In defense of Pickpockets?

GK Chesterton

“I have been asked to republish these notes--which appeared in a weekly paper--as a rough sketch of certain aspects of the institution of Private Property, now so completely forgotten amid the journalistic jubilations over Private Enterprise. The very fact that the publicists say so much of the latter and so little of the former is a measure of the moral tone of the times. A pickpocket is obviously a champion of private enterprise. But it would perhaps be an exaggeration to say that a pickpocket is a champion of private property. The point about Capitalism and Commercialism, as conducted of late, is that they have really preached the extension of business rather than the preservation of belongings; and have at best tried to disguise the pickpocket with some of the virtues of the pirate. The point about Communism is that it only reforms the pickpocket by forbidding pockets.

 Pockets and possessions generally seem to me to have not only a more normal but a more dignified defense than the rather dirty individualism that talks about private enterprise. In the hope that it may possibly help others to understand it, I have decided to reproduce these studies as they stand, hasty and sometimes merely topical as they were. It is indeed very hard to reproduce them in this form, because they were editorial notes to a controversy largely conducted by others; but the general idea is at least present. In any case, "private enterprise" is no very noble way of stating the truth of one of the Ten Commandments. But there was at least a time when it was more or less true. The Manchester Radicals preached a rather crude and cruel sort of competition; but at least they practiced what they preached. The newspapers now praising private enterprise are preaching the very opposite of anything that anybody dreams of practicing. The practical tendency of all trade and business to-day is towards big commercial combinations, often more imperial, more impersonal, more international than many a communist commonwealth-- things that are at least collective if not collectivist. It is all very well to repeat distractedly, "What are we coming to, with all this Bolshevism?" It is equally relevant to add, "What are we coming to, even without Bolshevism?" The obvious answer is--Monopoly. It is certainly not private enterprise. The American Trust is not private enterprise. It would be truer to call the Spanish Inquisition private judgment. Monopoly is neither private nor enterprising. It exists to prevent private enterprise. And that system of trust or monopoly, that complete destruction of property, would still be the present goal of all our progress, if there were not a Bolshevist in the world."

 The Outline of Sanity, GK Chesterton

When will it be the Church’s turn to win a few battles?

Fr. Jean-Baptiste Chautard O.C.S.O

"When we see the repeated victories of our infernal foes, we may well wonder, in our anxiety, where to look for the salvation of our society. When will it be the Church’s turn to win a few battles?  The answer is easy: we can say with Our Lord, “This kind is not cast out but by prayer and fasting.” It will be our turn when the ranks of the clergy and of the religious orders will have begun to produce a body of mortified men who will make the great splendor of the mystery of the Cross blaze in the eyes of all peoples: and the nations of the earth, seeing, in mortified priests and religious,  how reparation is made for the sins of the world, will also understand the Redemption of the world by the Precious Blood of Jesus and the ages of human history will no longer echo with the terrible anguished cry of our outraged Lord – that cry that will at last have found some to make reparation: “And I sought among them for a man that might set up a hedge, and stand the gap before Me in favor of the land, that I might not destroy it I found none.”

taken from The Soul of the Apostolate

A Happy Feast of the Sacred Heart! 

Alice Von Hildebrand: Man and Woman: A Divine Invention

Such a good talk.



Oh, and since its not talked about much, please do remember the work of her husband and herself.  There is a reason why Ven. Pius XII called Dietrich "The 20th Century Doctor of the Church." Notice the "The" in that statement

+JMJ+

Is it ok to be a good Protestant rather than a bad Catholic? St. Peter Eymard answers

St. Peter Julian Eymard

I know that people often say: "It is better to be a good Protestant than a bad Catholic." That is not true. That would mean, at bottom, that one could be saved without the true faith. No! A bad Catholic remains a child of the family although he is a prodigal, and, however great a sinner he may be, he still has right to mercy. Through his faith a bad Catholic is nearer to God than a Protestant is; for he is a member of the household whereas the heretic is not; and how hard it is to make him become one!

Read the rest HERE

Corpus Christi Procession Photos: St. Stans

You can find the whole set of photos HERE and with better size options:
(Photos care of P. Wesley)

+JMJ+

Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession at St. Stans 6/22

Please join us for the Feast of Corpus Christi at St. Stanislaus

You need not be a parishioneer, just someone wanting and willing to give public witness and worship to our Blessed Lord

All are welcome to come and celebrate this solemn feast.  There might even be refreshments (thinking beer?  afterwards!!)

St. Francis de Sales: Balancing Zeal with Charity

St. Francis

“The Bishop had learnt through sundry credible witnesses that in the early days of my episcopate I was much too sharp and unmeasured in my zeal, that I was often most indiscreet in rebuking, and that my words were rough and harsh. One day he took me aside, and with his usual wisdom and gentleness, impressed his rules upon me so forcibly that I have never forgotten them. “Those who are in authority,” he said, “are unquestionably bound to correct the faulty, but when they have to tell unpalatable truths, these should be so softened with charity and kindness as to take away all sting, otherwise the result will be very imperfect, and the rebuke will fail of its intended effect. You may take it as a sure sign that your charity is not genuine, if your words, however true, are not charitable.”

Taken from the book:

The Spirit of St. Francis De Sales

By: Jean-Pierre Camus

THANK YOU BISHOP HYING!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Bishop Hying for writing a fantastic response to the Wisconsin judges ruling that marriage cannot be defined in the traditional manner.

Source

Just a quick excerpt:

Due to a multitude of reasons, including the sexual revolution, the contraceptive pill, the sky-rocketing divorce rate, the legalization of abortion and changing social norms, the intimate and logical connection between sexuality, marriage and the rearing of children came apart in recent decades. With easy access to contraception and abortion, people started viewing sexual relations as a pleasurable recreation, not a consummation of a marital love open to new life. Sex outside marriage has become the new norm; those who do not indulge in it are considered odd. With no-fault divorce, couples can as easily and readily end their marriage as they began it. Children have become an intentional choice, not a logical fruit of marriage. So now, we have sex without marriage and marriages planned without children.

See additional commentaries:

Badger Catholic

Cream City Catholic

Once again, THANK YOU BISHOP HYING!!!

Synod insanity... no seriously the focus is on making women more important (facepalm)

sorry to say but if this is what the Synod is all about...

Can anyone else step up and say Clericalism?  At the Second Vatican Council the laity were indeed called to Holiness, not to take responsibility for everything, that is true claricalization

#archmilsynod  I dont care about diversity, teach the faith and let the chips fall where they may.

If anyone is interested in learning the faith St. Stans is open on the Southside and Canon Jayr is there all day willing to listen and teach the perennial faith.

Note to the chancerlory officials: Lex Orendi, Lex Credendi.  Start with a restoration of the liturgy and you effect the peoples lives because that is the part that hits them instantly

GK Chesterton on Juries and their relationship to the Apostles

Source

Isn't that Tremendous? [pun intended]

Have a Mary weekend [Yikes another pun!]

FDR D-Day Prayer June 6, 1944

Most people don't realize just how important the prayer life was to the war effort.  I give you the following example

+Pray for the Poor Souls that lost their lives, and still do today+

#ThePillKills Tweet it now!

Today take the time to go on Twitter and #ThePillKills

A 2001 study shows 2-3x times risk of pulmonary embolism—blood clots in the lungs—in women using the Pill. #ThePillKills
— The Pill Kills (@ThePillKills) June 5, 2014

St Charles Lwanga: Traditional Morality vs Homosexual Civil Unions

With the overton window being moved at such a rate that now time magazine thinks its time to bring transgenderism into the mainstream, Video Sancto has put out a sermon directly attacking the contemporary fascination with homosexual recognition and so forth

Also take the time to read some of Terry's info on this over here and here.

+St. Charles Pray for Us!!!+

Thanks be to God for All Our Bishops!!!

Its easy for many of us to be critical of Bishops, and there are times then such things might indeed be necessary.  Yet how often do we take the time to remember our shepherds who Christ has ordained from time immemorial to guide our souls home.

As the month in remembrance of the Sacred Heat, which burns with love, such unfathomable love for us, begins I want to thank all the Bishops of the Church for their work in the vineyard.  Especially Archbishop Listecki and Bishop Hying of Milwaukee!

Thank you God for all Bishops!  Bless them and Keep them close to your Sacred Heart!

+ Prayer for Bishops +

Heavenly Father,
in these trying times 
when the spirit of the age 
threatens Christian values,
give our bishop holiness of life 
and wisdom to direct and guide our (arch)diocesan
family so that we may grow in your love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Source for pictures