Vigil of the Nativity.

When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost. And so on...

Why was the Lord conceived of an espoused virgin rather than of a free? First, for the sake of the genealogy of Mary, which we have obtained by that of Joseph. Secondly, because she was thus saved from being stoned by the Jews as an adulteress. Thirdly, that Himself and His mother might have a guardian on their journey into Egypt. To these, Ignatius, the martyr of Antioch, has added a fourth reason namely, that the birth might take place unknown to the devil, who would naturally suppose that Mary had conceived by Joseph.

Before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. She was found, that is, by Joseph, but by no one else. He had already almost an husband's privilege to know all that concerned her. Before they came together. This doth not imply that they ever did come together the Scripture merely showeth the absolute fact that up to this time they had not done so.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. If any man be joined to a fornicatress they become one body; and according to the law they that are privy to a crime are thereby guilty. How then can it be that Joseph is described as a just man, at the very time he was compounding the criminality of his espoused? It must have been that he knew her to be pure, and yet understood not the mystery of her pregnancy, but, while he wondered at that which had happened, was willing to hold his peace. - 

Homily by St. Jerome, Priest at Bethlehem.

Advent

Posts have been few and far between, for various reasons, non more than, by the time night falls, so am I. Any thoughts or ideas I had at 9:00 am or 2:00 pm are long gone, so another evening slips by. I've tried and have been quite frankly fairly successful in letting my anger go (most of the time) concerning Rome, our so-called Pope, Bishops, Cardinals and the like. Liberals and modernists are useless to me. The media I try to ignore as much as possible. In the end, all of the mentioned above, in any order you like, are all distractions that just take away my inner eye that should be focused on God and my salvation. And when I say 'my salvation' I don't me just me in a selfish sort of way; no, I'm taking about the big pictures: wife, children, family and friends. The souls in purgatory. The Pope, priests. The list can go on and on, and some days it does. One great consolation is this beautiful time of year, as we wait in holy expectation for our Lord. Advent. Joy that comes from deep inside, almost like we are ourselves are giving birth to Him who can only come from the Blessed Virgin. Even on the coldest of December nights the thought of the Manger or the trip by donkey to Bethlehem, or the shepherds in the field will always bring a warmth respite from the darkness of these days. 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Immaculate heart of Mary, pray for us.

St. Joseph, watch over us.

Gone!

Sorry about that blog, Vox Popoli. I took it down, I lost interest and I decided it didn't fit my idea of what I should share with my friends.

Thursday evening musings...

I'm home here, alone (except for Gertie the cat) and in the silence of this big house my mind will tend to wander, thankfully usually about spiritual things, but often lately concerning my relationship with my family. Now when I say 'Family' I don't mean my wife or son or daughter, or even my son-in-law. We are all pretty much on the same page (more or less, room for improvement.) What I mean is my mother, brother, sister and all of their family members. This relationship is on rocky ground at all times. I consider myself a Catholic, a Roman Catholic. Perhaps I could add that I only go to the Latin Mass, but I really don't like the words 'Trad Rad' or Traditional Catholic, or any of those other monikers that people use. I'm Catholic, period. Now in my opinion, most people who go to the Novus Order Mass are not Catholic 100% anymore. Unless they go to a parish that has a very 'spiritual' and tradition-minded priest, they are mostly protestant in their thinking, never mind the modernist and liberal mindset. This is everywhere, we all know it, and I'm not going to go any further with this. What brought me to write this post is that in finishing up my Divine Office, which is used by the Franciscans, for today, Vespers, the intention was 'For the necessity of Relatives' and for Compline it was 'For necessity of Friends'. To me, so very apropos for todays' world. We so very much need both of these people, relatives and friends, in our lives. It is so very unfortunate that all of our relatives can't be on the same page concerning our religious beliefs. I pray earnestly every day for the conversion of my brother, sister and mother and all of their family members to the true interpretation of the Church, but really don't think it will happen. This is Gods chastisement to both them and me. I'm 64 now. How many more weddings will we have to say no to, on account of the ceremony taking place in a barn, or a field or a (shudder) protestant church? It is a sad time when family is fading, in a way into the background and like-minded friends are the only ones outside of the immediate family that one can speak and pray with. Are the end times coming? It sure seems that way. The way the 98% of the world thinks is truly frightening, and we, as, lets say, working Catholics, are left in sadness and complete disarray.
I'll end with asking, not to pray for this or that, but to pray that our prayers, our sincere prayers, may be answered.

Post Mortum

Well, thank you all for your prayers. My brother and I sat down for our chit chat, in his very cozy family room, him on his new chair that helps him get up into a standing position. My poor brother, please try to remember him every once in a while (I know it's hard!) in your prayers. He is a very sick man and the many doctors he has still can't pin down what is wrong with him. They are getting closer to finding out, they are pretty sure it's neurological (not good). He is a wonderful man, hardworking, a good provider, but unfortunately, no longer a Catholic. He would say he is, but to me, he is Catholic in name (and that barely) but protestant through and through. Our discussion about why his daughter is getting married in the protestant church down the street got off on the wrong foot and went absolutely no where. The gap between a novus ordo/protestant Catholic and a Catholic who goes only to the Latin Rite Mass is too great. The arguments would have escalated into shouting matches. I am no Catholic apologetic. When it comes to Holy Mother Church my passions run too deep and they

get a hold of me. He has forgotten or never knew even the basic concepts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and doesn't want to know them. To say I was stunned was an understatement. And I guess I'm still in a state of shock. I very rarely talk about the Church with anyone outside of Tradition, unless they are asking me for an answer. What they think is almost incomprehensible to me, and thus I was put behind the eight ball right from the beginning. And to hear this coming from a family member, my beloved brother, made it just too hard. I believe my evangelizing days within my family are over. I will pray for them all, as I always do, but will stay clear of anything other than discussing sports.

Prayers, please.

Will be dealing first hand later today with an issue that no Catholic man wants to deal with: A family member (niece) marrying outside of the Church (protestant church). We heard about this on Christmas Eve, overhearing this conversation from across the table. Since then until now I've been hoping for a small miracle, that certain people will come to their senses and rectify the problem but no, liberals and modernists apparently only think one way, and that is "As long as they are happy..." I need not explain the logic of that thinking here, but this afternoon when I have a sit-down with my brother I pray (as I have been praying for days) that the Holy Ghost provides me with the words and actions to, if not outright change my brother's thinking, to at least plant a seed to have him begin to think about the error that is occurring here. No one outside of my immediate family, that I know of thinks anything is wrong. I ask you all, anyone who reads this, to just say a prayer, any prayer, for me, my neice and her boyfriend and my brother and his wife, to be open to the Truth as Jesus Christ has proclaimed it and as Holy Mother Church has passed it down and protected it through the ages. 

Thank you all and God Bless you!