INSPIRATIONS

“There is a great temptation, when one is fighting for a just cause, to lose your serenity,” he warned. “If we’re co-workers of Christ in the truth, we should be the most serene and therefore also the most charitable. It is never helpful to engage in uncharitable talk. Be steadfast about the work of Christ.” — Cardinal Raymond Burke

Think of your local church as the vessel that will help carry you to heaven with your brothers and sisters. Because that’s what it is. Register! Donate! Participate! — Brad Miner

Indeed, one can wonder if this is not the whole point of the current emphasis on following the Spirit. Does such advice reflect a genuine openness to the promptings of the [Holy] Spirit, or is it simply a convenient way of following one’s own inclinations while falsely claiming the Spirit’s endorsement? As with the Gnostics of old, it’s a good way of losing touch with the visible, Incarnational Church founded by Jesus. —William Kilpatrick

In calmer words, “Christian Nationalism” concerns the role that Christianity plays in American public life, culture, and law. Those lamenting it care nothing about Christian claims for the Triune God, the Virgin Birth, or the Resurrection. They fix their disdain on Christian moral teachings that oppose their creed of expressive individualism, which enshrines the Sexual Revolution as the first article. — David Bonagura, Jr.

When the reasons for a moral belief are forgotten, it is only a short time before the beliefs themselves are discarded. Thus, we need to pay attention to the reasons for beliefs, as well as to the beliefs themselves. If the reasons for the beliefs are undermined, then the beliefs, like a tree whose roots have died, can only stay alive for a short while after. — David Deane

The devil is always trying to separate us from God. Keeping holy the Lord’s Day is a Commandment that was given to us for our sake. He does not command us to worship Him because He needs to be worshipped. Keeping His day Holy refreshes our immortal souls. — Gene M. Van Son

Meekness is defined as “having the right or the power to do something but refraining for the benefit of someone else.” Jesus was the most meek, of course. Meekness is a choice to refrain in order that a greater good be the outcome. — Denise Trull

Meekness is not weakness. It is a powerful choice to hold back our own opinions, our words, our reactions to being hurt or maligned, not because we are self-doubting and self-depreciating or afraid of human respect – but because we know who we are before God and we choose to act in love like him. — Denise Trull

Human dignity is a consequence of both our origin and our end. We are made in God’s image and likeness, and we are made for communion – both here, albeit imperfectly, in this life, and forever with God in the next. To grasp human dignity is to grasp something of the whole order of Creation and of our place and purpose in that order. As Pope Francis writes in Laudato Si: “The universe did not emerge as the result of arbitrary omnipotence, a show of force or a desire for self-assertion. Creation is of the order of love.” —Stephen P. White

Creation is the order of love. When we cooperate with the order of Creation, we grow and become more like the one who created us. Sin, by contrast, arises from and causes the disordering of our loves. When we love the wrong things, or love them in the wrong way, we not only violate the order of things, we invite further disorder, for ourselves and others. Sin masks and diminishes our dignity, though never destroys it entirely.—Stephen P. White

But what are the right things to love and the right ways to love them? In other words, how do we know what is good? Pope John Paul II, in Veritatis Splendor, gave this answer to that crucial question: “Only God can answer the question about the good, because he is the Good. But God has already given an answer to this question: he did so by creating man and ordering him with wisdom and love to his final end, through the law which is inscribed in his heart (cf. Romans 2:15), the “natural law.”—Stephen P. White

Without a proper sense of the ordering of reality – which means both the revealed and natural law – the notion of human dignity loses its most profound and transcendent meaning. When this happens, the social or physical sciences are expected to explain and defend human dignity, which they cannot possibly do.—Stephen P. White

To reject the language of ordered (and disordered) love would not be a liberation. Rather, it would be a willful obfuscation of reality. We were created within the order of love and our human dignity – the dignity arising from our origins and ends – only fully makes sense in the context of that ordering. —Stephen P. White

Nor should anyone imagine that the unraveling of the language of order and disorder would end with human sexual morality. The Church’s teachings on the common good, economic justice, and care for Creation – in fact, the entirety of Catholic social teaching, like most of her moral theology – rest on the same natural law foundations. Those remain the surest foundations for grounding a defense of human dignity in the face of the new challenges of our day.—Stephen P. White

We rightly feel compassion for persons locked in sinful situations. But compassion is not a license to minimize, or excuse, or bless the destructive behaviors involved therein. —Archbishop Charles Chaput

Authentic charity, and its expression in mercy, consists of “helping [others] to live in union with God, which also includes external acts like fraternal correction.” —Archbishop Charles Chaput

No “new paradigm” or “development of doctrine” can result in an alibi for sin in the light of God’s Word and the wisdom of the Church’s long experience. — Archbishop Charles Chaput

May we not run from the Cross and the crosses in our lives, but we know that the new life we are promised is not some future vague and inarticulate something, but that our suffering has the power to transform us in ways we cannot begin to imagine, both here on earth and hereafter. — Carrie Gress

It’s no accident that our culture – which flees from pain at any opportunity while trying to cloak itself in safety, comfort, and pleasure – rejects the denial of self. We see the decadence ever encroaching around us as the culture of pleasure and independence grows stronger and more entrenched.— Carrie Gress

Christ and His saints have redeemed suffering, not to make it disappear, but to reveal it as the hidden way. The Christian life, which is so under attack today, is rejected because it requires us to lay down our lives for others; to die to self; to be like the grain of wheat that must be broken open for new life to emerge.— Carrie Gress

Envy today is a powerful cultural engine. It seems to be everywhere. Political systems and ideologies are structured around it. Relationships are destroyed by it. And much that has been built up has been torn down by its ruinous hands. Envy wants to grasp at privilege and status, but suffering scatters it.— Carrie Gress

His authority and greatness are hidden in His bloodied and scourged body. And yet, that is the door through which He gladly passed for us. His model, the one from which most of us shrink and shirk, is the key. We all must go through it.— Carrie Gress

No one envies others in pain and crisis. Compassion is often the best we can do, a word that means to suffer with someone. Human nature usually takes a different tack. Most of us recoil from suffering, trying to find ways to soften, or even escape it. There is a kind of fear that any connection might bring pain to us too. Everyone likes glory, power, and might, but few are willing to travel through the dark, ugly, desolate space required not just to get them, but to be worthy of them as well.— Carrie Gress

By Baptism, we all have a share in Christ’s prophetic office. But we typically keep our powder dry – or our oil in the jar – out of slavery to human respect. What will people think? What will they say? Mary of Bethany teaches that to proclaim Christ means not to take account of such things. — Fr. Paul Scalia

To repent means to recognize and proclaim Jesus as the Christ, the Victim for our sins, the One who frees us. It means to waste nothing in seeking his mercy, praising him for his forgiveness, and proclaiming his Kingship. — Fr. Paul Scalia

We must have a “missionary zeal” to guide people of other religions “to Christ, the only Savior, with patience, with love, and with respect,” in the face of the Church’s tendency today to focus on worldly issues and neglect the supernatural. — Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Apart from Jesus Christ risen from the dead there can be no salvation! He alone can free the world from evil and bring about the growth of the Kingdom of justice peace and love to which we all aspire. — POPE BENEDICT XVI

Why not ask instead that God show Himself in such a way that whatever sin we’re being tempted to commit will find itself all at once stripped of its false glamour? That our eyes will be bathed in such heavenly light that we can no longer even see the sin, much less succumb to its spurious seductions?  — Regis Martin

Yet, the Christian idea of holy fear must take another step.  In the light of Christ, each individual recognizes a still more incredible truth: I, through my baptism, am the son of this awe-inspiring God. He has claimed me as his own. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

Now, the incredible transcendence of the God who is yet my Father places a different fear into my heart: not a fear of Him in light of His greatness and my nothingness, but rather a fear of being separated from Him, the One who has entered my life and fills my nothingness. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

The fear of the Lord, while recognizing the supremacy of God, takes on a new light: awe and reverence at the mystery of God who has so loved me and a fear of ever losing Him. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

This fear applies also to the “things of God” – those persons, objects, or realities that belong to Him: the Sacraments, the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Bible, church buildings, the rosary and other sacramentals, sacred images, the priesthood, blessed objects, places of prayer in the home, the papacy, etc. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

The holy fear of losing Him, of missing Him, makes me search for His presence more boldly in my life.  It teaches me to reverence even the material things that are His because not doing so would cause me to miss the God who speaks to me through them. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

Be the first to practice the faith.  Especially for fathers: if mom takes the lead in activities regarding the faith, children do not form as high of an estimation of its importance.  To see one’s father – who, to a child, seems the most powerful man in the world – kneel in reverence before God is unforgettably instructive. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

Your family can live a normal life and seamlessly insert the faith into it – look for ways to integrate prayer and conversation about God into daily activities.  Bringing God into everyday things shows that his greatness extends over the entirety of life, not just church on Sundays. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

Men, the task of forming your children, parishioners, and mentees – and of shaping the future of the Church – is yours.  Live the sense of the sacred and, by your example, instill the holy fear of God into the hearts of generations to come. — Fr. Clayton Thompson

Offer up the mess, the chaos, the frustrations in your primary vocation and in your job. We can begin each odious task—be it scrubbing the toilet, decluttering your inbox, tackling difficult projects, or staying up all night with a crying baby—with a simple, “Jesus, I do this for love of you.” In this way, we can turn those moments of difficulty into moments of surrender and love for Christ. — Ann Burns

Lastly, don’t let a morning pass without offering the day first to God. When we give God the first moments of our day, we begin each day renewed in His love.— Ann Burns

After all, while we have our routines and schedules, God is the one in control. And when things do not go according to our plan, there’s tremendous peace in knowing He is with us. We are in His presence.— Ann Burns

Imaginary sanctity isn’t sanctity, and planning to “get holy later” is problematic thinking. God calls us to holiness now. While we might think our prayer life will improve “when life is less chaotic,” God is realistic.— Ann Burns

He sees the worries in your heart, and He cares about them. He loves you. He doesn’t want the “imaginary” version of you. He wants you—the real you, right now.— Ann Burns

Our life is always going to be filled with interruptions. The key is surrendering those unexpected moments over to God rather than viewing them as cataclysmic moments of failure.— Ann Burns

When we choose to surrender our desires to God, we open ourselves up to grace. Then, God’s work can take root within us.— Ann Burns

“Let go of your plans. The first hour of your morning belongs to God. Tackle the day’s work that he charges you with, and he will give you the power to accomplish it” (St. Teresa Benedicta). — Ann Burns

He [God] was challenging me to understand my vocation isn’t about control; it’s about surrender.— Ann Burns

When we choose to surrender our desires to God, we open ourselves up to grace. Then, God’s work can take root within us.— Ann Burns

After all, while we have our routines and schedules, God is the one in control. And when things do not go according to our plan, there’s tremendous peace in knowing He is with us. We are in His presence. —Ann Burns

There’s an ontological, metaphysical change that conforms him [the priest]to God Almighty as a sacrifice set aside. In his life, in his thoughts, words, deeds – everything must comport to that, the new identity, the new ontological conformity to God. — Kyle Clement LifeSite interview

Every priestly blessing is a liturgical act, is an affirmation of that person’s status within the Church. This is the whole point of [a] benediction.— Kyle Clement LifeSite interview

The weapons are to return to a time when there was, not perfection, but much more purity than we have now; which is to openly call out as a group, as lay faithful, and say, we will not be led into this howling wasteland … 

— Kyle Clement LifeSite interview

LSN: Does the desecration of the priestly office through some sacrilegious activity, such as the attempt to impart a blessing to couple constituted by a sinful sexual relationship, or through the commission of some sexual sin, invite or open a priest up to demonic activity or influence?  KC: It absolutely does.— Kyle Clement LifeSite interview

Of course, many cases of what the secular psychiatric world labels “mental disorders” ultimately boil down to individuals who, one way or another, have fallen into the grip of dark spiritual forces. — David Kupelian

Stated simply, left-wing psychopaths pretend to care about “social justice and equality,” but in reality are just feeding their massive “ego-focused” lust for power, glory and revenge, the authors say. — David Kupelian

“Sociopaths are often well-liked because of their charm and high charisma, but they do not usually care about other people. They think mainly of themselves and often blame others for the things that they do. They have a complete disregard for rules and lie constantly. They seldom feel guilt or learn from punishments.”— David Kupelian

Secularization in the West is, in effect, an alternative faith, entirely fictitious, subjective, and driven by short-term self-interest. And while it poses as progressive – the Science! – it’s instead the path of moral, intellectual, and cultural decadence, where adolescent attitudes rule, reason is forfeit, objective truth denied, and moral law abandoned.  H.W. Crocker III

Those who refuse to embrace the notion that Church must evolve away from “previous declarations of doctrine” are not haters but, rather, faithful disciples of Christ the Teacher. — Fr. Gerald Murray corrects Cardinal Robert McElroy

“I don’t think people have any idea of how much genuine, satanic evil is out there, the demons that can be present in a person, and the way they can enter a human being through the senses, from the misuse of technology, from generational curses, or through the role of other sins. . .” — Francis X. Maier as presented by Robert Royal

Our age is not marked so much by disenchantment as by desecration. The culture’s officer class is committed not merely to marginalizing that which previous generations considered sacred. It is committed to its destruction. Disenchantment has passive connotations, a dull, impersonal, somewhat tedious but inevitable process. But desecration speaks to the exultation that active destruction of the holy involves. — Carl R. Trueman

… religion is “supposed to be an invitation to the great adventure of life.”  “What’s the great adventure of life?”  “Pick up your cross and follow me,” … efforts in the Catholic Church to make the Gospel message more “relevant” have clouded the Gospel’s true calling.   “As soon as you say that you need to be more relevant than that what you’re doing, technically it is putting something else above that,”— Jordan Peterson

“Christ faced and triumphed over death and hell,” each person must likewise triumph over death and hell in their own lives. According to [Jordan] Peterson, the Catholic Church is currently not challenging Her members to take the difficult path. — Jordan Peterson

Jesus did not practice affirmational inclusion, meeting sinners where they were and affirming them in their sin. To the contrary, He practiced transformation inclusion, meeting sinners where they were and calling them to repentance and forgiveness and new life. — Michael Brown

Need I remind you that God came in Person to the Jews?. . . .[Yet when] we seek him now, in this world, it is you we find, and only you. It is you, Christians, who participate in Divinity; it is you, “divine men,” who ever since his Ascension have been his representatives on earth. — Georges Bernanos quoted by Francis X Maier

We are created in the image and after the likeness of God because we are capable of loving.  Saints have a genius for love. . .the saint is the person who knows how to find in himself, and to make gush forth from the depths of his being, the water of which Christ spoke to the Samaritan woman: “Those who drink of it will never thirst.” — Georges Bernanos quoted by Francis X Maier

Still a little lower and the soul finds herself again in her native element, infinitely purer than the purest water, in that uncreated light that bathes all Creation – in [Jesus Christ] was life, and the life was the light of men. — Georges Bernanos quoted by Francis X Maier

The task of any purifying “re-formation” of our Church and world, begins with each of us. — Francis X Maier

It’s brutally hard to know and speak the truth to ourselves; to acknowledge our own sins and hatreds; to make ourselves useful in the needs and suffering of others.  But it’s only when we do these things that life becomes rich; a magnet for the broken and lost; the beginning of a new world. . .and the seed of sainthood. — Francis X Maier

Papal infallibility never was supposed to be a cover for the personal moral and intellectual fallibility of the men who held that ministry. — Msgr. Richard C. Antall

Dominican theologian Father Antonio Royo Marin defines magnanimity as “the virtue that inclines one to do great, splendid and honorable things in every kind of virtue” (Theology of Christian Perfection, Edizioni Paoline, Rome 1965, p. 704). Confidence, which is a form of magnanimity, is certainly an expression of fortitude, but it does not merely oppose evil, it aspires to a great good, therefore, St. Thomas explains, “since fortitude properly hardens man against evil, while magnanimity hardens him in the attainment of good, it is clear that properly confidence falls more under magnanimity than under fortitude” (q. 129, art. 6, ad 2). — Roberto de Mattei

Much of the garbage one experiences as a “traditional” Catholic comes from the Church herself; it is a penance that one should accept as a penance, during Lent and Advent. The Mother of God, herself, could not book a room in Bethlehem when she was pregnant; her husband, Joseph, gallantly found a stable. —  David Warren

This is the time, because things are so evil, if we remain faithful to the grace God gives us, we will reach a height of perfection that … the saints said they wish they had the opportunity [to reach]. — Fr. Chad Ripperger

The rise in demonic obsession and oppression is ‘because people are doing a lot of evil things’ and because the members of the Church are less holy. — Fr. Chad Ripperger

Every mortal sin is an open door to possession — Fr. Chad Ripperger

We’ve been engaged in ‘spiritual warfare’ since the fall The theologian explained that God permits the demons to influence our lives because he wants to call us to greater holiness. — Fr. Chad Ripperger

Because in heaven, you take two things with you: your state of grace, how much grace you have in your soul, and your virtue. That’s all you take. — Fr. Chad Ripperger

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden, they stepped out … from the authority structure of God and stepped underneath the power structure of Satan. From that point on, every single one of us was conscripted into this spiritual warfare. — Fr. Chad Ripperger

The best way to combat demons “is by leading an authentic Catholic life; staying out of sin; avoiding temptations; avoiding person, places, and things that could cause us to fall; receiving the sacraments on a regular basis; prayer on a regular basis. — Fr. Chad Ripperger

Part of the reason prayer is so effective is because it uses the imagination. So, if you’re flooding your imagination with sacred things and the demons are there afflicting it, they’re going to bug out because they don’t want to deal with that stuff being pushed in their head all the time while they’re trying to tempt you, so they’re going to get away from you. — Fr. Chad Ripperger

How can young priests take older prelates seriously if the latter do not return the favor or, rather, if they do not begin with an advance of trust in the young clergy. After all, are we not praying for an increase in vocations? It seems very hard for some bishops to believe that God might call men to the priesthood who are not like they have been. —Msgr. Hans Feichtinger

The Holy See cannot just issue policy changes like a civil government, not even if these changes are based on pastoral intentions and visions of the pope himself. —Msgr. Hans Feichtinger

there is no Christendom without Christianity. If we talk about the Church’s “presence and relevance” in (postmodern) societies, we must recognize that this is the language of power, a political concept, based on a postmodern version of Christendom that prevents us from truly doing the work of evangelization. —Msgr. Hans Feichtinger

For our pastoral (and liturgical) ministry, considerations of moral relevance, pastoral or political influence are not primary; what comes first, instead, is trust in God’s revelation and providence.—Msgr. Hans Feichtinger

synodality itself is only fruitful if it is faithful. Doctrinal statements from Rome cannot be content with being “not heretical or blasphemous”; they must leave no doubt whatsoever about their fidelity to Scripture and Tradition. As Pope Francis himself recently said: What counts is “the Lord, not our own ideas or our own projects.”—Msgr. Hans Feichtinger

When you misidentify your real opponent and latch on to the wrong motivation, it’s not surprising when you come out of character, abandon your identity, and perform poorly. — Jason Whitlock

Heathenism is popular because it idolizes the individual will, which to certain people –weak people, selfish people, people interested in money or power or simply themselves above all else – is quite intoxicating. … modern heathenism is obviously a form of drunkenness, of mental and moral impairment, that subverts logic, reason, and the recognition of the good, the beautiful, and the true (including the very idea of objective truth).— H. W. Crocker III

“There are countless horrible things happening all over the country, and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible.” — Auberon Waugh from H. W. Crocker III

For despite the quite wonderful efforts of two recent popes, we have endured sixty years of ecclesiastical decline, in which “reform” has meant only an abandonment of the liturgical inheritance, and a relaxation of ethical standards. — David Warren

There is therefore no hope of teaching the modern generation to understand Christian morality unless they free themselves from the categories of the modern world and replace them with the perennial philosophy of the Church. — Henry Sire

Why therefore did God create a race divided between men and women? The answer must be that He did so for the sake of the Incarnation. The reason why every human being derives his nature equally from a man and a woman is that that was the only way in which a Being could come into the world who was by nature both God and man. — Henry Sire

The alternative would be to think that God invented an arbitrary order of humanity and then improvised the Incarnation from its accidents; that is the absurdity implied by those absorbed in the assumptions of the world. The truth is the opposite: the human race was devised to make the Incarnation possible. The duality of the sexes is the natural precondition for the supernatural duality of the Incarnation. — Henry Sire

A man is the kind of human being that God devised in whom the Incarnation was to be realized; a woman is the kind of human being that God devised as the vessel of the Incarnation. God could only have become incarnate as a man, because the male sex was formed to represent Him; He could only have become man as the son of a woman, because the female sex was formed to bear Him. — Henry Sire

Abortion, sodomy, pornography lost the legal prohibition and the stigma that they had had before, and an ethos of pagan hedonism conquered what had previously been Christian nations.  We learn from this the free rein that is given to the Devil when the Church and the Vicar of Christ fail in their duty. — Henry Sire

“We need someone who knows the truth and is willing to fight for it – not simply someone who will calculate the path of least resistance to accomplish some good on the margins,” — CatholicVote President Brian Burch

While sexual immorality no longer requires the civil punishment of death, such natural-moral-law violations still bring spiritual death to the souls of those who willingly engage in it.  —Matthew A. Tsakanikas

Penalties of civil law in the Old Testament are not necessary to be kept in the New Testament times. Jesus saved the adulterous woman from being stoned to death and showed that civil law is a matter of prudential decision. Severe penalties should be a last resort. Matthew A. Tsakanikas

Romans 12:21-22 “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.”  For the Romans a sentence of exile was given with a decree of aquae et ignis interdictio… privation of water and fire.  You were to be denied the essentials of life precisely so that you were forced to leave the area or die.  … Hence, heaping coals on a person’s head is the opposite of cruelty.  It is a way of waking them up to their true selves.  As St. Augustine put it, your kindness will burn away your enemy’s hatred. — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Demons are masters of semantic manipulation. … Since the foundations of American life began to crumble in the 1960’s, young people have tested many new waters, but to no avail. The vacuum inside us all is often described as “a God shaped vacuum.”  Nothing on earth can fill that space but the Holy Spirit of the living God. — Michael Bresciani

If the academics, the politicians, and the leaders of this world are believing the generational lies of the day, it is a problem of not knowing who their father is, rather than not knowing where their father is.  If they have Satan as their father, the problem is basically demonic not social, political, or academic. — Michael Bresciani

When feelings run deep, it is especially useful to strive to remain calm and wise and to resist the temptations of uncharity, to hate. St. Thomas More’s prayer to resist temptation is helpful. “Almighty God, assist me with your gracious help so that to the subtle suggestions of the serpent I never so incline the ears of my heart but that my reason may resist them and master my sensuality and keep me from them.” — Cardinal George Pell †

Ancient philosophers (especially the Stoics, who have been making something of a comeback these days among troubled non-Christians) often spoke of a state of ataraxia, seeking to remain untroubled by things going on around you – a very wise habit to cultivate when the political world is very much troubled – both then and now. — Robert Royal

You will never recover so long as you continue to reject your Creator,”  “You may say you believe in God, or a ‘higher power,’ but you really don’t. If you did, you would earnestly seek after what He requires of you, rather than inventing your own version of God to fit your own proclivities.” — Letter from Joshua to his sex and drug addicted sister

“You have rejected the Bible, and you have rejected Christianity, and thus you have rejected the truth,” he continued. “No person who rejects the truth can thrive.”— Letter from Joshua to his sex and drug addicted sister

“There will be distance between us, not because I stand in judgment of you, but because we will not even be speaking the same language, and this seeming endless pattern of destructive behavior will continue unchanged,”— Letter from Joshua to his sex and drug addicted sister

I must set healthy boundaries for myself, and in the process give others I love the permission to erect healthy boundaries themselves. Until you acknowledge your need for God and self-responsibility, there is absolutely nothing I or anyone else can do for you. I will no longer participate in your delusion to the contrary.— Letter from Joshua to his sex and drug addicted sister

The problem I take with that, is that words matter,” she said. “The precision of language is important beyond comprehension. It’s the difference between the clarity of truth or the fog of ambiguity.” “God forbid, we tell them right off the bat that they are called to live a life of chastity; they may run for the hills and won’t ever feel welcome in the Church. I say, let them run then. Not because I don’t desire their coming to Christ, but because the Church’s job is to be the arbiter of truth. What good is their presence in the Church if we’ve misguided their soul” — Nancy Charles, healing from SSA and drugs

“Our job is to deliver the truth to people,” she said. “Not to change language in order to trick them into coming into Church.” — Nancy Charles, healing from SSA and drugs

… many Catholics, especially in the Western countries of traditional Christendom, are discouraged.  I do not present this as a criticism of the pope, or of any of the “Princes of the Church,” for my sense is that they are as confused as we are, and given to miscalculation. If one is Catholic, he is obliged to pray for them; even to pray for their conversion. — David Warren

Let us remember Pope Francis’ serious warning on the threshold of his pontificate: “We can walk as we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, it is not right. We will become a humanitarian NGO, but not the Church, the Lord’s Bride…” — Cardinal Robert Sarah

Let us simply answer with the Word of God and the Magisterium and the traditional teaching of the Church. — Cardinal Robert Sarah

Jesus teaches us to defend unity with God and between us against the attacks of the divider. The divine Word is Jesus’ answer to the devil’s temptation. — Cardinal Robert Sarah

“We do not argue with the devil!” said Pope Francis. We do not negotiate, we do not dialogue; we do not [defeat] him by negotiating with him. We defeat the devil by asserting the divine Word against him with belief. — Cardinal Robert Sarah

The peace that Jesus brings us is not a hollow cloud, it is not worldly peace which is often only an ambiguous compromise, negotiated between the interests and lies of each other —  Cardinal Sarah

I have 3 filters:  My first filter is my conscience, that secret core where I find myself alone with God and wherein I discover a law I do not impose upon myself; and where I hear a voice at the opportune moment, “Do this, shun that.”  Catechism of the Catholic Church 1776. The second and third filter in the deposit of faith, are the Bible and Tradition. If someone with authority tells me I may, can, or should do or believe something, I pass it through these filters.If it is consistent in all 3, I conserve it.  If it is not, I let is pass out, just as kidneys filter waste. — Fr. Richard Perozich

Gift, not grift, is what people are seeking. But the endlessly “kind” Church that pits mercy against truth is a grift of the highest order. — Larry Chapp

“The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.” — Ernest Hemingway

“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.” — Frank Crane

Canon 748. §1. All persons are bound to seek the truth in those things which regard God and His Church and by virtue of divine law are bound by the obligation and possess the right of embracing and observing the truth which they have come to know.

The fact is, most of our forefathers lived and died without ever knowing who the pope was or what he was doing. And this is what normal Catholic life was like for centuries and centuries. Do you think Almighty God had a problem with that? Do you think the Almighty wants you to be concerned with the next thing coming out of the Vatican? — T. S. Flanders

Being Catholic is about the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. It’s about communion with Mary and all the saints and the angels, and the glory of paradise.— T. S. Flanders

The authority of the Church is Tradition, not the pope. The pope is not over Tradition, but is its guardian.— T. S. Flanders

“vice of curiosity.” This is something that has really helped me to understand. This vice is defined by St. Thomas an insatiable desire for “useless knowledge.” It means going after all the information that does not assist you in the duties of your state in life. Rather it does the opposite.— T. S. Flanders

When preached on, it enlightens; when thought on, it enlivens, when called on it smoothes and  soothes. … What do you think caused such a sudden shining of faith’s light throughout the world if not the preaching of the name of Jesus?  Has not God called us into His own wonderful light by the radiance of this name? — St. Bernard, abbot

“We … humbly request in the name of the Lord Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever, that you, Peter, withdraw Fiducia Supplicans and abrogate its recognition of same-sex sexual partnerships and its authorization of the blessing of such partnerships or any other type of disordered relationship,” — Eugene F. Rivers III, Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul…” — GILBERT K. CHESTERTON

Unthinking faithful become easy prey. They are the seed along the path: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart.” (Matthew 13:19) An unthinking magisterium becomes tyrannical, not teaching God’s word authoritatively but just imposing its own power. — Fr. Paul Scalia

There is no blessing, not only in public but also in private, for sinful living conditions that objectively contradict God’s holy will. — Cardinal Gerhard Müller

Priests should proclaim God’s love and goodness to all people and also help sinners and those who are weak and have difficulty in conversion with counsel and prayer. — Cardinal Gerhard Müller

Holy Church never refuses a blessing to sinners who legitimately ask for it: but then, this blessing has no other object than to help the soul to overcome sin in order to live in a state of grace. —Don Davide Pagliarani

All the convoluted language and sophistical dressing up of the document of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith cannot hide the elementary and obvious reality of these blessings: they will do nothing more than reinforce these unions in their intrinsically sinful situation, and encourage others to follow them. This will merely be a substitute for Catholic marriage. —Don Davide Pagliarani

It needs to be emphasized, however, that blessing individual persons struggling with sin, but striving to do the will of God and conform their lives to Church teaching, are not only allowed, but strongly encouraged. — Rev. Chris Alar

God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission – I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his – if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling. — St. John Henry Newman quoted by Fr. Peter Stravinskas

The Catholic faith isn’t complicated and comes down to one Thing: Jesus. — Rev. Jerry J. Pokorsky

The Catholic Church is not just an earthly organization but a supernatural power that, in our world, keeps other supernatural powers at bay. Metaphysics is not an adjunct to the material universe but prior to it. Angels and demons don’t live in our world; we pass our time in theirs. As any exorcist will tell you, what holds back the evil ones is Christ crucified. The mystery of iniquity is kept in check by the One who overcame it. That One is on the altars of the world, not as decoration but as the last and only defense against a murderous and immortal gang moving among us. Hate is, ultimately, of otherworldly origin. The Church is our refuge from it. Without the Church, we are the Devil’s playthings. — Jason M. Morgan

Globalism is built on this. It’s not a class thing. It’s not an economic or political arrangement. It’s a way of staving off the demons by imitating them, of clustering in a way that undoes allegiance to country, family, and religion. … There is no Holy Ghost where globalism takes hold — no reconciliation, forgiveness, or grace. Globalists and those who have thrown in their lot with them — the exalted who hope to remain among the untargeted — huddle in terrified herdings and call it interconnectivity, a world made one. What looks like a global community is a planetary rehearsal for Hell. The Devil’s greatest trick was to get us to stop believing in him. His second greatest trick has been to get us to act as he does, to hate from within a cavernous, lonely, ruined wasteland, and to call it diversity, equity, and inclusion. — Jason M. Morgan

This Advent, don’t forget that Satan hates you; but more importantly, don’t forget that God loves you—so much so, in fact, that He desired to become like you: flesh and bone, born of a woman, hungry, thirsty, tired, and tempted by the enemy. This is your God. This is the depth of His love for you. This is why Satan hates you. — Jared Noyes

I happen to think that woke death cults are evil so I’m gonna tell people to fall in love, get married and have babies. It’s the best decision a good person will ever make. — Robby Starbuck   Arguing in favor reducing humanity is arguing for genocide. The unborn have no voice.  — Elon Musk

There’s long, legitimate place for synods in the life of the Church (“synodality,” by contrast, is quite a different and doubtful thing, since no one seems to be able to say what it is, or isn’t, other than more people talking). … A pilgrimage has the further advantage of  a journey to a specific destination for a clear purpose, not a perpetual “process. — Robert Royal

Ultracrepidarianism Ne supra crepidam is a Latin expression used to tell others not to pass judgment beyond their expertise.

“Seneca thought that anger is a temporary madness, and that even when justified, we should never act on the basis of it because, though ‘other vices affect our judgment, anger affects our sanity: others come in mild attacks and grow unnoticed, but men’s minds plunge abruptly into anger. … Its intensity is in no way regulated by its origin: for it rises to the greatest heights from the most trivial beginnings.’” — Patrice Lewis

The concept of “It’s not how you feel, it’s how you behave” is a new and possibly difficult philosophy for many people to abide by. Our modern society teaches that emotions and feeeeelings are paramount. Every little perceived micro-aggression must be treated as earth-shattering and personal. The government is literally enshrining emotions (hurt feeeeeelings) into law.— Patrice Lewis

“Stoics reflect on character strengths such as wisdom, patience and self-discipline, which potentially make them more resilient in the face of adversity. — Patrice Lewis

Liberal Catholicism is an exhausted project. Essentially a critique, even a necessary critique at one point in our history, it is now parasitical on a substance that no longer exists. It has shown itself unable to pass on the faith in its integrity and inadequate, therefore, in fostering the joyful self-surrender called for in Christian marriage, in consecrated life, in ordained priesthood. It no longer gives us life. — Cardinal Francis George† from an article by Stephen P. White

The answer is simply Catholicism, in all its fullness and depth, a faith able to distinguish itself from any culture and yet able to engage and transform them all, a faith joyful in all the gifts Christ wants to give us and open to the whole world he died to save. The Catholic faith shapes a church with a lot of room for differences in pastoral approach, for discussion and debate, for initiatives as various as the peoples whom God loves. But, more profoundly, the faith shapes a church which knows her Lord and knows her own identity, a church able to distinguish between what fits into the tradition that unites her to Christ and what is a false start or a distorting thesis, a church united here and now because she is always one with the church throughout the ages and with the saints in heaven. — Cardinal Francis George† from an article by Stephen P. White

The temptation to define ourselves by our sins, and especially by our worst sins, is just that—a temptation. Such is the reason that Satan is so often referred to as The Accuser. We are not defined by our sins but by the baptism that made us children of God.  — Sarah Cain

The basics of spiritual warfare are actually quite simple: stop committing mortal sin and avoid the occult, both of which open our lives to the influence of the enemy. Instead, go to confession, pray every day, and live a sacramental life. Beyond that, we can offer prayers of deliverance to command demons to depart from us, sending them to Jesus to be judged by him. — R. Jared Staudt

General deliverance prayers ask God “to make powerless, banish, and drive out every diabolical power, presence, and machination” (38). There are more specific binding prayers against particular spirits when they can be identified, such as praying against a spirit of anger or another source of affliction (18). Once spirits have been commanded to depart, it is also important to pray for a perimeter of protection to be established around the house and family, invoking Our Lady, St. Michael, and the other angels and saints (39) and to pray against retaliation (40). — R. Jared Staudt

A personal relationship with Christ, which exists in varying degrees when a person believes deeply in the Lord and loves Him as he loves his family and friends. To live, to foster, and to enjoy this relationship – this friendship – the person makes the effort to visit the Lord and receive Him as often as possible, as he would make the effort to spend time with other loved ones. — David G Bonagura, Jr

The goal of evangelization is to lead someone into friendship with Christ. … The Eucharist can be the greatest of evangelizers, since it is Christ Himself leading the charge. – David G Bonagura, Jr

Pope Benedict XVI put it in his post-synodal exhortation  Sacramentum Caritatis, “The more ardent the love for the Eucharist in the hearts of the Christian people, the more clearly will they recognize the goal of all mission: to bring Christ to others.” –David G Bonagura, Jr

Knowledge alone does not move the soul to love … A personal relationship with Christ, which exists in varying degrees when a person believes deeply in the Lord and loves Him as he loves his family and friends. To live, to foster, and to enjoy this relationship – this friendship – the person makes the effort to visit the Lord and receive Him as often as possible, as he would make the effort to spend time with other loved ones. – David G Bonagura, Jr

The idea of progress alone. . .weakens the spirit of sacrifice, nor does it give us an effective antidote to despair. . . .[H]ope does not demand a belief in progress.  It demands a belief in justice: a conviction that the wicked will suffer, that wrongs will be made right, that the underlying order of things will not be flouted with impunity.  Hope implies a deep-seated trust in life that appears absurd to those who lack it.  It rests on a confidence not so much in the future as in the past. .— .Christopher Lasch by Francis X. Maier

Real history honestly remembered is a master class in reality.  And its main lessons are two: First, humans are inescapably fallible and weak.  But, second, humans also have the capacity for nobility, generosity, genius, and the creation of new life. — .Christopher Lasch by Francis X. Maier

“The worst is always what the hopeful are prepared for,” Lasch wrote, because their trust in life would not be worth much if it had not survived disappointments in the past, while [their] knowledge that the future holds further disappointments demonstrates the continuing need for hope.  Believers in progress on the other hand, though they like to think of themselves as the party of hope, actually have little need of hope since they [assume] they have history on their side. But their lack of it incapacitates them for intelligent action.— .Christopher Lasch by Francis X. Maier

“Progressive ideology weakens the spirit of sacrifice. . . .Nor does it give us an effective antidote to despair” – precisely because it derides and ignores the experience of the past and the wisdom it can teach.— .Christopher Lasch by Francis X. Maier

What Lasch resented most about postwar American culture was its rejection of any sane limits to human achievement and desire, and its transforming of productive, self-confident adults into dependent, appetite-driven consumers.  What he most detested about our modern elites was their treatment of common, everyday Americans not as thinking, responsible citizens but as ignorant (and potentially dangerous) plebeians unable to stumble through life without expert help.— .Christopher Lasch by Francis X. Maier

His quarrel with social science was its reduction of the human person from a subject with inherent dignity requiring due respect, to an object in need of re-engineering and careful control.— .Christopher Lasch by Francis X. Maier

Religious faith asserts the goodness of being in the face of suffering and evil.”— .Christopher Lasch by Francis X. Maier

I’m going to be faithful to Christ.  I am still going to do my best to be a successor of the apostles, but what that looks like in the future I don’t know;  but I don’t believe I can just go quietly into that dark night.  I’ve got to share the light of Christ in a world that needs His truth so desperately. — Joseph Strickland.

“Discipline is doing what you hate to do, but nonetheless doing it like you love it.” — Mike Tyson

… the Incarnate Word’s mandate which is the sole source and measure of their authority: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. . .teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)  Should they teach otherwise, they’re abusing their apostolic “teaching office” (magisterium) and we must refuse to follow them. We’re also right to contest the manipulative use of the term “magisterium” to describe their wayward teachings. They have no more magisterial authority to change the Gospel than we do. — Timothy Vavarek

We don’t know – and cannot know – via ordinary human reasoning, where the world and we ourselves come from, or where we are going. For guidance in living with those and other mysteries, reason at its best recognizes that we need Revelation, a revelation from the One who does know. And we have a reasonable Faith, therefore, in what He has delivered. — Robert Royal

the overall message is more Augustinian: we need the divine ordo amoris. “O Thou who art love, set my loves in order.” — Robert Royal

Only the Catholic Church has the full range of cultural resources – thanks to its Jewish roots, Greek philosophy, Roman law, medieval theology, etc. – to bring a universalperspective to the world. Catholic simply means, “according to the whole,” (Gk. kata holos), i.e., universal. — Robert Royal

We don’t simply have a list of doctrines, or even moral principles, or a Creed. We have – uniquely have – a vision of the whole that can fit the many things that God created into an intelligible order: A divine order that we’ve been given and need to keep always in mind to guide us through the many confusions that mark this age in the life of the Church. — Robert Royal

Procreation for human beings is not a matter of merely coming into existence biologically but involves nurturance and education. Therefore, we should engage in procreative acts only in circumstances where we have assurance of being able to procreate in this full sense – which requires holy matrimony, and nothing less. — Michael Pakaluk

The life of a new human being begins at conception, at the very start of pregnancy, and not at some later point such as quickening (as the old law books presumed for the purposes of tort law) or hominization (as Aristotelian biology had set down).  Therefore, this new human being – very different from us, to be sure – was endowed with the same rights as you and I. He cannot be killed for our convenience. Whatever else happens, he must be left as free to develop and grow to maturity.— Michael Pakaluk

As a Polish priest once put it, “a saint is someone unafraid of his biography.”  In thinking about our judgment, rather than asking “what am I going to do with this overweight spiritual baggage?” can we aspire to say, “when God looks at my life, will He be able to say, ‘that’s my son!’ ‘that’s my daughter!’” — John Grondelski

In commanding His apostles, “Do this in memory of me,” Christ transmitted the power of transforming the bread and wine into His body and blood to His apostles, the first bishops, who have, in turn, passed on this same power to every bishop and every priest who has ever lived. At their command, repeated in every Mass, the living and true God becomes present in our midst. The Word dwells among us as He did in Galilee by the power of the sacred words. — David G Bonagura, Jr.

The Eucharist’s purpose is not primarily functional, though it certainly has practical ramifications in the human soul: it heals our brokenness, it removes venial sin, it confers God’s grace, it strengthens us to perform God’s will. Its primary purpose, though, is existential: it brings us into communion with the source and goal of our lives. When we receive the Eucharist, we receive a foretaste of eternal life, where we will live together in direct, unmediated union with God face to face. This is the promise of the Eucharist. — David G Bonagura, Jr.

A sophist does not serve truth, he justifies action and the interest he’s pursuing — Peter Kwasniewski

In today’s world, this means that the pope and the bishops must hold firm to the Church’s mission “for the salvation of the world in Christ” and must not attempt to adapt to or earn the approval of the world by “proving their right to exist” through serving secular ideologies, such the “eco-religion” and “anti-rational woke movement.” — Cardinal Gerhard Müller

“Bishops and theologians who have forgotten that in Christ alone we are given the fullness of grace and truth or who … think they can develop the teachings of Christ according to their own liking, should remember the words of St. Paul: ‘If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ: the Gospel I preached did not come from men … I received it through the Revelation of Christ,’” — Cardinal Müller

 “Men will walk along the edge of a chasm in clear weather, but they will edge miles away from it in a fog. . . .One can meet an assertion with argument; but healthy bigotry is the only way in which one can meet a tendency. . . . Against this there is no weapon at all except a rigid and steely sanity, a resolution not to listen to fads, and not to be infected by diseases.”— G. K. Chesterton presented by Robert Royal

Any philosophy divorced from God—the Ultimate Reality—is rubbish; one person’s subjective opinion is no better than anyone else’s. …  If you have a philosophy that contradicts historical facts and reality, please change your philosophy.  I guarantee you that history, nature, and reality are not going to change.  Not for you or anybody else. … Socialists promise heaven on earth.  It never happens.  It never will happen.  It is an entirely nonsense philosophy, and history has proven it to be so.  When human philosophy meets historical reality, history always wins.— Mark Lewis

One longs for nothing other than the Gospel instead of the wordy documents that are supposed to accompany, summarize, and advance the synodal processes everywhere and en masse, but do not have the power of the spirit of a single parable of Jesus. Instead of God’s words and God’s wisdom, we have to read ad nauseam man’s words and man’s wisdom, paraphrases of the Gospel instead of the Gospel itself. — Bishop Marian Eleganti

In my opinion, however, this is nothing other than a creeping schism, which is being veiled, anointed, and legitimized, no, promoted with the new “synodality.” It will prove more and more to be such a schism as soon as the frustration of the reformers begins to boil over if, even in 2024, the reforms do not go far enough for them and once again prove to be merely words. They will then have had enough of words, words, words, and will follow them up with actions, which they are already doing now. — Bishop Marian Eleganti

Next to the danger of being stigmatized, Cardinal Müller also observed the problematic use of the word “Holy Spirit” during the synod sessions: “It has been quite un-Catholic/unorthodox to always speak of the Spirit without considering that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person and not a fluid being, and therefore can only ever be mentioned together with the Son and the Father. Cf. 1 John 4:1sq.” — Cardinal Gerhard Müller

In forming seminarians to be good shepherds who give their own lives for the flock of Christ, we must not indoctrinate them by repeating the neo-Marxist and pseudo-psychological phraseology of the cultural revolution of the last century, but we must orient them in the personal love of Christ with respect to Christian anthropology and moral and social theory as the Council did magnificently in “Gaudium et spes.” — Cardinal Gerhard Müller

The unity of the Church is not established by a compromise formula, but has its origin and constant source in Christ, her Head, who holds together all the members of his body, which is the Church. No one can lay any other foundation than that which is already laid: Jesus Christ. This synod of bishops bears fruit only when we follow the new and straight path of Syn-hodos, the companionship with Christ, that is, when we follow the One who has revealed himself in his person as He Hodos, the way, the truth and the life. — Cardinal Gerhard Müller

It does demand that we bring realism, courage, firmness, and an accurate memory to our modern encounter with Islam – both in the Middle East and here at home… . As Jesus himself said, only he is the way to the Father.  And Muslims do not finally know him.  Without our active witness to the Islamic world, they never will.  — Francis X. Maier

The spirit seems to be the zeitgeist – the spirit of the age -, rather than the Holy Spirit,. who by the way, in all my 35 years of teaching scripture if I can remember, never spoke through small groups and such kind of rigged synod discussions.  Jules Gomes

Made in the image of God, man is meant for eternal communion with God. Our faith in him must guide us in every area of our earthly lives, including the realm of politics and temporal power. — Carl E. Olson  

If regarding any problem the magisterium of John Paul II and Benedict XVI is clear and unambiguous, and instead that of Francis appears ambiguous and susceptible to being interpreted in a direction opposite to theirs, from the principle of continuity it ensues that when we faithful do not understand (and the pope does not explain himself), we can calmly turn to his predecessors and follow their teaching as if it were his, since he himself guarantees us that there is no discontinuity. In fact, the religious assent of intellect and will can only be given to what we understand correctly: we cannot assent to a statement whose meaning is not clear to us. — Leonardo Lugaresi on Cardinal Gerhard Müller

What today chooses instead to remain ambiguous also remains irrelevant to conscience, precisely by reason of its equivocality in comparison with what was clearly defined in the past. It is, if I may say so, kept in custody by the principle of continuity. Only at such time as the pope should declare, without ambiguity, that one need no longer give assent to the magisterium of his predecessors because it has been abrogated by his own, then indeed such custody would fall. But at that point much else would fall. And we can trust that this will not happen. — Leonardo Lugaresi

And it is a simple and safe way out. If in fact doctrine is deemed unchanged, and has come to us in a clear form, it is on it that we must rely, should the words and actions of the reigning pope be ambiguous and imprecise. — Leonardo Lugaresi

For a Christian, the God who in Jesus Christ binds himself heart and hand to us men who endured being human for us and among us even unto death and beyond death, is the center of Christianity. The whole quarrel in the history of religions … ends consequently with the gift of love that presupposes the personal being of God. Therefore, for man, too, it ends with the fact that he fully becomes a person by accepting the gift of being loved by God and by handing it on. (28-29) — Dr. R. Jared Staudt quoting Benedict XVI from What Is Christianity?  The Last Writings.

Bishops have no more ability to judge whether taxes should go up or down, whether the trade deficit is too high or not, what level of immigration is best, or what the minimum wage should be than anyone else, even if they are truly holy bishops.  The charism of apostolic authority does not guarantee civic prudence. Thus, ecclesiastical authorities who opine publicly on such practical matters, while ignoring the killing of pre-born children, have mistaken the nature of their charism and authority. — Randall Smith

Instead of constantly looking to Rome, lay Catholics should constantly look to Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We should not be perpetually anxious and troubled by what is going on in Rome. Instead, we should keep our focus fixed on the one thing that matters (Luke 10:41-42). — Daniel Waldow

In the last year, I have witnessed the blessings of same-sex unions in Mainz, Germany.  These were sad affairs for people desperately seeking something.  … The priests who conducted the blessings seemed more interested in burnishing their progressive reputations, and proudly proclaiming their rejection of Catholic teaching on sacramental marriage, than in the care of souls. In the end, there was a lot of showmanship but absolutely no thought given to the future of the lives of these couples. It was all very transactional, sadly secular, one party using the other.  Christ wept.   … The sole mission of the Church is to bring people into an encounter with Jesus Christ and into His presence through the sacraments.  A blessing of the union of two people living in objective sin is a sad facsimile for sacramental grace.  Homosexual persons deserve better and so do the People of God.— Michelle McAloon

Whatever is objectively morally unacceptable is also subjectively morally unacceptable. No one can exempt himself from God’s law by claiming it does not apply to him for some self-interested reason. When someone wants to commit a sin, and denies that it is a sin, this does not make it suddenly no longer a sin. — Fr. Gerald E. Murray

Pastors are called to make that law known to sinners, and to warn them to refrain from any behavior that violates God’s law, no matter what they may claim to justify their behavior. The claim that one is often unable to fulfill God’s commandments may be true – due to weakness and bad habits. But it is false if it means that obedience to God’s commandments, with the help of God’s grace, is impossible.— Fr. Gerald E. Murray

But once you begin modifying Christian doctrine, you cannot stop.  Or even if you personally happen to stop, the people you inspired – for instance, your children and grandchildren – won’t be able to stop.  Step by step, the doctrinal content of Christianity will shrink.  Eventually it will wither away. — David Carlin

In practice, there are no “unbelievers.”  We all believe in something.  That includes every self-described cynic and agnostic, because claiming to believe in nothing is itself a choice to believe – since “nothing” is still a something that involves a choice.  We then build our systems of reasoning and our perceptions of the world on the foundation of our beliefs. — Francis X. Maier

We Americans are a deeply pragmatic, results-driven people. The words novus ordo seclorum – “a new order of the ages“ – are stamped right on the Great Seal of the United States.  They’ve been there since the founding.  This makes us enormously creative and productive. It also, absent a vigorous Biblical faith, makes us the most thoroughly materialist, practically atheist nation in history.  As Biblical faith has declined, we’ve simply switched our religious instinct – our need to sacralize something or someone – to our tools; in other words, to science and technology.  That’s where we really place our trust.  They “deliver the goods,” here and now, in a way that prayer to an invisible God seemingly can’t. — Francis X. Maier

So if we want to turn the world right side up; if we want a more humane and godly future, we need to start by recovering who we are and why we’re here.  That requires the work of remembering; going back to the Word of God and the arduously learned wisdom of our Catholic teachings and tradition.  It requires living like we really mean what we claim to believe.  Not just at home, not just in our hearts, but in our public words and actions. — Francis X. Maier

The tragic temptation to eviscerate the meaning of His [Jesus’] Life through a so-called universalism that renders Him meaningless is a great manifestation of the evil we face today — Bishop Joseph Strickland

There is only one way to eternal life: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. — Bishop Joseph Strickland

In our ongoing journey of faith, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is of critical importance, and we all need to understand that it is a loving encounter with the same Jesus Christ who we receive in the Eucharist. — Bishop Joseph Strickland

Baptism of course is the necessary sacrament of our initial repentance, conversion, and incorporation into the Christian life. It frees us from original sin and gives us sanctifying grace, allowing us to share in His life and love— Bishop Joseph Strickland

As we deepen our understanding of the sacraments, and in particular the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Reconciliation (also called Confession or Penance), we are drawn more deeply into the metanoia we are all called to embrace.— Bishop Joseph Strickland

It is through repentance and sacramental confession that every battle with temptation and sin can be a small victory that leads us to embrace the great victory that Christ has won for us — Bishop Joseph Strickland

We can only reestablish a life of grace through the One who is infinite. — Bishop Joseph Strickland

This line of thinking sometimes progresses to our assuming that salvation will ultimately be offered to all people simply because God is infinitely merciful, and therefore all men will be saved. This is the error of universalism. — Bishop Joseph Strickland

We are all sinners, and we are all in need of a Savior because we are all born into original sin and, therefore, subject to its consequences.) — Bishop Joseph Strickland

He [Jesus] has given us the way, through His grace, to victory over sin and death through repentance and sacramental confession.— Bishop Joseph Strickland

“The belief that all men and women will be saved regardless of how they live their lives (a concept commonly referred to as universalism) is false and is dangerous, as it contradicts what Jesus tells us repeatedly in the Gospel. Jesus says we must ‘deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.’ (Matt 16:24) — Bishop Joseph Strickland

There are people who are experts on how to hold meetings, how to control the message and direction of meetings, changing minds, creating consensus, etc. … You learn early that breaking people into small groups into which you have inserted a committed leader who can wear down opposition is key.   There have to be full-koolaid-slaked agents on deck who can – let’s mix the metaphors even more – nip things in the bud. —  Fr. John Zuhlsdorf on the format of diocesan synods and the synod on synodality

It’s remarkable how when people “wrestle with their consciences” (modern style), they – not conscience – so often win.  – Robert Royal

Your guardian angel passed his moment of trial and became confirmed in grace because he glimpsed who you are supposed to be in God and chose to do everything in his power to bring that vision into reality. — Donald Jacob Uitvlugt

Today, many pretend to be Catholic while denying the Words of Christ.  He says that adultery is bad, they say it is not really that bad (in certain circumstances.)  He says that the just punishment for sin is death, they say that the human person is so dignified in his nature, that he never deserves death.  He commands his disciples to leave the towns that won’t listen to the Word; they say that we should work for a “more inclusive Church.”  The tedious list goes on. More than ever do we need St. Michael to stab the mouths of Satan and his slaves.  More than ever do we need to imitate Mary in her fidelity to Christ’s words. — Fr. Peter Miller OSB

I came to understand that through the Communion of Saints, we have the ability to ask the “Church triumphant” (those in Heaven) to pray for us. I saw that praying to Saints is not worship but is a request for their intercession. I began to see the beauty and wisdom of asking those in Heaven, who are living in for eternity in God’s presence, to pray for us. After all, Jesus often healed people as a result of another person’s faithful request for that healing, such as in the healing of the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8:5-13. And Christ’s own statement that “He is not God of the dead but of the living” (Mark 12:27). — Lindsay Baxter

I used to think that the Saints got in the way of a relationship with Jesus. But I now see that they help us develop a deeper relationship with Him. The Christian life is hard. And the Church, in her wisdom, holds up particular people—the Saints—as examples of those who lived the Christian life well. They had their struggles and faults like we all do, but they continually said yes to God and allowed His love to transform them and create a beautiful masterpiece out of their lives. — Lindsay Baxter

The pastoral reality is the opposite in fact, and the typical person is not so much concerned with “am I welcome in this Church?” as they are with the question, “What is attractive and interesting to me about this Church?” Boredom is the deeper existential threat to our parishes—boredom with an utterly non-provocative Church constantly chasing after the latest boutique shop issues—and this boredom with the Church is grinding her down. —Larry Chapp

We must choose what form our sanctity will take in today’s world of a nullified God. And that will require a true listening to the Spirit of the crucified and risen Christ and not the whisperings of the zeitgeist on superficial hot button issues. —Larry Chapp

The great, indisputable, reasonable misfortune is death. … Revolutionaries interest me, but they have misunderstood the question. They can arrange a better world; we will always have to move. Scientists are a bit childish. They still believe they kill death…; they kill ways of dying: rabies, smallpox. Death is doing just fine.  —Larry Chapp

This is the Christian revolution. It is the revolution of a new intimacy which alone slakes our entire thirst for the ek-stasis of love. And it is a love which alone has no boundaries and no limits, and which cannot be transgressed by being trumped by something “more” or “higher.” — Larry Chapp

The rise of a totally transgressive culture devoted to the erasure of the last vestiges of tradition, natural law, classical morality, religion, sexual mores, and the very concept of “boundaries” has nullified the God linked to such things as an ongoing concern. — Larry Chapp

the roots of such faith are shallow in many believers, which has led to the modern spectacle of the unbelief of the believers.  … there is a loss of the sense of intimacy with Christ with a consequent loss of a sense of participation in the cruciform structure of His existence.— Larry Chapp

Lacking a true Christocentric, cruciform radicality, traditionalism is not nearly traditional enough, Catholic progressivism is not progressive at all but simply the parroting of intellectual fashion, and standard form “conservative” Catholicism is simply Whig-bourgeois liberalism at prayer. — Larry Chapp

I have no “program” or “strategy” for the best way forward in our evangelization. And that is because this is not something that can be “thought out” in advance in some ersatz committee and published as a series of documents from the bishop’s conference, as if the spiritual crisis we face can be met through the development of new bureaucratic maneuverings.    The solution is going to have to bubble-up from below as new saints emerge and new forms of sanctity are inspired by the Holy Spirit in ways that elude anything that can be captured in “listening sessions.”— Larry Chapp

Therefore, the true revolution can only be recovered —as it has always been recovered—by the emergence of the creativity of the saints.— Larry Chapp