Halloween a Catholic holiday?

Halloween a Catholic holiday?

All Saints' Day also sometimes known as All Hallows' Day is celebrated on the 1st of November.  Sometimes the prayers started on the eve of the day, that is why over the years Halloween is celebrated on the evening of October 31st.  It came from t Feast of All Holy Martyrs, which was on the 13th of May. Pope Gregory IV, in 837AD extended the festival to remember all the saints. When its name became the Feast of All Saints, and the date was moved to the 1st of November.

All Souls Day follows All Saints Day and is on the 2nd of November or the 3rd if the 2nd is a Sunday. It is a day for people to pray for the dead, and for the souls of people who are in Purgatory.

So is Halloween a Catholic holiday, yes, however it has been co-opted by a consumer society and stripped of its religious meaning. But Halloween or All Hallows day is a Catholic holiday and there is nothing wrong with celebrating it. Especially if you do a bit of sneaky re Catholicising of it.

There are some who state that Halloween is in fact a pagan holiday originally. This is historically false, it is true that in recent history, some neo pagans have pushed this disinformation. There may be some legitimate confusion here, because peoples of the past, all around the world, used to have celebrations or festivals at the start and end of the seasons. With the end of summer or harvest time being one of the largest, most of the people who bring this up tend to use either certain Celtic or Germanic culture groups as proof of this, but again all cultures have this. The Celtic and Germanic historically had no overt religious meanings to these celebrations. If anything the timing was more likely that 1st of November was chosen to be after these celebrations so as not to ’spoil’ or lessen either event.

So feel free to enjoy Halloween just remember what is really all about. Stay away from some of the modern aspects, like Ouija boards, witchcraft and other demon led activities. Dressing up can be fine, so is trick or treating and pumpkin carving. So this is a holiday where you can let your children join in for the most part.    

Check out this video for some more information.

The Catholic Talk Show: The Catholic Origins of Halloween.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqnDR-msahc

Why Joe Rogan is mistaken.

Why Joe Rogan is mistaken.

In one of Joe Rogan’s recent podcasts he was talking to Seth Dillon and the topic of abortion was brought up. Joe Rogan has always been pro choice however he has seemed at certain times to have some doubts about late term abortions in certain situations (still strongly pro-choice).

I have left a link to the small clip.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcowsZ_MTH0

I want to talk about this clip specifically and Rogan’s arguments, but I would say that he is actually just running on high tense/panic not logic or empathic emotion. This is why the pro choice movement uses this example (rape of the underaged) all the time, it is done to root you in raw emotion if not panic. Instead of logic, love and true healthy emotion. They use this example and yet still support all abortion no matter what, it is just a trick to make you feel uncomfortable and make you fear being told that you lack compassion, even though you are trying to prevent murder while they are actually supporting murder. It works well on weak minds and on people who can be over empathic/socially conscious.  

During the short clip he states that Dillon his guest has no right to tell his 14 year old daughter who has been raped what to do with her body, essentially to not tell her not have an abortion. This is a hypothetical situation, yet Rogan does have a 14 year old daughter. Which explains his tense and panicked response and views on the matter. Though it is extremely rare for rape to end in pregnancy, it has happened and to girls of that age and younger as well, a horrible act and a tragedy.

I would say first it is not just the rapist’s child, it is the woman’s child, his daughter’s child, his grandchild, also the child has their own DNA, it is a one of a kind human being. Would his daughter not love her baby, her first child, would he not love his own grandchild. I have a hard time believing that him/her and his family would not unconditionally love the new addition to the family, even if the father had committed a truly evil act.

Secondly, the child should not bear the sins of the father, most pro choice supporters do not support the death penalty and don’t even support prisons in general. So why a death sentence to an innocent person, who has done nothing wrong. Who is its own person that bares no guilt to this crime and can never be replaced once gone. Would she and you really look at this child and see the rapist in this baby’s face, it is a completely different person. There are people who have had babies because of rape and raised them, there are people who have raised children after the loss of their partner. It must be difficult at times but that does not give the parent the right to murder their children.    

Thirdly, A person does have the right to comment on a person’s actions, if a person is considering murdering an innocent and defenceless person, it is not in self-defence. Law enforcement as well as normal people would not support you killing the rapist, true many would sympathise some would even look the other way in support. But wouldn’t someone have the right to say that was wrong to kill him that it was not worth ruining your life for that rapist, that it would not undo the crime. That would maybe be an interesting discussion to have if it was right to kill a person who wronged you or your family in such a way.   

Lastly, it does not matter when you try to murder (abortion) the child, its murder, it is your child your grandchild your family member it’s another human being. 9 months, 7 months, 5 months, 6 weeks or a couple of days after. It does not matter, it is alive, they are a unique human being part of the human family. Rogan was panicking hoping to erase the rape by mistaking killing his grandchild as quickly as possible. That would not undo the rape, that would not make your daughter, or any woman forget the rape, it would just add guilt for the murder of her baby and what would have been. You are just adding more trauma not less.

Please read these books for more information on abortion.

(Perfect, yet simply, very respectful and informative book on this subject)

Stephanie Gray Connors, Love Unleashes Life: Abortion and the Art of Communicating Truth  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Unleashes-Life-Abortion-Communicating-ebook/dp/B078YHW68Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KAN9QRAOXAPZ&keywords=love+unleashes+life&qid=1660851720&s=books&sprefix=love+unleashe%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-1

Trent horns, Persuasive Pro-Life: How to Talk about Our Culture's Toughest Issue. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1941663044/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vamf_taft_p1_i1

The Atlantic tries to destroy the Rosary

The Atlantic tries to destroy the Rosary

The Atlantic magazine has a long history of anti-Christian/Catholic disinformation and general hate. Their latest assault is on the most Holy Rosary of the Virgin Mary and on the one true faith to God. It does try to pretend to coat this evil and bigoted attack in a sense of pretending its talking about online extreme behaviour.

Why include the Rosary so prominently in this article, it is just an attempt to smear the Rosary. Just because some people have made memes of it, it does not make it newsworthy. Nearly everything has been made into a meme in the political sense and in the culture war as well. It tries to say that online some bad people are using the Rosary, which will always happen, some people will do sinful things, this is a fact of life. But it also tries to twist this by covertly saying that any use of it as a prolife/pro Christ message is a bad idea. This is a far left and anti-Christ publication after all, it fears the spread of Christian ideals and people telling the truth about the anti-salvation forces in the modern world. It gives the most limp cover in its attack by at least saying that the Rosary is a major spiritual tool.

Here is the hit piece below.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/08/radical-traditionalist-catholic-christian-rosary-weapon/671122/

The Rosary is a spiritual weapon, it is a vital tool, all Catholics need it. We have always used the Rosary when we have been under attack spiritually and physically. This article wants to destroy it, it wants to shame and scare Catholics into abandoning the Rosary. Similar to how the media shamed the English St George flag and Union Jack, or how being patriotic is now looked down upon, outside of non-government allowed celebrations, like 4th July and Queens Jubilee etc. Though even this is now starting to be looked down on. Or how openly talking about God in public is seen as a bad, weird, or a pushy thing to do. This attack is made to slowly demonise the Rosary and make more Catholics stop using it in public and then completely after that. Which will weaken the church and the faithful significantly. They want to scare faithful Catholics who are not already lukewarm and or lost, into being even more socially conscious about their faith. To make them second guess themselves when using the Rosary and to maybe hide it in public. How long before they have to hide their crosses or the fact they go to church or believe in God. Its not exactly a warm reception we get now or even 10 to 15 years ago.

The enemies of salvation will never rest they will pick away bit by bit at us and our One True Faith. Make sure to stand up and strike down this attack, when individuals fall for this article, make sure you explain what the Rosary is, why it’s important and why the only reason to even bring criticism close to it, is to be a bigot, to be intolerant and to hate God.        

The sad story of Archie Battersbee

The sad story of Archie Battersbee

Archie Battersbee was a 12 year old boy from the UK, who after an accident was left in a coma with brain damage. After a short, yet hard fight, the hospital entrusted with his life chose to kill him. I will leave a link to a timeline of the events and full story.   

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11106115/Archie-Battersbee-died-brain-injury-following-strangulation-coroner-says.html

What drew me to his story was how similar it sounded to many others stories I have heard over the years, of the NHS killing certain patients, any of them who can’t fight back, if they cannot communicate then they are not worthy of life, it seems. How it’s always in the patient’s best interests to die, for their dignity. Both these points are truly disgusting and it makes me feel sick, how some people can be so evil and dishonest. Life should never be given up on, our rights should not be lessened for convenience.

Lots of people are happy to play into the lies of the doctors, and say things like, think of his dignity, don’t let him suffer, think of him, etc. All empty words to make the writer or speaker of such words feel good about themselves. While these words mean nothing and are the words of a selfish fool and an unknowledgeable one at that.        

In Archies case he was not in pain and as to dignity, what dignity is there in killing him slowly, or killing him at all. Surly Archie wanted to live, no matter the chances of his recovery.

It simply shows the true lack of love in the world, considering the unethical things that the NHS and the UK government spends our money and their time on, on our behalf doing, keeping the weakest and innocent alive is not much to ask for or expect.

The one last issue in this sad story is that the hospital refused to let Archie’s family take him to a local hospice to die with his family, in a friendly and caring place. Why, the hospital wanted to end his life, they don’t care do they. So why not let his family choose his place of death then, well as you cannot have cameras in a hospital, it hides the crime. If Archie’s family chose to film their child’s last couple of hours so the world would see what the hospital forced upon him and his family. Then all doctors and other staff in question would never show their faces in public again. What careless and hollow words they used to cover their lack of love and humanity, would be laid bare. Then change would begin to take place, something that most civil servants or administrators fear the most.      

I hope this sad story does change things and after Archie’s death the mood did seem to change, and comments and commentators did seem to maybe rethink. We can hope and pray.

This video is of the family talking about Archies last moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDmQBXXYDp0

3 Year Anniversary

3 Year Anniversary

The world has changed in many ways since August 2019. Our traffic continues to grow year on year and our first book was successfully released, Catholic Fundamentals. We are looking forward to the future. Thank you to all of our readers and supporters for their prayers, help and financial support.

Thank you and God Bless

Oliver Cromwell was a mass murdering dictator of an evil government and a stain on this country’s history.

Oliver Cromwell was a mass murdering dictator of an evil government and a stain on this country’s history.

Oliver Cromwell was a traitor to the King and to the Parliamentarians and he would usurp them both to rule with a small handpicked parliament (gang). He controlled our country with an iron fist and persecuted all who did not follow his heretical version of the faith. This butcher murdered countless people in England and Ireland as well as terrorising the populous, he was a dictator who tried to set up his own dynasty.

This is proven history without doubt, there is a huge amount of proof from all sides. With a vast amount of reputable sources backing this up.

So an article from the Guardian via MSN, is trying to rewrite history with the help of a team from Cambridge University. This team found some documents that stated that Cromwell discussed and might have been willing to offer Irish Catholics not any other Catholics, what the article calls religious freedom.  This was by letting them be Catholic privately while they would still have to be protestant publicly. This is not what he did. He might have thought of offering this to delay hostilities, to buy time for him to strengthen his position. A tactic which he did often. This is not religious tolerance this is still persecution, if you can and would have been arrested and killed for openly being Catholic or for just not following the dictator’s whims then it’s not freedom or tolerance. This was not done nor was it offered, it might have just been discussed, but we do not know how seriously this idea was taken. The historical treatment of Catholics and at the time these documents were written, was and had been very bad, with broken promises, mass and brutal torture, murder and persecutions.

Cromwell also considered letting in some Jewish merchants into the country under the same deal, so he could make money from their trade deals. Again this was not done, just considered, mainly to raise money for his continued dictatorship. Not exactly a show of tolerance and again it never happened, even though he was absolute ruler. (He had a token parliament and his army commanders.)

The article does try to say that Cromwell was more complicated than just a butcher, which I am sure he was, as he was a human being. However he was still a mass murderer, traitor and a dictator this is an historical fact. When tolerance was shown as the article tries to state, this was due to circumstances that came not from a good place, but from the fact that the country had just come out of civil war that had exhausted it in every way. He was trying to avoid uprisings so that he could recover his strength and was trying not to cause any foreign involvement to occur, he was not trying to unite the country in some modern day-esc, ‘age of tolerance’.

The situation in Ireland back in Cromwell’s day was bloody and complicated, however his involvement and the many coups helped to make this bad situation even worse. His actions led to even more violence and death.

Finally the article states that “This analysis is rightly saying: look at these key documents and think again.”  These can hardly be called key documents, they were never acted upon. There have been many other defenders of Cromwell and they have used all they could find to defend him and failed. These obscure documents do nothing to change that. At sometime during his rule he brainstormed some ideas to help himself in the short term which he never used. This is akin, though in no way as severe as when you see Nazis sympathisers/apologists saying that Hitler/Nazis had a plan and even tried various backdoor channels to get the UK and the US to take all Jewish people out of Germany. Or send them to Madagascar.  ‘This proves that they were not bad, but just that the allies gave them no choice.’ This disgusting/disingenuous argument is insulting to anyone’s intelligence and moral principles. Just because something was given a few moments of thought that does not wipe out the evil actually done. Even though its important not to conflate the two, it still uses the same flawed logic. 

Oliver Cromwell was a mass murdering dictator of an evil government and a stain on this country’s history.    

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/has-history-got-it-wrong-about-oliver-cromwell-s-persecution-of-catholics/ar-AA109cnE?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=2023d8aaadc24fcba1e5f75bf82e605b

Mass Of The Ages Episode 2, A Perfect Storm Review

Mass Of The Ages Episode 2, A Perfect Storm Review

Mass Of The Ages Episode 2, A Perfect Storm is the sequel to Mass Of The Ages Episode 1, Discover the Latin Mass. It is available on YouTube on the channel Mass of the Ages: The Latin Mass TRILOGY. There are plans for three episodes, while the original made to be a film it was later decided to split it into three parts.

Is it directed and produced by Cameron O’Hearn, director of photography was Thomas Shannon, co producers Jacob Tate and Jonathan Weiss, executive Producer Doug, editors Cameron O’Hearn and Mike Hogan and original score by Mark Nowakowski.

First aired publicly on the 26th of May 2022, with a runtime of 1:13:50, the episode was well received by fans and others.

Taking a slightly different tone from the first episode, this one is less emotionally and more focused on facts and history.        

The episode really gives a good outline and a in depth look at the history of what happened at the Vatican two council and the aftermath of it.

At no point does this film preach or lecture it simply gives the viewer a story to watch and information to receive. It is well shot, with good music and it looks like a lot of time was spent making sure the quality of the production was high. The pace is also good, with the right balance of story and information shown. I would also say that no knowledge really is needed going into it, which is a good thing, as it can appeal to a wider market. However if you have been paying even a little attention to church politics and history recently, then this will appeal even more to you.

I would highly recommend this to all, and I am eagerly waiting for the third episode to drop.

Link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XctfSR7SS4

The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ

The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, commemorates the Catholic belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Jesus Christ appeared for 40 days prior to his Ascension, Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter. However, in some areas it is moved to the following Sunday.

The feast day has been observed since the 4th century at least, with St Augustine sayings that it is of Apostolic origin, and it was observed long before his time.

St George Slayer of Dragons

St George Slayer of Dragons

The Legend of St George and the dragon is a well-known myth and popular part of many cultures including England. He was born in the late 2nd Century in Cappadocia and died on 23rd of April 303 AD in Nicomedia. His Feast day is April 23rd, this is widely celebrated, especially in the East. He is the patron Saint of many countries, cities and walks of life. He is the patron Saint of England, Georgia, Milan, Soldiers and Scouts to name just a few.

It is often remarked by some that St George was a Turk, the Turks however would not even form into a confederacy for another 700 hundred years or so and it would be closer to 1000 years before they arrived in Anatolia. St George as far as we know, is from Cappadocia a Greek City at the time.  There are some sources that say his mother was from what is modern day Palestine but of Armenian descent, note, at this time the Palestinians where not Arabic in any sense and the Arabs would not invade for several hundred years. Well, that is that out of the way, I love my Turkish and Palestine Saints the same as I love my English and Italian Saints it should make zero difference to a Catholic, but alas for the sake of probity and historical accuracy I wanted to state this information.

St George has been venerated in the Christian faith since his death in the 3rd century. He was the son of a senior official in Diocletian's court. St George was a soldier and rose through the ranks to become a senior officer in the household guard of the Emperor, I deliberately do not use Roman ranks because at the time of the Tetrarchy the rank structure of the army was a little confusing, but we can be sure he was at the rank of Tribune or Prefect, equivalent to a modern day Major or Lt Colonel.

Tradition states he had been a noted soldier and had an excellent reputation, that is why during one of the Christian persecutions orchestrated by Diocletian or perhaps more so by his junior emperor Galerius, St George was presented as were all citizens, with the option to sacrifice to the Roman Gods or face death and St George took the latter option and remained loyal to Christ, we know he must have been a popular man and one of influence because the Emperor offered him several chances to change his mind.

This is where some theorise the legend of the Dragon comes in. In one story a beautiful young prostitute was sent to him to persuade him to lay with her and so prove he was not truly loyal to God, it turns out she was so convinced by St George she converted and instead accepted death and a martyrs crown herself! Here we see the symbology of George the valiant Knight saving the girls soul against the devil, by whom she had been previously ensnared.  Through his courage, steadfastness and using the lance of truth he slays the dragon, often the depiction of the devil in theology, freeing the princess from her trap, as in the legend a young maid is captured but freed.

While St George has been venerated as a Saint throughout the church as a whole, it was mainly in the east until the middle ages and the arrival of the crusaders in the Holy Land. It is often believed he along with other knightly Saints fought alongside the crusaders to free the Holy Land. From here we know the many legends of the dragon, permeated medieval culture in the west and during the renaissance, this is where we get a lot of the tales of George and the dragon, the people of the renaissance never being ones to allow the truth to get in the way of romantic chivalric stories or tales.

Whatever else we know about him, we know he chose death over offering sacrifice to the demons mascaraing as Roman Gods, he chose to stay by the Cross of Jesus Christ so we can always look to his example and follow it.

St George Pray for us

AC

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend

Maundy Thursday

As we approach Holy week and we prepare for the end of lent and the most important few days in the entire church calendar we thought it might be worth giving a brief and very simple overview, whilst most Catholics will be familiar it might help, interested non Catholics, New Converts and Laps Catholic hungry to return.

The first major liturgical activity of the week tends to be Maundy Thursday, here we commemorate our Lord Jesus Christ command to “love one another as I have Loved you” hence the name Maundy which is a derivative of Command in Latin.

During this Mass we contemplate the last supper and also Jesus Betrayal in the Garden by Judas Iscariot.

Good Friday

Today is the day we are all required to abstain from meat and fast, today Our Saviour the Messiah our Lord and Saviour is put to death on the Cross in what seems like defeat but in fact will obtain freedom from bondage for mankind and allow a path to heaven, through the sacrifice of Gods only begotten son we are saved.

Jesus dies on the cross

Today there is no Mass the churches relics, icons and statues are all covered from Passion Sunday, this represents his seemingly going away from us. Today in church the Gospel Passion narrative is read, adoration of the cross occurs, and communion is taken in the new rite, however some Traditional orders do not distribute communion as pre 1955 this was the standard.

Easter Saturday

Mass today is much later than normal, it should be after sundown, it tends to be around 9.30pm this mass is known as the Easter Vigil. Easter Vigil is the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will be mediating on the body of Jesus being placed in the tomb today. It is also a day of abstinence from meat and fasting.

Easter Sunday

Today is the culmination of the liturgical year and the day we celebrate the Resuscitation of Jesus Christ, here is the Conquering of death by God. It is a very joyous day which celebrated throughout the world, parades, celebratory meals as a family.

Passion Sunday

Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord.

Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday as it is called in Tradition, features the longest Gospel reading of the year, while as children we might have found it drawn out as they are prone to do, the people of Israel had been waiting for a long time for the Messiah to arrive as we are waiting now for the Lord Jesus Christ to return. Today we celebrate the arrival of the Messiah, the King of Kings has arrived after hundreds of years. The last great prophet arose in Jerusalem, 400 years ago to be exact.

The Lord Jesus Christ will in just a few days be Crucified and save humanity from its destruction claiming the victory over evil, we are now entering the Holy Week, a time in which many increase prayers, fasting and good works. Passion Sunday bares many distinct features, we of course receive palm Leaf’s which are to be kept throughout the year as reminders of Christs arrival, his crowing of Glory as King of Kings and his crucifixion and Resurrection, they also bear witness to our faith, that we are the people who greeted Jesus in the right manor, not the people who denied him at the palace of Pontus Pilate.

As a note, most Scholars agree that the crowds that greeted Jesus when he arrived in Jerusalem riding upon a Colt (Donkey) never before rode on (another Jewish sign of Kingship) where in fact not the crowds that called for his punishment at the palace of Pontus Pilate, in the gospel it mentions that these crowds had followed Jesus to Jerusalem so where not residents of that city for the most part.

The Palms represent the palms, coats and greenery that was laid down before Jesus as he entered the great city of Jerusalem. Dr Brad Pitre points out this could in-fact represent not just acknowledgment by the crowd that the King had arrived but also on a more prophetical level the fact that the lord is new Adam as many Jews believed at the time that the Garden of Eden had an olive Garden in it, this use of olive branches and other greenery represented the arrival of the new Adam to right the wrongs of the father of our race. Also, it should be noted the Lord after the last super spent the night praying to do his Fathers will in the Garden of Olives, making the right choice obeying his Fathers will and not taking the poisoned fruit of being spared the cross, but instead chose to Die to save humanity from our sins in act of love never to be surpassed.

At the beginning of the mass the faithful will either process with the priests or got to another building or room and then process with the priests marking the procession of Jesus into Jerusalem but also in a figurative way marking his entry into Jerusalem and up to heaven which commentates his journey into the city to the cross and then to Heaven to take up his Seat at the right hand of the Father, also this is a reversal of our decline being banished from the Garden of Eden into the world.

What we must know is that palms being picked by the crowds and now held by us represent the belief that prophecy in Psalm 118 that says the Messiah will arrive in the name of the Lord “Blessed is he who comes in the name of Lord” both mentioned in Psalm 118:26 and Mark 11:19 also they are recreating the arrival of Davidic Kings such as in 2 kings 9:13.

Here we are declaring to the world the Messiah has come, so the little Palms we keep on our desk at the office, in the living room or by our home alter have a very rich history and theological significnce.

I recommend enjoying this Sunday and preparing for a holy week in which we should all take part as much as we are able and is prudent in the liturgical life of the church by attending mass, adoration and public prayers as much as possible and where we are not able to do extra works of charity which could be something as small as praying for someone specifically or helping a neighbour. An increase in prayers Is also a good idea, maybe reading one of the approved mystics of the church such as Blessed Anne Emmerich’s account of the passion and without a doubt reading the Bible accounts of the Passion is fundamental.

For a deeper understanding of the great spiritual meaning behind our faith I highly recommend the works of Dr Brad Pitre, many of his videos can be found at Catholic Productions on YouTube, his books are well worth a read and available at most book shops. If you are looking for some nice music to listen to check out Adoration of the Cross and this Palm Sunday chant Duxerunt Pullum Ad Jesus.

Catholic or pagan what is Easter.

Catholic or pagan what is Easter.

Easter is in fact Catholic not pagan, it is the replacement for Passover, the Jewish holiday. Easter is about the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That has always been the point of Easter. So where is the confusion coming from.

One misunderstanding, or lie, is that the etymology of the word Easter in English comes from a name of a pagan ‘god’. Catholics were celebrating Easter long before we spoke English. It is actually, from languages (Latin, Greek etc.,) that were commonly spoken by the church and has its roots from the word meaning Passover.

Another reason there is confusion, are, the bunnies, eggs and chocolate. This is confusing cultural celebrations with religious ones. We tend to forget that for most of history Catholics did not celebrate the rising of our Lord by eating chocolate or by letting a bloke in a bunny costume hide some eggs around our gardens.

Like most attempts to attack Catholics this is done either by accident, because of a lack of care or knowledge or deliberately out of malice, to de Christ or de Catholicise, Easter and to make people draw a wrong conclusion about Christ being our Saviour. There is nothing sinful about bunnies, eggs and chocolate, as long as you remember what Easter is about and you are careful not to put any importance on these cultural customs.

Lent the season to be repentant.

Lent the season to be repentant.

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for 40 days, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. During Lent we are called to repent; this might seem a sad time after the joys of Christmas but not so.  This is a time when we can reawaken our Sensus Fidelium and bring ourselves closer to God which of course is Joyful. In 2022 Lent begins on Wednesday, 2nd March and ends Thursday, 14th of April.

The last Sunday before Lent we will be celebrating through dispensation the feast of St Valentine great saint of the Roman church martyred on 14th February 269 AD.

It bears us well to think on St Valentine and the fact that he was willing to be tortured and killed for the faith, for in fact conducting secret marriages during the persecution of Emperor Claudius II, so through discipline, austerity of mind and body, through a vigorous prayer life may our Lent bring us renewed purpose and bring us closer to God.

With Ash Wednesday we adorn ourselves with ashes on our heads and chasten our bodies with fasting as well as abstaining from meat. During Lent traditionally abstinence from meat was practised on Wednesday and Friday throughout all of Lent as well as fasting in the Catholic way one meal and two small meals without any snacks of any kind during the day. While Alcohol was not prohibited it was generally accepted that it was not in keeping with the season to be drinking for merriment.

Generally, while fasting, also soft drinks such as Cola or fruit Juices should not be consumed as they are calorific enough to break the fast, some say diet drinks are ok as they contain no calories, milk is ok as well as is tea and coffee, this of course is down to each individual to decide what is best.

Common sense must come into practice, if you are a 6 foot male who works on a building site or exercises 2 hours a day, your main meal and 2 snacks will be bigger than a 5 foot 4 female who works in an office, as an individual be sensible, as we know it is a sin to take wages and not do a good return in work, also if you are a nurse, fireman or soldier for example, you need to be alert and do your duty, so again take this into account. During Lent, Sundays are still feast days, so you may eat and drink normally, but of course this is not an excuse to go overboard, always remembering moderation is the key to enjoying Gods gifts.

During Lent confession should be made, as well as receiving Holy Communion as a requirement of being a Catholic, this was instituted by the Fourth Lateran council 1215 and upheld by all Bishops conferences as late as 1989 in the United States as an example.

One final note is that all requirements and recommendations for Lent are subject to age, health, medical and work exemptions.

Only those aged 18 to 59 are required by the Church to fast, those who are ill or caring for the sick can be exempted, also those who have jobs that fasting would affect them negatively or endanger them or others would also be exempted, good examples of this would be a soldier on tour or a nurse on a 12 hour plus shift in an Emergency ward.

The main days of note are as follows during Lent.

Ash Wednesday -  We receive the Ash that reminds us of our mortality and that we must do penance.

Passion Sunday - Marks the start of Passiontide, the last two weeks of Lent, the custom is to veil   statues, paintings, icons etc, with the exception of the Stations of the cross.       

Palm Sunday -    Remembers Our Lord Jesus Christ entering Jerusalem and being greeted with Palms, also the start of Holy Week.

Spy Wednesday -  Reminds of the treason of Judas Iscariot.

Maundy Thursday - This is the day when our Lord commanded the Apostles to institute the Holy Eucharistic, Maundy comes from the Latin word Command.

Good Friday   -   The Commemoration of the Crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour, Fasting and    abstinence from meat is obligatory.

Holy Saturday  -  Sometimes known as Black Saturday, a time of reflection and waiting, this is      the last day of a penitential nature of Lent, Easter Vigil takes place.

Easter Sunday -  The greatest Feast of the Catholic liturgical year, Jesus Christ King of kings is      risen!

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is one of two days of mandatory fasting during Lent along with Good Friday, they are also days of abstinence that means no meat is to be consumed on these days, a tradition that dates back to Jewish tradition and is an outward sign of the solemness of the season. Ash Wednesday is not actually a day of holy obligation i.e. mandatory to attend, unlike Good Friday, Christmas Day and every Sunday of the year for example. However, Ash Wednesday is one of the best attended days of the year for the Catholic Church, this year it falls on Wednesday the 2nd of March.

I personally love Ash Wednesday and its link to the Jewish roots of our faith and the traditions of 2000 years of church history, along with the majesty of the day it all combines to make it, not by accident, the perfect way to start the Lenten season. Where we are all called upon to repent of our sins and sacrifice, doing our best to make amends for our grievous offences against God.  We are following in the footsteps of David, Daniel, Job, Esther and the other great old testament figures of our faith, who would cover themselves in sackcloth and ashes in penance for their sins.

Also, this has been carried on throughout the ages, whether it be a Roman emperor like Theodosius, barred from entering the church due to his excommunication, proceeding to donning penitent robes and covering himself in ashes outside the Cathedral in Milan as a sign of repentance or like King Henry who did the same after being excommunicated, walking through the snow in sackcloth, barefoot to bow at the feet of the Pope.  History is littered with examples from peasants to Kings showing repentance in this way.

During the mass the penitent receives the ashes (made from the palms of last year’s Palm Sunday) with the words Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris." ("Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.”) which is taken from Genesis 3.19.

The custom is attributed to Pope St. Gregory the Great, this is supposed to remind us of our mortality, which during Lent we must keep fixed in our minds as we do not know when the day of judgement will arrive?

Of course, there are many references to this practice throughout the Bible, the book of Job 42.6 “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” in here we see a direct example of doing penance for one’s sins. In Esther, we see that when she was confronted with the slaughter of her people, she dons rags and covers her hair in ashes and dung, she fasts, she prays desperately with fervour for the salvation of others.

During this time of strife and turmoil in the world and the church, we are offered an even better example by the great prophet Daniel, who although a righteous man beloved by God, does penance for his people, Daniel 9.3 “Then I Daniel turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by Prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes”.

 This shows us that all must come together in prayer, fasting and penance for one another.

During Ash Wednesday it is a good idea for those who can, to fast well, that might mean fasting a little more than the minimum requirement of 1 meal and 2 small snacks, maybe just one small meal, or even bread and water if it is safe to do so, this one will show penance to God but will also make fasting during lent a little easier as you will have started Lent strongly.

It is also important to pray fervently during Lent, for Ash Wednesday maybe pray all of the mysteries of the Rosary even if you are not in the habit of praying the full rosary daily, praying all the mysteries in one day will make you realise how little time one rosary really is.

Scripture should be read, Joel and Matthew will be the reading for the day so maybe try reading one or both of the readings so that you benefit from the scripture so much more, or even just read them before mass, so when they are read during mass you may contemplate on them more deeply.

There are many good guides to accompany you doing Lent.  Last year I read Lent and Easter with St Benedict by Judith Sutera, which contained Scripture, quotes from St Benedict as well as reflections.  It was nice and very helpful that I could start each day with a pre planned set of reflections, adding a little routine and flow to my Lent.  This year I will use Let Freedom Ring by Fr Altman, Fr Heilman and Fr Peckman.

Finally, the Lord God loves charity, maybe donate some money to a charity or church organisation, feed a homeless person or even just spend some time with a lonely person or give help to your neighbour. Doing all of this will help arm you with a sense of the season and hopefully help you have a spiritually fruitful Lent.

AC

Shrove Tuesday, Carnival, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday?

Shrove Tuesday, Carnival, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday?

Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the main penitent period of the year begins, Lent, this moveable feast in 2022 will be on March 1st, people throughout history have indulged for the last time prior to Ash Wednesday a day of fasting.

The origins of the name Shrove come from the term Shrive which means to absolve, this is in reference to going to confession during Shrovetide, the week leading up to Lent, which culminates in Shrove Tuesday. This is well documented with its first concrete mention occurring around 1000AD from Ælfric of Eynsham's "Ecclesiastical Institutes" it details the period of Shrovetide being one of confession and preparation for Lent. One tradition that emerged during the period, which we should fully embrace is the ringing of church bells on Shove Tuesday, this was always done to remind those who had not done so to attend confession before Ash Wednesday. While I recommend obtaining absolution of our sins through the sacrament of confession during the days before Shrove Tuesday, the bells ringing will be a cogent reminder to us all, of Lent approaching. Known by many names such as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras in French, the overall theme is the same, the using up or enjoying of all things, we should be abstaining from during the 40 days or so of Lent, however in places like New Orleans this had led to significantly non Catholic behaviour and like all major Catholic feasts the secular realm encroaches and besmirches the tradition.

A similar problem emerges in such festivals as Carnival in Italy, a day of excess and partying in which people would dress up in masks which originated in Venice.  The church in a reaction to the excess attempted to reclaim the festival in 1748, Pope Benedict XIV instituted the Forty hours of Carnival, a period of prayers and Eucharistic Adoration this had a plenary indulgence attached, for anyone who embraced the penitential nature of this period and confessed their sins.

Seen slightly differently around the world but in England known as pancake day, it is observed very differently in the modern church in many aspects.  While many people still have pancakes, they do not at all observe the reason for the pancakes. During Lent’s past the reason pancakes where chosen is because it allowed families to use up the last of their eggs, milk, butter, and meat products as during lent they would abstain from meat and animal products, of course now in the Roman calendar there are only two days of fasting, and a handful of meatless Fridays, so the day is practiced in an almost completely symbolic way.

While not even many traditional Catholics go on bread and water fasts during lent, one thing that we could do is to perhaps take, Shrove Tuesday slightly more seriously, in-fact maybe this year we could expand it to include Shrovetide, slowly getting rid of all the snacks and celebratory food stuffs from our homes, but also start to ponder on our Lent.  Getting our devotions, meditations and penance planned out, perhaps even just fasting Monday through Saturday by not eating snacks and keeping meals to a minimum size, or even fasting on 2 or 3 days a week.

Having done a meatless Lent I can tell you it is not fun, however it is not supposed to be, there are great spiritual benefits from fasting and abstinence that outweigh the minor discomfort.  We will be publishing a guide to minimum requirements for Lent shortly; we outline the new and old calendars requirements, plus a range of material that could be helpful to the period of Lent in your spiritual lives.

AC

Catholic or pagan what is Easter

Catholic or pagan what is Easter.

Easter is in fact Catholic not pagan, it is the replacement for Passover, the Jewish holiday. Easter is about the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That has always been the point of Easter. So where is the confusion coming from.

One misunderstanding, or lie, is that the etymology of the word Easter in English comes from a name of a pagan ‘god’. Catholics were celebrating Easter long before we spoke English. It is actually, from languages (Latin, Greek etc.,) that were commonly spoken by the church and has its roots from the word meaning Passover.

Another reason there is confusion, are, the bunnies, eggs and chocolate. This is confusing cultural celebrations with religious ones. We tend to forget that for most of history Catholics did not celebrate the rising of our Lord by eating chocolate or by letting a bloke in a bunny costume hide some eggs around our gardens.

Like most attempts to attack Catholics this is done either by accident, because of a lack of care or knowledge or deliberately out of malice, to de Christ or de Catholicise, Easter and to make people draw a wrong conclusion about Christ being our Saviour. There is nothing sinful about bunnies, eggs and chocolate, as long as you remember what Easter is about and you are careful not to put any importance on these cultural customs.

Christmas is Catholic not pagan.

Christmas is Catholic not pagan.

The disinformation that the birth of Christ or Christmas was, or was substituted for a pagan festival is incorrect. Christmas is the celebration of our Lord Christ’s birth, it always has been. Cultures all around the world have celebrations at certain times of the year, start of the year, start of spring, summer, autumn or end of the growing season and the end of the year. These are not necessarily religious occasions, so it is easy for people to get confused or be misled and the confusion is understandable.

The two pagan festivals which are used to attack Christmas are Saturnalia, the feast dedicated to the Roman ‘god’ Saturn which was actually celebrated on the 17th of December and was later increased to last a whole week, ending on the 23rd of December. The festival has had several different dates and lengths as well as meanings. We know that many early Catholic figures, discussed the interaction between this festival and the feast of our Lords birth, as did notable pagans. Each side were advising their own not to part take in the other and the pagans were usually demanding that the Catholics should be stopped from having the right to celebrate or even the choice of worship at all. Note, they were not complaining about the Catholics co-opting their festival but about them having a festival so close to theirs. Saturnalia is basically an end of harvest festival, that was first Hellenised, then Romanised and then partially re-Hellenised. Cultural end of year festivals are mainly, happy advents with gift giving and parties, but religiously Saturnalia and Advent are not the same thing. Any similarities in the celebration of these advents are coincidental, as culturally most festivals and holiday’s all around the world at all ages share many human aspects to them.

Sol Invictus is the second roman festival that is confused with Advent. Sol Invictus in the roman version was established centuries after our Lord’s birth and crucifixion, by the Roman Emperor Aurelian, to combat early Catholics from celebrating their Faith. He also wanted to start a new religion (not to the exclusion of other roman gods) based around ideas that he thought made a good roman.

Christmas celebrates the birth of our Lord Christ, it would not matter even if it did fall on another religious date or even co-opted/shared another festivals cultural trimmings. The main reason individuals or groups etc use this disinformation is to attack and cheapen our celebration of Christ and thus de-Christ Christmas, is to attempt to drive Christ from the public sphere. It is also intended to make Christ look like he could be a myth like the pagan ‘gods’. No one is denying pagan festivals existed or their cultural impact on the world, Catholics simply state that we have always celebrated our Lord Christs birth on the 25th.  We admit that in some details, trimmings, Christmas has been partially culturalized, even from an early date, this does not change what we believe religiously. Christmas is a Catholic holy time and should be treated as one.  

I thought I would do a small side piece on the Christmas tree, the Christmas tree is inspired from the story of Saint Boniface cutting down a tree. The idea came from central Europe in the medieval times, the evergreen style of trees were used for their ease of upkeep, prettiness and accessibility and their three part branches symbolising the Holy Trinity. The other staples were added over time, like lights, ornaments, angel etc. The Christmas tree is not a true Catholic or any other denominational symbol of Christ, it is a cultural idea that has become so popular it has been accommodated by all. There is nothing wrong with having a pretty tree in your living room at Advent/Christmas. However, do not put any importance on it, the tree has been used in recent times to again de-Christ Christmas. Sadly the desire to be popular has led the Catholic church to put some significance to the tree. Some say that the Christmas tree is pagan, this is not true. Tree, animal and nature worship is common but for a whole host of different reasons. The Christmas tree is not pagan but cultural.        

Advent and Christmas bringing yourself closer to Christ

Advent and Christmas bringing yourself closer to Christ

We are now fast approaching the period of Advent often known as the mini Lent.

While the secular world uses the run up to Christmas Day as a time of excess and at times grotesque over indulgence, we in the Catholic faith should be using this time to prepare ourselves for our Lords Joyous arrival.

In the early church this was a strict time of fasting, culminating in the era of St Gregory, in which all meat, fish, milk, cheese, oil and wine where abstained from throughout the whole Period of Advent allowing themselves just fish on Saturday and Sunday. As the years of went on and we arrived at Middle Ages things had changed and now fasting was observed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Nowadays of course no specific requirements are set before the faithful.

However, with the state the church is in and the world spiralling into sin, now is the time to take up the words of our Lord and pray and fast!

Perhaps not going as far as our early church fathers, as it is best to walk before you run, the benefits of fasting especially for men are numerous and help to sharpen the mind and the spirit.

After all, just one month of fasting 3 days a week is no major hardship especially considering Christmastide is so long and not far away.

Just in case your new to fasting, a Catholic Fast at its minimum involves eating 1 main meal which should be simple and not larger than usual, as well as 2 small meals half the size of your main meal or less, of course, you can go further if you are young and healthy. I myself like to go slightly further on Fridays making the 2 small meals as little as a single boiled egg or piece of fruit, but the main thing is that your eating less, not snacking and maybe feeling those hunger pangs.

Of Course along with this, an increase in prayer is essential, the St Andrews prayer should be said 15 times a day and you can find a link to a website that will take you through it, but it is a beautiful prayer and if you say it 5 times before each meal you won’t forget.

Hail and Blessed be the hour and the moment at which the Son of God was born of a most pure Virgin in a stable at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold. At the hour vouchsafe, I beseech thee, to hear my prayers and grant my desires, (then mention your intentions, once if fine) through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Amen

Along with this reading the Gospel of St Luke is a must, as it has the most detailed accounts of our Lords Birth of the four Gospels.

There also many great Christmas devotions such as Advent candles and calendars, but the main thing is to get closer to God and be ready for his only begotten son our Lord Jesus Christ.

We also have many great Feast days coming up which can celebrated in the right way during the period of penance, such as the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St Christopher who is even more fascinating than the Modern Father Christmas.

God keep you

https://www.praymorenovenas.com/st-andrew-christmas-novena

Sister Act, film review

Sister Act, film review

Sister Act is a 1992 comedy film which is directed by Emile Ardolino, written by Paul Rudnick who used the pseudonym Joseph Howard, with the music by Marc Shaiman. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg as the main character, it also has, Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel starring.

The Budget of the film was 31 million dollars and it made 231 million dollars at the box office. It was very well received by critics and the public alike at the time and has since become regarded by some as a ‘classic’. It also went on to be nominated for multiple awards. A sequel came a year later with a musical stage version in 2006 and a third film is planned by Disney in the future.

The church where the film partially takes place, is a real church called St. Paul's Church in Noe Valley, San Francisco.

Firstly, I will admit I liked this film when I was younger. It is still a fun and entertaining film, with a good cast and a simple yet satisfying story. The story is surprisingly good at keeping your attention, it is a corny, feel good film, with good intentions. The film is a good watch, it is family safe in my opinion. However it does push the fake narrative, just become modern and the church would be popular again myth. Yet it only pushes this in the sense of church engagement and music in the church. The first part, church engagement is pushed as a new thing for the church in this film or at least a renewed idea. Yet the church already feeds the poor, clothes the homeless, offers family support and does support the poor. That has and will never change. The second part the music, it does have choirs that sing outside of masses and that sells albums with church and religious appropriate music. There are some other smaller and less serious mistakes, but they were more for comedy effect and of little importance.

The idea that modern music hits would drive people to go to church and convert to the faith in any great number has already been soundly disproven in the 20th century. The easy solutions that this film offers are childish and at worst irresponsible.

Yet keeping that in mind the film is still a fun watch and as long as you and the others with you watch this film knowing the truth, then the film is appropriate to watch.           

The Gunpowder plot, Guy Fawkes the hero.

The Gunpowder plot, Guy Fawkes the hero.

The gunpowder plot was an attempt to destroy an evil dictatorship, persecuting and murdering its citizen’s, and for what, their peaceful worship of their religion, the original religion of the country. Catholics were banned from worshiping their religion of choice. They were fined and worse, for not attending the state religion. After decades of persecution and failed attempts at reforms that would lessen or cease this persecution, Catholics were left with no choice, but to act to protect themselves. When you are caught praying or attending a mass that is not state sanctioned, that should not be a crime. Sadly, the brave heroes were caught tortured and murdered. Unfortunately, this desperate attempt to force change and bring tolerance did not work and the persecution has continued for centuries.

It is sad to say that still today, Catholics are looked down on and discriminated against. Catholics who show their faith in public, will lose their job as well as hurt their future career options, in some cases friends and family will end contact with them, they will lose their sense of safety for just being Catholic. They will be then be at the mercy of the same government that purposely put them there in the hope of forcing them to change. This is happening today to some Catholics, not all. However it shows no signs of slowing down or stopping, with the only foreseeable reason for it slowing in the future, being that Catholics will be so terrified that they will change their faith to make their life tolerable. Though not as bad as torture and execution it is still not right. Most of the time the Catholic in question has simply stated their Catholic opinion on the subject and not even tried to live by it. But even talking, writing, and thinking as a Catholic can be a dangerous act these days as the state and media, especially the police, courts and the education system are deeply uneducated and intolerant to Catholics. It is sad that the state and many people still persecute Catholics today, we have always been an easy target. Film and pop culture spurs fake myths about our history and about us and our faith, Robin Hood is a good example of pushing a fake narrative about the church (stealing grain from the poor because we and our church are greedy). But there are many more, some big, some small and some which hit you front on and others which are quiet and insidious, then there are cultural myths about our history, priests, beliefs and what we think and feel. That are just thrown about like unchallengeable facts that are just believed, without any evidence or research to support them, all of which puts us in a bad light and makes the abuse of us acceptable and just, in the eyes of the uninformed. And even though we are a tolerant, diverse, loving, inclusive and beneficial group to society we are attacked. The main reason for attacking us is to force us to turn away from our faith. As our faith is a reminder that the current lifestyles that many choose to lead, and the country’s culture is negative and is deeply unhealthy. That as a society we have moved far from natural law and that things are only getting worse. We are an unpleasant reminder of this, and people wish to continue their selfish and destructive lives, without having to listen to their souls’ guilt for their actions and attitudes. We also stand for democracy, free speech, responsibility, non-materialism, delayed gratification, faith, family, charity, non-judgmental, natural law and many other things. Which to many seem to be unreasonable ideas these days. I hope that we are not imprisoned and or killed for our faith again in this country, but I sadly believe that it may not be long before we are, placed at a crossroads once again. It will not be the same as in the past, less rack and more psychology but it could still be a new age of martyrs. I hope not, but all the signs are there.             

To the credit of the gunpowder plotters they were trying to be merciful and this is what got them killed and so many more in the future. If only they had not warned so many of the plot. If only they had not trusted so many with the information. They could have sent men to stop by force their brothers from going to parliament if they wanted to save their lives. They could have let them die for their faith. Not an easy choice and not one without risk of one’s soul but to stop a country from losing its soul and from spreading the protestant cancer, it may have been a necessary price. God will in the end of course decide. But an important lesson can be learned from the gunpowder plot, mercy has a time and a place.    

RC