01 April 2024

Today in History

The anniversary of the coronation of Haile Selassie. He reigned from 2 November 1930 until the Reds overthrew him in 1974. He was murdered by the Reds the next year.

From The Mad Monarchist (2 November 2011)


It was on this day in 1930 that Haile Selassie was crowned, "Elect of God, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and King of Kings of Ethiopia". His was one of the more troubled and eratic reigns of the 20th Century. He knew great hardship and also great admiration. For a time he was the most esteemed figure in a wave of anti-European nationalism that swept the continent of Africa as the colonial period came to an end and even in his own lifetime a new religion rose up that held him to be a living god. Yet, Haile Selassie was also one of the few monarchs to suffer the indignity of losing his throne twice, the last time to his own people and shortly thereafter losing his life as well. As Emperor, there was a time early on when Ethiopia commanded international sympathy, growing strength and even dreams of expanding to historic borders. He also knew war, defeat, exile and liberation followed by times of unrest, famine and hardship. It is safe to say that during his years on the throne Emperor Haile Selassie had seen it all, the extremes of good and bad alike. Probably no other African monarch of the 20th Century occupied such a pivotal position for world history.

Bishop Challoner's Meditations ~ Easter Tuesday

ON OUR LORD’S SHOWING HIMSELF TO HIS DISCIPLES AFTER HIS RESURRECTION

Consider first, the haste that our Lord made to comfort his blessed mother and his afflicted disciples by manifesting himself to them immediately after his resurrection. As to his blessed mother, though the gospel is silent, we cannot doubt but she was favoured with an early visit; that as she loved him most, and partook more than any other in the sorrows of his passion, so she might also in the joy of his resurrection. Learn, my soul, from hence that the way for thee also to experience something of the visits and comforts of heaven is to suffer and to love. The good women that went early in the morning to the monument with their sweet spices and ointments, to perfume the body of our Lord, were likewise favoured first with a vision of angels, and then with a sight of Christ himself, to teach us that the true way to find Christ is to rise early to seek him; to go in quest of him with the aromatical perfumes of ardent desires and devout affections; and to persevere in the search without being discouraged with apprehensions of difficulties and oppositions. These holy women are concerned who should roll away the stone for them from the monument, that they might come at the body of our Lord, for it was exceeding great; but lo, when they came to the place they found the stone was rolled away to their hands: to teach us that if we continue constant in our good resolutions, God will remove those difficulties we apprehend, or enable us by his grace to overcome them.

Consider 2ndly, the favour our Lord was pleased to show to penitent sinners at his resurrection, by honouring Magdalene amongst women, and Peter amongst men, with his first visits. Magdalene, from the time of her conversion, had constantly adhered to the Lord; she followed him even to the cross; she attended on him there till he gave up the ghost; she saw his body laid in the monument, and after the repose of the Sabbath day, she was up before light, and was the first at the monument with her perfumes. When she found him not, she ran to the apostles to tell them the body was taken away. Peter and John ran to the monument, and finding there the linen cloths without the body, went their way home again: but Magdalene stayed and continued her search, weeping and lamenting that she could not find him whom her soul loved, - till at length she saw his heavenly messenger, and shortly after himself in person, and was sent by him as an apostle to carry themselves the joyful tidings of his resurrection. O happy tears of love! O happy perseverance! O see, my soul, thou seek thy Lord in the like manner, and thou wilt infallibly find him.

Consider 3rdly, that Peter, who from the time of his fall had been continually weeping and bitterly bewailing his sins, was the first of the apostles that was favoured with the sight of our Lord, 1 Cor. xv. 5, and Luke xxiv. 34. At the first news brought by Magdalene of our Saviour’s body being missing, he took the alarm and ran to the monument, and not finding the body there went home, believing it had been taken away. But our Lord was pleased to remove this error by manifesting himself to him, and showing him that body alive which he sought among the dead. O what sentiments of confusion and repentance for his having denied the Lord of glory, mixed with a holy joy at the sight of his being now risen from the dead, filled the soul of the apostle upon this occasion! O how did he cast himself at the feet of his Lord, and there confess his crime, and how lovingly was he received to mercy, and favoured upon the spot with a plenary indulgence and absolution! And not only that, but to show the unspeakable bounty of our Lord to repenting sinners, a little while after, when our Lord manifested himself to him again, John xxi., he was pleased to advance him to the supreme pastoral charge over all his flock, by committing to him all his lambs and all his sheep, and to promise him the glory of following him, even to the dying upon a cross, for him: all in consequence of that most ardent love of which he three times required a profession of him, 'Lovest thou me more than these?' as it were in opposition to his three denials.

Conclude, whatever thy case may be, and however thou mayest have denied thy Saviour by word or deed, to return now to him by repentance and love, and 'if thy sins be as red as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow,’ Isaias i. 18. Love is the shortest way to the remission of sins, and to all other good.

2 April, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day


The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the Last Supper

1. Imagine the joyful and triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The cheering crowds line the street along which He approaches, riding upon the foal of an ass. Palm and olive branches are waved aloft, while groups of children cry out: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Cf. Mt. 21:9) In the midst of all this exultation Jesus appears to be absorbed and detached. In his representation of this scene a famous artist painted a large cross in the distance, far beyond the cheering crowd. The divine vision of Jesus certainly saw this cross. He knew that in a few days He would be arrested as a malefactor and crucified between two thieves. The ingratitude of men towards the divine Redeemer was to go even to this length. We also shall have our moments of happiness and of victory in life. But, like Jesus, we must not trust too much in the joys and conquests of this world. The warning of the Holy Spirit that “the end of joy may be sorrow” (Prov. 14:13) is, unfortunately, only too true. Earthly happiness lasts for a short time and ends in grief. So we must seek the true and lasting happiness which comes from divine grace and from constant conformity with the will of God. This happiness will never pass away, but will become everlasting in Heaven.

2. The evening before Our Lord was arrested and put to death, Judas was negotiating His betrayal for a handful of money. Peter was about to deny Him in public and the Apostles would abandon Him in the hour of trial. Jesus knew all this. He saw, moreover, how men would be forgetful of Him throughout the ages, and how they would insult Him and hate Him. Nevertheless, He resolved to remain amongst us forever under the Eucharistic species. “I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15) Why did He say this? Because He was about to work the most amazing miracle of His infinite love, the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. He took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to His Apostles, saying: “This is my body, which is being given for you.” Then He took the cup of wine, gave thanks to His heavenly Father and said: “This is the chalice of my blood, the mystery of faith, which shall be shed for you. Do this in remembrance of Me,” He said. There was nothing left for the infinite power and goodness of Jesus to give. He had given Himself, not only to His Apostles, but to all men throughout the ages. If we meditated deeply on this mystery of infinite love, we should certainly love Jesus very much. We should joyfully accept the nourishment of His immaculate body and should live with the supernatural life which comes from Him.

3. We may often experience the desire to be good and holy... But soon the trials of life, the impulses of passion, and the distractions of our daily business disperse these noble thoughts. We are caught up in the roundabout of life, immersed in mediocrity and, perhaps, in sin. Why should this happen? Because virtue is difficult, a prolonged martyrdom, in fact. We cannot find the strength to make this lofty ascent towards perfection.

It is necessary that Jesus, the divine food of the soul, should enter our poor, fallen nature. Then we shall be transformed and shall be capable of anything. We shall say with St. Paul: “It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me.” (Cf. Gal. 2:20)

Eastern Rite - Feasts of 2 April AM 7532

Today is Bright Tuesday and the Feasts of Our Venerable Father Titus the Wonderworker and the Commemoration of the Passing into Eternal Life (1959) of Blessed Hieromartyr Mykola (Nicholas) Charnetsky, Exarch of Volhynia.
✠✠✠✠✠

Saint Titus the Wonderworker displayed zeal for the monastic life from his youth. He pursued asceticism in the ninth century at the Studion monastery near Constantinople. By his deeds of fasting, purity of life and mild disposition, Saint Titus gained the love of the brethren, and at their request, he was ordained priest.

Fervent of faith, the saint stood up for the Catholic veneration of icons during the Iconoclast persecution. Because of his virtuous life, God granted him the gift of wonderworking. The saint was translated to the Lord in his old age.

Troparion — Tone 4

Dedicated to the Lord from childhood, / you lived in the world like an angel; / you received grace from God to work miracles; / you were a guide of monks and a wise steward, O Titus. / Fervently pray to Christ our God for the world.

Troparion — Tone 4

You forsook the tumult of life; / you lived your life in tranquillity, O wise one. / You have passed over to God, / venerable wonderworker, Titus our father.

Kontakion — Tone 8

You purified yourself through prayer and abstinence. / You were radiant with grace and virtue. / You bring joy to us who sing: / Rejoice, O Titus, / Adornment of the fathers!
✠✠✠✠✠

Blessed Mykola (Nicholas) Charnetsky was born to a large and pious peasant family on the 14th of December 1884 in the Western Ukrainian village of Semakivka. Mykola was the eldest of nine children. He received his primary education in the village of Tovmach and then entered St. Nicolas gymnasium (grammar school) in Stanislaviv (now Ivano-Frankivsk).

Charnetsky discovered his vocation to the priesthood at a young age and soon declared his intention of becoming a priest. In 1903 bishop Hryhoriy Khomyshyn sent him to Rome for studies. During Charnetsky’s short visit to Ukraine, Bishop Hryhoriy Khomyshyn ordained him a priest on the 2nd of October 1909. Fr. Mykolay then returned to Rome to continue his studies and received the degree of Doctor of theology.

From the autumn of 1910 Fr. Charnetsky was the Professor of Philosophy and Dogmatic theology at the Stanislaviv seminary. He was also the Spiritual Director in the same seminary. Deep in his heart, however, Fr. Mykolay longed for the monastic life. Hence, in October 1919 he joined the Redemptorist novitiate in Zboiska near Lviv, and one year later, on the 16th of October 1920, he professed his vows as a Redemptorist.

Filled with eagerness to work for the reconciliation of Christians and to convert the spiritually abandoned people, in 1926 the Redemptorists of the Lviv Province founded a missionary centre at Kovel in the Volyn region. Fr. Charnetsky, being an ardent missionary, was sent there. Very soon he gained the utmost respect of the local people and even that of the Orthodox clergy. Having opened a monastery and a church in Kovel, Fr. Mykolay did his best to preserve the purity of the Eastern Liturgical rite. In 1931, taking into account Fr. Charnetsky’s devoted work, Pope Pius XI appointed him titular bishop of Lebed and an Apostolic Visitor for the Ukrainian Catholics in the Volyn and Pidliashsha regions. These regions became the field of Charnetsky’s activity – first as a missionary, then as a bishop – for almost 14 years.

As the first Ukrainian Redemptorist Bishop, he experienced persecution from the very outset of his activity. During the Soviet occupation of Western Ukraine in 1939 the Redemptorists were forced to leave the Volyn region, and bishop Charnetsky moved to Lviv, to a Redemptorist monastery in Zyblykevycha (now Ivana-Franka) Street.

After the revival of the Lviv Theological Academy in 1941, Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky joined the faculty of the Academy as a professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Moral Theology. His calmness, based on a strong and unshakable faith, his spirit of obedience and prayer gave his students good reason to consider their professor a saint. Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky was for them an exemplary figure of both a monk and a virtuous person.

In 1944 the Soviet troops entered Galicia for the second time. This marked the beginning of bishop Charnetsky’s Via Dolorosa. He was arrested on 11 April 1945. He was held in the prison of the Soviet secret police in Lonskoho street. There, the bishop suffered many afflictions: interrogations in the middle of the night, cruel beating and torture. Later Bishop Charnetsky was transferred to Kyiv, where he spent another year of suffering – until his case was taken to court. Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for the crime of being a “Vatican agent”. He served this term together with the Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj first in the town of Mariinsk in the Kemeroc region (Siberia), then later at a number of other prison sites as well.

According to credible sources, during the period of his imprisonment (from his arrest in Lviv in April 1945 until his release in 1956), Bishop Charnetsky spent altogether 600 hours under torture and interrogation, and at different times was imprisoned in 30 prisons and prison camps. Despite all these sufferings, the bishop always managed to find a word of consolation for his fellow prisoners. He supported them morally and he knew all of them by name. It is no wonder that bishop Charnetsky was very popular among the prisoners, as he was the only source of consolation for them.

Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky spent the last years of his imprisonment in a prison hospital in Mordovia. In 1956 his health declined to the extent that the doctors did not have any hope as regards his survival. A special robe, in which the prisoners were buried, had already been sewn for bishop Charnetsky. Taking into account the hopeless condition of the bishop and that the Soviet regime could avoid the blame of causing the bishop’s death, the prison administration decided to release him and send him to Lviv. After his return to Lviv in 1956 and due to his contracting hepatitis and a number of other diseases, Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky was immediately hospitalized. Everybody was sure that Bishop Charnetsky would soon die. But, the Lord had a different plan: He decided to prolong the life of a man whose faith and work was so valued and needed by the Ukrainian Church. Soon the bishop recovered and moved to an apartment in number 7 Vechirnia Street together with Br. Klymentiy, C.Ss.R. There, Bishop Charnetsky continued his apostolate of endurance and prayer. He spent most of his time praying and reading. Those who visited the bishop in that period witnessed to have often found him in a state of ecstasy. During his stay in Lviv, Bishop Charnetsky remained faithful to his mission of a Good Shepherd: he supported his confreres spiritually, prepared candidates for the priesthood and ordained more than ten priests.

Unfortunately, Bishop Charnetsky’s “miraculous” recovery did not last long. On the 2nd of April 1959, the bishop died in a state of holiness. His last words were a cry calling on the aid of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The funeral of Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky took place on the 4th of April 1959. The description of the funeral kept in the archive of Yorkton Province of CSsR (Canada) ends with the following words: “We all think that the day of his canonization will come – for he was indeed a saintly bishop”.

Everybody who knew Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky gave a unanimous testimony of his sainthood. It was no surprise then that immediately after his death many people started addressing their prayers to Bishop Charnetsky. One finds this impression of sainthood and of a powerful intercession before God during prayers at the bishop’s tomb in the Lychakiv cemetery. Numerous people visit the place of Bishop Charnetsky’s burial to obtain his intercession when praying to God for various favours. One woman, whose arm was about to be amputated, applied soil from the bishop’s grave to her arm, which resulted in complete healing. Since then, people have been taking soil from his grave to remedy various diseases.

Taking into account the testimonies of Bishop Mykolay Charnetsky’s virtuous life, and particularly his endurance, courage and faithfulness to Christ’s Church during the period of persecution, the beatification process was started in 1960. On 2 March 2001, the process was completed on the level of the eparchy, and the case was handed over to the Apostolic See. On 6 April 2001 the theological committee recognized the fact of Bishop Charnetsky’s martyrdom, on 23 April his martyrdom was verified by the Assembly of Cardinals, and on 24 April 2001 Most Holy Father John Paul II signed a decree of the beatification of Bishop Mykola Charnetsky, a blessed martyr of Christian faith.

Troparion

In life and death, Blessed Bishop Martyr Mykola, you exemplified the words of Our Lord, “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Through your virtuous life and heroic death, you have attained the martyr’s crown of glory in the Heavenly Kingdom. O Healer of Souls, we beseech you, hear our prayers and intercede for our needs. Heal our physical and spiritual infirmities through your intercession with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Supreme Physician of our bodies and souls. 

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 2 APRIL – SAINT FRANCIS OF PAOLA (Confessor)


IN LUMINE FIDEI: 2 APRIL – SAINT FRANCIS OF PAOLA (Confessor): Francis was born at Paula in Calabria. His parents, who were for a long time without children, obtained him from Heaven after having made a ...

IN LUMINE FIDEI: 2 APRIL – EASTER TUESDAY


IN LUMINE FIDEI: 2 APRIL – EASTER TUESDAY: Prosper Gueranger: Our Pasch is the Lamb, and we meditated on the mystery yesterday. Now let us attentively consider those words of Sacre...

2 April, The Chesterton Calendar

APRIL 2nd

Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction—where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason. Huxley preached a humility content to learn from Nature. But the new sceptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. Thus we should be wrong if we had said hastily that there is no humility typical of our time. The truth is that there is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it is practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping: not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.

'Orthodoxy.'

2 April, The Holy Rule of St Benedict, Patriarch of Western Monasticism


CHAPTER LI. Of the Brethren who go not very far off

2 Apr. 2 Aug. 2 Dec.

Let not the brother who is sent out on any business, and hopeth to return that same day to the Monastery, presume to eat while abroad, even although pressed by any one to do so, unless perchance he have been bidden by his Abbot. If he do otherwise, let him be excommunicated,

3 April, The Roman Martyrology


Tértio Nonas Aprílis Luna vicésima tértia Anno Dómini 2024

April 3rd 2024, the 23rd day of the Moon, were born into the better life:

In England, [in the year 1253,] holy Richard, Bishop of Chichester, famous for his holiness and the glory of his miracles.
At Taormina, in Sicily, holy Pancras, Bishop of that see, who sealed with his blood the testimony of the gospel of Christ which the holy Apostle Peter had sent him thither to preach.
At Isnia, in Scythia, the holy martyrs Evagrius and Benignus.
At Thessalonica, under the Emperor Diocletian, the holy Virgins Agape and Chionia, because they refused to deny Christ, they were first starved in prison, and then cast into the fire. The flame took no hold upon them, but when they had prayed to the Lord, they then gave up their souls to him, [in the year 304.]
At Tyre, the holy martyr Vulpian. During the persecution under the Emperor Maximian Galerius, he was sewn up inside a sack along with an adder and a dog, and drowned in the sea, [in the year 305.]
At the Monastery of Mecidion, on Mount Olympus, the holy Abbot Nicetas, who suffered many things under the Emperor Leo the Armenian, on account of the honouring of holy images.
In England, the holy Virgin Burgundofora, Abbess [of Farmoutier, about the year 655.]
At Palermo, the holy Confessor Benedict of San Fradello, of the Order of Friars Minors, who was by race a black, whence he was commonly called "the Black." He was famous for his signs and mighty works. He fell asleep in the Lord upon the 4th day of April, [in the year 1585.] The Supreme Pontiff Pius VII. enrolled his name among those of the Saints.
℣. And elsewhere many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
℟. Thanks be to God.

Meme of the Moment

St Hugh of Grenoble: Butler's Lives of the Saints

Rishi Sunak Backs Author JK Rowling in Row Over Scotland’s New Hate Crime Laws

Scotland, under the ScotsNatsi Party, is rapidly descending into a dictatorship. Here's an idea for Sunak. Repeal the Scotland Act of 1998 and return rule to Westminster!

From MSM.com

Prime Minister defends Harry Potter author saying ‘people should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said people should not be criminalised “for stating simple facts on biology”, as he backed author JK Rowling in her criticism of new Scottish hate crime laws.

The Harry Potter author, who has become a fierce critic of the Scottish Government’s stance on transgender rights, has been one of the highest profile critics of the legislation.


The Harry Potter author, who has become a fierce critic of the Scottish Government’s stance on transgender rights, has been one of the highest profile critics of the legislation.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into effect on Monday, consolidating existing hate crime legislation and creating a new offence of stirring up hatred against protected characteristics.

However, women have not been given protection under the law, with the Scottish Government instead promising to bring forward legislation to tackle misogyny.

But with the new Act giving protection to transgender people, Rowling – who does not believe people can change their gender – insisted: “Freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal.”

In a statement given to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Sunak promised that his party will “always protect” free speech.

“People should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology,” he said.

“We believe in free speech in this country, and Conservatives will always protect it.”

In a social media post criticising the new laws, Rowling insisted that the “legislation is wide open to abuse by activists who wish to silence those of us speaking out about the dangers of eliminating women’s and girls’ single-sex spaces”.

She argued: “It is impossible to accurately describe or tackle the reality of violence and sexual violence committed against women and girls, or address the current assault on women’s and girls’ rights, unless we are allowed to call a man a man.”

The children’s author also appeared to challenge police to arrest her if her social media posts break the new laws.

“I’m currently out of the country, but if what I’ve written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment,” she said.

However, Humza Yousaf declared that he is “very proud” of the new laws, saying they will help protect against a “rising tide” of hatred.

The Scottish First Minister also insisted he is “very confident in Police Scotland’s ability in order to implement this legislation in the way it should”.

It comes despite the force confirming more than a third of its officers have not yet completed an online training course in the new laws – with Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs saying that 10,000 of the force’s 16,000 plus officers have done so.

However Mr Yousaf said Chief Constable Jo Farrell had “made it very clear the appropriate training is absolutely being provided”.

She said recently that the new laws will be applied “in a measured way”, promising there will be “close scrutiny” of how the legislation is enforced and what reports are received.

Paris School Headmaster Threatened With Death

And this is the fruit of the Euro-elitists allowing 'refugees' into their countries. No one is safe from their terror, especially anyone who questions Islam.

From The European Conservative

By HĂ©lène De Lauzun

French National Education Ministry is still in denial regarding Islamist extremism.

The headmaster of a school in Paris has been threatened with murder—after asking one of his pupils to remove her headscarf—forcing him to leave his job. In turn, the French government has announced that it intends to lodge a complaint against the young woman behind the scandal.

The affair is further proof of the authorities’ inability to deal with Islamist threats, particularly in schools.

National education regulations prohibit the wearing of religious symbols in public schools. A month ago, the headmaster of the LycĂ©e Ravel in the twentieth arrondissement of Paris, an area in the east of the capital with a large immigrant population, had an altercation with a pupil who refused to remove her headscarf. Three pupils were cautioned, but one of them—who had reached the age of majority—chose to ignore the headmaster’s request.

The case quickly escalated when criticism and violent threats emerged on social media. The young woman’s video testimony was broadcast by the Centre Contre l’Islamophobie en Europe (CCIE), clearly indicating her desire to cause a public scandal. A 26-year-old man was arrested for making death threats against the headmaster and is due to stand trial at the end of April.

The memory of Samuel Paty is clearly fresh in the minds of the teaching staff at LycĂ©e Ravel. A month after the incident, the headmaster finally announced that he was stepping down “for my own safety and that of the school,” according to his message seen by the newspaper L’HumanitĂ©. The Paris education authority preferred to discreetly announce his early retirement:

As the headmaster of LycĂ©e Maurice-Ravel is just a few months away from retirement, it has been decided, in view of the events of recent weeks, the media coverage they have received and the impact they may have had on him, to grant him an early retirement, in agreement with the management of the Paris education authority. 

MickaĂ«lle Paty, sister of murdered and beheaded teacher Samuel Paty, expressed her indignation to the press at this latest attempt by the education ministry to downplay the facts. 

The departure of this respected educator has sparked outrage among French politicians. Bruno Retailleau, leader of the Les RĂ©publicains group in the French Senate, denounced the “small cowardice and big renunciations” that led to this affair. It is just one of many scandals shaking French schools, which appear rotten with Islamism and condemned to “no wave” (i.e., to silence and impotence) in the face of rising violence against teachers and educational staff.

Marion MarĂ©chal, leader of the ReconquĂŞte list for the European elections, pointed out that such cases would be repeated ad infinitum in the years to come, given the lack of control over immigration from Muslim countries.

Pierre Sautarel, from the website Fdesouche, explains that the young woman in question lodged a complaint against the headmaster for violence, but that her complaint was dismissed. She has since been working in a nursery school with her mother as a teacher—information revealed by RTL, but since obviously deleted from the online article. 

During his televised address on Wednesday 27 March, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal condemned “Islamist entryism” in schools. He admitted that the headmaster’s departure was due to security concerns: “He was due to retire in June. Some people advised him, for security reasons, to leave a little earlier,” he explained. In response to the indirect accusations made by MickaĂ«lle Paty, who is determined to have the state’s responsibility in her brother’s death recognised, the Prime Minister’s entourage is trying to present itself as transparent: “There is no ambiguity about the fact that this headteacher is leaving his post to ensure his safety. There are no taboos,” they say.

Attal announced his intention to lodge a complaint for “slanderous denunciation” against the young woman at the origin of the affair, who had claimed that the headmaster had used violence against her. Although she now says she regrets the way in which the events unfolded, she nevertheless maintains her version of events—which would justify the public complaint. 

Predictably, this ex post facto argument sounds like an admission of weakness on the part of a state that is unable to protect its staff and enforce law and order against the growing pressure of Islamist demands. A teacher interviewed by Le Figaro analysed the situation as follows:

The republican and secular school has become a target for what it is. A whole section of society is still in denial, including teachers. Admittedly, at a political level, there is a real awareness, but it’s coming too late.

Since the incident, the Lycée Ravel has remained under police surveillance.

Islamic State: Fresh Wave of Terror Attacks Coming to Europe

And yet, the Eurocrat elitists still insist on allowing the jihadists (excuse me, I mean 'refugees') into Europe. But the PEOPLE are waking up!

From The European Conservative

By Tristan Vanheuckelom

Latest threat arrives just days after several European nations issued warnings of risk posed by the terrorist group.

In a 40-minute audio message published on Thursday, the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) threatened attacks on Jews and Christians all over the world, while once again claiming responsibility for the Moscow massacre that left more than 140 dead and 360 injured.

In the message, IS spokesman Abu Hudhaifah al-Ansari called on the movement’s “lone wolves” to “attack and target crusaders (Christians) and Jews everywhere,” particularly in Europe, the U.S., and Israel during the month of Ramadan (which ends April 10th). 

The latest IS threat comes just days after several European nations issued warnings of potential attacks in Europe by the terrorist group.

The message, during which Al-Ansari recalled the proclamation of the (subsequently defeated) IS caliphate ten years ago, was published via the IS media portal al-Furkan. At that time, its militia controlled large areas of civil war-torn Syria and neighboring Iraq. Following the 2019 U.S. killing of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the loss of the territories it held, the group has been reduced to a number of terror cells, still active in both countries.

France raised its terror alert to the highest level this week, with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal citing the Moscow attack and other (unidentified) “threats weighing on our country.”

Currently, experts deem Islamic State—Khorasan Province (ISKP), formed in January 2015, to be the most dangerous regional branch of Islamic State. ISKP is known to recruit from the ranks of the Taliban, drawing in new members who deem the Taliban too moderate for their liking. 

“Recent assessments of the global jihadist milieu have identified ISKP as the most concerning Islamic State affiliate for engaging in transnational external operations,” a November report from the International Center for Counter Terrorism stated. 

While enjoying a widespread presence in Afghanistan (especially following the U.S.’ ignominious exit), ISKP activities have been documented in Pakistan and other areas of Central Asia.

Between Islamist extremists crossing unprotected borders and radicalized Muslims already in Europe, the continent has a sizable problem on its hands when IS is calling on those beyond its formal base to carry out attacks on Jews and Christians.

Wilton Cardinal Gregory Archbishop of Washington D.C. Calls Out President Biden as a Cafeteria Catholic!

'Measured' his remarks may have been, but at least he mentioned the disconnect between Biden's 'Devout Catholicism' and the Catholic Faith.

From Southern Orders

By Fr Allan J. McDonald

CBS “Face the Nation” segment interviewing Cardinal Gregory and the female Anglican/Episcopal Bishop of Washington is excellent. I commend the reporter for the very good questions he asked especially about President Biden’s form of Catholicism.

Cardinal Gregory’s answers, while measured, were very good and he persisted even as the female Episcopal Bishop pushed back with a corrupt understanding of conscience and proclaimed her belief in a woman’s right to abortion as selfish healthcare for herself even as it murders a human baby in the womb!

That choice may be a decision of conscience but it is not a Christian conscience but one that is corrupted by world politics, or better yet, the world, the flesh and the devil.

While President Biden goes to Mass, as the reporter states, every Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation, there is a disconnect between Biden’s private worship and his life’s politics. Politics and polls guide him more than Jesus Christ as he embraces not Catholicism in practice, but the world, the flesh and the devil.

This is over 13 minutes long but well worth the watch. Even the politically liberal female Episcopal Bishop of Washington offers some good insights at limited times.

While Catholicism is losing members to the world, the flesh and the devil, it is not at the same rate as the Anglican Communion which has embraced all three with gusto with a veneer of “Protestantism and Catholic lite”.

Biden Honors Transgender Visibility Day While Demanding No Religious Messages on Easter Eggs

More on Biden's blaspheming Easter. 'Hmmm. If I didn’t know any better I’d start getting the idea that Christianity was frowned upon in this country.'

From Creative Minority Report

By Matthew Archbold

Hmmm. If I didn’t know any better I’d start getting the idea that Christianity was frowned upon in this country.

The Biden regime decided to drop all “religious” themes from an Easter egg decorating event. Yup. They asked people to decorate eggs but demanded that no religious messages be placed on the eggs. No crosses to commemorate Easter. Yeah, that makes sense.

And then this:

Do you feel SEEN by your government? Believe me, I’d much rather be invisible to these power hungry utopians minded madmen but like Sauron, their eye is firmly affixed on us. And they do not like what they see.


They have decided it best that we be replaced.

The Holy Rosary

Monday, the Joyful Mysteries, in Latin with Cardinal Burke.

Is Corruption Built In to Republics?

Remember, democracy is the best system money can buy.


Let's take a look at how republics may lead to corruption and uneven economies. Might giving more power to monarchies be the solution our world needs?

Will My Pet Go to Heaven?

With Fr Ambrose Little, OP, PhL, PhD, Assistant Director, Thomistic Institute.

Will my pet go to Heaven? Do animals have rational souls? Will we be able to eat in Heaven? Big questions like these have been popping up in the comment boxes of our Aquinas 101 videos since the start of our very first season. In this video series with Fr. Ambrose Little, O.P., we will attempt to provide some answers.

An Open Letter to His Holiness, Pope Francis

A plea to the Pope to speak out in correction after 'Devout Catholic' Joe Biden declared Easter Sunday as 'Trans Day of Visibility'. I wouldn't bet on any Papal action, however.

From Catholics for Catholics

By Louis Biad

Your Holiness,

Christ is King.  He is Risen, Alleluia.  He is Risen as He Said!

If you will permit me, I have a few questions through which I and many others have come to be clouded in a confused stupor.

Is there anything that the US President, nominally Catholic Joseph Biden, might do or say that would warrant a correction?  Under the auspices of being a follower of Christ, his record is already that of the most pro-abortion politician that the non-communist world has ever produced.  This man scandalously claims to be a devotee of the Rosary, yet is the biggest friend to the gay, lesbian and trans industry, in their goal of leading young people to ruin.  He accepts and promotes the lies of this age, rejecting the complementarity of man and woman on a scale heretofore unseen. 

There isn’t much he hasn’t done, there is no Rubicon he hasn’t crossed.  But on this occasion when he has sided with the enemy in an attempt to usurp Easter, the most holy and solemn of Christian celebrations, show him that this offense to Christ and His Holy Church is a bridge too far.  It is not too late.  Please do not hide in the upper room this week after we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.  Please, do not let Biden deny Christ as did your predecessor two thousand years ago.

Biden has put all clerics who support him politically in uncomfortable positions before.  This recent and most high offense of proclaiming this day (this day of all days!) to be “Transgender Day of Visibility” and following it by banning Christian-themed designs from the White House is different.  It is to place a bushel over the Resurrection of Christ. It is a direct offense on Christ and His Resurrection.  This is a blow struck by the evil one at this calculated time.  Follow the lead of so many members of the laity who have already expressed shock and outrage. 

Please collect yourself, forego any pride for your failure to correct him before, and put this purveyor of lies and calumny in a position to recant and repent.  For the sake of Biden’s own soul, and to confirm Catholic followers in the Faith, please respond.  It is not too late to save this frail and eroding man on his road to perdition.  It is imperative that you assist him.  From one aging leader to another, it would be an amazing example of ministry for this world to behold.

The Papal Nuncio should be recalled from Washington.  Biden should be corrected publicly and you should personally call for his confession and public apology, as this was a public offense.  In an act of mercy, please instruct his bishops; in Washington, in Delaware, wherever globally he might travel, to refuse him Holy Communion until he repents.

As we reflect on the Passion of Christ, one wonders if the LGBTQ+ community offered President Joe Biden 30 pieces of silver to betray his Lord.  Through your strong actions, which might terrify this catechized man back to the way, assist the Blessed Mother to bring this poor man under her Mantle and usher him back to Her Son.

Respectfully,

Louis Biad

Catholics for Catholics

USA

Canceled Priest Makes The Case That Francis Is Secretly An Enemy Of The Church

Duh! I've been saying the same thing for over a decade!

The Regina Caeli Prayer Gives Easter Joy in Just a Few Seconds

Regina cæli, lætare, alleluia: Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia, Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia, Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia. Gaude et lætare, Virgo Maria, alleluia. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

From Aleteia

By Jared Dees

Dating back to the 6th century, tradition says this prayer was created with the dialogue of an angel and a pope.

The Regina Caeli (Latin for “Queen of Heaven”) is offered us by the Church as a hallmark of Easter. Lasting for a full 50 days, Easter is a very long season — 10 days longer than Lent. The Regina Caeli is integrated especially into two daily Catholic devotions.

First, in the Divine Office prayed by priests, religious and many laypeople, the Regina Caeli is the Easter season Marian antiphon at the end of Night Prayer.

Then, the Church replaces during Easter the daily Angelus prayer with the Regina Caeli, traditionally prayed thrice daily (at 6:00 AM, noon, and 6:00 PM).

The Angelus/Regina Caeli is prayed publicly by the pope and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on most Sundays. The pope offers a short greeting (usually with a reflection on the day’s readings) before leading the people in the prayer.

According to legend, this prayer dates back to the sixth century with Pope Gregory the Great. As the story goes, when the city of Rome was plagued with an epidemic, St. Gregory led a procession out from St. Peter’s Basilica past the Mausoleum of Hadrian in prayerful petition to end the plague.

Then, on top of the mausoleum, he saw an angel singing the words of the Regina Caeli. He responded in words also in the prayer, “Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia!” or “Pray for us to God, alleluia!”

Inspired by this event, the faithful henceforth referred to the mausoleum with a different name: Castel Sant’Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel) and the nearby bridge became known as the Ponte Sant’Angelo (Bridge of Angels).

The Church in Rome received two gifts that day. The disease of the city was cured and a new prayer was established to help remind the faithful of joy even in times of great suffering.

What, specifically, do we meditate on in this prayer?

First, the prayer assures us that Jesus truly is risen. This reflects the journey that all the disciples had to undertake, encountering the Risen Christ and thus leaving behind their doubt to become Christ’s witnesses.

Second, the prayer reminds us what the season of Easter is all about. We offer joyful praise to God with the word “alleluia” six separate times. Also, we proclaim different variations of the word “joy” five times (rejoice, rejoice, glad, joy, joys).

The Regina Caeli reminds us of the Resurrection and the meaning that it has for our lives. The Lord is risen and we can share in Easter joy with Mary, the Queen of Heaven. We can truly proclaim “alleluia,” giving praise to God for the great gift of everlasting life he offers us.

We need help on this journey to heaven. So we turn to Mary, the humble handmaid of the Lord whose openness to the will of God led to her coronation in heaven. We ask for her intercession daily so that we, like her, can experience the full joys of heaven in unity with her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Regina Caeli is a few-second way to get a little taste of heaven and keep the Easter joy alive.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For he, whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

Has risen as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
For the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray: O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, his Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Latin:

Regina cæli, lætare, alleluia:
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia,

Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia,
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Gaude et lætare, Virgo Maria, alleluia.
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus:
Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi,
mundum lætificare dignatus es:
præsta, quæsumus, ut per eius Genitricem Virginem Mariam,
perpetuæ capiamus gaudia vitæ.
Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

31 March 2024

Pope Francis and Caiaphas: A Tale of Two High Priests

Despite Francis's fascination with Judas Iscariot, Dr Zmirak thinks he's much more like Caiphas, the High Priest who condemned Our Lord. 


From The Stream

By John Zmirak, PhD

One thing we know about Pope Francis: He has an unhealthy obsession with Judas. In his private apartments, a crude painting hangs which depicts the risen Jesus ministering to Judas’s body after his suicide. Francis has repeatedly mused that Judas might have been saved — in support of the suggestion that no one is finally damned. That’s a heresy the early Church condemned for turning the drama of our salvation into a farce with a forced happy ending.

You might think Francis is simply a little “too merciful.” Read my three-part analysis of the dark, perverse motivations that more likely lie behind his defense of the one human being whom the Church has always regarded as doomed — based on the words of Jesus.
Not Judas, But Caiaphas

Don’t expect here an essay comparing Francis to Judas, though. There’s a much closer parallel in salvation history: the high priest Caiaphas. No, not just because both he and the pope have served as high priests of the one true religion on earth; that would work with any pope. (So we Catholics believe, calling the bishop of Rome “pontifex maximus.”)

What called to mind Caiaphas in particular was a recent papal statement that Lifesitenews covered in detail, in which Francis tore into Christians who refused the COVID vaccine — especially those of us who rejected it as immoral because it relies on DNA from a kidney cut out of a baby being aborted, most likely while she was still alive, since otherwise such tissue is useless. (Yes, other medications depend on such research. That’s deplorable as well and we should avoid them. But none of those vaccines or medications have been forced on people by the government and their employers.)

Francis clearly feels strongly about the vaccine; he violated canon law to remove a fellow bishop for refusing to segregate the unvaccinated at Mass. Francis taught officially that Catholics weren’t just permitted to take this vaccine (which his own bishops had warned Donald Trump would be immoral); he said we were obliged to out of “love of neighbor.”


For a detailed analysis of the Natural Law criteria for using medicines derived unethically — in ordinary and in emergency situations — see “The Vaccine Is a Toxic Sacrament of Globalism, Paternalism, and Abortion,” Parts I and II.

Francis told bishops not to support religious exemptions from taking the vaccine — thus undermining our religious freedom vis a vis the State. He issued a Vatican Euro coin celebrating the useless, harmful vaccination of children. He even sneered at his critic Cardinal Raymond Burke, who’d refused the vaccine and came down with COVID: “There were even a few anti-vaxxers among the bishops: some came close to death.”

As Lifesite reports:

Referring to the COVID-related lockdowns as a “grim scenario,” Francis stated that “[t]his grim scenario began to change with the arrival of the first vaccines,” failing to mention the multitude of side effects linked to the rollout of the experimental jabs, including upticks in heart, brain and blood diseases, among other issues.

 Lies in Defense of Moral Compromise

Some unprincipled Catholics supported Francis’s position on the vaccine, impatiently dismissing the longtime pro-life objection to using abortion-derived medicines. One prominent Dominican priest and scientist supported that stance by spreading the falsehood that the origin of the fetal cells used in each of the COVID vaccines “might” have been a miscarriage. That priest knew better. We documented here at The Stream that the researcher who created the human embryonic kidney cell line involved testified under oath to the FDA that the “donor” had been a healthy child, killed by abortion. That child even has a name, given her by pro-lifers who wish to restore her humanity: Johanna Vera Alderliesten.


And of course, Johanna was not the only innocent whose death benefited COVID research. The Center for Medical Progress, among others, reported that dozens of abortions were coordinated with COVID researchers to provide still more fetal organs for the National Institutes of Health. The same COVID panic which justified massive lockdowns, lax ballot practices, and crushing media censorship was used to unleash “open season” on unborn kids and their body parts.

Blessing Organ Harvesting in China

And Pope Francis thinks all that was justified. He said nothing about the further abortions and organ harvesting. That’s not a surprise, since he sent his right-hand man, Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, to a conference in Communist China of that regime’s organ thieves — who (as Forbes reports) harvest hundreds of organs cut from the living bodies of Uyghurs and other prisoners of conscience. Sorondo addressed the conference and praised the attendees for their work.

That’s what brings us back to Caiaphas. In some ways, he’s even harder to understand than Judas. This is the man who, during Jesus’s ministry, was the highest religious authority on earth — the one man who could enter the Holy of Holies (just once a year) and speak the secret name of God. Did Caiaphas realize that Jesus was indeed the Messiah? Did he at least suspect it? Why else during Jesus’s trial did he bother to suborn perjured testimony, which failed to secure a conviction until Jesus at last announced His divine nature — giving Caiaphas the excuse for putting Him to death?

Caiaphas knew on some level that Jesus’s death would prove redemptive, even if he interpreted that in a degraded, political sense. As St. John recounts in his gospel:

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.” (John 11:49-50)

Did Pope Francis “understand” that it was “expedient” for Johanna, as well as untold numbers of other unborn babies vivisected for organs, to die in the name of COVID research so “that the whole nation should not perish”?

Does that dark moral compromise on some level haunt the pontiff? That would explain why he is still fulminating against Christians who refused to accept that deal — even as medical authorities warned us that we were risking our own deaths. Did it outrage him that some of us don’t think life bought at such a price is worth the exchange?

Christ paid the price of our sins with His own life. But He did it willingly, as the culmination of His mission; indeed, it was the very reason He came into the world. That’s starkly, profoundly different from mothers offering their children to the high priests of Science. What our government did during COVID, and Pope Francis still defends, was a satanic parody of the Passion.

Monday in the Octave of Easter

Today's Holy Mass from Corpus Christi Church, Tynong, VIC, Australia. You may follow the Mass at Divinum Officium.