Musings of an Old Curmudgeon
The musings and meandering thoughts of a crotchety old man as he observes life in the world and in a small, rural town in South East Nebraska. I hope to help people get to Heaven by sharing prayers, meditations, the lives of the Saints, and news of Church happenings. My Pledge: Nulla dies sine linea ~ Not a day without a line.
13 March 2026
The Flaw With the Abortion Argument
Abortion is one of the most hot-button topics in our world today. That's not to say that both sides have coherent arguments. One side, however, ignores a crucial question that we must always ponder: when does life begin?
The Monarchs of Russia ~ (1547-1917)
Catholic Social Ethics: 5. Seeking the Common Good through Virtue and Grace
Pope Benedict XVI's Key to a Fruitful Lent
We are just past the midpoint of Lent. Lætare is this coming Sunday, but it is not too late to work on your prayer life and works of mercy.
From Aleteia
By Philip Kosloski
Pope Benedict encourages us to increase both our faith and works of charity during Lent.Faith and charity
Benedict writes, "The celebration of Lent ... offers us a valuable opportunity to meditate on the relationship between faith and charity: between believing in God – the God of Jesus Christ – and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others."
He then explains how faith leads to charity, which is a response to God's love for us.
The entire Christian life is a response to God’s love. The first response is precisely faith as the acceptance, filled with wonder and gratitude, of the unprecedented divine initiative that precedes us and summons us. And the “yes” of faith marks the beginning of a radiant story of friendship with the Lord, which fills and gives full meaning to our whole life. But it is not enough for God that we simply accept his gratuitous love. Not only does he love us, but he wants to draw us to himself, to transform us in such a profound way as to bring us to say with Saint Paul: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (cf. Gal 2:20).
In other words, "Faith is knowing the truth and adhering to it (cf. 1 Tim 2:4); charity is 'walking' in the truth (cf. Eph 4:15)."
Its easy to remain laser-focused during Lent on bolstering up our prayer life, which is a good and praiseworthy goal. However, Pope Benedict XVI asks us to take the next step and to use that renewed faith by being charitable towards others.
As St. Paul famously put it, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1).
Charity should always be on our radar, and we can not trade it in for a better prayer life. We must allow our prayer life to drive our charity, seeking to outdo others in generosity. That is the Christian life and the key to a fruitful Lent.
Without a charitable heart, all of our efforts to increase our prayer life will fall flat and will not elevate us in our union with God.
Court Orders Excommunicated Nuns To Leave Convent
Excommunication is only ever used against traditional or conservative Catholics, especially those who dare to criticise the Second Vatican Council.
Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | March
The Silent Genocide The Media Is Ignoring (Nigeria's Christians)
What is the Chaldean Church? Are They Catholics?
The Chaldean Catholics are indeed Catholic! They originated in the Nestorian heresy, but parts of them were reconciled with Rome in 1552. They form one of the 23 Eastern Churches subject to the Pope.
From Aleteia
By Matthew Grenn
When we hear news about Christians in the Middle East, there are often references to the Chaldeans or the Chaldean Church. Who or what are they?Churches within the Church
First, it’s important to remember that while there is only one Catholic Church, there are groups within it who are united by particular regional, ethnic, historical, liturgical, and theological bonds. In some cases they are officially referred to as Churches (with a capital C) without detriment to the unity of the whole Catholic Church.
These Churches have a long history. The New Testament often refers to “the Church in …” one city or region or another, such as the Church in Corinth or the Church in Rome. Over time, due to many factors (geographical, political, etc.), there evolved distinct theological and liturgical traditions (keep in mind these Churches didn't have the internet to stay in touch, so it was natural that within the limits and great time-delays in communication, differences would arise). Some share the same liturgy, or rite, but are differentiated by other historic or national elements.
Twenty-four of these traditions are formally recognized within the Catholic Church today. To give a few examples, there are the Maronite Catholic Church (rooted in Lebanon), the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (rooted in India), the Ethiopian Catholic Church (no explanation needed), and of course the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The origin of the Chaldean Catholic Church
In the 5th century, the Christians who lived in the Sasanian Empire (roughly modern-day Iraq and Iran) embraced Nestorianism. This was a Christological heresy that held that Christ the man and God the Son were two distinct persons, not essentially united, thus denying the Incarnation.
This implied a break with the rest of Christianity. Some sources suggest that this may have been intentional: a way for Persian Christians to separate themselves from perceived foreign influence, and free themselves from persecution by the Sasanian government. (This situation of Christians in what is now Iran, being persecuted because they are perceived as foreign agents of some sort, is sadly familiar; it remains a challenge for Christians in Iran today.) This group became known as the Church of the East.
The Church of the East actively evangelized and spread to India, China and Mongolia. However, most of the Nestorian communities outside of Persia were wiped out by the Mongol leader Timur in the 14th century. Starting in 1551, large groups of the remaining Nestorians started to reunite with Rome.
The region where the Church of the East had been founded was known before the Sasanian Empire as Chaldea, mentioned often in the Bible. Consequently, the Nestorians in that region who reunited with the Church of Rome were called Chaldean Catholics.
In fact, their Chaldean identity remains important today. In a recent letter, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad (who retired in early March, 2026), wrote, “We are Chaldeans, our identity is Chaldean, our nationality is Chaldean, and our Church is Chaldean Catholic.”
Where do Chaldean Catholics live today?
The Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church has his episcopal see in Baghdad, Iraq, in the Church’s land of origin. Chaldean Catholics are in fact the largest Christian population in the country, although still a tiny minority overall. While it’s difficult to get exact numbers, and ongoing conflicts can cause major shifts due to forced migration, recent estimates say there are about 250,000 Chaldean faithful there.
There are also 20,000-30,000 in Lebanon, and other Chaldean Catholic communities spread through the Middle East, most of which are difficult to measure due to their status as an often-persecuted minority.
Chaldean Catholics have migrated, whether to flee conflict or to seek better opportunities, throughout the world. The largest Chaldean Catholic population outside of the Middle East is actually found in the USA, in the state of Michigan.
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