Catholic Voice 26th February 2021 Issue 311

CatholicVoice Omnia possum in eo, qui me confortat

26 February - 11 March 2021

Issue 311

Only 50 Ire land/ NI £2 U K

€/£1.

And The Publican Standing Afar Off, Would Not So Much As Lift Up His Eyes Towards Heaven But Struck His Breast Saying: “O God, Be Merciful To Me A Sinner”

Keep up to date with CatholicVoice news and articles via The Lumen Fidei Website www.lumenfidei.ie

2 CONFESSION

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

The Parts Of The Sacrament Of Confession The Confession Of Our Sins Canon Wulfran Lebocq I.C.K.S.P.

Here we reach the heart of the sacrament: telling our sins to the priest. Needless to say, however, that simply rattling off a list of sins, without true contrition or a firm intention to reform our lives, is just an empty gesture, indeed an abuse of the sacrament.

know what “calumny” is, we can still confess, “I told a lie to damage another person’s reputation,” and so on. We must also mention any circumstances which could alter the nature of a sin: for example, stealing is a sin, but stealing from a poor man is even worse.

that our conscience does not create right and wrong.

There are three qualities which our confession should have, three conditions we should satisfy in telling our sins to the priest. First, our confession should be humble, made in the spirit of a poor sinner who knows he is weak and seeks help from his loving God.

Though our confession should be entire it should also be discreet: we must avoid naming other persons in our confession, and our language should be as modest as possible. We may confess any venial sins we may choose, but under no circumstances can we leave out any mortal sins we may have committed since our last good confession: this would be telling a lie to the Holy Spirit.

A conscience which does not correspond to the reality of God’s plan is called an erroneous conscience: a scrupulous conscience tends to exaggerate its own sinfulness, whereas a lax conscience is always looking to find excuses for its behaviour.

Second, our confession should be sincere: simply to tell our sins as we see them, without exaggerating or excusing them. Finally – and this is very important – our confession must be entire: we must mention all mortal sins that came to mind during our examination of conscience as well as the number, at least approximately, of these sins.

To be entire, we must confess our sins explicitly. This does not mean that we need to know the technical, theological terms for all our sins; we just need to be able to explain, in our own words, what our sins are.

For example, even if we do not

CatholicVoice

Editor: Anthony Murphy editor@catholicvoice.ie Telephone: 059 8627268 ROI 00353 59 8627268 Outside ROI Keep up to date with news and articles via The Lumen Fidei website www.lumenfidei.ie

The means to employ to make sure that our confession is complete is to make a thorough examination of conscience beforehand. If we are to confess our sins, it goes without saying, we must first know what they are!

Conscience is simply the act by which our intelligence applies the moral law to concrete cases in order to judge whether our acts are good or bad. In other words, our conscience – when it is well formed – helps us to see where we have sinned.

Our conscience is not itself the source of the moral value of our acts; the conscience is merely a sort of intermediary between the unchanging moral law by which God governs the universe and the concrete situations in which we need to apply that law to our daily actions. The advice to “follow your conscience,” therefore, always presupposes that we understand

Human acts are good when they respect the purposes which God had in mind when he created human nature; they are bad – or sinful – when they do not.

Fortunately, since we can often be a bad judge in our own circumstances, we do not need to count on guesswork when forming our conscience: the moral teaching of the Church, God’s authorised messenger for our salvation, is summarised is any good catechism.

When in doubt we can ask our confessor for help. Seeking to form our conscience correctly is especially important nowadays, when the values of secular society are often at odds with the revealed truths of Christianity and even with the basic tenets of the natural moral law “written in[our] hearts” (Rom 2:15).

POSTAL DELAYS Please note we are experiencing postal delays which have, and continue to be, delayed for up to as much as 3 weeks.

Please bear this in mind if you are posting payments to us.

CONFESSION 3

26th February 2021 Catholic Voice In preparing for confession, we ought to ask the Holy Spirit to help us to remember the sins we have committed since our last good confession.

It is useful also to pray for help to Our Lady, our patron saint and our guardian angel. In order to make the examination itself, one good method is to review the Ten Commandments of God, considering what each one requires and forbids.

We will naturally try especially to call to mind any mortal sins we may have committed, since these must be each confessed explicitly and specifically. Venial sins can and may be profitably confessed as well. Since even those living habitually in a state of friendship with God (in the “state of grace”) commit numerous venial sins every day, it would be almost impossible to remember all of them in an examination of conscience.

CatholicVoice

Is Now Available In The Following Tesco Stores _____________________________________

Abbeyfeale Ashbourne

Ennis Kilbarrack Baggot St Upper Kilcoole Ballina Kildare Ballinamore Kilrush Ballinrobe Kinnegad Ballyfermot Lisduggan Bettystown Mitchelstown Birr Naas Bray Newbridge Cabra Newcastle West Cashel Park Pointe Clane Phibsboro Clondalkin Rathmines Drogheda

Roscommon Rush Sandymount Shannonbanks Stillorgan Swinford Temple Bar Terenure Thurles Tipperary Tralee Square Tullow Westport Wicklow Youghal

For our venial sins, it is best to try to call to mind the ones we commit most habitually and most deliberately and to try to recall also the reasons for which we committed them. From one confession to the next, we should try to get to the root of these sins.

Could you consider leaving a bequest for CatholicVoice?

As a not for profit registered organisation we rely on the generosity of our benefactors for financial and prayerful support.

A bequest from you in your Last Will and Testament would help us to continue growing the publication of Catholic Voice and the dissemination of Catholic Truth If you are in a position to leave a bequest, however large or small, you are assured that it will be used to promote and strengthen Catholic teaching.

May God bless you for your generosity.

4 SACRED AND SECULAR

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

The Sacred Church and the Secular Church Deacon James H. Toner

Today there is a sacred, orthodox Catholic Church, and there is a mundane or secular Catholic church.

Today’s secularised Catholic “church” is not precisely a parallel, nor is it an ersatz, religious institution. This secular church is a profane perversion, a sacrilegious caricature, attempting not just to substitute for Christ’s Church but to hallow pan-sexualism, polyamory, neo-Pelagianism, socialism, and syncretism. It is the chaff amidst the wheat.

It is, in fact, a “knockoff”: an inferior if superficially similar version of the “real thing.” Like the specious seamless garment argument, ostensibly permitting sham Catholic politicians to support abortion because of their progressive stands on other issues, the secular church also offers a kind of cover: Catholics morally embarrassed by their faith or worried that they will lose favour or prestige by promoting and practicing orthodox Catholic teaching may repair to the “doctrinally progressive” secularised church, where there will be Holy Communion–and pablumfilled sermons–for all.

At one point, St. Paul—disgusted by the rapid adulteration (see Gal 1:6) of true teaching and by the consequent pervasive venality of the day—commanded Timothy to take appropriate action: “Some people…are teaching false doctrines, and you must order them to stop. . . . They want to be teachers of God’s law, but they do not understand their own words or the matters about which they speak with so much confidence” (1 Tm 1:3, 7 GNB).

In our day, many false teachers have slipped in among us, “persons who distort the message about the grace of our God in order to excuse their immoral ways, and

who reject Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).

St. Jude forcefully condemns all deliberate attempts to twist moral teaching which malevolently seek to justify “sexual immorality and perversion.” The result is that “they suffer the punishment of eternal fire as a plain warning to all” (Jude 7; cf. Rev 21:8).

By teacher, let us understand both those entrusted with preserving and promulgating the Gospel (both ordained and laymen) and soi-disant Catholics who lead our society. These self-styled Catholics are supposed to ground their political judgments in the natural moral law, rather than in mere personal advantage or lust for power. To list the false prelates, priests, professors, pundits, and politicians—to enumerate all those whom we “must order to stop”— would require scores of pages.

Consider the relevance of Malachi: “But now you priests have turned away from the right path. Your teaching has led many to do wrong” (2:8).

There have arisen around us in the Church itself and in ancillary Catholic Church enterprises (such as Catholic education, diocesan publications, charitable agencies, and ubiquitous liturgy committees) such adulteration of doctrine and consequent pervasive venality that, in too many places, we now have a simulacrum ecclesiastical body. This body tells us what we have itching ears to hear; it accommodates itself to the fads, fashions, and fantasies of the day; it endorses the lies, heresies, and ignes fatui of our time; and it denies the divine justice which gives to each person his due (Romans 2:6) Here, then, will be a—if not the— critical problem in the immediate years ahead: who are the real Catholics? It is easy, if appalling,

to find the extent of this calamity.

There are innumerable Catholic parishes in which homilists will never preach Catholic truth about such moral issues as homosexuality, transgenderism, or even abortion or euthanasia (see Lam 2:14). There are innumerable colleges calling themselves “Catholic,” but which employ faculty whose teaching is at war with the deposit of faith.

There are innumerable bishops who are unwilling to risk their personal popularity or social position by teaching, governing, or even sanctifying in an orthodox manner.

And much of this we have done to ourselves, Pogo-like (“We have met the enemy, and he is us”). Not for nothing does the Gospel warn us that “A man’s worst enemies will be members of his own household”— or diocese (Mt 10:36; cf. Ps 55:1214).

At the secularised church, attendees will hear nothing to trouble their already-lax consciences about authentic moral doctrine. The specious preaching there extols privacy of conscience, rooted in a spiritually seditious, permissive theology celebrating a fraudulent freedom. Attendees will encounter no priests to worry them about sin and salvation (cf. Ez 33:7-9), and they will rub shoulders with no one asking difficult ethical questions about current legislation or public policy.

Yet they will still imperiously claim to be devout, ensuring that they, like Edward Kennedy, will receive ostensibly Catholic funeral masses and burial in consecrated ground after fulsome eulogies. It is, of course, a satanic illusion, for God is not mocked (Gal 6:7).

The roster of famous sham Catholics is not just long; it now constitutes a majority of believers who, for

26th February 2021 Catholic Voice

SACRED AND SECULAR 5

fifty years, have heard little else than a theologically devitalised and morally deracinated proclamation of the faith which comes to us from the Apostles. Many of these people are, of course, wicked; others, however, are in fact well-meaning people but utterly theologically ignorant, or morally indolent. The result is that our land is “full of idols” (Isaiah 2:8).

We have now a president who is Catholic by baptism. Should we therefore expect public policy to be truly grounded in enduring Catholic moral principles? If you correctly say “no,” then you understand the baleful influence and the pervasive power of the secularised church, which is a looming menace the likes of which we have never seen before. It is massive, with tentacles reaching into every diocese, every Catholic college and seminary, and almost every catechetical instrument now extant.

It now seeks to redefine both who legitimate Catholics are and what orthodoxy is—and its redefinition is debauched.

The secularised church betrays Catholicism. Its priests and prelates desire approval from the power elite, not from God (cf. John 12:43).

Its doctrine is this-worldly (e.g., “climate change”), with precious little worry about the salvation of souls (no hell—no worry!), and concerned principally, if not exclusively, with a metastasised spirit of social justice and “liberation,” utterly forgetting the admonition of Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975: #32): [Those wishing to commit the Church to social justice and liberation] are frequently tempted to reduce her mission to the dimensions of a simply temporal project. They would reduce her aims to a mancentred goal; the salvation of which she is the messenger would be reduced to material well-being. Her activity, forgetful of all spiritual and religious preoccupation, would become initiatives of the political or

The Sacred Church

The Secular Church

social order. But if this were so, the Church would lose her fundamental meaning. Her message…would easily be open to monopolisation and manipulation by ideological systems and political parties.

In our quest to have vacuous, bland, and jejune religion (but with merry music and happy homilies), permitting us to do whatever we will, we have done to ourselves what no would-be conqueror, to date, has ever been able to do: render ourselves utterly stupid by the narcotic of an insipid, incompetent, and iniquitous caricatured religion.

We are idolaters, willingly and gladly imprisoned by Narcissistic seizures.

Can we imagine that the saving message of Christ’s one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church might be “open to monopolisation and manipulation by…political parties?” Is that not exactly what has happened? Is that not exactly the story of the rise of the secularised church, which tells us whatever the prevailing socialist ideologues want, and demand, to hear? Is that not exactly the path to perdition we have chosen by accepting theological siren-songs from a secular church—where there is no sorrow but only mirth; where is no warning about sin, but only advertisements for pleasure; where there is no ultimate hell, but only a politicised heaven; and where religious faith in our benevolent God dissolves into obsequious trust in our omnipotent government?

And many, so very many, bishops and priests congratulate, commend, or condone this charade either by active participation or consensual silence. In lovingly approving the counterfeit church, they betray our Lord with a kiss.

That such idolatry leads to doom, we do not understand; nor do we care (Ps 115:8, 135:18; Wisdom 14:27): “Outside the city [of God] are the perverts and those who practice magic, the immoral and the murderers, those who worship idols, and those who are liars both in words and deeds” (Rev 22:15; cf.

Mt 8:12). Marx was right, after all: the secularised religion has become the opium of the (Catholic) people.

Still, there are those—there will ever be those, for we have His indefeasible promise—who say, with the judicious Richard Hooker (1554-1600): “Posterity may know we have not loosely through silence permitted things to pass away as in a dream.” Despite the apostasy swirling around us, we believe, too, in Our Lady’s sweet prophecy: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”

6 LESSONS FROM LOCKDOWN

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Lock-Down Lesson Fr. Bruno Mary, O.P.

If you are one of the Catholics who has felt greatly deprived by the effects of the lock-down restrictions, now is the time for your prayers, and just as importantly, your actions, on behalf of vocations.

Undoubtedly, one of the greatest sufferings of the Covid-19 restrictions these past few months, has been the disruption to reception of the sacraments. Whether it is curtailed weddings and confirmations, suspended public Masses or limited availability of confessions, the effects of the lock-down have been acutely felt by many.

This Cross has also contained a warning, one that we would do well to heed. For the days are coming when the access to the sacraments may be curtailed, not because of governmental restrictions, pandemics or political repression, but because of our failure to cultivate religious vocations.

This imminent threat, which looms ever larger over the Irish church, became particularly visible when many churches, staffed entirely by elderly priests, were too vulnerable to continue ministering the sacraments

during the last year. The number of Irish priests who have died over the last number of months was also higher than recent years. This represents not only a loss of sacramental ministry in places, but it is also a stark reminder of the elderly demographics of the Irish priest populace.

While accusing fingers may be pointed at modern culture and recent Church scandals, these alone do not account for the dearth of vocations. Other dioceses and regions in the Western world, subjected to the same cultural forces and victims of the same scandals, have witnessed growth in vocations numbers. So what can we do to see a similar turn-around?

While there is no quick-fix, and different actions are required from bishops, priests, educators and the laity, let me touch upon one aspect that we can all attend to.

We might begin by asking if we have stormed heaven with prayers and petitions “that the Lord of the harvest send labourers into His harvest”? Yet even that is not sufficient, for are all too aware of Scripture’s admonition for those whose prayers are simply empty words, unaccompanied by concomitant action. Do our deeds match our professed desire for more vocations to the priesthood? Priestly vocations do not spring from thin air; ex nihilo nihil fit; from nothing comes nothing, as the philosophers state.

Rather priestly vocations come from classrooms, circles of friends, university lecture theatres, office workplaces, and most especially, families.

How many of us are willing to say to a son or grandson, “Have you ever thought to be a priest?” or “You would make a good priest”. Or to say the same to a brother, nephew or friend? We all want access to the sacraments, but are we willing to encourage our son or brother to provide for this need.

How many career guidance teachers in Catholic schools include vocation literature amongst all their promotional material? Or are willing to encourage a potential vocation to include courses in philosophy among their college choices? Do religion teachers ever raise the topic in their classroom? How many university chaplaincies host a vocations night?

Speaking from my own experience, when I was first mulling a vocation, one of the greatest obstacles was the stifling sense of isolation. I did not know how to proceed with this nascent idea or what options were open to me. Yet precisely because one is very aware of how discordant this life choice is with the values of one’s peers and the mainstream culture, it can be

26th February 2021

Catholic Voice

LESSONS FROM LOCKDOWN 7

difficult to ask questions. To do so is to admit to thoughts of a vocation.

Given the negative appraisal of priesthood in so many quarters, that can be a difficult thing if one is unsure of how one’s family, friends, mentors, etc. will react. In such a situation, some exterior validation might be all that is needed: an encouraging word, a little helpful direction. To know that you are not alone in one’s thinking. How many potential vocations wither for lack of a guiding light?

If you are one of the Catholics who has felt greatly deprived by the effects of the lockdown restrictions, now is the time for your prayers, and just as importantly, your actions, on behalf of vocations. As difficult a crisis as Covid-19 has been for practicing Irish Catholics, a far greater one lurks around the corner, and we would do well to start preparing our response now.

Tomorrow may be too late.

The Cord Of Saint Joseph

The devotion to the Cord of St. Joseph took its rise in Belgium, in 1637, in consequence of a miraculous cure effected by the wearing of this precious girdle. During this year of Saint Joseph you may wish to wear the cord to avail of the GRACES ATTACHED TO THE WEARING OF THE CORD. Graces precious to the piety of St. Joseph’s servants are attached to the wearing of this cord. They are: 1. St. Joseph’s special protection 2. Purity of soul; 3. The grace of chastity; 4. Final perseverance; 5. Particular assistance at the hour of death.

The pack containing a St. Joseph’s Cord, a prayer card, St. Joseph’s medal and an information leaflet is available now for €/£10 (inc. p&p).

To order your cord/s please complete the form below or visit www.catholicvoice.ie/shop.

Please send me ___ (insert number required) St Joseph’s cord/s

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Telephone: _________________________________________________________________ Eircode ____________________ Credit/Debit Card No:__________________________________ Expiry Date:_________ C.V.V. ____________ Please send completed form with cheque or postal order made payable to Catholic Voice to; Catholic Voice, Castlemitchell South, Athy, County Kildare

8 DEMONS ARE REAL

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Psychiatrist Attests To Reality Of Demonic Possession Rev. Michael P. Orsi

Dr. Richard Gallagher, author of ‘Demonic Foes,’ told one interviewer that orthodox religion is one way to be protected against demonic attacks.

It’s frequently observed that the devil’s best trick is persuading us he doesn’t exist.

One of the clearest demonstrations of this truth is the way people often try to reinterpret scriptural accounts of Jesus’s confrontations with demons, such as those in our recent Gospel readings at Mass.

“Folks in Bible times didn’t understand disease,” people will say. “These weren’t literal demons.

They were merely symptoms of conditions like epilepsy or mental illness. But since those who recorded the incidents didn’t have our modern scientific frame of reference, they could only describe them in demonic terms.”

The problem with trying to interpret Scripture from a purely clinical point of view, however, is that it ignores the spiritual dimension of life. It glosses over the reality of supernatural evil.

Supernatural evil is real. The traditional prayer to St. Michael speaks of Satan and his minions prowling about the world “seeking the ruin of souls.” And that’s a good description of the threat we face.

Just as there is a heavenly realm, populated by the angels and saints, so too there is the domain of Satan and his demons. They hate God, and they hate His creation. Which is to say, they hate us, on whom they seek to wreak havoc, and distort the image and likeness of God in which we’re made. They do this through both direct attack and indirect influence.

But so successful is the devil’s deception that skepticism about spiritual matters has become the dominant outlook. Even those who sense the reality of a dimension beyond the material world tend to be wary of revealing their feelings on the subject.

That’s why special recognition is due Dr. Richard Gallagher, a practicing psychiatrist and medical school professor who has written a well-documented book titled Demonic Foes. Dr. Gallagher has put his professional reputation on the line to share his 25 years of experience working with patients who undergo possession or diabolic attack, or who are beset by various kinds of paranormal phenomena.

Over that time Dr. Gallagher has observed an increase in such occurrences, which in an interview with Esquire Magazine, he attributed to a falling away from traditional religious faith.

“When people give up a mainstream or more orthodox type of religion, they generally develop some kind of substitute belief system,” he told interviewer Adrienne Westenfeld.

“That often involves ideas about energy forces, occult themes, and visitation by spirits. A lot of exorcists feel that, through alternate spiritualities, these people have opened themselves up to evil forces and evil spirits, in ways that more mainstream religious people are protected from.”

There’s no ignoring a correlation between declining church affiliation

and a rise in the occult. But you don’t have to dabble in tarot, séances, or Ouija boards to recognise evil influence.

For instance, the new Biden administration has committed to increasing the availability of abortion to a degree that seems quite irrational when surveys indicate public desire for more abortion limits and controls. Is this devilish motivation pre-empting political judgment, even though Joe Biden has made so much of his hope to unite the country?

Likewise, the popularity of trendy dogmas that deny both moral and biological reality — chief among them gender ideology — clearly suggests satanic inspiration.

And what can explain the persistent demonstrations and rioting among Antifa and Black Lives Matter types but demon-prompted discontent?

With sympathetic politicians in power now, you’d expect a shift in emphasis toward consolidating gains for the oppressed groups whose interests Antifa and BLM claim to represent.

In the Church itself you can discern the hand of Satan. Even the most hardened secularists acknowledge it in the great priestly sexual abuse scandal. But it’s also surfaced in a series of other grave concerns, including highly questionable Vatican financial arrangements and the increasingly apparent surrender of papal authority over the Church in China to a hostile communist government.

There are recognisable signs that an individual might be under demonic influence or even possessed. One is preternatural knowledge. Dr. Gallagher’s book describes people suspected of being possessed speaking foreign or ancient languages they never studied.

Another sign is unusual physical abilities, much like the man in

26th February 2021 Catholic Voice the Gospel story no one could restrain, and who was so strong he could break chains. In the most extreme cases, there is levitation, an apparent ability to defy gravity.

While Dr. Gallagher says he’s never personally witnessed anyone rise up off the ground, he reports in the book that several exorcists with whom he’s worked maintain credibly that they have.

Aside from possession, there is what Dr. Gallagher calls “oppression,” an obsessive focus on external displays. These involve hearing howls and screams and the spontaneous movement of objects, as well as receiving physical assaults, often sufficient to cause bodily harm, from unknown sources.

DEMONS ARE REAL 9

demonic activity and common psychiatric distress.

I strongly recommend reading his book — although, I should point out that you might think twice about that if disturbing thoughts tend to keep you awake at nights. The book is indeed disturbing.

But we live in a time when our country, our Church, even our very homes, are under demonic attack.

Never before in my life have I witnessed so much evil influence at work, so much confusion in the lives of our people, so much anger, so much misunderstanding of moral truths, Christian principles, and what the Church actually teaches.

Finally, there are people whose homes or surroundings become “infested” by powers or unnatural agencies — what might be called “hauntings.”

This is supernatural evil. This is the work of demonic foes. This is the hand of Satan. And Satan is subtle.

He often works indirectly or at a distance. And he accomplishes his objectives most effectively when we don’t believe that he even exists.

Dr. Gallagher gives testimony to such phenomena. And he emphasises that his experiences have made it clear that there are marked differences between

Today we need a sort of national exorcism, and this begins with prayer. Satan must be revealed, identified, and exhorted to be gone in the name of Jesus.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God With thy whole heart, And with thy whole soul, And with thy whole mind.

This is the greatest And the first commandment.

Catholic Voice Update Dear Readers During these unprecedented times we are determined to continue publishing Catholic Voice.

Your prayerful and financial support is vital to ensure continued publication as we run a not for profit organization.

With sincere gratitude, HOW TO DONATE: 1. Online - Visit www. catholicvoice.ie and click Donate.

2. By Telephone call 059 8627268 - (00353 59 8627268 outside ROI) to pay by credit/debit card please leave your phone number and name and we shall return your call.

3. Send a cheque or postal order (made payable to Catholic Voice) with the reply coupon to Catholic Voice, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, County Kildare, Eire.

Anthony Murphy I/ We would like to donate towards the ongoing publication of Catholic Voice.

Donation enclosed. Please tick box or enter an individual amount

 €10 €25 €100 €250 €500 Other € _________ Name: ________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Phone: ________________________________________ Cheques & postal orders made payable to Catholic Voice Please send your cheque or postal order to Catholic Voice, St. Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy ,Co Kildare

10 ABORTION IS ABUSE

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Abortion Puts Females At Greater Risk Of Abuse Kimberly Ells

It’s simply wrong to say ‘sexual rights’ achieve equality for women. In reality, the availability of abortion puts females at greater risk of abuse.

one of her most celebrated rights — and he will be off the hook. This serves to sexually embolden men and sexually disempower women. This is not equality.

The term ‘sexual rights’ was coined during the latter half of the 20th century and has been seeping through society ever since. But what exactly are sexual rights?

There is no international consensus on what sexual rights are or if they are even valid rights at all. And yet, talking heads at the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the United Nations, and elsewhere continue to speak of sexual rights as moral imperatives that honour, exalt, and empower women. Abortion is consistently rolled out as the premier sexual right that acts as a great equaliser for women.

Third, a woman cannot simply walk away from her unborn child like a man can. A woman must act decisively to eliminate her child. Walking away and initiating violent annihilation through abortion are not the same thing. Initiating a fatal act against one’s own child — inside one’s own body — may leave a woman with feelings of desolation and emptiness rather than the promised feelings of empowerment.

But does abortion achieve “equality” for women?

The claim that abortion achieves equality for women is marred by at least four factors: First, abortion involves physical risks to women, not men. The risks of abortion are well known and include the following: haemorrhage, uterine rupture, tearing of the cervix, heart attack, damage to internal organs, future miscarriage, placenta previa in future pregnancies, stillbirth in future pregnancies, sterility, anxiety, depression, increased suicidality, infection, blood clots, and, in some cases, death. But those who stand to profit from abortion (including abortion clinics, abortionists, and companies that manufacture abortion devices) downplay these risks, insisting that the phrase “safe abortion” be used in UN documents and other abortion-friendly initiatives. However, the fact remains that abortion requires risks on the part of women but involves no immediate physical risks on the part of men. This is not equality.

Second, easy availability of abortion gives men greater license to sexually dominate women. When abortion is readily available, a man can rest easy knowing that if a woman becomes pregnant because of his actions she can simply have an abortion, and in so doing exercise

Ecclesiastical Art Restorations

by Dr.Nicholas von Kerckhoff Special Church Statues Repair and Repaint Nationwide www.atelier-nicholas.com

Mobile 087 2203898

A man who walks away from his unborn baby and his pregnant sexual partner may have a change of heart later in the pregnancy or later in life and decide to return and embrace his child. But for a woman who chooses to abort her child, the consequence of her choice is permanent. There is no going back. Her child is not just out of sight, her child is dead. This is not equality.

Fourth, abortion promotes a social mindset in which women’s ability to harbour and produce new human life is minimised while sex for the sake of sex is celebrated. Abortion advocates such as International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) assure women that it is their empowering right to engage freely in sex with uncommitted men. This is helpful to IPPF’s cause because sex must occur in order for babies to be conceived, so that babies can be aborted, so that abortion providers can enrich themselves off women’s bodies. And the chance of abortion is higher if the father is not committed to the baby’s mother.

Women have been convinced to buy into this system that normalises sex with uncommitted men and at the same time expects non-fertility and non-childbearing on the part of women. Such a system works against the woman’s life-giving anatomy, her tendency to seek stable commitment from a man, and her inclinations to protect her own child. At the same time, it encourages sexual recklessness and irresponsibility on the part of men. This is not equality.

True Sexual Rights Since women are inherently situated differently toward childbearing and sex than men are, do women have “sexual rights” of some kind? Yes. You will not likely hear these rights discussed at United Nations events or

26th February 2021

ABORTION IS ABUSE 11

Catholic Voice

IPPF conferences, but the women of the world should know what these rights are and should reap the benefits of exercising them. The true sexual rights every woman has are: • The right to refuse any person sexual access to her body who does not have her immediate and lifelong well-being in mind.

• The right to expect a man who desires sexual access to her body to publicly commit to her for life.

• The right to hold the man who accesses her womb accountable for claiming and supporting any children who emerge from it.

• The right to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, unsupported pregnancies, and damaging emotional entanglements by reserving sexual intimacy for one man who reserves sexual intimacy for her within the parameters of a publicly recognised, lifelong marriage.

• The right to expect her fertility, health, and happiness to be top considerations in her sexual relationship with her spouse.

• The right to conceive, bear, possess, and raise the children she and her husband create together.

These sexual rights best protect women from exploitation, sexual disease, unsupported pregnancy, and a host of other negative outcomes. These true sexual rights foster family formation and bolster honour for life itself — which always débuts in the form of babies.

Women, children, and men benefit from the exercise of true sexual rights and are profoundly harmed by the mass acceptance of false sexual rights.

The

Dominicans One God One Truth

"Words are the gateway to reality, the means by which we engage with objective Truth beyond ourselves."

- Joseph Pearce www.irishdominicanvocations.com

12 ABORTION TAINTED VACCINES

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Q. Why Did God Make You? A. God Made Me To Know Him, To Love Him, And To Serve Him In This World, And To Be Happy With Him Forever In The Next.

John Lacken As I begin this article it is looking likely that we will be unable to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for Easter. We are once again witnessing the suppression of the practice of the Catholic Faith in Ireland and this time, it is more diabolical in that it is more deceptive as it is being done under the guise of protecting us from a disease. Many sincere Catholics I have spoken to tell me of their feelings that they are being betrayed by their bishops and so, let us pray for our bishops.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

There are several themes I would like to address with our readers and I must give a parental warning that the testimony of Dr Stanley Plotkin which follows, may not be suitable reading for young children given the macabre nature of the topic and its connection with vaccine development.

Dr Stanley Plotkin M.D., is the man who is credited with developing the Rubella vaccine in America which is used worldwide. He gave a legal deposition in January 2018, which consists of a nine-hour video recording of his testimony under oath for the trial between Lori Matheson, (formerly known as Lori Ann Schmitt), and her husband Michael Schmitt. The case was between a couple who were separated and divorced. The mother, Lori, did not want her twoyear-old daughter vaccinated and her husband Michael did.

The case came to trial because the parents could not agree. One of the mother’s objections was on account of the use of foetal material in the vaccines. Mr Siri, the attorney for Lori Matheson, questioned Dr Stanley Plotkin as an expert witness.

The following extracts from Dr Plotkin’s testimony reveals that they used seventy-six aborted babies, all of whom were at least three months old, in just one particular series of experiments connected to his vaccine research. They sought to identify which cells from aborted babies would have the best potential for use in vaccine development.

“Q. Okay. In your work related to vaccines, how many fetuses have been part of that work?

A. My own personal work? Two. Q. Two. So, in your, in all of your work related to vaccines throughout your whole career, you’ve only ever worked with two fetuses?

A. In terms of making vaccines, yes. Yes. Q. I’m going to hand you, I’m going to hand you what’s been marked Plaintiff’s Exhibit 41. Okay? Are you familiar with this article, Dr. Plotkin?

A. Yes. Q. Are you listed as an author on this article?

A. Yes. Q. This study took place at the Wistar Institute, correct?

A. Yes. Q. You were at the Wistar Institute, correct?

A. Yes. Q. How many fetuses were used in the study described in this article?

A. Quite a few. But my answer to the previous question was what did I use to make vaccines, and the answer was two...

Q. So I’m going to ask that question again. In your work related to vaccines, how many fetuses were involved in that work?

A. There were only two fetuses involved in making vaccines. When fetal strains of, fibroblast strains were first developed, I was involved in that work trying to characterize those cells; but they were not used to make vaccines.

Q. Wasn’t the purpose of this study to help develop a human cell line or to support the use of human cell lines in the creation of vaccines?

A. The idea was to study the cell strains from fetuses to determine whether or not they could be used to make vaccines.

Q. So this was related to your work?

A. Well, yes, in a sense -Q. To vaccines, correct?

A. Yes. It was preparatory.

Q. So this study involved 74 fetuses, correct?

A. I don’t remember exactly how many.

Q. If you turn to page 12 of the study.

A. Seventy-six.

Q. Seventy-six. And these fetuses were all three months or older when aborted, correct?

A. Yes. Q. And these were all normally developed fetuses, correct?

A. Yes. Q. Okay. These included fetuses that were aborted for social and psychiatric reasons, correct?

A. Correct.

Q. What organs did you harvest from these fetuses?

A. Well, I didn’t personally harvest any, but a whole range of tissues were harvested by co-workers.

Q. And these pieces were then cut up into little pieces, right?

A Yes. Q. And they were cultured?

A. Yes. Q. Some of the pieces of the fetuses were pituitary gland that were chopped up into pieces to A. Mm-hmm.

Q. Included the lung of the fetuses?

A. Yes. Q. Included the skin?

A. Yes. Q. Kidney?

A. Yes. Q. Spleen?

A. Yes. Q. Heart?

A. Yes. Q. Tongue?

A. I don’t recall, but probably yes.

Q. So I just want to make sure I understand. In your entire career -this was just one study. So I’m going to ask you again, in your entire career, how many fetuses have you worked with approximately?

26th February 2021

Catholic Voice

A. Well, I don’t remember the exact number, but quite a few when we were studying them originally before we decided to use them to make vaccines.

Q. Do you have any sense? I mean, this one study had 76. How many other studies did you have that you used aborted fetuses for?

A. I don’t remember how many.

Q. You’re aware, are you aware that the, one of the objections to vaccination by the plaintiff in this case is the inclusion of aborted fetal tissue in the development of vaccines and the fact that it’s actually part of the ingredients of vaccines?

A. Yeah, I’m aware of those objections. The Catholic church has actually issued a document on that which says that individuals who need the vaccine should receive the vaccines, regardless of the fact, and that I think it implies that I am the individual who will go to hell because of the use of aborted tissues, which I am glad to do.

Q. Do you know if the mother’s Catholic?

A. I have no idea.

Q. Okay.

A. But she should consult her priest.

Q. If she has a -- if she’s, in fact, Christian, I guess, right? In any event, so we have 76 in this study.

Would you approximate it’s been a few hundred fetuses?

A. Oh, no, I don’t think it was that many. Probably not many more than in this paper. And I should stipulate that we had nothing to do with the cause of the abortion.

Q. Some of these were for psychiatric institutions, correct?

A. Actually, all I can say is that the fetuses that I personally worked with actually came from Sweden, from a Swedish co-worker. And so I, in no case, was able to determine what exactly the reason for the abortion was.

Q. I’m just asking you, some of the fetuses that you did use did come from abortions from people who were in psychiatric institutions, correct?

A. I don’t know that. What I’m telling you is that I got them from a co-worker; and if it’s stated in the paper, it’s true. But, otherwise, I do not know.

Q. So if it’s in the paper, you don’t contest it, right?

ABORTION TAINTED VACCINES 13

Dr Stanley Plotkin - (photo courtesy Dr Plotkin - wikimedia commons)

A. I don’t contest it, no.

Q. Okay. Have you ever used orphans to study an experimental vaccine?

A. Yes. Q. Have you ever used the mentally handicapped to study an experimental vaccine?

A. I don’t recollect ever doing studies in mentally handicapped individuals. At the time in the 1960s, it was not an uncommon practice.

Q. So you’re saying -- I’m not clear on your answer. I’m sorry. Have you ever used mentally handicapped to study an experimental vaccine?

A. What I’m saying is I don’t recall specifically having done that, but that in the 1960s, it was not unusual to do that. And I wouldn’t deny that I may have done so.

Q. I’m going to read you a sentence from what what’s been previously marked as -- (Exhibit Plaintiff-42 was marked for identification.)

Q. Well, in any event, you’re not denying that you, that you -- well, there’s an article entitled “Attenuation of RA 27/3 Rubella Virus in WI-38 Human Diploid Cells.” Are you familiar with that article?

A. Yes. Q. In that article, one of the things it says is: 13 seronegative mentally retarded children were given RA 27/3 vaccine?

A. Okay. Well, then that’s, in that case that’s what I did.

Q. Have you ever expressed that

it’s better to perform experiments on those less likely to be able to contribute to society, such as children with handicap, than with children without or adults without handicaps?

A. I don’t remember specifically, but it’s possible. And, again, I repeat that in the 1960s, that was more or less common practice. I’ve since changed my mind. But those were, that was a long time ago.

Q. Do you remember ever writing to the editor of “Ethics on Human Experimentation”?

A. I don’t remember specifically, but I may well have.

Q. We’ll mark this. (Exhibit Plaintiff-43 was marked for identification.)

Q. I’m going to hand you what’s been marked as Exhibit 43. Do you recognize this letter you wrote to the editor?

A. Yes. Q. Did you write this letter?

A. Yes. Q. Is one of the things you wrote: “The question is whether we are to have experiments performed on fully functioning adults and on children who are potentially contributors to society or to perform initial studies in children and adults who are human in form but not in social potential?”

A. Yes. Q. “It may be objected that this question implies a Nazi philosophy, but I do not think that it is difficult to distinguish non-functioning

14 ABORTION TAINTED VACCINES persons from members of ethnic, racial, economic, or other groups.”

A. Mm-hmm.

Q. Have you ever used babies of mothers in prison to study an experimental vaccine?

A. Yes. Q. Have you ever used individuals under colonial rule to study an experimental vaccine?

A. Yes. Q. Did you do so in the Belgian Congo?

A. Yes. Q. Did that experiment involve almost a million people?

A. Well -- well, all right, yes.”

I first came across this testimony in the video recording from the trial, and I was deeply affected by it and by the casual way these gravely evil matters were spoken about. They are discussing the use of organs from murdered children and Dr Stanley Plotkin shows no remorse and, at the time of his testimony in 2018, he was still giving presentations around the world despite being 86 years of age. At least one of his lectures was sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The elites who are planning the “Great Reset” treat of the human race as if we are livestock to be managed and farmed for profit and to serve the interests of these global financial controllers. They believe that there are too many ‘animals’ in the herd and they thus seek to reduce our numbers.

One of the points I have been making in relation to the statements of moral theologians on the permissibility of using abortion tainted vaccines, i.e. that Church statements are being used to defend and promote the abortion pharmaceutical link, is borne out by this interview.

Dr Stanley Plotkin, who was born of Jewish parents and is a selfconfessed atheist, tells us that the Catholic Church says that Catholics should receive the abortion tainted vaccines.

This is not quite what the Catholic theologians say, but this is what most people seem to erroneously hear “The Catholic Church says that we can take the vaccines” What the Catholic theologians actually say is, that it is sometimes

Catholic Voice

permissible to have material cooperation in a grave moral evil but there are some caveats.

• There must be no alternative available.

• There must be a public declaration of one’s opposition to the grave moral evil involved.

• There must be a grave necessity.

It is also important to note that there is no moral obligation on Catholics to accept abortion tainted vaccines. Catholics are free to reject such vaccines on the grounds of conscientious objection, and the Church teaches that taking a vaccine should never be mandatory or coerced.

For me, the most chilling part of Dr Stanley Plotkin’s testimony was his declaration that he was prepared to go to Hell for his use of murdered babies in his research.

I urge you to pray, to offer little sacrifices, and to have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated for the conversion of Dr Stanley Plotkin. He is now 88 years of age and will face his particular judgement shortly.

Our Lady came to Fatima to urge us to pray for the conversion of poor sinners like Dr Stanley Plotkin. It is sometimes difficult for us to accept that Jesus Christ died in order to save the abortionists, the paedophiles, and other grave sinners. This difficulty is natural on account of our revulsion for these grave sins. The words of the prophet Isaiah are particularly apt in these situations.

“And when you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes from you: and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear: for your hands are full of blood.

Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from my eyes: cease to do perversely, Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow.

And then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool. (Isaiah 1:15-18)

26th February 2021 In these dark times the words of the prophet Isaiah are comforting, for we are all in need of forgiveness for our sins and through Jesus Christ’s redemptive sacrifice we too can hear the words of Isaiah spoken to us from the cross — “if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool.”

I know of someone who recently attended a meeting of concerned Catholics. There were at least fifteen people present at the meeting. It is astonishing to think that those who attended this meeting to discuss the current situation in Ireland and who drank tea, ate sandwiches and other tasty delicacies, are now branded as being involved in a criminal activity.

Some of the Catholics who gathered recently to pray the Rosary in public were given on the spot fines of €500. Catholics who attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are also branded as criminals. In a Church which is near to where I live, a priest was regularly hearing confessions and giving Holy Communion. One day two Garda showed up to take the names of those who came for the sacraments.

Our bishops do not seem to offer any resistance to this persecution and open intimidation of Catholics by the State. I know a few priests who continue to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with some faithful present, but they do not have the support of their bishops.

One bishop recently invited people to join him for Eucharistic Adoration. I was pleased to see this until I realised that it was going to be live streamed with no faithful allowed to attend. I was tempted to contact the bishop to ask him if perhaps he would invite us to dinner as well and he could set up the camera on his dining table and we could watch him eating.

I understand that this bishop’s intentions are good, but looking at an image of the monstrance on a computer screen does not mean that you are at Eucharistic Adoration.

The time would be better spent in a Church where Jesus is truly present.

26th February 2021 Our bishops are, hopefully inadvertently, facilitating the normalisation of online worship rather than resisting the unjust State laws and allowing Catholics free access to the sacraments. Our bishops actions will lead to many Catholics not returning to the practice of their faith because our bishops have agreed with the secular state, and in effect they have told us, that the practice of the Catholic Faith is not as essential as going shopping.

For years I have been highlighting the dreadful state of Catholic education in this country. Our Catholic schools are churning out pro-abortion citizens rather than citizens who seek to know, love and serve God, and there are no plans in place to reclaim these once Catholic schools for Christ. Instead our bishops speak of divesting themselves of Catholic schools with seemingly little regard for the salvation of souls, in the name of diversity, so that children can be educated in false ideologies by the secular, child-murdering State.

Some of what I say may appear harsh, but Catholics need to wake

ABORTION TAINTED VACCINES 15

Catholic Voice

up to the signs of the times. It is my firm belief that we are heading into what may possibly be the darkest period of human history ever witnessed apart from the Crucifixion.

I cannot say if we are heading into the times Jesus specifically spoke of in Chapter 24 of St Matthew’s Gospel: — “For there shall be then great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be” — but it would not surprise me.

But this is not the time for Catholics to get sentimental. We need to be courageous and we need to look to the future with Hope and with Courage. Many people, Catholics included, simply want a return to the life they knew before Covid-19.

Our new masters may not want to allow this, but, regardless of them, Catholics cannot simply go back to the way we were.

The way we were brought contraception, abortion, divorce, “same-sex marriage”, widespread

The Five First Saturdays

This book is a collection of Rosary meditations composed by the celebrated French Dominican, Father Jacques Marie Louis Monsabré, which were translated into English in 1885. Although these were composed before Our Lady visited Fatima, they are perfectly suitable for use with the Five First Saturdays Devotion of Reparation.

The importance of the Five First Saturdays Devotion cannot be over emphasised, Our Lady specifically came from Heaven to Fatima to ask Catholics to honour her in this way. We would appreciate your help in getting this book to as many people as possible. The cost is €10.00 including post & packing to anywhere in Ireland and it would make a great Christmas present.

pornography, and other evils to our shores, all of which undermined the fundamental unit of civilised society — The Family, based on the sacramental marriage of one man and one woman striving to raise the children God sends them as saints for His Kingdom.

We need to re-think and we need to change society with the primary aim of claiming our society for Christ. This will be a long term project whose basis is Catholic families doing what truly Catholic families have always done - raising children in the fear of God. We must turn away from our sins and we must pray and offer sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Our current circumstances, where we are deprived of access to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, should make it easier to make a good Lent this year.

Let us not waste this opportunity in simply complaining about how bad things are, but let us offer everything to Our Lady for the conversion of sinners both great and small and especially for Dr Stanley Plotkin.

There’s A Place For Us There’s a Place for Us Homosexuality in the Divine Plan of Redemption Jesus said to those who would stone her: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

Jesus said to the woman: “Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?

Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee.”

“Go, And Now Sin No More.”

By John Cassidy

There’s A Place For Us: This testimony does not shirk away from difficult Catholic teachings but shows with piercing clarity why the Church teaches as she does in the area of human sexuality. In our lives we are called to a lot more than sexual satisfaction. Rather, we are granted the privilege of living life on the highest possible plane in responding to the call of greatness of being the Sons and Daughters of God.

John Cassidy - Bio Ex-homosexual and New Man John Cassidy has been serving the Catholic Church as a full-time Lay-Man since his conversion in 2014. John has founded the Association of Believing Catholics which is a lay initiative to promote and defend the fullness of Catholic truth.

Paperback

Paperback

€/£10.00 inc p&p in Ireland

€/£6.00 inc p&p in Ireland

€/£15.70 inc p&p outside of Ireland

€/£9.40 inc p&p outside Ireland

To Order please telephone 085 1208779 ROI 00353 851208779 Outside ROI Alternatively, Order Online @ www.lumenfidei.ie/shop

16 OUR LADY OF OCOTLAN

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Our Lady of Ocotlan A Little Known Devotion For Our Times Mary Hansen

There is a strange new vocabulary which dominates the evening news, night after night: Variants; ‘compulsory jabs’; Moderna; Pfizer; mRNA vaccinations; Astra Zeneca; digital passports; ‘needlesin-arms’. Such is our world in 2021.

Everyone seems to be worried to some extent or another about COVID-19. Where do we turn?

And in whom do we trust? Do we put our faith in vaccines? In the WHO? Or, heaven forbid—in the so called scientific experts?

The Tlaxcalans of Mexico, almost five centuries ago, were worried too. And they had a lot more to be worried about than we do! A plague of smallpox swept over their countryside like a tidal wave, leaving hardly a family untouched.

Ninety percent of their population died from the disease.

The Tlaxcalans, of all people!

Because of their loyalty they held a special place of privilege in the newly conquered Mexican nation: they were the first friends of the Spanish, they were the first Christians in the new land, and their territory was home to the first archbishopric in the country, established in 1525.

So outnumbered were the Spanish by the mighty Aztecs, that historians believe that the Spanish conquest of 1521 was “an utterly unbelievable victory” that would have been impossible without the alliance with their new friends, the Tlaxcalans. The Aztecs had never been able to subdue this tiny, but fierce, warrior state.

The first convent in the country was built in Tlaxcala in 1526. This Franciscan convent plays a role in the story of Our Lady of Ocotlan.

It was headed by the legendary Fra Torobio Motolinia (“the poor one”).

He was one of the twelve Franciscan friars who landed in the country in 1524 to begin the evangelisation of Mexico. They were known as “the twelve apostles,” friars of exemplary character and holiness.

Fra Motolinia would go on to become “the greatest evangeliser in Mexican history.”

After the Guadalupe apparition of 1531 many Indians had become fervent Christians. One of these was Juan Diego Bernardino (no relation to the Guadalupe visionary) who worked for the friars at the monastery. Because of his innate holiness and his ardent devotion to the Blessed Virgin, he also served as sacristan at the convent.

One radiant, sunny day, on February 27, 1541, Juan was out fetching water for his sick relatives, many of whom were close to death. As he entered the forest, he was startled to see a beautiful lady standing in front of him. She greeted him with a joyful smile and said, “God be with you, my son. Where are you going?” He replied, “I’m fetching water to bring to the sick people of my village who are dying with no hope of a cure.” The lady then said to him: “Come with me! I will give you a different water that will cure the sickness of your people. Not only your relatives and friends will be healed, but also all those who drink it.”

26th February 2021 Juan followed the lady to the peak of a hill where a fountain of water was gushing forth. He was shocked, because he had never seen such a fountain before and he had walked along this path many times. She continued: “My heart always desires to help those who are suffering. My heart cannot bear to see so much pain and anguish among people without healing them. Drink as much water as you desire. Upon drinking just one drop, the sick will not only be cured, but they will receive perfect health!”

Juan realised—incredibly— that he was speaking with Our Lady, the Mother of God! He quickly filled his jug with the miraculous water and raced to his village with the amazing news. He soon became aware of a new sensation: it seemed that a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. And that he ran with a light step and an even lighter heart! Even the heavy jug of water seemed weightless. Juan was ecstatic: All who drank of the water were healed!

Our Lady had also given Juan a message to deliver to the Franciscan friars at the monastery: “Tell the monks that in this place, they shall find an image of me, which not only will represent my perfection, but also through it, I will bring forth my mercy and blessings.

I want the image to be placed in the chapel of St. Lawrence.”

The Franciscans decided to investigate the astonishing events for themselves. They accompanied Juan to the forest to locate the miraculous fountain. What a sight they encountered: the forest was on fire! They also noticed a strange phenomenon: only one tree, the tallest tree—defying all scientific explanation— was aflame! Because

Catholic Voice it was so late at night they decided to return the next morning to resume their investigation.

The friars, accompanied by half the town, returned in the morning when the fire had dissipated.

But how would they ever find Our Lady’s image in such a vast forest? Impossible task! But by a mysterious series of signs they were directed to one particular tree, the tallest tree which had been ablaze.

The friars took an axe to the tree to split it open.

An early chronicler documents what happened next: “A new marvel met their eyes: within the trunk of the fallen tree was visible the image of the Holy Mother of God.” All fell to their knees in wonder and awe. The magnificent 5’ (1.5 m.) statue was carried in solemn procession to the church where it resides today above the main altar in the Basilica of Our Lady of Ocotlan in the city of Tlaxcala.

It is considered by many church historians to be one of the most beautiful churches in the country.

Architects cite it as a “masterpiece of the late Mexican-Baroque style known as Churrigueresque.” The name of Our Lady of Ocotlan comes from ocote del ande—the oak tree that burned.

Five popes have granted approval of this apparition: Clemente XII (1735), Benedicto XIV (1746), Pius VI (1799), Pius X (1906), and Pius XII (1941). The statue of Our Lady of Ocotlan was pontifically crowned in 1906.

Although Our Lady of Ocotlan is such an important Marian apparition and is well-known and revered in Mexico, it is virtually unknown in the rest of the world.

OUR LADY OF OCOTLAN 17 It seems to be completely eclipsed by the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe! Yet the parallels between the two are striking: It occurred 10 years after Guadalupe. 10-year anniversaries are always significant! Guadalupe occurred in 1531. The Ocotlan apparition occurred in 1541.

Both visionaries were named Juan Diego. The last name of the Gaudalupe visionary’s uncle was Bernardino. The second Juan Diego’s last name was Bernardino as well.

Both were converted Indians who were devoted to Our Lord, Our Lady and their Catholic faith.

In both apparitions Our Lady gave motherly messages of concern: “Am I not here who am your mother? What do you need?” she said at Guadalupe.

At Ocotlan, Our Lady fulfilled and extended the promises she made at Guadalupe: “My heart cannot bear to see so much pain and anguish among people without healing them,” she said at Tlaxcala. And heal them she did!

Both apparitions exhibited wondrous and miraculous images of Our Lady—not made by human hands. At Guadalupe, the image was a painting, at Tlaxcala, the image was a statue!

The sisters at the Basilica assured me that healings and all kinds of blessings are ongoing at the shrine.

They have witnessed countless numbers of them. Now that the plague is wreaking havoc in the world perhaps it is high time that Our Lady of Ocotlan be made known to the world outside of Mexico!

Our Lady of Ocotlan pray for us!

18 POLAND’S RIGHT TO LIFE

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Poland’s Constitutional Court Explains Its Right-To-Life Ruling Christopher Monckton of Brenchley More and more often, as Communism tightens its fell grip on every form of news dissemination worldwide, it is becoming impossible for the interested voter to follow the ancient principle of natural justice, without which democracy cannot function: audiatur et altera pars, or, in three plain English words, “Hear both sides”.

Have you heard, gentle reader, that, of those election-irregularity cases in which the State or Federal Courts in the United States have graciously consented to do their job and hear both sides, Mr Trump’s lawyers have won two-thirds?

No, you haven’t. For that surely not uninteresting fact has gone nearuniversally unreported. Instead, we are told over and over again that Mr Trump’s allegations of voter fraud are “baseless”, “unsubstantiated” and “unfounded”.

Have you heard that climate “scientists” now know why their original predictions of global warming – the extreme predictions that the far Left have been exploiting for 30 years, and have not been borne out in reality – were so wildly exaggerated?

ACCOMMODATION WANTED

Mature single and retired lady - non smoker - seeks accommodation.

Non driver so requires to be on bus route or near services Telephone: 086-4019508

They had made an elementary error when borrowing from another branch of physics without understanding what they had borrowed. You might have heard that here, but in no other news medium.

And what a splendid ratio decidendi it is. It is based on Article 38 of Poland’s written Constitution, which came into effect some years after the Soviet Union had collapsed and Poland had at last become a free country again.

Have you heard the Polish constitutional court’s reasons why it has issued an unappealable ban on killing children in the womb on the ground that they might be born disabled? You will have heard that the court had ruled. You will have heard, over and over again, about the protests against the ruling. But have you heard why the court ruled as it did?

Article 38 says this: “The Republic of Poland shall ensure the legal protection of the life of every human being.” That is not a right that either the Nazi or the Soviet masters of Poland recognised.

I decided to try to find out. For the court has now published its 150page ratio decidendi – its reasons for its judgment. But it is not at all easy to find a complete English text. Nevertheless, one or two news organisations worldwide – and I mean only one or two – have published some scant details of the judges’ reasoning.

The question addressed to the court by 119 members of Poland’s elected Parliament was whether an earlier law permitting abortion of children who might otherwise have been born disabled should be overthrown.

Every human being’s right to life is to be protected by law. That is the first and most important of a series of personal rights accorded to citizens by the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court’s job is to uphold, and to interpret, the

26th February 2021 Constitution. Does the Constitution say that a human being who has not yet been born is not a human being?

No. Does it say that a human being who appears to be disabled is not a human being? No. Does it say that eugenics, Hitler’s pretext for eradicating tens of thousands of Jews in Poland on the alleged ground that they were less than human, should be once again restored as a principle of government in Poland? No, no and thrice no.

The members of the Polish parliament had expressed their dismay that disabled children, like the Jews under Hitler, should be discriminated against by the abortion law on the ground that they were less than human and should be denied their right to life.

The Constitutional Court was compelled to agree with them.

A child in the womb is a human being. A disabled child in the womb is a human being. Some 400 of the 1000 annual abortions in Poland had been performed to kill babies with Down’s Syndrome. Now those babies will have their chance to live.

Here, in a nutshell, is the Court’s reason: “In the opinion of the Tribunal, an unborn child is, as a human being, a person who enjoys innate and inalienable dignity, a subject who has the right to life.

The legal system must, according to Article 38 of the Constitution, guarantee due protection for this central good, without which this personal right would be overthrown.”

My beloved sister has a Down’s Syndrome child. She did not, for a single instant, consider how comfortable it would be for her career if she had her child killed before it was born. Instead, she

Catholic Voice did what any saint would do – she bore the child, abandoned a highly successful career and devoted the rest of her life not only to caring for her child, who has that cruel disease in its severest form, but also to campaigning for Down’s Syndrome children to be respected by the State and not treated with cruel indifference and contempt.

She has established a flourishing charity, Team Domenica. Google it, and you will find out more. Has it been easy? No, it hasn’t. It’s been difficult and sometimes agonisingly painful. Imagine being asked by your 16-year-old daughter, “Mum, when will I be normal?” Imagine having to take her to have her Chinese-virus vaccination, when she is screamingly terrified of needles.

The late David Johnson, an Anglican clergyman who was President of the Cambridge Union and a formidable debater, once spoke at a debate on abortion at the Oxford Union. He told me how it was that the debate had been won – and not by him.

POLAND’S RIGHT TO LIFE 19 Is it easy for my parents? No. Is it easy for me? No. Is it wonderful for them and for me? Yes. “I have only one question to ask you, when you vote tonight. Will you vote to have others like me killed before they have their chance to live? I pray that you will not.”

The vote against abortion was nearunanimous. It was one of the very few occasions on which students in Britain have voted against the Communist party line on that subject.

I shall do my best to get a full English text of the Constitutional Court’s judgment. For I suspect there will be many gems in it. For now, let us commend the judges most warmly for having had enough love in their hearts to do their job, and, in the words of the Bible, to “suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

A severely disabled undergraduate struggled to the dispatch-box and said: “My parents knew, well before I was born, that I was going to be born disabled and that I would have a life of difficulty and pain. So here’s the question. Would it have been better for me if I had been killed before I was born, or is it better that I was born?

“I have only one thing to say. I am grateful to my parents for having chosen to allow me to live. Every day I count as a blessing and a joy.

“Offer up everything within your power as a sacrifice to the Lord in an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended; and of supplication for the conversion of sinners. Thus invoke peace upon your country. I am her Guardian Angel; the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings that the Lord may send you.”

(The Angel of Portugal to Fatima children 1915)

20 EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Holy Family Monstrance Mary Kearns

The concept of the Holy Family Monstrance was born in 2005, the product of a deeply held love of the Blessed Eucharist by Noel Ward of Durrus, West Cork. The Holy Family Monstrance is dedicated to the Divine Community of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

the natural consequence of the Eucharistic celebration, which is itself the supreme act of adoration.”

(Benedict XVI)

The five principles that Noel hopes to promote through the Monstrance are:

Each time a facet of the monstrance generates something fresh, a new uniquely personal insight into the Paschal Mystery occurs and the relationship with Jesus is deepened.

To create a greater awareness of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist.

In thanksgiving for what Jesus suffered for us on the Cross.

That the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a sacrifice each time it is offered.

Our Blessed Lady’s role in our redemption, in all her titles, the four dogmas - Mary Mother of God, Blessed Mary ever virgin, The Immaculate Conception and the Assumption.

The real meaning of priesthood especially in relation to family life. Jesus told his priests to go in his Name, to bless, to lay their hands on the sick and they would be made well, both spiritually and temporally.

The Way Of The Holy Family Monstrance Following on the great prayer that is the sacrifice of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration personally unites everyone by embodying their devotions with with Our Lord and the whole heavenly family.

“Eucharist Adoration is simply

The vision of the Holy Family Monstrance is to encourage and progress Eucharist Adoration to new levels of worship and love.

The Blessed Eucharist is the centre of Catholic life. As family is the original cell of social life, the two are inseparably joined. They come together in every circumstance of the Catholic Faith: the Apostolic successors bring the Holy Eucharist to us; religious communities bearing witness to the continuing graces of God; lay men and women rendering his discipleship.

“Our Christian communities must become genuine ‘schools of prayer’ where the meeting with Christ is expressed not just in imploring for help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening and ardent devotion…”

(St. Pope John Paul II) Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a continuation of the Incarnation, bringing the Divine Jesus himself into our everyday lives. Every aspect of Christ’s redemptive triumph - from the power of Calvary to the glory of the Resurrection and beyond is portrayed in the Holy Family Monstrance.

The design of the monstrance offers an ideal inspiration for uniting ourselves with Jesus in the Holy

Eucharist, for bridging the gap between heaven and earth, between humanity and the Divine, for bringing us individually and as a family, into Christ.

The meditations and prayer stimulated by the Holy Family Monstrance can lead us to achieve both spiritual Communion with the Lord and with one another.

Through the graces won by the act of Adoration we are able to momentarily transcend our temporal state to become part of the the Divine Community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Some Sources Of Contemplation From Sacred Scripture The Cross: Proclaims the victory of Our Lord and thereby a blessing on all the human family. “…and just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that everyone who believes in me may have eternal life…”

The Metal Of The Cross: while the surface reflects the world in which we now live, its stainless steel nature honours its pure Victim, the High Priest who sacrificed himself for all humanity “Who is able to sympathise with our weaknesses, who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.”

INRI: with his entry into his Kingdom, the hollow cynicism of Pilate’s message is supplanted by the reality of the glorified Son of God. “My Kingdom is not of this world.”

The Crown Of Thorns: a savage reminder of the humiliating nature of the suffering that Jesus endured.

26th February 2021

Catholic Voice

“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes….”

The Three Stones: where the nails once ordained Christ’s love for us, three incorruptible stones provide a seal on all who follow Christ into consecrated life: obedience, poverty, chastity. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

The Twelve Rays Of The Pyx: tell the glory of our Risen Lord, the Word shining out through the power of the Holy Spirit into the world through the successors of the Apostles. “Go out into the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature…”

The Chalice: the everlasting testimony to the Blood that Jesus shed for all, the infinite witness to

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION 21

the Lamb sacrificed for us. “Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne…a Lamb that seemed to have been slain..”

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…I am going to prepare a place for you.”

The Figure Of Our Lady: Mary, Mother of vocations, presents her Son the High Priest to the world, inviting us to follow. Mary, Mother of the Church protect your sons, our priests! “Behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.”

The Blessed Sacrament: the centre piece of the Holy Family Monstrance speaks of the constancy of the sacrifice of the Mass, the promises of Christ and his overwhelming love for all.

The Lamb of God comes down among us at every Mass spanning heaven and earth. In this way all the faithful can join with the Holy Family of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see the glory that you gave me.”

The Figure Of St. John: entrusted

by Jesus to his mother as her son, his youngest priest stands in perpetual memory of the supreme banquet of the Mass and the Blessed Eucharist, fulfilling Christ’s promise, “I will not leave you orphans…”

The Figures Of Our Lady And St. John: together his mother and the son accorded her by Jesus beckon us to join the ultimate family -

For catechesis and liturgical formation: marykeenankearns@gmail.com Tel: 087 7794687

22 THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

We Wrestle Not Against Flesh And Blood The Spiritual World And The Events Of History Sam Guzman

Our world is in turmoil, reminding me just how frequently I’ve had to write about the upheavals of our times. Nevertheless, I do not wish to opine on current events. I will leave that to those who are more proficient at such commentary. I do, however, want to simply offer a brief reminder on the genuine causes of the dramas of history which we are now witnessing.

At the risk of oversimplifying, there are some well intentioned individuals today who seem to believe that the causes of the current turmoil in our world are as simple as electing too many representatives of the opposite political party, passing the wrong laws, and the existence of corrupt politicians. The solutions, they imagine, are just as simple.

Elect the right representatives, sign the right petitions, attend the right rallies, and pass the right laws, and all will be well.

In such a worldview, both the problems and the solutions to our current crisis are a matter of human efforts. Utopia is always only one more election cycle away.

A truly Catholic mind, however— one steeped in the reality of the spiritual world—will recognise that the current dramas of world history are not a matter of generational differences, poor philosophy, economic theories, constitutional interpretations, or flawed political affiliations.

That is, we will recognise that the events of our times are not causes as much as they are symptoms. For the dramas of history are but temporal

manifestations of the battle between the the spirits of the age and the angelic hierarchies.

Behind the veil of temporal events rages a tremendous battle between good and evil.

The human figures that seem so significant in world decisions are often but pawns of forces far more powerful and more hidden.

In exchange for power, these lost souls have surrendered themselves to evil beings far more monstrous than even they can comprehend. As wicked or corrupt as these men and women may be, they are not the real enemy. St. Paul is unequivocal: “For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

What we call reality is really only a pale shadow of higher realities.

Angels, archangels, and demonic hosts are not superstitious figments of a more benighted age. They are tremendously real.

More intensely real, in some ways, than we are—though it is shocking how few, even among professing Catholics, believe in them. Yes, spiritual entities are real, both angelic and demonic.

And even at this moment, these titanic spirits are locked in a combat both terrifying and world-altering.

What of us? Are we mere pawns as well? No. Not in the least.

Evil enslaves and erodes our freedom. Those who ally themselves with it surrender their will and agency. But goodness, on the other hand, sets free. Through the divine gift of freedom, we can enter into this great cosmic contest, uniting ourselves to the sacrifice of Christ and allying ourselves with the forces of light. We can, through our actions, our prayers, our sacrifices, our penitence, and our devotion, aid the angelic hosts in their struggle against the great destroyer.

Likewise, however, we can increase the measure of evil through our sins of lust and slander, our indifference, our weakness or our cowardice. The one thing we should never do is believe that we do not matter.

In this great war between good and evil, Christ, our captain, has promised us eternal victory.

The forces of darkness may raged, but they are doomed. The Virgin Mary, too, shines forth both fair and terrible, leading an army arrayed for battle. She it is who will crush the head of the serpent. Let us then not make the mistake of believing that our dramas are a mere matter of laws and politicians, bankers or businessmen. These wicked men are more to be pitied than blamed.

No, the reality of current events is not what the nightly news will tell you. It is truly cosmic in scope — a battle between good and evil reaching to the highest heights of heaven. And it is time for each of us to choose our side.

26th February 2021

Catholic Voice

THE SPIRITUAL LIFE 23

St Michael Defeats Satan - Sacré Coeur - Paris

24 THE GREAT RESET

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

Cardinal Müller decries the Great Reset Maike Hickson

The cardinal warned that the goal of this newly merging force – the collaboration between big capitalist entities with China – is ‘absolute control of thought, speech and action.’

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, recently made comments to the National Catholic Register’s Edward Pentin about the current discussion of the Great Reset, as promoted by the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF). In this context, the cardinal expressed an earnest warning that he sees a merging of Western capitalist organisations with China, forming a new “unified capitalsocialism.”

On January 29, the German prelate told Pentin that two sides — “profiteering capitalism, big-tech giants of Western countries” and the “communism of the People’s Republic of China” — are today “converging and merging into a unified capital-socialism,” producing a “new colonialism.”

With these comments, he seems to imply that we are witnessing here a merging of big financial powers with Communist states – prominently China – which aims at the ruling of the world by capitalist global powers while the masses are being held in socialist societies, controlled and suppressed by the state. One can feel reminded here of the Western countries’ recent response to the corona crisis that led to the suppression of many liberties in the name of a health crisis.

The Great Reset is a program issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF) that uses the coronavirus crisis as a reason for a fundamental re-shaping of the way we humans live together on this earth. The WEF claims on its website that “the changes we have already seen in response to COVID-19 prove that a reset of our economic and social foundations is possible.”

In light of the predicted economic and environmental crises, the WEF proposes that “we must build entirely new foundations

for our economic and social systems.” How this re-building of our societies should look in the eyes of these global financial and economic players can be seen in their own WEF video called “Eight Predictions for the World in 2030.”

This video predicts that “you’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy.

Whatever you want you’ll rent and it’ll be delivered by drone.”

Next to the abolishment of private property – a typical goal of socialist ideologies – the WEF also sees an end of Western values that are obviously based on Christianity: “Western values will have been tested to the breaking point.” It is to be asked what kind of values will replace those “western values,” and whence they will come from.

On this background, Cardinal Müller’s comments are important, since he is calling out this new ideological program for our world.

While he welcomes people from economical and political fields

26th February 2021 Catholic Voice to come together and discuss matters of importance, this German cardinal is wondering what “image of humanity” the WEF is actually holding. At the same time, the cardinal warned that the goal of this newly merging force – the collaboration between big capitalist entities with China – is “absolute control of thought, speech and action.”

Cardinal Müller’s comments point to the importance of the digital world today and how it affects human life.

He sees that a “homogenised man” is being created, and that such a man “can be steered more easily.”

“The Orwellian world of homo digitalis has begun,” he explained.

“Through mainstreaming, total conformity of the consciousness of the masses is to be achieved via the media.” Cardinal Müller referred here to the 19th-century French author Gustave Le Bon who predicted such a situation in his book The Psychology of Crowds.

THE GREAT RESET 25

such similar programs of very wealthy foundations as innocent endeavours, the German prelate stated that “Blind trust in the philanthropic attitude of the leaders of the Big Foundations and Open Societies is only possible with a completely naive denial of reality.”

humanity (denial of dissenters’ freedom, destruction of labour, population reduction by abortion and euthanasia). Man’s nature, wounded by sin, needs divine forgiveness. Only God’s grace can redeem us and give us the ‘freedom and glory of the children of God.’”

The German cardinal and former bishop of Regensburg, Germany, pointed out that there have been attempts in the past to re-create man and invent the world anew. These attempts have always turned into totalitarian movements. Whenever man wanted “to recreate and redeem himself,” he told Pentin, a monster has been created instead, citing as an example the “gruesome human experiment” of the communist Soviet Union that coincided with the industrial revolution.

We remind our readers of the fact that the U.S. President Joseph Biden is in alliance with the program of the Great Reset and even calls his new agenda “Build Back Better,” a slogan that is also being used by the World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum has aligned itself at the same time with China and invited its President Xi Jingping to present a talk at the opening day of its annual (virtual) meeting in 2021. The WEF itself called his participation at the forum a “historic opportunity for collaboration.”

“That should have convinced us,” he added, “that the utopia of a paradise on earth in any form results in the greatest crimes against

In October 2020, Cardinal Müller had already warned that the election of Biden as President of the United

Cardinal Müller also rejected the idea that such criticism of the Great Reset and its ideological plans are mere “conspiracy theories” and added that totalitarian systems “have always denigrated any criticism as conspiracy and subversion.” He referred in his comments to the many warnings of totalitarian rule in the 20th century and explained that they “can hardly be discredited as conspiracy theories, since real political developments have proven them right.”

Warning us not to take the promises of the Great Reset and “To forestall this [the second world war], I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays.

“If they heed My requests, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace. If not, she shall spread her errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church; the good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated; in the end, My Immaculate Heart shall triumph.

(Our Lady - Fatima July 13th 1917)

26 THE GREAT RESET

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

States could have grave effects on the U.S. as well as on the world’s democracies, especially in light of China’s growing power.

In perfect line with the WEF’s prediction that “western values” will soon come to their breaking point, Cardinal Müller expressed in January 2021 his concern that the new Biden regime is now leading a campaign to “de-christianise Western culture.”

Speaking with the Austrian Catholic news website Kath.net, the prelate expounded that the Biden administration, “with its concentrated political, media and economic power, is at the forefront of the most subtly brutal campaign in Cardinal Müller firmly opposes the last 100 years to de-Christianise these anti-Christian agendas and told Kath.net that anybody who Western culture.” “as a Christian positions himself against the mainstream of LGBT His comments were related to the propaganda, abortion, legalised fact that President Biden has already drug use, the dissolution of male taken steps to promote abortion, or female sexuality, is known to be as well as the LGBT agenda. The insulted as ‘far-right’ or even as a World Economic Forum itself is also ‘Nazi,’ even though it was precisely promoting the LGBT agenda as well the National Socialists with their biologistic and social Darwinist as the abortion agenda. ideology who were the most open

contradiction to the Christian image of man.”

Christians in politics must oppose these agendas, he said, even if they cannot sufficiently influence the laws that are being made. “But they must never participate, actively or passively, in evil,” he added. “At the very least, they must protest against it and — as far as they can — resist it, even if they are discriminated against for doing so.”

What The Demons Know About The Eucharist Steve Skojec Did you know that only 63% of American Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and a full 17% of those have no idea that this is what the Church actually teaches?

Roughly half of Catholics surveyed don’t know — with anything approaching doctrinal certitude — this essential truth of our Faith. And I’d be willing to bet that if a larger sample were taken, we’d find even fewer Catholics who actually believe that the Eucharist is truly Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. According to a 1994 New York Times/CBS News poll in the 18-44 year-old demographic, 70% of self-professed Catholics believed that the Eucharist is “just a symbol.”

In a 2014 reflection on one of the, now infamous, Satanic “masses” in

Okalahoma City, Msgr. Charles Pope recalled an experience he had 15 years ago while celebrating the traditional Latin Mass at St. Mary, Mother of God, in Washington DC: As you may know, the ancient Latin Mass is celebrated “ad orientem” (toward the Liturgical East). Priest and people all face in one direction. What this means practically for the celebrant is that the people are behind him. It was time for the consecration. At this time, the priest is directed to bow low with his forearms on the altar table and the host between his fingers.

As directed, the venerable words of Consecration were said in a low but distinct voice, Hoc est enim Corpus meum (For this is my Body). The bells rang as I genuflected.

But behind me there was a disturbance of some sort; a shaking or rustling sound came from the front pews behind me to my right. And then a moaning or grumbling. “What was that?” I wondered. It did not really sound human, more like the grumbling of a large animal such as a boar or a bear, along with a plaintive moan that also did not seem human. I elevated the host and again wondered, “What was that?” Then silence. As the celebrant in the ancient Latin Mass I could not easily turn to look. But still I thought, “What was that?”

It was time for the consecration of the chalice. Again I bowed low, pronouncing clearly and distinctly but in a low voice, Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei, novi et æterni testamenti; mysterium fidei; qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem

26th February 2021

DEMONS AND THE EUCHARIST 27

Catholic Voice

pecatorum. Haec quotiescumque feceritis in mei memoriam facietis (for this is the cup of my Blood, of the new and eternal covenant; the mystery of faith; which will for the many be shed unto the remission of sins. Whensoever you do this, you do it in my memory.)

Then, I heard another sound, this time an undeniable moan and then a shriek as someone cried out, “Leave me alone, Jesus! Why do you torture me?”

Suddenly there was a scuffling noise and someone ran out with the groaning sound of having been injured. The back doors swung open and then closed.

Then silence.

Realisation – I could not turn to look for I was raising the Chalice high over my head. But I knew in an instant that some poor demon-tormented soul had encountered Christ in the Eucharist and could not endure His real presence displayed for all to see. And the words of Scripture occurred to me: Even Demons believe and tremble (James 2:19).

Repentance – But just as James used those words to rebuke the weak faith of his flock, I too had to repent. Why was

a demon-troubled man more aware of the true presence and more astonished by it than I was? He was moved in a negative sense and ran. Why was I not more moved in a positive but comparable way? What of the other believers in the pews? I don’t doubt that all of us believed intellectually in the true presence. But there is something very different and far more wonderful in being moved to the depth of your soul! It is so easy for us to be sleepy in the presence of the Divine, to be forgetful of the miraculous and awesome Presence available to us.

This is startling at first glance, but upon further reflection, makes perfect sense.

The fallen angels absolutely know the true nature of the Eucharist. They have a metaphysical understanding that surpasses merely human knowledge.

Acting like the Eucharist is what we profess it to be — through reverent liturgy, exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, adoration, Corpus Christi processions, and the like — makes a huge difference in our own belief and understanding of this sacred mystery.

LIBERALISM IS A SIN Don Félix Sardà y Salvany: – was

CATECHISM

born on May 21, 1844 in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain. He was a Catholic priest and writer who wrote against Liberalism which he considered a grave sin. He was the editor of the weekly Spanish Catholic magazine ‘La Revista Popular’ for over forty

Holiness Pope Pius X, issued the Encyclical ‘Pascendi Dominici Gregis’ which translates as “Feeding the Lord’s Flock”. Pope Pius X was aware that the Catholic Church had been infiltrated by modernists who were seeking to undermine her doctrines from within.

Father J. B. Lemius, produced this ‘Catechism on Modernism’ in the familiar the age of 71. This book, Liberalism question and answer format is a Sin, is particularly relevant to of the time, in order to make the teachings of the the times we live in today where Liberalism permeates every Encyclical more accessible to ordinary Catholics and aspect of our society and has deeply infiltrated the thinking of by way of explaining in a clear and concise manner the many of the Catholic hierarchy. reasons why the Encyclical was published. years. He died on January 2, 1916 at

Paperback €/£13.50 inc p&p Published by Lumen Fidei Press

Paperback €/£13.50 inc p&p Published by Lumen Fidei Press

To Order please telephone 059 8627268 ROI 00353 598627268 Outside ROI Alternatively, Order Online @ www.lumenfidei.ie/shop

28 LENTEN MEDITATION

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

A Lenten Meditation On The Reality Of Spiritual Warfare Monsignor Charles Pope Every ancient prayer manual and guide to spirituality until about fifty years ago had at least one large section devoted to what was known as Pugna Spiritualis (spiritual battle or spiritual warfare).

In more recent decades, many spiritual books have downplayed or completely deleted references to spiritual battle or spiritual warfare.

Sadly, many modern approaches to faith, religion, and spirituality prefer to emphasise exclusively consoling themes rooted in self-esteem, affirmation, etc. To be sure, the authentic faith can and does offer great consolation, but the truest and deepest consolation often comes after one has persevered along the sometimes-difficult path, along the “narrow way” of the cross.

But too many today, in the name of affirmation and pseudoself-esteem are ready to excuse, and even affirm grave moral disorders, rather than fight them. Grace and mercy are preached, but without reference to the repentance that opens the door to these gifts. Both the possibility of Hell and any consequences of sin, are absent from many modern conceptions of faith and religious practice.

HANDS OFF OUR KIDS

PROTECTING PARENTAL CHOICE IN THE CLASSROOM

This CD of the compelling talk given by Charlotte McQuaid-Bruen at Catholic Voice annual conference 2019, sums up the proposed sex education to be taught across schools in Ireland in 2020. Parents, grandparents, friends, family members and clergy need to be informed about what their children are going to be subjected to.

Please help spread this talk TODAY. 4 CDs inc p&p €20

1 CD inc p&p €7.50

Complete coupon and return with cheque/postal order to The Lumen Fidei Institute, Raith, Aghamore, Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo F35 V127 Name: ...........................................................................................

Address: ........................................................................................ ....................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................

Phone No: .....................................................................................

Please send me ______copies of the CD - ‘Hands off our Kids’ Total Enclosed: € ________ To pay by post with credit/debit card please complete: Card number: ______________________________________ Expiry Date: _________________ C.V.V._______________

Some years ago, I was approached by a rather angry woman who, having heard my sermon on the seriousness of certain sins (which were in the readings of the day), expressed great indignation that I would preach on such topics. She said, “I come to church to be consoled and have my spirits lifted, not to hear old-fashioned warnings about judgment and sins.” She felt quite a “righteous indignation,” and was most certain that I had transgressed a fundamental norm, namely, that religion exists to console, and that any challenge to one’s moral stance, (except perhaps caring for the poor), is intolerant and way out of line.

Indeed, many today have this kind of attitude: that it is their birthright not to be troubled or vexed in any way by something people might say, especially a preacher who claims to represent God! The “God they worship” would never trouble them. They will have Jesus for their consoler and best friend, but not their Lord, and certainly not their judge. And never mind the literally thousands of verses from Scripture in which Jesus himself speaks sternly and warns of sin, death, judgment, and Hell. They will have none of it, and are certain that “the Jesus they know,” would never raise his voice at them or challenge them even for a moment. Never mind that the real Jesus says to take up our cross and follow him.

With spiritual battle having been removed from many people’s spiritual landscape, the idea that the Lord would summon us to battle, or ask us to choose sides, seems strangely foreign, intolerant, and uncompassionate.

Even more dangerous, these modern conceptions not only distort Jesus, but they downplay the presence and influence of Satan. This is a very, very bad idea. Even if we cease fighting against Satan, he will never ceases his sometimes very subtle attacks on us.

Jesus called consistently for prayerful, sober vigilance against the powers of evil and sin. Like it or not, we are in a battle. Either we will soberly and vigilantly undertake the battle, or we will be conquered and led off like sheep to the slaughter.

Despite what modern spiritual approaches would like to eliminate, Christianity has been a militant religion since its inception. Jesus was exposed to every kind of danger from the beginning. Herod sought his life; Satan tried to tempt him in the desert; many enemies plotted on all sides as he worked his public ministry, misrepresenting him, levying false charges, and conspiring to sentence him to death, and eventually even succeeding though only for a moment.

And as for Jesus, so also for his mystical Body the Church: Saul, Saul why do you persecute me!? (Acts 9:4) Jesus warns us that the world would hate us (Luke 21:17; John 15:20); that in this world we would have tribulation (Jn 16:33), and that we should watch and pray lest we give

26th February 2021 way to temptation (Matt 26:41). He summons us to persevere to the end if we would be saved (Mk 13:13). Jesus rather vividly described the kind of struggle with which we live when he said From the time of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force (Matthew 11:12).

Indeed, no Christian until the time that Jesus returns, can consider himself on leave or dismissed from this great spiritual battle, from this great drama that we exist in, this battle between good and evil.

Popular theme or not, we do well to remember that we are in the midst of a great cosmic and spiritual battle. And in that battle, we must be willing to choose sides and fight with the Lord for the Kingdom of God. Either we will gather with him or we will scatter.

We are to fight for our own soul, and the souls of those whom we love.

In the holy week that is about to unfold, we are reminded once again of the great cosmic battle that the Lord waged, and that is still being waged in our time. Though already victorious, in his mystical Body the Church, the Lord in his faithful members still suffers violence, rejection, and ridicule. It is also for us to reclaim territory from the evil one, to take back what the devil stole from us. We are to advance the glory of God’s Kingdom through the fruits of great spiritual struggle, sacrifice, prayer, fasting, preaching, and an extensive missionary campaign to which the Lord has summoned and commissioned us.

The battle is on; the struggle is engaged! To spiritual arms one and all!

Fight the good fight for the Lord.

devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Still not convinced we are at war? Let the Lord pull back the veil just a bit and let you look at what’s really going on. The final words of this article will not be mine; they will be the Lord’s.

Here is described the cosmic battle that is responsible for most of the suffering and confusion you experience:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God day and night has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.

She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.

The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the

Please Help Us To Promote The Five First Saturdays of Reparation Order Some of Our New Five First Saturday Devotions Cards These cards are designed to help people to complete The Five First Saturdays Devotion of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Contact John Lacken 085-1208779 secretary@lumenfidei.ie

LENTEN MEDITATION 29

Catholic Voice

When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.

Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. (Rev 12)

Fatima Prayer

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He Himself is offended, and through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary I beg of thee the conversion of poor sinners. Amen.

30 BOOKS

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH DURING THIS CRISIS BUY CATHOLIC BOOKS! DON’T GO TO HELL Catholic Church Teaching on Hell

THE CHURCH IN OUR TIMES

This book contains three essays, one in question & answer format, from a time when pastors were more direct and ‘plain speaking’ in presenting the Truth of Catholic doctrine to their flocks.

They were primarily concerned with the salvation of the souls entrusted to their care rather than being overly concerned about whether or not their flocks would find these Truths offensive or difficult.

They sought the Praise and Glory of God, and not the praise of men.

is a series of reflections on topical issues concerning the Catholic Church and the practice of the faith ranging from ‘Faith and Culture’, to ‘GLBT – New thinking’, to ‘Purgatory and Remembrance’. Fr Hahesy’s style is conversational and he weaves through the various topics all the while pointing to the soul’s need for God. “The daily prayers at the end of this book, will ensure the salvation of our soul and a happier life here. Please believe me. It does not seem much to ask for such a great reward. To know and love God is the ultimate good whether people know this or not, accept it or not.”

€/£7 inc p&p Ireland €/£8.50 inc p&p outside Ireland

€/£10 inc p&p Ireland €/£12 inc p&p outside Ireland

In this book, Dr. van den Aardweg debunks many of the myths created by the global homosexualist movement. The argument for gay “marriage” is exposed as a deception in this ground breaking book. For many years the public has been indoctrinated with unfounded assertions which in fact are no more than modern fairy tales sold as science. In other words, as regards homosexuality, people hear and read mostly lies. The book explains why the deception is possible and shows why no assertion of the gay ideology has been scientifically validated. €/£9 inc p&p Ireland €/£10.50 inc p&p outside Ireland

SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

EGO EIMI - IT IS I

“May the present book of Rev. Fr. de Malleray FSSP, a beautiful and impressive “paper shrine to the Most Holy Eucharist”, have a wide diffusion and be a practical spiritual aid in order to renew the Catholic Faith, the Catholic Love and the Catholic Worship of the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist.” + Athanasius Schneider.

“This highly readable, informative, and edifying treatise on the Holy Eucharist will enrich the understanding and devotion of Catholics regardless of their prior knowledge of the subject: I recommend it wholeheartedly.” Dr Joseph Shaw PhD,

SCIENCE SAYS NO

This really is a fantastic book which presents Catholic teaching on sin in a simple, clear and precise way. You will learn about the nature of sin, about the different kinds of sin, mortal and venial, formal and material sins.

Reflections on the Abortion Issue in Ireland.

Oxf, Chairman of The Latin Mass Society.

The book also teaches us about sins of omission. After discussing sin, the book then speaks of the great graces offered to us in the sacrament of confession, it teaches us about temptations, about Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, and then it finishes with a very hope filled chapter on the joys of the resurrection.

Many countries, including Ireland, have removed the right to life from the Constitution and given the legislature the power to legalise abortion, which by definition is the intentional killing of the unborn child.

The assumption is that unborn babies have no human rights. The essays in this monograph expose the fallacy that unborn babies do not have the right to life and may be ‘terminated’ if that is the ‘choice’ of the mother. In the New Ireland, human killing is now legal. It is estimated that 800 – 900 unwanted unborn babies are ‘terminated’ every month. Abortion has become the murder machine of our time.”

€/£19 inc p&p Ireland €/£22 inc p&p outside Ireland

€/£10 inc p&p Ireland €/£12 inc p&p outside Ireland

€/£13.50 inc p&p Ireland €/£15 inc p&p outside Ireland

Book Title/s: ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Credit/Debit Card Number: __________________________________________________ Expiry Date: _______________________________

C.V.V. ________________

Total Enclosed: €/£__________________________ Name:

_________________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Post Code: __________________________________ Daytime Tel: ________________________________

Send completed form with cheque/postal order made payable to Catholic Voice or with credit/debit card details to: Catholic Voice, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, Co Kildare, Ireland or telephone 059 8627268 (00353 59862726 8 from outside Ireland) Please allow 14 working days for delivery.

26th February 2021 Catholic Voice CLASSIFIEDS 31

CLASSIFIEDS From Our Lady of Fatima Do you want peace in the world?

Will you do what Our Lady tells you?

Say the Rosary every day.

Do the Five First Saturdays in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Those who spread this devotion will be placed by Our Lady as flowers before the throne of Almighty God. Next issue of

CatholicVoice On sale in churches, newsagents & bookshops from

12 March 2021

TELEPHONE 00353 59 8627268

REGULAR TRADITIONAL LATIN MASSES IN IRELAND (LISTED BY DIOCESE)

DAILY & WEEKLY Armagh: New Mellifont Abbey, Collon, Co. Louth; Every Sunday 3pm.

Cork & Ross: Ss Peter’s & Paul’s, Cork: Sundays 12.00 noon Mon -Sat 10.00am.

Dromore: St.Mary’s, Newry: Sundays and Holydays 09.00.

Dublin: St. Kevin’s, Harrington Street: Sundays & non working Holy Days: 10.30; Mon - Fri 08.00; Sat 09.00.

Working Holidays & First Fridays; 08.00 and 19.00.

Dublin: St. Joseph’s, Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow; Sat 11.00 Limerick: Sacred Heart, The Crescent (ICKSP); Sun10.30; Mon-Thurs 08.00 and 19.00; Friday 19.00; Saturday 08.00 & 12.00 noon.

Meath: Silverstream Priory (Benedictine monks) Stamullen: Sunday 10.00 preceded by Terce, other days 11.00.

Meath: Johnstown, Navan: Sundays 13.00; Holydays as announced.

Ossory: St. Patrick’s, College Rd, Kilkenny; Sundays 17.00.

Raphoe: St. Patrick’s, Drumkeen, Co. Donegal Sundays 11.00am.

Down & Connor: St. Therese of Lisieux, Somerton Rd, Belfast :Sundays at 4pm TWICE MONTHLY Ferns: St. Alphonsus, Barntown, Co Wexford: Second Sunday 17.00 and occasional Third Sundays Derry: St. Columba’s , Longtower: First and Third Sunday 14.00.

Waterford: St. John’s Church, Parnell Street, Waterford City - 1pm on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the Month.

MONTHLY Armagh: St. Patrick’s, Dungannon, Co Tyrone: First Saturday 14.00.

Cork & Ross: St. Francis , Liberty St. Cork : First Saturday 13.00.

Derry: St. Marys, Aughabrack, Co Tyrone: Fourth Sunday 12.45 Elphin: St. John’s, carraoe, Co Sligo ; Last Sunday 15.00.

Killaloe: St. Joseph’s, Ennis, Co Clare: First Sunday 17.30.

Tuam: St. John the Baptist, (Old Parish Church), Knock, Co Mayo; Second Sunday 17.30.

Every effort has been made to ensure this list is up to date. Please contact the Latin Mass Society of Ireland of any changes or errors. email president@latinmassireland.com

Visit our all-new website today!

Mass Cards

Enrollment Books

All Occasion Gifts

It’s now easier than ever to have Mass cards, enrolment books & religious gifts delivered directly to your door.

Web: www.mscmissions.ie Email: info@mscmissions.ie Tel: +353 (0)21 4545704

32 ADVERT

Catholic Voice

26th February 2021

THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS FROM THE IMAGE ON SAINT VERONICA’S VEIL (The veil is kept in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome.)

Published by: Catholic Voice Newspapers, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, County Kildare. Tel 059-8627268 ROI / 00353 - 59 8627268 Publisher: Anthony Murphy.

Layout by: Lumen Fidei