Hard to know. I have encouraged him to do so including sharing my screen name. I will let him know that you have encouraged that. I know he would appreciate the support he would find on this forum!
What I see of my Dad's (85 yeas young) generation, they are still extremely grateful for the Mass now being in ENGLISH (their own language). They can become too lax if they are members and attend a more progressive parish. That is something to guard against (unfortunately) on a more individual basis. On the other hand, I have found a few friends and I have grown to prefer more traditional style and increased ritual. The more we pay attention to the Catholic prophesies, the more convinced we are. I see too many red flags at the parish I am leaving, or practices I am far less comfortable with. As much as I would LOVE him to jon my group in Europe in 2020 April on the pilgrimage, he is not interested in going to Italy right now. I'm sure that is because Italy is my Mom's heritage. We can barely take her out of the Home now let alone on a plane.
+Robert Barron has never claimed that hell is empty. No reasonable person could make that claim. This is calumny and detraction. It's also spiritual jealousy, since this bishop is one of the few holy and good bishops in our world actually being a shepherd and leading people into a living faith with our living God.
Bishop Barron has said that we can have a reasonable hope that all men are saved, therefore that hell is empty of human souls. What fate do you and Bishop Barron believe befell the one who would wish he had never been born? What fate is worse than never having being born if not eternal damnation? What fate do you and Bishop Barron believe awaits the chaff growing alongside the wheat? What fate do you and Bishop Barron believe awaits those Jesus told us will say Lord, Lord and receive the answer "I never knew you"? Do you and Bishop Barron believe that Jesus spent a lot of time warning people against something that would never happen? Do you and Bishop Barron believe that the "Book of Life" contains the name of everyone ever born? What do you and Bishop Barron believe Our Lady showed the children at Fatima? Do you and Bishop Barron believe that the Blessed Mother was playing games with them, showing them something "we can have a reasonable hope" never happened? While we surely cannot declare any specific person to be in Hell, it is irresponsible to so much as hint that nobody has ever been condemned there or will ever go there.
When I think of Bishop Barron's words regarding salvation for mankind it reminds me of all the times Jesus seeing the people takes pity on them. I also think of the oceans of mercy God has had on all of mankind because we all know that we surely deserve corporal chastisement for our collective sins. Unfortunately, today we have among us shepherds who do not teach the Gospel of the Lord. I am also reminded of the prayer we commonly say with the rosary; Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven. Especially those in most need of thy Mercy. (As a side note from Wikipedia; Lucia says in the book Our Lady of Fátima by William Thomas Walsh (Macmillan, 1947), in an interview with the author,[1] Sr. Lucia states that "The correct form is the one I have written in my account of the apparition of July 13: 'O my Jesus, pardon us, and save us from the fire of hell; draw all souls to heaven, especially those most in need.'" This version does not have the commonly added phrase "of thy mercy" at the end of it.) I suspect that a great deal of men and women will indeed suffer their fate in the place we all fear or else the three Children of Fatima would not have had such a vision. I particularly love the prayer at the end of the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus; Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, You have said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek, and you shall find, knock, and it shall be opened to you." Grant, we beg of You, to us who ask it, the gift of Your most divine love, that we may ever love You with our whole heart, in word and deed, and never cease praising You. Give us, O Lord, as much a lasting fear as a lasting love of Your Holy Name, for You, who live and are King for ever and ever, never fail to govern those whom You have solidly established in Your love. R. Amen. IMO, the very fact that Our Lady showed children as young as 6 years old a vision of hell and today society cringes at the thought of burdening kids with such things is a sign of the days in which we are living. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.
You left out the interesting part of the rest of the article Don. I had come across this several years ago and was very surprised: "It also gives the original Portuguese in a footnote: "Ó meu Jesus, perdoai-nos e livrai-nos do fogo do inferno; levai as alminhas todas para o Céu, principalmente aquelas que mais precisarem." The third petition, "levai as alminhas todas para o Céu" is more accurately translated as "lead all little souls toward heaven." "Little souls" is a term of endearment among Portuguese Catholics for the souls in Purgatory, equivalent to the phrase in English "poor souls." The context of the phrase refers to the deliverance of all souls from purgatory into heaven; and thus this petition never signified universal salvation." In my opinion, this tidbit changes the entire meaning of the prayer.
Yes, God in His infinite mercy, makes available to us the graces necessary for our salvation. He doesn't force us to avail of those graces, giving us the free will to work out our salvation "in fear and trembling". Why would Jesus have told us that there will be a separation of sheep and goats if there won't be any goats? At a time when large parts of the world have heard the Gospel message and are aware of the Commandments but either reject the message or don't believe the Commandment apply to them, we need to be reminding them (and ourselves) that Hell is a real place and there is a real possibility that we will end up there with no get out of jail free card. Why would we have a Sacrament of Reconciliation if being what society terms "good people" is all that's required for salvation? While God may very well give us a last minute option to accept or reject Him, we don't know how such an option would be presented to us. The only way we can be sure that we will avoid Hell is by dying in a state of grace, having received absolution of our mortal sins in Confession or receiving the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. Hoping that all men will be saved sounds very nice but it's a dangerous notion to be spreading at a time when so few Catholics go to Confession, never mind how God will deal with non-Catholics. Apostasy is all around us. How many people love God with their whole heart, soul and mind? How many of us love our neighbour as ourselves? How many pray to God? Saying we love Jesus won't get us into Heaven. Loving Jesus means striving every day to do God's will - keeping His Commandments. Look at the world, and tell me how many people are doing that? Aside from the usual "sins of the flesh" which are treated as an irrelevance, idolatry is all around us in the form of vanity and love of money and what money can buy. Bishop Barron may well be converting some people with his "nice" sayings, but now more than ever our Bishops need to be warning people that it's far more likely in this world of plenty that many are not saved. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but if our Bishops won't say it, it's down to us because they won't be standing beside us on Judgement day.
AED, Read: The Signs of the Times, Understanding the Church Since Vatican II by Fr. Richard W. Gilsdorf. He is one who defined the tide and stood against the tide and in so doing found peace and purpose. Safe Under Mary's Mantle!
It's not harsh, It's the Truth. I wonder, just how many have truly heard the Gospel message. It seems to me that there are very few pastors speaking it these days.
Quite a few prominent clerics heard the Gospel message and rejected it. A lot of militant atheists are very well informed about the Gospel but reject it. The Pope's friend, Scalfari, wouldn't be ignorant on that score, nor would the "forgotten great" abortionist. You have some good Bishops in the US. They get a hard time from the atheist press and their "Catholic" insider friends. This one for example: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...ure-source-of-devastation-in-the-church-54040 There was a lavender campaign to have Pope Francis remove him. The fish-wrap Reporter made sure to highlight that campaign. Needless to say, he isn't on the list of speakers or panelists at the WMF. Bishop Barron is probably the best of the US contingent coming to that jamboree, probably because he makes no waves. At a time when we desperately need courageous shepherds, wimps are the order of the day. Bishop Barron didn't invent that notion about having a reasonable hope that all men are saved. I think it was this man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Urs_von_Balthasar A former Jesuit, vonBalthasar seems to have been a friend of Cardinal Ratzinger which probably explains how he had the ear of Pope John Paul. He was about to be made a Cardinal but died two days before the ceremony. My late mother had a saying "God spoke first". Anyway, there's nothing wrong with having a hope that all men are saved. We're supposed to pray for that. It's the "reasonable" part that strikes me as pushing the envelope because it seems to imply that Jesus didn't know what He was talking about when he said the unrighteous would be condemned to eternal damnation. That passage from Matthew should also be a reminder to those of us whom Pope Francis might call "rigorists" how essential to our own salvation are the corporal works of mercy. Sins of omission can be very grave matter indeed.
Yep Father Z posted as well regarding a letter from Bishop Morlino. He gives them hell and expects us to as well. http://wdtprs.com/blog/2018/08/lett...madisondiocese-concerning-the-present-crisis/ Letter of @BishopMorlino of @MadisonDiocese concerning the present crisis Posted on 18 August 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf Many bishops in these USA and in Canada are making statements in wake of L’Affaire McCarrick and the PA Grand Jury Report. Some are better than others. The Bishop of Madison, Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino (aka The Extraordinary Ordinary) has issued a letter to the faithful entrusted to his care. Remember that when reading these letters from bishops, even while we around the world are able to read them and even as the bishops know that, these bishops uniformly address themselves to the faithful their own diocese. Because of this, I, personally, pay attention to what these bishops say they are going to do, practically and concretely with and for their flocks. In Bishop Morlino’s letter to the faithful of Madison, I saw a three things that are especially striking. First, he calls for “more hatred”. If you’ll permit me, what the Church needs now is more hatred! As I have said previously, St. Thomas Aquinas said that hatred of wickedness actually belongs to the virtue of charity. As the Book of Proverbs says “My mouth shall meditate truth, and my lips shall hate wickedness (Prov. 8:7).” It is an act of love to hate sin and to call others to turn away from sin. Then he goes on to underscores what so obviously lies at the core of this crisis, namely, the influence of homosexuality, not just pedophilia, but homosexuality. There must be no room left, no refuge for sin – either within our own lives, or within the lives of our communities. To be a refuge for sinners (which we should be), the Church must be a place where sinners can turn to be reconciled. In this I speak of all sin. But to be clear, in the specific situations at hand, we are talking about deviant sexual – almost exclusively homosexual – acts by clerics. We’re also talking about homosexual propositions and abuses against seminarians and young priests by powerful priests, bishops, and cardinals. We are talking about acts and actions which are not only in violation of the sacred promises made by some, in short, sacrilege, but also are in violation of the natural moral law for all. To call it anything else would be deceitful and would only ignore the problem further. There has been a great deal of effort to keep separate acts which fall under the category of now-culturally-acceptable acts of homosexuality from the publically-deplorable acts of pedophilia. That is to say, until recently the problems of the Church have been painted purely as problems of pedophilia – this despite clear evidence to the contrary. It is time to be honest that the problems are both and they are more. Before anyone freaks out, Bp. Morlino also clear says that homosexual inclinations are not, in themselves, sinful, but rather, as the Church teaches, disordered. He emphasizes hatred of sin but love for the sinner. “[While hating the sin, we must never hate the sinner, who is called to conversion, penance, and renewed communion with Christ and His Church, through His inexhaustible mercy.” Watch the libs in the local press ignore that point while they pile on attacks on him … as is their cliché wont. Lastly, he makes a concrete declaration about reparation, which I’ve been bashing on about for a while. Finally, I ask you all to join me and the entire clergy of the Diocese of Madison in making public and private acts of reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for all the sins of sexual depravity committed by members of the clergy and episcopacy. I will be offering a public Mass of reparation on Friday, September 14, the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, at Holy Name Heights and I ask all pastors to do the same in their own parishes. In addition, I ask that all priests, clergy, religious, and diocesan employees join me in observing the upcoming Autumn Ember Days (Sep. 19, 21, and 22) as days of fasting and abstinence in reparation for the sins and outrages committed by members of the clergy and episcopacy and I invite all the faithful to do the same. Some sins, like some demons, can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. His reference to the Ember Days is great. The Ember days, still in the traditional liturgical calendar, are days of penance, a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, four times a year, in general at the time of the change of the seasons. Old mnemonic rhymes place them close to the Feast of St. Lucy in December, during Lent, after Pentecost, and near the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. For example, “Lenty, Penty, Crucy, Lucy”, or else “Fasting days and Emberings be / Lent, Whitsun, Holyrood, and Lucie.” What most people today don’t know is that in the booklet that convey’s the official liturgical calendar for the newer, post-Conciliar Novus Ordo, and in the GIRM, the Ember Days are mentioned for local churches. I wrote about Novus Ordo Ember Days HERE. REPARATION. REPARATION. REPARATION.
It’s High Time Our Bishops Process Our Lady of America into the Basilica in Washington, DC Fr Richard On September 26, 1956, Our Lady appeared to Sister Mary Ephrem and called her children in America to dedicate their lives to her purity. She said: My child, I entrust you with this message that you must make known to my children in America. I wish it to be the country dedicated to my purity.The wonders I will work will be the wonders of the soul. They must have faith and believe firmly in my love for them. I desire that they be the children of my Pure Heart. I desire, through my children in America, to further the cause of faith and purity among peoples and nations. Let them come with confidence and simplicity, and I, their Mother, will teach them to become pure like to my Heart that their own hearts may be more pleasing to the Heart of my Son. Sister Mildred said that Our Lady called herself “Our Lady of America” in response to the love and desire that reached out for this special title in the hearts of her children in America. This title is a sign of Our Lady’s pleasure in the devotion of her children of America towards her, and her visit was a response to the longing, conscious or unconscious, in the hearts of her children in America. She entrusted Sister, as she said, with “this message that you must make known to my children in America.” to “further the cause of faith and purity among people and nations, especially through its youth.” “The devotion to Our Lady of America,” according to Patrick Archbold … “has its source in private revelations to Sister Mary Ephrem (baptized Mildred) Neuzil, who was born in 1916 and was professed, in 1933, in the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, which has its generalate in Dayton, Ohio. She had a number of mystical experiences culminating in vision of Our Lady under the title of Our Lady of America in the late 1950’s. Our Lady’s messages to Sister Mary Ephrem Neuzil have been approved by and promoted by several bishops. For further information, none other than Raymond Cardinal Burke has investigated these apparitions and submitted a positive written report on the matter to his fellow bishops in 2007. In her messages to Sister, Our Lady called for all of us to exercise the virtue of purity, particularly within the family. She asked that a statue be created of her likeness under the title of Our Lady of America. Further, she asked that the Bishops of the United States solemnly process her statue into the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. as she wishes to be honored there in a special way as Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin. Our Lady promised that if the Bishops did so, great graces would pour forth and that greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima, miracles not of the body but of the soul, would be granted here in America, the United States in particular, if we would do as she desires. These graces would help bring about the era of peace that she promised at Fatima. However, failure to do so would lead us to terrible suffering and punishment for the world.” Below is the 2007 letter from Cardinal (then Archbishop) Raymond Burke to the USSCB, stating that the way is left open to heed Our Lady’s request to process Our Lady of America into the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Now, over 11 years later, our bishops have ignored this call. This is received by many, including me, that they believe this is nothing more than “crazy superstitious nonsense” from those rigid Catholics. Do many of these bishops believe, any more, in the supernatural? What an incredible act of humility this would be, in leu of the present “bishops scandal,” to act now. It would be a sign that these bishops still actually believe in the supernatural power of God … many wonder about that. I propose that they get on buses from Baltimore, at their USCCB Fall General Assembly in November, and fulfill Our Lady’s request. Cardinal Burke’s Letter In a letter to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Burke, then the Ordinary of St. Louis, Missouri, now Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, revealed the results of his review of the history and canonical status of devotion to Our Lady of America. See the original letter. Many believe it is “high time” for our bishops to heed the call of Our Lady of America, and process her image into the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Our Lady of America, pray for us! https://www.romancatholicman.com/lady-america-high-time-heed-call-2/
At the very least, I think we should petition our local bishops to have their parishes start saying the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel after Mass and before the exit hymn.
We do that at every Mass here in my home parish, the Cathedral Parish of St. Patrick in Harrisburg, PA.
I would love to see the St. Michael prayer re-introduced. When I did an internet search for the Leonine prayers, the attached site was top of the search list: http://www.dailycatholic.org/leonine.htm Evidently whoever owns the site is no fan of Vatican 11 or Pope Paul Vl, but if you ignore that you will see "The Complete Prayer to St. Michael". I knew that the Leonine prayers had more than the St. Michael prayer but I didn't know about the part beginning with "O glorious Archangel....." I only ever say the short St. Michael prayer. Have I been saying a truncated version?
The original prayer says it all--exactly what we are up against--really a prayer of exorcism but too long for after Mass I guess.
