Sometimes the EU actually does the right thing by Catholics
122 French Priests Ordained, With Help From Traditionalists
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Antonio Banderas Leads Malaga Holy Week Procession
On Holy Week each year, American social media users are shocked to learn that Spain’s Easter traditions predate the Ku Klux Klan’s white garb.
The penitential dress was a feature of Medieval processions, where brotherhoods of Catholics would carry elaborate floats through the streets of some of Spain’s most beautiful cities.
Such incredible beauty is a reminder of the Europe that was lost with Modernity, one that was laced with humility, faith and devotion, all united by community.
After lockdown restricted Easter celebrations for 2 years, Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas returned to Malaga in his native Spain to take part in the processions.
On Twitter, Banderas wrote:
After three years of waiting, yesterday we were finally able to walk our Niña de San Juan through the streets of Malaga.
Palm Sunday at #Málaga . The spiritual unites with tradition, with identity, with art, with popular culture and with social and solidarity work.
Banderas posted photos of the event, showing him decked out in the traditional garb.
You can watch videos of this year’s Spanish Holy Week below.
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Islamic Extremists and Bisexual Sentenced for Hamel Slaughter
In the summer of 2016, the world was shocked to hear of the brutal slaughtering of the martyred priest Father Jacques Hamel.
As he said Mass on the morning of the 26th of July 2016, a two terrorists entered his church seeking to behead him. Abdel Malik Petitjean and Adel Kermiche were both under police surveillance and even wearing an electronic tag when they stormed Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray church in Normandy. The two perverts then produced a knife, instructing a nun to record their decapitation of the elderly priest. Father Hamel shouted ‘Begone Satan’ at the two freaks, with one of them asking a nun if she was afraid, becoming incensed when she stated that she was not as Jesus was with her. The follower of Muhammad then stated that ‘Jesus is only a man’.
Both terrorists were members of Islamic terror group ISIS and were killed by French security services as they left the church.
Despite their deaths, French security services have managed to bring to justice those who aided them.
Four men were convicted of having done so, one of them being ‘French’ rapper Rachid Kassim who recruited drug addicted convicts to ISIS for missions in the Middle East. He received the harshest sentence but is believed to have been killed in Iraq in 2019. Interestingly, he had planned an attack on Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which allegedly spontaneously combusted in 2019 in the midst of the worst wave of arson attacks against French churches in history.
One of those convicted had been an ardent supporter of the slaughter of Father Hamel and was a cousin of one of the attackers. Farid Khelil is a self professed irreligious bisexual.
The cause for the canonisation of the martyred Father Hamel is currently opened.
Mothers of Priests Walk Paris To Rome For Latin Mass
Irish Priest Throws Paint on Russian Embassy (AUDIO)
With Pope Francis leading the way on dignified and prayerful responses to the current crisis in Ukraine, some priests have chosen to take a different route.
On a day where the Russian Ambassador appeared on Russian state media Russia 24 to claim that Ireland was the most overtly anti Russian nation in the West, an Irish priest was appearing on his own country’s state media to broadcast himself throwing paint onto the gates of the building.
Father Fergal MacDonagh previously hit the headlines after allowing an Imam to pray to Allah, invoking the names of Moses, Jesus, Mohammad and all the prophets on the altar of a Catholic church.
Now, he appeared on Liveline with Joe Duffy, a popular talk show on Irish state media. The audio is below, where he douses the gates in red paint, sets off an alarm, discusses the building being destroyed by arson and finally gets approached by a Garda.
It is as surreal as it sounds.
The stunt coincided with the Russian Ambassador Yuriy Filatov appearing on Russian media and stating that the relationship between Ireland and Russia had deteriorated:
Naturally the general political situation is simply hostile towards Russia and everything Russia.
A very negative role, of course, is being played by mass media that shows an absolutely tendentious picture of the events happening in Ukraine at the political level, but Ireland is in the forefront in the European Union and wider with regards to various anti-Russian events.
In this regard, it is probably hardly possible to talk now about any relations between Russia and Ireland. We are mainly supporting a channel of communication with the Irish.
“There is probably a certain sense in this because even in these difficult periods there is need in them.”
As our minister, Sergey Lavrov, said in the interview maybe they will stop going crazy in the West and will understand where, what and how in reality, but for now we are dealing with what we have.
May the Eucharist Be a Light to You in Dark Places
EUCHARIST and EUCATASTROPHE
‘May the Eucharist be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.’
On Thursday, 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin inflicted the ‘ancient Chinese curse’ of May you live in interesting times onto the world. The Russian army invaded Ukraine.
All rational people fear this could be a prelude to World War III. Many will have nightmares of being evaporated in a mushroom-cloud, at the flick of Putin’s little finger.
The Ancient Chinese Curse
The curse “May you live in interesting times” is neither ancient, or Chinese! This saying was probably penned by Neville Chamberlain’s father or brother.
Neville Chamberlain was the Prime Minister of England who negotiated ‘peace’ with Adolph Hitler. Hitler is universally understood to be the most loathsome, malignant narcissist of all time. Chamberlain triumphantly returned to London, naïvely waving the Munich Agreement aloft, claiming “Peace For Our Time!”
Within a year, Hitler had invaded Poland and Britain declared war — World War II.
History is packed with malignant narcissists and psychopaths. The list spans Caligula to Genghis Khan, and includes Ivan the Terrible; Pol Pot; Stalin & Mao Zedong, to name just a few. The one Ireland knows more intimately is Oliver Cromwell. These monsters brutally killed millions, upon millions of innocent human beings.
Dictators hold their power over little people because they can easily kill one person, or a family: demolish a home or even a whole community. In olden days, a knight might cleave his way through the village. Nowadays, a remorseless invader can drive a tank over innocent people, or just bomb them from afar.
The exact circumstances of this video are unknown. Some reports say it was a Russian tank while one report suggests it was a Ukrainian Strela-10 Rocket Launcher stolen by Pro-Russian saboteurs. It is unclear if the driver just lost control of the machine or whether he deliberately ran over the non-combatant elderly man passing-by in his car.
What is more important is what happened after the car was run over. Despite the ongoing invasion, a group of people worked to extricate the old man from his badly crushed vehicle. Such selfless behaviour never makes it into the history books — but this is exactly what makes humans, truly human!
Gentle folk
“Even the smallest person, can change the course of the future.” [JRR Tolkien]
Many of the powerless people in the world are the kindest folk. Days gone-by, some would be serfs or indentured servants, toiling long and hard to provide for family and community. Often, such people do not seek power or vast wealth because they already have riches beyond compare. Each of us knows some of these “Hobbits” in our lives.
After 2 long years of the COVID pandemic, these people are still a ray of hope with their kind words. Some might be more surly and not say much, but always show up to help in times of need! Through the voice of Samwise Gamgee, Tolkien reminds us: “There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.”
“Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here”
In Dante’s epic poem, Inferno, this proverb is inscribed above the gates of Hell.
For a Christian, one of the most serious sins is to despair – to give up all Hope. (To clarify: I believe that our Loving Father has infinite forgiveness for this sort of despair arising out of a severe depression.)
The idea of Hope in such dire circumstances led Tolkien to coin a new word: “Eucatastrophe.” Tolkien defined Eucatastrophe as a “good catastrophe, the sudden joyous turn…” This notion obviously arose from Tolkien’s devout Catholicism and traumatic experiences during World War I.
Tolkien may have deliberately coined this word to have similarity between EUCatastrophe and the EUCharist. As Katie Marquette noted, “it is important to understand the felix culpa narrative, the fortunate fall, the reality that ‘All Things can be Made Right Again.’ There is nothing that will not be rectified, though much of earthly life is experienced as “the long defeat.” As a Roman Catholic, Tolkien understood the Eucatastrophe of the Cross - Humiliation, Suffering, Death - turned into the Triumph of the Resurrection.”
So, what can we do to help?
Two suggestions:
First: pray harder! This includes praying for peace; praying for the innocent victims; praying for the conversion of the perpetrator and especially praying that this conflict does not escalate to nuclear war.
A devotion which Catholics should consider is the Holy Rosary. Through the Rosary, we ask our Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to intercede on our behalf with her Son, Jesus Christ.
For anyone who is a tad rusty on the Rosary, there are links below to Catholic Arena articles on how to learn the Rosary in English and Irish.
The link to the Rosary ‘as Gaeilge’!
Learn the Rosary in Irish — Catholic Arena
Secondly, we need to be very generous with humanitarian aid & financial support. There will be many refugees & injured / homeless people inside Ukraine. Please do not forget that Russian civilians are also going to suffer through the financial sanctions being placed on their motherland — thanks to Putin and his cronies.
Photo: Gregory Gresko, Lviv, Ukraine.
The Lord of the Rings is an allegory for how regular people cope with catastrophe. The phrase said by Galadriel was: “May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” Tolkien was a devout Catholic so perhaps his true message was:
“May the Eucharist be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.”
Dr. Kevin Hay
Ukraine Bishops Call for Consecration of Russia
The following letter is from the Episcopate of Ukraine to the Holy Father
Holy Father!
In these hours of immeasurable pain and terrible trial for our people, we, the bishops of the Conference of the Episcopate of Ukraine, become spokesmen of the relentless and heartfelt plea supported by our priests and consecrated persons, which comes to us from the entire Christian people, so that Your Holiness will dedicate our Motherland and Russia to the Most Holy Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Responding to this plea, we humbly implore your Holiness to publicly carry out an act of dedication to the Most Holy Immaculate Heart of Mary of Ukraine and Russia, as requested by the Most Holy Virgin in Fatima.
May the Mother of God, Queen of Peace, accept our pleas: Regina pacis, ora pro nobis!
Muslims SPITS in French Priest's FACE
With a Presidential Election looming, the persecution of Christians in France is becoming a hot topic.
In a literal sense, with the arson attacks on countless Catholic churches, including Notre Dame Cathedral but also with other forms of violence including the beheading of priests and lay people during Mass.
A shocking video from Bordeaux today highlights the daily plight of Christians in the Globalist country, which is quickly approaching the persecution to be found in the worst parts of the third world.
In this video, a PRIEST is blessing people when a Muslim man SPITS IN HIS FACE.
The Diocese have refused to press charges so far, an act that is admirable in one way in terms of forgiveness but in another way negligent of their civic and religious duties to play a part in ending these unjust persecutions of French Catholics. Recently, another priest was threatened with being beheaded during a procession, this is not a once off event and action needs to be taken.
So far, President Macron has failed to condemn the act.
Catholics Pray After TikTok User Desecrates Church
In the same week that an individual burst into a church and screamed Allah Akbar, a far more disgusting scene took place in another church in France.
Social media user Benjamin Ledig performed a disgusting degenerate dance inside a church, in front of an altar.
He has been allowed to get away with this hate crime by Macron’s government, who have also been loose with punishments for those beheading Catholics at Mass and setting their churches on fire.
The bigoted thug has since made unsubstantiated claims that he has been treated poorly since the anti Catholic hate crime, with one left wing French outlet defending his bigoted actions and trying to paint him as the victim, writing:
Since the publication of a video where he dances in a church, a young man has been the subject of calls for violence and homophobic insults online emanating from the fachosphere. He was beaten in a nightclub this weekend.
The crazed anti Catholic bigot then released a second video in which he pretended to apologise while twerking again in a Catholic church.
According to one French outlet, he has much support from those airheaded young people who get their History from TikTok, with one outlet writing that his supporters:
believe that the young man is a victim of "practices of inquisitors of the Middle Ages".
The same outlet points out that others have accused the crazed bigot’s actions of destroying efforts at acceptance as it:
"spits in the mouth of people who do extraordinary work to change mentalities about LGBT people and to change rights. It is going to be used by the right-wing media who are going to say, 'Look at what LGBT people are doing in the church, look at how they desecrate our churches.'"
For the record, he has since admitted that his claims to be performing the bigoted act because of ‘homophobia’ were completely fabricated. On French TV show Touche, he said:
I came alone to be as sincere as possible. In fact, I didn’t make this video to fight homophobia, as I said last Friday. I was simply asked to say that to explain why I did that. And then I told this story of homophobia but it’s not true
Rather than meet hate with hate, Catholics have taken the high road by organising a prayer rally outside their desecrated church.
At the church of Saint Paul Saint Louis in Paris, 100 hundred young Catholics knelt in solemn prayer last night, singing beautifully for all to see and hear as they did when Notre Dame was set on fire three years ago.
Appearing on television last night, Ledig refused to apologise for his hate crime.
With an election looming, the hatred shown towards Catholics, either by beheading them or torching their churches or desecrating their churches must become a pivotal issue, especially for those considering voting for Emmanuel Macron who has failed to act time and again.
Some Stay Catholic For The Money - Cardinal Muller
By Thomas Hegarty
Oxymoron (noun)
two words or phrases used together that have, or seem to have, opposite meanings
The term “liberal catholic” is an excellent example of an oxymoron and its used worldwide to describe people who believe they are practicing Catholics whilst supporting and promoting the liberal ideologies of aborting unborn children and various gay lifestyles.
Let’s not get into the whole judgement debate here, suffice to say that Catholic teaching which is laid down over many centuries is very clear on these ideologies.
But we can face facts.
It’s not uncommon in human nature to lie to ourselves.
Liberal catholicism is used by liberals as a way to live with their choices that go against their Catholic religion.
According to the European Conservative, German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, the body responsible for safeguarding the Church’s doctrine on faith and morals, has warned against the Church’s increasingly firm embrace of the Left’s secular progressivism and ‘wokism.’
The Cardinal explained that many high-ranking members of the clergy—as well as deacons, priests and bishops—who are pushing for liberal reforms within the Church, are “secularised people” themselves.
They (the liberal Catholic clergy) prefer to “keep the name ‘Catholic’
to stay in the institution and take the money” despite refusing to accept the “word of God.”
Cardinal Müller
“They relativize the Catholic faith, but remain with their titles: cardinals, bishops, theology professors—but in reality they don’t believe what the Church is saying”
said the Cardinal in response to a Synodal Assembly, which concluded with votes favouring draft texts calling for same-sex blessings and pro-LGBT redefinition of homosexuality in teaching materials.
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