A Rose

Decided to stick around a few minutes longer after Mass than I usually do this afternoon.

In my prayers of thanksgiving, I thanked Our Lord for His mercy and for His Sacrifice. I thanked Him for the grace not only of coming to the foot of His cross every day but for the love He has put into my heart to do so. I thought of the psalm from the Lavabo.

“Oh Lord, I have loved the beauty of Thy house and the place where Thy glory dwelleth.”

Then I remembered something a wonderful and holy priest once said while preaching at one of the many daily Masses in our parish wherein a child receives his first Holy Communion. The priest has since died so pray for his soul. Addressing the young girl about to receive he said, “When you receive Him, ask Him for whatever you want. He lives to be generous and lavish us with His gifts in this moment.”

So I thanked Him for His angels and saints who have been such a help and consolation to me in my prayers – saints like Rita and Padre Pio and my Guardian Angel.

As I lifted my head preparing to get up I glanced at the altar rail in front of me and saw this:

There, where it had not been moments earlier, was a single long-stemmed rose. Whether a sign from St. Rita about a prayer already being answered or a sign of God’s beauty reminding me of His majesty I cannot say, though I had the strong feeling it was more the former.

Regardless, this was a beautiful sign to me and an encouragement to persist in my prayers.

I hope you all find roses in your daily lives as well!

April 26 – Mother of Good Counsel

Happy feast of the Mother of Good Counsel! This is my favorite title of the Blessed Mother and it is under her patronage by this title that I have frequent recourse. I grew up in a parish named after her and I think the impact of the image of Good Counsel high above the original high altar always moved me to greater devotion to the Blessed Mother.

The original of the miraculous “flying icon” and still my favorite.

If you are unfamiliar with the story behind this feast, watch the video below. There is also a wonderful connection between Good Counsel and St. Rita of Cascia as it is the Augustinians who have been responsible for promoting the devotion throughout the centuries.

Mater Boni Consilii, Ora pro nobis!

One Down and a Few More to Go

In case anyone reading is not aware, I have a particular devotion to the saint of the impossible – St. Rita of Cascia. St. Rita has been very kind to me over many years and I thank God for this great friendship.

I pray an ongoing novena to her found here. Every nine days I start anew. For the past two years I have been asking readers if they have any particular intentions that I could add into this daily novena.

To my surprise, the list is now several pages long. And I don’t simply mention it once and then forget about it. Whatever anyone has asked me to pray for, I keep it on the list until I hear otherwise.

Yesterday I received a beautiful email from a man who had written in November asking for prayers for a particularly difficult situation. Turns out his prayer was answered in February and it just took him a little while to let me know. It’s all good. He got an extra few months of novena prayers!

Tonight I heard from a friend who is already on the list. She asks for prayers for an additional situation. It is done. I actually wonder sometimes how this came to me to be a sort of “apostle of Rita” if you will. But it is what I can do and I do it gladly.

If you have any intentions, please forward them to me by email. harvey@harveymillican.com . I will happily add you to the list and will pray until you tell me to stop.

St Rita of Cascia, Patron Saint of Impossible Causes, pray for us!

Please offer up a prayer to St. Rita for my intentions if you think of it.

Terra Firma – Deo Gratias!

I’ve said many times that man was never supposed to fly. Tin cans with wings are frightful inventions. And no one should ever be subject to a short layover at ATL connecting from A1 to E29.

Regardless… Thanks much for all the prayers as I’ve been traveling. I am home safe and sound.

Thanks be to God!

Go Get ‘Em, Sisters

https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/arlington-nuns-file-for-restraining-order-against-catholic-officials/

A Hundred Years Ago

“I’m tired of you liberal church in America…”

-Mother Angelica

“The Catholic Church and the anti-church currently co-exist in the same sacramental, liturgical, and juridical space.”

-Fr. Linus Clovis

Friends, haven’t you had enough? I know I certainly have. We trudge on, day to day – those of us who were too stupid not to know that we weren’t supposed to figure this out; who saw the emperor stark naked on his steed, wang flopping around in broad daylight for the world to behold – and we scratch our little heads and wonder what in the wide world of sports is a-goin’ on here?!

You know what I’m talking about.

They told us it was a hermeneutical thing, as if somehow someone just misinterpreted the 1960’s and the failed Vatican Council. They told us we were prudishly gawking when the Vicar of Christ kissed a Koran. They told us they were both the same rite, albeit in different forms, kind of like Coke and New Coke. Some just had a preference I guess.

They told us we were safe with the Ecclesia Dei communities and that the “others” were wicked schismatic sinners and we should have nothing to do with them. Then they told us they were all sort of the same thing. Then they told us we were “rigid” for entertaining the notion that what “previous generations held as sacred” was still sacred.

They told us he’s the pope so shut up stupid!

They told us to jab ourselves with poison.

They told us to JAB OURSELVES WITH POISON!

Said we’d kill Granny if we didn’t.

And all along they’ve been telling us “Look this way!” and then “Look that way!” but whatever you do, don’t look for the truth because it is whatever we say it is and it will slip from your grasp like an eel from the East River the second you’ve found it.

Again, you know what I’m talking about.

Recently a close family relation – kin as we’d say in my adopted home state of Texas – announced her engagement to be married. Her fiancé is a pleasant young man. I love this “kin” and really wanted to be able to celebrate her big day with her.

Then I discovered by mistake that she had moved in with her beau. The usual excuses issued forth. “We’re not doing that if that’s what you think (you perv).” “Just saving expenses before the wedding,” etc.

Here’s the thing. Each of us has an obligation to transmit what we have received from the Apostles. It isn’t just the bishops who must do this. It is each of us who are responsible for handing on the Catholic faith. And so from the death of St. John through the Fathers and doctors, through the saints and mystics, through the popes and down to us; it is our obligation. As a husband and father I have just as solemn an obligation to do this for my children as any bishop or priest does. And I believe with all my being that God has given me the grace to do this through the sacrament of matrimony. I must be strong. I must cling to that unchanging truth. And I must pass it on to my children and not concern myself with human respect. It is my solemn duty.

A fellow blogger whom I greatly admire uses a quote from Scripture for his blog title. “Non veni pacem…” “I did not come for peace but a sword.”

But there is one catch, and I would ask you to go back and read the second quote at the top of the page.

You see, the Church no longer teaches what the Church always taught.

I went and looked up a bunch of things and found that I was right. Even the hint of scandal given by a couple cohabiting is a serious thing to say nothing of the occasion of the sin of fornication.

And now I ask you to re-read the first quote at the top of the page.

I’m tired.

I’m tired of Catholics making excuses.

“Get with the times.” “Get your mind out of the gutter.” “You want to support them in making it right, don’t you?”

The thing is that up until about 1960, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind what the counsel of a decent priest would have been in this situation. And since then? Well. The same “Church” that will allow a “spontaneous” sodomite blessing has no problem with this situation, don’t you know!

And friends, I’m even hearing this from “trad” priests. “Go and support her… She’s family… She’s trying to make it right.” It doesn’t matter that I’ve offered her my home until the wedding and she flat out refused. Nope, she’s all good and I’m the perv for thinking this isn’t right.

And on that note, I want to say to these priests, “What if there was a seminarian who was going around blessing people and objects, popping into the confessional to forgive sins, preaching, and even offering a pseudo-mass? Could I attend his ordination because he’s making it right?” Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it. And I think it only sounds ridiculous because we don’t encounter those situations because the number of applicants to the priesthood is so wildly disproportionate to the number of couples entering marriage. Thank you sodomite Freemasons. But I want the same priests to know that if such a case existed, I know they would be as passionately defensive of “their” sacrament as I am of mine. And sadly today, it seems that no one is willing to vigorously defend marriage and the family.

I sure as hell will. Because I’m just tired of the bullshit to not care anymore.

So with a heavy heart and solid in my convictions that I am keeping true to the Catholic faith I will decline my invitation.

But if I went back before 1960 – I’ll even say 100 years just to be on the safe side – I know full well that the issue would never have even materialized among a faithful and practicing Catholic.

And going forward, I will ask myself with every moral dilemma I may face, “What would this have looked like a hundred years ago?” And there I will likely find my answer.

Lord Jesus, we beg you, please hasten the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Thy Holy Mother!

Third Sunday after Easter

The Collect of the Mass:

“Almighty God, Who showest to them that be in error the light of thy truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of righteousness, grant unto all them that are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Religion, that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same.”

Amen.