2 Comments

  1. encourage the faithful on August 21, 2015 at 9:50 am

    Such unspeakable horror, Tom. I care very much. I have talked to my parish priests, have taken part in local Rosary brigades, have carried signs with fellow parishioners on the main street of my little town, have attended the annual pro-life Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, have given immensely to pregnancy center charities, rail, in the comboxes, against the real injustices, talk to my friends and family about genuine Catholic teachings, become angry at my Archdiocese of Los Angeles for its continued homage to all the social justice programs at the expense of the biggest atrocity that persists today (I have called their program administrators from time to time to give them a piece of my mind and the unvarnished truth about life), and I live with a man, the consummate know-it-all, my husband, who disparages those of us who show we care but does nothing to counteract the ills. He is so lukewarm it is frightening! Now that is penance!!!

    We traditional Catholics were so relieved to have received a very conservative prelate (member of Opus Dei) as archbishop after Cardinal Roger Mahony ruled our city for over 25 years (disaster). Alas, there have not been many tangible changes in the past 4 years that we can see. My new pastor though is Irish, young and traditional. He is no fool and understands the constraints. Yet he makes incremental changes and when I walk into church on Sundays and notice one more change for the better I thank God! It is a painstaking process for good priests as you well know!

    Tom, if you have not become acquainted with Professor Anthony Esolen I invite you to start soon. He teaches at Providence College in Rhode Island (my mother’s home town and a quaint old city, home also to Brown University). You will be delighted and soothed as he writes beautifully, poetically, and yet his points are as salient as any of the contemporary traditional Catholic writers’. I read the following article on the state of the country, up-side-down as we have made it, and the Planned Parenthood atrocities, and I commented. The article is here: http://www.crisismagazine.com/2015/unreal-nation

    I print my response right here as it will take you wading through over 107 responses to find me. After you read one or two of his articles you may become hooked especially as he is a family man and writes about the beauty of marriage and the sacraments. Those who comment on his articles are a source of instruction too. Here is my response to his article on PP and the devolution of morality in America:

    “When we ignore natural law, even once, when we make a conscious decision to ignore right reason, it becomes oh so simple, in fact it becomes almost compulsory, as night follows day, that our minds become futile with self-worship and we delight in more perversion. The strain continues unabated until God chooses to humble the perpetrators. Some will accept the challenge to be redeemed but many will die without giving that homage to God.

    The perversions set in when our loved ones show God that they worship the creature instead of the Creator. God allows them to become perverted. In fact, He sometimes turns them over to their perversions. Dr. Esolen has captured the essense of this madness when he quotes St. Paul in Romans 1. When I write about how our world has been perverted I use the Romans 1:18-32 warning. I am not sure that there is any better text to explain the reason for the current stench in all sectors of society. Power is a heady feeling, likened to an addictive drug. Many who abuse it will thrill to the heady feeling and they will choose it every time in place of God.

    Thank you, Dr. Esolen. When I need succor from the craziness, I know I will find a kindred spirit in you. You are widely read for this very reason.”



    • quinersdiner on August 21, 2015 at 9:58 am

      Thanks for your ongoing encouragement, and for the link to Dr. Esolen. I look forward to reading him.