George M. Sipe @[email protected]

It is a very dark day for the most innocent among us. The new administration has pledged to ceaselessly enable, fund and promote their destruction both at home and worldwide. The Biden/Harris holocaust against the unborn begins.

https://www.ncregister.com/cna/report-joe-biden-set-to-promptly-reverse-pro-life-policies

This is just the start. Expect determined attacks against conscience protections and religious freedom. So sad.

Fr. Mike Schmitz with Ascension Press is offering a "Bible in a year" podcast (free). It has just begun so NOW is a great time to join in!

The structure is following Jeff Cavins' popular Great Adventure Bible Timeline.

Fr. Mike will the entire Bible, cover to cover. Each day will begin with Father reading 2 or 3 scripture passages totaling approximately 10-15 minutes.

https://bibleinayear.fireside.fm

Ascension Press has additional (mostly free) supporting materials on their website. A good place to start is with their FAQ: https://ascensionpress.com/pages/the-bible-in-a-year-faqs

BTW - the podcast itself is available on a wide variety of channels. If you listen to podcasts now, it is probably available by whatever means you use.

One of the podcasts I listen to is from Peter Herbeck whose focus is on the Good News as revealed in Holy Scripture.

This one too looks at scripture, but in the context of how the world is darkening and the Light of the Church has dimmed. Not upbeat, just bluntly honest.

His purpose is not to depress, but the opposite -- we must choose to stand apart from the dark with fortitude and perseverance.

https://www.renewalministries.net

Mother of God ???

Non-Catholics, when you hear Catholics refer to Jesus' mother by the title "Mother of God", it may sound seriously wrong - maybe offensive.

There are a couple of things to clear up here. Firstly, Mary was a created being around 2000 years ago. God is eternal. Mary is the created, God is the Creator. God predated her by... forever. Mary is NOT in ANY WAY a deity. You know this and so does every Catholic.

Secondly, Catholics would be equally offended at the notion of worshiping Mary as if she were in equal to the One true God. We worship and adore only God in the Blessed Trinity. We venerate (show deep respect) for many in salvation history, especially Mary for her unique role.

So then, why this title? It is precisely because within Mary's womb, through her fiat, the Word became incarnate, from that instant on in human development, birth, mortal life and subsequent eternal life her child was both 100% God and 100% human. (BTW: it is the heresy of Nestorianism that Mary only carried Christ's human nature.) Mary carried, bore, nursed and (along with St. Joseph) raised God in the flesh. For this reason the early Church fathers referred to her as the theotokos (Greek for "God-bearer"). The Protestant "reformers" (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli) likewise affirmed this (and most other "Catholic" Marian doctrines too).

Luke chapter 1:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the MOTHER OF MY LORD should come to me?

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a Holy Day of Obligation).

Venerable Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty wrote a touching reflection on motherhood in general, which is especially applicable to the Mother of God:

"The Most Important Person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral - a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body. . . The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. What on God's good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?"

In your charity, please pray for the soul of my father-in-law, Joseph Giampa, who entered into eternal life on Saturday morning at age 92. Thank you.

Eternal rest, grant unto Joseph, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the soul of this beloved father and grandfather, and those of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Choosing forgiveness over resentment:

1. Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

2. Expectations are simply premeditated resentments.

3. Resentment is like taking poison and hoping it harms those who injured us.

(original sources unclear)

This is another classic graphic on the The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Much of it applies to any form of the Mass, but it was written prior to the modern ordinary form (i.e. it is specific to the Mass of the Ages, now the extraordinary form a/k/a The Latin Mass).

This graphic does not work well on computer screens, but is in high resolution (4000x3333) so it will print well.

Maybe noting white/black smoke has wider application than just in a papal election.

Symbols of the Church

I found this old graphic online and cleaned it up.

Last Sunday I noticed a lot more people receiving communion on the tongue -- the universal norm of the Catholic Church worldwide. (Permission to ALSO receive "in the hand" is allowed only by indult.) Usually just a handful of us receive COTT so this was a pleasant surprise. I hope it continues and that even more people rethink this.

Anyway, the attached card was on everyone's windows in the parking lot. We rarely see something distributed this way and when it is, it is usually trash. This was not. It was spot on.

A highly accomplished and selfless sister speaks in defense of the defenseless at the only convention these views are welcome. Her comments were 100% consistent with the entire history of Christ's Church, every pope and the catechism. If you are Catholic, you are opposed to abortion - there is NO wiggle room.

For her faithful witness, Fr. Daniel P. Horan, OFM publicly condemned her as not "on the side of the oppressed, poor, marginalized and victims of history" and implied she was a Nazi. Fr. Horan's politics are strongly on the left and he contributes to a schismatic leftist paper. This is what the sin of scandal looks like.

Sr. Deidre Byrne, POSC, is a medical doctor, retired US Army officer, and strongly defends the unborn. She works pro bono at a medical clinic in Washington DC run by the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. She immediately went to ground zero to assist on 9/11 and has served as a missionary in Kenya, Sudan, Haiti and Iraq.

Sister's speech is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrlXvNO9VQ

Fr. Horan's comments are in the (now deleted) attached tweet.

From the Bee - funny, but too close to true. Since Democratic leadership (DNC) rejects God, what does that leave in His absence?

It seems to me more and more obvious that party members (e.g. my friends and neighbors) have beliefs *way* different than where the party has gone. They seem nostalgic for what it was and try not to look too closely at where it is today.

It is analogous to religious conversion. Realizing one day that the community you were in your whole life is wrong and becoming more so. Feeling lost, searching for truth and ending up where you were certain you could never be under any circumstance. That is my experience becoming Catholic and a lot of other folks too.

The Little Sisters of the Poor have been fighting a 7-year battle. A needless battle brought against them by leftist ideologues. Not long ago this would have been unimaginable.

https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-little-sisters-supreme-court-saga-could-be-far-from-over

We Catholics believe in the equal human dignity of all people, so of course we believe that black and every other life matters. We mean it. It is not virtue signaling.

The radical left wing political organization "Black Lives Matter" is something else. Kudos to them for picking that name, even though the their actions and statements belie their true purpose.

The horrific black murder rate in Chicago does not show on their radar. Neither does the holocaust of black baby abortions. According to candid statements made by their leadership, their purpose is to defeat Trump in November.

Looking at statistics, last year police killed (with mostly indisputable justification) 235 black people while more than double that (528) whites and Hispanics were killed by police. According to the FBI, police are 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black person than an unarmed black person killed by police.

In broader white vs. black statistics, the FBI has also released the following:

Patrick Coffin has an excellent podcast worth your time. A recent show looked at Catholic higher education. It's bad -- and dangerous. Dangerous because parents send their children believing it is minimally a somewhat Catholic environment but receive back radicalized young adults who have lost their faith.

There are superb exceptions, of course. There are also some truly excellent secular colleges with exceptional Catholic presence. Be very careful, particularly of the historical "big names" in Catholic colleges. Do your homework and consult the annual Newman Guide (https://newmansociety.org/the-newman-guide/).

More from Patrick Coffin: https://www.patrickcoffin.media/show/