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Please God, more Scriptural and Patristic sources will be added to the present “rant style” meditations when circumstances at Holy Souls Hermitage aren’t quite so utterly barbaric.

The purpose of this first run through these mysteries is to note especially the goodness and kindness of Jesus amidst the violence and chaos back in the day… and today. Hang on, it might be a bit of a rough ride, as rough and tumble as we focus on, in this post, the Descent of the Holy Spirit:

Acts 2,1-41 1 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. 2 And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. 3 Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. 6 At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? 9 We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.” 12 They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.” 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord, 21 and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’ 22 You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. 23 This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. 24 But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says of him: ‘I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. 26 Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, 27 because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 29 My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. 30 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. 33 Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you (both) see and hear. 34 For David did not go up into heaven, but he himself said: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”‘ 36 Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” 38 Peter (said) to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” 40 He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. (nab)

[[ It was my great joy to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the "upper basilica" of the Immaculate Conception in Lourdes on Pentecost Sunday in the spring of 2009, getting very close to the time when I would round out my two years in Lourdes as a chaplain for the Italian, English, French and Latin chaplaincies. It was my great joy to sing the Veni Sancte Spiritus. I remember that clear as a bell.]]

There is just one comment in Saint Peter’s preaching that I’d like to emphasize:

“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

This is the Pentecost preaching of our Holy Father, Saint Peter, who was filled with the Holy Spirit in uttering these words. No, he hasn’t forgotten that he is an Israelite, indeed, one who scrupulously kept the Law of Moses. No, he hasn’t forgotten that he himself denied the Lord three times. No, he doesn’t fall under the condemnation of our Holy Father, the Successor of Saint Peter, Benedict XVI, in that Peter himself does not say that only the Jews put Jesus to death, and not us also be way of our sins.

The fact is that the Holy Spirit — all charismatics take note — came also upon Peter at Pentecost, and to this precise end of making converts to the fiery truth and charity of God, revealing hypocrisy, promoting repentance and humble thanksgiving.

Did Peter’s speech promote unity? Yes. Peter is the sign of unity. Do politically correct tyranny of relativism “consensus builders” despise Peter? Well, they wouldn’t say so. But, yes, they do. So where’s the unity in that? Everyone, without exception, is subject to the Lord, though many do not want this, many others do. There are many won for the Lord. There is clarity, not ambiguous nothingness in which all go to hell. No, many are won. And those who are lost want to be lost. But many are won to the Lord in a unified way.

Other than that, something rather spiritual in a different way:

We do not know how to pray as we ought. The Holy Spirit takes us and transforms us into the image of Jesus, making us members of His Mystical Body, having us look through, with and in Jesus to the Father. This is how things will be in eternity. Inasmuch as we carry about the death of Jesus in this world in this way, that is how much we are already proclaiming the resurrection, not only of Jesus, but also of our own future resurrection at the Last Judgment. The Holy Spirit prepares us for eternity by uniting us always more to Jesus.

Oh, and all those languages which were understood. Very cool, that. I wish the charismatics would just follow Paul’s rules for speaking in tongues. The one common language that must always be spoken is that one Word, that Logos, now Jesus, spoken by the Father, and resounding within us. The Holy Spirit has us “sound down” (see Luke 1,1-4) the Sacred Tradition of the Church, of which He is the author.

Remember, Sacred Tradition does NOT mean handing down the faith. That’s a tyranny of relativism definition. Although Vatican II uses two sentences to describe this, Trent just comes right out and says it. Sacred Tradition is a handing down of the faith quasi per manus, almost as if my hand, as if it were something so the same that we were handing down an inanimate object, the same for all generation. Instead, we pass down a living faith, but the author of that living faith, of those traditiones, is the Holy Spirit, who speaks univocally to all, throughout the ages. The Holy Spirit is the author of Sacred Tradition, not us, not our efforts. The Holy Spirit leads us to know the truth, the living truth, Christ Jesus, whom we crucified, but who, by His grace, has us be in humble thanksgiving for His goodness and kindness. Very wonderful, that. Happy Feast!

Some things never change, even in the midst of scandal.

I got a telephone call this morning, purportedly from the I.O.R. (Institute of Religious Works / “Vatican Bank”) of the Holy See. The gentleman tried to ascertain what I wanted to do with my account, as if I had an account. Heh heh heh. I played along, spending quite a bit of time condemning the Obama administration, just to do it.

Remember how I played along with the guy from Jamaica. HERE and HERE?

Heh heh heh.

I am such un enfant terrible.

Anyway, I then fired off an email to a friend who works in the Holy See to tell him of such shenanigans. Heh heh heh.

Yesterday was one of those days.

A zillion years young wonderful great grandma down the mountain banged up her diabetic foot today, leaving a trail of blood around her trailer house. The blood thinner she’s on didn’t help, of course. She lives alone, so I was called in by a neighbor to see if could help out a bit. No problem. Just very minor. She had appropriate bandages made for diabetic skin. So, O.K.! The 409 spray stuff does great for cleaning up blood on the floor.

And then there were some absolutely got to take care of them right now emails to take care of (plus some others). There are now 1114 marked as unread (which isn’t necessarily true) out of 6278. I’ll have to do a major email attack soon.

Meanwhile, the knot that is the Manchester Diocese continues to be unraveled by our Lady. Perhaps the earliest possible I’ll be able to comment on that will be Saturday night at the earliest. Perhaps late Monday afternoon. We’ll see.

Towards evening, there was the… event… The timing of it and the circumstances of it… Creepy! That took hours to tend to. That will be on today’s job-list as well. The distractions are legion. “Legion”… such a choice of words.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae Caelestis,
satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute in infernum detrude.
Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

The choppers have been carrying buckets of water all morning.

Voluntary evacuation.

Update 5:30 PM — Choppers still carrying water and planes surveying the situation overhead. The count on the fires now stands at twenty-one. Most are out. Six still going. Three seem to be rather stubborn and getting stronger.

Thanks for the prayers. There has been very little wind today, though enough for the smoke to go more horizontal than vertical. If the wind picks up tonight, there could be problems for the hermitage. Vigilance!

I went out to survey the situation and speak to the zillion firemen, sheriffs, state police and other emergency responders. They’re pretty confident that they have things under control and see no problem for those who live in the fire’s path (depending on who you talk to!).

One of the fires I saw was lit next to the old medical mission of the Catholic Sisters who were here until recently. Someone lives behind that. Arson is a horrific thing, endangering lives.

Update 8:05 PM: All fires out (though with lots of smoldering) except for the two strongest, which have joined forces. The firemen will be out all night. I doubt they can fly the helicopters at night. It looks like the rain might reach us by dawn.

Update 9:05 PM: There’s almost always a breeze. But right now, all is dead calm. Fires in this rain forest under such conditions just cannot travel any distance at all. So, since I’m just a bit removed, no danger anymore. And I’m happy with that. Thank you for the prayers.

Update 9:55 AM: Still no rain. Perhaps by early afternoon. But there is no wind at all. Not a leaf moving even on top of the trees. Humidity is at 99.9999%. Cool. Which is all very helpful. News from late last evening was that there is just one fire, 2 1/2 times bigger within just a few hours, only 20% of which was contained, with plenty of break fires set by the firemen. There are no planes, no helicopters. The worst threat is over. But, I’ll have to remain vigilant. I was surprised to hear reports of even strong wind last night, but that’s very possible, as every nook and cranny coming up the gorge has it’s own dynamics going on. Also, the hottest part of any fire can create its own wind. But now, all seems calm, at least here at the hermitage.

Last night:

Update 12:40 PM — The promised rain has finally arrived, a light, gentle rain, but enough to dampen a fire’s progress for sure.

An industrial accident it’s being called. An explosion 2.1 on the Richter scale. Much of the town was leveled.

***Looting reported. Well, people might be after life-saving supplies. So, careful. But if they’re after luxury items, well, they should know if there would be an imposition of martial law, there is usually a shoot-to-kill policy for looters who act stupidly. Why? Because looting makes residents want to go back into a dangerous area and protect their belongings. But, in doing that, they can die because of the dangerous circumstances with hazardous chemicals, possibility of further explosions, etc. Also, looting someone while they are down is really annoying.

I know that many of you like to see pictures of Laudie-dog, the fierce protector of Holy Souls Hermitage, who battles the monsters of the Western North Carolina mountain forests, seen and unseen.

I thought I would reinforce your appreciation of battle worn and ready to fight under any conditions Laudie-dog by offering you some contrast with the “dog” of the Reverend Father Judicial Vicar for the diocese, none other than Maggie-May.

Honestly. That’s as bad as cat-dog, from the maker of bacon-dog:

Her condition has worsened. Let’s redouble efforts of prayer.

A mutual friend sent in New Catholic’s email address, enabling a sending along an offer of prayers and blessings.

There are many attorneys who follow the blog, with a wide range of practices in all areas of law. I’m not sure if there are any attorneys who know about journalistic law who follow the blog. If so…

I need advice about the legal status of established bloggers as journalists, that is, not aggregators, or fly-by-nighters, but those who provide original material over the space of years. I think I can establish that for myself and Holy Souls Hermitage as a finalist for the About.Com’s Readers’ Choice Best Catholic Blog. The blog is tiny, but established. Surely my past work at Vatican Radio makes no difference since I don’t work for them now (though the blog itself is thought by the Social Communications crowd in the Holy See to be worthy of carrying the Vatican.va widget, about which I pointed out certain avenues of development, which they took up. and ).

At any rate, as the print media begins to shrink, and blogs become the way that even major news providers dish out their material, who is to say that freedom of the press with free speech does not apply to bloggers? A writer surely isn’t established as a journalist by the arbitrary decision of the organizers of, say, a news conference at the White House, or just because he receives a salary from an institutional news organization, or just because he’s knocked off some university credits for journalism. Isn’t that all arbitrary?

• What are the criteria a judge uses to hold a journalist to be a journalist regarding, say, the point about the right of a journalist to protect sources?
• Can a blogger such as myself claim the right to protect sources?

It happens that I have an article that will cause a rather large stir. But I need to protect my sources. I need to know that I have the legal right not to reveal my sources. I need to know I won’t be held in contempt for not revealing my sources. It’s nothing to do with National Security or any other compelling interest of the State to force disclosure. What I have is in favor of the common good. What I have can be established independently by way of witnesses and documents which, as far as I know, can be subpoenaed. This will surely be the only way that some of this will be able to be established independently. Of course, some will have their toes stepped on, and they are the ones who will want to know the sources, but what I have needs to come out, and it needs to come out now. Sources will back me up publicly, but I really do not want that to happen.

If you’re able to provide some advice, contact me at holysoulshermitage using the provider of gmail dot com. Thanks in advance.

Update: From a non-American journalist working overseas:

Concerning your need for protection of sources, my opinion from a journalist’s perspective is that you would need to be employed to write regularly by a media organisation that relies on income for its journalism to be able to claim the right in defence.

Paid-for, journalistic publishing could not work without protection of sources. Surprisingly, though the general issue is related to freedom of speech, the disputed aspect you bring up here is about the survival of a professional media which is deemed necessary for our democracies to function.

Ironically for you, because you explicitly do not solicit donations means you probably could not classify yourself as a publisher – the ultimate holder of responsibility for what’s printed – of a professional media set-up. This means a defensive plank of protecting your sources, resting on the principle of freedom of speech, would probably not be sustained.

To put it briefly, in a court’s eyes, your livelihood doesn’t depend on the blog so your livelihood does not need the law’s protection. It’s the livelihood that this particular law protects, not, at least proximately, the freedom of speech.

Though this is negative, I hope it helps.

I hope you’re doing well otherwise. Things sound pretty stressed over there at the moment. I’ll be thinking and praying for you. You’re an inspiration to a lot of people.

Yikes! So, the question is, has there been any battles about this, any precedent, in some obscure and recent case Stateside? Is the income thing so strict? Is there no — what to call it? — philanthropy journalism that can be protected?

I recall a Maltese “professional student” in Rome who once said of me that of all the academics and priests and bishops and religious he knew from right around the world — and being in Rome for decades at the epicenter of knowing everyone from everywhere, that says something — of all of them, he said, only I myself was absolutely 180 degrees different from what everyone else had to say, on every point, on every level. He hung around with the liberal crowd, mind you.

However, it’s not 180 degrees of difference that is important, for one will not find the truth in being different for the sake of being different.

Nor is truth to be found between two extremes, for those poles swirl about themselves as if in a gyroscoped pendulum.

The Truth is a living, divine Person, Christ Jesus our Lord. He is who he is, regardless of our swaying with the winds in this way or that.

Truth is not a reaction to whatever rubbish. Truth cannot be manipulated as a mere play thing of relativism. Truth is Who He is.

I know nothing of that truth on my own. But if I assent to that Truth Who He is, well, that’s a good thing.

If I do that, no kudos to me. That’s all His goodness and kindness. On my own, I’m a total idiot. It’s good to know Him.

How, you might ask? Real love and respect for one another, with reason, a reason that is consonant with Truth, Who He Is.

I’m sure some of you readers have sometimes been thought of as those who are not quite right in the head, but you are just thinking a bit laterally, which is way cool.

Holy Souls Mountain has been a blaze of activity for some days. I don’t know if it was a dog-fight or what, but some jets came thundering over the hermitage and then seemed to go straight up. The practice air-space is higher than it is wide, of course.

Some other great fly bys — just judging from the sound, mind you — seem to have included our friends in the U.S. Army. No other attack helicopter sounds like the AH-64. A very choppy thunder, particularly loud at night when it hovers right over the roof for, it seems, forever:

Not to mention the marines in their super-cobras circling Holy Souls Mountain. The top two pictures are googled, of course, but not this one of the USMC, from last year. The SEMPER FIs go out in pairs. Here’s the first, with the other close behind.

Today is another one of those days. I’ll be away from the mountain for most of the day, collecting, please God, some donated firewood, if the truck doesn’t break down.

Later, I would like to do some fisking. Why? Not because I am not praying for those involved. Not because I dislike anyone. But because the Jewish people deserve better. Because Pope Francis deserves better. And, yes, for the sake of goodness and kindness.

• For a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, dying from the effects of cancer treatment, now in home hospice waiting to go home to heaven. As seminarian Philip tells us in the comments: Seminarian Jose passed away just before 3pm today, surrounded by his family while they were praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Please pray for the repose of his soul!
• For a 15 month old toddler, Matthew, facing his third fourth surgery in 36 forty some hours for a monstrous flesh-eating bacterial infection. Please include parents and siblings. This just in: Do not yet have the go ahead for surgery tonite. YES!!!!!! Matthew has been stabling out with no fever since this morning surgery. Dramatic change from yesterday coming from105/106 with meds to 98/98 with meds. He is still on the schedule to be in surgery tomorrow morning. The stabling out happened shortly after people started praying and sharing to prayer groups. This is holy week and his graces are already pouring among, Thank you so much for joining the [...] family, church, FB, private prayer groups ,thoughts, visits, kind words and special intentions [More in the comments box. Keep praying, as he is still fighting for his life!]
• Add yours in the comments box (only first names)…

The neighbors graciously, however unceremoniously dumped me at my favorite mechanics shop, where my truck was sitting. The best mechanic in these parts told me he had fixed the EGR valve (exhaust gas recirculation). In doing that, pretty much everything else was fixed in a domino effect, including, of course, the brakes, which use the vacuum in the engine, if it’s there.  Even the “service engine” light went out on its own for the first time since I was given use of the truck at the beginning of 2011. When asked if the truck had any chance of surviving, he said “zero”, as there may well be an electrical problem. But that can’t be fixed unless the difficulty is evident, and it is not at this point. Whenever you want your car to misbehave — in front of the mechanic, so he can see what the problem is — it just does not happen. Anyway, I drove the truck all day today, and it worked better than it ever has. Thanks to all who offered to replace the truck. I am very humbled by your offers. But right now, it looks like I’ll be able to keep chugging along in this beloved clunker, at least for a while.

On the other side of town, a donation for boots was forced upon me against all my tantrum like protestations, along with an offer of some more of the already chopped up red oak fire wood that comes by way of a great CIA lady (R.I.P.).

From there I went down to the famous [...], since I was told they also sold work boots. In fact, they do, and in the size and width of my silly feet. The salesman, 30 years old, pointed out that he was wearing the same kind of boot, and has been since he was 15 years old, the same pair all those years. I could actually walk in a pair he found in my size, easily, so I bought them. Finally! I thank everyone for the many offers to help me get a good pair of work boots appropriate for some heavy logging. These have good soles, and uppers, with a bit of Thinsulate and Gore-Tex. So, I think I’m all set on boots. These should hopefully last the rest of my life.

While trying on the boots, I just mentioned out of the blue that the assault weapons ban was being removed from proposed legislation, and then said no more. Sorry, but I just do that kind of stuff. You never know where that kind of a conversation starter will lead.

As I was paying for the boots — bang — two versions of the AR 15 were plonked down on the counter before me. I picked one up and was surprised that it was as light as Styrofoam and expressed my surprise. He said to pick up the other model, which was perhaps three times heavier. Of course, much more weight would be added with a fully loaded, large magazine. I must say that I was taken at how small and balanced these tools of self-defense were, just over-sized pistols, really, and some pistols would be quite a bit heavier. I said I do have bears out the door, and he said he would use a rifle for a bear. I said that that would be too cumbersome in tight quarters. Then we spoke of ammo, since, if I’m not mistaken, there are two versions of ammo which can be used, depending on the model, one style of bullet being rather serious, the other more like a glorified .22. He got a bit ambiguous on the ammo, so I told him at least I knew where to come if I was interested. The prices were 900 some and, I think, 1,1oo, some dollars. A bit much for a hermit, who may not need such a gun. A great reader provided a rather loud air-horn for sending too friendly bears on their merry way. Also, Laudie-dog is great at keeping bears at bay.

Anyway, I had asked about the one story I had heard about the willingness of the local law enforcement to aid the federal government upon the imposition of martial law over against the civilian population. What I had heard previously was a very strong refusal of any aid whatsoever for such an endeavor. This fellow not only reinforced what I had previously heard from a very reliable source in a very reliable way, but he did so with an anecdote that stunned me about how entrenched people are getting about all this. A bit frightening, actually. My response was that America was still America. They agreed. Yikes!

Going back into town, I stopped by to see our new priest and, as is my practice, try him out for Confession. What a great priest! What a great Confessor! Great advice, humorous even! Very spiritual. Very down to earth. Very practical. Great penance. Said the entire absolution with all the words. You can’t beat that!

From there I went to the UPS Store and then the bank to deposit a couple of checks, one with a view for Masses for a priest that was sent in some weeks ago. I hope this hasn’t been cancelled!!! I need to put up a Thanks to Benefactors! post soon, and do some catch-up editing of the Mass page. I’ll do those Masses, but I would like to reserve all future open days for the Holy Father as an ongoing intention.

From there I went further up town on another errand, and was met by a lady who knows heaps about guns. I mentioned my experience with the AR 15s earlier in the day, and she laughed, saying that that was nice, but that even if I did have such a gun (I won’t), there is no guarantee that I could ever get any ammo for it. She said that, for instance, a certain super-chain-store regularly ordered ammo, but it never made it to the shelves, as the customers knew the time of the arrival of the truck, and purchased the ammo right then and there in the parking lot. She added that some places add further restrictions, such as three packages per customer, etc. She also said that law enforcement and even some — we’ll call them branches of the military — were feeling the pinch of unavailability of ammo. Is that true?

Anyway, this just in from a favorite seminarian, who is now extra famous in this video from the Diocese of Raleigh.

Oh, and I’ll add this as well:

This is Taylor Marshall’s great article: HERE

Father Z over at http://wdtprs.com/blog/ has won the Readers’ Choice Best Catholic Blog award.

I have all the respect in the world for Father Z, a gentleman, a scholar, a priest for priests, whom I consider a friend.

Prayers and blessings to you, Father Z. I beg yours! Check out Fr Z’s blog!

In your voting for These Stone Walls today and everyday until 19 March, you’ll note that TSW keeps sneaking up to WDTPRS. Very cool, that. It’s important for the priesthood that TSW takes the prize this very year.

But I have a complaint! It seems about a zillion people voted your Holy Souls Hermitage, this blog you’re now reading, spiking me up from at most 1%, all the way to 3%. I’ve been shunting all my votes over to These Stone Walls! And now this! Noooooooooooo!!!! These Stone Walls could have been up to 40 or 41%. Noooooooooooo!!!

In reparation, go vote for These Stone Walls today and every 24 period after that until 19 March!

Here’s an article listing 57 consequences of the sequestration.

On behalf of Father Gordon MacRae, I am concerned about number Seven. Perhaps some of those who unjustly put him in prison should share the prison experience when he gets out.

57 Terrible Consequences of the Sequester

• Speaking to THE Mother General ✔ (I am reminded of some books I need to write. The Jackass Trilogy is turning out to be rather prophetic, not in the inspired sense, just that some things are happening like clock-work. What a fright!)
• Put up a note thanking benefactors
• Put up a post on autism. ✔
• Put up a comment sent in by Father Gordon MacRae (Yikes!) [I spent a good hour speaking with Father Gordon. What a great priest he is!]
• +
• Comment on the continuing battle between an increasingly inept and rebellious CDF: C’est de la merde! Esa cojudez! Yikes! A tribute, again, to Blessed John Paul II (didn’t expect that, did you?!) ✔
• Comment on the German Episcopal Conference and the date rape pill
• Go to Confession! We just heard that the local parish will not be graced with a new priest until sometime in July of this year. Yikes! So, much time spent on the road today, this rainy, rainy, rainy day ✔ [Great Confession experience! The Lord is very good and kind to send priests into our lives]
• Preliminary Spring cleaning
• Catch up with blog comment moderation queue ✔ [Yikes! I just returned and quick glanced over emails and comments: Patience, friend, patience!]
• Oh my…. perhaps an attempt at the frighteningly mounting email queue ✔ [Somewhat...]
• Catch up with comments on Opus Bono Sacerdotii and These Stone Walls
• Split wood for the wood stove ✔ … (this is always a project, morning, noon, night, Summer, Winter)
• Keep an eye on a marble like lump on the back right side of the neck, not attached to the skin at all, about an inch in back of the ear and about an inch and a half down from the base of the skull. An ever so slight dull pain. Well, not pain, but I know it’s there, kind of. Easy to ignore, but. Since Wednesday night. No cuts. No bite marks from spiders or other monsters here in the forest. Not red or warm. If pressed on hard will feel pretty uncomfortable. Probably nothing. ✔ [I checked into making some arrangements to have this looked at]
• Pray for the Roman Pontiff, gloriously reigning, and for the yet to be elected Successor to Saint Peter ✔
• An exegesis of the phrase: “Peter the Roman” Not what you expect. Hah! ✔
• Continue to feed the ever voracious, stampeding chickens ✔
• Take a picture of Laudie-dog and perhaps a picture or two of the Blue Ridge Mountains on the way to or from Confession ✔
• Write a rather in-your-face article on the title “Immaculate Conception” ✔
• Praise the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Prince of the Most Profound Peace, the Divine Son of the Immaculate Conception ✔

And many other things! Perhaps I’ll get one or two done. I’ll be getting in the truck to be on my way to Confession in just a few minutes…

Here’s a view you will surely recognize:

This is the same view (about 40 feet to the side) of the same view, last Summer, also on my way to Confession:

Then, at the Church itself:

And the promised picture of Laudie-dog, who is rather tired after a night of protecting the hermitage from monsters in the forest:

Here she is, going after one of the monsters which disappeared into the forest floor. Laudie is a terror, not an ostrich:

I know I’m behind on things I have to do today, but, please, have mercy. I need to do some prayers and some chores around the hermitage.

Also, I’ve added one more project. I’m erecting in a rather more official manner some Stations of the Cross which I’m now making myself out of what the locals call B****** Vines, the sharpest thorns on the longest cable-like vines that you could ever come across:

The Blessings are quite lengthy. These Stations are simple, but effective. Perhaps I’ll be able to put up some pictures on the blog of the Stations of the Cross at Lourdes, the High Stations. Perhaps also some meditations on the Via Crucis I did as a seminarian a zillion years ago.

O.K. The Stations of the Cross are made, put up, blessed. ✔ Part of the blessing is to actually pray the Stations of the Cross! Good, that. Te Deum, the whole thing. Great! Right now, I’m totally exhausted. Sleep is a necessity for me right now. But, I will get to the rest of the list as soon as possible!

This is the Judicial Vicar, Father John Putnam, of the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C. I’ve been talking with him quite a bit this last few days. I failed to ask him about Maggie-May, the, uh…. dog…. I guess….

I mean, what kind of face is that for a dog?!?!? LOL!!!

I’m sure that that face would scare away a bear.

Laudie-dog can scare a bear, not because of her face, however. Her teeth, yes, but not her face.

But this, Maggie-May… O.K. Cute too, I guess…. Kinda…

Pope Benedict begged us that we pray that he not flee for fear of the wolves. If you’ve been following my posts on Pope Benedict XVI, you know that I contend that he did not flee. /// Being from Minnesota, I know something about wolves. They are opportunists, and total cowards, though in groups they lose all fear. This works for them, since they know how to work brilliantly as a team: while a half-dozen distract you by lunging from this side and that, another jumps from behind and breaks your neck in his jaws while slicing through your jugular veins. Fortunately, human beings, should they decide to be evil — and it is a decision — aren’t quite so apt at teamwork when it comes to evil, though the Evil One, unfortunately, can be there as a guide for them.

• On 28 February 2013 at 8:00 PM Rome Time, or 2:00 PM EST in the USA, I’ll be a sede vacantist regarding the See of Rome. And while I am distraught with the statement of abdication, a vacant See, a family without a father (though we always have our Heavenly Father), we continue to pray for Benedict and also for the successor of Saint Peter, known to Jesus and His dear Immaculate Mother. I was reeling when I heard that most unexpected news. And then…
• As of Ash Wednesday morning, 2013, I’m also a sede vacantist regarding the parish in whose territory the hermitage is situated. I’m told that a statement was read at that Mass by a priest who was kind enough to fill in at the absolute last second. This was most unexpected. The local people are as distraught over this as they are for the abdication of the Holy Father. As with the Holy Father, this had nothing to do with child protection. That was made very clear. O.K. But, I’ve been reeling with this information for the last few days as well. This priest was, in fact, my Confessor. Gone. Just like that. We continue to pray for him and for his successor as well. There but for the grace of God, go I, we should all be saying. Right? If not, go to confession while you can.
• Update: Another great priest I know in a country very far from the USA, this time from a TLM community, didn’t show for Mass. He’s also on a leave of absence. Yikes! Just like that.

Circumstances can change radically within seconds. And we priests need prayer.

All this has gotten me a bit more in front of the Most Blessed Sacrament, as it should be.

Much of today is dedicated to collecting wood. It’s a saw, haul, split, haul and stack day. It’s going to be cold for the next few days. Brrrrr!!! I do have  a reserve stack of wood, but I don’t want to touch that right now. That’s the “What if I get the flu?” pile of wood. I didn’t get the flu shot and I didn’t get the flu, so far, anyway!

Even with the humdrum of activity, I’m still thinking of this:

UPDATE: Bill Foley has added some great comments on some Cardinals who are papabile. Well worth the read. Click on the comments link for this post. Thanks, Bill!