on this subject matter that "a simple sentence, even spoken by the Sovereign Pontiff, is not an act of the Magisterium; we know that all statements have different degrees of authority."[...] So those who conflate airplane interviews[...], purported statements of non-dogmatic fact[...], speeches on geopolitical matters[...], or musings on economics particulars[...] are going outside what the Church requires. This also applies to those who make too much out of statements about historical events,[...] personal opinions on various subject matters from papal exhortatory comments,[...] as well as papal empirical surmises.[...]{4}

There are a variety of possible mediums basically. And as not everything in an unquestionable magisterial source is ipso facto magisterial, one needs to be particularly careful with sources that are of a more questionable nature.

Hopefully this brief treatment on the subject of interpretation{5} can be of assistance for those of good will who strive honestly and humbly to properly understand and interpret various sources of varying degrees of potentially magisterial nature.

Notes:

{1} Usually in a critical or apologetical context. 

{2} I say "presumed magisterial statement" because there is a habit by most people to equate virtually anything said by the Pope, a bishop, or another cleric as automatically magisterial. It is of course not that simple. 

{3} On the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, Obedience, and the Requirements of Faithful Catholics (circa February 26, 2020)

{4} See the source in footnote three.

{5} For the first installment thread on this topic, see the following post:

On Magisterial Interpretation (circa January 4, 2020)

On Positive Arguments For Voting For Biden/Harris in 2020:

My words will be in regular font. Without further ado...

So far I've managed to detect only two positive arguments for Harris/Biden from left-leaning Catholics: he's "minimally rational," and he'd aim to raise taxes. All the other arguments are fulminations against Trump and/or against the ASP.  Not a bad endorsement of voting for somebody other than Harris/Biden.

I dealt with the American Solidarity Party (ASP) earlier in the year so I am not going to reinvent the wheel here. As for the rest, raising taxes is never a positive argument. It is instead the lazy politicians attempt to avoid exercising fiscal discipline. If Biden was to push for zero based budgeting coupled with sequestration automatically cutting 5% of all essential and unquestionably constitutional programs every year{1} until the budget was balanced then the creation of a sinking fund to pay down debt{2}, that would be a great combination of reasons. But raising taxes is both lazy as well as deceptive because "only the rich" is the camels nose in the tent to raise taxes on everyone and is always what happens. So point one is a highly negative reason not a positive one and ergo stands debunked.

So you only have one and if "minimally rational" is the argument, Trump meets that low threshold so it is a wash/push.

Notes:

{1} And 10% of all non essential or constitutionally controversial programs.

{2} See this thread for more details:

A Plan To Pay Off The National Debt (circa August 14, 2020)

Hunter biz partner confirms email, details Joe Biden’s push to make millions from China

This is confirmation of the claims made in previous exposes by the New York Post published to this humble site over the past seven days.

Sonnet XIX:

(Requiem For Summer Past)

Having another birthday today, this sonnet from Shakespeare came to mind. It is not just a requiem for summer past but for 47 summers past. Without further ado...

Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,

And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;

Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,

And burn the long-liv'd phoenix, in her blood;

Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st,

And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,

To the wide world and all her fading sweets;

But I forbid thee one most heinous crime:

O! carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,

Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen;

Him in thy course untainted do allow

For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.

Yet, do thy worst old Time: despite thy wrong,

My love shall in my verse ever live young.

On the Modern Media Monolith:
(With Christopher Blosser)

This is in response to my recent musings published on social media as well as HERE. My words will be in regular font. Without further ado...

Fox News has been the mirror image of MNSBC/CNN for as long as I can remember. I suppose Twitter/FB’s leanings are a new thing.

At the same time, where and when, for example, a social media company has the technical capacity to identify clear instances of foreign actors influencing an election (ex. paid advertising, deletion of dummy/bot accounts, obvious “fake news” postings which have no basis in fact or overt propaganda campaigns) I’m not necessarily opposed to increasing vigilance or countermeasures (as when FB took active measures against the Russian disinformation campaigns in 2019 and more recently the Chinese this year). 

Ex. https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/facebook-removes-fake-account-network-based-in-china

Though this is probably a separate issue altogether it is occasionally perceived as being “on behalf of” a specific candidate.

If we consider CNN and MSNBC a wash with Fox News{1}, that still leaves ABC, NBC, CBS, Reuters, almost all significant newspapers, Facebook, and Twitter very clearly and unmistakably backing a truck up on the scale for Biden.

Unlike in the old days when this stuff was usually more coy or at least not blatant, there is no pretence of evenhandedness.

This has all the hallmarks of an American Pravda network. I am extremely troubled by this, particularly the thought that a Biden win means it would only worsen.

Note:

{1} Which considering there are no Chris Wallace types on those stations shivving Biden so it is not apples to apples.

'Unverified' is a (false) excuse for ignoring The Post’s Hunter Biden scoops

This article is spot on. The same sources using the "inverified" excuse here have used a trove of anonymous sources to supposedly "verify" their stories in the past where President Trump is concerned. 

Considering that many of these have been exposed as false{1} you will have to pardon those of us who roll our eyes hard at the idea of the mainstream media having any credibility in this area. They have unambiguously shown their hands in recent years that it calls into question why they should be believed on anything at all.

Note:

{1} To give one such example, see this link.

Points to Ponder:

The fundamental principle is that no battle, combat, or skirmish is to be fought unless it will be won. [Ernesto "Che" Guevara]

Miscellaneous Musings:
(On the Increasingly Troubling Media Monoliths)

Apart from anything else in this election, I am particularly troubled by the way the mainstream media and big tech who run social media platforms are so obviously and evidently in the bag for one of the presidential candidates. The difference in how the two are treated cannot be more obvious and I am troubled by the fact that not only do the favoured candidates supporters generally not see it but of those that do, none of them seem to care.

Totalitarian regimes of the past got their starts in similar kinds of environs and a lot of folks who would criticize the public's complacency in those circumstances do not see how they are going along with or (in some cases) defending the very same thing themselves completely oblivious (it seems) to the irony involved.

Emails reveal how Hunter Biden tried to cash in big on behalf of family with Chinese firm

JOE BIDEN, GODFATHER

L.J. Collier Continues to Blossom in Second Season with Seahawks

WHAT COULD ACCOUNT FOR THIS? (Instapundit)

I concur completely with this analysis and the sources quoted therein.

Points to Ponder:

The purpose of human law is to lead men to virtue, not suddenly, but gradually. Wherefore it does not lay upon the multitude of imperfect men the burdens of those who are already virtuous, viz. that they should abstain from all evil. Otherwise these imperfect ones, being unable to bear such precepts, would break out into yet greater evils: thus it is written (Ps. 30:33): "He that violently bloweth his nose, bringeth out blood"; and (Mt. 9:17) that if "new wine," i.e. precepts of a perfect life, "is put into old bottles," i.e. into imperfect men, "the bottles break, and the wine runneth out," i.e. the precepts are despised, and those men, from contempt, break into evils worse still. [St. Thomas Aquinas]

Texts on the Sacrament of Penance:

The following was either composed or finished on May 30, 2018 for a Facebook discussion thread that got lost in the shuffle the way many of those things can. I decided since the material could be of some use to post it here in tract form sans the original names included in the text and the usual footnote format. Without further ado...

For all this talk about Scripture, as usual I see this passage is never brought up. I wonder why?

"On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'." [John 20:19–23]

Catholics along with all Apostolic Christians believe that the Apostles as the first bishops sent others as they were sent, etc down to the present day.

I noticed some were counting opinions on this thread as if this is a matter to be settled democratically. If [the author] does not mind, I would gladly submit opinions from ten early Christians which do not countenance the prevailing view on this thread.

"In church confess your sins, and do not come to your prayer with a guilt conscience. Such is the Way of Life...On the Lord's own day,assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks; but first confess your sins,so that your sacrifice may be pure.” [Didache, 4:14,14:1 (circa 70 AD),in ACW, 6:18,23]

The Didache is quite possibly the oldest Christian non-New Testament writing and is even older than some of the books of the Bible. It was used as a catechesis text from very early on. It speaks of confessing one’s sins which implies they were confessed to someone.

"For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop. And as many as shall, in the exercise of penance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ." [St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Philadelphians 3 (circa 110)]

How were they to know what penance was assigned to them? Through confession to a bishop or priest of course. Ignatius of Antioch was the third Bishop of Antioch and a student of the Apostle John. Obviously, Ignatius took the Gospel of John at face value on this matter.

"O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who dwellest on high yet hast respect unto the lowly, who knowest all things before they come to pass; Who didst give ordinances unto Thy church by the Word of thy grace; Who didst foreordain from the beginning the race of the righteous from Abraham, instituting princes and priests and leaving not Thy sanctuary without ministers; Who from the foundation of the world hast been pleased to be glorified in them whom Thou hast chosen; And now pour forth that Power which is from Thee, of the princely Spirit which Thou didst deliver to Thy Beloved Child Jesus Christ, which He bestowed on Thy holy Apostles who established the Church which hallows Thee in every place to the endless glory and praise of Thy Name. Father who knowest the hearts of all grant upon this Thy servant whom Thou hast chosen for the episcopate to feed Thy holy flock and serve as Thine high priest,that he may minister blamelessly by night and day,that he may unceasingly behold and propriate Thy countenance and offer to Thee the gifts of Thy holy Church. And that by the high priestly Spirit he may have authority to forgive sins..." [Hippolytus of Rome: Apostolic Tradition,3 From Prayer for the Consecration of a Bishop (circa 215 AD), in AT, 4-5]

The prayer for the consecration of a bishop as recorded by Hippolytus of Rome specifically mentions the grant of authority by the Holy Spirit to the bishop being consecrated to forgive sins.

"The Pontifex Maximus--that is, the bishop of bishops--issues an edict: 'I remit, to such as have discharged (the requirements of) repentance, the sins both of adultery and of fornication.' " [Tertullian of Carthage: Modesty,1 (circa 220 AD), in ANF, IV:74]

The issue that Tertullian had was not the Pontifex Maximus (Pope Callistus I) forgiving sins but the specific sins involved. (A topic for another time perhaps.) Tertullian’s witness from Africa (specifically the region of Carthage) is more of a hostile one but it still shows how widespread the practice of confession to bishops and priests was back in the early third century.

"There is also yet a seventh, although hard and laborious, the remission of sins through penitence, when the sinner 'washeth his bed with tears, and his tears become his bread day and night', and when he is not ashamed to declare his sin to the priest of the Lord, and to seek a remedy; according to him who says: 'I said, I will confess against myself mine injustice to the Lord, and Thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my heart.' (Psalm 31:5) In which that also is fulfilled, which the Apostle James says: 'But if any one is sick amongst you, let him call the priests of the Church.' (St. James 5:14). [Origen of Alexandria: Homilies on Leviticus,2:4 (circa 248 AD), in JUR, I:207]

The above text is self explanatory and is a witness from the region of Alexandria in Egypt.

"God cannot be mocked, nor deceived, nor deluded by any deceptive cunning. Yea, he sins the more, who, thinking that God is like man, believes that he evades the penalty of his crime if he has not openly admitted his crime. Christ says in His precepts, 'Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed.' And does he think that he is a Christian, who is either ashamed or afraid to be a Christian? How can he be one with Christ, who either blushes or fears to belong to Christ? He will certainly have sinned less, by not seeing the idols, and not profaning the sanctity of the faith under the eyes of a people standing round and insulting, and not polluting his hands by the deadly sacrifices, nor defiling his lips with the wicked food. This is advantageous to this extent, that the fault is less, not that the conscience is guiltless. He can more easily attain to pardon of his crime, yet he is not free from crime; and let him not cease to carry out his repentance, and to entreat the Lord's mercy, lest what seems to be less in the quality of his fault, should be increased by his neglect of atonement. I entreat you, beloved brethren, that each one should confess his own sin, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession may be received, while the satisfaction and remission made by the priests are pleasing to the Lord." [Cyprian of Carthage: To the Lapsed, 28-29 (circa 251 AD), in ANF, IV:445]

The above text is a second witness from the Carthage region in Africa of confession of one’s sins and remission of sins being made by a priest of the Lord.

"This (forgiving sins), you say, only God can do. Quite true: but what He does through His priests is the doing of His own power." [Pacian of Barcelona: Ep. I ad Sympron., 6 (approx 365 AD) in P.L., XIII, 1057.]

The witness above is from Barcelona in Spain and again speaks of the priest mediating forgiveness of sins through his priests.

“Just as a man is enlightened by the Holy Spirit when he is baptized by a priest, so he who confesses his sins with a repentant heart obtains their remission from the priest. [Athanasius of Alexandria: On the Gospel of Luke 19 (circa 373 AD)]

A second witness from Alexandria, this time Bishop Athanasius one of the champions of orthodoxy against the Arian heretics of the fourth century. He speaks of confession of sins to a priest and receiving remission of sins from a priest.

"It is necessary to confess our sins to those whom the dispensation of God's mysteries is entrusted." [Basil of Caesaria: Rule Briefly Treated, 288 (circa 374 AD), in JUR,II:26]

This witness comes from Bishop Basil of the region of Caesaria in modern day Turkey. He speaks of the necessity of confessing sins to those who God has entrusted to dispense forgiveness of sins. (In short, to a priest of the Lord.)

“Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.’ Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body. Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens. Did [God] not give them all the powers of heaven? ‘Whose sins you shall forgive,’ he says, ‘they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.’ What greater power is there than this? The Father has given all judgment to the Son. And now I see the Son placing all this power in the hands of men [Matt. 10:40; John 20:21–23]. They are raised to this dignity as if they were already gathered up to heaven” [John Chrysostrom of Constantinople: The Priesthood 3:5 (circa 387 AD)]

The above witness is from the region of Constantinople in modern day Turkey. Like all the prior examples,John Chrysostrom of Constantinople takes the Gospel of John and Jesus’ words on these matters literally.

"The Church holds fast its obedience on either side, by both retaining and remitting sin; heresy is on the one side cruel, and on the other disobedient; wishes to bind what it will not loosen, and will not loosen what it has bound, whereby it condemns itself by its. own sentence. For the Lord willed that the power of binding and of loosing should be alike, and sanctioned each by a similar condition. So he who has not the power to loose has not the power to bind. For as, according to the Lord's word, he who has the power to bind has also the power to loose, their teaching destroys itself, inasmuch as they who deny that they have the power of loosing ought also to deny that of binding. For how can the one be allowed and the other disallowed? It is plain and evident that either each is allowed or each is disallowed in the case of those to whom each has been given. Each is allowed to the Church, neither to heresy, for this power has been entrusted to priests alone. Rightly, therefore, does the Church claim it, which has true priests; heresy, which has not the priests of God, cannot claim it. And by not claiming this power heresy pronounces its own sentence, that not possessing priests it cannot claim priestly power. And so in their shameless obstinacy a shamefaced acknowledgment meets our view. Consider, too, the point that he who has received the Holy Ghost has also received the power of forgiving and of retaining sin. For thus it is written: 'Receive the Holy Spirit: whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them, and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.' So, then, he who has not received power to forgive sins has not received the Holy Spirit. The office of the priest is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and His right it is specially to forgive and to retain sins. How, then, can they claim His gift who distrust His power and His right?" [Ambrose of Milan: Concerning Repentance, I:7-8 (circa 388 AD), in NPNF2, X:330]

The above witness is from Bishop Ambrose of Milan in modern day Italy. He also speaks of the office of the priest being one gifted by the Holy Spirit with the right and power to forgive and retain sins.

"All mortal sins are to be submitted to the keys of the Church and all can be forgiven; but recourse to these keys is the only, the necessary, and the certain way to forgiveness. Unless those who are guilty of grevious sin have recourse to the power of the keys, they cannot hope for eternal salvation. Open your lips, them, and confess your sins to the priest. Confession alone is the true gate to Heaven." [Augustine of Hippo: Christian Combat (circa 397 AD)]

Bishop Augustine of the Hippo region of Africa continues with the early church witnesses of the importance of confession of sins to the bishops and priests who possess the keys of binding and loosing sins.

"Just as in the Old Testament the priest makes the leper clean or unclean, so in the New Testament the bishop and presbyter binds or looses not those who are innocent or guilty,but by reason of their office, when they have heard various kinds of sins, they know who is to be bound and who loosed." [Jerome of Dalmatia: Commentary on Matthew, 3:16,19 (circa 398), in JUR, II:202]

Jerome had spent time in Rome and also in Bethlehem but was from the region of Dalmatia in modern day Albania. He makes it eminently clear that the New Testament enjoins bishops and priests with the authority to forgive and regain sins.

In short, the early witness of the Church Fathers is universal on this matter and thus, it is those who would deny this truth who are the ones who are both unbiblical as well as inauthentically Christian.

Signs Saudis are edging towards historic Israel peace

I commented on earlier peace treaties between Israel and the United Arab Emerites and Bahrain HERE. I speculated that Oman would be next but that has not happened yet. But we are seeing a historical process play out in the Middle East right now. 

Briefly...

I propose the definition of a new argumentation fallacy to explain something that has become more prevalent in recent years; namely, the attempted dismissal in a discussion of something said by a man to or about a woman without rational justification metely to distract from the issue at hand. 

Or if you prefer Latin: Argumentum ad Homo Explicate!

Briefly...

I propose the definition of a new argumentation fallacy to explain something that has become more prevalent in recent years; namely, the appeal to race in a discussion to distract from the issue at hand. 

Or if you prefer Latin: Argumentum ad Genus!

Fratelli Tutti

I have not read Pope Francis' latest encyclical letter but I intend to before the year is out. While many documents of varying authority come from the Vatican, encyclical letters in general are among the most authoritative. However, that being noted, there is still usually a diversity of statements of varying magisterial weight in an encyclical latter much as with any document issued either by the pope or in his name. 

I went over the subject of the magisterium in detail earlier this year{1} both in scope{2} as well as the matter of proper interpretation thereof{3} so I see no need to reinvent that wheel. However, I do want to point out at least in passing that there will inevitably be no shortage of pundits, agenda provocateurs, and apologists who will treat this text as if each part of it is of equal weight.{4}

Too often documents issued by the Vatican are treated as a pretext by self-proclaimed More Moral Than Thou sorts for beating others over the head with parts that appear to support their preconceived presuppositions while ignoring or downplaying parts that appear to oppose said presuppositions thereof. Then there will be those who claim to be a faithful Catholic who will dismiss this encyclical wholesale lest they have to acknowledge something that is contrary to their particular worldview. Neither approach is correct for a faithful Catholic to take.

Having noted these things briefly, one final point: since most folks do not actually read Vatican documents except to prooftext them, be wary of those who seek to make too much or too little of the contents of the new encyclical letter. The truth on these matters is usually more nuanced than most folks either know or care to admit.

Notes:

{1} On the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, Obedience, and the Requirements of Faithful Catholics (circa February 26, 2020)

{2} See footnote one and also this thread:

On Clarifying and Retracting Some Prior Statements on the Magisterium (circa March 8, 2020)

{3} On Magisterial Interpretation (circa January 4, 2020)

{4} This is of course wrong but since when has that stopped those more interested in conflict than in genuine dialogue.

Briefly...

Since I cannot find a balanced and responsible article on President Donald Trump's catching of Covid 19, I will simply note here that (i) I am praying for him and everyone afflicted by this virus and (ii) I have zero respect for anyone who wishes this sort of thing on anyone else for reasons of political disagreement. Sadly, there are some disgusting people out there who do these things and I want nothing to do with them no matter whom they are.

In perusing an old expository musing for use in a recent posting, I happened to spot this in one of the paragraphs:

Her site is worth reading even if only for the summary of other articles on the matter from Rerum Novarum recommended sources such as Little Green Footballs

Though we have soured some on Michelle Malkin{1} over the years, that is not the purpose of this posting.

For while we pride ourselves in our general and overall consistency over the years, we also try to address issues where our mind has changed and perhaps retractions of prior enunciated points are in order.{2} That is our intention with the present posting where the subject of Little Green Footballs is concerned.

Sometime in 2009, Little Green Footballs (LGF) made a radical swing to the far left. Not long afterwards, this site was suspended indefinitely{3} -a status that remained in effect until April of 2017.{4} As a result, the recommendation of LGF that we expressed in 2005 has not applied for a long time. And as we were reminded of our prior endorsement, we want to at this time formally, unambiguously, and irrevocably retract it.

All things to the contrary notwithstanding.

Notes:

{1} Michelle Malkin was the her referred to in the paragraph above. (I suppose this can be considered an additional minor clarification of sorts while not a full blown retraction.)

{2} To note a few such examples in recent years:

On Clarifying and Retracting Some Prior Statements on the Magisterium (circa March 8, 2020)

Briefly (circa July 19, 2019)

On the Changing of One's Positions (circa January 31, 2018)

{3} Notification of Suspension (circa December 19, 2009)

{4} Notification of An Intended Return to Website Publishing (circa April 4, 2017)