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Showing posts from May, 2020

Trump and I have something in common...

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You’ve probably heard about how Twitter has ramped up their censorship on President Donald Trump. It’s almost as though a key election is coming up. For instance:   The censorship has continued now with Trump’s comments about the “thugs” inciting riots in Minnesota. This ramped up censorship is dangerous territory. Farenheit 451 and 1984 are no longer dystopian novels.  If you are unaware, or unconcerned, by this then I have only two simple words for you: Wake Up!  On a related note, look what Facebook just greeted me with: This was a “Valentine’s Day card” I sent to my wife, publicly on Facebook, over FOUR years ago. It was a joke. People laughed. But not Facebook. Apparently Facebook has been going through my posting history and found this as a potential threat to “offline harm”.  Very ironic, Facebook, that you would feel threatened by references to dictators. I guess it hit too close to home?

Raging over "The Picture"

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“The Picture” I speak of is that of a priest baptizing a child with a water gun. A section of the Catholic world blew up after seeing it. Even Fr. Z. had some strong words against it. Yes, I would hope that everyone realises that this picture is staged. At least I’m 99.9% certain the picture is staged (but you never know…). Two comments on it. First, from a parent perspective, an infant has a strange effect on fathers and mothers. A parent immediately gains a super-sensitive feeling of protection. Babies are so darn fragile (and cute!), and need extreme fortification. Even a pretend attack can be too much. For example, we have many Nerf guns in our house. Without thinking, we’ve had a child or two jokingly point one of the guns at the baby brother. Also without thinking, I have immediately lashed out, “Don’t point guns at your baby brother!” It’s just an internal parenting instinct. In the above picture there’s a priest pointing a water gun at the baby, while the parents sm

Bishop Albert Thevenot Updates his Marriage Social Distancing Policy

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A suitable subtitle to this is perhaps: blessed are the clean of heart. The updated policy included several explanations on how to clean a church building after someone has entered it. Physically cleanse it, I mean. The local ordinary for my diocese, Bishop Albert Thevenot, made waves recently by stating that in his diocese a bride and groom had to stay 2 metres apart at weddings (and hence should not get married). Initially I wrote about it at OnePeterFive . However, when Phil Lawler and LifeSiteNews picked up on the story, it exploded. Bishop Albert has issued an update. Fair is fair, and it behooves me to ensure people know that social distancing for the betrothed is no longer required . Thanks be to God. But first, some highlights from his letter issued May 22 : - “When attending a gathering indoors, you must register upon your arrival. Registration sheets must include printed name, phone number or email address. Remember to bring your own pen.” I think of how the name

Pandemic Problems? We've Got a Saint for That

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Ask any devout Catholic what they like best about their faith and a reply of “the sacraments” will surely be a top answer. Unfortunately, if not maliciously, the sacraments are (mostly) unavailable at the moment. Yet if you ask a follow up to such Catholics about why they love their faith, surely “the saints” would be an eager secondary answer. Though the sacraments be absent, the saints remain. For every COVID-19 crisis we face, or imagine, there’s a saint who has our back. They intercede, inspire, and, yes, even entertain. Here are some saints who can, and do, intercede for us throughout our pandemic problems: While social isolation reigns supreme, the master of this craft is St. Symeon the Stylite. Unable to gain enough prayer time due to a following of devotees (he sounds like a parent at home with the children), he spent 47 years living atop a pillar - the last pillar being over 50 feet high. If such isolation bores you to death, St. Paul is a suitable aid. His preachi