Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Reintroducing Logic and Reason to the Age of Sentimentalism

Confession

All of the posts under the "Confession" category.

How To Be Catholic in 2020

2019 was not an easy year to be Catholic. Though, if we are being honest, it hasn’t been easy to be a Catholic in any year. There are times within the Church’s history where it is easier to be Catholic due to cultural acceptance and toleration, but those days are long gone, at least for the foreseeable future.

What makes it even more difficult today is the complete lack of support from the hierarchy, from the local parish priest, up the chain to the bishop, the cardinals, and even the Pope himself. It goes without saying that there are the occasional priests, bishops, and cardinals who are indeed fighting the good fight. Still, these clergymen are few and far between.

Last year the Church in America, and certainly in other areas around the world, was rocked hard with scandal after scandal. From clergy sex abuse scandals to supporting immoral practices (including homosexual activities and birth control, to name a few), and even the misuse of money given by the faithful. Let us not forget the dreaded Pachamama incident that the Vatican and the Pope were both behind and in complete support of. There are still plenty of people who defend this nonsense and try to paint the Pachamama as some version of Our Blessed Mother, but who are they fooling?

What is a Catholic to do? As laity, we don’t have much power within the Church. But we do have some power, even on a human level. We laity need to say enough is enough. We are sick and tired of the abuses that the evil and immoral men in the Vatican and throughout the Church force down our throats daily, telling us that it’s Catholic. We aren’t stupid, and we won’t tolerate it anymore. 

Now, this isn’t saying that we are to leave the Church. We can’t and we won’t. We need to protest the solemn nonsense promoted by those in the hierarchy who are interested in promoting error. Whether it be Protestant, Pagan, Muslim, or whatever flavor of error is featured for that day. Compared to the Protestants protesting the Catholic identity of the Church, we are merely opposing the modernism that has become so prominently featured within the Church.

How do we do this?

  1. Find and attend the Traditional Latin Mass. If your local Novus Ordo parish doesn’t want to be faithful and there is no hope of it becoming traditional, then it is time to leave. Bad liturgy affects your soul more than you realize. It might mean that you have to travel much further to fulfill your Sunday obligation. But there is a relief when you know that you will go to Mass and don’t have to worry if the liturgy will be tampered with. You won’t have to worry about the sermons being heretical or tip-toeing close to it. If you can’t find or attend a TLM for some reason, then I suggest the following.
  2. Find a traditional priest. Encourage him to learn the TLM. Help out in any way that you can.
  3. Receive the Eucharist only from the priest or the deacon. Do not receive from a layman. Line jump if you have to or sit on the side that Father administers from.
  4. Receive the Eucharist kneeling and on the tongue. 
  5. Do not hold hands during the Our Father.
  6. Do not participate in the Sign of Peace.
  7. Dress your best. Men wear suits. Women dresses and veils.
  8. Reject any mannerism that is a novel idea that was not practiced within the Church before the Second Vatican Council.
  9. Frequent the Sacrament of Confession a minimum of once a month, ideally every other week. This way, you are always within the plus or minus eight days to receive a plenary indulgence. Go more often if you fall outside of the state of grace.
  10. Pray the Rosary daily! Our Lady of Fatima has begged and pleaded us to pray the Rosary. 

Ultimately, the entire list can be summed up as a straightforward rule: Be Catholic. We can no longer sit idly by as our Church become less Catholic. We must take an active role and lead by example. We must also remember to fast and pray, for as Our Lord said in Mark 9:29, ” This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”

Jeff January 13, 2020 1 Comment Permalink

What Do You Believe? Novus Ordo vs. Traditional Latin Mass Catholics

For those of you who frequent my blog, you know that I often compare the differences between the Novus Ordo and the Traditional Latin Mass. You know that I have a strong preference for the Traditional Latin Mass and believe that it is not only better but far superior to the Novus Ordo. But is there any way to show some substantive evidence that the TLM is, in fact, better than the NO? At least, can we demonstrate that those who attend the TLM believe more of what the Church teaches and adhere to her doctrines?

The other day, my mother-in-law told me that she would love to see a statistical comparison between Novus Ordo Catholics and Traditional Catholics to see the differences between what percent of each group actually believes in the Church’s teachings and practices. Ironically enough, I saw that on Facebook somebody shared this information.

Now to be academically and intellectually honest, I’m unsure where the statistics came from for the TLM Catholics polled. However, the sample size is rather large (considering there are statistically far less TLM Catholics than Catholics at large) and so I believe it is at least worth looking at and commenting on. It is also worth mentioning that the “Catholics” category includes all types of Catholics from TLM Catholics to NO Catholics to heretical Catholics.

According to a 2016 Pew Research poll, only 13% of Catholics believe that contraception is not permissible. Of the 841 TLM Catholics who responded, 98% believe that contraception is not permissible.

With the same poll, 53% of Catholics believe abortion is not permissible, compared to 98% of the 833 TLM Catholics who responded.

A 2017 CARA poll shows that 23% of Catholics attend Mass, compared to 99% of 824 TLM Catholics.

The same poll shows that 33% of Catholics believe marriage is between a man and a woman, compared to 99% of 826 TLM Catholics.

A 2013 Catholic Philly poll shows that Catholics only give 1.2% in the collection, as opposed to TLM Catholics who give 6.2%. I take this one with a grain of salt as the Catholic Philly is out of Philadelphia, and this could potentially be an outlier.

A 2015 Pew Research poll shows that only 43% of Catholics go to confession once a year as well as weekly Mass, as opposed to 99% of TLM Catholics (only 81 samples though).

The same poll shows that Catholics have an average of 2.3 children, whereas TLM Catholics have an average of 3.7 children (with 494 responses).

Overall, the numbers are revealing a disturbing trend in that NO Catholics appear not to know their faith and quite possibly, may not believe it too.

And yes, this is just one poll whose origins are unknown to us at this time, but it certainly lends to the idea that traditional Catholicism, or Catholicism as I like to call it, is indeed better for souls than what the majority of prelates are peddling as Catholic. If I can track down where this poll came from, I will certainly let you know.

The very fact that the attitude within the Church is that the people who believe in her teachings are somehow detrimental to those who oppose her teachings is complete nonsense. Solemn non-sense even.

Jeff May 30, 2018 1 Comment Permalink

The Mercy Doors Are Coming For You!

When I wrote my article comparing the Year of Mercy to the movie Dogma, I honestly didn’t think that my analysis would be proven right. But alas, it has been.

The Year of Mercy if anything is a parody of the Catholic Church, in which everybody is going to get mercy whether they like it or not. I had heard rumblings about a “travelling door of mercy”, but when I wrote the article, I couldn’t find anything. It was almost as if all traces of it had disappeared from the internet.

Portable Door of Mercy

Over at the Catholic Herald, we read that Portable Doors of Mercy are on the road!

The Bishop of Wrexham says it allows the sick and less mobile to experience God’s mercy

Doors of Mercy have become a familiar sight during the Holy Year, present in every cathedral and in many churches in Britain and around the world, through which Catholics can pass to gain an indulgence.

But the Diocese of Wrexham has gone one further, with a portable Door of Mercy to travel the diocese.

Bishop Peter Brignall of Wrexham said the portable Door of Mercy makes the indulgence available to those who can’t travel.

“The Portable Door of Mercy provides that opportunity for those who might not be able to go on pilgrimage to the cathedral of our diocese and pass through the door,” said Bishop Brignall.

“It allows for those who are less able and who are sick to pass through and receive the Mercy of the Father.”

The door is being transferred to different deaneries around the diocese on each Saturday in Lent.

During the Year of Mercy, Catholics can gain an indulgence by passing through a Holy Door, receiving the Eucharist and going to Confession, and praying for the Pope’s intentions.

In a statement, the Diocese of Wrexham said: “The diocese has an ageing population and many would be unable to make the journey to the cathedral – this initiative of Bishop Peter’s extends God’s mercy to all in bringing the door directly to the people.

“Last weekend, the portable Door of Mercy was taken to the parish of Buckley, Flintshire, where many hundreds of people from all over North Wales attended “24 hours for the Lord”, where priests of the diocese were stationed to hear confessions throughout that period.”

This weekend the door will be taken to Our Lady of Sorrows, Dolgellau. On Saturday 19, the Feast of St Joseph, it will be taken to St Joseph, Denbigh.

Pope Francis began the Jubilee Year of Mercy by opening a Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica on December 8 last year. The Year of Mercy ends on November 20.

“God’s judgment will always be in the light of His mercy,” the Pope said. “In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love.”

First and foremost, there are plenty of ways a person can receive a plenary indulgence without the need to go through the mercy doors! There is no reason at all for traveling mercy doors.

Second, you can receive the “Mercy of the Father” by going to confession and confessing your sins. You can’t receive a plenary indulgence by just performing some action.There are specific actions you must also perform to gain the indulgence. Those actions are:

  1. Complete detachment from sin of any kind, including venial sin.
  2. You must perform the work or the prayer attached to the indulgence (in this case, walking through the Mercy Door).
  3. Go to confession and confess all sins.
  4. Receive Holy Communion worthily.
  5. Praying for the intentions of the Pope.

The Year of Mercy weakens the notion of plenary indulgences because mention of these conditions is few and far between. Catholic and non-Catholics alike are left with the impression that all one must do to gain the plenary indulgence is to walk through these mercy doors. This article happens to mention the actions, but not until seven paragraphs in, long enough in where the reader has likely stopped reading and is now left with the false impression. If an individual does not perform the works necessary for a plenary indulgence, they are left with only a partial indulgence, yet they are left to believe they have been forgiven all temporal punishment for their sins.

Third, all of this talk about passing through these doors and making them more accessible so that the person can feel God’s mercy is a hallmark of Modernism, in which a person’s faith is only as strong as their emotional connection with it. If a person feels that what they are doing brings them closer to God, then who are you to judge if it is correct or not? 

It is sad that we live in a time where those running the Church mock it. As I wrote in the other article, indulgences are a beautiful and wonderful gift from God to show his love for us. It is too bad that mercy has been redefined not to mean what it means. According to Pope Francis, one must only walk into a confessional to be forgiven, without the need to confess their sins.

Pray that God sends His mercy upon this Church and either convert this Pope or sends us another. It will be a miracle if there is any Catholicism left in the Church when Francis is through.

Jeff March 16, 2016 3 Comments Permalink

I Asked My Wife What Her Greatest Fear Was…

My wife and I will be participating in a “How Well Do You Know Your Spouse Game” at our parish this Friday, so we’ve been getting to know each other on a deeper level by asking each other commonly asked questions. So my wife asked me what my greatest fear was. To be both romantic and truthful, I responded, “losing you and the kids”. Here I thought I tallied up a point on the board. I followed up asking my wife what her biggest fear was.

Wedding Bands

“Judgement”.

As soon as she said it, I knew that my response, while noble it is, was the wrong answer.

We are on this planet for one purpose; to serve Jesus Christ. Nothing else matters. At the end of our lives, after we have passed from this Earth, Jesus Christ will judge us. All of our sins and merits will be laid before us. Jesus will lay down the verdict as to whether we have lived a holy life and are worthy to enter into Heaven, to spend some time in Purgatory, or if we have lived a wretched and unrepentant life and are cast into the fires of Hell.

We can not presume that because of our love of God that we are for certain going to make it to Heaven, or even Purgatory. Presumption of God’s mercy is a sin against the Holy Spirit. We can trust in His mercy, but we can not assume that He will give it to us.

For this reason, we should have a healthy fear of the Lord. Let us not confuse having fear with being afraid. Much like an employee has a healthy fear of his employer in that if the employee does not do his job he might get fired. Likewise, we should fear the Lord that if we sin, we might go to Hell.

It is crucial that we stay in a state of grace and go to confession as often as we need to. We do not know when God will remove us from this world and sentence us in the next. Go to confession, stay in a state of grace, pray the Rosary daily, and live a holy life.

Jeff January 6, 2016 1 Comment Permalink

Jews, Conversion, and Mercy: Getting It All Wrong

After writing my article on the Year of Mercy and how we should all ensure we make good use of Confession, I spent some time reflecting on how many people misuse mercy and confuse it with neglect. Mercy is always freely given, but mercy can only be given if the recipient is contrite and asking for it. Mercy, when given away without the call for conversion is not mercy at all, but rather, leniency.

sacred-heart-of-jesus-traditional

At dinner the other night, my son was not cooperating and didn’t eat much. He spent the majority of dinner picking at his food and throwing it on the floor. My wife and I told him he needed to eat his food, but alas, he didn’t want to. After dinner, he walked over to where we kept the desserts and began pointing at them. One part of me wanted to give him some dessert, in an act of “mercy”. However, it was obvious that if I gave him the dessert, he would not learn his lesson that he needs to eat his dinner before getting his dessert. This false mercy would not benefit him in the long run, but rather, it would teach him that if he doesn’t like what is on his plate, he can ignore it and get the rewards.

Now, this false mercy is all too prevalent in both society and the Church today. The call for mercy extends to every sinner imaginable. God’s mercy is available to all, but for Him to give us His mercy, we must first repent of our sins, confess them to a priest, and amend ourselves to live a holy life. Without the intent of the penitent, mercy can not begin to enter into the sinner’s life. And far too often when we hear about the need for mercy, it is not with this intention in mind, but for the sinner to be left alone to their sins because it makes them happy, and after all, isn’t that what Christ wanted, our happiness?

Jesus Christ did, of course, dine with sinners and prostitutes, he was even seen out in public with them, but every time he was with them, it wasn’t about hanging out with friends and accepting people for how they were, but to urge them to repent and amend their lives. We see Our Lord’s urging with the woman at the well, after He tells her everything that she has done in her life, and then proceeds to explain that He is the Messiah, in which she goes into town and tells all the people about Him and becomes a disciple.

There is also the infamously misused quote “he without sin cast the first stone”, which today has been hijacked to silence those who speak out against sin. What they fail to realize, whether it’s through their ignorance or malice, is Jesus told the woman to “go forth and sin no more.”

Jesus makes it very clear throughout the Gospel that 1). We are to follow Him, 2). There is no way to the Father but through Him, 3).He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, 4). Unless you eat His flesh and drink His blood, you do not have life within you, 5). You are to go preaching the Gospel to all the nations, making them disciples by baptizing them in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and 6). There is only one Church, which He founded.

With this in mind, it is heartbreaking to hear that leading theologians within the Vatican have announced that it is unCatholic and antisemitic to proclaim the Gospel to the Jews, implying they are saved and thus do not need Jesus. Sadly, this is not true in the slightest and every single person on this Earth is in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, who was crucified, died, and rose again, so that we all might have eternal life.

Jesus Crucified

The Jews crucified Jesus by handing Him over to Pilate. The Jews rejected Jesus when He announced that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. Once Jesus was crucified, the covenant with the Jews was broken, and they were no longer the chosen people.

While Catholics have many roots in Judaism, we do not follow the Judaic laws that were made by Moses, but only those which Jesus came to fulfill. At one point the Jews did worship the same God as us, but once God made known that He was not simply Father, but rather Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Jews rejected the Son. And by doing so, rejected the Father, as Jesus said “whoever denies me before men, I will deny before my Father” (c.f. Matthew 10:33).

It is sad to hear how many Catholic prelates and theologians have thrown away the teachings of Our Lord to appeal to this God-forsaken world. These men, who have been entrusted to safeguard the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church, fail God and the laity when they poison the wells.

Continue to pray for conversions, to evangelize, to teach, to preach, and to live a holy life. We must be ready to preach mercy in the way that God teaches us, that those sinners who readily repent and confess their sins will indeed receive that wondrous mercy that only God can give.

Jeff December 11, 2015 2 Comments Permalink

get_footer() ?>