VLX 58: Jesus Heals a Mute
Mt 9:32-34 https://youtu.be/0mubaNY0p5E
CPX 57: Which Sacraments Are Most Necessary for Salvation?
Catechism of Pope St. Pius X (CPX) p. 60-62 Q/A #19-30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDF0B2zrR7A
Flying Kites on Clean Monday
An author at The Greek Reporter writes: "For Greek Orthodox Christians, Clean Monday marks the beginning of the 40-day fast before Easter; tradition dictates that the faithful start abstaining from eating animal products and fly a kite. Clean Monday is a cleansing of the body in preparation for the holiest period of Greek Orthodoxy and the flying of a kite is an effort to reach the Divine. Having your gaze fixed in the sky for as long as the kite flies is spiritual and mental elevation." That last line might sound a little hokey, but deeper is something a Russian Orthodox priest texted me at this time last year: "We speak of Lent as being a time of bright sadness. Which is to say that it is a time of repentance when our sorrow over our sins heralds the great [...]
TCE 13: Freemasonry and ‘Black Lives Matter’ with David Gray
Fr. David asks David Gray about his conversion from high-level freemasonry to non-dom Christianity and then his conversion to Catholicism. We discuss 'Black Lives Matter' and the state of the African-American family in the 21st century as communism approaches. https://youtu.be/YII7VvLX5vU
RIP: COVID-Vaccine Deaths in Colorado
I'm on a group text with a couple dads here in Colorado. One of them is a firefighter/paramedic in the same area in which I grew up. He texted on the group text yesterday: Also, I guy I work with who’s wife is a firefighter with [Town-X] fire and a medic, just told me that two shifts (out of three) have had 6 cardiac arrests, in the past 48 hours, of patients over 70 who have all had their second Covid shot within 12-24 hours of them going into cardiac arrest. That’s insanely abnormal, to put it mildly. And my buddy’s wife believes in, and has already received, the vaccine. Crazy. He never expected that text to end up in a blog post, but I asked him for permission to publish it, and he approved. "Town-X" in the above [...]
VLX 57: Which Bible Translation Is Best?
This is a VLX interlude where we look at the differences between formal vs. dynamic translations in the Bible-translation world. We then evaluate the pros and cons of four different Bible translations:1) Douay–Rheims Bible; 2) English Standard Version Catholic Edition; 3) New International Version; 4) the New American Bible. https://youtu.be/D-iiSldt1Ss
CPX 56: Grace and the Sacraments
Catechism of Pope St. Pius X (CPX) p. 59-60 Q/A #10-18. Grace is the principle effect of the sacraments. https://youtu.be/H8MxeGw9XkA
Trudeau: You Must “Quarantine in Designated Government Facilities.”
On Monday this week (22nd of February 2021) Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, tweeted the above two tweets. Notice that for Canadian travelers who test negative for COVID-19: You have to quarantine at home. Then, notice that for Canadian travelers who test positive for COVID-19: "You'll be required to immediately quarantine in designated government facilities." So the COVID-positive and the COVID-negative both have to quarantine now? Canada is now approaching a fully totalitarian state. However, this time it is not under the pretense of national economics (like Russia and China in the 20th century) but rather under the pretense of national health. Then put into the mix the fact that the "experts" are now saying that a positive COVID-19 test does not grant you lifelong immunity. Rather, a COVID-positive test makes you a lifelong "case." A negative [...]
VLX 56: Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
Mt 9:27-31 https://youtu.be/JcdnhlogEtk
Scrupulous Conscience vs. Sensitive Conscience
Imagine if St. Francis of Assisi were alive today. Imagine he walked into an average Catholic Church and confessed his sins. I fear the average priest would laugh at him and call him "scrupulous." But this would be a big mistake. A man's venial sins are a big deal in the eyes of God, and while no priest should be hard on people for their venial sins (nor mortal sins except extremely rare occasions) a priest should believe a penitent's accusations against herself. (A penitent is the person confessing her sins and the confessor is the priest hearing penitents' confessions, usually in a confessional box.) A priest should never correct a sensitive conscience unless he be totally sure he is listening to a scrupulous conscience. Most modern priests have an erroneous definition of both terms, and we will look [...]