Sunday, February 5, 2012

First Obama Came for the Catholics

Post of interest written by Michelle Malkin HERE.

She duly notes, as everyone else does, that Obama and and his religious bigots have awakened the sleeping giant.

Did you ever think in our lifetime, we would see Bishops Roger Mahoney and Robert Lynch threaten civil disobedience over a sanctity of life issue?

Truly incredulous when you think about it.


From time to time, I've spoken about my own journey of tapping into the mystical gifts of the Church. (Though, I shouldn't call it a journey because I was dragged there unwillingly.)

When you have made a visit to the mystical world, even when you are at a distance from it, you can feel its energy. As intensely as you can feel the wind of an unexpected and approaching tornado. 99.9% of the time, you don't know what it is, but you feel it. 0.01% of the time, whether angelic or demonic, it grabs enough of your attention, maybe even curiosity, to pursue further observation, processing.

I read enough, observed enough, felt enough to recognize the mystical in Blessed John Paul II. Nearing the end of his reign, I would hear him say that we are approaching the Springtime of the Church.

Living in the theological and political armpit of the universe, where the seeds of communism and persecution of the Catholic Church were planting themselves, I couldn't imagine what on earth the man was talking about.

I wanted to see the blossoming of the Church at the sermon on the mount, all seated peacefully, gathering multitudes. The easy way. But, as often as Blessed JPII talked about the springtime of the Church, he would say with a beaming grin, "Be Not Afraid". It took me a long time to figure out those two things were tied together.

Even as I see it all playing out before us, I am amazed. Absolutely amazed.


Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich was really tapped into the mystical world.

Over the ten years of blogging, I've cited excerpts from her writings from time to time. They are worth spending some time reviewing.

Here's a few...

Among the sins of the world which Jesus took upon himself, I saw also my own; and a stream, in which I distinctly beheld each of my faults, appeared to flow towards me from out of the temptations with which he was encircled. During this time my eyes were fixed upon my Heavenly Spouse; with him I wept and prayed, and with him I turned towards the consoling angels. Ah, truly did our dear Lord writhe like a worm beneath the weight of his anguish and sufferings!

Whilst Satan was pouring forth his accusations against Jesus, it was with difficulty that I could restrain my indignation, but when he spoke of the sale of Magdalen’s property, I could no longer keep silence, and exclaimed: ‘How canst thou reproach him with the sale of this property as with a crime? Did I not myself see our Lord spend the sum which was given him by Lazarus in works of mercy, and deliver twenty-eight debtors imprisoned at Thirza?’

At first Jesus looked calm, as he kneeled down and prayed, but after a time his soul became terrified at the sight of the innumerable crimes of men, and of their ingratitude towards God, and his anguish was so great that he trembled and shuddered as he exclaimed: ‘Father, if is possible, let this chalice pass from me! Father, all things are possible to thee, remove this chalice from me!" But the next moment he added: ‘Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.’ His will and that of his Father were one, but now that his love had ordained that he should be left to all the weakness of his human nature, he trembled at the prospect of death.
...

and later she sees this...

When God had created the first Adam, he cast a deep sleep upon him, opened his side, and took one of his ribs, of which he made Eve, his wife and the mother of all the living. Then he brought her to Adam, who exclaimed: ‘This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh.’ That was the marriage of which it is written: ‘This is a great Sacrament. I speak in Christ and in the Church.’ Jesus Christ, the second Adam, was pleased also to let sleep come upon him—the sleep of death on the cross, and he was also pleased to let his side be opened, in order that the second Eve, his virgin Spouse, the Church, the mother of all the living, might be formed from it. It was his will to give her the blood of redemption, the water of purification, and his spirit—the three which render testimony on earth—and to bestow upon her also the holy Sacraments, in order that she might be pure, holy, and undefiled; he was to be her head, and we were to be her members, under submission to the head, the bone of his bones, and the flesh of his flesh. In taking human nature, that he might suffer death for us, he had also left his Eternal Father, to cleave to his Spouse, the Church, and he became one flesh with her, by feeding her with the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar, in which he unites himself unceasingly with us. He has been pleased to remain on earth with his Church, until we shall all be united together by him within her fold, and he has said: ‘The gates of hell shall never prevail against her.’ To satisfy his unspeakable love for sinners, our Lord had become man and a brother of these same sinners, that so he might take upon himself the punishment due to all their crimes. He had contemplated with deep sorrow the greatness of this debt and the unspeakable sufferings by which it was to be acquitted. Yet he had most joyfully given himself up to the will of his Heavenly Father as a victim of expiation. Now, however, he beheld all the future sufferings, combats, and wounds of his heavenly Spouse; in one word, he beheld the ingratitude of men.

The soul of Jesus beheld all the future sufferings of his Apostles, disciples, and friends; after which he saw the primitive Church, numbering but few souls in her fold at first, and then in proportion as her numbers increased, disturbed by heresies and schisms breaking out among her children, who repeated the sin of Adam by pride and disobedience. He saw the tepidity, malice, and corruption of an infinite number of Christians, the lies and deceptions of proud teachers, all the sacrileges of wicked priests, the fatal consequences of each sin, and the abomination of desolation in the kingdom of God, in the sanctuary of those ungrateful human beings whom he was about to redeem with his blood at the cost of unspeakable sufferings.

...

and this:

As there was nothing but darkness in the dwellings of these men, many among them, instead of directing their steps towards the Candle placed on the Candlestick in the House of the Spouse of Christ, wandered with closed eyes around the gardens of the Church, sustaining life only by inhaling the sweet odours which were diffused from them far and near, stretching forth their hands towards shadowy idols, and following wandering stars which led them to wells where there was no water. Even when on the very brink of the precipice, they refused to listen to the voice of the Spouse calling them, and, though dying with hunger, derided, insulted, and mocked at those servants and messengers who were sent to invite them to the Nuptial Feast. They obstinately refused to enter the garden, because they feared the thorns of the hedge, although they had neither wheat with which to satisfy their hunger nor wine to quench their thirst, but were simply intoxicated with pride and self-esteem, and being blinded by their own false lights, persisted in asserting that the Church of the Word made flesh was invisible. Jesus beheld them all, he wept over them, and was pleased to suffer for all those who do not see him and who will not carry their crosses after him in his City built upon a hill—his Church founded upon a rock, to which he has given himself in the Holy Eucharist, and against which the gates of Hell will never prevail.

Bearing a prominent place in these mournful visions which were beheld by the soul of Jesus, I saw Satan, who dragged away and strangled a multitude of men redeemed by the blood of Christ and sanctified by the unction of his Sacrament. Our Divine Saviour beheld with bitterest anguish the ingratitude and corruption of the Christians of the first and of all succeeding ages, even to the end of the world, and during the whole of this time the voice of the tempter was incessantly repeating: ‘Canst thou resolve to suffer for such ungrateful reprobates?’ while the various apparitions succeeded each other with intense rapidity, and so violently weighed down and crushed the soul of Jesus, that his sacred humanity was overwhelmed with unspeakable anguish.
...

and this...

Amid all these apparitions, Satan held a conspicuous place, under various forms, which represented different species of sins. Sometimes he appeared under the form of a gigantic black figure, sometimes under those of a tiger, a fox, a wolf, a dragon, or a serpent. Not, however, that he really took any of these shapes, but merely some one of their characteristics, joined with other hideous forms. None of these frightful apparitions entirely resembled any creature, but were symbols of abomination, discord, contradiction, and sin—in one word, were demoniacal to the fullest extent. These diabolical figures urged on, dragged, and tore to pieces, before the very eyes of Jesus, countless numbers of those men for whose redemption he was entering upon the painful way of the Cross. At first I but seldom saw the serpent; soon, however, it made its appearance, with a crown upon its head. This odious reptile was of gigantic size, apparently possessed of unbounded strength, and led forward countless legions of the enemies of Jesus in every age and of every nation. Being armed with all kinds of destructive weapons, they sometimes tore one another in pieces, and then renewed their attacks upon our Saviour with redoubled rage. It was indeed an awful sight; for they heaped upon him the most fearful outrages, cursing, striking, wounding, and tearing him in pieces. Their weapons, swords, and spears flew about in the air, crossing and recrossing continually in all directions, like the flails of threshers in an immense barn; and the rage of each of these fiends seemed exclusively directed against Jesus—that grain of heavenly wheat descended to the earth to die there, in order to feed men eternally with the Bread of Life.

Thus exposed to the fury of these hellish bands, some of which appeared to me wholly composed of blind men, Jesus was as much wounded and bruised as if their blows had been real. I saw him stagger from side to side, sometimes raising himself up, and sometimes falling again, while the serpent, in the midst of the crowds whom it was unceasingly leading forward against Jesus, struck the ground with its tail, and tore to pieces or swallowed all whom it thus knocked to the ground.



Be not....afraid?

That's a tall order.

I think You've made your point now. You've gone a bit to far to get the message home. Before it gets too frightening, we ought to call a halt. Could we start again please?


22 comments:

Maria said...

Lynch was a lavish spender who always traveled first class and that he (Urbanski) was frequently the recipient of the bishop's largesse — watches, designer clothing and other expensive items. Urbanski said at first he was grateful, until he realized that the gifts came at a price — more time, attention, and ultimately sexual favors for the bishop.

www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/070330

Is hope this is not the Bishop Lynch to whom you refer.

TTC said...

Yep. It indeed is.

Hard to believe even he has soured on the Obama administration.

Jerry said...

I confess my hatred for all other Catholics.

And I apologize

Caroline said...

Carol, You may remember I'm in Bishop Lynch's diocese .. I only hope and pray there's been a change of heart.
However, am I right in thinking that the letter re: Obama's HHS mandate from the bishop's was to be read... from the pulpits? We heard nothing until this weekend and it wasn't read or announced in at least 2 parishes that I know of. It was simply in the bulletin.....On his blog he took issue with one of the local papers

http://dosp.co/2012/02/a-tale-of-two-cities/

'The Tampa Bay Times has twice editorialized against the position I have taken, in the first instance accusing me of wishing to create a “theocracy” and just today writes “Lynch mistakingly claims this is a matter of church-state separation” and then the paper adopts the specious argument that we are only a protected “church” when we are at prayer or worship, and not when we are caring for the sick, housing the homeless, teaching our faith to our children, etc.'


As you say, I never thought I'd read things like this from him.

+

TTC said...

Caroline, of course I remember all that has gone on there. That's why his posturing against this came as such a shock to me - much like Roger Mahony.

Wow on his response in the newspaper. It is hard to believe it's the same man? Maybe there's been an authentic conversion there? If God can save a wretch like me, anything is possible! I'm adding him to my prayer list. Keep us informed will you?

I don't know if it was supposed to be read at Mass. I've been sick all weekend. Couldn't bring myself into a parish to spread it around. Nothing was read here last week. I suspect we will have to rock the boat to get it read here - if at all.

TTC said...

Jerry, Understood. Might be time to hit Corinthians.

Caroline said...

...and a wretch like me, too.

Prayers going up for you to feel better, and for our bishops. +

Anonymous said...

"Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more." (Rom. 5:20)

Catechist Kevin

susan said...

Carol,
Just now getting caught up on some blog reading...I do NOT have words to thank you for the Blessed A. C. Emmerick quotes...What a meditation they took me on this morning...what a pre-Lenten journey you've (she's) begun in me!

I read the Dolorous Passion MANY years ago and somehow forgot so very much...funny the human capacity for forgetting the sublime, eh?...and it doesn't help that my mind is a sieve.

I just got done ordering the 4-volume set of her visions of the Life of Christ...what a Lent this will be, Eastern fast and all!

Thanks again...you gave me a great gift in this.

(oh yeah, I've just gotta ask...what the heck is the deal with that video??? That's 3 minutes of sensory pain I'll never be able to undo :)

Maria said...

This from Barnhardt.biz


"Some of the bishops in the U.S. are today issuing mostly impotent, flaccid statements regarding the Obama regime’s declaration of war against the Catholic Church. The bishops are “boldly” calling for Catholics to “call, fax or email your congressional representatives” so that we may “lobby for change” and thus not be “forced to violate our consciences”.

Wow. I stand in awestruck wonder at the strong, masculine leadership on display."

I would encourage you all to read it. She rightly identifies the marxixt element in the Church and its influence. The E-mail cum letter writing campaign seems,at best, a rather anemic response to over 50 million deade and still counting.

Anyone notice that the Bishops recently asked us to fast for, I don't know, food re-distribution and climate change on Fridays?

How does a national day of protest on the part of Catholics get organized? We keep waiting for the Bishops, for some one else. How can the laity undertake something like this? Or am I crazy?

susan said...

Maria,
That 3-part entry at Ann Barnhardt's website is one of the single best pieces of writing I've ever seen (along with her earlier 3-part post on the cotaception issue)...OUTSTANDING teaching and writing!

I say how 'bout a presidential ticket with Barnhardt and McKinley...I don't care who gets top billing, I'll sell my house to campaign for that one! :)

Maria said...

She writes very well.Yes, let us back that ticket :)

Here is the reference to "fasting" that I made:

First Friday: US Catholics asked to fast, reflect on climate change
February 02, 2012


The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is asking Catholics to “fast” on Friday, February 3, by limiting their food spending to the allotment on the USDA Modified Thrifty Food Plan--about $18 for a family of four.

The theme of the February First Fridays for Food Security initiative is food insecurity and climate change. “Food insecurity is also a serious problem globally and is often intensified by climate change,” states a USCCB flyer. “According to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, climate change will significantly affect the availability of water for growing food and for crop production globally. This will disproportionately affect poor people in rural areas whose livelihoods are closely connected to agriculture and natural resources.”

These men have lost their faith and they have lost their minds.How do any of preserve our sanity?

Maria said...

PS Does "food insecurity" and "climate change" take place over abortafacients?

Maria said...

With regard to this promise it may be remarked: (1) that our Lord required Communion to be received on a particular day chosen by Him; (2) that the nine Fridays must be consecutive; (3) that they must be made in honor of His Sacred Heart, which means that those who make the nine Fridays must practice the devotion and must have a great love for our Lord; (4) that our Lord does not say that those who make the nine Fridays will be dispensed from any of their obligations or from exercising the vigilance necessary to lead a good life and overcome temptation; rather He implicitly promises abundant graces to those who make the nine Fridays to help them to carry out these obligations and persevere to the end; (5) that perseverance in receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive First Firdays helps the faithful to acquire the habit of frequent Communion, which our Lord eagerly desires; and (6) that the practice of the nine Fridays is very pleasing to our Lord since He promises such great reward, and that all Catholics should endeavor to make the nine Fridays.


So, I guess now we make reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by by fasting for food securtiy or climate change. KYRIE ELEISON

Anonymous said...

Carol the cultist promotes Bishop Lynch...LOL.....unreal!

Maria said...

Uh huh, so those who subscribe to the true Faith and the Church Christ founded are cultists. Get lost.

TTC said...

Oh..I can't wait to read Barnhardt! That woman had tremendous courage. I'd support her run!

Those were my sentiments exactly -- Some of the statements are lame.

Maria - Don't you remember our commenter, Slinger Dabullsheeta?

Slinger, I'll bite.

Yes, there's accusations out there on the internet that are disconcerting on their face. But not being privy to the evidence, I don't have any way of making a judgment call on what happened.

Just like all the other cases you come here with your panties in a twist about, YOU are not privy to the evidence either, and ergo cannot make a judgment call. No matter how much of dabullsheeta you sling around, it is still bullsheeta.

What I can make a judgment call about, because it is a matter of public record, is Bishop Lynch's history of unfaithfulness to Catholic doctrine. The reason why I mention Bishop Lynch's name in the post is because his statements are now very strongly defending the faith. I am, as the others are, pointing out that change.

Practicing Catholics are hopeful that this change signals a conversion of the heart. All the work we do in the vineyard is to promote these kinds of changes.

So, yes, that's exactly what we do is promote these kinds of changes. When we see the promotions are bearing some fruit -- it is delicious.

At that point, we do more than promote, we rejoice in it. In fact, if you could see me, I am doing a cartwheel.

You do not muzzle the ox while he is threshing. The laborer deserves his wage.

Here's some homework. Study Luke 15.

Maria said...

Well said, my friend.

TTC said...

Suzy,

You got through all three minutes??!!

It isn't vespers, but I am still a sucker for JC Superstar.

Maria said...

Hey Ladies: It seems I have resolved my noise dilemma at the National Shrine. I have discovered the Dominican House of Studies. Oh joy. Quite Mass on Sunday and beautiful Vespers in the evening.

TTC said...

btw - isn't the passion glorious?

Magnificent reading for Lent...pre-Lent. We think we have it bad, watching what's going on and feeling the twinges of Christ's sorrow. Imagine actually watching Him watch it. Ugh. No wonder the woman had to bandage her head.

TTC said...

Maria - awesome. I remember going there a few times. I'm so glad you found peace there.