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.
Day to day life with Francis's commie pals. From Bitter Winter By Wang Anyang
Dissidents, the religious, anyone considered “dangerous” by the
state, end up on its records and are harassed; even a seven-year-old
child and a dying elderly man.
There is growing evidence that the CCP
is extensively collecting information about the identities of
pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, and that some of them have
already been “blacklisted” by the state. Fear is spreading among
activists that the regime is looking for an opportune moment to “settle
scores” with them. According to a report by Deutsche Welle on September 20, a website called HK Leaks
published the personal information of nearly 100 pro-democracy
protesters, journalists, and politicians in Hong Kong. “The site
designates profiles to one of the three main categories, and shows their
headshots, date of birth, telephone numbers, social media accounts,
residential address and ‘nasty behaviors,’” states the article. “Since the suspicious website came to light, several Chinese
state-run media outlets have promoted the published information through
their accounts on Weibo, a popular microblogging platform in China,”
continues the article. “They encourage Chinese netizens to share
information about the site widely, and call on all internet users in
China to help force people on the list to ‘take off their masks and
reveal their identities.’ While it remains unclear who leaked this
information to HK Leaks, Sunny Chiu, a district
councilor from Hong Kong’s Sha Tin district, wrote on his Facebook page
that one of the victims told him that he believes his information was
provided by the Chinese police.” On September 18, China’s state-run newspaper People’s Daily published a commentary, stating that the Hong Kong government is promoting the so-called anti-mask law, asserting that protesters should “not be afraid of revealing their faces.” Pro-Beijing lawmakers in Hong Kong seem to share the view and claim that the ban on masks during protests should help end the disturbances in the city. Quite unlikely. On the contrary, many in China, or any totalitarian
state, know what it means to be identified as a “troublemaker” and
blacklisted by the state: restricted travels, no work prospects;
long-term surveillance and control. During important government meetings
or anniversaries of significant events, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, blacklisted persons are kept under strict control
in the name of “maintaining social stability.” Their relatives and
children also receive “special” treatment; for example, they will be
unable to gain employment with government agencies or allowed to enlist
in the military. Under the current regime, it’s hard for the Chinese to know who,
when, and for how long can be blacklisted. What are the requirements to
be removed from a blacklist, or is there an age limit for being
blacklisted? Perhaps the ordeals of some believers can help shed some
light on it.
Seven-year-old child blacklisted
When the police raided a Shouters meeting venue in the southeastern province
of Fujian in 1996, they found a list of the names of believers who had
been baptized at the place. According to a government insider, 23 years
later, in 2019, the authorities demanded to investigate everyone on the
list again, including a child who was only seven years old at the time,
now 30. “It isn’t easy to get removed from the government’s blacklist. If the
blacklisted people are found continuing attending religious gatherings,
they will be arrested and are unlikely to be released ever again,”
another government source revealed. In June, a paralyzed man in his late eighties from the central
province of Hubei was questioned by the police because of his arrest
during a raid on a gathering of the Born Again Movement,
of which he was a member. His advanced age saved him from prison then,
but he remained blacklisted until his death two days after the officers
came to question him in June. A neighbor told Bitter Winter that the elderly man had not
been able to take care of himself since last year, because he was very
ill and bedridden. “Regardless, the CCP harassed him,” the neighbor was
shocked, unable to comprehend the ruthlessness of the regime.
Permanently regarded as a “dangerous person”
Not long after the 2019 Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year, Ms. Yu
from the north of China was dismissed from her job after the police
threatened her employer to let her go or be implicated herself. The
reason was that Ms. Yu participated in a gathering of The Church of Almighty God (CAG) 13 years ago and was placed on the government’s blacklist after someone tipped off the police. Although she didn’t attend any religious activities after that, she
was repeatedly investigated. The police even demanded Ms. Yu’s family
members to take videos of her working and send the recording to them.
Whenever she boards a high-speed rail train, the police often rummage
through her bag and take photos of her train ticket and ID card. Not
wanting to run into such inconvenience anymore, Ms. Yu prefers to stay
in her local area. In another case, a resident of Fushun city in the northeastern province of Liaoning practiced Falun Gong
for a few days for the sake of her health 18 years ago. After learning
that the CCP banned Falun Gong, the woman didn’t even consider
practicing it anymore. Despite this, the police repeatedly questioned
her about Falun Gong and forced her to sign a statement, confirming that
she had withdrawn from the religious movement. And, surprise – the
woman still remains on the government’s blacklist and is a target for
investigations. The last time police came to question her at home was in
May. During previous visits, policemen would search her home without
any probable cause. Clearly, in CCP’s view, anyone who has ever been accused of
“misconduct” by the state will be permanently regarded as a “dangerous
person” and be blacklisted. Amid government’s increasing suppression efforts, anyone who walks
the streets of Hong Kong, even children, have a good reason to wear face
masks and conceal their identity. The testimonies of persecutions of
dissidents and the religious on the mainland that Bitter Winter reports on daily gives the protestors in Hong Kong a serious incentive to do just that.
St Rémi or Remigius was Bishop of Reims and Apostle of the Franks, (c. 437 – 13 January AD 533). On 25 December AD 496 he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks.
This baptism, leading to the conversion of the entire Frankish people
to Christianity, was a momentous success for the Church and a seminal
event in European history, giving France her title of Eldest Daughter of the Church.
From The Golden Legend of Blessed Jacobus Voragine:
Here followeth of Saint Remigius, and first the interpretation of his name.
Remigius is said of remi, that is to say feeding, and geos, that is
earth, as who saith feeding the earthly people with doctrine. Or of
geon, that is a wrestler, for he was a pastor and a wrestler he fed his
flock with the word of preaching, with suffrages of praying, and with
example of conversation. There is three manner of armour that is for the
defence, the shield, for to fight, the sword, for his salvation and
health, the habergeon and helm. He wrestled against the devil with the
shield of faith, with the sword of the word of God, and with the helmet
of hope.
Ignatius Archbishop of Rheims wrote his life.
Of the Life of Saint Remigius.
Remigius, an holy doctor, and confessor glorious of our Lord, was
tofore his birth provided of our Lord, and foreseen of a holy hermit.
When the persecution of the Vandals had almost wasted and destroyed nigh
all France, there was a man recluse, holy and virtuous, which had lost
his sight, which oft prayed to our Lord for peace and welfare of the
church of France. He had on a time a vision, and him seemed an angel
came to him and said: Know thou that the woman that thou knowest named
Aline shall bring forth a son that shall be named Remigius, which shall
deliver all the country from this persecution.
And when he awoke he came
to the house of this Aline and told to her his vision, and she would
not believe it because of her age. The recluse said: It shall be so as I
have said, and when thou hast given thy child suck, thou shalt give to
me of thy milk, to put upon mine eyes, and therewith I shall be whole
and recover my sight again. And like as he said all these things
happened. And the woman had a child named Remigius, which when he came
to the age of discretion, he fled the world, and entered into a
reclusage. And sith
after, for the great renown of his holy life, when he had been
twenty-two years therein he was elect and chosen to be Archbishop of
Rheims. He was so debonair that little birds came and ate on his table
and took meat at his hand. It happed on a day that he was lodged in an
house of a good woman which had but a little wine in her tonnel or
vessel, and Saint Remigius went in to the cellar and made the sign of
the cross upon the ton, and prayed a while. Anon the ton was so full
that it leapt over, by the merits of the good saint. Now it happed that
Clodovius the king of France, which was a paynim, might not be converted
for any preaching that his wife might do, which was a christian woman,
unto the time that a great host of Alemans came into France. Then by the
admonishment of his wife he made a vow that if the God that his wife
worshipped would give him victory, he would be baptized at his returning
from the battle. Thus, as he demanded, he vanquished the battle, and
after came to Rheims to Saint Remigius and prayed him that he would
christen him. And when Saint Remigius baptized him he had no chrisom
ready, then a dove descended from heaven which brought the chrisom in an
ampull of which the king was anointed and this ampull is kept in the
church of Saint Remigius at Rheims, of which the kings of France be
anointed when they be crowned. Saint Remigius had a niece which was
married to a clerk named Genebaldus, which by devotion left his wife for
to enter into religion. Then Saint Remigius saw that the see of Rheims
was over great, and ordained a see of a bishopric at Laon and made
Genebald first bishop of that place. When Genebald was bishop his wife
came thither to see him, and he remembered of the privily that they were
wont to have together, and lay on a night with her, and engendered on
her a child. When his wife knew that she was great and let him have
knowledge thereof, and when he wist that it was a son, he commanded that
it should be named Thief, because he had engendered it by theft. After
for to quench the suspicion and the words of the people, he suffered
that his wife should come to him as she did tofore, and anon after she
conceived a daughter, whom he commanded to name a fox’s whelp, and after
came to Saint Remigius and confessed him of his sin, and took the stole
off his neck and would leave his bishopric, but Saint Remigius, after
he had confessed him, comforted him, and gave him penance, and shut him
in a little cell seven years long, and gave to him bread and water, and
in the meanwhile he governed the church himself. At the end of seven
years an angel came to the prison, and said to him that he had done well
his penance, and bade him go out of the prison. To whom he said: I may
not go out, for my lord Saint Remigius hath closed the door and sealed
it. And the angel said to him: Know thou that the door of heaven is
opened to thee; I shall open this door without breaking of the seal
which Saint Remigius hath sealed. And anon the door was opened. Then
Genebald fell down in the midst of the door in manner of a cross, and
said: If our Lord Jesu Christ came hither I shall not go out but if
Saint Remigius, which shut and closed me herein, come and bring me out.
And then the angel went anon and fetched Saint Remigius and brought him
to Laon, and he delivered him out of prison, and remised him and set him
again in his see there, where he lived after, all the days of his life,
holily. After his death, Thief his son was made bishop after him, which
is also a saint in heaven, and at the last Saint Remigius, after that
God had shown many miracles for him, he departed out of this life unto
everlasting joy the year of the incarnation of our Lord five hundred.
1. We should say the Rosary
devoutly every day. This beautiful prayer is very pleasing to Our Lady,
and the church is particularly anxious that we should recite it during
the month of October. Families which say the Holy Rosary together can
hope for a special blessing from God and for the maternal protection of
Mary.
If possible, every family should gather together in the
evening and recite the Rosary before an image of our Blessed Mother. If
the parents set an example, their children will join them. It is
consoling to come together after the toil and trouble of the day in
order to confide our cares and hopes to Mary.
Do you say the
Rosary every day? If you have neglected this pious practice, begin
today. Do not plead lack of time. There is time for so many other
things, so surely there is time to pray and to entrust ourselves in a
special way to the protection of our heavenly Mother. The practice of
reciting the Holy Rosary will win for you the blessing of God and the
patronage of the Blessed Virgin.
2. One of the main advantages of
the Rosary is that it enables us to unite with our vocal prayer
meditation on the principal mysteries of our faith. During each decade
we should meditate briefly on one of these mysteries. In this way our
faith will be enlivened and we shall be roused to imitate in our lives
the example of Jesus and Mary.
The Rosary is composed of the
Church’s most beautiful prayers – the Our Father, which Jesus Himself
taught us to say when addressing our heavenly Father, and the Hail Mary,
which consists of the Angel’s greeting to the Blessed Virgin when he
came to announce to her that she was to be the Mother of God, of the
inspired words of St. Elizabeth on the occasion of the Visitation, and
of the moving plea for mercy, both now and at the hour of our death,
which the Church places upon the lips of her sinful children. Each
decade concludes with the short hymn of praise in honour of the Blessed
Trinity: “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without
end. Amen.” This prayer expresses the two principal mysteries of our
faith, namely, the unity and trinity of God, and, in an indirect
fashion, the incarnation of the Second Divine Person. If we think of all this when we are fervently reciting the Rosary, it will prove to be a treasury of grace.
3. It is untrue to say that the Rosary is a monotonous prayer in that
it necessitates a constant repetition of the same formulae. In the first
place, recitation of these prayers should be accompanied by meditation
on the principal mysteries of our religion. Secondly, if we are inspired
by love, the repetition of the same words can draw from them each time a
new significance. The Christian who loves God and His Divine Mother
will be happy to call his heavenly Father with filial confidence and to
pray to the Blessed Virgin with trust in her maternal protection. An
affectionate son does not find it boring to speak with his own mother.
Of all the tests by which the good citizen and strong reformer can be
distinguished from the vague faddist or the inhuman sceptic, I know no
better test than this—that the unreal reformer sees in front of him
one certain future, the future of his fad; while the real reformer sees
before him ten or twenty futures among which his country must choose,
and may in some dreadful hour choose the wrong one. The true patriot is
always doubtful of victory; because he knows that he is dealing with a
living thing; a thing with free will. To be certain of free will is to
be uncertain of success.
The morrow is the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. October 2nd 2019, the 4th day of the Moon, were born into the better life:
At Nicomedia, the holy soldier Eleutherius, and an unnumbered multitude of others, all martyrs. When the palace of the
Emperor Diocletian was burnt, they were falsely accused of the crime of
setting it on fire and by the command of that most cruel Emperor they
were slaughtered in crowds some were slain with the sword, some were
burnt in the fire, and some were cast into the sea. But the first of
them was Eleutherius, who was long tortured, but at every new torment
seemed to grow more steadfast, like gold tried in the fire, and crowned
his testimony with victory. In the country of
Arras, the blessed Leodegar, Bishop of Autun, (in the year 678,) who was
murdered by Ebroin, mayor of the palace to King Theodoric, after he had
laid upon him divers insults and sufferings for the truth's sake. Likewise the holy martyr Gerin, brother of the said blessed Leodegar, who was stoned to death at the same place. At Antioch, the holy martyrs Primus, Cyril, and Secondarius. At Constantinople, the
holy Monk Theophilus, who was cruelly scourged and sent into exile,
under the Emperor Leo the I saurian, for defending holy images, and
passed away to be ever with the Lord. At Hereford, in
England, the holy Confessor Thomas, Bishop of that see, whose feast we
keep upon the 3rd day of this present month of October. V. And elsewhere many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.
Number two in our series on Angels & Dragons, or spiritual warfare.
From ATX Catholic By the Reverend Mr Guadalupe Rodriquez
What is a Dragon?
The Hebrew word “tanniyn” is
used to depict a mysterious and vile creature similar to a giant
reptile. “Tanniyn” is found 28 times in the Old Testament, with
English translations sometimes referring to it as dragon, sea-monster,
serpent, whale, or jackal. In the New Testament the Book of Revelation
uses the Greek word δράκων or drakōn a total of 11 times meaning
“large serpent.”
The Book of Revelation identifies the dragon as, “The great dragon, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan.” (12:9 NAB) Similarly, the Rite of Exorcism states, “The dragon, the ancient serpent, no other than the demon, Satan,” andat times even calling him, “reprobate dragon” and “profligate dragon.”
What does a dragon look like?
“Rows of scales are on his back,
tightly sealed together; They are fitted so close to each other that no
air can come between them; So joined to one another that they hold fast
and cannot be parted. When he sneezes, light flashes forth; his eyes are
like the eyelids of the dawn. Out of his mouth go forth torches;
sparks of fire leap forth. From his nostrils comes smoke as from a
seething pot or bowl. His breath sets coals afire; a
flame comes from his mouth. Strength abides in his neck, and power
leaps before him…His heart is cast as hard as stone…When he rises up, the gods are afraid; when he crashes down, they fall back…Upon
the earth there is none like him, he was made fearless. He looks over
all who are haughty, he is king over all proud beasts.” (Job 41:7-26 NAB)
How do you get rid of, “the dragon and his angels,”? (Rev. 12:7 NAB)
This year an “Exorcismo Magno”
was performed on the country of Mexico and also in the city of
Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, Italy because they had become a, “habitation of dragons.” (Is. 34:13 Douay-Rheims Bible)
Modern day Spanish exorcist Fr. Jose
Antonio Fortea, one of the most renowned and successful exorcist of our
times said this year, “If this
ritual (Exorcismo Magno) were to be carried out in more countries once
year,…there will certainly be positive repercussions, because it will
make a great number of the tempters flee, even if this exorcism is
partial.” Similarly in ages
past, St. Francis of Assisi via prayer and one of his religious brothers
exorcised the city of Arezzo in Italy, and “the dragon and his angels,” (Rev. 12:7 NAB) left the city.
How do we invite, “the dragon and his angels,”? (Rev. 12:7 NAB)
When the people become, “the brother of dragons,” (Job 30:29 Douay-Rheims Bible) through sins that fly in the face of God and make idols like, “the dragon fountain,” (Nehemiah 2:13 Douay-Rheims Bible) then their land becomes, “a dwelling for dragons.” (Jer.10:22 Douay-Rheims Bible) They give their spiritual “inheritance to the dragons” (Malachi 1:3 Douay-Rheims Bible) and drink, “the gall of dragons.” (Deuteronomy 32:33 Douay-Rheims Bible) Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea states, “To the extent sin increases more and more in a country, to that extent it becomes easier for the demons to tempt (people).”
Likewise, Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the Vatican’s chief exorcists (retired) states in 1992, “In
some areas where paganism is prevalent we find an unleashing of demons…
I researched this phenomenon in some areas of Africa… in some areas of
old Catholic Europe (such as Italy, France, Spain, Austria) because
there is a frightening drop in faith among the nations.” Countries are quickly becoming, “a dwelling place for dragons.” (Jer. 51:37 Douay-Rheims Bible) bringing to mind the two times in the Book of Revelation when the dragon is released, “But woe to you, earth and sea, for the Dragon has come down to you in great fury, for he knows he has but a short time.” (Rev. 12:12 NAB)
“He (the angel) seized the dragon,
the ancient serpent, which is the Devil or Satan, and tied it up for a
thousand years…After this, it is to be released for a short time.” (Rev. 20:2-3 NAB) This also brings to mind the prophecy from the approved apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, “Lucifer, together with a great number of devils, will be loosed from hell.” Indeed to combat the invasion of, “the dragon and his angels,” (Rev. 12:7 NAB) we must “Proclaim a War!”
(Joel 4:9 NAB) like the ancient dragon slayers! So who were the
ancient dragon-slayers? And what were their weapons of war? For we are
not the first dragon-slayers, and we must learn the weapons of choice
from those who have gone before us in order to successfully defeat man’s
most ancient foes, “the dragon and his angels,”. (Rev. 12:7 NAB)
Sign of the Cross
One of the weapons for warding off
the dragon is faith in the Sign of the Cross for it is the sign of our
salvation where Jesus died and shed his blood on the cross. (Col. 1:20
NAB)
St. Columba is a great example of the power of the Sign of the Cross.
He once protected a man from being swallowed up by a dragon.St. Adaman jots down in 565 AD,
“The dragon suddenly rushed out and giving an awful roar, darted after
him (the man) with its mouth wide open, as the man swam in the middle of
the stream.” St. Columba raised his hand, made the Sign of the Cross and
“commanded the ferocious monster saying, ‘Thou shalt go no further, nor
touch the man; go back with all speed.’ Then at the voice ofthe saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes.” Yes, scripture has, “dragons in the waters.” (Psalm 74:13 Douay-Rheims Bible)
Similarly in the 1st Century, St. Clement was sent to Metz to preach
the gospel to a people held captive by a dragon. Entering the
amphitheater with much prayer and his stole, St. Clement made the Sign
of the Cross and the dragon was subdued. He led the dragon out of the
town telling him to disappear into a place where there were no humans or
animals, and the dragon obeyed while everyone but the king was
converted.
St Martha and the Dragon
Holy Water
Another powerful weapon of dragon
slayers is holy water. St. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, heard there
was a dragon in a swamp between Arles and Avignon, France that was
destroying property and killing everyone with its fiery breath. This
dragon brings to mind the scripture, “Thou great dragon that liest in the midst of thy rivers, and sayest: The river is mine, and I made myself.” (Ezekiel 29:3 Douay-Rheims Bible)
St. Martha with no other weapon than a
jar of holy water went in search of the dragon. The dragon came out to
devour her, but it was arrested solely by the power of the cross and
the holy water the saint was carrying. As she prayed and sang hymns St.
Martha bound the dragon with her belt and led the beast to the town of
Tarascon, where it was killed by its citizens. St. Martha then preached
to the people and converted many of them to Christianity.
The Crucifix
Another very important weapon of
dragon slayers is the crucifix. St. Margaret of Antioch in 304 A.D. in
doing battle was swallowed by Satan in the shape of a dragon, from which
she escaped alive when the cross she carried irritated the dragon’s
entrails causing him to expel her reminding us of the scripture, “He hath swallowed me up like a dragon.” (Jer.51:34 Douay-Rheims Bible) She is one of the Fourteen Holy
Helpers, and hers was one of the voices heard by St. Joan of Arc.
Similarly in the 7th Century, St. Romanus of Rouen (Archbishop and
Apostle of Normandy) stopped a huge dragon with his crucifix and then
bound the dragon with his stole where he took him in procession to town
where the dragon was burned. Likewise, St. Philip, the apostle,
drove away a dragon in the Temple of Mars in Scythia with a cross.
Saint Philip commanded the dragon to go into the desert without doing
any harm to the people.
After the dragon departed, Saint Philip
preached and healed all the people who were sick, and he then raised
three that were dead. He also baptized all who were in the temple. This
banishment of dragons into the desert was done by some exorcists in the
past reminding us of the scripture, “the dragons of the desert.”
(Malachi 1:3 Douay-Rheims Bible) and when Jesus was tempted in the
desert by the dragon. Although today the majority of exorcists send “the dragon and his angels,” (Rev. 12:7 NAB) to the foot of the cross so that Jesus can send them to their rightful place.
St Philip Driving the Dragon from the Templte of Hieropolis – Filippino Lippi
Having a blessed item is another
powerful weapon that dragons slayers use. The battle between St.
Radegund (520-587) and the dragon of Poitiers, France is a great tribute
to female dragon slayers. The dragon would use underground cave tunnels
during floods to come devour the nuns of the Abbey of the Holy Cross
reminding us of scripturethat refers to the, “dens of dragons.” (Jer. 9:11 Douay-Rheims Bible)With
much prayer and faith, Saint Radegund faced the dragon with blessed
bread and a small cross as weapons. When the dragon attacked she threw
the blessed bread into his mouth and prayed while the dragon convulsed
in horrible pains and then, “snuffed up the wind like dragons” (Jer.14:6 Douay-Rheims Bible) do when they are dying.
Incense
Another great weapon of dragon
slayers is blessed incense. St. Raphael the Archangel instructs Tobiah
on how to use incense to rid the dragon that had killed the previous
seven grooms of his bride. When Tobiah put incense on the embers, the
odor, “repulsed the demon, and
it fled to the upper regions of Egypt; Raphael went in pursuit of it
and there bound it hand and foot.” (Tobit 8:3 NAB) Fr. Gabriel Amorth is also in agreement, “Demons cannot stand the smell of incense; therefore it is beneficial to use it.” Dragon Slayers The intercession of dragon slayers
like St. George is also a powerful weapon for defeating dragons. Fr.
Jose Antonio Fortea (mentioned above) invokes the ancient dragon slayer
St. George during exorcisms saying, “Come St. George, Come St. George”
as the possessed convulses at hearing the name of St. George. When St.
George arrives, Fr. Fortea asks St. George to make the possessed kneel
so that she can receive Holy Communion and the demon obeys St. George
but not without the it complaining, “Assassin leave me!” The protesting reminds us of the scripture, “I will make a wailing like the dragons.” (Micah 1:8 Douay-Rheims Bible) Fr. Fortea relates, “Of all of the saints and angels, the name of St. George is the most effective for this demon.”
St. George and the Dragon – Rubens
But the most ancient intercessor of
all dragon slayers is St. Michael the Archangel. St. Michael is the
first to ever defeat the dragon, “Then
war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the
dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not
prevail…” (Rev.12:7-8 NAB)
He is the commander of the armies in heaven and on earth. He is the chief dragon slayer! Fr. Gabriel Amorth uses, “simple blessed holy cards, such as those depicting Saint Michael the Archangel of whom demons are particularly afraid.”
(An Exorcist Tells His Story) In the real story behind the movie, “The
Exorcist,” it is a blessed statue of St. Michael brought to the bedside
of the possessed that ultimately brings about deliverance when St.
Michael speaks the name of God through the possessed boy.
Speaking at the Shrine of St. Michael the Archangel, Monte Sant Angelo on May 24, 1987, Pope John Paul II said, “Let
us remember that the angels wish to stand with us, both in the life of
the world, as well as beside each individual person, in the battle with
Satan and his armies. The strength of their army surpasses that of the
Evil One. There is, however, one difficulty: they await a declaration of war.
They are the Knights of God. And so, (because they respect our right
of free will) they also await an official invitation from each human
person.”
“The one who crushes the serpent’s head.”
The most powerful of all dragon
slayers is the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the beginning of time when Adam
and Eve sinned, God prophesied, “I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”
(Genesis 3:15 Douay-Rheims Bible) She is the Queen of Angels and
Saints, and they serve her by interceding, caring, and protecting her
children while the dragon says, “I will not serve.”
(Jer.2:20 Douay-Rheims Bible) The Blessed Virgin Mary is also Our Queen
and Mother, and we serve her by responding to her call to slay dragons,
“I call upon the Apostles of
the Latter Times,…Do battle, children of light, you, the few who see
thereby; for the time of times, the end of ends, is at hand.” (Approved Apparition Our Lady of La Salette)
The Blessed Virgin Mary’s weapons against the dragon are the rosary and the scapular. St. Dominic prophesied, “One day, through the rosary and the scapular, she will save the world.” To rid the people of, “the dragon and his angels,”
(Rev. 12:7 NAB), St. Dominic would place the rosary around their neck
and pray. Fr. Gabriel Amorth relates that the devil confesses in pain, “Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end.”
Concerning the scapular she promises, “Whoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire.” The 500 year old blessing prayer over the scapular that was used up until 1989 and can still be used emphatically states, “She will crush the head of the ancient serpent!”
Incidentally, when Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Mexico in 1531 to
stop human sacrifice she came under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Guadalupe” in the Nahuatl language means, “The one who crushes the serpent’s head.” As we contemplate the ancient battle against, “the dragon and his angels,” (Rev. 12:7 NAB), it is important to review the lives of previous dragon-slayers who never “count(ed) the cost”
(Lk. 14:28) as they risked their lives for the lost, the wounded, the
slaves, the prisoners, and those headed to martyrdom. As previous
dragon-slayers who fearlessly entered, “in the dens where dragons dwell,” (Is.35:7 Douay-Rheims Bible) we must trust that we too, shall “trample underfoot the lion and the dragon.” (Psalm 91:13 Douay-Rheims Bible)
Revelations
We are the generation for which scripture states, “thou didst crush the heads of the dragons” (Psalm 74:13 Douay-Rheims Bible) because we discovered the mighty weapons of ancient dragon slayers! Lord, “Grant confidence to thy servants to fight most manfully against the reprobate dragon.” (Rite of Exorcism) Yes, the dragon slayer must learn from those who have gone fearlessly before them so,
“Arise, arise, put on strength, O thou arm of the Lord, arise as in the
days of old, in the ancient generations. Hast not thou struck the proud
one, and wounded the dragon?” (Isaiah 51:9 Douay-Rheims Bible) THE END.
OUR LADY QUEEN OF ANGELS
LET US PRAY: August Queen of Heaven!
Sovereign Mistress of the angels! Thou who from the beginning hast
received from God the power and mission to crush the head of Satan, we
humbly beseech thee to send thy holy Legions, that, under thy command
and by thy power, that they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them
on every side, resist their bold attacks and drive them hence into the
abyss of eternal woe. AMEN.
The United Kingdom’s supreme court ruled today, unanimously, that the
five-week prorogation of Parliament by the queen under the advice of her
prime minister was unlawful. The judgment
is quite clear that there is no law or statute on which their ruling is
based. When it gives examples of timelines put on the prorogation of
Parliament, all the examples are done by statute, not by intervention of
the courts in the absence of a statute. Effectively the prorogation was
abrogated. By abrogating it, the supreme court is announcing it has the
ability to judicially review acts of the queen in Parliament. The cheering for the ruling is being done entirely by those who want
to frustrate Brexit. And that’s natural: Remainers are willing to
destroy what’s left of the British constitution to remain in the
transnational European Union that was also subverting the British
constitution. Remainers are happy to call Johnson’s government criminal, or at
least unlawful. And yet, the Remain majority that opposes him in
Parliament won’t allow the very thing that is supposed to happen when
the executive loses confidence of the majority: the bringing down of the
government. Either a new prime minister is installed or there is a
general election that produces an executive who has the support of the
majority. This has not happened, because the Liberal Democrats will not
support a government led by Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn. Nor does Labour want
to go to an election, because polls show 1) that Johnson’s Tories are
likely to win it and 2) that the Lib Dems may cut into Labour’s own
strength. The result is a continuation of constitutional crisis, one in which
the majority of Parliament (the legal sovereign) is routinely voting
down the prime minister’s business while empowering the supposedly
neutral speaker of the House, John Bercow, to break all precedent and
run Parliament’s business on behalf of a Remainer majority that he
openly sides with. That Remainer majority is imprisoning Boris Johnson as prime
minister. Its continued course of voting against the executive while
keeping it in place is a symbolic rejection of the political sovereignty
of the British people.
An understanding of the United Kingdom’s constitution in continuity
with what came before would have forced the courts to rule along the
lines that Lord Doherty did
in Scotland, before higher courts intervened: that the issue was
non-justiciable. “In my opinion, there has been no contravention of the
rule of law. Parliament is the master of its own proceedings,” he wrote.
“It is for parliament to decide when it sits. Parliament can sit before
and after prorogation.” Doherty noted that the prorogation was a
“matter of ‘high policy’ and political judgement” that “could not be
measured by legal standards.” Instead the court invented a limit to prorogation where there was
none in the statutes, thus reintroducing perhaps ten days of
parliamentary debate to the longest sitting Parliament in living memory —
and one of the least accomplished (see: constitutional crisis, above).
Effectively, this supreme court, which is barely a decade old, has
invented for itself the right of judicial review, meaning Parliament is
no longer an unencumbered legal sovereign. That fits. In the Claremont Review of Books, Christopher Caldwell wrote
that judicial review was at the heart of Remainer sentiment. “In a
global age, judicial review is a tool that powerful people expect to
find in a constitution,” he wrote, “in the same way one might expect to
find a hair dryer in a hotel room.”
The European Union had been bringing such a system to Britain subtly. He writes:
In the 1980s, British judges began finding that
parliamentary laws had been invalidated by later British laws — a normal
and time-honored process, except that these new “British” laws had been
imported into British statute books not by legislation but by Britain’s
commitment to accept laws made on the continent. [Political scientist
Vernon] Bogdanor, who is a Remainer and a defender of human rights, does
not necessarily condemn this development. But it meant that, through
the back door, judicial review was being introduced into a
constitutional culture that had never had it.
Today is the day that Remainers tried to plant judicial review firmly
into the British constitutional soil. While clamoring that they are
saving democracy, those who are resisting the outcome of the 2016
referendum on membership in the EU are moving power further away from
democratic accountability, and toward a recently instituted group of
lawyers whom no one can name and who are not appointed in a politically
accountable way, as in the United States. As I said, it fits.
Another legal scholar dissects the judicial coup by the so-called Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. From First Things By Paul Yowell The United Kingdom has a constitutional
crisis. Prime Minister Boris Johnson leads a minority Conservative
government that is battling with the majority in Parliament over Brexit.
Johnson and his cabinet have promised that the U.K. will leave the
European Union on October 31, with or without a deal. On Tuesday the
U.K. Supreme Court joined the fray with its judgment in Miller v. The Prime Minister,
which held that Johnson’s August attempt to prorogue Parliament—ending
the current session with a new one beginning five weeks later—was
“unlawful, null and of no effect.”
A majority of MPs, including more than twenty Conservatives, oppose
Johnson’s Brexit policy. Tory rebel MPs, allied with the Labour
opposition—and aided by novel procedural maneuvers approved by Speaker
of the House of Commons John Bercow, whose impartiality has been
questioned—seized control of the agenda of the Commons in early
September. They proceeded to pass legislation that commands the prime
minister to again extend the negotiating window under article 50 of the
E.U. Treaty—either to January 31, 2020, or another date proposed by the
E.U. The original exit date of March 29, 2019, in the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act was extended twice by Theresa May after Parliament
repeatedly rejected the withdrawal agreement she reached with the E.U. Johnson’s support base is Leave voters who are growing increasingly
impatient with the failure to implement Brexit. Johnson says that he is
seeking a deal, but that the option of leaving without one is both
legitimate and a necessary bargaining chip to avoid a bad deal. He has
said he will “die in a ditch” before he seeks an extension. All this has led to an unprecedented situation. The negotiation of
treaties, and powers of foreign policy generally, are part of the
prerogative—that is, powers that are executive in character, which by
law belong to the Crown but by convention are exercised by the prime
minister and cabinet. The principle of responsible government, the core
of the U.K.’s unwritten constitution, requires that the government have
the confidence of Parliament. In the absence of a separately elected
executive, as in the U.S., such confidence is necessary for appropriate
and successful use of executive power, and for the stability of the law
and the state. There is a constitutional imperative to have a government
in place that has this confidence, and, when it is lost, to move toward
a new government as quickly as possible—usually through a general
election. Before the enactment of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act in 2011, the
prime minister could exercise the prerogative power to dissolve
Parliament and call an election at a time of his or her choosing.
Following the FTPA, a government motion for an election requires the
support of a two-thirds majority in the Commons. The opposition retains
the power under the FTPA to initiate a vote of no confidence. If such a
vote wins a simple majority, then a general election will follow unless
another government is formed from and with the support of the current
MPs. After a series of decisive defeats in Parliament affecting key
elements of his Brexit strategy, Johnson sought to call a general
election. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, refused to agree,
and Johnson was again defeated on two successive motions to hold an
election. Corbyn has also declined to move for a no-confidence vote.
The U.K. is now in an extraordinary place. A Parliament that seems to
have no confidence in the government is nonetheless deliberately
keeping that government in office, by refusing to withdraw confidence or
otherwise enable an early election. A cross-party coalition, with much
help from the Speaker, has taken over the initiating role in Parliament.
It is using legislation that makes the actual government its puppet
with regard to key questions on Brexit negotiation—while distancing
itself from responsibility and accountability to the electorate. It
would be an exaggeration to call this a “Speaker’s government,” but in a
way it does describe the powers being exercised in concert among the
Speaker, Tory rebel MPs, and opposition parties. This unprecedented
power dynamic is the driving factor behind other aspects of the crisis. By use of a strategically timed, five-week prorogation announced in a
surprise move on August 28, and which began on September 10, Johnson
anticipated and attempted to forestall Parliament’s assumption of power
over the negotiating process and timetable. The prorogation was
accomplished per the standard legal mechanism of an Order in Council,
approved by the queen. It was legally challenged by petitioners in
separate court cases, who were unsuccessful in England (Miller) but successful in Scotland (Cherry). The U.K. Supreme Court consolidated the cases, held hearings last week, and issued its judgment on Tuesday. Johnson publicly argued and maintained in the Miller case
that the reason for the prorogation was simply to make way for
introduction of his government’s new legislative program in a Queen’s
Speech on October 14, not to evade accountability to or scrutiny of
Parliament. This is not fully convincing, but it is important to note
that the five-week period included the traditional three-week recess in
September for party conferences. Parliament remained in session for two
weeks after the prorogation announcement, and the new session would
begin about two weeks before the current exit date of October 31. That
left time for accountability to Parliament in the form of a vote of no
confidence. In the end, it also left time, though barely, for Parliament
to legislate in the manner described above. The prorogation was
controversial and of doubtful prudence, but it was arguably taken, in
part, to forestall a constitutional anomaly of greater gravity. Before Miller, no U.K. court had ever ruled on a question of
prorogation or held the advice of a prime minister to the Crown to be
unlawful. The U.K. Supreme Court has now done both of these things,
though its explanation for why the advice was unlawful was far from
clear. Disclaiming any attempt to peer into Johnson’s motives, the Court
nonetheless concluded that, since he needed less time to prepare a
Queen’s Speech than the prorogation period, he had “no reason” to order
the prorogation. Thus, the advice was unlawful, and the prorogation was
null and void. While the Court formally limited itself to determining the scope of
the prerogative, it ended up policing its exercise by demanding
articulation of a reason that meets approval of the Court. Had Johnson
argued that the prorogation was in part for political advantage, to
avoid a Speaker’s government and its negative impact on Brexit
negotiations, the Court would likely have held this was not a good
reason and therefore unlawful. It was to avoid taking authority over
such questions of “high policy” that the English High Court, in a
decision by three senior judges, had held the issue of prorogation to be
non-justiciable. In tones reminiscent of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court held that all exercises of the prerogative power are in principle justiciable and subject to legal limits:
The courts have the responsibility of upholding the values
and principles of our constitution and making them effective. It is
their particular responsibility to determine the legal limits of the
powers conferred on each branch of government, and to decide whether any
exercise of power has transgressed those limits. The courts cannot
shirk that responsibility merely on the ground that the question raised
is political in tone or context.
This is substantially more expansive than judicial power over the
executive branch in the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court recognizes a
political question doctrine, under which courts may not intervene when
the constitution commits a matter to the sole responsibility of the
executive branch, or when it supplies no judicially manageable
standards. If we take the U.K. Supreme Court at its word, judges now
have jurisdiction to rule on the lawfulness of the exercise of the
prerogative to appoint cabinet ministers, to agree to international
treaties, even decisions to go to war. Time will tell what the ultimate effect will be. The Court’s opening
paragraph stresses that the decision is a “one off,” a response to
exceptional circumstances. But the potential contained in its reasoning
and rhetoric to remake the U.K. constitution is revolutionary. The
immediate effect will be to prolong the extraordinary circumstances now
prevailing in Parliament, and to intensify the constitutional crisis. Underlying the constitutional dynamic is a crisis of politics and
democracy. The Brexit referendum resulted in a bitter divide between
Remainers and Leavers, which has only increased over the years. The
divide crosses party lines: Many northern Labour constituencies voted to
leave, while many Conservatives staunchly support the E.U. But the main
parties are increasingly defined by Brexit, and the traditional
two-party system itself is fracturing under the pressure. Hard Leavers
are drawn to Nigel Farage’s Brexit party and hard Remainers are flocking
to the resurgent Liberal Democrats, who have promised to reverse
Brexit. Labour is beset by infighting, widespread dissatisfaction with
Corbyn, and a fierce struggle over whether to support a new referendum.
Polls suggest that the next election might result in a hung Parliament,
and mutual trust in the current Parliament is scarcely to be found. When political tempers run high, judges are tempted to see themselves
as the constitution’s last guardians, with a historical duty to step in
and save the day. But the U.K. constitution has always been political
in character rather than legal. The current Parliament retained the
capacity to hold Johnson to account, notwithstanding the prorogation.
The Miller case represents an importation of American-style
political litigation, where interest groups attempt to use the courts to
win victories that are properly won only through political action. This
growing trend in the U.K. has been tracked and criticized by Policy
Exchange’s Judicial Power Project. Many Leave voters will perceive Miller as another attempt by
the establishment class to derail Brexit. The U.K. constitution has
weathered worse storms and will likely survive this one. In the
meantime, the Miller decision will contribute to the crisis rather than alleviate it. Paul Yowell is an associate professor of law at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Oriel College.
Every once in awhile a post I've made months ago suddenly becomes popular again, and I often wonder why. For example, over a year ago, I posted The Priest in Cassock is a Living Sermon, which contained this picture:
Over the last 36 hours it has become the most viewed post on the blog. Why? I think I've figured it out. If you will recall Francis's remarks about 'rigid young priests' and their hats, those hats are called saturnos. The word saturno has been trending on social media as people seek funds to buy priests these head coverings and as priests mention how they would like to have one. Since 'saturno' is not in the everyday vocabulary of most Catholics, I'm sure many people have searched for the word. If one searches for an image of one, it is quite likely that this post might come up. Mystery solved!
