Chances are, Gentle Reader, if you don't follow news of the Catholic Church, and in particular stories that relate to the celebration of, and groups attached to the Traditional Latin Mass, also know as the "Tridentine Mass", "The Mass of the Ages", etc, (hereafter referred to as the TLM), then you've not heard the sad news concerning the upcoming episcopal consecrations of four men by the Society of St. Pius X (hereafter referred to as the SSPX). A little background may help clarify the story.  The SSPX was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, at Fribourg, Switzerland in 1969, moving to Econe in 1971.  It was founded expressly to promote traditional customs, theology, and priestly training, in particular using the older forms of the Roman Ritual and Missal in use before the Second Vatican Council.  From the very start the SSPX was a bone of contention with the French bishops, who refused to incardinate a...

 Warning!  It's quite the long post we have here! Quo itis, Catholici Americani? Imagine, if you will, Gentle Reader, your father, with all his strengths and weaknesses.  If your father was like mine, he did his best, he sacrificed, he protected, taught, and disciplined, but he was not perfect. Now, imagine again, someone, maybe a family member, maybe a friend, maybe a complete stranger.  This person begins to carp and criticize your father, not in a measured, charitable way, but in an ignorant and nasty manner, even using rough language in his description of his qualities or apparent lack thereof. Would you, Gentle Reader, be offended?  Would you respond with heart-felt vigour to the slurs and slander?  Yes, you most likely would.  No one would tolerate such calumnies heaped upon their father.  Personally, I’d give the boor a hard punch in the nose! And yet…we do tolerate it. It has been said that the only acceptable prejudice practiced in Americ...

Lord, who threw out these forty days? Dear and Gentle Reader: Some folks grumble about the laws of fasting and abstinence from flesh meat during Lent. All I can say of those folks are , "what a bunch of nancies"! Our disciplinary laws are really quite lax compared to those of the past. Just look at our fast before receiving Holy Communion - just one hour, and that is reduced to just 15 minutes for the sick. It used to be from midnight until reception of the Sacrament, then reduced to three hours; and for priests celebrating several Masses they could not eat or drink - even water - between the Masses. Jump into my historical time machine, if you will,  and view the Lenten fast in the Middle Ages. During the 40 days of Lent only one meatless meal was taken between noon and 3pm. A small "snack" - meatless - was allowed in the evening. Sundays and solemn feast days such as "Lady Day" March 25th, the feast of the Annunciation, were the exception to this rule. W...

 Greetings, Dear and Gentle Reader. Yesterday, 29 January, was National Curmudgeons Day.  A day which the vast majority of humanity is blithely unaware.  That date was chosen since it is the birthday of good old W.C. Fields, who on stage, screen, and in real life was a genuine curmudgeon. Most curmudgeons would celebrate the day as they do everyday, by sneering, criticizing, and grumbling about many and varied aspects of life.  It would be oxymoronic of me to wish anyone a "Happy National Curmudgeons Day", since we lot are mostly an unhappy lot. Yes, indeed, Gentle Reader, I am proud to be a curmudgeon.  The world as it is today fills me with both fear, and loathing.  As an introvert, I do my best to avoid as much social interaction as possible.  I prefer the company of my two cats, and my books and media to any talk of sports, fashion, the weather and such.  As a conservative who loves tradition, I am not infected with the "Woke" virus, for which...

  The World Turned Upside Down One would have to be living as a hermit to have not heard or read about the civil unrest in Minneapolis.  Regrettably two protesters have lost their lives there, others injured, many inconvenienced due to the protests.  Whichever side you fall on in regards to the protests, I think we all need to pause, restrain emotions, and look at the facts.  As John Adams famously said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”.   Firstly, Ms. Good, and Mr. Pretti were the victims of shooting by law enforcement officers.  Both situations were avoidable and terribly unfortunate.  Both situations were different as well.  It’s easy to sit back and play the armchair judge & jury.  I will simply give my observations.  Both Good & Pretti could be alive and well today had they chosen to stay hom...

 Pater Contra Mundi I am a contrarian, not in the current usage within the stock exchanges, but in the older and more accurate sense.  I oppose and reject popular opinions and current practices, not simply because they are modern, but because they lack foundation, logic, decency, and morality.  I utterly loathe and despise wokism because it embodies that lethal combination due to it being based upon emotion and tribalism.  In essence it is pure Marxism, relativistic, and based on nothing more than desire for power over others. Have I lost friends and acquaintances due to my stance?  Yes, indeed.  While it is sad, I can honestly say that my life is not lacking due to their exit.  I will honestly admit, I did, in the recent past flirt with some progressive ideas, but in trying them, I found them wanting.  As a student and teacher of history, I can say I have the pattern recognition of where the path of wokism leads - to ruin and perdition. ...