Saturday, August 16, 2014
THE B-MOVIE CATECHISM: NOW SHOWING AT A BLOG NEAR YOU
THE B-MOVIE CATECHISM: NOW SHOWING AT A BLOG NEAR YOU: My review for Aleteia this week was for Calvary , John Michael McDonagh’s new film detailing what happens after a good priest receives rece...
Saint Louis Catholic: Hmmm, I Wonder What Could Have Possibly Happened t...
Saint Louis Catholic: Hmmm, I Wonder What Could Have Possibly Happened t...: Ferguson. It's on everybody's mind in St. Louis. Elsewhere, too, maybe, but it's different when these things happen in neighborh...
Number 3 Equity Court: Alabama Federal Judge Arrested for Family Violence...
Number 3 Equity Court: Alabama Federal Judge Arrested for Family Violence...: An Alabama U.S. District Judge has been arrested in Atlanta for battery on his wife. Full story here.
Chinese Catholics Barred From Traveling To See The Pope
Chinese Communist officials have prevented Chinese pilgrims from traveling to South Korea to see the Pope. Full story here.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Mother of God. In the east this feast is called the Dormition of the Theotokos.
From Blessings of the Daily: A Monastic Book of Days by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette:
"This feast is considered, especially in the East, the most prominent of all the feasts celebrated in honor of the Mother of God. It is also one of the most ancient. In the Christian East, the feast is kept with great solemnity and is preceded by a two-week fast as preparation.
Some Christians, not of the Orthodox or Catholic tradition, have a difficult time trying to comprehend the mystery we are about to celebrate. After all, there is no testimony in the Scriptures concerning the death and Assumption of the Mother of God into heaven. Our belief is founded on sacred tradition, the belief of the ancient, undivided Church. . . . Saint Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem around the time of the Council of Chalcedon, relates the tradition as it was believed by the Christians of Jerusalem: Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles (except Thomas), but when her tomb was opened at the request of Saint Thomas, it was found empty; where from the Apostles concluded that her body had been taken up to heaven."
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014
A conservative blog for peace: The National Cathedral
A conservative blog for peace: The National Cathedral: It is America's imitation of Westminster Abbey, though not a replica. Since we are, after all, a branch of the same people. It's...
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Australian Judge Says Incest is OK
A Judge in Australia has said that incest should now be OK since any birth defects can be "fixed" by abortion! Read the full story here.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Anglicans Ablaze: Pastor's shift on sexuality confronts SBC
Anglicans Ablaze: Pastor's shift on sexuality confronts SBC: A Los Angeles-area Southern Baptist pastor has said he believes homosexual acts are not always sinful, leading to a split in his church a...
Anglicans Ablaze: Iraq conflict causes 'double crisis' for refugees
Anglicans Ablaze: Iraq conflict causes 'double crisis' for refugees: Sudden intense fighting in Iraq has prompted a "double crisis" in the region, with Iraqi refugees compounding the already heavy...
Anglicans Ablaze: Pastor and Bible college students attacked as 100s...
Anglicans Ablaze: Pastor and Bible college students attacked as 100s...: Nguyen Hong Quang was also beaten unconscious and had his school bulldozed in 2010. Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang and his Bible college stud...
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The Imminent Collapse of Western Civilization
Interesting blog post about the coming collapse of Western Civilization.
Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: The Venerable Mother Frances Taylor
Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: The Venerable Mother Frances Taylor: The Catholic Herald published the news that Mother Frances Taylor, a nineteenth century convert, foundress, and historical novelist, has...
Vivificat!: Archbishop of San Francisco responds to March for ...
Vivificat!: Archbishop of San Francisco responds to March for ...: Brethren, Peace be with you! The Most Reverend Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, has responded to the requests by Bay Are...
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Episcopalian Blogger Converts to Catholicism
The author of prominent conservative Episcopalian blog has come home to the Catholic Church. Thanks Be To God!
Stand Firm | Waypoints
Stand Firm | Waypoints
Monday, June 2, 2014
God Less America
Veterans Administration Chaplains who are fired for quoting
the Bible and invoking the name of Jesus in prayer. A second grader sent home and referred to
psychological counseling for drawing a picture of Christ on the cross. Christian business people ordered by Courts to
bake cakes and take pictures for Gay weddings and fined thousands of dollars
because of their belief that homosexuality is a sin. Church choirs banned from performing in
public because they refused to remove Christian hymns from their repertoire. Employees fired for eating a Chick-Fil-A
sandwich because a gay co-worker was offended.
These are just a few of the true stories of persecution against
Christians which are detailed in Fox News Commentator Todd Starnes book God
Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional
Values.
Every orthodox believer must be prepared to be
persecuted. It probably won’t be long
before even holding the opinion that homosexuality is a sin will be a crime
which can be punished with job loss and even fines and imprisonment. Priests and Pastors may go to jail for
teaching the Church’s traditional positions on faith and morals.
I enjoyed reading God Less America, but it’s about 100 pages
too long. The book is full of filler
which consists of Starnes homespun “Hee-Haw” esque ramblings about being a
Southern Baptist from Mississippi and drinking sweet tea and eating home made potato
salad at dinner on the grounds.
The
jokes and sarcasm also detract from the very serious issues which the book
deals with. A little of Starnes
Kornfield Kounty Southern Baptist jokes are OK, but it gets old after you read
over 200 pages and more than half of it is cornpone humor. Oh, well, what did I expect from a book on
current events that I bought from the Baptist Bookstore? (Oh, I forgot they’re not “Baptist Bookstores”
any more they’re “Lifeway Christian Stores.”
Glad we straightened that out.
The Old Baptist Bookstore
The New Baptist Bookstore
Anyway, God Less America is well worth a look, and you will get a few
chuckles in and between being angry and horrified about what has happened to
our country.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
The Bad Catholic's Movie and TV Blog: BANDOLERO! (1968)
The Bad Catholic's Movie and TV Blog: BANDOLERO! (1968): 1968's Bandolero! is star studded shoot em up in the tradition of the Hollywood "B" grade Western. The Bishop Gang, led b...
Talking About Hell is "Hate Speech"
News from the country that used to be England. A Baptist Church put up a sign which implied that atheists would go to hell. Based upon one complaint, the Church was investigated by the police who ruled that the poster was "hate speech" and threatened criminal prosecution against the pastor. Jesus talked about hell more than any other biblical figure. It probably won't be long before possession of a copy of the Gospels or reading them out loud will be deemed "hate speech." Full story here.
In Macon, Georgia: Catholic School Stays Catholic
A preview of things to come: a parent who sends a child to a Catholic School thinks that the teachings of the Catholic Church are "archaic" and "wrong." This is all about an openly gay teacher whose contract is not being renewed because his lifestyle violates the teachings of the Catholic faith. Full story here.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: The Last Abbot of Westminster Goes to the Tower
Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: The Last Abbot of Westminster Goes to the Tower: In 1560, John Feckenham, the last Abbot of Westminster, was sent to the Tower of London on May 20th by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Cante...
Triablogue: The Islamification of the SBC
Triablogue: The Islamification of the SBC: Paige Patterson has ignited a firestorm by admitting a Muslim to SWBTS. One issue is whether he has the authority to do so. Does this viol...
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Where Have All the Catholics Gone?
The future of the Church in the U.S. don't look so hot. From Musings of Pertinacious Papist
Episcopalian Meltdown
The Episcopal Church is nearing moral and financial collapse. Read all about on Beliefnet.
Gay Episcopal Bishop Announces Divorce
Retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, whose election as a bishop shattered the membership of the Episcopal Church, has announced his divorce from his same sex Husband. Full story from the Huffington Post.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Number 3 Equity Court: In California Supporting the Boy Scouts May Disqua...
Number 3 Equity Court: In California Supporting the Boy Scouts May Disqua...: If you support traditional marriage or are a member of the Catholic Church or other "hate groups" like the Boy Scouts you are not...
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Maundy Thursday
(Source 1979 BCP p. 169).
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Number 3 Equity Court: Shaking Baby Syndrome
Number 3 Equity Court: Shaking Baby Syndrome: Shaking Baby Syndrome: Are parents going to prison for a diagnosis that doesn't exist? Interesting article from The Verge.
Monday, April 14, 2014
PaleoJudaica.com: St. Catherine's Monastery threatened?
PaleoJudaica.com: St. Catherine's Monastery threatened?: BARBARIC: Retired army general wants Egypt's St. Catherine's Monastery demolished. Ahmed Ragai Attiya says that the historic UNES...
Anglicans Ablaze: Evangelicals admit struggling to find time for dai...
Anglicans Ablaze: Evangelicals admit struggling to find time for dai...: New research has shed light on the difficulties evangelicals have in making time for their spiritual life. In particular, the Evangelic...
Monday in Holy Week
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first He suffered pain, and entered not into glory before He was crucified. Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Source: 1979 BCP p. 168).
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Comrade Press Secretary?
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has Communist Propaganda Posters in his house ? (!) Thanks to Red State.com
Little Catholic Bubble: Sheen: Meditation on TEMPERANCE
Little Catholic Bubble: Sheen: Meditation on TEMPERANCE: Background and Part I, here . Part II, here . Part III, here . Part IV, here . Continuing with Lenten meditations on the Seven Last ...
Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Palm Sunday in England before the Reformation
Supremacy and Survival: The English Reformation: Palm Sunday in England before the Reformation: The Catholic Church in England before the Reformation used some adaptations of the Latin or Roman Rite called the Sarum Use. These adapta...
The Digital Hairshirt: " But look out because the devil is present!"
The Digital Hairshirt: " But look out because the devil is present!": What does our Pope say? “We are all tempted because the law of our spiritual life, our Christian life, is a struggle, a struggle,” said P...
Number 3 Equity Court: From the Anglo-Saxons to the ABA
Number 3 Equity Court: From the Anglo-Saxons to the ABA: I did it. And it was quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself. I read all 1144 pages of Professors Langbein, Lerner and Smith’s ...
Monday, March 24, 2014
Gay Pride Parade Won't Let Bill Donahue March
Catholic League President Bill Donahue wants to share his message at the Gay Pride Parade since they wanted a spot in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Full story here.
Number 3 Equity Court: Sharia Law Adopted By British Solicitors
Number 3 Equity Court: Sharia Law Adopted By British Solicitors: More Sharia compliant news from the Country that used to be England. Full story from the Telegraph.
Pope: Is He a Good Layman, He Should Remain So
Interesting comments from Pope Francis about making too many laymen deacons. From The Deacon's Bench.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
A Hard Boiled Thought for the Day: The Wisdom of the East?
"He found her, Moira Langtry, that is, in church.
It was one of those screwball outfits which seem to flourish on the West Coast. The head clown was a yogi or a swami or something of the kind. While his audience listened as though hypnotized, he droned on and on of the Supreme Wisdom of the East, never once explaining why the world's highest incidence of disease, death, and illiteracy endured at the fount of said wisdom"
From The Grifters (1963) by Jim Thompson
It was one of those screwball outfits which seem to flourish on the West Coast. The head clown was a yogi or a swami or something of the kind. While his audience listened as though hypnotized, he droned on and on of the Supreme Wisdom of the East, never once explaining why the world's highest incidence of disease, death, and illiteracy endured at the fount of said wisdom"
From The Grifters (1963) by Jim Thompson
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Church of England May Abolish Vestments
The Church of England is considering abolishing vestments for the Clergy during worship. This picture is an example of what may replace it. This is not a joke. Full story from the UK Daily Mail.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when He shall come again in His glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through Him who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
(Source 1980 BCP p. 211).
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Honor and Betrayal
U.S. Navy SEALs are some of the most highly trained, most elite warriors in the American armed forces. In September, 2009, a team of Navy SEALs in Iraq captured Ahmad Hashim
Abd al-Isawi, the so-called “Butcher of Fallujah,” who was responsible for thousands of deaths including those of four American Blackwater contractors whose bodies were mutilated, burned and hung from a bridge.
What was the reward for these brave fighting men who brought a heinous terrorist to justice? Court-martial and disgrace. Three SEALs were charged with prisoner abuse for allegedly hitting al-Isawi while he was in custody. The only witnesses for the government were the terrorist and an emotionally unstable naval policeman who had earlier repeatedly abandoned his post and changed his story about what happened. The only visible injuries to the prisoner were a split lip which a doctor testified were probably self-inflicted.
Despite pleas from Congress and public outrage, the military high command stubbornly proceeded with the prosecutions. Even after two of the SEALs were acquitted after trials in Iraq, the commanding officer, Major General Charles T. Cleveland, insisted that the prosecution of the remaining SEAL go forward.
Journalist Patrick Robinson has written an expose of the politically correct hypocrisy of the Obama military. It is a military which is more concerned with how our military appears to the United Nations than in achieving victory. Robinson’s book, Honor and Betrayal, should be required reading for every American. And every Patriot should be deeply ashamed at how our current government treats our bravest and most decorated warriors.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thought for the Day
Dorothy Day, from Loaves and Fishes
Wal-Mart Employees Organize Food Drive for Other Employees
Wal-Mart employees organize a food drive for underpaid Wal-Mart Employees. Read the full story here.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Book Review
The Bad Catholic reviews The Confederate General Rides North by Amanda C. Gable at The Eclectic Reader.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
The Pope, Our Lady and the End of the World
Great post from Father Dwight Longenecker about Pope Francis' consecration of the world to Our Lady of Fatima.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Gestapo Tactics Used By National Park Service Against Senior Citizens on Vacation
Welcome to the Union of Soviet Socialist States of America (U.S.S.A.) and greetings from our leader Comrade Barack Obama! Full story here.
Archbishop of Canterbury Recommends Confession
The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury has recommended confession. Full story from the UK Telegraph.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The Spirit of Vatican II
Professor Colleen McDannell, who teaches History and Religious Studies at the University of Utah, thinks that all of the changes in the Church since the Second Vatican Council have been good. She implies that she liked guitar masses, liked the Novus Ordo Mass, and she definitely likes an increased role for women in the leadership of the Church. She implies that she is in favor of women’s ordination and even more liberalization. People like this seem to not have a real appreciation of what we have in the Catholic Church and want to make it a carbon copy of the Episcopal Church. Seeing as how there are even more empty pews in Episcopal Churches than we have now in the Catholic Church, I don’t really understand why.
Having said that, Professor McDannell's book, The Spirit of Vatican II: A History of Catholic Reform in America (Basic Books, 2011), is excellent. In many ways, this book is the exact opposite of Russell Shaw’s American Church which pretty much viewed the changes in the Church as a disaster. McDannell loves “Good Pope John,” dislikes Paul VI and really dislikes Humanae Vitae. She also dislikes the efforts of John Paul II and Benedict XVI to “reform the reform.”
However, the book is well written and enjoyable. McDannell uses her own family as a case study of what life was like for the people in the pews before and after the changes in the Church which came about as a result of the Council. The only place the book dragged and became boring wasi in the middle chapter describing the Council documents. But mostly it weaves what was going on in the Church at large with what was going on in the parishes attended by her family.
Although the Bad Catholic doesn’t like the “Spirit of Vatican II” as much as Dr..McDannell does, The Spirit of Vatican II is recommended reading.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
From Blessings of the Daily: A Monastic Book of Days by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette:
"Though only a memorial on the calendar, it is Our Lady's only feast in July. In addition, it is a solemn feast for the Carmelite family, who honors Mary today as their special patroness. The origins of the order goes back to the twelfth century, to Mount Carmel in Palestine, where Our Lady and the prophet Elias inspired the lifestyle of their first hermits. These hermits, following Mary's example, applied themselves to the cultivation of inner prayer and contemplation. She was their model, their protector, and their mother. Later on, when she appeared to Saint Simon Stock, she promised her special blessing to all those who would wear the habit of the order. It is not surprising, therefore, that an order singularly blessed by Our Lady has rendered great fruits of holiness throughout the centuries. One has only to think of the great Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, or Edith Stein.
Saint Stephen Stock receiving the Brown Scapular
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Follow up on Arrested Street Preacher
Here is the full transcript of the British police interrogation of the arrested street preacher in Wimbledon England.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
California University Official Demands That Christian Student Remove Cross
A California University official demanded that a student worker remove a cross necklace because the Christian symbol is "offensive." Full story from Fox News.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Gay Pride Disco Mass?
An Episcopal Church in New York City regularly hosts a "Gay Pride Disco Mass." Even for the hip left wing anything goes Episcopal Church ain't that taking it a little too far . . . Read about it here.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Episcopal Church Celebrates Gay Marriage Decision
The latest story in the continuing saga of the impending fall of Western Civilization. Read about it here.
Professor Norman F. Cantor (1929-2004) was a historian who specialized in medieval history. He is best known for his introductory textbook on the middle ages and a large number of works of popular history.
Imagining The Law: Common Law and the Foundations of the American Legal System (1997) is a tour de force on the English Common Law background of the modern American Legal System. In fact, Cantor says that it would only take a few law school classes to get an Elizabethan barrister up to speed enough to be at home in a courtroom in late 20th century America. As the Kirkus Review said when the book first came out :"(Cantor) persuasively argues that common law's roots are so deeply embedded in our culture that even a new Ice Age might not kill them.".
For me, the most fascinating part of the book was the description of how the English Common Law was pretty much cobbled together out of necessity and expedience. For instance, the Roman Civil Law System required a veritable army of full time trained judges. The medieval kings of England desired to render justice on the cheap. Just like many rural jurisdictions in the U.S. today still have a large number of part time judges for the same reason, medieval England relied on local gentry to serve without pay as Justices of the Peace and relied upon a system of a small number of professional judges riding circuit. Cantor details how no King or parliament actually created the jury of verdict, it just sort of rose up on its' own out of practice. Originally jurymen would be members of the community who knew something about the dispute and he parties and could advise the royal justices as to who should prevail in a lawsuit. Over time this developed into the jury of verdict.
Written in a conversational style, Imagining the Law is a very informative and entertaining read for anyone interested in legal history. Long out of print, this book is still worth a look.
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