The Blackbird (Turdus merula)

In Germany last Summer I first learned of "die Amsel", and now in Rome, "il merlo." Never heard or seen it in America.

Very similar to the mockingbird in the pleasantness and variety of melody, though with a very inferior gait and overall appearance.

Our New Jersey mockingbird has a slender, chiseled stance and noble poise, while the common blackbird (male) is just a plump black ball (with a yellow beak).

He does have the better song and I understand that he can be trained to talk better than a parrot! Somehow he fits right in with the Roman and German scene. He looks and sings like a Pavarotti! The first singer of the Roman Spring and of the Roman Spring days. Love it!

Atheist Answer

Pray, scientifically prove the origin of the world, the immortality of the soul, the fact of human freedom and the moral conscience.

It's like saying sell me some love or sell me some life or inner freedom or moral responsibility. Some things are not bought or sold.

Have you ever seen love? Have you ever measured honesty, or weighed honor.

You don't have a problem with religion. You have a problem with basic logic. You're an atheist not because of science but because of your philosophy--which leads you to a false morality and a false humanity.

Gratitude, generosity, kindness, mercy and truth are all real, just as real as humanity itself, and the burden of proof? They defy all "proof" of a scientific nature because the human person has a soul, and this call for "proof" is a decidedly materialistic stance which the soul eludes.

Your Godless science is not even real science because it deprives man of what is most characteristically his as man: his heart and soul, the depth of his goodness and being. God.

Godless man gave the world WWI, WWII, adultery (of every form), contraception (to cover it up), abortion (to cover up the failed condom), euthanasia to cover our lack of true compassion and true humanity, and homosexualism to confuse and condone it all.

Science is based on belief. You have to believe that things can make sense in order to look for the sense in things.

Three obvious and fundamental (non-material) and most important realities which you have no way of approaching without the wisdom and the perfect goodness of God: the problem of Evil, the fact of human Liberty and the question of Eternity.

Cf. Pope Emeritus Benedict's Letter to Atheist Mathematician.

Atheist Logic: Part Two

Atheism is a creed.

1. If you say the world came from nothing, chaos, then you believe in nothing as the source of everything! Nothing is your Absolute. Nothing (disorder) is your God!

2. If you say the world is eternal, then The World is your Absolute. You are a Pantheist, an immanentist, a materialist. The World is your God!

The problem is simple. Rational beings naturally look for a unifying principle. What is the meaning of things. That is the origin and the only solid basis of science and of every philosophy. To find and define the meaning of things. And to look for the meaning of everything. To believe that there is no meaning is a position which is untenable because it defies all discourse and all taking of positions.

We are convinced that things have meaning, especially for those who say there is no meaning. They are in the second position of making perpetual flux their referent (Absolutely! like Nietzsche). They are claiming and making a case for universal truth! They are believers of the worse kind because they believe (in blindness) that they do not believe. They believe in the unknown as unknown. We believe in the known unknown. We know that we do not know!

We believe that God is God, not the World, not Nothing. Just God. And Jesus Christ is God. And the greatest power in the world is His love--His mercy and His love. Jesus loves you! His love for you is the source of everything!

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...He is the Light of the World...He came to His own and His own did not receive Him...but to those who would receive Him He gave the power to becomes sons of God!...and the Word was Made flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. (Cf. The Prologue of the Gospel of John [below]).

The divinity and incarnation of Christ. John bears witness of him..

[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. [4] In him was life, and the life was the light of men. [5] And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [7] This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. [8] He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. [9] That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. [10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not. [12] But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name. [13] Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. [14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. [15] John beareth witness of him, and crieth out, saying: This was he of whom I spoke: He that shall come after me, is preferred before me: because he was before me.

[16] And of his fulness we all have received, and grace for grace. [17] For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. [18] No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. [19] And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? [20] And he confessed, and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ.

[21] And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. [22] They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? [23] He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. [24] And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. [25] And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?

[26] John answered them, saying: I baptize with water; but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. [27] The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. [28] These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. [29] The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world. [30] This is he, of whom I said: After me there cometh a man, who is preferred before me: because he was before me.

[31] And I knew him not, but that he may be made manifest in Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. [32] And John gave testimony, saying: I saw the Spirit coming down, as a dove from heaven, and he remained upon him. [33] And I knew him not; but he who sent me to baptize with water, said to me: He upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. [34] And I saw, and I gave testimony, that this is the Son of God. (Douay-Rheims Traditional Catholic translation).

Pope Francis on Clericalism: Beware!

Why is Pope Francis so critical of clericalism? The answer is very simple...

...He's a Jesuit!

This is a fundamental element of the Jesuit charism (and of that of Opus Dei, perhaps even more so). Remember that God raised up the Jesuit Order in the wake of that great Council for the Reformation of the Catholic Clergy: the Council of Trent.

Recently the Holy Father spoke of the evil of clericalizing the laity, which is bad for the priest and bad for the layman!

“We priests tend to clericalize the laity. We do not realize it, but it is as if we infect them with our own disease. And the laity — not all, but many — ask us on their knees to clericalize them, because it is more comfortable to be an altar boy than the protagonist of a lay path. We cannot fall into that trap — it is a sinful complicity.”

Freedom of heart is fundamental to the Christian mission. Priests cannot fulfill their God-given mission if they live for worldly rewards. And the laity are not to spend their lives in the Church sanctuary looking for empty ecclesiastical privilege while neglecting their proper place in the world.

Christ Himself preached critically most often against the worldliness of the professional religious! Bravo, Papa Francesco. Afflict the comfortable!

PIUSFILM: FSSPX YouTube Channel

PIUSFILM is a YouTube Channel of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X with a recent short documentary film on their annual Catholic Youth Pilgrimage in answer to a new film in German theaters caricaturing traditionalists as fanatical extremists: "Kreuzweg."

Above is the "Kreuzweg" trailer.
Here is the "Katholisches Jugendbewegung" response!

Roman Bishop to Offer Extraordinary Form Mass in His Parish

For the first time since the Vatican II liturgical reforms a Bishop of the Diocese of Rome with be the celebrant at a Solemn High Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form in one of the parish churches under his jurisdiction: Auxiliary Bishop His Excellency Matteo Zuppi (Vicar of the Centro Storico section of Rome).

His Excellency Zuppi is a native Roman from that very neighborhood and attended school just a few doors up the street from the Parish.

The Pontifical Mass is to take place next Sunday, Laetare Sunday, March 30, 2014 at Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini at 11:00 AM, the time of the parish weekly Solemn High Mass. It promises to be an historic and glorious day!

Auguri Excellenza! e coraggio!

Catholicism 101 (Con't.)

Accommodations for Traditional Catholics in Rome

Here is a link to 12 Stella, a B&B in Rome catering to Catholics interested in the Tridentine Mass.

Catholicism 101

Islam is Based on the Rejection of Jesus Christ as God

Below is a translation of the Arabic Caligraphy on the interior arcade of the Dome of the Rock (692 A.D.). (Muhammed died in 632 A.D.) 

S In the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has
no associate. Unto Him belongeth sovereignity and unto Him belongeth praise. He quickeneth and He giveth death; and He has power over all things. Muḥammad is the servant of God and His Messenger.
SE Lo! God and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation. The blessing of God be on him and peace be on him, and may God have mercy. O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion
E nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His Word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His messengers, and say not 'Three' - Cease! (it is)
NE better for you! - God is only One God. Far be it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And God is sufficient as Defender. The Messiah will never scorn to be a

N servant unto God, nor will the favoured angels. Whoso scorneth His service and is proud, all such will He assemble unto Him. Oh God, bless Your Messenger and Your servant Jesus
NW son of Mary. Peace be on him the day he was born, and the day he dies, and the day he shall be raised alive! Such was Jesus, son of Mary, (this is) a statement of the truth concerning which they doubt. It befitteth not (the Majesty of) God that He should take unto Himself a son. Glory be to Him!
W When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is. Lo! God is my Lord and your Lord. So serve Him. That is the right path. God (Himself) is witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God save Him,
SW the Almighty, the Wise. Lo! religion with God (is) Islam. Those who (formerly) received the Book
differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso
disbelieveth the revelations of God (will find that) Lo! God is swift at reckoning!

A Priest Must Be...

A priest must be 

Entirely large and entirely small,
Of high character

Like a king, 

Plain and simple
Like a peasant;
A hero who's conquered himself,
A man who's wrestled with God;
A fountain of holy life,
A sinner, whom God’s forgiven;
A gentleman to the suitable request,
A servant to the weak and trembling;
Not swayed by the great,
Yet bending to the lowly;
A student before his Teacher,
A master in the spiritual combat;
A beggar with imploring hands,
A herald with golden donations;
A man on the battle field,
A maid at the bedside;
An old man in gravity,
A mere youth in zeal;
Pursuing the highest,

Tending to the smallest;

Confident in joy,
Familiar with sorrow;
Far away from envy,
Clear in thought,
True in speech;
The friend of peace,
The enemy of sloth;
Firmly grounded in himself - very different from myself. 

Salzburgische manuscript from the Middle Ages

Ein Priester muß sein
Ganz groß und ganz klein,
Vornehmen Sinn's
Wie aus Königsgeschlecht,
Einfach und schlicht
Wie ein Bauernknecht;
Ein Held, der sich selbst bezwungen,
Ein Mensch, der mit Gott gerungen;
Ein Quell von heiligem Leben,
Ein Sünder, dem Gott vergeben;
Ein Herr dem eignen Verlangen,
Ein Diener der Schwachen und Bangen;
Vor keinem Großen sich beugend,
Zu dem Geringsten sich neigend;
Ein Schüler von seinem Meister,
Ein Führer im Kampf der Geister;
Ein Bettler mit flehenden Händen,
Ein Herold mit goldenen Spenden;
Ein Mann auf den Kampfesstätten,
Ein Weib an den Krankenbetten;
Ein Greis im Schauen,
Ein Kind im Trauen;
Nach Höchstem trachtend;
Das Kleinste achtend;
Bestimmt zur Freude,
Vertraut dem Leide,
Weitab vom Neide;
Im Denken klar,
Im Reden wahr;
Des Friedens Freund,
Der Trägheit Feind;
Feststehend in sich -
Ganz anders als ich.

Et Cum Paulo

A typical traditional Catholic salutation/aspiration, e.g. to close a letter, which I often use is OMNES CUM PETRO AD IESUM PER MARIAM.

Now, with the direction of the present Magisterium of Pope Francis (cf. Evangelii Gaudium) I should like to add a name..Paulus!

A Roman inspiration! Saint Peter and Saint Paul most often appear depicted together here! Even notice in the 1962 ritual that when there is a Feast for one of them there are the additional orations for the other. Their memory always goes together! So...

OMNES CUM PETRO ET PAULO AD IESUM PER MARIAM!

A Church always ad gentes!

N.B. More on the Apostolic Exhortation to come.

Lenten Meditation: Pope Francis Style

Notice the Stigmata!...Notice...Notice...