Ranting Catholic Mom

The Mighty Father Malachi Martin

2016-01-02T15:42:00.003-06:00

Several years ago, I read Windswept House by Father Malachi Martin for the first time. At the time I mentioned his books to some of my devout Catholic friends. They referred to him as a conspiracy theorist. Since that time I have decided the only accurate response to the use of ‘conspiracy theorist’ as a pejorative is, “People do conspire.”

I was shocked by the opening scenes of Windswept House. A group of Cardinals and others arrange the enthronement of Satan in St. Peter’s Basilica on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul by holding two concurrent satanic masses, one in America, and the other in the Basilica, connected by a phone line. It struck me as outrageous at the time. Surely this was an exaggerated fantasy, a literary device, to emphasize the problems of the Universal Church.

But when the images of evil and destruction were projected onto Saint Peter’s this week, I felt certain that Father Martin knew more than I was willing to accept. He was one of the few allowed to read the entire Third Secret of Fatima by Saint Pope John XXIII. He once said in an interview that 85% of his novels were real events. Every day, news coming out of the Vatican confirms that statement. If we want to know how Catholics got to this point, we need to rehabilitate Father Martin’s writings and see him for the whistle blower he was.

In this series of articles, I will demonstrate Father Martin’s accuracy by comparing current events in the church with statements he made in his 22 lengthy interviews with Bernard Jansen. The transcripts of these interviews are available in pamphlets from Triumph Communications. You can also order cassette tapes and CD format. The interviews were conducted in 1991. I will begin with the first interview, Catholicism Overturned.

“It’s the best PR job ever done. He (Satan) doesn’t exist, but please kill the babies before they’re born. Please establish a third way of life. It’s human rights. Homosexuals have the same rights as heterosexuals. Please make homosexual marriage acceptable. Please use contraceptives because it will benefit all mankind if we limit population. It doesn’t matter if the people in East Timor are being killed off by the Indonesians. It doesn’t hurt us. He’s everywhere! He is producing this demand for this reason and tolerance and a non-fanatical outlook. Every man is his own law and every conscience is its own guide. This is the best PR job going. But the devil, the old figure with horns, a dirty tail, yellow eyes, and dirty books under his arm, hiding behind the bushes saying, “Come on over and I’ll show you some sin,”? Oh no, that’s myth. That’s superstition. It always was.” (Catholicism Overturned, 3)

Father Martin was an exorcist. His book, Hostage to the Devil, recounts five exorcisms in which he took part. It was published in 1975. His knowledge of the infiltration of evil in our world, particularly the Catholic Church, was extensive. He fought it head-on.

The single paragraph above shows the depth of infiltration into the minds of contemporary men and women. In 1990, the number of abortions in the U.S. peaked at 1,608,600, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The CDC reported a slightly smaller number; 1,429,247. The abortion rate has continued to decline since that time, but a part of that must be attributed to the changing population. Abortion had been legal since 1973, meaning that 18 year olds in 1991 had never lived in a world without abortion. They had never known a world without the legal protection of the satanic sacrifice of the murder of children in the womb. Abortion was normalized.

The gradual drop in the numbers of abortions since that time can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that there are some of those 18 year olds who we killed in the womb. Father Martin saw this evil for what it was. Rather than giving food to the starving, we gave them abortions and birth control. The U.S. still had laws in place that would not allow the funding of abortions through the government until the Obama administration, but Father Martin’s view was always international. The UN has been promoting a funding abortion since 1969 through the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. Participants in that fund were some of the moving forces behind the abominable light show at the Vatican on the Feast o the Immaculate Conception.

This initial claim, like so many made by Father Martin reflects more on the absence of priestly leadership and denunciation of pro-abortion politicians. Father says the reason for this is a withdrawal of sanctifying grace that comes from whole parishes, and even dioceses, that have no validly ordained priests or bishops. If that was true in 1991, it may be truer today.

“I will lose my faith if I commit any major sin often enough. Now many parishes do not have the sacrifice of the Mass. They have no Mass at all. They have a charade of a Mass. In that case, there is no sanctifying grace. Then they lose all light. This parish loses its supernatural light and constantly does the wrong thing. The parish goes in various directions, pushed by error, bad judgment, and people who have no faith. That parish will be pushed by Satan. That is the terrible devastation of the church.” (The Eternal War, 54)

This brings us to his second point about the satanic problem of homosexuality. In my experience in the 1980’s, most homosexuals were still relatively closeted. AIDs was considered a ‘gay disease’ and the majority of the US population still considered it an aberration, even if the cultural slide had begun. Father Martin had been seeing the cultural shift through the lens of an exorcist, one who dealt a great deal with priests. His novels, detail the homosexual influence in the priesthood. Any Catholic going to Mass at that time probably saw the problem, but the culture at large hadn’t completely shifted. Yet.

In 1993, the film Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks, helped to normalize and create sympathy for the plight of homosexuals, particularly those suffering from AIDs. The film elevated some common LGTBQ lies; about the hospital staff who wouldn’t allow his ‘partner’ to visit, about the ‘evil’ revulsion felt by his colleagues and his own attorney at the homosexual way of life. The character Tom Hanks played became the image of sacrificial suffering, while suing those who ‘persecuted’ him.

In Windswept House, which really should be required reading, one of the characters is sent to uncover homosexual practices in seminaries, while another is sent to uncover satanic covens that involve priests. I really thought that this was part of the 15% that was fantasy in the novel when I read it the first time, but that no longer seems possible. The sexual abuse scandals have, in some respects, opened the closet, but there are more hidden inside. In news today (12/13/2015), a parish in New York has been begging Cardinal Dolan for the removal of a homosexual priest who is known to have a lover and to host drug fueled parties. At this writing, the New York Daily News is reporting that Rev. Peter Miquel has resigned from St. Francis de Chantel Parish. Is he alone in this? I doubt it.

The problem that Father Martin saw so clearly was the loss of souls who have never been part of a parish in which there was active sanctifying grace from valid Masses and other sacraments. “We have come to the fulfillment of Our Lady’s prophecy that a period of unfaith would come and the Church would suffer. She said that the smoke of Satan would envelope the Church and would reach into the sanctuary and right up to the altar. This prophecy is coming true by the machinations of men and the machinations of the devil.”(The Eternal War, 55)

When Pope Paul VI spoke of the smoke of Satan, he was obviously referencing that same prophecy. Here at the Remnant are people who know that it is hard work to keep the faith and find those parishes that still have sanctifying grace. In the next installment, I will discuss the reasons Father Martin said the Novus Ordo Mass, at least prior to the revisions of Pope Benedict XVI, was invalid. I will also discuss his explanation of how God allows this grave situation to continue.

A Rant After a Few Months of Frustration.

2014-05-24T19:14:00.001-05:00

I was asked to join my Parish Council by my Pastor last fall. This required that I read and then study over the past 7 months a book titled Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry A. Weddell. At first I found the book enlightening. I liked the sections on "It is normal for Catholics to..." But the longer I read, the more I felt we were indulging in the Protestant-ization of the church that I see everywhere.

So who are today's protestants? The Leadership Council of Women Religious comes to mind. Conscious Evolution and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs are really counter to the Catholic tradition of finding meaning in sacrifice and suffering. Fasting, prayer, and abstinence are the hallmarks of forming faith.

When a Catholic news service suggests that recycling would be a good lenten sacrifice, I question the writer's understanding of sacrifice. So while Ms. Weddell didn't advocate for parishes to recycle as a way to sacrifice, she does talk a great deal about accepting people where they are. We are Catholics. Joining our church requires study and commitment. We don't take people who say they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and then let them go about their merry way. We say, "Prove it!" And there are good reasons.

The desecration of the Eucharist is a hallmark of Black Masses. The one that was held just off of the Harvard Campus is a case in point for why study and commitment need to be restored. Could a Satanist obtain a Host easily if everyone received on the tongue? Could a Catholic school student receive the sacraments but never attend Mass if we were more concerned and forceful about the expectations of parents?

Sherry's desire for everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus is right on, but I think she neglects the importance of being One Holy CATHOLIC and Apostolic. We are in a third, or maybe fourth generation of Catholics who think they can pay the money, use the schools, show up to the galas, and still not miss a soccer match or football game. She noted in a recent comment at Mark Shea's blog that European Catholics don't struggle with the Traditionalist versus Novus Ordo people like we do. That may be true, but is that because one side simply disappeared? Do we really want to emulate Europe?

Catholics are different. In an age where every group from homosexuals to Satanists demands fair treatment in the eyes of the law, the people who silently accept sacrificing and dying for the faith are
Catholics and Christians around the globe. In America, we can lose our jobs, and be scorned and belittled. How long until we take sacrifice seriously?

Planned Parenthood Explains BDSM to Teens. What Could Go Wrong?

2014-02-27T20:46:00.001-06:00

Planned Parenthood Explains BDSM to Teens. What Could Go Wrong?

Could someone please tell me why this organization receives tax money?

To Blog or not to Blog, that is the Question

2014-01-31T17:03:00.000-06:00

When under-employed, blogging was important for me to keep my mind active. Now that my life has changed-- two separate adjunct jobs, loss of a caregiver for my brother so taking on those duties, still homeschooling, invited to join my parish council, organized a reception following the opening of our newly renovated church, and a sick niece who needs a bit of care, PRAYERS PLEASE, and a desire to speak sincerely and truthfully in all things-- I don't feel I have much to say.

However this is an election year, so maybe I'll be back later.

The Best Thanksgiving, Ever!

2013-12-01T19:53:00.000-06:00

You know those parish volunteer opportunities when nobody shows up? You know how you drag yourself through on behalf of the haggard chairperson who always seems to end the day in tears? You know the volunteers who show up and refuse to do the dirty jobs, then leave early? You know the dread you feel that you'll be asked to volunteer again, and you won't feel free to say 'no' because there are so few people to help in the first place?

This is the antidote; Thanksgiving Dinner for the poor and lonely at St. Peter Parish in Omaha, Nebraska.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I was busy. The house needed cleaning, I had to teach an extra class for students with a scheduling conflict, I made 10 pounds each of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with three quarts of gravy for my family celebration, and then had to take my son to help set up a dinner at our parish for the poor and lonely because it's required for Confirmation. I was tired when we arrived at 6:15, and was ready to face the glum faces of a handful of overworked volunteers.

But that wasn't what we walked into.

The old school gym was a bustling hive of happy people working. My son set out to join the crowd of boys he knows to set up the tables and chairs. I walked into the kitchen and took the peeler and knives out of my purse, and joined the circles of potato peelers. I sat next to Patricia the Potato Peeler, which is not her actual name. She was impressively fast. The conversation was light and pleasant.

When the potatoes were done, I joined Sally and John to steam table clothes. Yes, the tables were set with clothes that were as wrinkle free as at any fine dining establishment. The centerpieces were in place, the chandelier was hung, the take home bags with sandwiches and pie were prepared.

With so many helpers, maybe 100, the preparations were done very early in the evening.

The next day, we arrived after Mass to help serve. I saw Cindy before Mass and asked if she needed me to come early. She said 'no'. I thought she was just being kind, but we stayed for Mass anyway.

When we walked in to the gym after Mass, the place was full of volunteers. The organizers said they served 506 people. They brought 170 name tags for volunteers, and ran out. My husband's name tag was a piece of paper attached to his suit with duct tape.

I went to the kitchen again, because that's where I like to be. I ran food to the buffets. There were two serving lines, servers offered one item only, including turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn and cranberry sauce. After they sat down, servers offered coffee, lemonade, and water at their tables. Other servers walked among the tables carrying trays or pushing carts with dessert options. Many of the guests asked for extra plates to cover the left-overs to take home.

The men with their belongings in a backpack, the families with children who are new to the city and do not speak English yet, the elderly who had no family to care for them... All were treated to service comparable to finest restaurants I ever worked at in college and beyond.

At noon, Cindy announced to those working the buffet and kitchen, like me, that she had other volunteers who needed work, and we should go home. When does that ever happen?

I thanked Cindy, gathered my family, and went home.

I could talk of little else with my family later in the day. I am so grateful for the chance to participate in that event. It truly was the best Thanksgiving my family has ever had.

An update from Kevin and Cindy who organized the event:

Thank you to everyone that helped set up, baked pies, gave monetary donations and helped serve the Thanksgiving meal at St. Peters. We served over 500 plates! That included 2nds and volunteers that chose to eat. That is a record, we don't care to beat! There were many graces through out the day. Below is a letter we received from a guest at the meal. Also, there is a link to a TV video coverage of the event and pictures. Be sure to visit St. Peters web site for more pictures to come! Thank you again for everyone's help! It was a true blessing to many of those less fortunate and those who helped.

Thank you for having a heart directed toward the poor,

May you have a blessed Advent,

Cindy and Kevin Engelkamp

St. Peter Catholic Church

Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Dear St. Peters,

I came to the Thanksgiving Dinner that I was told about. I have no income and was going to stay home with ramen noodles and spam.

That was the best meal I have had in a very long time.I sat in front where the singer/accordion player was. He was most excellent. Good singer, funny and entertaining. When I got home, my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. My stomach was so full, I had to take a nap.

Just want you all to know how much I appreciate all you done for me that special day.

I do have a Bible of my own. However, my eyesight is rapidly deteriorating and I can't see anymore. Would it be possible to get a large print? If so, I can volunteer my services to pay for it.

Again, thank you so much.

John K

http://www.jrn.com/kmtv/news/Volunteers-Help--233768221.html

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/7vfx2g1r3co14dd/PdsCfEL15l

Anticipation and Advent, A Meditation

2013-11-25T11:58:00.000-06:00

One of the happiest times of my life was when I was pregnant with my son, James. I remember enjoying the growth, the movement, and an overwhelming peaceful anticipation. I know there were inconveniences, pain, fears. Injecting blood thinners twice a day until I was bruised beyond any other experience, constant false labor, worries that his little heart wasn't beating properly.

In my parish now there are so many women who are anticipating the birth of another child. I look at each of them with a quiet prayer. I pray for their health, their gentle submission to the fullness of time, and their joy as they welcome a new child. I long to touch them and bless the life within them.

As Advent begins these are the things I contemplate.

Did Mary talk to Jesus in her womb, sing to him, lay her hands on him through her belly as he moved?

Did Mary shine with hope as she moved through her day as so many women I see now do?

Did Mary's heart leap daily with joy as the new life of our Lord grew withing her?

Did Mary acknowledge the daily pains and discomforts of pregnancy in that last month, and yet acknowledge the hopeful suffering those pains reflected?

I so in Advent I strive to recall the last month of pregnancy and share in that anticipation of the women I see at Mass. I find myself hugging my belly as I pray and recall the beauty of every moment of that last month.

I think of all of the times I pray to be able to walk with Jesus and do his will. But Advent is marked for me with a different prayer. At this time I pray to be united with Mary in her anticipation. I pray to forget my barren womb and to join in the joy of creation.

Getting the Disasters We Have Earned

2013-11-09T10:30:00.002-06:00

About 29% of the U.S. population not in the work force (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Another 7.3% unemployed (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Which takes that number over 1/3 of the country. Add another 16.6 % of underemployed workers (Gallup)and we have a grand total of 52.9% of the American population without full-time work.

Idle hands are the Devil's playground. That was a phrase I frequently heard while growing up. As a side note, for centuries young ladies were taught to keep their hand folded together whenever sitting in conversation or otherwise not engaged in work, in order to discourage the appearance of sinful use of the hands.

Today, it is a safe assumptions that those idle hands are more likely plunged into a bag of Cheetos purchased with an EBT card while the eyes of the owner of those hands views porn or posts on Facebook, rather than hands folded in prayer. In our post-Christian world, the notion that prayer would make a difference in our individual circumstances, or in our global ones, is almost non-existent.

I offer a series of events in the Philippines as an example of how turning away from God and prayer has impacted a country in short order. Understand that there could be other explanations for what is happening in those islands. Of course, the same could be said for any situation on the entire planet.

In December of 2012, the Filipino Congress approved a controversial Reproductive Health Bill that, "Among other objectionable provisions, the RH Bill would force medical professionals and businesses to promote and perform a full range of “reproductive health services,” regardless of conscientious objection. The bill promises to fine and jail opponents who spread as-yet-undefined “malicious” falsehoods about the bill, and would pay for contraceptive services with taxpayer funds." (Lifenews.com) This comes from a country that has a Catholic Population of about 80%. (Wikipedia)

In the 1990's and again in 2006, some cities in the Philippines tried to reinstate the practice of pausing throughout the day for the Angelus. Philippine churches used to ring the Angelus bell three times: at 6 a.m., at noon and at 6 p.m., although contemporary generations only remember the evening Angelus bell. The reinstatement of the practice was voted against primarily because it was thought that it would interfere with traffic.

As the government of the Philippines has taken strides to secularize the country and take a utilitarian view of human existence that replaces the primacy of prayer with the speed of traffic, and the sacredness of life with utilitarian contraception and abortion services, prayer has been taken out of the public square. In the past year the country has been hit by 6 typhoons, the latest of which is being described as the strongest in recorded history. There have been earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and floods. It is easy to note scientific reasons, but Catholics are called to see the signs of the times.

In the Philippines, the change from a Catholic country to a secular one has been shockingly rapid. The pain the country's people is experiencing as a result of the disasters this year in also shocking in the force and rapid succession of each event.

In the United States, our decent into pain has been different. We've had moments of extreme pain from disasters, but those moments have been followed by a numbing malaise, like taking a prescription to mask the pain. Our idleness is not marked by famine. It is lulled into a pensive comfort where even the poor can drive cars, watch cable, and eat to excess. It is a poverty of soul, full of resentment and envy of those who continue to work to support those who no longer do. Workers see the unemployed as lazy, and the unemployed see the workers as greedy.

And neither workers nor the unemployed stop to pray.

Pray for the United States

2013-10-14T18:59:00.001-05:00

Never a Clear Head

2013-10-07T19:45:00.001-05:00

I could really care less which bureaucrats are or are not being paid. I do think we could pay China by sending the entire Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, the NSA the IRS and OSHA to them. We could include all of the union leadership, everyone who has ever worked for the Obama administration, all of the Democrats and most of the Republicans in office.

Or maybe we could just shut down all of those offices and send them the money we save.

I'm not writing much these days because I'm working an extra job. I'm working an extra job because since 2008 the economy has been tinkered to death by the same bureaucrats who are refusing to talk to each other, but are more than willing to spout nasty ad hominem attacks. These are people who are paid ridiculous salaries to surround themselves with people who are paid ridiculous salaries who do nothing but bitch, whine and bitch some more.

When a good man, like Ted Cruz, takes a stand, the bottom-feeders of the fifth estate decide to only show us clips of him reading a Dr. Seuss book to his daughers. No mention of the serious thought he put into his arguments. No analysis of his valid points.

And then I try to find some sanity in the Catholic press, only to see that the Pope is talking. What he actually said has been distorted and parsed to the point that one wonders if he ever really spoke to anyone in the first place.

Where oh where are the problem solvers? Where are the truth speakers? Where is the level head?

On Pope Francis and Controversies

2013-10-03T15:27:00.001-05:00

www.jasonbachcartoons.com

Letting the Government Define Us

2013-09-15T13:33:00.000-05:00

I'm fascinated by the prospect of the Federal government defining who a 'journalist' is and enshrining that definition in federal law. It is particularly interesting since the same moral relativists who didn't want the definition of marriage that was the Defense of Marriage Act, now want to tell people that without the proper credentials they cannot publish as journalists.

In full disclosure, I am not now, nor have I ever been a journalist. I blog. I have owned several journals over my lifetime. I tended to use them to chronicle angst that would put Alanis Morisette to shame. Faith and a happy marriage put an end to all of that.

I'm no reporter either. The intended definition of 'journalist' does seem to be more appropriate for a reporter. Enough teasers...

The Judiciary Committee is "defining a "covered journalist" as an employee, independent contractor or agent of an entity that disseminates news or information. The individual would have been employed for one year within the last 20 or three months within the last five years." (Donna Cassata. Brietbart.com)

This is supposed to be a response to the Justice Department secretly subpoenaing two months of telephone records from the Associated Press, and emails and more from James Rosen (and his parents!) at Fox News. The craziness of this response is that it is trying to 'protect' the press from government over-reach and intrusion. This narrow definition will provide no protection for you, however, if you talk about politics on the phone, or share comments via email and the NSA is listening to you that day.

Also note that Senators, Schumer, Feinstein, and Durbin, who have all argued that corporations are evil, now are granting freedom of speech only to those who can show some evidence of a relationship to corporate news.

So if you weren't interested in Catholics and other Christians who have been pushed into violating their religious beliefs via the HHS mandate, perhaps you want to protect freedom of speech for little bloggers like me.

Or maybe you'll go along with this restriction of freedoms because you will be one of the 'journalists' protected by it. I would caution you that dancing that close to a fire generally does not end well. Ask the Jews who thought that because they didn't practice their faith, and they worked closely with the Nazis, they would be protected. Oh wait, you can't.

Integrity, or the Lack Thereof

2013-09-07T16:45:00.001-05:00

As President Obama continues to stick out his lower lip, cross his arms, and stamp his feet because no one at the G20 summit wants to go to war with him....

I think about the times I've reluctantly agreed with going to war. Not that the consent of a Midwestern mom has much effect on geopolitics, but war does need the support of the people. I agreed with Afghanistan because we were going after Al Queda. I agreed with Iraq because of the weapons of mass destruction, and I TRUSTED THE PEOPLE MAKING THE DECISIONS.

In Syria, there are certainly weapons of mass destruction. Both sides in this conflict have them. It is unclear who has used them. It is clear that Christians are suffering as they are attacked by all of the other players in the conflicts in Syria and Egypt. But the suffering of Christians is of no concern to this president.

Every time this president is faced with a moral question, he sides against the Christian beliefs he claims to hold. Abortion, check. Gay marriage, check. Freedom of worship, check. HHS mandate, check. Jihad 'work-place' violence in the military, check. Muslim Brotherhood tyranny in Egypt, check. Spying on American journalists, check. Letting our Libyan Ambassador die without assistance, check. Just to be clear, when a person in power lies repeatedly, obfuscates, and attacks those who question his authority, he has no integrity. It is not racist to say so. It would be racist to suggest that Obama is held to a different standard because he's black.

So when a president most needs to rely on his integrity, President Obama has none. In my list above, I specifically avoid mentioning all of the obfuscation and lies about his childhood, his college years, any part of his background before he accidentally told Joe the Plumber about his infiltration plans as our new communist leader. I really don't know who thought giving him the Noble Peace Prize was necessary, but the why is obvious. The handlers of the Manchurian Candidate recognized that his resume was a little thin.

So how do the handlers make Manchurian Obama appear to have integrity? I don't think even they can schedule enough indoctrination meetings on the golf course to make that happen. The jig is up.

A Look at How We Arrived on the Brink of WWIII in Pictures

2013-09-02T18:52:00.000-05:00

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK
The Outstanding Public Debt as of 02 Sep 2013 at 11:12:12 PM GMT is:

In short, we have sown discord in every facet of our lives. May God have mercy on us all.

My thanks to Google Images and their search engine that allowed me to think of an image and find it in moments.

When the Manchurian Cadidate Has Power

2013-08-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

If you've never watched the Manchurian Candidate or Wag the Dog, now is the time. I prefer the Manchurian Candidate that features Angela Lansbury and Frank Sinatra, but either film will help you understand the world today. We are living in a time when these works of fiction are more true than most of the news we are able to read today.

America has passed through the Looking Glass. We are now supporting Al Queda even though they will turn on us, using weapons we are supplying, faster than you can say Jihad. We are supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt as they kill thousands of Christians.

Without seeing those films, one cannot possibly comprehend our current foreign and domestic policies.

We were long ago told that it was wrong, racist and evil to question where President Obama came from. There is one certainty now, as we sit on the edge of a knife waiting for battle in Syria, we will almost certainly begin a war with Iran, Russia, China and North Korea arrayed against us. Will some of our neighbors in South America join against us as well? Almost certainly.

Our military leaders have been distracted by a search for new ways to call infiltration and sabotage by Islamists in American uniforms "work place violence." Yes they worked for the very military they were working to destroy. Isn't that the definition of a spy?

During the last election, Democrats distracted the public from the arms deal gone bad that led to the death of our Ambassador to Libya. They insisted on talking about abortion and contraception as if killing all children would save the world. The complicit media fawned over those who complained that ten dollars a month for birth control pills would cost them $50,000 a year. Then they proceeded to ignore the tales of horror coming from the more than 50 abortion clinics that have closed in the last few years, particularly the one run by Kermit Gosnell.

Is this pattern of distract and destroy the result of an indolent and complacent elite? Do they have nothing more than fierce aggression when faced with the inconvenience of life? Who are these people and what are they doing to our country?

Watch The Manchurian Candidate and then tell me if you really know who President Obama is. Watch Wag the Dog and then think about whether our media is honest and earnest enough to seek the truth about this administration.

As race baiting leads to civil unrest and war with the world looms on the horizon, do you know where the president is, who he is, and what he's doing when he isn't on the golf course?

I Need A New Name

2013-08-11T21:33:00.001-05:00

I used to rant all the time. There were plenty of things to rant about when I started this blog in 2010. The ridiculously named Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act, which was obvious to those of us who read it even in draft form, neither affordable nor protective, created an atmosphere in which ranting was not just easy but necessary.

Other issues came and went and came again... four dead Americans while the President blamed bad you-tube videos and gave new names to all of the witnesses so the press couldn't find them... little tea party groups, like the one I worked with, were systematically denied tax-exempt status by the, errr, uhm, aaah, system. I found it suspicious that I would have a computer virus issues whenever I accessed government data, but that's nothing compared to what James Rosen, The Associated Press, Fox News, Andrew Breitbart, and Michael Hastings went through.

But ranting is tiresome. I don't feel like ranting.

I feel like hunkering down and trying to figure out what to do when the crazy liberals are out of office. I count my bags of sugar which I hope will still be good when the barter system returns. I spend fruitless hours looking for a second job. I teach my son, and prepare for the next semester at the job I have.

But Ranting isn't really what I'm doing. I need help.

Here's the only idea I've been able to come up with:

"Formerly Ranting Catholic Mom; Not Kinder or Gentler, Just Quieter"

You can see why I'm asking for help. Leave suggestions in the comment box.

60 Years of Marriage

2013-08-06T14:01:00.001-05:00

On Thursday, August 1, 2013, my parents celebrated 60 years of marriage. I don't pretend to know all that has passed between them in those years. One can never truly know the depth and breadth of a marriage from the outside, even as a child of the couple. But as a witness to 50 years of their lives together, I will share my observations in the hope that the lessons I've learned from Mom and Dad will strengthen others in their vocation as married people, as those lessons have strengthened my marriage.

First I should tell you that my husband really loves my parents. Both of his parents are deceased. But I have the feeling that he is in many ways closer to my parents than he ever was to his own. His parents divorced when he was very young. That divorce colored his young life in dark shades. There was one thing we agreed when we were married, the d-word, that is divorce, was not allowed to be said between us.

The wonderful Maggie Smith, as the Dowager Countess of Downton Abbey, once said, "Marriage is a long business, and there is no getting out of it for our kind of people." When she said that line, I thought I was hearing my parents. In a culture that so disparages marriage that we cannot seem to make half of them stick, and we have to accept any sexual arrangement of adults as the equivalent of marriage, my parents appear in my minds eye as icons of what marriage really is.

I'm not canonizing them by saying this. There were some arguments between them that were really quite frightening to us as children. It was the 70's, and families were falling apart all around them. But difficult as it was, they stuck it out. As I look back on those times, and my own experiences, I realize now that I have frequently heard divorced couples say that they were surprised by the dissolution of their marriage. They never fought or argued. Maybe a good fight would have saved the marriage. In order to have a real fight, you have to have something worth fighting for.

Another key to the longevity of their marriage was that they had an efficient separation of duties. Mom ran the house and Dad was the provider and adviser. Running a household with 12 children and remaining sane is a monumental task. My Mom could put the fear of God in us if we slacked off in our studies or in our daily chores. I am constantly amazed by the memory of how clean and orderly our home was. I could tell tales of long Saturdays I spent ironing pleats into uniform skirts, or Sunday mornings making what seemed like an endless array of bacon and pancakes, but the minutia only serves to make real what was intangible but deeply felt. We were well fed, well clothed, well educated and well loved. Our participation in the duties of our home was an extension of Mom's love for us.

Dinner was always at 6:00 sharp. Dad would call if he was going to be later than 5:30. Upon arriving home, he and Mom would each have a glass of wine, and go into their bedroom so that Dad could change out of his suit into more casual attire, and they could talk about their days. The door was shut. This conversation was not to be disturbed. Once a week they would dress up for each other and go out to dinner. Dad took care of Mom with these outings. It was a break and a release for both of them.

Over the dinner table, we would talk as a family about current events or what we were learning in school. I remember my eldest brother Tom taking a psychology class at Creighton Prep, and Dad correcting any misinterpretations of Freud, Jung, or Skinner that Tom brought home. Dad was a practicing psychiatrist until January of this year. He loves teaching us, and loved teaching the young residents who followed him on his rounds. He recently received the American Psychiatric Association's Teacher of the Year Award. That accolade stands as a much appreciated achievement of his 56 years of practice. I loved to get up early to make coffee and eggs for my Dad before he left for work in the morning. Service to others was an essential lesson of our home.

Finally, during the 70's and 80's it was common for parents to stop 'forcing' their children to go to Mass with them. That never happened in our home. We were up like clockwork, taking turns in the bathrooms and dressing in our best clothes. Ties and belts were required for the boys. Never was a tennis shoe allowed. Girls wore dresses with stockings, shoulders covered at all times. We sat down to a large brunch after Sunday Mass, and television was not allowed unless we watched something as a family. Mom made sure the laundry was done on Saturday, because those machines were not to be used on a Sunday.

So there you have it. The outline of how to reach 60 years of marriage as I have observed it through my parents. Duty to God and family is first. Love each other, and express that love in the ways you serve each other. Arguments and fights are a part of life. If it's worth having, it is worth fighting for. Be consistent in your behavior because routines are the mortar that connect the bricks of family life. Marriage truly is a long business. But the fruits of the labor are many and wonderful.

By the way, the picture is of my husband, Doug, and I.

Promoting a Return to Reverence

2013-07-27T14:57:00.003-05:00

Please Watch EWTN's On Assignment, This Wednesday, July 31st

This week, Cardinal Burke spoke in an interview about the connection between liturgical abuses and moral corruption. My son was involved in the Totus Tuus program at a parish with a modern church. I attended adoration. I could not find the tabernacle. However, there was a chair for the priest in the center of the sanctuary. I was struck by how completely this design choice put man front and center, and left Jesus hiding in the shadows.

I'm asking all who read this to assist in restoring the sacred to our liturgies. This doesn't have to be a TLM Mass. We use the Novus Ordo, but it is profoundly different than the 4-hymn-sandwich at so many parishes. One simple way you can support bringing the sacred back to liturgy is by following the examples documented below. May God bless our efforts.

Try sending this link to your pastors: http://www.storytel.org/screening/ then watch
Where Heaven Meets Earth: Restoring the Sacred at St. Peter Church
or
St. John Cantius: Restoring the Sacred.

This little film company has this mission:

Despite the amorality of our day, people are seeking intelligent, honest, spiritual and moral leadership. This desire has led many to begin restoring the sacred traditions that have been all but abandoned by society; but these efforts, and their amazing results, are rarely documented and portrayed on television or in other media.

StoryTel is working to fill this void by telling these stories in high quality media productions that present heroes of the past and present in powerful and entertaining ways. Through these godly role models, we inspire our viewers to pursue opportunities and solve problems that require a vision bigger than themselves.

If you prefer, you can watch on EWTN International. Click here to find the schedule for On Assignment: Where Heaven Meets Earth. The Times should sync to your computer for your local times.

St. Peter's is my parish. We are in a temporary chapel, set up in the parish hall. Even so, look at how we strive for keeping the space holy:

Open Letter to Hollywood

2013-07-08T15:28:00.001-05:00

I'm tired of Hollywood taking every otherwise fun story and screwing it up with sex and violence. And when you don't do that, you have to throw in the better-than-any-other-character-in-every-way LGTBQ person. Or maybe you can use a Catholic priest in a confessional as the man to talk to if you want someone killed, or if a child is showing evidence of sexual abuse. Never mind that your family of characters never goes to a church of any kind, unless they are the Flanders.

I have been happily watching episodes of White Collar on Netflix. It's a crime show about art theft and forgeries, fun and quite clean... for a while. Then just as I finish recommending it to my older nieces and nephews, the hook-ups start. Then the violence increases. I'm sending out a mass email to retract all endorsements.

It's a shame too. The characters were fun. The dashing young criminal was desperately in love with ONE WOMAN. The g-man who was responsible for him was happily married to ONE WOMAN. (Of course, they have no children, just a dog, because that's the only way to stay happy, right?) Then the female FBI agent is outed in a conversation, but nothing more happens. I'm still okay with where this is going. The virtues of each of the main characters become the bonds of friendship. Moral decision making is central to each story. Then the quirky conspiracy theorist winds up in bed with someone way out of his league. AAAAARGH!

None of this nodding to secular culture was necessary to do anything more than promote the atheistic secular dominion of our morally toxic culture. Divorce, childlessness, homosexuality, and anonymous sex partners have destroyed the happiness of more families and individuals than anything else in our culture today. But that's not what you, Hollywood, want us to believe.

We are on to you. Just check your latest box office numbers. We are not going to pay for the same lies anymore. Especially if you are trying to slip it into family programming.

After the Death of DOMA

2013-06-26T11:15:00.000-05:00

The death of the Defense of Marriage Act is the death of religious liberty. All faithful Catholics and Christians, Muslims and Jews, who believe that homosexual behavior is fundamentally sinful, and that homosexual inclinations are akin to other evil temptations, are now incapacitated by law from prohibiting same-sex couples from seeking to 'bless' a 'marriage' in their churches. Here is the blood-money quote from the decision:

“DOMA singles out a class of persons deemed by a State entitled to recognition and protection to enhance their own liberty.”

When liberals talk about singling "out a class of persons" for enhancing "their own liberty," what they really mean is that if you disagree with them you are headed to the concentration camp. The "Patient Protection and Affordability Act" actually protects no patient, but does create more IRS agents, and "Affordability" can be defined as an average increase in premiums of about 20% per person. I only mention this in case you are one of the low-information voters, or elected representatives, who haven't been reading the laws passed by Congress in the last 5 years, and therefore haven't understood the linguistic trend to turn the English language into a hot-yoga class.

But I digress. Here is a simple hypothetical situation to assist you in understanding what the impact of this 5-4 (!) vote will be at your local parish:

Mary Fran is a 65 year-old grandma. Her divorce in 1974 left her free to pursue her ambition to learn liturgical dance at the local Jesuit/Sacred Heart combined university. Her daughter, Chastity, never married, but does have three children who have never known their fathers any more than Chastity did when she picked them up at the local rave nightclub.

Mary Fran has been working as Liturgical Minister for her Pastor, Father Lupusinoves, at Saint Edward Parish in Snowden. She is delighted to hear from Chastity that her grandchild, Pat is engaged to Chris. She asks Fr. Lupusinoves if the young love-birds can be married at St. Edward after measuring the length of the main aisle for the proper ratio between the walk up to the front and the dress already purchased by Pat for the big day.

Having appreciated Mary Fran's incredible choreography for many years, particularly the nymph-dance and bacchanalia for the last Good Friday service, Father signs the papers without a second thought. An appointment is made for Father to meet with Pat and Chris and take care of the marriage instruction, but Father can't work it in until 2 months before the wedding, so he trusts Mary Fran with passing on the paperwork and helping her grandchild and fiance with the basics of marriage prep.

Reports come back to Father that everything is progressing wonderfully. The parish hall is booked. Caterers and decorators are hired. Dresses and Tuxes are purchased or rented, flowers are on special order. Every material aspect of the wedding is planned, and non-refundable deposits are paid, well before Father meets the couple.

As you probably guessed. Pat and Chris are two women. Or two men. Mary Fran has followed the logical path of what she has taught during her time as Liturgical Minister. Father Lupusinoves might or might not get a reprimand from his bishop if he goes through with this. The one certainty is that he if doesn't honor the contract he signed, he will face a major lawsuit from Pat and Chris.

If people of faith do not want this to happen in their parishes, civil/legal marriages will have to be separate from the sacrament of marriage. Ironically, that is at the core of what Mary Fran has believed since her divorce in the 70's. The Mary Fran's of the world have convinced themselves that the sacrament of marriage was invalid, personally and globally. She passed this belief on to Chastity who never even bothered with it.

And now the third generation not only disregards the sanctity of marriage, but mocks it.

On the Hunt

2013-06-22T15:58:00.003-05:00

I haven't been writing as much this summer because I'm on the hunt for a new/second job. I'm hoping for a full-time job working with freshman at the University of Nebraska where I currently teach, but as long as I still get to teach, I'll be happy. This decision has been brought about by my son's desire for pilot lessons, a need to reduce debt, and the possibility of sending said son to the local Jesuit high school for about $9,000 a year.

This has been an interesting learning experience for all of us. First, it is reminder that all actions have consequences for our son. He and I have loved home school, and that may need to end. Second, I have discovered that in the digital age, applying for positions is more time consuming, not less, because everyone has a lengthy application that is designed to avoid spammers with resumes. Third, I'm once again thinking about why I teach.

I teach because I love ideas. I enjoy watching the wheels turn behind a student's eyes as he struggles to express a thought. I'm older now, and have learned some patience with waiting for the thought to form. I also have learned not to take it personally when the thought doesn't form. Teaching is like setting out a banquet; offer the best dishes you can muster and hope that the students will eat. Sometimes they don't.

I've learned that tests are not a chance for me to punish low achievers. This may seem like a no-brainer to those who have never been teachers, but too many teachers take an adversarial position around midterms and finals. The questions get obscure, the answers uncertain, and the trust between students and teachers disappears in favor of imposing a bell-curve.

Trust is the basis of all true education. Can you trust the teacher to give you the best possible opportunities to learn? Can you trust the student to be honest and industrious in completing her work? Agenda driven education, far too common at the university level, is dishonest because it is not open to ideas, but rather prescribes ideas and demands compliance. Without trust between teacher and student, learning is a furtive, sickly business, more like a prison term than a gateway to life.

Trust, and it's twin sister, respect, are earned. They don't mature well in dark, closed off spaces. When they are allowed to mature, deep learning takes place. Without them, what is learned in a semester can probably be written on an index card. There will be no memories of the class that are brought on by later experiences, unless you get pulled over by a cranky traffic cop.

Renovating the Right Way

2013-06-10T19:48:00.002-05:00

I've been in many parishes while renovations were taking place, and it can be hard to make a space that feels reverent. Folding chairs, basketball hoops, and bad sound systems can make it hard to focus on why we are at Mass in the first place.
I was reprimanded last weekend for speaking too loudly as I was leaving our parish hall, which is substituting for our church during renovations. The irony was that I was taking about how wonderful it was to have so much of the sacred in our temporary chapel.

Look at this:

I want you to notice a few details here. The altar was crafted for this purpose, and holds the Tabernacle. There is a table between the chairs for Father's biretta. In the dark opening in the distance, you can see the door of the temporary plywood confessionals. The statue of Saint Anthony is one of several that we moved from the church to increase the sense of the sacred in this temporary home. The icons of the Madonna were transferred as well.

You can pick out other features, but special note must be given to the communion rail. It was lovingly crafted last week by a parishioner who knew it was important. I'm thinking of making some small foam pads to assist those who cannot kneel on the floor during the Eucharistic prayers.

So, Father Cook, I'm sorry I was being loud after Mass. I was just so happy that such care has been given to create a holy temporary space.

For more on the renovation please visit: http://www.stpeterchurch.net/

Hate

2013-06-05T19:06:00.001-05:00

If there is a mortal sin I'm prone to it is rage. I know, big surprise from someone who calls herself a Ranting Catholic Mom. But the hate that I am holding is not rage-filled. The hate I am combating now is paralyzing.

The problem is that I really hate liars. I don't even like the little white lies of flattery. And yet when someone is lying to you, calling them a liar is generally fruitless.

Is it wrong to hope that the truth will out? Obama and his bride are seeming more like Macbeth and his Lady every day. Can't you just hear her whispering to him as they drift off to sleep, "But screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail."? Or maybe, "I have given suck and know how tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this." Just ask the lesbian who heckled her yesterday, Our First Lady will not accept opposition.

But seriously, Obama never seems to waver in his narcissistic desire to remake our very lives into the living expression of his dreams of dominion. Every time a crack or chasm opens before those who could truly oppose his wholesale support for the murder of innocents, American soldiers, and any opposition that gets too strong, Republicans, and news editors around the world seem to get bored. I wonder if they are busy watch reruns of the Kardashians.

Where is the powerful bearer of Truth who will stop this madness? Is it Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Trey Gowdy, Darryl Issa...? Will any of them fight to the end if the cameras or the polls turn against them?

Assad in Syria is being given Russian weapons and is allied with Iran. Secretary of State Kerry wants us to support the rebels fighting Assad. If this was the end of the Cold War, we are about to be engaged in a very hot one.

Why would we even engage as a country in this invitation to mass destruction? Obama hates anyone who does not bow down to him. (Never mind his own bowing to other leaders... that was just for show.) Putin is his own brand of megalomaniac. Assad has his own dreams of power.

Obama? He has never demonstrated a single redeeming character trait that wasn't exhibited expressly for the cameras that follow him everywhere. I think I really hate him.

But that's not enough. There is another level of hate that is on the rise, particularly because this president and his colleagues insist on shoving their ideology on Christians while denying that Muslim extremists are dangerous. They canonize any member of the LGBT community, except the heckler, at the expense of people of faith. I end with this from Bishop Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, shamelessly lifted from LifeSiteNews.com:

A similar search on the Internet for the name “Mary Stachowicz” yielded 26,800 results. In 2002, Mary Stachowicz was also brutally murdered, but the circumstances were quite different.
Mary, the gentle, devout 51-year-old Catholic mother of four urged her co-worker, Nicholas Gutierrez, 19, to change his gay lifestyle. Infuriated by this, as he later told police, he allegedly beat, stabbed and strangled her to death and then stuffed her mangled body in a crawl space in his apartment, located above a Chicago funeral home, where they both worked.
I know about Mary Stachowicz, not from the Internet, but personally, because Mary was my secretary at the parish where I was pastor before I was named a Bishop.
She worked part time at the funeral home and part time at the parish. One afternoon, she didn’t show up at her usual starting time. This was unusual because she was always on time. A call to the funeral home disclosed that her car was still in their parking lot and her purse with her car keys was still at her desk, but there was no sign of Mary.
As Mary’s family and friends prayed and worried about her disappearance, Gutierrez prayed with them. Three days later, her mutilated body was discovered in a crawl space in his apartment.
Both murders were senseless and brutal, and I condemn them both unequivocally. However, the fact that there are over eleven and a half million more Internet stories about Matthew Shepard than Mary Stachowicz indicates where popular sentiment lies today on the question of same-sex relationships. Shepard’s story has received such widespread attention because his homosexuality was the chief motive for his murder.
Mary’s murder was widely ignored by the media, despite the fact that she died as a martyr for her faith.

I love the Middle Ages.

2013-05-30T13:45:00.003-05:00

As I've said here before, the Middle Ages are completely under-rated.

This video explains why!

Gosnell Was Just the Beginning

2013-05-23T07:27:00.001-05:00

Carhart nurse should lose license for ‘incompetent and negligent conduct’: Nebraska Attorney General

by Ben Johnson

Wed May 22, 2013 14:41 EST
Comments ()
Tags: jon bruning, late-term abortion, leroy carhart

BELLEVUE, NE, May 22, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – The only licensed nurse at LeRoy Carhart's late-term abortion facility could lose her license for administering incorrect doses of drugs to pre-abortive women and deferring medical decisions to unlicensed employees.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has filed a petition petition with Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to revoke the nurses license. The petition accuses Lindsey Creekmore of engaging in “a pattern of incompetent or negligent conduct” by administering the wrong doses of sedatives to 11 women undergoing abortions from January 2011 to March 2012.

Lindsey Creekmore

She also deferred complex nursing care in the office's abortion recovery room to unlicensed staff, according to the complaint, which notes that Carhart's business was understaffed with appropriate medical personnel.
Creekmore has been an RN at Bellevue Health and Emergency Clinic, Inc. since September 2009.
“Clinic records show a significant pattern of substandard care practices that, in any surgical center, would endanger the health and safety of the public," said Bruning. "We are seeking [Creekmore's] license revocation.”
In all, the petition lodges nine counts of action with the state Department of Health and Human Services. It did not state if any of the women had suffered physical harm because of Creekmore's actions. The nurse will face a disciplinary hearing on August 5 before the Nebraska HHS Department's Public Health Division.
“This action proves that Carhart is operating a shoddy abortion business that endangers the lives of women through improper drugging and lack of proper post-operative monitoring, both violations of which can endanger the lives of patients,” said Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue. “The Nebraska complaint against Creekmore validates our accusations. It is our belief that these allegations are just the tip of the iceberg.”
State pro-life leaders warn more action is needed to prevent future recurrences of this kind of medical malpractice. “Because Nebraska’s abortion facilities are not subject to regular inspection, this type of activity will continue to fly under the radar, posing risks to womens’ health,” said Julie Schmit-Albin, the Executive Director of Nebraska Right to Life, in a press release.

Jennifer Morbelli

The case was built in part on the testimony of a former nurse in Carhart's Nebraska facility, lending credence to pro-life leader Mark Crutcher's recent statement that abortion employees “are starting to panic” at the notion of being held as accessories to crimes they have witnessed abortionists commiting.
On the same day that Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder in Philadelphia, the jury convicted his assistant Eileen O'Neill of practicing medicine without a license.
Carhart is under fire in two time zones, with additional scrutiny pending over a patient who died in his care in Germantown, Maryland.
Click "like" if you want to end abortion!
The official death certificate confirms that Jennifer Morbelli died on February 7 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital as a result of complications from an abortion conducted at 33-weeks gestation. Carhart, who was aware Morbelli had undergone a risky procedure, chose to leave town and could not be reached.
More than 6,000 citizens filed complaints against the late-term abortion provider over the death.
Montgomery County, Maryland, police closed the case against Carhart without charging him last week.
Carhart has denied he provides substandard care. However, the emergency contact for his facility rings to his horse equipment business, Horse Shows by Marile

This explains the IRS Scandal Very Clearly!

2013-05-22T21:32:00.001-05:00

Reality Check Cincinnati IRS agent Cindy Thomas giving orders? - FOX19.com-Cincinnati News, Weather & Sports