I began my book by taking note that many Catholics after Vatican II were told by pastors, curates, religious or theologians that the sacred council had changed certain aspects of Catholic theology or practice, and consequently had never read the documents of Vatican II for themselves. I also detailed the lack of organic development in the Bugninni reforms which gave rise to the "Novus Ordo. " I am delighted to hear of His  Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah's  reflections... Cardinal Sarah: ‘How to Put God Back at the Center of the Liturgy’  Translation of an interview with the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, published by the French magazine  Famille Chretienne . Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. – Wikipedia/François-Régis Salefran/CC BY-SA 4.0 Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline...

It is appropriate on this day that one reflect on why one should never miss Mass. The first end for which the Mass is offered is to give God honor and glory. This is the one great end of our  existence to  give God honor and glory, and thereby to save our souls. "Man was created," says St. Ignatius Loyola, at the beginning of his Spiritual Exercises, "to praise, reverence, and serve God, and thereby save his soul." For  this we  were sent by God into the world. Now, in the Mass we  fulfill ,in a supreme degree, our function on the earth, as rational beings, of praising and reverencing God. The second end for which the Mass is offered is to give thanks to God for His benefits. "Put in one heap," says St. Leonard of Port Maurice, "all the gifts, all the graces, you have received from God-so many gifts of nature and of grace; yes, the very life, too, of His Son Jesus, and His death suffered for us, which in themselves immeasurably swell the ...

A n adversary power lies behind the present day of clouds and storms, of darkness, of searching and uncertainties, evidenced in this piece .   [Warning: graphic images and narrative-viewer discretion advised] Evil is not merely an absence of good but an active force, a living, spiritual being that is perverted and that perverts others.   As a fallen angel, Satan in Catholic teaching is a clever seducer who knows how to lead us from God through the senses, the imagination the libido....

Among Pope Paul VI's telltale signs of a diabolic presence still operative in creation were doubt, uncertainty, questioning, dissatisfaction, and confrontation — all hallmarks in the story of the reception of Humanae Vitae in the United States. Contraceptive practice, taught from the beginning of the Church as serious sin, in Paul’s thinking became the occasion and the effect of interference by the “hidden enemy who sows errors,” who undermines our moral equilibrium — the Devil. In Paul’s teaching The Devil is the clever tempter who makes his way into man through the sensual, the libido, a “crack” through which the Evil One attempts to prevail against the Church. Here is an example of how this works.... *************************************************************************** Are we less free than a 1950s housewife? A look at contraception  Top of Form Bottom of Form By   Ann Schneible Rome, Italy, May 19, 2016 / 03:02 am ( CNA ).- What started as a...

At the close of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI remarked that Christianity, the religion of God-Incarnate, had encountered the religion of man-made God. He was of the opinion that much of the Council was given over to demonstrating the compatibility of Enlightenment belief with Catholicism. 4 Several years hence, on June 29, 1972, Paul delivered another assessment of the state of the Roman Catholic Church since the close of Vatican II. As Cardinal Silvio Oddi recalled it (in an article first published on March 17, 1990, in Il Sabato magazine in Rome) the Holy Father told a congregation: We have the impression that through some cracks in the wall the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God: it is doubt, uncertainty, questioning, dissatisfaction, confrontation. And how did this come about? We will confide to you the thought that may be, we ourselves admit in free discussion, that may be unfounded, and that is that there has been a power, an adversary power. Let us call him by his n...

In December, the Human Rights Commission of Washington quietly enacted  WAC Rule 162-32 , mandating that all public accommodations — including schools and businesses — grant access to shower facilities, locker rooms, and restrooms based on the individual’s internal ‘gender identity’ or ‘gender expression’.  Not only does this new mandate require people to completely ignore biology and reasonable concern for safety in private places, but it also restricts an individual’s ability to question the motives of an individual entering those facilities. Speaking of ignoring biology...

A s a Catholic man and history teacher, I always tell my classes that, for reasons of masculinity and chivalry, I oppose women in the military (I teach at an all-female Catholic girls high school). So this article gives a better explanation of my view from a Catholic man's perspective: WOMEN DON'T DESERVE COMBAT by Mr. Gabe Jones “For whenever man is responsible for offending a woman’s personal dignity and vocation, he acts contrary to his own personal dignity and his own vocation.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem, 10) December 3, 2015 ought to be remembered as the date that any remaining vestiges of our country’s collective sense of chivalry died a tragic death. It was on this day that Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced his decision to require combat positions in every branch of the United States military – including the Marine Corps – be opened to women. Despite being one of the most significant news items in recent memory, if you did not p...