Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Reintroducing Logic and Reason to the Age of Sentimentalism

Following Christ Without the Church is a False Dichotomy

So that I am not accused of being hypocritical and “picking and choosing” which of Pope Francis’ things I dislike to make him look bad, here is something good that came out of his Thursday morning Mass.

pope-francis-600

I caught this over at the National Catholic Register.

Pope Francis said in his Thursday morning daily Mass that “It is an absurd dichotomy to love Christ without the Church; to listen to Christ, but not the Church; to be with Christ at the margins of the Church,” he said. “One cannot do this. It is an absurd dichotomy.”

Yes, it is absurd to say that one loves Christ but does not want to belong to His Church, that is, the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis also added: “The first fruit of Baptism is that you belong to the Church, to the People of God. One cannot understand a Christian without the Church” and “A person that is not humble, cannot hear along with the Church. He hears only what she likes, what he likes,” noted the Pope, adding that this humility can be seen in David’s prayer, when he says “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house?””.

Read the full article over at their website, they provide a very good in-depth analysis of the homily there.

Its definitely a step in the right direction, however, if you remember way back in August when talking about converting others he said specifically ““Do you need to convince the other to become Catholic? No, no, no! Go out and meet him, he is your brother. This is enough. Go out and help him and Jesus will do the rest.”” Keep that in mind.

Continue to pray for Pope Francis and the Church. Offer up your sufferings and joys for them.

Jeff January 31, 2014 2 Comments Permalink

Attitudes Post Vatican 2

When the Second Vatican Council was implemented in the United States (and I would assume throughout most of the world), a lot of changes occurred practically overnight. The Mass practically changed from one weekend to the next. The Churches were stripped of their beauty, and everything was just different (from the accounts that I have heard).

Thoughts on Pope Benedict's Resignation

Many people left the Catholic Church. It was no longer recognizably Catholic. The attitude to this from what I have noticed is “meh, oh well, good riddance.”

However, when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said that the tree that is the Catholic Church would need to be pruned of its branches and become a smaller, yet stronger Church (reincorporate more of Catholic tradition), the attitude is entirely different.

“But, people would leave the Church! We can’t possibly do that! That would be horrible!” is the attitude you hear.

Apparently, if you are traditional, it is perfectly fine if you are no longer a part of the Church, but if you try to incorporate tradition within the Church, it is not okay.

Modernism at its finest.

Jeff January 30, 2014 2 Comments Permalink

On Time Machines and Off the Cuff Statements

I’ve  thought how I wish I had a time machine which allowed me to go one day into the future. I do this, come back to the “present” and say “I’ve had a revelation!” and present what Pope Francis had said the next day. People spend time to correct me and explain why I’m wrong. Following the next day after Pope Francis says it, the same people explain how brilliant and insightful he is.

I tease slightly, because I can, and after all, Pope Francis is one who can accept teasing, no? After all, he is very humble. But, this is the reality of what we live in today.

pope francis and the lamb

It saddens me. What used to be obviously wrong, is no longer such, because…Pope Francis said it.

If I were to say to you a year ago, you had nothing to fear when you die and are judged, because Jesus is standing next to you, and you can rest and be reassured by this, you would feed me to the wolves. You would correct me, and rightly so. No, Jesus judges you when you die. But, Pope Francis says it, and we hear “how insightful!” We are so lucky to have a Pope like him!

I receive much criticism for my concerns, and they are valid concerns. But, generally speaking, the same people who will criticize me, and more than likely, you as well, for questioning the methods of Pope Francis, will have no resolves to condemn the Popes of the 16th century who abused their Papal power. Apparently, if the Pope is dead and stole from the Church, he is a monster (and rightly so), but if a Pope is alive and steals daily from the deposit of Faith which has been entrusted to him, he is a “Saint”.

Criticism and concern is valid when it relates to the Truth of Catholicism and how her teaching is shared. However, when the criticism and concern is for changing Church Teaching (as the heretics and secular society demands) it is unwarranted.

And so I am not accused of targeting the Pope and not praying for him, please say a Hail Mary, or 3, or 5 or a decade of the Rosary for the Pope.

Jeff January 28, 2014 2 Comments Permalink

Exciting News!

I’m going to be a dad!

My wife and I are expecting our first child!

In your generosity, if you could please pray for us, we would be very appreciative.

This is the picture we used to share the news to our friends on Facebook:

Kathy Prego

My favorite part of  the picture, is that the Prego is Traditional. That’s one less thing I have to worry about 😉

Jeff January 28, 2014 Leave A Comment Permalink

Heresy

For about the last year or so, I’ve been praying and thinking about starting a YouTube channel. The reason for this is because there are some things I would like to talk about, where blog posts wouldn’t make the most sense. For example, I’ve wanted to do analysis on certain music, this includes popular music and even Gregorian Chant.

The other reason, is because sometimes, well, I can just go on and on when I talk as opposed to writing. Sometimes when I sit down at the computer to write, I just can’t think, like, at all. It’s annoying, its irritating, but you know, that’s okay, it happens.

One idea for a series I was thinking of putting together would be called “Heresy!” in which I would take an opinion that is so overly used in our culture that is completely wrong and heretical in nature. It would make for a fun video series, but, I’m just going to have to do this series on the blogosphere, which is fine.

So, what is heresy? As defined in the Concise Catholic Dictionary of 1943 (CCD): “Originally a division among Christians; the false doctrine or false interpretation of true doctrine; formal heresy is a grievous sin; it is a rebellion against God.”

Simple right? Anything that is contrary to the Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church is heresy. The Church holds the Truth and anything that is contrary to that Truth is heresy.

Its actually good to call out heresy when you see it, as normally you would want to be called out on a heresy that you subscribe to. This way, you can learn the true doctrinal teaching and apply it to your life. So, go ahead and call out heresy when you see it!

Jeff January 15, 2014 3 Comments Permalink