Catholic Voice 7th May 2021 Issue 316

CatholicVoice Omnia possum in eo, qui me confortat

7 May - 20 May 2021

Issue 316

Pray The Rosary Every Day. In The End My Immaculate Heart Will Triumph

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2 EDITORIAL

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

The Irish Synod

Anthony Murphy On 10th March 2021, the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference announced a new Synodal Pathway for the Catholic Church in Ireland leading to the holding of a National Synodal Assembly within the next five years.

The Bishops summarise the purpose of the Synod as: Solidarity, Outreach to the Peripheries and the Promise of a New Pentecost.

They say they will be “listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church in an Ireland faced with rapid transformation.”

In particular the bishops website tells us that the Synod will examine: • Secularisation of Society.

• Shocking Revelations regarding historical abuse.

• The need to promote peacemaking and a culture of welcome.

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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

• Listening to the Cry for Transparency greater participation and accountability in the Church.

• Discovering the Family as “Domestic Church”. We see the tremendous potential for the support and renewal of faith within the family. The restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic prompted a new discovery of the family as the “domestic Church”.

• Connecting with Young People.

• Honouring the Contribution of Women - the critical need to honour the contribution of women, to hear their deep concerns, to formally recognise their roles and articulate new models of co-responsibility and leadership involving all lay people – women and men.

Action - for an example of this see John Lacken’s article on page 17. This is a good example of the importance of Catholic Action and shows that Catholics on the ground can achieve change for good and that shepherds will listen to the heartfelt and respectful pleas for fidelity. It shows that even in these difficult times we must never give up fighting for the Truth - read it and be encouraged to do similar in your parish or diocese.

In other words it the Synod will be a checklist for the progressive agenda to secularise the Church and is likely to promote ideas such as the ordination of women (dressed up as female deacons), the recognition of same sex couples etc.

“One cannot escape making clear that sexual acts between people of the same sex are intrinsically evil, as are all sexual acts which are not marital acts and are not open to the gift of motherhood and fatherhood,” he explained to the National Catholic Register.

It does not appear to be willing to address the serious problems facing the Church in Ireland such as the lack of meaningful Catechesis, the poor formation of many Catholics, the decline in Mass attendance, the lack of a serious vocations programme etc.

While it would be imprudent to judge the outcome of the Synod early indications and recent pronouncements of some bishops are not encouraging. We will monitor developments as they occur.

Catholic Action On a positive note this issue of Catholic Voice shows what can be done when faithful and well formed Catholics are motivated to Catholic

It’s “Not An Act of Charity” to Withhold the Truth - Cardinal There is “no need” to modify the statement in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the morality of homosexual acts, Utrecht Cardinal Willem Eijk, of the Netherlands, a trained physician, has said.

Homosexual acts, he added, are against nature, that is, against God’s created order. He reminds that the Church’s teaching stems from Holy Scripture and is “unchangeable” because it has been taught throughout the whole Tradition of the Church.

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EDITORIAL 3

7th May 2021 Catholic Voice His Eminence clarifies that it is “not an act of charity” to withhold the truth on God’s created order and thus on the moral natural law, because this hinders people from following Christ.

It is likely that the Cardinal will be persecuted for proclaiming the truth because the Western “democracies” don’t allow freedom of expression when it comes to the all powerful LGBT lobby.

Irish Priests Under Penal Laws Once Again The government sponsored suppression of our faith continues and while we may see a return to public worship at some point in May it is clear from government announcements that restrictions on numbers will remain in place for the foreseeable future. As we go to press it looks likely that attendance at Mass will be limited to 50 people regardless of the size of the church - this is utter nonsense. If restrictions are still necessary then the numbers allowrd to attend must be in accord with existing social distancing rules meaning that it would be possible for our larger churches to allow hundreds of worshippers in a safe manner.

In the meantime the persecution of faithful priests and catholics continues. There is a video on social media showing the heavy handed tactics of An Garda Siochana in Athlone. Young American priest Father Patrick Kimball was asked to leave his confessional at the Corpus Christi Church in Athlone where he was confessing a small number of people and offering Mass ( the crime of 2021). The Garda then proceeded to make their presence felt disrupting the small number of people who were praying after Mass and demanding that they leave the church - the scene looked more like something one would expect in North Korea and was totally unnecessary.

Meanwhile, Bishop Athanasius Schneider is sending his support to Irish Catholics who gather for Rosary rallies in front of their churches in defiance of the regime which has made attendance at Mass a “criminal offence.”

Bishop Schneider who grew up under communist persecution says that the current suppression of Mass by the Irish government is “tyrannic” and “draconian.”

For him, it is clear that such a “systematic suppression of the Holy Mass exceeds the mere health safety.”

He hails the “heroic example” of Irish Catholics who during the time of the Penal laws clandestinely celebrated Mass all over the island. Let us pray that Irish bishops join him in encouraging Catholics to avail of the sacraments and resist the persecution of secular authorities.

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4 FATIMA - MAY 13TH 1917

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

May 13th, 1917 - Fatima

May, the month of flowers, follows the long April rains that wash the face of mother earth after her long winter sleep. Then God covers the world with jewels more beautiful than any precious stones. What can be more beautiful than the dainty, many-colored flowers of May? On Sunday, the thirteenth of May, in the year 1917, during the midst of the First World War, God sent to earth the loveliest flower of the ages, His own beautiful Mother, Mary, Whom we address as Queen of the May. On that day the children went to early Mass.

“Heaven forbid,” Senhora Marto said, “that we should ever miss hearing Mass on Sundays, whether it rained or thundered or even if I were nursing my babies. Sometimes we had to go to Boleiros, Atouguia or Santa Catarina, almost six miles journey. I had to get up early and leave everything in my husband’s care. He would go to a later Mass.

We could not take the babies with us when they were little, for then, neither we nor anyone else in church would have been able to hear Mass. Babies look like angels, but they don’t act like angels.”

Returning from Mass, the mother packed the children’s lunches and sent them off with the sheep.

This day Lucia and her little cousins met as usual at the small bog, beyond the village, called the Barreiro, on the way to Gouveia, whence they proceeded to the Cova da Iria.

Because the ground was rocky and filled with so much brush, they crossed it very slowly. It was almost noon before they reached their chosen spot. When they heard the church bells summoning the people to the last Mass they knew it was time for lunch. So they opened

Jacinta Marto - Lucia de Jesus dos Santos - Francisco Marto

their bags and ate, as usual saving a little for later on.

Their meal finished, they sped through their Rosary and then chased the sheep up the hill. Their game today would be building, making castles out of the rocks. Francisco was the mason and architect, Lucia and Jacinta gathered the stones.

While they were thus busily intent upon their building projects, a sudden bright shaft of light pierced the air. In their efforts to describe it they called it a flash of lightning.

Frightened, they dropped their stones, looked first at each other, then at the sky which was clear and bright without the least spot of a cloud. No breeze stirred the air, the sun was shining strong.

Such perfect weather belied this flash of lightning, the forerunner of a storm. The children decided that they had better start for home before it rained. Quickly they gathered the sheep and started down the hill. Half way down, just as they were passing a tall oak tree, another shaft of light split the air.

Panicky with fear, and as if led by

some unknown power, they took a few steps, turned towards the right, and there, standing over the foliage of a small holm oak they saw a most beautiful Lady.

“It was a Lady dressed all in white,” Lucia records, “more brilliant than the sun, shedding rays of light, clear and stronger than a crystal glass filled with the most sparkling water, pierced by the burning rays of the sun.”

“Fear not!” the Lady said, “I will not harm you.”

“Where are You from?” Lucia made bold to ask.

“I am from Heaven,” the beautiful Lady replied, gently raising Her hand towards the distant horizons.

“What do You want of me?” Lucia humbly asked.

“I come to ask you to come here for six consecutive months, on the thirteenth day, at this same hour.

I will tell you later who I am and what I want. And I shall return here again a seventh time.”

7th May 2021 Catholic Voice “And I, am I, too, going to go to Heaven?” Lucia asked.

“Yes, you shall,” the Lady assured her.

“And Jacinta?”

“Yes.” “And Francisco?”

“He too shall go, but he must say many Rosaries,” the Lady responded.

Lucia asked some more questions of the Lady. Two girls who used to come to her house to learn sewing from her sisters had recently died.

Lucia wanted to find out about them, too.

“And Maria do Rosario, daughter of José das Neves, is she in Heaven?”

“Yes,” the Lady replied.

“And Amelia?”

“She is still in Purgatory.”

Lucia’s eyes filled with tears. How sad, that her friend Amelia was suffering in the fires of Purgatory.

Then the Lady said to the children:

“This light penetrated us to the heart,” Lucia reported, “even in its deepest recesses, and allowed us to see ourselves in God, Who was that light, more clearly than we see ourselves in a mirror. Then we were moved by an inward impulse, also communicated to us, to fall on our knees, while we repeated to ourselves: “O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee; my God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”

FATIMA - MAY 13TH 1917 5 them grazing upon the sparse grass under the shade of the holm oaks.

They noticed that the vegetables in the garden were not even touched.

They were ever so happy, and grateful to the Lady for Her caring for the sheep, and thereby sparing them punishment at home; but their joy was supreme and beyond all description for having seen the exquisitely beautiful Mother of God. She was so wonderful, so lovely!

“Say the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world and the end of the war.”

They felt the same joy now as when the Angel visited them, only when the Angel came, they felt a sort of annihilation before his presence; whereas, with Our Lady, they received strength and courage.

“She began then to elevate Herself serenely,” Lucia said, “going in the direction of the East until She disappeared in the immensity of space, still surrounded by a most brilliant light that seemed to open a path for Her through the myriad galaxies of stars.”

“Instead of bodily exhaustion, we felt a certain physical strength,” Lucia described her reaction. “In place of annihilation before the Divine Presence, we felt exultation and joy; in place of difficulty in speaking we felt a certain communicative enthusiasm.”

The children stood riveted to the spot for some time, their eyes fastened on the skies where they last saw the Lady. Gradually they returned to themselves, and looking around for the sheep, they found

Chapter 3 of ‘The True Story of Fatima - A complete account of the Fatima Apparitions’, by Father John de Marchi I.M.C. Fr de Marchi spent several years in Fatima researching this book and met with Sr Lucia.

Again the Lady spoke to them,

“Do you want to offer yourselves to God to endure all the sufferings that He may choose to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners?”

Promptly Lucia responded for all three, “Yes, we want to.”

“Then you are going to suffer a great deal,” the Lady promised, “but the grace of God will be your comfort.”

As She pronounced these words, the Lady opened Her hands and shed upon the children an intensely bright light, that penetrated the innermost depths of their souls.

The Parish Church of Fatima where the Children were Baptised - Photo Credit Vitor Oliveira

6 OUR LADY’S LITANIES

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

The Litany Of The Blessed Virgin Canon James T. Hoogerwerf I.C.K.S.P.

The month of May has long been known by the faithful as the month of Mary. During this beautiful month, the faithful turn to their heavenly Mother, decking her altars with their floral offerings and trying to reignite the fervour of their love for her by being more faithful to their devotions. Other than the recitation of the Most Holy Rosary and the singing of Marian hymns and antiphons, one of the best loved devotions in honour of Our Lady is the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Litany of Loreto because the Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto seems to be at the source of this pious practice.

“Litany” comes from the Greek word ‘lite’ meaning prayer or supplication. The litanies are a series of petitions with a recurring response used by the Church in public devotions, as well as by the faithful to supplement their private prayers. All litanies find the origin of their form in Psalm 135, sung every Thursday evening at Vespers. This Psalm, ‘Confitemini Domino’, is itself a litany, consisting of twenty-five invocations

and attributes of the Almighty with a recurring response: “for His mercy endureth forever.”

The earliest litanies in honour of the Virgin can be traced to the middle ages. They were evidently written solely for private devotion as they were extremely verbose and complex. Each begins with a series of invocations addressed to the Holy Trinity, followed by a series of in-vocations addressed to the Blessed Virgin: repeating Sancta Maria followed by a lengthy title in her honour and ending with Ora pro nobis.

Like the Litany of the Saints which was clearly at the origin of the Litany of Our Lady, these litanies ended with a series of intercessory in-vocations. These early litanies, however, were not usually based on Sacred Scripture or the Church Fathers, but rather on popular medieval poetry.

Towards the fifteenth century at Venice a shorter litany using the same form as our current Litany of Loreto began to be used publicly in times of danger and public calamity. This litany, after the invocations in honour of the Trinity, invokes Our Lady under three different aspects: Mater‒as Mother, Virgo‒as Virgin, Regina‒as Queen. This litany was much more sim-ple, structured, and, while including invocations from previous litanies, incorporated new titles which are strongly rooted in Sacred Scripture and their interpretation by the Church Fathers. This litany, with slight variants began to be widely circulated and is almost identical to that of today, other than the titles that have been gradually added by the Popes over the centuries.

It is this litany that began to be sung publicly at the Holy House of Loreto every Saturday. With the great influx of pilgrims to this sanctuary, the litany became more widely known. By a bull dated 11 July, 1587, Pope Sixtus V, who had a great devotion to Our Lady of Loreto, officially sanctioned the Litany of Loreto and the Litany of Holy Name of Jesus for public use in the Church. Due to popular enthusiasm for the litanic form of prayer, a great number of litanies began to appear, many including dubious titles and theological errors. Lex orandi, lex credendi — the law of prayer is the law of belief. In order to protect the faith, Clement VII prohibited the publication of these new litanies and encouraged the use of those officially sanctioned by the Church.

Many of the titles of the Blessed Mother seem strange to us: Mirror of Justice, Tower of David, Ark of the

7th May 2021

OUR LADY’S LITANIES 7

Catholic Voice

Covenant, Gate of Heaven, etc. At first glance, they seem to have nothing to do with Our Blessed Lady.

However, we must realise that all of these titles are deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture, especially the Book of Wisdom of the Old Testament. When looking at the Bible, one must always follow the interpretation of the Church Fathers as being the most sure. We must also keep in mind the adage of St. Augustine: “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old is unveiled in the New.” With this key to biblical interpretation we can see how a verse like Wisdom VII, 26: For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God’s majesty, and the image of His goodness, can be applied to Our Lady and be at the origin of her title “Mirror of Justice.” These titles are based on Old Testament descriptions and images of the Blessed Mother.

During the course of the the month dedicated to her, during this anniversary year of her appearance at Fatima, let us piously recite the Litany, reflecting on each invocation and begging her, the Refuge of Sinners and Comforter of the Afflicted, to shower down an ocean of graces on our families, our country, the Church and the entire world.

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8 100 QUESTIONS

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

100 Questions Jesus Asked and You Should Answer Monsignor Charles Pope

One of the bigger mistakes one can make is to read Scripture as a spectator, treating it as merely a collection of stories and events that took place thousands of years ago.

While these are historical accounts, they are much more than that.

Truth be told, these ancient stories are our stories. We are in the narrative. We are Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Deborah, Jeremiah, Ruth, Peter, Paul, Magdalene, Mother Mary, and, if we are prepared to accept it, Jesus. We cannot simply read about what others said or did.

For what Peter and Magdalene and others did, we do. Peter denied and ran; so do we. Magdalene loved and never gave up; so should we.

Magdalene had a sinful past and a promising future; so do we. Peter was passionate and had a temper; so do we. But Peter also loved the Lord and ultimately gave his life for the Him; so can we. Jesus suffered and died but rose again and ascended to glory; so have we and so will we.

The Scriptures are our own story. To read scripture as a mere spectator is to miss the main point.

In the light of this, there emerges another key to unlocking the meaning of the Scriptures: Answer the questions! One of the many

Jesus in the Temple - Heinrich Hofmann (1824 - 1911) things Jesus did was to ask a lot of questions. Whenever you read the Gospels and Jesus asks a question of someone, answer it. Do not wait to see how Peter, or Magdalene, or the Pharisees, or the crowd respond.

You answer the question, in your own words. This brings Scripture powerfully alive.

In 2000, John Marshall, bishop of Burlington, Vermont (and later of Springfield, Massachusetts) compiled a book: But Who Do You Say That I Am? In it, he presented a list of all the questions that Jesus asked in the Gospels, encouraging readers to answer each of them.

Along with each question, Bishop Marshall adds a brief commentary and some additional Bible verses to provide context. I have selected 100 of the questions in the book and listed them below. While it is not the complete list, it should certainly provide sufficient food for thought.

In the list below, I have shown the question itself along with a reference to the verse in which it can be found. But unless you really think it necessary, avoid looking it up at first. Let the question meet

you where you are right now. It may mean something for you that is very different from its original context, but that is OK. Answer each question prayerfully and reflectively. Just pick a question, consider it, and answer it by talking to the Lord.

100 questions that Jesus asked and which you must answer: 1. And if you greet your brethren only, what is unusual about that? Do not the unbelievers do the same? (Matt 5:47) 2. Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan? (Matt 6:27) 3. Why are you anxious about clothes? (Matt 6:28) 4. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye yet fail to perceive the wooden beam in your own? (Matt 7:2) 5. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? (Matt 7:16) 6. Why are you terrified? (Matt 8:26) 7. Why do you harbour evil thoughts? (Matt 9:4) 8. Can the wedding guests mourn so long as the Bridegroom is with them? (Matt 9:15)

7th May 2021

100 QUESTIONS 9

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9. Do you believe I can do this?

(Matt 9:28) 10. What did you go out to the desert to see? (Matt 11:8) 11. To what shall I compare this generation? (Matt 11:6) 12. Which of you who has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not take hold of it and lift it out? (Matt 12:11) 13. How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and take hold of his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? (Matt 12:29) 14. You brood of vipers! How can you say good things when you are evil? (Matt 12:34) 15. Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? (Matt 12:48) 16. Why did you doubt? (Matt 14:31) 17. And why do you break the commandments of God for the sake of your tradition? (Matt 15:3) 18. How many loaves do you have?

(Matt 15:34) 19. Do you not yet understand?

(Matt 16:8) 20. Who do people say the Son of Man is? (Matt 16:13) 21. But who do you say that I am?

(Matt 16:15) 22. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and

forfeit his life and what can one give in exchange for his life?

(Matt 16:26) 23. O faithless and perverse generation, how long must I endure you? (Matt 17:17) 24. Why do you ask me about what is good? (Matt 19:16) 25. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? (Matt 20:22) 26. What do you want me to do for you? (Matt 20:32) 27. Did you never read the scriptures? (Matt 21:42) 28. Why are you testing me? (Matt 22:18) 29. Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? … Which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? (Matt 23:17-19) 30. How are you to avoid being sentenced to hell? (Matt 23:33) 31. Why do you make trouble for the woman? (Matt 26:10) 32. Could you not watch for me one brief hour? (Matt 26:40) 33. Do you think I cannot call upon my Father and He will not provide me at this moment with more than 12 legions of angels?

(Matt 26:53)

34. Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? (Matt 26:53) 35. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt 27:46) 36. Why are you thinking such things in your heart? (Mark 2:8) 37. Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed, rather than on a lamp stand?

(Mark 4:21) 38. Who has touched my clothes?

(Mark 5:30) 39. Why this commotion and weeping? (Mark 5:39) 40. Are even you likewise without understanding? (Mark 7:18) 41. Why does this generation seek a sign? (Mark 8:12) 42. Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and still not see? Ears and not hear? (Mark 8:17-18) 43. How many wicker baskets full of leftover fragments did you pick up? (Mark 8:19) 44. [To the blind man] Do you see anything? (Mark 8:23) 45. What were you arguing about on the way? (Mark 9:33) 46. Salt is good, but what if salt becomes flat? (Mark 9:50)

Catholic Voice Update Dear Readers, During these unprecedented times we are determined to continue publishing Catholic Voice. Like so many of you we are also facing ongoing challenges during this time. Kim has been back in hospital after a set back in her progress and we ask for your continued prayer and financial support which 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.

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10 100 QUESTIONS

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47. What did Moses command you? (Mark 10:3) 48. Do you see these great buildings? They will all be thrown down. (Mark 13:2) 49. Simon, are you asleep? (Mark 14:37) 50. Why were you looking for me? (Luke 2:49) 51. What are you thinking in your hearts? (Luke 5:22) 52. Why do you call me “Lord, Lord” and not do what I command? (Luke 6:46) 53. Where is your faith? (Luke 8:25) 54. What is your name? (Luke 8:30) 55. Who touched me? (Luke 8:45) 56. Will you be exalted to heaven? (Luke 10:15) 57. What is written in the law? How do you read it?

(Luke 10:26) 58. Which of these three in your opinion was neighbour to the robbers’ victim? (Luke 10:36) 59. Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? (Luke 11:40) 60. Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbiter? (Luke 12:14) 61. If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? (Luke 12:26) 62. Why do you not judge for yourself what is right?

(Luke 12:57) 63. What king, marching into battle, would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king marching upon him with twenty thousand troops? (Luke 14:31) 64. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? (Luke 16:11) 65. Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God? (Luke 17:18) 66. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? (Luke 18:7) 67. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth? (Luke 18:8) 68. For who is greater, the one seated at table or the one who serves? (Luke 22:27) 69. Why are you sleeping? (Luke 22:46) 70. For if these things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? (Luke 23:31) 71. What are you discussing as you walk along?

(Luke 24:17) 72. Why are you so terrified and why do such thoughts arise in your hearts? (Luke 24:26) 73. Have you anything here to eat? (Luke 24:41) 74. What are you looking for? (John 1:38) 75. How does this concern of your affect me? (John 2:4) 76. You are a teacher in Israel and you do not understand this? (John 3: 10)

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7th May 2021

77. If I tell you about earthly things and you will not believe, how will you believe when I tell you of heavenly things? (John 3: 12) 78. Do you want to be well? (John 5:6) 79. How is it that you seek praise from one another and not seek the praise that comes from God? (John 5:44) 80. If you do not believe Moses’ writings, how will you believe me? (John 5:47) 81. Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?

(John 6:5) 82. Does this (teaching of the Eucharist) shock you?

(John 6:61) 83. Do you also want to leave me? (John 6:67) 84. Why are you trying to kill me? (John 7:19) 85. Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? (John 8:10) 86. Why do you not understand what I am saying?

(John 8:43) 87. Can any of you charge me with sin? (John 8:46) 88. If I am telling you the truth, why do you not believe me? (John 8:46) 89. Are there not twelve hours in a day? (John 11:9) 90. Do you believe this? (John 11:26) 91. Do you realise what I have done for you? (John 13:12) 92. Have I been with you for so long and still you do not know me? (John 14:9) 93. Whom are you looking for? (John 18:4) 94. Shall I not drink the cup the Father gave me? (John 18:11) 95. If I have spoken rightly, why did you strike me?

(John 18:23) 96. Do you say [what you say about me] on your own or have others been telling you about me? (John 18:34) 97. Have you come to believe because you have seen me? (John 20:29) 98. Do you love me? (John 21:16) 99. What if I want John to remain until I come? (John 21:22) 100. What concern is it of yours? (John 21:22) After all this you might have a few questions for God!

7th May 2021

LETTERS 11

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Letters

Send your letters to: Letters Page, Catholic Voice, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, Co Kildare or email to letters@catholicvoice.ie

Courage

No Interest In Souls

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

I would like to reply to your (anonymous) reader’s letter in the Catholic Voice of 23rd April 2021 entitled “Courage Courage Courage”.

Bishop Deenihan has stated that criminalising Massgoers sets a worrying precedent. His statement confirms a trend, one which has been emerging over decades.

The souls entrusted to their care have not been given Christ’s teaching, teaching that would have encouraged them to fight the evil that is upon us, but those souls have often been given what is contrary to Christ’s teaching, as with the Archbishop of Dublin’s recent interview on RTÉ; and the fact that he goes further than the Government in restricting religious activities and the most recent statement by the Bishop of Achonry.

How very wide off the mark you were. Your letter would be comical if the subject were not so serious.

Mentioning “courage” in the context of your letter was very wrong. The meaning of courage (as an example) would be to face up to an ordeal, an ordeal such as has been imposed on us Roman Catholics by the God-haters in the Government of Ireland. To have courage means to fight the enemy. In this case the enemy is the one who has taken away our God-given right to worship and honour God in His house. Courage is taking up the (spiritual) sword, like St Michael, and TELLING the heathen at every opportunity that you have no intention of obeying their blasphemous regulations which have caused untold spiritual damage and already sent many confused souls to the land of misery, darkness and everlasting horror – Hell.

You received the Sacrament of Confirmation I presume.

Therefore, imprinted on your soul, is an indelible spiritual mark, which is the Sign that Our Lord has marked you as a Christian with the Seal of His Spirit.

You were then clothed with power from on high so that you may be His witness. Furthermore, as part of your identity, you became a soldier which meant that you are expected to engage in spiritual warfare and you are obliged to go out into the battle and be on the offensive.

You (rightly) criticised the bishops for being “cowed”.

Certainly, they have failed us as so-called Shepherds.

“The congregation stood around outside the church door, social distancing and masked”, you told us. You did so because clueless non-believers told you to do so. As a so-called Soldier of Christ you obediently remained cowed and hidden in the trenches instead of (by the Grace of God) fighting with all your might. And you thought you were attending Mass? The absurdity of the routine of that congregation is bordering on the grotesque. You said the celebrant was “courageous”.

Did he remind everyone that they should kneel for the Consecration? Did he remind everyone that they should kneel for Holy Communion? From your description it is very doubtful.

Attend first to the things of God, not to the world.

Finally, if you wish to attend Mass – for the Honour and Glory of God – then GO to Mass. There you will find yourself in the company of Our Blessed Lady’s Nine Choirs of Holy Angels who are the holy spirits courageously taking on the demons and defending God. Paudy McMahon, Youghal, Co Cork.

The Bishops have used their authority to encourage their flock to vote YES in Referenda that were damaging to Christians, or they were silent when they should have spoken out, as in the Abortion Referendum. Those who want to eradicate Christianity from Ireland, know they have nothing to fear from the Bishops.

It is not too far–fetched to say that the Bishops of Ireland are happy to have the Government ban the Mass. The Bishops have shown, for a long time now, that they have had no interest in the souls of their flock, but have shown, by their actions, that they are using the authority, given to them by God, to lead souls away from God. No matter how bad things may look, the Catholic Church is still the True Church, and we should stay within it, and stay close to Our Blessed Lady.

David Kelly Dublin.

Holy Communion Dear Editor, Regarding the Statement On The Reception of Holy Communion by Those Who Persist in Public Grave Sin, by Cardinal Burke... surely it’s long past the time that the Bishops of Ireland make a Public Declaration to those Politicians and other Public Figures, that continuing to advocate for Abortion and policies which violate the dignity of human life, Will Mean The Denial Of Holy Communion.

It is a scandal on the Church and to the Faithful in Ireland that this is allowed to continue.

Donal Deeney, Derry.

12 IRELAND’S LOYALTY TO THE MASS

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

But He That Shall Persevere To The End, He Shall Be Saved John Lacken

In these dark times, where evil abounds, let us pray earnestly for our bishops that their eyes will be opened and that they will finally realise that we are in the midst of a persecution of the Catholic Church rather than being in the midst of a pandemic.

Let us pray that they will begin to act accordingly.

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.

Let me begin with a little story.

A weary bishop, fatigued by the continuing struggles with Covid-19 regulations, decided to climb a local mountain to see if he could converse directly with God as Moses had done in times past.

The day was overcast and the mountain was covered in mist and at times the climb was very difficult.

Several times he stumbled and lost his footing on loose rocks. Finally, after a long and arduous climb, he broke through the mist and the clouds and was enveloped in warm sunshine. He cried out, ‘Oh God, where art Thou in our time of trouble?’

The Lord answered, ‘Here I am, how can I help you’.

The bishop, taken aback, stammered, ‘Lord, we are struggling, and it feels that you are very distant, that, forgive me for saying it, perhaps, that you do not care’ The Lord answered, ‘I have sent a plague among you because your people have grown distant from me.

Jesus Raises Jairus’s Daughter - James Tissot (1836 - 1902)

They have passed laws which offend my teaching on marriage. They have passed laws which offend the sanctity of human life. They corrupt the innocence of children, even in the Catholic schools. Therefore I have sent them a punishment in order to bring them back to me and to my ways. What have you done to show them the error of their ways?’

The bishop now prostrated himself and beat upon his breast. ‘Lord, I did not realise that this was Your doing.

We have closed Your Churches. We have denied Your people access to You in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We have restricted the Sacraments and even removed the Holy Water which is blessed in Your name. We have done everything to comply with the unjust government regulations, in fact, we have gone beyond what they require in the hope that our government will allow us to return to public worship’ And Jesus wept and said to the bishop, ‘Why are you so fearful, Oh

you of little faith’. ‘Have you not read of how I cleansed the Lepers of how I cast out demons and brought dead men to life? Have you not read of how I calmed the storms at sea?

Have you not read my response to the disciples when they failed to cast the demon out of the boy whose father implored their help? What I said to disciples then, I say now to you. You suffer because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, remove from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you. Go back down to your people and believe in Me truly present in the most Holy Sacrifice of the altar.

Then, open up the Churches and let My people come unto Me.’ This is just a story but I imagine that there is much truth in it. I have been looking at our bishops reactions to the Irish Government’s Statutory Instrument 171, passed on 12th April, which confirms that publicly offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is

7th May 2021

Catholic Voice

IRELAND’S LOYALTY TO THE MASS 13

illegal in this country. Our bishops are reacting to this as if it is something new, when, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has effectively been illegal for all of the year 2021 and for much of the year 2020.

Our bishops have closed the Catholic Churches in Ireland on account of previous government Statutory Instruments and they have fully co-operated with the unjust legal restrictions that have banned Catholics from worshipping God. As I have said before, it is not the politicians who have prevented us from attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for they do not have the keys to our Catholic Churches, rather it is our bishops, through their lack of Faith in Jesus Christ, who have denied us access to the only One that matters.

We must pray for our bishops so that Christ’s words to the Pharisees will not be uttered to them.

“But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, for you yourselves do not enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter.” (Matthew 23:13) They have denied us access to Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Do they not realise that this same Jesus is He who can cure any and all illness? Do they not believe that this same Jesus has the power to cast out demons, and that it is He who gives us eternal life? Our bishops have put the health of the body, above the health of the soul. They have concerned themselves with the things of this world and have neglected the things of Heaven.

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I beg pardon of Thee for all those that do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee. Amen.

Angel to the Children of Fatima 1916

Mass in a Connemara Cabin - Aloysius O’Kelly (1853 - 1936)

I have been reading a book recently that some Irish people have managed to get back into print, and I am delighted to be able to offer our readers and supporters a complimentary copy of this book - ‘Ireland’s Loyalty to the Mass’ , - with any donation towards our work in The Lumen Fidei Institute. To obtain your copy, simply fill out and return the form at the end of this article with your donation. We are very grateful for your support of our mission to promote, to defend, to teach and to help Catholics to live out their great calling as Children of God and we rely on your donations to keep us going.

• • • • • •

The book looks at the historical response of the Irish people to the continued efforts of the enemies of the Irish people who, over many years, have sought to suppress the Catholic Mass in Ireland.

“The Mass is the very means He has given us to enable us to join with Him, and to share with Him in the Sacrifice of the Cross.

Written by a Father Augustine, O.F.M.Cap., it contains the following chapters.

• • • • •

England’s breach with Rome The undermining of the Mass The Mass under Elizabeth The Mass under James I The Mass under Charles I

Cromwell and the Mass The Mass after the restoration Mass in the penal times The Hidden saints of the Mass It is the Mass that Matters Still their spirit walks abroad.

The following quote from Archbishop Michael Sheehan, Coadjutor Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney in Australia from 1922-1937, is included at the beginning of the book.

“The Mass is superior even to the Abiding Presence of our Blessed Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament...

“The Mass...is the very life of the Church, the secret of her holiness and vitality. No wonder that the spirits of darkness should have inspired the heretic with hatred for the Mass, for they know that when they strike at the Mass, they strike at the heart of the Church.”

The suppression of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is nothing

14 IRELAND’S LOYALTY TO THE MASS new in Ireland, and in our day, our enemies have simply decided to use another approach, which is proving to be highly successful, in their efforts to suppress the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. All previous efforts to suppress the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in Ireland failed. Let us earnestly pray that, despite their current success in closing our churches, they will not be successful is destroying the Catholic Faith in Ireland. Let us pray that the current generation of Catholics in Ireland will be equally steadfast in remaining loyal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The book tells us about Sir William Drury, president of Munster, who hanged four hundred people in one year and who wrote to Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth’s Principal Secretary in the year 1577 about the people of Waterford.

“In spite of all his [Drury’s] terrorism, and notwithstanding that they acknowledged Elizabeth as Head of the State, he has to admit that “Masses infinite they have in their several churches every morning.” But what seems to anger him most is that they not only have their Masses in public churches in defiance of the law, but that they seem to frequent them “without any fear” whatever. Fired with the zeal of Saul in his most fanatical days, he then glories in the fact that he had “spied them”, and being an early riser in pursuance of this lordly work, he arrived on “Sunday at five in the morning and saw them resort out of the churches by heaps.”

Let us take note of how the people of Waterford, when faced with persecution for practising their Catholic Faith, responded to the unjust laws of the past which sought to prevent them from attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Waterford people, with the support of their bishop, defied those unjust laws and attended the Holy Sacrifice even though to do so could lead to a cruel death.

Catholic Voice

Let Irish Catholics take courage and inspiration from these heroic witnesses and let us honour the Waterford and other Irish Martyrs who died because of their loyalty to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We appeal to our bishops to once again open up the Catholic Churches of Ireland so that the Catholics of Ireland can once again worship Almighty God as He Himself wishes to be worshipped.

Let our Irish Bishops contemplate the fate of the Irish bishops who went before them to see if their own current strategy of government appeasement is correct and if it will lead to a deeper love for the Catholic faith and to a deeper love for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

“In August, 1579, at Kilmallock, a strong garrison town, Dr. Patrick O’Hely of the Franciscan Order, Bishop of Mayo, and a brother Franciscan,. named Fr Conor O’Rourke, fell into the hands of the savage Drury who, tow years previously, had complained of “Masses infinite” being attended by crowds of people “without any fear”.

Having no love for priests he was well known to have a special antipathy to Friars, and on this occasion, two of the terrible tribe were brought before him.

Interrogated as to their character, they confessed boldly that they had been sent by Pope Gregory XIII., and that their only business was to advance the Catholic religion and to save souls. As a result, they received the full measure of his hatred, and the frequent regard of their calling. Condemning them to the rack, he had needles thrust under their nails, and their legs and arms broken with hammers.

After this, they were hanged upon a tree, where their bodies were left suspended for four days as targets for the bullets of the soldiers. But in fulfilment of the prophecy that the bishop had uttered on his way to execution, Drury died fourteen

7th May 2021

days later, in great agony, in the city of “Masses infinite without any fear.”

When we read how these brave priests and bishops stood strong in the face of such cruel tyranny and bore proud witness to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, it is difficult to understand the seemingly cowardly approach of the bishops and many of the priests of our day who go to great lengths, sanitising their hands before the ever present cameras and wearing face masks whilst celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in an effort to show just how willing they are to comply with unjust government restrictions on Catholic worship.

Do these men really believe that such abasement in front of the government will win them respect?

After enduring the reign of Elizabeth I, of James I and of Charles I, the Irish people were then faced with the wrath of Oliver Cromwell who had a particular hatred of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. ‘Ireland’s Loyalty to the Mass’ tells us.

“The very life-blood of the nation was ebbing fast. It seemed at last that the end was approaching, but the end was not yet! The hour of deepest gloom became the hour of greatest splendour, and the grave peril to the Faith in the Oath of Abjuration was the signal for a grand exhibition of devotion on the part of the priests.

Forth from their hiding-places they came, and went fearlessly from house to house exhorting rich and poor to despise temporal possessions, to think of eternal rewards, and to remember that “the suffering of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come.” These words cheered the hearts of the people, roused their spirit of faith, and brought out the perfect Christian mentality which actuated them to such a wonderful degree, that, instead of murmuring

7th May 2021

Catholic Voice

against their hard fate, they were, like the Apostles “rejoicing.. to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.” They even declared themselves willing to face every torture rather than subscribe to the impious oath that required them to repudiate the doctrines which had been handed down to them from the days of St. Patrick, and to which their forefathers had clung with every fibre of their being.”

The book then tells us of a dramatic incident in Cork where all the Catholics of the county were summoned to the city to take the Oath of Abjuration. They were brought into one of the Churches and a young man asked the magistrates to read out the Oath in the Irish language so that the people could fully understand what they were being asked to swear.

The story is related in the book as follows, “as the awful words fell from the lips of the crier, the people were numbed with horror, Contact: John Lacken Tel: 085-1208779 E-mail: secretary@lumenfidei.ie

IRELAND’S LOYALTY TO THE MASS 15

and when he had finished, just for a few moments which seemed hours, all was silent as the tomb.

Then rang out the vibrant voice of the radiant youth, looking towards the sanctuary: “And what is the penalty for those who refuse the oath?” “The loss of two-thirds of their goods,” replied one of the magistrates. ”Well then,” added the young man, smiling “all that I possess is six pounds. Take four of them; with the two that remain and the blessing of God, my family and myself will subsist. I reject your oath.”

The contemptuous energy injected into these last words, the angry face, the blazing eyes, the flinging gesture of the right hand — all were noticed by a poor peasant who stood quite near. Swept away with admiration, he shouted out: “Brave fellow, to reject the oath!”

The words were electric. Every heart was kindled, and from rank to rank and mouth to mouth, ran the heartening cry: “Reject the oath — the impious oath.”



The church shook with the imperious order; it echoed loudly on the streets outside; and for half and hour there was no cessation to this glorious din of near 6,000 voices.

The magistrates were dumb with terror, as if the building had been riven asunder. Then, recovering, they rose in their seats, ordered the assembly to disperse, and everyone of them , under pain of death, to leave the city within an hour.”

Let us take courage in this our own time of trial, from those brave Catholics who have gone before us and who risked their very lives so that they could attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Let us not be found wanting and let us beseech out bishops to open our Catholic Churches so that we can once again worship Almighty God as our ancestors worshipped Him, at the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

May God bless you.

CV316 - May - June 2021

The Lumen Fidei Institute “Promoting - Defending - Teaching - Catholicism” “Helping Catholics to live out their great calling as Children of God”

Let Us Remain Loyal To The Holy Sacrifice Of The Mass “The Mass... is the very life of the Church, the secret of her holiness and vitality.

No wonder that the spirits of darkness should have inspired the heretic with hatred for the Mass, for they know that when they strike at the Mass they strike at the heart of the Church.” Most Rev. Archbishop Michael Sheehan.

Please send me a complimentary copy of ‘Ireland’s Loyalty to the Mass’ with my enclosed donation.

May God bless you for your generosity, I wish to donate: €1,000 __ €500 __ €250 __ €100 __ €50 __ €20 __ €10 __ Other amount :€_____ (Standing Order Forms available on request from John Lacken) (BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE)

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16 SAINT EXPEDITUS

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

Have An Urgent Prayer Intention? Meet St. Expeditus Patrick Hayes The existence of St. Expeditus has been put into doubt many times.

According to Hippolyte Delehaye, a Jesuit historian and hagiographer [someone who writes about the lives of the saints], the name Expeditus comes from a mistaken reading of Elpidius, a martyr who died in Melitene, together with the name of a companion named Ermogene.

According to this hypothesis, several saints were in the same group of martyrs, and they ended up being identified as just one person, Expeditus.

The name “Expeditus” is actually an adjective which, in Latin, means “unencumbered”; in military language it would refer to members of the light infantry. This could be indicative of the saint’s profession, as he is a very ancient saint from the era of the persecutions by Diocletian.

But the name led to a play on words that made Expeditus the patron saint of businessmen (who needed to come to agreements quickly) and of navigators. For the same reason, those who are undergoing trials are entrusted to him, as are the success of those proceedings.

Various legends rose up around him. The best known is the “miracle of water” in the days of Marcus Aurelius. According to this legend, St. Expeditus was a commander of the Twelfth Roman Legion, which was fighting against the barbarians in the region of Armenia (currently Armenia and Turkey).

Only a miracle could save the Roman soldiers, who were without food or water, and were surrounded by their enemies. When the barbarians drew near for the final attack, the Roman soldiers knelt down and began to pray, as they had seen the Christians do, asking God for an urgent solution.

Expeditus knew quite well the story of Jesus, and the Lord’s teachings and attitude moved his heart.

However, he was the general of a Roman division, and one of his duties was to persecute Christians, so he always left his conversion for another day.

But knowing that the barbarians’ final attack was near, and that he had very little possibility of winning the battle, he knelt with the other Roman soldiers to pray.

The barbarians, perplexed by the attitude of their enemies, halted the attack, and at that moment, the sky turned dark and a tremendous storm broke. The thirsty soldiers under Expeditus’ command gathered water in their helmets, and drank, recovering their strength. In this way, they won the battle.

From this moment on, many soldiers converted to Christianity, and Expeditus was touched by divine grace.

The legend continues that at the moment of his conversion, the Evil One appeared to him in the form of a raven saying “Cras, cras, cras” (which in Latin means “tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow”), encouraging him to leave his conversion for later as he had done until then, full of doubt because of his fear of martyrdom.

But he crushed the raven under his foot, saying, “Hodie, hodie, hodie” (“today, today, today”).

After all this occurred, his doubts disappeared and he decided to leave the army of men to join the army of heaven, bearing witness to his faith in Christ to the point of baptism of blood in 303, when he was martyred by decapitation in Melitene.

His remains were never found, surely because the Christians of his day hid them very well out of fear of plundering.

St. Expeditus is generally represented dressed like a Roman soldier stepping on a raven that is crying “cras, cras, cras”; in one hand, he carries the palm of martyrdom, and in the other, a cross (or in early images, a clock) with the word, “hodie.”

If you need to obtain a favour for an urgent cause, you can pray

Saint Expeditus - Photo Piotr Rymuza the following prayer asking St. Expeditus, together with the Blessed Mother, to intercede for you: Lord Jesus, I turn to you for help!

Most Blessed Virgin, come to my aid!

Saint Expeditus, you who, full of courage, opened your heart to God’s grace, and did not give in to the temptation of delaying your surrender to Him: help me not to leave for tomorrow what I should do today out of love for Christ.

From heaven, help me to renounce every vice and temptation, with the power that Jesus gives me.

May I be diligent, courageous, and disciplined in the Lord’s service, and may I not lose courage in the face of trials.

I present my needs (intention) to you, who are the patron saint of urgent causes.

Above all, I ask you to intercede for me so that I may persevere in the faith, and thus one day reach the joy of heaven with Christ, with the Virgin Mary, the angels, and the saints. Amen.

7th May 2021

CATHOLIC ACTION 17

Catholic Voice

The Importance of Catholic Action John Lacken

I have received some good news from the Archdiocese of Tuam which shows the importance of Catholic Action and which should encourage others who are considering taking similar actions.

In the last issue of Catholic Voice, I addressed the issue of an organisation called ‘Sexual Health West’ who promote the homosexual lifestyle and who publicly state that in certain circumstances they will give condoms to children under the age of sixteen, and the fact that they were operating out of a building and with an organisation with strong links to the Archdiocese of Tuam.

I encouraged our readers to write to the Archbishop of Tuam and I wrote to him myself.

Often times when I urge people to write to a bishop I get the response that, “there is no point writing to the bishops”. This is because many people believe that our bishops will not address the issues that they raise. I always tell people to write anyway because in this way you are creating a paper trail, a written record for posterity which shows that there some people did object to the evils of our day.

It is important to state that we should not expect to achieve success with every letter we write, or to achieve success on our first attempt. We also need to look at how we are approaching the issues we address. Our bishops do not need to receive yet another cranky letter from some disgruntled parishioner who rails on about the evils of our day.

When writing to a bishop the letter must be respectful. The letter should only address one main point and should not digress into a lamentation of every evil under the sun.

When finished addressing the main point, do not continue with, “and another thing I would like to point out bishop...”. Simply stick to the main point.

The letter should also be well researched and should provide documentary evidence which clearly shows the problem you have identified. The letter should also offer a solution or an expectation of what you want done to resolve the particular matter that you have raised.

On 21st April I received a reply from Archbishop Michael Neary’s secretary which included the following.

“Archbishop Neary was unaware of the matters about which you wrote and is grateful that they were brought to his attention.

The Board of Trustees of the Family Life Centre has confirmed to Archbishop Neary

that it will discontinue its relationship with Sexual Health West with immediate effect, and will remove details of same from the Centre’s website, flyers, banners, and advertising material. The Archbishop is pleased to mention that the Board of Trustees acted swiftly and willingly once the matter was raised.”

As your safeguarding policy states in its introduction by the Chairman of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.

I am very grateful to Archbishop Michael Neary for the prompt and decisive response to this matter which is indeed very good news.

Allowing an organisation, which clearly states that it is prepared, in certain circumstances, to give condoms to children under the age of 16, to operate from a Diocesan owned building and to be publicly advertised outside of that building, is a clear breach of the standards one would expect from an organisation with strong Catholic connections, and which deals with sensitive family matters.

The situation is made worse by the fact that there are at least two diocesan priests on the Board of Trustees.

But this should not be considered an end of the matter as this prompt action, whilst very welcome, does not get to the root of the problem. With this in mind I sent the following reply to Archbishop Michael Neary.

“Your Excellency, I was pleased to receive your letter of 20th April in which you confirm that the Board of Trustees of the Family Life Centre has confirmed to you that it will discontinue its relationship with Sexual Health West with immediate effect. This is indeed good news.

However, I am a little concerned at your praise for the swiftness with which the Board of Trustees acted. In my research, I have discovered that the relationship between the Family Centre and AIDS West/Sexual Health West goes back to at least 2009. I enclose a screenshot from the Family Centre’s website from July 14th, 2009, which shows that a representative of AIDS West was attending the centre on the first Tuesday of the month back as far as 2009, twelve years ago. It has taken the Board of Trustees twelve years to act!

What this clearly shows is a lack of due diligence on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Family Centre in Castlebar which could have put children at risk.

AIDS West/Sexual Health West provides information which is at odds with Catholic Church teaching on human sexuality and quite frankly, as can be seen from the previous enclosures I sent to you, some of the information they provide represents a danger to children and young people as it promotes the male homosexual lifestyle with all its attendant disease and health risks.

That this situation has only been corrected because a Catholic parent passer-by, who happened to have extensive knowledge of the corrupt ideology of Sexual Health West, noticed a promotional banner outside the centre, clearly shows that the Child Safeguarding policy of the Tuam Archdiocese has been undermined by the lack of due diligence of the Board of Trustees.

“Families need to know that the Church is making every effort to protect their children.”

Given that the relationship was terminated with immediate effect, it is obvious that the Board of Trustees agrees with my assessment. Therefore, it is now incumbent on the Board of Trustees to seek to find out how an organisation, which represents a threat to the safety of children, came to be operating out of its premises. The purpose of such a review would be to make sure that such a situation cannot arise again.

There is also a need for the Archdiocese to ascertain whether this organisation has been, or is being, facilitated in making presentations to children in diocesan Catholic schools through their affiliate organisation ‘WISER – West of Ireland Sex Education Resource’, or if any of the resources of the WISER organisation are being used in Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese.

WISER have developed both a primary and secondary school programme and on their website, they say, “Our trained facilitators deliver a comprehensive sexual health education programme to schools.

The aim of the programme is to support the Social, Personal and Health Education Curriculum (SPHE). The programme consists of 3 sessions of approximately 1.5 hours each.”

The seriousness of this situation must not be underestimated Archbishop Neary, and the steps to protect our children from this organisation must be taken now and these steps must be robust and decisive in preventing this organisation from having access to Catholic school children.

May God bless you in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

I pray that this will encourage others to join in the fight to protect our children from all harm and that it will encourage bishops to act as well.

18 CLIMATE NONSENSE

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

Rejoice That ‘Climate Catastrophe’ Was A Mistake Christopher Monckton of Brenchley

The Vatican, having embarrassed the Church with numerous errors about climate science is at it again, this time still more embarrassingly.

In a silly foreword to a document from the Holy See entitled Pastoral Guidelines on Climate-Displaced People, it maunders: “We are engulfed by news and images of whole peoples uprooted by cataclysmic changes in our climate – forced to migrate … people driven out because their local environment has become uninhabitable … the deteriorating climate … crisis unfolding since the Industrial Revolution … huge and increasing numbers displaced by climate crises … great emergency of our age … devoured in conditions that make it impossible to survive … forced to abandon fields and shorelines … people flee in haste carrying just a few souvenirs … driven from their homes by the climate crisis … tragedy of prolonged uprootedness … Integral Ecology Sector …”

Gentle reader, here are the facts, in a single graph compiled by the amiable Bjørn Lomborg: The objective truth is that annual climate-related deaths have fallen by 96% in a century, notwithstanding a tripling of the global population over the same period.

So, who are the populations that have been “forced to migrate”, and why? The Vatican is silent on the plight of the Rohingya Muslims, at least a million of whom have been displaced not by climate but by the unlamented regime of the Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi. It is silent on the plight of the Uighur Muslims of Sinkiang, 2-3 million of whom the Chinese Communist Party (which, as best I can discern, the Pope has failed to call to account) has “forced to migrate” into concentration camps.

It is silent on the fate of the suffering people of Tibet, forced willy-nilly to work under slave-labour conditions in the lithium mines that power Mr

Musk’s tax-farming Tesla milkfloats; obliged by law to interbreed with their Han Chinese occupiers, the most ruthlessly racialist nation on Earth; required, as are the Uighurs, to give up their organs, often harvested in vivo and without anaesthetic, to keep the trembling gerontocrats of the Chinese Communist Party alive.

It is silent on the Chinese Communist Party’s repudiation of the treaty with Britain intended to keep the people of Hong Kong free and democratic for 50 years. The people of Hong Kong have been “forced to migrate” from freedom to slavery overnight.

It is silent on the 3 million and counting who have been “forced to migrate” from life to death by the virus unleashed from the Wuhan biolab in October 2019, when it killed a graduate student who had mishandled a vial containing infected blood and urine from a bat collected in a cave in Yunnan province by the People’s Enslavement Army / Navy a few years previously. The automatic detonator on the vial had failed to explode, and the graduate was splashed with the contents. She was Patient Zero. She died.

Not only did the Chinese Communist Party dishonour its treaty

obligation, under the International Health Regulations, to notify the international community at once: it used its total control of the World Death Organization not only to keep the new and fatal infection secret until it reached Taiwan and could be hidden no longer but also to instruct its poodle, the criminal against humanity Ghebreyesus, to tell people that it was perfectly safe for people to travel in and out of China without restriction when they and he knew perfectly well that travel would spread the deadly infection worldwide.

It is silent on the Christians persecuted in many Arab nations.

Tens of millions have been “forced to migrate” from their homes, their businesses, their countries.

Now, the whole point of the Holy See is that it must strive to maintain its reputation for uttering unfashionable but sensible truths. However, the current leadership in the Vatican is prone to utter fashionable but half truths. And that makes it worse than useless.

For example, the Pope might have been able to persuade the Chinese – at present far and away the greatest threat to the global population – to bring their various genocides to an end, to get out of Tibet, to empty

7th May 2021

CLIMATE NONSENSE 19

Catholic Voice

the concentration camps and forcedlabour factories of Sinkiang, to give Hong Kong its independence, to abandon its plan to invade Taiwan now that President Harris, a socialist, has replaced President Trump and will not stand in China’s way.

But no, instead he appears to be deferential to the Chinese Politburo and ignores the very evident abuses of that regime.

The latest document from the Holy See says “Fierce storms, violent hurricanes and disastrous cyclones continue to rage.” Well, yes, they’ve been doing that since Biblical times.

It’s called weather. “They have become more frequent and intense as the climate crisis worsens.” No, they haven’t. The publicly-available Accumulated Cyclone Index of the combined frequency, intensity and duration of hurricanes and tropical cyclones shows – if anything – a decline in storminess in recent decades, exactly as one would expect given the mildly warmer weather that our sins of emission cause. Warmer weather reduces temperature differentials in the atmosphere-ocean system, and thus reduces storminess.

“We see growing numbers of people displaced on account of the crippling impacts of the climate crisis …”. No, we don’t, as Mr Lomborg has demonstrated, using official international databases that are no less available to the Holy See than to him.

civilisations arose, for warmer weather is better than colder.

career, sea level is rising at a rate of 2-4 inches per century equivalent.

“The current rate of warming is faster than at any time in the past 65 million years.” No. The fastest rate of warming in any instrumental record was during the 40 years 16941733, when temperature in most of England rose at a rate equivalent to 4.33 degrees per century. Nothing like it has been seen since. Before the instrumental record, we had to rely on ice-cores. Those show that at the end of last Ice Age temperatures rose by 5 degrees in just 3 years.

“Low-lying islands and atolls will be rendered completely uninhabitable.”

No. Coral atolls grow as sea level grows, as numerous recent reports have confirmed. The only island that has disappeared is Lobnachara, in the Ganges delta, driven beneath the waves not by global warming but by tectonic subduction.

“A temperature rise of just above 1 degree from the industrial era is already causing immense suffering to millions … “ No. It is causing greater crop yields, fewer droughts, fewer wildfires, less severe floods, fewer severe storms, and, therefore, far less climate-related loss of life than at any time in the century since reliable records began.

“The sea level will continue to rise as our climate warms”. But not by much. According to the late Professor Nils-Axel Mörner, who published more than 600 papers on sea level in his distinguished 50-year

There is plenty more nonsense in the Holy See’s lamentably illresearched document. Now, you can do two things on reading this article. You can look the other way and get on with other things. Or you can write to your Papal Nuncio, enclosing this article and demanding that the Nuncio should pass it on to the relevant dicasteries at the Holy See. Frankly, the current stance of the Vatican on the climate question is unacceptably anti-scientific. It will not be long now before the central error of physics that led to the absurd over-predictions of global warming by inadequately-educated climatologists comes to the public gaze: the Marxstream news media cannot keep it secret indefinitely.

“… increases in droughts, floods …”.

No. The Palmer Drought Severity Index – again publicly available – shows no trend in a century. And the land area under drought has fallen for 40 years.

“After more than 10,000 years of relative stability – the full span of human civilisation – our home planet’s climate is rapidly changing on account of human activities.” No, most of the past 10,000 years were at least as warm as the present. The Holocene Climate Optimum – which endured for 4000 years from 10,000 to 6000 years ago, with a brief dip in the middle – was warmer than today much of the time. So were the Egyptian Old Kingdom, Minoan, Roman and Mediaeval Climate Optima, during each of which great

Hong Kong Protest Against Extradition

“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 SLOW TO BELIEVE

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

ARE WE SLOW OF HEART TO BELIEVE? Mary Kearns

There are particular times in the liturgical year when we are brought up sharply with the need to understand the Old Testament and its relation to the feast of the moment. When Jesus encountered his disciples on the road to Emmaus he spent some time doing exactly this. These men failed to understand why the saviour they had believed in had suffered death, ultimately causing them sorrow and disappointment.

“Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.” (Luke 24: 27) It is safe to assume that Cleopas and his companion were familiar with the scriptures. Perhaps the Lord recounted the story from the book of Exodus when the Israelites were delivered from Egypt. Did Jesus draw the parallel with the blood of the lamb on the door-posts and his own blood on the cross?

“Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them: ‘Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the door frame.” (Ex. 12:21-22.)

Did Jesus refer to the crucifixion of the man they believed would liberate them? Did he refer to Leviticus where it stated that it is the blood that makes atonement? (Lev. 17:11) Later the evangelist Matthew would recall the words of Jesus at the last supper when the apostles received Holy Communion for the first time.

“This as the blood of the new and eternal covenant.”

The disciples obviously were witnesses to the work of Jesus and they only needed to be reminded of Isaiah who prophesied the healing ministry eight centuries before Jesus was born.

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” (Is. 35) The prophet Zachariah referred to the thirty pieces of silver, the sum paid to the betrayer Judas (Zachariah 11) This prophet foresaw the saviour coming into the city riding on the colt of a donkey, which is exactly the means Jesus used in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. (Zachariah 9) Were the words of the prophet Job also referred to in relation to the ultimate victory of Christ because of his Resurrection?

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” (Job: 19:23-27)

The effect this teaching had on the disciples was that their hearts were burning but strangely enough they failed to make the connection with the stranger who was explaining the scriptures. It was only later in the evening when they shared their supper with him that they recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

This text needs to be pondered as it is a clear exposition of the fulfilment of the covenant of God with humanity. Sometimes we too can be slow to take the story of salvation into our hearts.

Paschaltide covers the period from the great Feast of the Resurrection to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

We are presented with the good news of salvation, the saving mystery ever at work in the Church, the reason for the Church’s rejoicing. This season belongs to the oldest part of the liturgical year

7th May 2021 Catholic Voice described by St. Athanasius as “the most joyful period.”

In so doing, the saint expressed the thanksgiving and happiness that required a whole season and not just a day or a week to celebrate.

Allowing fifty days to celebrate provides the means of seeing different aspects of the Resurrection.

The Catechism explains that Easter is not simply one feast among others but the “Feast of feasts.”

Christ, risen in glory permeates all time until all are subjected to him. Remembering the Lord’s Resurrection liturgically is the essence of Paschaltide. Historians tell us that in ancient times, these feasts were not celebrated individually but considered as part of the whole “Solemnity of the Spirit.” Just as Easter was considered to be continuous, so too was Pentecost. This was the whole mystery of Redemption that included the expectation of the glorious return of Jesus.

The event of the Resurrection is central to the Church’s liturgy. It is the axis around which everything else revolves. Learning how the early Church viewed this mystery helps to enrich our understanding of Paschaltide. Ultimately we must focus on the continued presence of Christ in the Church. On his final appearance on earth, just before he ascended to the Father, Jesus told his apostles: Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.

(Mt.28: 18-20) The candle which was lit from the Paschal Fire at the Easter

Vigil, symbolises liturgically the continuous presence of the Lord. It remains in the sanctuary until after Pentecost. Afterwards it is kept beside the baptismal font except at funerals when it stands near the coffin. The significance is clear - the candle blessed at the Easter Vigil, known as the Paschal Candle, is a symbol of the Resurrection.

In the Gospel of Luke, the Church as the Bride of Christ rejoices to be united with the Bridegroom. In the Acts of the Apostles the forty days between Easter Sunday and the Ascension into heaven are recorded as the time when the Lord was visibly present to his Church.

SLOW TO BELIEVE 21 the coming of Christ. Christ’s death on the cross originally merited the graces to redeem the world, but Christ now actually confers those graces.” (Father John Hardon).

The Church teaches that the period from Easter to Pentecost is a sacred time and is considered as one feast, the “Great Sunday.” The Sundays of this period are therefore called Sundays of Easter and take precedence over all other feasts of the Lord and over all solemnities.

This real and tangible presence of the Lord is the same presence we encounter in the sacred liturgy at every Mass. We have to fully realise that during Mass a mysterious veil covers this awesome truth. Despite all the changes recent years have experienced, nothing in fact has essentially changed since the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century.

As we know, the Easter Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Vigil of Holy Saturday are not three separate ceremonies but one.

This is why the priest does not give a dismissal or final blessing until the Triduum is complete with the first Mass of Easter. In a similar way, the celebration for which we have prepared during the forty days of Lent is not for Easter Sunday alone. It is the entire period of fifty days from the feast of the Lord’s Resurrection until the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It is the great season of Paschaltide.

“The Mass is a sacrifice, which St. Paul tells us wiped out all the other sacrifices that had been offered until

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

22 NO RIGHT TO ABORTION

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

Abortion is Never a Human Right

By Fr. Shenan J. Boquet How is it still possible to speak of the dignity of every human person when the killing of the weakest and most innocent is permitted? In the name of what justice is the most unjust of discriminations practised: some individuals are held to be deserving of defence and others are denied that dignity? — Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, no. 20 One of the great achievements of Christian civilisation has been the development of a thorough and robust account of the dignity of the human person – a dignity that outstrips that of any other being in physical creation, to the extent that the human person is viewed as an image of God Himself.

“The divine image is present in every man,” states the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “It shines forth in the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves.”

(No. 1702) Those of us living in a historical time and part of the world so thoroughly indebted to the Christian worldview often simply take for granted this view of the human person, failing to appreciate how unique and monumental it is in the history of the human race. Nowadays, even many (although not all) of the most hard-boiled atheists will profess to believe in the “dignity of the human person,” not pausing to appreciate that it is, in large measure, thanks to Christianity that this truth is so widely acknowledged.

It is true that in an increasing number of cases, certain ideologues are openly promoting a utilitarian or eugenic philosophy that measures the worth of human beings based upon various criteria (i.e., health, intelligence, productivity, degree of personal happiness, etc.).

However, for the most part people still begin with the basic assumption of the Christian world-view – that even those people who seem “useless,” or who have done great harm to others, are owed a basic respect, and certain rights, that they can never lose. We see this instinct manifested, for instance, in the movement against the use of the death penalty, even in the cases of the worst criminals – murderers.

the unborn child. And yet, never since ancient pagan times has the unborn child been so unprotected.

This “de-personing” of the unborn child is simply the latest manifestation of the same tendency that led swathes of the world to deny the personhood and worth of black people and other enslaved races. It is the old, pagan view of the human being, escaping from the protective umbrella of Christian civilization.

Unfortunately, however, human beings are often inconsistent, and are blinded by their prejudices and selfish desires. In the past century, most of the world, including much of the Christian West, has carved out certain systemic “exceptions” to the dignity of the human person – escaping the duty of respect owed to other persons, often by simply denying that the other is a person to begin with. The primary victim of this movement has been the unborn child, although it is increasingly extending to the disabled, sick, and elderly.

As Pope St. John Paul II wrote in Evangelium Vitae, “If such great care must be taken to respect every life, even that of criminals and unjust aggressors, the commandment ‘You shall not kill’ has absolute value when it refers to the innocent person. And all the more so in the case of weak and defenceless human beings, who find their ultimate defence against the arrogance and caprice of others only in the absolute binding force of God’s commandment.” (no. 57)

Gaslighting: Abortion as a ‘Human Right’ The official dictionary definition of Never before has there been more the term “gaslight” is to “manipulate evidence in support of the humanity (someone) by psychological means (and, therefore, the personhood) of into questioning their own sanity.”

7th May 2021 Catholic Voice This tendency toward gaslighting is present within the pro-abortion movement. Pro-abortion activists will call the baby in the womb – which we can now see on the ultrasound screen with our own eyes – a “blob of tissue,” and then turn around and accuse pro-lifers, who protest that this simply isn’t true, of being “anti-science” or not supporting “women’s rights.”

The pro-abortion position is filled with such flagrant absurdities and contradictions. Consider this recent document from Antony Blinken, President Biden’s new Secretary of State, which suggests that access to abortion and contraception is a “human right.”

During the Trump administration the human rights report prepared by the State Department did not mention women not having access to abortion or contraception as being a human rights violation.

Blinken, however, indicated that

a Biden administration will be reversing course.

“For many years, our human rights reports contained a section on reproductive health, including information about…discrimination against women in accessing sexual and reproductive health care, and government policies about access to contraception,” Blinken said in a statement. “And we are restoring the practice of documenting these rights in 2021 and future years.”

It is important to note that the phrase “sexual and reproductive health” is widely recognised as being a euphemism that includes access to abortion and contraception. In a statement to reporters, Blinken affirmed, “women’s rights – including sexual and reproductive rights – are human rights.”

Unpack the euphemism, and what Blinken is saying is: “The right to kill other innocent human beings is a ‘human right.’” Absurd. Especially

NO RIGHT TO ABORTION 23

24 NO RIGHT TO ABORTION when viewed from the perspective of the unborn child, who is stripped of that most fundamental of all human rights – the right to life – in the name of “human rights.”

Unfortunately, this is only one of several extremist attacks on the dignity of the unborn from the Biden administration.

Cardinal Burke: ProAbortion ‘Catholic’ Politicians Automatically Excommunicated Unfortunately, President Biden, is a lifelong “Catholic.” With Catholic leaders like him, who needs enemies!

The simple fact is that abortion is certainly the gravest, and most pervasive violation of human rights and the dignity of the human person being perpetrated in our world today. No one who actively promotes this enormous evil, conducted on an industrial scale, can possibly lay claim to being a “devout” Catholic.

“The deliberate decision to deprive an innocent human being of his life is always morally evil and can never be licit either as an end in itself or as a means to a good end,” said Pope St. John Paul II in Evangelium

Catholic Voice

Vitae. “It is in fact a grave act of disobedience to the moral law, and indeed to God himself, the author and guarantor of that law; it contradicts the fundamental virtues of justice and charity.” (no. 57) Fortunately, there are some Church leaders left who are willing to call a spade a spade. In a recent statement, Cardinal Raymond Burke once again reiterated the longestablished teaching that Catholics who publicly support and promote abortion and other grave intrinsic evils automatically excommunicate themselves.

Cardinal Burke also clarified that “those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”

To those who argue that the Church is using the Eucharist as a “political weapon” when it denies Communion to pro-abortion Catholic politicians, Cardinal Burke countered: “It is rather the Catholic politician, who publicly and obstinately promotes what is contrary to the moral law and yet dares to receive sacrilegiously Holy Communion, who uses the Holy Eucharist for political purposes.

In other words, the politician presents himself or herself as a devout Catholic, while the truth is completely otherwise.”

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix added his voice to this debate in his Apostolic Exhortation, Veneremur Cernui, published on April 1. “Holy Communion is reserved,” says Bishop Olmsted, “for those, who with God’s grace make a sincere effort to live this union with Christ and His Church by adhering to all that the Catholic Church believes and proclaims to be revealed by God.” This is, he emphasises, why the “Church requires Catholic

7th May 2021 leaders who have publicly supported gravely immoral laws such as abortion and euthanasia to refrain from receiving Holy Communion until they publicly repent and receive the Sacrament of Penance.”

Moreover, states the bishop, “not all moral issues have the same weight as abortion and euthanasia.

The Church teaches that abortion or euthanasia is an intrinsically grave sin and that there is a grave and clear obligation for all Catholics to oppose them by conscientious objection.” Quoting Evangelium Vitae, he adds that, “in the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law or vote for it.’”

If Christian teaching on the dignity of the human person is one of the most precious gifts of Christ and His Church to the human race, it must also be protected by Christians with enormous fervour, lest it be lost and forgotten. In these troubled times amongst rampant confusion and the torrential assault against truth, bereft of sound doctrinal teaching, the leadership of Cardinal Burke and Bishop Olmsted is a welcomed breath of fresh air. Their statements are simply an acknowledgement that no Catholic can support the systematic assault on the dignity of a whole category of persons, and still claim to be a faithful Catholic.

The contradiction is simply too extreme, too deep.

In the face of the Biden and other administration’s assault on human dignity, we must, all of us, respond to Pope St. John Paul II’s “pressing appeal” in Evangelium Vitae: to “respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!” (no.5)

7th May 2021 Catholic Voice

FLAWED SECULAR LOGIC 25

Swiss Bishop: Amid Covid Crisis The Church ‘Acted According To The General Secular Logic’ Bishop Marian Eleganti O.S.B. ‘Your faith has helped you!’

What do you think the Lord would say about the universal sacramental shut-down within the Church that has deprived the faithful — among them many elderly and dying people — of the sacraments across the world? Such a thing has never happened in the 2,000-year history of the Church, not even in the hardest times of war, plague, and persecution.

What would have happened if the Church had intensified its sacramental life?

But instead, it acted according to the general secular logic, which does not know faith and causes the shut-down of the sacraments and the desolation of the places of pilgrimage, among other things (cf. the empty St. Peter’s Square).

Nevertheless, on March 25 of last year, Pope Francis urged us to ask God for the end of the pandemic worldwide. So to what do our faith and reason have to refer: to trust in our own measures, which did not achieve the desired effect but caused enormous damage, or to God’s supernatural help?

Was it reasonable for Israel to look to the bronze serpent raised by Moses in the wilderness (cf. Numbers 21:4-9) to escape with their lives after the deadly snakebite? Was it reasonable to think that five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:9) could feed a huge crowd so that they would not collapse from emaciation on the way home? Was it reasonable to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment in order to be healed (Matthew 9:21)? Is it reasonable to

believe daily in the change of the substance of bread and wine into the body of Christ, which presupposes an intervention of God in the here and now?

In Mark 16:18 we read that even the drinking of deadly poison will not harm the disciples. This does not mean that we should do it wantonly, where there are other solutions. It means only that the secular reason, not the faith, acts unreasonably in the contact with GOD from a certain point.

I know the pertinent place in St. Thomas Aquinas’s works. In our context, we talk about something else. With many miracle healings Jesus has praised the faith of the people in question as a prerequisite: “Your faith has helped you!”

The biblical examples could be multiplied at will. Instead, all the world has seen that large parts of the Church think and act quite secularly, as if they had no faith in the efficacy and presence of God, e.g. in the sacramental context.

Mocking accusations were made even by worldly parties — which have no skin in the game — that the Church did not sufficiently bring God (“its core business”) into the conversation about overcoming the crisis. This has consequences.

In Nazareth, Jesus could do only few miracles, because he did not find there the faith which he looked for and presupposed for his supernatural work. I do not say that we should challenge God in an unreasonable way to abolish the laws of nature. But what the secular or political “reason” has

imposed on us is to a large extent unreasonable, as well: for instance certain numbers which have not been put into the right context and have been manipulated arbitrarily to justify rigorous measures, or to talk about protection some measures allegedly offer, which are simply not real.

All COVID-related measures can be questioned with good reasons as to their actual protective impact and as to their negative to devastating effects threatening and destroying one’s existence (who is going to pay for it?). Others will do so.

In any case, there will be much to talk about for a long time to come.

What’s important to me is that trust in God and counting on his help and his protection in our context is not at all unreasonable. Everybody decides for themselves how far he or she goes along with it, and how unreasonable he wants to appear to others. In this regard, I recommend to everyone Psalm 91, which sounds quite unreasonable in our context, but is not unreasonable at all in the mouth of a believer praying. He just sets other priorities.

“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 HELL IS REAL

Catholic Voice

7th May 2021

Why Hell Is Real And Forever Maurice Williams

Many people argue that God is not going to send those who refuse to love Him and obey Him to everlasting hell like He has warned since the beginning. I don’t know why these unbelievers are so adamant in their convictions. Is God untruthful? I don’t think so. Is God unable to carry out this threat?

Is there someone else higher than God who will intervene and compel God not to be so harsh with those He created?

I think hell is real because God is real. When God promises that He will transform us into His sons and daughters if we believe His teaching and are baptised and live the Christian life – that is real also.

No created person should expect to become a child of the uncreated God. Of the three major religions that base their faith on what God revealed to Abraham, the prophets and Moses – namely, Judaism, Christianity and Islam – only Christians expect to be adopted as actual sons and daughters of God. The Jews were offered this relationship first, but their firstcentury religious leaders turned the offer down. If the Jews had not rejected this ministry, the Temple would still be standing today. Gentile believers would probably never have built the Vatican in Rome, and the world would be immensely different. A vocation to the clergy might not be open to any gentile.

O Jesus, it is for the love of Thee, in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for the conversion of poor sinners [that I do this]. Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima - June 13th, 1917.

It’s likely that only descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses, would be eligible. The Muslims think it is highest blasphemy for any created person to consider himself a child of God. The Muslims call those who think they are God’s children “infidels” and they go after them with a vengeance.

fallen angel. Before God created the physical universe and before God created humans beings, He had created the spiritual universe and all the angels and tested them to see if they were willing to love and obey Him. When that work was completed, God created the physical world with human beings.

Right away we can see something deathly serious in religion. Why this conflict? Why is the world so untrusting of God, and why does it come up with so many other religions, especially those not based on God’s revelation? I think the reason is that too many humans do not want any constraints placed on their aspirations. They don’t want a religion that has a moral code which requires obedience to God.

Lucifer was created to serve a special post in God’s heavenly kingdom, but he did not want it. He was a real angel, and his opposition to God was and is real.

He is now perpetually at war with God, actually trying to kill God, if he could. This all was worked out before time began, and there is nothing we can do to change the role Lucifer is now playing in the universe.

The Presence Of Evil Evil is another reality in this world.

The ambition not to serve God, and actually to oppose God and struggle to have one’s own will prevail against God – this element of evil is not a blind law of nature like gravity is. It is actually rooted in a created person, Lucifer, a disgraced and

Lucifer is real. Through his own wickedness, he has chosen to oppose God and destroy him if possible.

Lucifer Begins His Campaign Against The Human Race When Lucifer first tempted Eve, he displayed his total opposition to

HELL IS REAL 27

7th May 2021 Catholic Voice God by seducing her to doubt what God had told her and Adam about the tree. As soon as she answered, Lucifer contradicted God and told her a deliberate lie: “God knows very well that if you eat this fruit, you will become like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

Him He didn’t need to fast. He wanted Him to turn stones into bread. Jesus responded by quoting from Deuteronomy, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Shortly after that, Lucifer tempted Cain to reserve the best of his crops for himself and offer lesser quality crops to God. Lucifer would not have been surprised that God punished Cain for this because Lucifer knew ahead of time that God would be offended by Cain’s stinginess. Lucifer deliberately led Cain into this situation just like he deliberately deceived Eve.

Lucifer then took Jesus to the top of the Temple and told Him God would always protect Him, essentially taunting Jesus to “Jump and see!” while reciting the Old Testament passage that stated, “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:12). Jesus quoted again from Deuteronomy saying, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:6)

Lucifer’s Continued Campaign Against Jesus Christ Lucifer showed his malice in his three temptations of Christ. Lucifer first chose to tempt Jesus by telling

In the third temptation, Lucifer took Jesus to a mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (Matthew 4:8). Lucifer then said he would

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

give Jesus authority over all these kingdoms if Jesus would worship him. Jesus refused, commanding Lucifer to “Be gone!” (Matthew 4:10) again quoting Deuteronomy saying, “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” Lucifer then left Jesus, and angels served Him (Matthew 4:11).

Note that the sole reason Jesus is resistant to the temptation is that He refuses to disobey His Father.

Lucifer’s attempts to sidetrack Jesus into considering the reasonableness of temptation fell on deaf ears.

Death Is A Hallmark Of Lucifer The pagan Roman Empire, under the influence of Lucifer, was notorious for making men fight to the death as a form of public entertainment.

Rome is not the only country that did this. The ancient Aztecs did the same thing but on a smaller scale.

During some of their festivities

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

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28 HELL IS REAL

Catholic Voice

they would take two prisoners, tie their wrists together on a long leash and have them battle to the death on a small elevated platform in front of spectators.

The Aztecs exceeded the Romans in the way they slaughtered their prisoners of war. Conquered soldiers by the thousands were herded in front of huge crowds of spectators and had their hearts ripped out, still beating, to be offered to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec war god, as sacrifice.

The Holocaust And Abortion In our lifetime we have all witnessed two totally unjustified slaughters of human beings: the Holocaust and procured abortion. It’s strange how political options warp the moral opinions of whole nations. The Germans during WWII were sold on the Holocaust as a way to correct some of the problems in Germany, but the rest of the world could see the evil in systematically killing Jews in violation of God’s commandment: “You shall not kill.”

We have a situation where abortion is deemed “necessary” as a solution to everything from inconvenience to overpopulation, while those who value the right to life see abortion for what it truly is:

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

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a direct violation of God’s commandment, “You shall not kill.”

Why are those in favour of the Holocaust and abortion so convinced of the justification of these mass killings while so many others are so adamantly against it? The devil is involved in this thinking. If the devil tempts humans to embrace something sinful, it is very hard for the human mentality to take a stand against it.

Today we humans don’t send captives to the arena or prisoners to Huitzilopochtli’s temple to be slaughtered.

We send the most innocent and most helpless human beings to horrible deaths in abortion centres, and then justify the act by selling their tissues for medicinal value to the highest bidder. This done in modern man’s insane defiance against God’s law: “You shall not kill.”

How do we tolerate this?

Let’s not kid ourselves. Death is the pastime of Lucifer.

It is his way of hurling insult at God and of making mockery of God’s commands that we should not murder one another but live in love and appreciation of each other.

Two Modern Humans Totally At Odds With God Richard Dawkins is a well-known atheist biologist who is convinced that God does not exist.

Dawkins thinks believers are blind to the serious character faults their imaginary God has displayed all through Scripture. Here is a famous quote from his book, The God Delusion: The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.

There are many ways to answer this kind of skepticism, but I only quote him here for the sake of showing his line of thinking.

Theodore Cardinal McCarrick was a world-renowned leader in the Catholic Church, a bishop who consistently ordained more seminarians than other American bishops, but there was a dark side to this man: He had for a long time been accused of sexually abusing seminarians and seemed unrepentant in recognising that this conduct is morally wrong for anybody, especially a Catholic clergyman.

7th May 2021 Catholic Voice

HELL IS REAL 29

You and I, as well as everyone else are burdened with concupiscence, which is the inordinate desire to do what God commands us not to do.

It might manifest itself as a longing to steal, a predilection to lie, to dominate others, a thirst for power and, especially in today’s culture, a thirst to enjoy sexual misconduct.

God has made us vulnerable to temptation in one of these areas (or in drunkenness or narcotic addiction) to give us an opportunity to combat devils in the realm they feel most confident in, the potential ruin of our souls.

I don’t like to single out individual persons and admonish them publicly for their sins, but these two men have flooded the Internet with their defiance of God. I don’t know if they are mentally ill and that’s why they do this or if they sincerely believe they are in the right and God is in the wrong, Perhaps they are playing a game with us and don’t believe a thing they are saying in addition to not believing in the existence of God. It’s not for me to judge them. God will judge them.

But they are at war with God and His commands.

Conclusion This display of evil and defiance of God’s holy law is unmistakably displayed by both devils and humans. Devils will never repent and ask forgiveness. But

God has revealed that He will forgive repentant human beings – thankfully.

A great many humans, however, appear to me as firm in their opposition to God’s commands as the devils are. God has warned us that there is one sin that will not be forgiven in this life or in the next: the sin against the Holy Spirit.

Some Church leaders have described that sin as final impenitence

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(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1864). We humans, if we want to appear excessively smart and shock and humiliate those who try to correct us, we should understand that there is another witness to what we say: God Himself.

Be careful what you think and what you say. Nobody should want to be called to task for frivolous and wicked things he said during his life.

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

7th May 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.”

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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

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

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.”

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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

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32 ADVERT

Catholic Voice

Please read His Holiness Pope Paul VI’s 1965 Encyclical Letter “Mysterium Fidei” @ www.papalencyclicals.net

7th May 2021

Please, with Eucharistic Love, watch and listen to Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild’s 2020 presentation on “Inclusive Capitalism” @ www.inclusivecapitalism.com

And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?

But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?

Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.

And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again.

And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee.

Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.

For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works.

Amen I say to you, there are some of them that stand here, that shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:13-28) Published by: Catholic Voice Newspapers, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, County Kildare. Tel 059-8627268 ROI / 00353 - 59 8627268 Publisher: Anthony Murphy.

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