The War on Creation – Part I

 

I have been discerning writing this series for over two years now. I have touched on some aspects already, but lately, the Lord has given me a green light to boldly proclaim this “now word.” The real cue for me was today’s Mass readings, which I’ll mention at the end… 

 

AN APOCALYPTIC WAR… ON HEALTH

 

THERE is a war on creation, which is ultimately a war on the Creator himself. The attack runs broad and deep, from the smallest microbe to the pinnacle of creation, which is man and woman created “in the image of God.”Continue reading

I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ

 

The pope cannot commit heresy
when he speaks ex cathedra,
this is a dogma of faith.
In his teaching outside of 
ex cathedra statements, however,
he can commit doctrinal ambiguities,
errors and even heresies.
And since the pope is not identical
with the entire Church,
the Church is stronger
than a singular erring or heretical Pope.
 
—Bishop Athanasius Schneider
September 19th, 2023, onepeterfive.com

 

I HAVE long been avoiding most comments on social media. The reason is that people have become mean, judgmental, flat-out uncharitable — and often in the name of “defending the truth.” But after our last webcast, I attempted to respond to some who accused my colleague Daniel O’Connor and me of “bashing” the Pope. Continue reading

The Obedience of Faith

 

Now to Him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ…
to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith… 
(Rom 16:25-26)

…he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross. (Phil 2:8)

 

GOD must be shaking His head, if not laughing at His Church. For the plan unfolding since the dawn of Redemption has been for Jesus to prepare for Himself a Bride who is “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). And yet, some within the hierarchy itself[1]cf. The Final Trial have reached the point of inventing ways for people to remain in objective mortal sin, and yet feel “welcome” in the Church.[2]Indeed, God welcomes all to be saved. The condition for this salvation are in the words of Our Lord himself: “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15) What a vastly different vision than God’s! What an immense abyss between the reality of what is prophetically unfolding at this hour — the purification of the Church — and what some bishops are proposing to the world!Continue reading

Footnotes

Footnotes
1 cf. The Final Trial
2 Indeed, God welcomes all to be saved. The condition for this salvation are in the words of Our Lord himself: “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15)

The Final Trial?

Duccio, The Betrayal of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, 1308 

 

All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written:
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be dispersed.’
(Mark 14:27)

Before Christ’s second coming
the Church must pass through a final trial
that will shake the faith of many believers…

Catechism of the Catholic Church, n.675, 677

 

WHAT is this “final trial that will shake the faith of many believers?”  

Continue reading

Church On a Precipice – Part II

The Black Madonna of Częstochowa – profaned

 

If you live in a time that no man will give you good counsel,
nor any man give you good example,
when you shall see virtue punished and vice rewarded
stand fast, and firmly stick to God upon pain of life…
— Saint Thomas More,
beheaded in 1535 for defending marriage
The Life of Thomas More: A Biography by William Roper

 

 

ONE of the greatest gifts Jesus left His Church was the grace of infallibility. If Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32), then it is imperative that every generation know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what the truth is. Otherwise, one could take a lie for truth and fall into slavery. For…

…everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. (John 8:34)

Hence, our spiritual freedom is intrinsic to knowing the truth, which is why Jesus promised, “When He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to all truth.” [1]John 16:13 Despite the flaws of the individual members of the Catholic Faith over two millennia and even the moral failures of Peter’s successors, our Sacred Tradition reveals that the teachings of  Christ have been accurately preserved for over 2000 years. It is one of the surest signs of Christ’s providential hand upon His Bride.Continue reading

Footnotes

Footnotes
1 John 16:13

The Path of Life

“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through… We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel, of Christ versus the anti-Christ… It is a trial… of 2,000 years of culture and Christian civilization, with all of its consequences for human dignity, individual rights, human rights and the rights of nations.” —Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976; cf. Catholic Online (confirmed by Deacon Keith Fournier who was in attendance) “We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through… We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel, of Christ versus the anti-Christ… It is a trial… of 2,000 years of culture and Christian civilization, with all of its consequences for human dignity, individual rights, human rights and the rights of nations.” —Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976; cf. Catholic Online (confirmed by Deacon Keith Fournier who was in attendance)

We are now facing the final confrontation
between the Church and the anti-Church,
of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel,
of Christ versus the anti-Christ…
It is a trial… of 2,000 years of culture
and Christian civilization,
with all of its consequences for human dignity,
individual rights, human rights
and the rights of nations.

—Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA,
August 13, 1976; cf. Catholic Online

WE are living in an hour where nearly the entire Catholic culture of 2000 years is being rejected, not only by the world (which is to be somewhat expected), but by Catholics themselves: bishops, cardinals, and laity who believe the Church needs to “updated”; or that we need a “synod on synodality” in order to rediscover the truth; or that we need to agree with the ideologies of the world in order to “accompany” them.Continue reading

You Were Loved

 

IN the wake of the outgoing, affectionate, and even revolutionary pontificate of St. John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was cast under a long shadow when he assumed the throne of Peter. But what would soon mark the pontificate of Benedict XVI would not be his charisma or humor, his personality or vigor — indeed, he was quiet, serene, almost awkward in public. Rather, it would be his unswerving and pragmatic theology at a time when the Barque of Peter was being assailed from both within and without. It would be his lucid and prophetic perception of our times that seemed to clear the fog before the bow of this Great Ship; and it would be an orthodoxy that proved time and again, after 2000 years of often stormy waters, that the words of Jesus are an unshakeable promise:

I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. (Matt 16:18)

Continue reading

Who is the True Pope?

 

WHO is the true pope?

If you could read my inbox, you’d see that there is less agreement on this subject than you’d think. And this divergence was made even stronger recently with an editorial in a major Catholic publication. It proposes a theory that is gaining traction, all the while flirting with schismContinue reading

Defending Jesus Christ

Peter’s Denial by Michael D. O’Brien

 

Years ago at the height of his preaching ministry and before leaving the public eye, Fr. John Corapi came to a conference I was attending. In his deep throaty voice, he took to the stage, looked out upon the intent crowd with a grimace and exclaimed: “I’m angry. I’m angry at you. I’m angry at me.” He then went on to explain in his usual boldness that his righteous anger was due to a Church sitting on its hands in the face of a world in need of the Gospel.

With that, I am republishing this article from October 31st, 2019. I have updated it with a section called “Globalism Spark”.

Continue reading