Musings of an Old Curmudgeon

30 June 2022

New Boycott List Shows 56 Companies Paying for Killing Babies in Abortions

An updated boycott list. The only thing they understand is the P&L statement. Hit 'em where it hurts, on the bottom line!

From The Washington Stand

By Suzanne Bowdey

In the 72 hours since the Supreme Court’s bombshell ruling, the Democrats’ hysteria has sucked up most of the oxygen in the room — and that’s just fine with corporate America. While some CEOs have taken their battle stations on the sinking ship of Roe v. Wade, the bigger story might be how many haven't. It’s been an unusually quiet weekend for several of the country’s major brands, who’ve had almost two full months to consider their response. Is it cold feet from Disney’s cautionary tale — or could abortion be the new neutral ground?

The New York Times was just one of the outlets scratching its head over Big Business’s “muted response” to Dobbs. “Companies are more vocal than ever on social issues,” reporters Emma Goldberg and Lora Kelley insisted. But “not on abortion.” To the Times, the measured reactions were even more noticeable in June, when the pride deluge is so corporately all-consuming. “Most [brands] stayed silent,” the duo noted, “including some companies that are known for speaking out on social issues such as Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ rights. Some of the corporations that blacked out their Instagram pages in 2020 or featured rainbow flags on their websites for Pride Month have so far been hesitant to comment on abortion.”

“Executives are feeling some trepidation around this,” Dave Fleet, a PR expert at Edelman, admitted. “They’re concerned about backlash because they know there’s no way to please everyone.” In most boardrooms, there’s a genuine fear about becoming the next Republican target — a fact that was obvious in the ranks of this weekend’s “no comments.” Brands like Coca-Cola and Delta, who outraged Americans by wading into Georgia’s election reform debate last year, were noticeably silent on Roe.But there are plenty of companies who don’t mind touching the hot stove of the culture wars, as 56 CEOs raced to announce updated “health care” policies that include thousands of dollars in abortion stipends and travel reimbursement:

Those policies come with their fair share of risk, a new poll shows. In a Suffolk University/USA Today survey taken the week before the Dobbs decision, Americans were asked if they thought “corporations have a responsibility to speak out on abortion rights.” A whopping 67.5% said no, companies shouldn’t take sides. Only 27% supported the idea of political involvement. Those are even higher numbers than the 2021 poll by Rasmussen (66% in favor of neutrality) and Family Research Council’s May 2022 survey (57%), which both found very little appetite for more woke corporate activism.

Disney has been too busy burning its reputation to the ground to notice. CEO Bob Chapek, fresh off of his humiliation in Florida, has all but thrown in the towel on rehabilitating the franchise’s image. On Friday, employees leaked an internal memo from headquarters, reminding staff that travel benefits for abortion were already available to them. That sparked another heated debate from employees like Jose Castillo, who can’t understand why the company is so dead-set on committing political suicide.

“You see the stock price going down,” Castillo fumed on Fox News. “There are people, there are employees who they’re alienating. I spoke with a colleague the other day who said, ‘I just don’t know how much longer I can keep working for this company.’ And frankly, I’m sure there are going to be guests who are going to be saying, ‘Should I really pay for a ticket to go watch a movie, to go to the theme parks that will eventually end up paying for someone's abortion?’ Like I said, this was already their policy. There was really no need for them to come out and send this memo, only to make a political statement.”

At Dick’s Sporting Goods, the optics were equally unflattering. When CEO Lauren Hobart announced that the company would join the travel stipend bandwagon, Breitbart News demanded to know if the same $4,000 benefit would be available to pregnant workers who keep their children. Dick’s refused to answer.

It’s a question, legal scholars say, that businesses won’t be able to dodge for long. The inequity of the policy will almost certainly be the subject of court challenges — not only because they unfairly incentivize abortion over child-bearing, but because they also encourage lawlessness. Robin Wilson, a law professor at the University of Illinois, told Reuters that there could be criminal liability for helping employees duck state laws. “If you can sue me as a person for carrying your daughter across state lines, you can sue Amazon for paying for it.”

For now, conservatives can take some comfort in the slowly changing tides. While certain CEOs will never be deterred from their activism, at least more businesses are starting to think twice about antagonizing half their consumer base. And that, in itself, is a victory.

Tomorrow is a First Friday!

At the end of the 17th century Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (1647-1690) and asked her to spread devotion to His Most Sacred Heart. In a letter written to her Mother Superior in May 1688, St. Margaret Mary set out what is called The Great Promise Our Lord made regarding the Nine First Fridays and what we must do to earn it:

“On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: ‘I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, My divine Heart making Itself their assured refuge at the last moment.'”

First Friday Requirements: To meet the requirements for the First Friday Devotion a person must, on each First Friday for nine consecutive months:

1. Attend Holy Mass
2. Receive Communion
3. Go to Confession*

*Some Catholic resources on this devotion say that Confession is not strictly required unless you need the sacrament in order to receive a worthy Communion, in other words, you need to go to Confession so you can be in the state of grace before you can receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Other sources say you must go to Confession within eight days before or after the Friday. Even if you are in the state of grace. If in doubt, consult your spiritual director. The more prevalent view prescribes the latter

The communicant should have the intention, at least implicitly, of making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all the sinfulness and ingratitude of men.

Our Lord made these promises to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque regarding those who practice the Nine First Fridays and have a deep devotion to His Sacred Heart. The Twelve Promises listed below include the “Great Promise” (number 12).

1. I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their strength during life and above all during death.
5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant all to those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

The Mystical Power of the Monarchy

'Monarchy can easily be ‘debunked;' but watch the faces, mark the accents of the debunkers. These are the men whose tap-root in Eden has been cut: whom no rumour of the polyphony, the dance, can reach - men to whom pebbles laid in a row are more beautiful than an arch. Yet even if they desire equality, they cannot reach it. Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honour millionaires, athletes or film-stars instead: even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.'-C.S. Lewis

From UnHerd

By Yuan Yi Zhu

The Queen is an integral part of the nation's subconscious

Only four times in recorded history has a monarch achieved seven decades of continuous reign, and barring some extraordinary sequence of events, Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee will be the last platinum jubilee any of us will ever witness. In five years, Her Majesty will be 101 years old, an actuarially unforgiving age, and her longevity on the throne will be so beyond our lived experience and vocabulary that the resulting jubilee — if there is one — will be called a diamond jubilee once again. None of her heirs and successors is likely to be as young as she was on their accession, nor will any of them reign for as long as she has.

Longevity has a mystique of its own, but also brings its descriptive dilemmas. Almost everything that could be said about the Queen has been said since the day she stepped off her plane at London Airport after her father’s death in 1952, a strikingly modern entrance which still has the power to move us even today.

Though brave efforts have been made to define the essence of this Second Elizabethan Era, as her reign was being optimistically described in 1952, it is hard to find any common theme uniting these seven long decades, except perhaps for ever-present anxieties about national decline.

Celebrations for this Jubilee, modelled largely on the pattern of previous ones, share the same lack of focus. Staples such as Trooping of the Colour and the traditional flypast are supplemented by new tree planting and literacy initiatives, scientifically designed by committees to be as unobjectionable to as many of her subjects as possible. It is even reported that organisers of the Jubilee pageant were ordered by Buckingham Palace to avoid “over-glorifying or over-egging” the Queen, lest British republicans, who count among their ranks some of the most professionally joyless people in the country, should be offended.

But it would be a mistake to overthink such things, as those who make their living with words are wont to do. The appeal of monarchy, even in its most democratic manifestations, has always been a fundamentally mystical one. Queen Elizabeth has many virtues, which are made so much more poignant by their gradual disappearance from today’s public life.

But as sneering republicans often point out, there are many virtuous old ladies everywhere, and none of them will be celebrated in quite the same way. This misses the point. The Queen is the Queen, and not any old lady, because of the remorseless laws of primogeniture — by accident of birth, in other words, but one “which identified the life of her family with our history, and which made what came of her an exemplar for the country”.

The last line came not from the pen of a court sycophant, but that of Charles de Gaulle, writing to the head of the royal family long deposed by the republic which he headed. It is often said by embarrassed monarchists that one would not choose a monarchical form of government if one built a country from scratch. But de Gaulle understood that he was not building a country from scratch, nor should wish for a tabula rasa even if he could.

Countries and peoples do not exist on infinitely malleable ahistorical floating timelines, and the Queen, as well as the institution of which she is the head, form an integral part of the vast subconscious of the nation. In an age where so much of that collective body of habits, memories, and manners has been superseded, for better or for worse, it is natural that its most stable — and frankly irrational — element should shine even more brightly.

God save the Queen, happy and glorious.

Highland Charge in America

The last time the Fiery Cross was ever sent round to raise a clan for war was in the War of 1812 to raise the Scots to repel the American invasion of Canada.

From The Mad Monarchist (27 February 2013)

It was on this day in 1776 that the battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge was fought near Wilmington, North Carolina. Unfortunately a victory for the republican side, it was nonetheless a display of great courage and heroism on the part of the loyal royalists and, as far as I am aware, the last example of a traditional “highland charge” in North America. The Revolutionary War had still not taken hold completely in the southern colonies prior to the battle and the Royal Governor of North Caroline, Josiah Martin, was, like others, convinced that with only a modest force of Redcoats the loyalists of his colony could be rallied to the cause of King and Country, subdue the rebels and restore the place to loyal obedience; and not only North Carolina but the whole of the south. These expectations proved to be rather overly optimistic as when the two sides met at Widow Moore’s Creek bridge, it was the loyalists who were outnumbered by the equally hastily organized rebel militia by a few hundred men. Perhaps the most memorable thing about the battle, and what our focus today will be, was that the loyalist side was made up almost totally of Scottish highlanders and, it is noteworthy, a great many Jacobites.

Governor Martin

After the glorious disaster known as the ‘45 Jacobite Uprising, many highland Scots had left the rather unpleasant atmosphere of Scotland for the New World and settled in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. Some today would probably not expect these men to have been likely sympathizers with the cause of King George III, however, not long after the troubles in America began, the Scotsman Allan Maclean obtained permission from the King to recruit loyal fellow Scots in North America to fight for the Crown in the Royal Highland Emigrants Regiment. Some of these men were long-time veterans of the British army but others had previously fought against it. For example, in North Carolina, to of the leading officers employed by Maclean in gathering Scotsman for the Royal Emigrants were Donald MacLeod and Donald MacDonald both of whom were veterans of the Battle of Bunker Hill. However, also recruiting for the cause of King George III was Allan MacDonald, a noted loyalist and the husband of the Jacobite heroine Flora MacDonald who had saved the life of “Bonnie Prince Charlie” and aided his escape to Skye. She supported the Crown as well and Allan MacDonald was appointed brigadier-general by the governor and rode himself across the colony from town house to country cabin urging people to take up arms for the King and in opposition to the rebels.

Those who responded had a variety of motivations. Aside from the pull of King and Country, there were local tensions to be considered. Since there settlement more and more people had started to move into the Piedmont area and these people tended to be of the Whig/Patriot persuasion and clashed with the more established residents of the area. Even those Scots not inclined to great adoration for King George III were often willing to fight for his side simply to stop the influx of colonists intruding on what had previously been their exclusive domain. For the Jacobites among them, there was also the memory that they had fought for something more than simply fidelity to the House of Stuart, as fervent as that was and as deeply felt as their personal loyalty to the “King across the water” had always been. Part of what was at the core of all of that was the idea that legitimate authority comes from God and so the idea of a democratic republic was unthinkable and downright wicked. King George III may not have been the monarch they would have most preferred, but better a Hanoverian king than a revolutionary republic and regardless of who was on the throne it was important that the ties between America and Britain (including Scotland) not be broken.

By 1776 Anglo-Scottish tensions had also eased considerably and it is a fact as well that even in the ‘45 at least as many Scots as supported Prince Charles just as fervently supported King George II. For many, it took the outbreak of republicanism in North America to reconcile the two sides in the common defense of the principle of monarchy. When they set out to confront the rebels they expected some assistance from Britain but the expedition intended to reinforce them was delayed by bad weather in Ireland and did not arrive. Neighboring Virginia had also known disaster was a hastily organized loyalist force with little support was overwhelmed by rebel forces and it was to be the same for North Carolina. Donald MacDonald, Donald McLeod and John Campbell led a little over 700 men into the fight at Widow Moore’s Creek where they were met by more than a thousand rebels. It was an awesome sight, coming on as they were in the ‘grand old style’ many in full highland dress and with bagpipes wailing away. At one point, Captain Campbell picked a group to charge across the bridge, which they did brandishing their claymores and shouting “King George and Broadswords!” only to be cut to pieces by withering rebel fire.

The aftermath was pretty bad for the cause of the Crown with loyalists being hunted down and taken prisoner or simply dispatched out of hand but, of course, it was only the beginning of the revolutionary war in the south and by no means the end. Today, however, I would suggest that monarchists take inspiration from those highland Scots who charged the rebel lines at Widow Moore’s Creek and the Jacobites in particular. Certainly it is an example of great bravery but from a somewhat unexpected quarter. Therefore it can also serve as something of a lesson for monarchists today, particularly those die-hard Jacobites who linger about the on-line world of theoretical monarchism. Far from sitting comfortably from a safe distance, pouring scorn on the existing authorities of the time, some of these men had actually suffered at the hands of Hanoverian troops, men who had shed blood and had their own blood shed in the cause of the House of Stuart and yet they put that past aside, never forgetting it and never ceasing to honor it, but in order to come together for the cause of kingship and traditional authority in opposition to revolutionary republicanism. That is an example that we would all do well to emulate.

Bishop Challoner's Meditations - 30th June

ON SINCERITY IN CONFESSION

Consider first, the necessity of being sincere in the confession of our sins, if we hope for the forgiveness of them. All hypocrisy and double-dealing, in matters of this consequence, is abominable in the sight of God. The prophet pronounces a curse against them 'that do the work of the Lord deceitfully,' Jer. xlviii. 10. And surely they must be guilty, in the highest degree, of doing the work of God deceitfully, that go to confession with fraud and deceit, and while they outwardly profess humility and sincerity, conceal though the pride of their heart, and disguise by lies the guilt of their consciences. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead by a visible judgment of God, for telling 'a lie to the Holy Ghost,' Acts v. And are not all such as are insincere in the confession of their sins, guilty in like manner of telling a lie to the Holy Ghost, whilst they seek to impose upon the minister of God, in this most solemn and sacred function? They are guilty also of a grievous sacrilege, as often as they receive absolution in this case, by their profaning the sacrament of penance, which sacrilege is commonly followed by another still greater, by their making themselves also guilty of the body and blood of Christ by an unworthy Communion, and thereby receiving damnation to themselves. Good God, preserve us from so heinous and so dreadful an evil!

Consider 2ndly, the dismal consequences of suffering one's self to be imposed upon in such a manner by the father of lies, as to conceal any matter of moment in confession, either through shame, or fear, or pride of heart. Alas! to avoid a little present confusion, which would be immediately followed by the recovery of God's favour, with peace of conscience, comfort, and joy, what a bottomless pit of dreadful and endless evils does the soul cast herself headlong into! What inextricable difficulties, pains, and perplexities! For she has no sooner yielded herself up to the old serpent by this criminal concealment but this dumb devil takes such possession of her as to make her apprehend the confession of her guilt more than either death or hell. Hence she goes on adding sin to sin, sacrilege to sacrilege, burthened all the while by her own conscience, gnawed with a remorse which she seeks in vain to stifle, and carrying about with her a painful imposthume in her heart which never suffers her to be easy. She deludes herself indeed with vain purposes of confessing some time or other hereafter; but in the meantime her difficulties increase, the devil daily acquires more and more power over her, till at length mercy abused gives place to justice, and when she least expects it she is cut off in her sins, and carries down with he the guilt of them all, to be confessed too late in hell.

Consider 3rdly, how little reason there is for a penitent to be so much ashamed of the confession of his sins. Sin, indeed, is shameful, but the confession of one's sin is not so. No, the humble confession of a sinner gives glory to God, is honourable to the penitent himself, and affords joy to the whole court of heaven. And as to the confessor, besides that he is bound by all laws to an eternal secrecy, and can make no manner of use of the knowledge he receives by confession that can anywise be disagreeable to the penitent, he is so far even in his own mind from despising or thinking worse of the prodigal child, returning home by confession, or having less regard or affection for his penitent on that occasion that, on the contrary, as he more clearly sees the hand of God in the humility and sincerity of the confession, he rejoices in this happy change, he likes the penitent better than before, and conceives greater hopes of him for the future, and thinking no more of what is past, he has a more tender regard than ever for a soul that has thus unbosomed herself to him. In the meantime, the penitent finds himself in a manner in paradise, by the comfort and joy that he feels in having discharged his conscience of its load, and let out the imposthume that would not suffer him to be easy.

Conclude to beware of the tricks of the father of lies, who hates nothing so much as an humble confession, and therefore makes use of innumerable artifices to induce Christians to pass over, or disguise at least, their sins in the sacrament of penance. Ah, how many thousands of souls has he deluded by these artifices, and drawn down into the bottomless pit? Alas! how easy it is for persons to be deceived on these occasions, who in effect have a mind to be deceived, and are willing, at any rate, to form to themselves a false conscience, by some pretext or other, to spare themselves the shame of confessing their sins. See, my soul, this never be thy case, and therefore whensoever thou findest a repugnance to confess any part of thy guilt, and a willingness to find some reason to dispense either thyself, be sure to confess the sooner that which thou findest this repugnance to declare , for fear of thy being imposed upon by pride or self love.

30 June, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

St. Paul the Apostle

1. St. Paul was by nature fiery and zealous. Once he discovered the truth, he was ready to die for it. Originally he was convinced that Judaism contained the whole truth, and for this reason he hated the Christians, whom he regarded as a sect which had corrupted the sacred Hebrew tradition. The deacon Stephen was the first victim of his persecuting zeal. As he was being stoned and beaten to death this saintly young man prayed for his persecutors. It may be that in this moment his eyes, shining with faith and love, encountered those of the man who hated him. Soon afterwards Saul (this was Paul's real name) left Jerusalem for Damascus carrying letters investing him with new powers for the persecution of the infant Church. On the way this headstrong but sincere enemy of Christianity was suddenly dazzled by a light from Heaven. He fell to the ground and heard a mysterious voice saying: “Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?” Terrified, he answered: “Who art thou, Lord?” “I am Jesus,” the voice said, “whom thou art persecuting.” (Acts 9: 1-5) From that day Saul was changed completely. Under the influence of divine grace he became the Apostle of the Gentiles.

Before he set out on his missionary journeys Paul went apart into the desert of Arabia, (Cf. Gal. 1:17) where he remained some time in prayer and recollection. Then he went to Jerusalem to pay homage to the Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter (Gal. 1:18). After this he began his apostolic travels, in the course of which he encountered all kinds of hardship and danger. The Jews frequently hunted him in order to put him to death. He was often cruelly scourged and flung into prison, and several times he was shipwrecked and had miraculous escapes from death. (Cf. 2 Cor. 11: 23-27) He bore everything joyfully however, in order to prove his love for Jesus Christ. Charity was always his main incentive. “The love of Christ impels us.” (2 Cor. 5:14) Charity, he said himself, “believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (Cf. 1 Cor. 13:4-13) His charity was so great that he could truthfully say: “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not inflamed?” (2 Cor. 11:29)

St. Paul could make this claim because his heart had become identified with the Heart of Jesus. Therefore he could say: “It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me;” (Gal. 2:20) and: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain;” (Phil. 1:21) and: “I am hard pressed from both sides - desiring to depart and to be with Christ, a lot by far the better; yet to stay on in the flesh is necessary for your sake.” (Phil. 1:23-24)

Let us meditate on this ardent love of God. Let us cast aside our coldness and indifference and ask St. Paul to set us on fire with divine charity.

2. We can learn other virtues from St. Paul besides his zealous love for God and for his fellowmen. We can also learn from him the virtues of humility and of apostolic fervour. The Apostle of the Gentiles reached such heights of sanctity as to feel himself transformed into Christ Himself and to deserve to be taken up into the third Heaven where he enjoyed a foretaste of eternal happiness. Nevertheless, he considered himself unworthy to be called an Apostle and realised that all his gifts came to him from God. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything, as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” (2 Cor. 3:5) Whenever we succeed in any project we should think on the same lines, because it is only when we are humble and depend on the grace of God that the success of our actions will redound to the glory of our Creator. If the cancer of ambition or of self-love should corrupt our purity of intention, our work would not be blessed by God and would not make us worthy of everlasting life. Let us repeat often: "All for You, with You and in You, my God."

3. "Always breathe the life of Christ; place your trust in Him; and live as if every day were your last." (St. Athanasius, "Life of St. Anthony," n. 91)

Eastern Rite - Feast of 30 June AM 7530

Today is the Feast of the Synaxis of the Holy, Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles.

✠✠✠✠✠

The Synaxis of the Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ appears to be an ancient Feast. The Church honours each of the Twelve Apostles on separate dates during the year and has established a general commemoration for all of them on the day after the commemoration of the Glorious and First-Ranked among the Apostles Peter and Paul.

The holy God-crowned Emperor Constantine the Great (May 21) built a church in Constantinople in honour of the Twelve Apostles. There are instructions for celebrating this Feast which date from the fourth century. For lists of the Apostles' names, see: Mt.10:2, Mark 3:14, Luke 6:12, Acts 1:13, 26.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Andrew the First-called is also commemorated on November 30. He was the brother of Saint Peter (June 29).

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle James is also commemorated on April 30. He and his brother John are the sons of Zebedee and were called “sons of Thunder” (Mark 3: 17).

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle and Evangelist, virgin, and beloved friend of Christ, John the Theologian is also commemorated on September 26 and May 8. He and his brother James are the sons of Zebedee and were called “sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17).

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Philip is also commemorated on November 14.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Bartholomew is also commemorated on June 11 and August 25.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Thomas is also commemorated on October 6 and on the Sunday after Pascha.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle and Evangelist Matthew is also commemorated on November 16.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle James, the son of Alphaeus, is also commemorated on October 9.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Jude is also commemorated on June 19. He is also known as Thaddeus (but should not be confused with Saint Thaddeus of the Seventy, who is commemorated on August 21), and was the brother of Saint James (October 23).

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Simon the Zealot is also commemorated on May 10.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Matthias is also commemorated on August 9.

Troparion — Tone 4

First-enthroned of the apostles, / teachers of the universe: / Entreat the Master of all / to grant peace to the world, / and to our souls great mercy!*

* Note: The troparion for June 30 is the same as June 29.

Kontakion — Tone 2

(Podoben: “Seeking the highest...”)
Today Christ the Rock glorifies with highest honor / Peter, the rock of faith and leader of the apostles, / together with Paul and the company of the twelve, / whose memory we celebrate with eagerness of faith, / giving glory to the One Who gave glory to them.

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 1 JULY – THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 1 JULY – THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD: O Blood of my crucified Jesus, dwell in my soul to purify it. O Blood of my crucified Jesus, dwell in my heart to inflame it. ...

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 30 JUNE – THE APOSTLE SAINT PAUL (Martyr)

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 30 JUNE – THE APOSTLE SAINT PAUL (Martyr): Dom Prosper Gueranger: Whereas the Greeks on this day are uniting in one Solemnity, “the Memory,” as they express it, “of the illustrio...

30 June, The Chesterton Calendar

JUNE 30th

There are thrilling moments, doubtless, for the spectator, the amateur, and the æsthete; but there is one thrill that is known only to the soldier who fights for his own flag, to the ascetic who starves himself for his own illumination, to the lover who makes finally his own choice. And it is this transfiguring self-discipline that makes the vow a truly sane thing. It must have satisfied even the giant hunger of the soul of a lover or a poet to know that in consequence of some one instant of decision that strange chain would hang for centuries in the Alps among the silences of stars and snows. All around us is the city of small sins, abounding in backways and retreats; but surely, sooner or later, the towering flame will rise from the harbour announcing that the reign of the cowards is over and a man is burning his ships.

'The Defendant.'

30 June, The Holy Rule of St Benedict, Patriarch of Western Monasticism

CHAPTER XXIII. Of Excommunication for Offences

28 Feb. 30 June. 30 Oct.

If any brother shall be found contumacious, or disobedient, or proud, or a murmurer, or in any way transgressing the Holy Rule, and contemning the orders of his seniors; let him, according to our Lord’s commandment, be once or twice privately admonished by his elders. If he do not amend, let him be rebuked in public before all. But if even then he do not correct himself, let him be subjected to excommunication, provided that he understand the nature of the punishment. Should he, however, prove incorrigible, let him undergo corporal chastisement.

1 July, The Roman Martyrology

Kaléndis Iúlii Luna secúnda Anno Dómini 2022

On the morrow is the Octave of the Birth of the holy Baptist John.
July 1st 2022, the 2nd day of the Moon, was born into the better life:

The Octave of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On Mount Hor, holy Aaron, the first High Priest of the tribe of Levi.
In Britain, the holy martyrs Julius and Aaron, who suffered in the persecution under Diocletian, after holy Alban at the which time there were very many there who suffered diverse torments and were most cruelly mangled, and so finished their fight, and went to be glad for ever in the Jerusalem which is above.
At Mondragone, in Latium, the holy Bishops Castus and Secundinus, both martyrs.
At Vienne, holy Martin, Bishop [of that see,] a disciple of the Apostles.
In Auvergne, [in the sixth century,] holy Gallus, Bishop [of Clermont.]
In the country of Lyon, the holy Domitian, Abbot [of Bebron,] the first who there led an hermit's life. He gathered very many together there to serve God, and was gathered unto his fathers in a good old age, very famous for great graces, and for glorious and wonderful works.
In the country of Reims, the holy Priest Theodoric, a disciple of blessed Bishop Rémy.
At Angoulême, [in the sixth century,] the holy Abbot Eparchius.
At Hums, in Syria, [likewise in the sixth century,] the holy Confessor Simeon, whose surname was Sali. He became a fool for Christ's sake, but God showed by great miracles how deep was his wisdom.
At Vicenza, [in the eleventh century,] the holy Hermit Theobald, of the family of the Earls of Campania, whose name Pope Alexander III added to the list of the Saints on account of his fame for holiness and miracles.
V. And elsewhere many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
R. Thanks be to God.

Memes of the Day

29 June 2022

Nancy Pelosi Receives Communion at Vatican Despite Abortion Stance

So much for Vatican support for the anti-abortion movement! Well, Francis did call an abortionist one of 'Italy's forgotten greats'.

From the New York Post

By Callie Patteson

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received Holy Communion while attending a papal Mass at the Vatican Wednesday — despite her public support for abortion rights that have led to her being barred from receiving Communion in her hometown of San Francisco.

The California Democrat was administered Holy Communion while at St. Peter’s Basilica, according to two witnesses, who told the Associated Press that Pelosi was seated in a VIP diplomatic section of the cathedral.

Pope Francis presided over the Mass — which was held to mark the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul— though the pontiff did not administer Communion to Pelosi. Instead she received it from one of the many priests taking part in the service.

Pelosi did, however, receive a blessing from the pope during a meeting with him earlier in the day. She was accompanied by her husband Paul, who was charged in California last week with DUI causing injury following a drunk driving arrest over Memorial Day weekend.

Wednesday’s Mass took place one month after the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, barred Pelosi from receiving Communion until she repents of her public pro-choice stance.

“A Catholic legislator who supports procured abortion, after knowing the teaching of the Church, commits a manifestly grave sin which is a cause of most serious scandal to others,” Cordileone wrote in a public notification. “Therefore, universal Church law provides that such persons ‘are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.’”

“I am hereby notifying you that you are not to present yourself for Holy Communion and, should you do so, you are not to be admitted to Holy Communion, until such time as you publicly repudiate your advocacy for the legitimacy of abortion and confess and receive absolution of this grave sin in the sacrament of Penance,” he continued.

Other Roman Catholic archbishops across the country quickly followed suit with similar bans against the speaker.

Pelosi has long publicly supported federal abortion rights and sought to codify the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling into law before it was overturned by the Supreme Court on June 24.

Last week, Pelosi called the decision to overturn the ruling “outrageous and heart-wrenching.”

Earlier this month, the speaker was pressed on Catholic and social beliefs by a reporter who asked: “Do you agree with Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II that abortion is murder?”

“Do you agree with Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II that abortion is murder?” a reporter asked.

“What I agree on is that whatever I believe, agree with the pope on, is not necessarily what public policy should be in the United States as people make their own judgments, honor their own responsibilities, and attend to the needs of their families,” Pelosi responded.

When pressed further, Pelosi blasted the politicization of the issue, calling it “uniquely American.”

“Let me just say this, a woman has the right to choose, to live up to her responsibility,” Pelosi said. “It’s up to her, her doctor, her family, her husband, her significant other, and her God. This politicizing all of this, I think it’s something uniquely American and not in other countries.

The Chicago Way vs. the Catholic Way

Dr Smith discusses how to respond to the Left's anger and terrorist groups like Jane's Revenge. I agree, up to a point. We should also be ready, however, to defend our Churches and the pro-life centres.

From The Catholic Thing

By Randall Smith, PhD

Whoever decided to release the Dobbs decision on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was a genius. My priest at Mass that day could not conceal his joy at the great gift we have been given. I suppose his joy was tempered somewhat when, as he was putting out the Eucharist for Friday afternoon adoration, a woman came into the back of the church and began screaming. Fortunately, we were able to shoo her away. I found our saintly Dominican priest talking to her calmly but firmly afterward in the courtyard of the parish.

Some people are angry. Really angry. A friend writes: “Haven’t seen the Democrats this angry since Lincoln freed their slaves and since the Supreme Court desegregated their public schools.” When those “rights” were denied them – “rights” based, then as now, on denying the full personhood of other human beings – those people got very angry indeed.

Like many people, I’m concerned about the increased threats to Catholic churches and crisis pregnancy centers. There have been at least sixty-three such attacks since the Dobbs decision was leaked several weeks ago. A group named “Jane’s Revenge” has called for riots in a “Summer of Rage.” Their slogan: “To our oppressors: if abortions aren’t safe, you’re not either.”

How should we respond?

Here is what I want to say.

Hey, Jane’s revenge, listen up. If pro-life pregnancy centers aren’t safe, you’re not either. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and turn-about is fair play.

You think you’re angry. We’ve been living with this oppressive abortion regime with no ability to make our voices heard in the democratic system bequeathed to us by our Founders for fifty years, patiently and peacefully trying to protect unborn life in every legal way open to us.

So here’s a note to our oppressors. If you take one of ours, we’ll take two of yours. It’s “the Chicago way.”

Some may remember that scene from the movie The Untouchables with the inestimable Sean Connery, who tells Eliot Ness, played by Kevin Costner: “Wanna get Capone? Here’s how you get him. He pulls a knife, you pull a gun, he sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way.”

To us, Jane’s Revenge, you’re Capone. Because, let’s be honest, you are Capone; you blow up innocent children in the womb. And you take money for it. You hold women hostage until they pay. Pro-life centers give away medical care for free. You firebomb them so that women won’t have a choice.

So Jane’s Revenge, here’s little advice. You don’t want to declare war on people who have martyrs as part of their tradition and who have struggled to protect the unborn in the face of constant opprobrium for fifty years; especially since it’s clear you’re two-bit cowards who engage in teenage-style vandalism in the middle of the night and threaten a Supreme Court justice’s children. Ooh, so brave.

That is what I want to say, but it’s not what I should say. Because “the Chicago way” is not “the American way.” Nor is it “the Catholic way.”

Let’s begin with “the American way,” which too many people seem to have forgotten.

I once had a wonderful student who concluded that there was an injustice on our campus.

“Okay, so what do you do now?” I asked.

“Organize people to demonstrate?”

“That’s your first recourse? How about voting? How about getting yourself elected and working for change by changing your fellow students’ hearts and minds?”

“Oh … yeah,” she said, tentatively, not entirely convinced.

Actual civic involvement and democratic governance have become the last thing people think of today when it should be the first. That’s the American way.

Those others, with the black shirts and black masks who break windows and throw Molotov cocktails? They’re fascists. Look up “black shirts in Italy,” and see what you find. Look up Kristallnacht. See who it is who wears dark shirts and breaks windows.

Now look at videos of the riots that took place while the first black students were being escorted into the University of Alabama in 1963. You will see white girls in poodle skirts and bobby socks screaming at the top of their lungs, looking as though they are about to die.

Look at film of the lunch-counter sit-ins in segregated diners: people screaming, throwing tantrums, pouring drinks and throwing food on the peaceful students sitting at the counter. That’s what fascists look like. They look like those angry pro-abortion demonstrators at the Court.

I don’t begrudge people their disagreement with Dobbs. But it simply makes no sense at all to say that a decision returning this issue to the voters is a “destruction of our democracy.”

Returning an issue to the voters is “undemocratic”? Black-shirted people with masks destroying property anti-fascist? Sure. And “War is peace,” “freedom is slavery, and “ignorance is strength.”

But make no mistake: all these political measures, as important as they are, are not our primary weapons. Our primary weapons are what they have always been: prayer, fasting, alms, personal sacrifice, courage, patience, unstinting support for women and children in need, and peaceful attempts to change hearts and minds.

That’s the Catholic way. Following it is what has brought us to this point. It is what we must depend on to take us into a very uncertain future. We can be joyful. But the work to save the unborn must move into a higher gear.

Our opponents have made clear what they intend. Let’s make clear what we intend. We will make any sacrifice, suffer any indignity, and work without rest or reward to protect these children and their mothers. We say, “Take one of ours, and we’ll build two more.” “Force us to carry a burden one mile, and we’ll carry it two.”

That’s the Catholic way.

Traditional Catholics in the Synod on Synodality

At least in England and Wales, the opinions of Traditionalists are not being ignored in the Synod reports. The question is will the Vatican listen?

From The Chairman's Blog

By The Hon. Joseph Shaw, DPhil, FRSA

Traditional Catholics' contributions to the Synod on Synodality have not been entirely ignored. The Synthesis document for England and Wales includes this paragraph:

(viii) Traditionalists 72. Although very few in number, a sense of grievance and marginalization is strongly expressed by those who worship using the Missal of 1962. Traditionalists complain of “sadness and anger” at the restrictions they believe were imposed by Pope Francis’s Traditionis Custodes, which restored to bishops the regulation of the provision of pre-Second Vatican Council liturgies. 89 Adherents of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) complain of the “watering down” of liturgical devotion in eucharistic celebrations following the Council, and fear that the Church has capitulated to “modernistic” ideas. 90 In response to questions about marginalisation and exclusion, both TLM adherents and those committed to “maintaining traditional Catholic teaching against what they interpret as harmful modifications” feel “badly treated by the bishops and by Pope Francis“ and “saddened by a sense that their views are habitually denigrated and their voices left unheard and unanswered.”91

This appears under other categories: the Traveller Community, People of Colour, the Divorced and Remmaried, and so on.

The pattern is similar in diocesan Synthesis reports from England and Wales. I quote a few below. It is interesting how similar they are to each other, regardless of the very different policies of the dioceses towards the Old Mass, and therefore of the experience of the people making contributions. Portsmouth, which is quite well served with the Traditional Mass, is unusual in not mentioning it explicitly at all (see below).

It is disappointing that the issue of the liturgy is not linked in any positive way to the question of evangelisation. The reports record comments about how the new English translation is off-putting and the like, but Catholics attached to the Traditional Mass have much to say about how it has helped them in the Faith, in many cases bringing back to the practice of the Faith, or bringing them to the Faith itself. It is partly, perhaps, a result of the structure of these documents that such cross-referencing is not made. In any event, I do not think that Traditionalists' contributions were as uniformly negative in tone as these summaries suggest.

Nevertheless, it is something to note that the message that Traditional Catholics exist, and have been unjustly marginalised, has made it into the reports.

A sense of marginalisation and pain included those who value the traditional Latin Mass: ‘Seeing how fundamentally these Masses have affected our own journey in faith, and how profoundly they are drawing souls to the church, including many young families, we are concerned that a baseline policy going forward will be to make provision of the Latin Mass a serious and real priority in our Archdiocese and beyond; something which appears to be under threat at present, and a cause for alarm even in the secular world, making headline news. [Individual submission]. Birmingham Archdiocese

There were, from several reports, an appeal for a return to and encouragement of traditional Catholic pious practices. Some referred to traditional Corpus Christi processions as a means of witness. A few reports highlighted the desire to be inclusive of those who prefer the ‘Extraordinary Form’ (elsewhere: ‘Tridentine Rite’), though one report indicated that where the Extraordinary Form had been experienced as ‘imposed,’ ‘division and hurt’ had occurred. Many reports indicate a hunger among the people for wider prayer and spiritual formation opportunities, as the world, and Church, emerge from the pandemic. Cardiff Archdiocese

Another said that “Modern liturgy is tedious, dull, impoverished, casual and uninspiring.”. The loss of the opportunity to participate in the Tridentine Rite was expressed both by those who want it and those who feel sympathy for a group they believe has now been excluded. Clifton Diocese

An appreciation of the variety of styles of liturgy was expressed. Some responses called for more ‘lively and engaging’ liturgies, whilst others expressed the need for ‘reverence’ and ‘silence’. Liturgies expressing the diversity of the cultures making up our parish communities was seen as desirable by around 20%. Portsmouth Diocese

There are binary views about how we celebrate Mass and the Sacraments which present challenges to synodality. A minority perceive a decrease in “devotion characterised by reverence and awe” and would like greater access to the Latin Mass; they are deeply hurt and angered by Traditionis Custodes. Others feel the Mass is too traditional and ‘stuffy’ and lacks joy. Plymouth Diocese

There were several calls for the wider use of the 1962 Missal and availability of the Latin Mass, one request being typical of others: “I would be grateful if there was a Latin Mass near me. At present I have to drive a long way to attend one” (240). Another wrote: “It’s strange to hear all this talk about inclusivity. The Latin Mass is being reigned in, the liberals aren’t” Shrewsbury Diocese

Those who describe themselves as traditionalists who desire to worship in the Extraordinary Form feel marginalised by the Church hierarchy (as if not tolerated by Rome) and even some of the clergy in the diocese. Some feel that the Holy Father is moving to eliminate the traditional rite of Mass and this leaves them feeling profoundly alienated. Lancaster Diocese

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