Saint Philomena: Our Magnificent Wonder Worker

This is a brief reflection, written originally in 2009 and revised over the years, to honor our great Wonder Worker, Saint Philomena, on this her feast day, which is also the feast of Saints Tiburtius and Susanna.

Although our Wonder Worker is not on the universal calendar of the Roman Rite, her cultus was confirmed by none other than Pope Saint Pius X. That's good enough for me! Jansenists and rationalists will have to find some other website to surf as this one makes no room for any skepticism about Saint Philomena and the honor and power with which she has been crowned by Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This reflection includes text from a 1945 book, Wonder Worker: Saint Philomena, Virgin Martyr, which was written by Cathy Hallack and published with ecclesiastical approbation of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland, in 1945, which takes note of Saint Philomena's vow of virginity, which she made at eleven years of age, and mentions the fact that Diocletian was married to Prisca from 286 A.D. to the time he resigned as Roman emperor in 305 A.D. This means that Diocletian's proposal of marriage was indeed adulterous and bigamous, analogous to that of Herod the Tetrarch himself.

It was thus very touching for us to receive Mass propers for the Wonder worker's feast from an 1898 Missal that included an entire Mass in her holy honor. This gift was sent to us by a friend of ours, one who does not agree with us concerning the true state of the Church Militant in this time of apostasy and betrayal but has not cast us out into the wilderness and down the Orwellian memory hole as lunatics These Mass propers are a tremendous treasure, one that our friend wanted us to share with true priests so that they can offer her Mass, perhaps as a votive Mass on a ferial day, in honor of our Wonder Worker, Saint Philomena. We thank our friend very much for making these propers available for those true priests who may not have had them prior to now. The link to the Mass text can be found within the body of the republished reflection: Feast of Saint Philomena Mass Propers. (Although I had problems publishing these Mass propers last year, I found a way to work around the problem by using the old Adobe Contribute platform on which this site existed for nearly ten years.)

We are very devoted to Saint Philomena and pray the chaplet in her honor as a family every Saturday evening after Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary. I pray her chaplet every day. 

I am still working on part two of . As today will be consumed in going to chiropractor, part two will not appear before Monday at the earliest.

Our Lady of the Universal Living Rosary Association, pray for us.

Saints Tiburtius and Susanna, pray for us.

Saint Philomena the Wonder Worker, pray for us.

An Unsurprising Hatred of Catholic Truth, part one

The hour is late.

I have decided to turn my commentary on the article about the “ecumenism of hate” that was published in La Civilta Cattolica into at least two parts. As I have noted in recent days, I have taken my time to write my commentary, and time is needed to complete part two. There is a lot more to say that I have not covered in part one. Thus it is that I beg for your patience as I have to spend most of this afternoon doing some transcription for part two.

As promised yesterday, the latest update on fourteen year-old Teresa Johnston, who was severely injured when a sixty foot tree fell on her in her family’s backyard in Irvine, California, six months ago concerned a delicate surgery that she had to replace a piece of bone in her skull that was removed during one of the earlier surgeries to remove pressure on her brain, which had swollen after the injury. The surgery carried with it a risk of infection, and this is what a friend of the family’s wrote in an e-mail to her extensive list of friends:

Teresa’s surgery was high risk for infection, and she indeed does have a bacterial infection at the site.

She is in extra pain with swelling and difficulty chewing.  She is on antibiotics for six weeks, expecting to stop the infection.

Please continue to pray for this sweet 14 year old girl who is going through so much.

We continue to pray to Saint Philomena for this victim-soul and her parents and siblings. Please join us in these prayers, especially on our Wonder Worker’s feast day tomorrow, August 11.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Lawrence the Martyr, pray for us.

Saint John Mary Vianney Served Souls Until His Death

Today is the feast of Saint John Mary Vianney and the Commemoration of the Vigil of Saint Lawrence the Deacon and of Saint Romanus.

Saint John Mary Vianney is the patron of diocesan priests, a man who humbly recognized that he was not the brightest pupil, that he was, to use even his own description, slow in his studies. He had great difficulty learning his Latin. Other studies came hard to him as well. He did not give up. Helped by a wonderful mentor, Father Balley, who had worked as a carpenter during the French Revolution so as to hide his identity as a Catholic priest as he offered Mass in various hideaways and without any "communion" with the bishops and priests of the "constitutional church," John Mary Vianney persevered time and time and time again, praying to Saint John Francis Regis for help and guidance.

Yes, he was tempted to quit his studies, believing himself to unworthy of priestly ordination because of his lack of intellectual aptitude. Father Balley told him very pointedly, "You've decided to give in to the devil?"

That knocked some sense into our Saint, and it should knock some sense into any young man today who might have experienced some difficulties and perhaps even gross injustices in their own pursuit of the priesthood.

Never give up. We need priests, especially now in this time of apostasy and betrayal.

Always close to Our Lady, Saint John Mary Vianney was brought to the point of his priestly ordination on August 13, 1815. His superiors judged that his moral qualities had overcome any academic deficiencies that would have held others back from being ordained to the priesthood, and they were vindicated in their judgment by the long and devoted service that he gave to the people of Ars.

Oh yes, sure, he tried to run away from his people on three occasions, wanting to seek the solitude of a monastery. Each time, however, he responded to the pleas of his sheep who loved their shepherd, who spent so much time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and in the confessional to hear the confessions of the thousands of people who flocked from all over the world to the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus applied to their souls through his priestly ministry, and returned home to Ars.

Saint John Mary Vianney, who knew failure in his studies for the priesthood, was a firm supporter of the "patron of failures," Pauline Jaricot, the foundress of Society of the Propagation of the Faith and the Universal Living Rosary Association, and zealously devoted to the cause of our great wonder worker, Saint Philomena.

Saint John Mary Vianney spent himself tirelessly in behalf of the flock that was entrusted to his pastoral care. We need to invoke his intercession so that our own true bishops and priests will be fortified by his example as they seek to serve faithful Catholics, the scattering and wandering sheep of this time of apostasy and betrayal, unto eternity.

Work continues in a most methodical manner on my commentary on the Antonio Spadaro and Miguel Figueroa article in La Civilta Cattolica that appeared a month ago. As the hour is too late now, the entirety of today will be spent completing my commentary. However, I am doing my best to make various points in a clear and cogent manner.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for is.

Saint John Mary Vianney, the Cure of Ars, pray for us.

Saint Lawrence the Deacon, pray for us. Saint Romanus, pray for us.

(I will publish an update about the health of Teresa Johnston, the fifteen-year-old girl who was injured when a tree fell on her in Irvine, California, nearly six months ago, when I posted my next original article. In the meantime, please continue to pray for Teresa as she is suffering very much from the report that I received two days ago now. Please also pray for parents, Dr. and Mrs. Roch Johnston. Thank you.)

Many Pathways to Advance The Killing of Bodies and Souls

Four recent articles on this site have discussed the global reach of the merchants of death in the medical and insurance industries. This brief commentary discusses two concrete results of the triumph of utilitarianism as the basis for decisions made by healthcare "professionals" and insurance companies about who should receive treatment and who should be encouraged to end their lives (or to have it ended for them.)

Work continues on my commentary about the La Civilta Cattolica article that was published last month concerning the "ecumenism of hate." Time is being taken to assure a commentary that is precise and, believe it or not, as concise as possible! It appears as though Wednesday is the likely publication date. Thank you.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Cajetan, pray for us.

Saint Donatus, pray for us.

The Cause, by Timothy A. Duff, M.S., Ed.

The great friend of Catholic truth and tireless defender of Venerable Mary of Agreda and The Mystical City of God , Mr. Timothy A. Duff, M.S., Ed., was kind enough to send me this excellent commentary for publication on this site. I am very happy and grateful that he has done so as his commentary provides some very important background about the causes of the current state of apostasy and betrayal that afflicts the Church Militant at this time.

Please pray three Hail Marys for Mr. Duff, his wife, children and grandchildren.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Cajetan, pray for us.

Saint Donatus, pray for us.

On the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Today is the great Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Mount Thabor in the presence of the Apostles Peter, James and John and in the company of Moses and Elias. God the Father repeated the proclamation that He had made as His Co-Equal Son made Flesh in Our Lady's Virginal and Immaculate Womb was baptized by His cousin, Saint John the Baptist in the Jordan River prior to the assumption of His Public Ministry, "This is My beloved Son, hear yet Him."

Our Lord was transfigured in the glory that He shared with the God the Father and God the Holy Ghost for all eternity in Heaven in order to show forth His Sacred Divinity to Saints Peter, the first Pope, Saint James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem and the first of the Apostles to be martyred, and Saint James's brother, Saint John, the beloved Apostle and the Apostle of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, to help console them during the events of His Passion and Death. It is our goal to be transfigured in glory for all eternity in Heaven.

The only path to the heavenly Mount Thabor, however, is by climbing atop Mount Calvary every day of our lives, willingly bearing our crosses in reparation for our sins and those of the world as we offer whatever merit we gain for the patient and joyful endurance of these crosses to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Indeed, our climb to Heaven by ascending first to Mount Calvary is signified every day a true bishop or a true priest completes the prayers at the foot of the altar and ascends the three steps (mystically symbolic of the Thee Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity and of the three stages of the interior life) to the altar itself.

If we desire to be transfigured in all glory in Heaven we must, therefore, be willing to be shamed and humiliated by the the ignominy associated with the Holy Cross. The glories of Heaven are worth such temporary shame and humiliation and ignominy, are they not?

May Our Lady, who awaits us in the heavenly Mount Thabor and intercedes for us from there, help us to ascend to Mount Calvary every day in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass so that we can keep her company at the foot of the Cross every day our lives as a a preparation for spending all eternity in the glories of Heaven with her and Saint Joseph and all of the angels and the saints.

A blessed Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to you all. This reflection has been revised slightly.

Work has commenced on the next original article to be posted on this site. Additionally, a guest commentary will be ready for publication by tomorrow as well.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Peter, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint James the Greater, pray for us.

Pope Saint Sixtus, Saints Felicissimus and Agapitus, pray for us.

Trying to Hold Back the Gates of Hell By Natural Means Never Succeeds

Yes, a new article.

Well, the article is new, but the points made within its text have been made hundreds upon hundreds of times on this site since its debut on February 20, 2004 to continue the work of the printed journal of the same name, Christ or Chaos, that had been started in August of 1996.

Another new article, dealing with the La Civilta Cattolica article on the "ecumenism of hate" that I have been working on at various points in the past few weeks, should appear by Sunday, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today, however, it is back to the chiropractor for the second of twelve treatments to try to resolve the spinal injury I suffered sixteen days ago via chiropractic means. Your prayers for the success of this treatment are needed at this time. Thank you.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Dominic de Guzman, pray for us.

On the Feast of Saint Dominic, Who Fought Heresy With Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary

Today is the Feast of Saint Dominic de Guzman, who had such great zeal for souls from his earliest days in seminary. As is well known, it was a conversation with an innkeeper in the Albigensian stronghold of Toulouse, France, changed the whole direction of his priesthood as he sought to win back souls from the darkness of an early forerunner of Calvinism, Albigensianism.

Our Lady, sent by her Divine Son out of the ineffable Mercy that He has in His Most Sacred Heart, which was formed out of her own Immaculate Heart, to bring back the lost sheep (and not to beat up on the sheep when their souls are sorely distressed) out of the new form of Manicheaism that had arisen in southern France, gave Saint Dominic her Most Holy Rosary to the be the weapon to crush the Albigensian heresy. Saint Dominic de Guzman used the weapon of Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary very well and taught others how to do so.

Every Catholic, of course, owes a great deal to Saint Dominic, who walked between southern France and Rome several times during his life--and who accompanied two of the first Dominicans, Saints Hyacinth and his brother, Saint Ceslaus, on the first leg of their trip in Italy back to Krakow before he, Saint Dominic, had to turn back.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Dominic de Guzman, pray for us.

On The Feast of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori: Giving Us What For To Help Us Get Home to Heaven

Today is the Feast of the great Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, the Patron of Moral Theologians. It was over nine years ago now that I recorded each of the Sunday sermons of Saint Alphonsus for the "Save Thy Souls" section of Traditional Catholic Sermons.org. It was a very sobering experience as I recognized that Saint Alphonsus was speaking directly to me, condemning my sins and my tepidity.

Ouch.

He certainly gave me what for, and I am grateful that he did so.

This particular reflection was enlarged last year to include three complete sermons composed by Saint Alphonsus de Ligouori. Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, the founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists), was particularly emphatic in teaching us that we must avoid sins of human respect. That is, we can show no partiality or favoritism to those in power if they are doing things that put the temporal or, more important, the eternal welfare into jeopardy.

This applies to the likes of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who blasphemes God on a regular basis and considers it his duty in the name of "mercy" to enable hardened, unrepentant sinners in their lives that are leading to them eternal perdition, and to most of his "bishops," men who believe that the sheep are their enemies and that they can stonewall and intimidate the sheep into remaining silent about real and documented abuses of power and real and documented violations of the integrity of the Holy Faith:

"And when there is question of the divine honour, we should not be frightened by the dignity of the man who offends God; let us say to him openly: This is sinful; it cannot be done. Let us imitate the Baptist, who reproved King Herod for living his brother's wife and said to him: 'It is not lawful for thee to have her'--Matt., xiv. 4. Men indeed shall regard us as fools, and turn us into derision; but, on the day of judgment they shall acknowledge that they have been foolish, and we have shall have the glory of being numbered among the saints. They shall say: 'These are they whom we had some time in derision. . . . . We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honour. Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints'--Wis., v. 3, 4, 5. (Sixth Sunday After Easter: On Human Respect.)

The next original article is being written. As I am undergoing twice weekly chiropractic treatment for the subluxation of a bulging lumbar disc that was aggravated by the fall I took two weeks ago now, articles will be completed as it is possible for me to do so. However, I do not anticipate going anywhere today, which means that I will able to complete what must be a relatively brief article for posting by tomorrow morning.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, pray for us.

Pope Saint Stephen I, pray for us

Truth Is Not On the Side of GOSH and Its Conciliar Enablers

The conciliar "bishops" of England and Wales issued a statement after an English judge had sentence Charlie Gard to death on the grounds that it would be "cruel" to keep him alive. The statement praised officials at The Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for their "professionalism," which, of course, included its relentless efforts to deny Charlie Gard the treatment that could have helped him and to prevent his parents from transporting him to the United States of America for a course of experimental treatment.

Truth is not on the side of GOSH and its conciliar enablers.

Finally, although I have a copy of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging report that was prepared by a radiologist, the only thing that I know for certain is that the lumbar region of my spine is a mess and that the spinal fusion I underwent on February 14, 1968, to correct a condition caused by spondylolisthesis has disintegrated. Our chiropractor will be able to sort out whether the fall that I took nearly thirteen days ago now caused any new damage or merely exacerbated a preexisting state of degenerative disc disease. Thank you for your continued prayers. I will try to complete several articles this week as time and physical ability permits. 

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola pray for us.

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