As the iron bell tolls

“O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!”

I have not posted much in the last two or three weeks due to a bad case of hay fever that kept me down for at least ten days. It was hard to concentrate but fortunately there were some articles in reserve that I could post until the fever, headaches, sneezing, and coughing subsided. The spring rainy season arrived quite late this year, adding lots of dust to the pollen and pollution. Buenos Aires, the city of “good air” has not lived up to its name lately. Thanks be to God for three days of heavy rains that cleared the air. Unfortunately that also caused some serious floods in other parts of the country and it may have ruined the first harvest of soy … The long season of El Niño is just beginning!

Talking about disgraces in general … what about our body of bishops? Many have asked me if I refrained from voicing my opinion because Pope Francis is a paisano, a native of Argentina that is. With all due respect to the chair of St. Peter, I have been nice to our Pope in the past but I am now joining the crowd that laments the direction that the Church is taking under his rule.

And then we have the American bishops. I will deal with the rest of the world later. I won’t be praising them, believe me. The American bishops will do what they please, judging by their words at the Baltimore meeting. One thing I can predict: the homoheretics will not repent, renounce, nor do penance. That is not in their nature because –it is evident by now– that they do not believe in God, and they don’t walk in God’s ways. Jesus will take care of them through the usual means. The Roman Caesars, the kings of Syria and Babylon are no longer around but a good candidate to bring swift justice upon those criminals is the US Justice Department. I have heard a case is growing, something really big. I can guess the charges with some accuracy:

1. Criminal conspiracy
2. Malfeasance, money laundering
3. Rape and corruption of minors
4. Human trafficking
5. Cover up, aiding and abetting in the commission of various crimes
6. Assassination
7. Criminal defamation

I believe –although I am not sure– the US Dept of Justice will investigate this to the fullest and the US President will order a wide range of actions to capture, judge, and imprison them. Some will commit suicide as those drama queens usually do when they are at the end of the rat hole. Others will march to federal prison and end their days in shame.
For the time being, we the Catholic laity have no means to influence the events except for these actions:

1. Participate in, and support events such as Silent No More, support organizations like the Lepanto Institute and Church Militant so they can continue to expose the creeps until it is clear that they are godless infiltrates.
2. Give them no monetary or moral support, none whatsoever. Good priests may suffer but we will be able to help the good ones once they are free and it is clear that they are not part of the mafia.
3. It is more important than ever to educate, form, and inform Catholics of all ages by using the means at hand: books, internet, magazines, conferences, home schooling, etc. This crisis is the result of decades if not a century of bad catechesis, incomplete Catholic education, incompetent formation of seminarians and priests.

On this third item. We have to define some clear objectives:

1. We must prepare future seminarians thoroughly: no one should leave the seminary without being well formed in classic philosophy, Catholic theology (St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, and all the Greats) Sacred History, Greek and Latin, Apologetics, etc. Seminarians won’t bleed if they have to study hard. They will survive. Soon they will have a lot of work to do.
2. We have to develop capable lay catechists who can teach the faith to our people. Not the stupid stuff that is now passing for catechism but real knowledge and proven dexterity in the defense of the faith. That is possible. We have to teach our people to think and find pleasure in learning the faith.
3. We have to start publicly and ostensibly practicing the faith, walking in the steps of Christ and the holy saints. Time to bring back prayer, confession, and penance to the daily practice of the faith. No more giving a pass to “Catholic” politicians belonging to organizations that promote all kinds of filth. Remember the apostolic counsel in Ephesians 5: 3-7:

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

Things like that have to be practiced and taught. We have to get busy because that is our duty. Angels will assist us but they are not going to come down from Heaven to do the work because we are too lazy to do it ourselves. This should apply specially to us Catholic men, who in general tend to be pretty lazy when it comes to work hard supporting the moral fabric of our societies and the formation of the young. Here’s more apostolic counsel about keeping only good company:

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.

So much for “tolerance”, “walking with”, and “accompanying” those in “the peripheries.” this is St. Paul quoting the promises of God from the Old Testament. I think he carries more authority than the average Peronist priest:

“I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Therefore,

“Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

And,

“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Walking in the company of the pertinacious wrongdoer will exclude us from walking in the company of God. We don’t get to “smell like a sheep” if we band with the goats. We are –all of us most undeservedly, especially moi— the people of Jesus and Mary. We have been led by the nose by bad or lazy pastors for too long.

The goats are not going to leave the Church on their own. They will do more damage before they are forced to leave. It is time we start judging them by their spiritual fruits (no pun intended) and gathering only with those who teach the whole Catholic faith.

The crisis is a sign and the sign is in the crisis. They are presenting us with an abomination. Our liberation is near. When the Lord ordains the clean up, try to be miles away from the devils.

We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God. Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin Mary.