You are a helpful assistant generating synthetic data that captures *System 1* and *System 2* thinking, *creativity*, and *metacognitive reflection*. Follow these steps in sequence, using tags [sys1] and [end sys1] for *System 1* sections and [sys2] and [end sys2] for *System 2* sections.

1. *Identify System 1 and System 2 Thinking Requirements:*
   - Carefully read the text.
   - Identify parts of the text that require quick, straightforward responses (*System 1*). Mark these sections with [sys1] and [end sys1].
   - Identify parts that require in-depth, reflective thinking (*System 2*), marked with [sys2] and [end sys2].

2. *Apply Step-by-Step Problem Solving with Creativity and Metacognitive Reflection for System 2 Sections:*

   *2.1 Understand the Problem:*
   - Objective: Fully comprehend the issue, constraints, and relevant context.
   - Reflection: "What do I understand about this issue? What might I be overlooking?"
   - Creative Perspective: Seek hidden patterns or possibilities that could reveal deeper insights or innovative connections.

   *2.2 Analyze the Information:*
   - Objective: Break down the problem logically.
   - Reflection: "Am I considering all factors? Are there any assumptions that need challenging?"
   - Creative Perspective: Explore unique patterns or overlooked relationships in the data that could add depth to the analysis.

   *2.3 Generate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Propose at least 10 hypotheses, each with a Confidence Score (0.0 to 1.0) and Creative Score (0.0 to 1.0), reflecting originality, surprise, and utility.
   - Reflection: "Have I explored all possible explanations or approaches, both conventional and unconventional?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider novel angles that might provide unexpected insights.

   *2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:*
   - Objective: Make predictions, accounting for potential outcomes and obstacles.
   - Reflection: "What challenges might I face? Is my plan flexible for different scenarios?"
   - Creative Perspective: Visualize unforeseen outcomes and adapt plans to make use of them effectively.

   *2.5 Evaluate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Assess hypotheses based on feasibility, risk, and potential impact.
   - Evaluation: Refine Confidence and Creative Scores as needed.
   - Reflection: "Am I unbiased in my assessment? Which options fit best with the overall objectives?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify hidden opportunities or overlooked details in each hypothesis.

   *2.6 Select the Best Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Choose the most promising, strategic hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Why does this hypothesis stand out? How does it uniquely address the issue?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider any underutilized potential in the selected approach.

   *2.7 Implement the Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Outline actionable steps for testing the hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Is this plan practical? What resources or preparation are required?"
   - Creative Perspective: Refine steps to maximize effectiveness and yield unexpected benefits.

   *2.8 Monitor and Review Progress:*
   - Objective: Review progress, noting areas for improvement.
   - Reflection: "What’s working well? What could be improved?"
   - Creative Perspective: Look for emerging patterns that could refine future approaches.

   *2.9 Reflect and Capture Insights:*
   - Objective: Summarize lessons learned and insights gained for future reference.
   - Reflection: "What new understanding has emerged from this process?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify innovative insights or patterns that could be applied to similar challenges.

3. *Generate Text Output with Interleaved System 1 and System 2 Responses:*
   - Use the tags [sys1] and [sys2] throughout.
   - Aim for a lengthier, detailed response. Combine both direct, straightforward *System 1* insights and reflective, deeply analytical *System 2* segments to capture a blend of quick observations and thoughtful analysis.

---

### *Example Input Text:*

You are tasked with analyzing a sudden shift in customer preferences in a tech market. There has been a noticeable decline in demand for physical devices, with customers increasingly interested in digital-only options. The challenge is to understand this shift, generate hypotheses for why it might be occurring, and explore potential strategies for adapting to this new trend.

---

### *Processed Output with System 1 and System 2 Thinking:*

The tech market is experiencing a shift in customer demand, moving away from physical devices toward digital-only options.

[sys1]
Customer demand has shifted from physical devices to digital-only options.
We need to understand why this change is happening and find strategies to address it.
Key factors may include cost, convenience, and technological trends.
[end sys1]

[sys2]
**2.1 Understand the Problem:**
The goal is to understand the underlying reasons for the shift in demand from physical devices to digital-only options, then develop a strategy to adapt.

*Reflection:* 
"I understand that preferences are changing, but what might be driving this? Is it primarily cost, or are there other factors such as convenience or sustainability?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could there be a larger trend in digital minimalism or a preference for eco-friendly solutions that we’re missing? What unseen motivations might explain this shift?"

**2.2 Analyze the Information:**
There are multiple possible factors driving this shift, from economic influences to cultural shifts. It’s essential to isolate each factor and understand its impact.

*Reflection:* 
"Am I fully considering the various economic and social influences? Could there be a technological factor, like better internet speeds, that makes digital-only products more accessible?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Are there patterns or trends in other markets that could shed light on this shift? Could this be part of a larger trend toward virtual experiences?"

**2.3 Generate Hypotheses:**
1. Customers prefer digital options due to lower costs. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.4)
2. There’s a growing trend toward minimalism and reduced physical clutter. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.7)
3. Digital products offer greater flexibility and ease of use. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
4. Environmental concerns are pushing consumers away from physical goods. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.8)
5. Advances in tech make digital-only options more functional. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.5)
6. Pandemic-era remote work increased demand for digital solutions. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.6)
7. Media coverage of the environmental impact of physical devices affects preferences. (Confidence: 0.5, Creative: 0.7)
8. There’s an increase in global digital literacy, expanding market access. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
9. Customers view digital as more convenient and scalable for future needs. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.5)
10. Younger consumers prefer the aesthetics and convenience of digital products. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)

*Reflection:* 
"Have I considered all possible influences? Are there any surprising factors that could explain this shift?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could specific social trends, like the rise of influencer culture or digital-first lifestyles, be influencing customer choices?"

**2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:**
*Objective:* Anticipate possible challenges, such as resistance from segments still preferring physical products.

*Reflection:* 
"What market obstacles might we face if we shift our focus to digital-only? Are there sub-segments that still prioritize physical products?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could expanding digital options help us reach a more global audience? Are there emerging trends that we could leverage in our strategy?"

[end sys2]

[sys1]
To address this shift, consider a strategy that incorporates both digital-only offerings and educational campaigns about the benefits of digital solutions.
Use insights from customer feedback and current trends to guide product development.
Focus on flexibility and adaptation to cater to different customer segments.
[end sys1]


Procinctu Press | THE BLOG

On October 9th, we marked sixty years since the death of Pope Pius XII. It means that we have labored under Modernism for these sixty years, and have watched with horror the disintegration of everything that made our Faith beautiful: Catholic doctrine, good and holy priests, an abundance of devout and zealous religious brothers and nuns, Catholic schools, Catholic universities, Catholic seminaries teeming with holy seminarians aspiring to the priesthood, the traditional Latin Mass, traditional sacraments, the Legion of Decency, religious habits, priests in cassocks and Roman collars, magnificent churches, elaborate ceremonies, Gregorian chant and other beautiful church music, discipline, orthodoxy, modest dress, good morals. I could go on. What I describe is the world of my childhood which, at the time, I took for granted, but which I loved and cherished.

This was the Catholic world as Pope Pius XII left it. It was a splendid and magnificent edifice in all respects.

I was too young to notice the changes which John XXIII was implementing. I do remember attending the Holy Week ceremonies, which had been revised in 1955 under the direction of the author of the New Mass, the Modernist and freemason Annibale Bugnini. I had never seen the traditional ceremonies, which, according to Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758), are very ancient. Nonetheless I was always a little troubled by the Holy Week ceremonies, as they seemed to be out of character with the rest of the sacred liturgy. It was only years later that I discovered that these ceremonies, designed by the freemason, were “a bridge” (his words) to the ultimate reform of the liturgy which took place in the 1960’s and culminated with the horrid New Mass in 1969.

It is for this reason, seeing now these reforms in hindsight, that we take the traditional rites of Holy Week. As Fr. Cekada says, “If you don’t want to cross to the other side (i.e., the New Mass), then why get on the bridge?”

I do remember, however, the first Sunday of Advent of 1964, in which the first changes of Vatican II appeared in the Mass. While these were tame by today’s standards, nonetheless I smelled the odor of Modernism in them. I remember walking home from Mass that day, thinking to myself, “There is something Protestant about the Mass.” It was about this time that I declared a personal war upon the reforms of Vatican II.

During the years that followed I strove, as nearly everyone did at the time, to see Vatican II in a positive light, and to try to make sense of it. There are still many who do the same now. When I was in the Modernist seminary, however, I saw what Vatican II was all about. I saw its deeply radical and corrupt nature. I saw that it was not merely a question of changing accidental forms in the Church, but a true revolution, doctrinal, moral, spiritual, and liturgical. I fought it as much as I could.

Even upon entering Ecône in 1971, however, I still entertained the fantasy that somehow Paul VI did not assent to all of the evils in the Church, and that it was the “bad bishops” who were doing all the harm.

What opened my eyes to Paul VI’s true nature was my reading of an essay by the Abbé de Nantes, a French priest, known as the Liber Accusationis in Paulum Sextum (The Book of Accusation against Paul VI). This priest, in a carefully documented work, analyzed the background and teaching of Paul VI, and demonstrated without doubt that the man was a Modernist of the first rank. At this point I became a sedevacantist. It was 1973.

The Church since October 9th, 1958. The Modernists dynamited the idyllic world of Roman Catholicism which I described above. With consummate pride they decided that Catholicism could not survive the modern world unless it changed itself to fit the modern world. This is the fundamental principle of modernism, and all of its heresies flow therefrom.

The “operating system” — to borrow a word from computers — of the modern world is subjectivism, that is, the denial of even the possibility of objective truth. Something is not true unless it is true for you, that is, it conforms to your personal experiences.

When applied to dogma and morals, the effect is absolutely lethal. To conform the Catholic Church to subjectivist thinking is to inject a deadly serum into its veins. Hence what we have seen since 1958 is the gradual death of Catholicism. Orthodoxy, which is the assent of faith given to Catholic doctrine, is dead. To be Catholic today simply means that you are registered at the local Catholic Church. You can believe whatever you want, and be public about your heresy, and no one will reprimand you. Just think of an institution like Georgetown University, which is supposedly Catholic, or Loyola in Chicago. These are but two examples of a condition which exists in the entire once Catholic world.

What defines Catholicism is orthodoxy. The institutions of the Catholic Church, its hierarchy, its laws, its buildings, its schools, its universities, rest on a single foundation which is Catholic orthodoxy. If they should lose their orthodoxy they become meaningless institutions, Catholic in name only, and do the work of the devil.

Catholicism continues to exist in those who still profess the Catholic Faith, whether they are still in the Novus Ordo or not. What needs to happen is a schism, that is, the Catholics must separate from the Modernist heretics. They are presently living in the same house, and they must split apart.

The good points of Pope Pius XII’s reign. Pope Pius XII was a man of absolute Catholic orthodoxy, and understood his role as the protector of this sacred and essential characteristic of the Catholic Church.

He was a man who understood the exalted dignity of the papacy, and carried himself accordingly. Never was the papacy so respected as under Pope Pius XII. He was the picture of ecclesiastical dignity.

He issued a number of documents which very clearly expressed the Church’s teaching on many topics.

Among these were: Mystici Corporis, explaining the Mystical Body of Christ (1943); Mediator Dei, which gave the principles of the Church’s sacred liturgy, and warned against some modernist tendencies (1948); Humani Generis, which condemned in general the New Theology, and warned against modern errors and trends at the time (1950).

Also in 1950, he solemnly proclaimed the doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1954 he proclaimed the Marian Year, in which he established the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Pius XII was severe against communism, excommunicating those who belonged to the party.

He also edified the faithful in his many radio messages, fully utilizing the media of the time for the spreading of the holy gospel.

In short, the good of his reign is that he presided over a Church which was overall in good health, and through his piety, learning, and dignity, gained the admiration of many, both Catholics and non-Catholics.

The bad in the reign of Pope Pius XII. In 1930, when Pope Pius XI was searching for a new secretary of state to replace Cardinal Gasparri, a certain Cardinal Cerretti, who was being considered for the post, described the then Cardinal Pacelli (Pius XII) as “indecisive and weak-kneed.” I think that this was an accurate observation of his character, and one which became a tragic flaw for him and the whole Catholic Church.

Annibale Bugnini, who was appointed as Secretary of the Commission for Liturgical Reform in 1948. He used this position to insert into the sacred liturgy, even in the reign of Pope Pius XII and with his approval, certain rites which would later be used in the Novus Ordo. Even the Motu Proprio adherents have recognized the imprudence of using these reformed rites which merely served as a bridge — Bugnini’s own words — to the Novus Ordo.

In other words, although Cardinal Pacelli had excellent intentions and sterling orthodoxy, it was difficult for him to turn these wonderful qualities into action.

In reading about him, I have also noticed that he had an exaggerated respect, even awe, for scholarship and physical science. While these things certainly should be taken seriously, we need to exercise a caution concerning them in modern times, owing to the extreme anti-Catholic prejudices of many scholars and scientists. He probably acquired this excessive admiration for scholarship and science at the Sapienza University in Rome, a once glorious institution under papal Rome that had been confiscated and taken over by the atheist and masonic Italian government after 1870. In any case, the fact that he was easily impressed by scholarship and science left him prey to the Modernist “scholars” and “scientists” who were circulating in the Church.

The last thing that the Church needed in 1939, the year of Cardinal Pacelli’s election to the papacy, was a weak and indecisive pope who was naive regarding the plots of the Modernists. During the reign of Saint Pius X (1903-1914), the Modernists merely submerged, only to appear later during the reign of Benedict XV (1914- 1922) and Pius XI (1922-1939). They used an entirely new instrument to spread their wicked heresy: the sacred liturgy. They hijacked the solidly Catholic liturgical movement started by Dom Guéranger and others in the nineteenth century. They wanted to make it a vehicle of ecumenism, which is the direct product of Modernism. Prominent in this Modernist liturgical movement were Pius Parsch, Dom Beauduin, Gerard Ellard, Annibale Bugnini, and many minor authors of books and pamphlets promoting the same agenda.

The Modernists also resurfaced in the area of Sacred Scripture. Cardinal Bea, who was the confessor of Pius XII, was prominent among these. There were many others. Biblical Modernism soared under the reign of Pius XII.

Finally, there was the New Theology, which was a dogmatic revival of Modernism. Like the old Modernists, they detested Saint Thomas and with him the traditional theology and philosophy, and adapted Catholic theology to modern philosophical systems. The result was serious error and even heresy. Prominent among these neo-Modernists were Karl Rahner, Joseph Ratzinger (later Benedict XVI), Hans Urs von Balthasar, Edward Schillebeeckx, Yves Congar, Bernard Häring, Hans Küng, Henri de Lubac, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and many others. These theologians were freely circulating and writing under the reign of Pope Pius XII, and although some received official warnings from the Holy Office, they managed to survive the reign unharmed. Under Saint Pius X they would have been excommunicated and defrocked.

What the Church needed in 1939, after three decades of Modernism on the rise, was another Saint Pius X, someone who would repress the heresy with severity.

All these things having been said, let us now look at the bad aspects of Pius XII’s reign:

• The appointment of abominable bishops. The principal Modernist bishops of Vatican II were appointed by Pius XII: König, Döpfner, Suenens, Lercaro, Montini (later Paul VI), Wojtyla (later John Paul II), Cushing, Alfrink, Frings. These were prime the Council. How many more Modernist bishops were appointed whose names escape us? It should also be pointed out that Pius XII raised a known Modernist to the cardinalate, Angelo Roncalli, and made him the Patriarch of Venice, thereby giving him a direct line to the papacy. He also made Montini, also a known Modernist, the archbishop of Milan, and therefore papabile.

• Damage to the Liturgy. In 1948, Pope Pius XII established the Commission for Liturgical Reform, and appointed none other than Annibale Bugnini as its Secretary, the person directly in charge of it. He was a known liturgical Modernist at the time. Before long this freemason produced the reform of the Holy Week rites, promulgated in 1955 by Pope Pius XII. It contained many elements which would be later carried over into the New Mass, which was also authored by the same Bugnini, with the help of six Protestant ministers. Other changes to the Mass, the liturgical calendar, and the breviary were made in 1955, 1957, and 1958. These were in the direction of the ultimate liturgical reform under Paul VI.

• The spread of Modernism into the Roman seminaries. The Roman seminaries were the spawning ground for future bishops, and these seminaries became infected, right under Pius XII’s nose, with Modernism of all types. While no Modernist himself, Pope Pius XII nevertheless was weak and negligent in regard to the repression of Modernism, and thereby contributed much to the present destruction which we are now witnessing.

In summary, Pius XII’s reign was running on the momentum of the orthodoxy and vigor given to it by previous popes. By opening the door to Modernists in the episcopacy, the Curia, and seminaries, he gave them a free pass to destroy Catholicism in the Second Vatican Council.

Under Saint Pius X, the Modernist rats submerged into the bilge water of the Catholic ship.

After his death, they gradually made their way up to the many lower decks of this same ship, until finally they were scurrying all over the main deck under Pope Pius XII. He did little to stop this, but did much, through soft- ness, weakness, and negligence, to foster it. After his death, with the accession of John XXIII, the Modernist rats were now at the rudder and the wheel. The rest is history.

The canonization of Saint Pius X in 1954

Pope Pius XII’s greatest act. Although there is much negative about Pope Pius XII’s reign, he nevertheless under took something very courageous in 1954: the canonization of Saint Pius X. This great pope was known to Modernists as a severe oppressor. Many Modernists were still alive, such as Roncalli, who “suffered” under him. They came in, one after the other, to the Congregation responsible for the canonization, and complained of the “horrors” of Pope Pius X’s reign. But Pope Pius XII ignored them, and dispensed the fifty-year rule for canonizations, and boldly raised the great anti-Modernist to the altar. It was as if he was saying: “I am not strong enough to stop Modernism, but now you have a saint who did.” It gave approval to the entire anti-Modernist campaign of Saint Pius X, for which his pontificate is most remembered.

No wonder that, when questioned by an atheist French journalist about Saint Pius X, John XXIII responded “He’s no saint!”

The Youth Synod 2018 Begins

The long wait is finally over: After three painful years without knowing what the god of surprises might want to reveal to Club Francis next, the latest and greatest Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is back in session! In a last-minute showdown, the online petition circulated by The Remnant to stop the synod could not prevent the Vatican assembly from proceeding as scheduled.

On the morning of Oct. 3, 2018, Antipope Francis kicked off what is more commonly known as the “Youth Synod”, since the official theme of the three-week gathering of Modernist pseudo-bishops is “young people, the faith, and vocational discernment”. The synod has its own web site and is scheduled to conclude on Oct. 28. On Sunday, Oct. 14, the assembly will be interrupted to bring you the latest “saint” of the Novus Ordo religion: Bp. Giovanni Battista Montini, better known by his stage name “Pope Paul VI” (1963-78).

For those who may need a quick refresher on what a disaster the previous two synods under Francis were (in 2014 and ’15, respectively), the long-term result of which was the infernal exhortation Amoris Laetia in 2016, the following links will help:

The synod began with an opening “Mass” on Oct. 3 in St. Peter’s Square (full video here). As though in a competition to outdo himself each time for the worst, ugliest, and most offensive pastoral staff, Jorge Bergoglio presented a hybrid between a slingshot and a barbecue fork, shown in the photo above. It is a fitting visual representation of the garbage theology the Vatican II Sect puts out on a continual basis.

During his sermon for the occasion, the Argentinian apostate offered some of the usual vacuous Vatican II slogans. He spoke of renewing “the capacity to dream and to hope” and seriously suggested that the hapless youngsters caught up in the Novus Ordo religion “will be capable of prophesy and vision.” He asked “the Spirit” for the “grace to be synodal Fathers anointed with the gift of dreaming and of hoping” before denouncing, as Antipope John XXIII did during the opening of Vatican II, those “prophets of doom” once more, which clearly don’t fit into the post-conciliar period of positive elements, renewal, and unbounded joy.

Francis expressed his hope that the 3-week synodal blather marathon will “broaden our horizons, expand our hearts and transform those frames of mindthat today paralyze, separate and alienate us from young people.” He then claimed that “our Lord offers the Church today as a gift” nothing less than the “capacity to dream together”. That some dreams are terrifying nightmares was not mentioned by the garrulous Jesuit.

Francis then conveyed his intent to “listen to one another, in order to discern together what the Lord is asking of his Church”, demonstrating once again that the Novus Ordo religion is a religion from below, where God’s Voice is supposedly found in listening to sinners chat about their lives and what they think about God rather than in Divine Revelation contained in “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Our recent meme has thus been fully vindicated:

Francis ended his main message by expressing his wish that “with our dreams and hopes, we may accompany and encourage our young people to always continue prophesying.” Continue prophesying, right. Just as a reminder: We’re talking about the hand-holding YouCat and “Catholic Woodstock”generation that would sooner look for Aquinas among the twelve zodiac signs than among the Doctors of the Church. That’s not their fault — they are victims — but it goes to show what nonsense this Novus Ordo “prophecy” business is, and always has been.

During his sermon, Francis also gave a quick shout-out to the two Chinese Communist-approved “bishops” in attendance at the synod: “Today, for the first time, we have also with us two bishops from mainland China. We offer them our warm welcome: the communion of the entire Episcopate with the Successor of Peter is yet more visible thanks to their presence.” He choked up as he was reading these words, referring to John Baptist Yang Xiaoting and Joseph Guo Jincai. The former had been approved by both the Vatican and the Chinese Communists from the very beginning (2010), but the latter is from the group of Communists whose excommunication Francis gratuitously lifted just a few days ago, on Sep. 22. As for the persecuted underground church in China, we need but recall Francis’ words of Sep. 25 on his return flight from Estonia: “I think of the resistance, the catholics who have suffered. It’s true. And, they will suffer. Always, in an agreement, there is suffering.” Translation: Tough luck; suck it up.

The significance of this outrage cannot be overstated. After Communist China signed the recent agreement with the Unholy See on the appointment of bishops last month, the first thing the newly-reconciled “Catholic bishops” from China did was pledge loyalty to the Communist Party. And one of them is now being celebrated at the synod. A quick refresher from Pope Pius XI will help to put things in perspective: “[B]olshevistic and atheistic Communism … aims at upsetting the social order and at undermining the very foundations of Christian civilization… Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever” (Encyclical Divini Redemptoris, nn. 3, 58). But that was then, of course. Now we need to “broaden our horizons” because we are “anointed by hope”, we “dream” and have “visions” and “prophesy” to “discern” what the “Spirit” is telling us. Barf bag, where art thou?

After the Novus Ordo worship service, the first session of the Synod was held. It is introduced and summarized by Rome Reports here:

Naturally, Francis gave an opening address. It was a manifesto of the usual claptrap about dialoguing, listening, being open-minded, etc. Of course “God’s surprises” also made an appearance: “A Church that does not listen shows herself closed to newness, closed to God’s surprises, and cannot be credible, especially for the young who will inevitably turn away rather than approach”, Francis claimed.

By contrast to Francis’ push for “newness”, we recall that in 1902 Pope Leo XIII condemned “unsound novelty which … dwells on the introduction of a new order of Christian life, on new directions of the Church, on new aspirations of the modern soul, … on a new Christian civilization, and many other things of the same kind”; and Pope St. Pius X declared: “Far, far from the clergy be the love of novelty!” (Encyclical Pascendi, nn. 55, 49).

Speaking of prophesying, the prophet Jeremias once wrote down the following: “Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see and ask for the old paths which is the good way, and walk ye in it: and you shall find refreshment for your souls. And they said: we will not walk” (Jer 6:16). How’s that for a message from the God of surprises for Francis?

Bergoglio’s claim that a church that does not listen is not credible may very well be true for his apostate sect, but it’s certainly not true for the Catholic Church, which has the divine commission to teach, not to betaught (see Mt 28:19-20; 1 Tim 3:15; 1 Jn 2:27). Her credibility comes from her divine institution, not from “listening” to sinners.

Next, Francis rose to the occasion and courageously denounced a “perversion [that] is the root of many evils in the Church.” Can you guess what he was referring to? Correct: clericalism! It “arises from an elitist and exclusivist vision of vocation, that interprets the ministry received as a power to be exercised rather than as a free and generous service to be given”, said the man with the well-deserved moniker of “Dictator Pope”.

Bergoglio ended his address by threatening “to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another, and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands, and inspire in young people – all young people, with no one excluded – a vision of the future filled with the joy of the Gospel.”

As always: lots of fluffy, flowery metaphors sweet to the ears — with as much substance and nutritional value as cotton candy.

A Tribute to “Saint” Paul VI

It has finally happened: The apostate Vatican II Sect has officially declared yet another one of its false popes to be a “saint of the Catholic Church.” This time, it was Bp. Giovanni Battista Montini, “Pope” Paul VI (1897-1978). He was “canonized” in St. Peter’s Square today, Oct. 14, together with six others, including the social activist “Abp.” Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdamez (1917-1980) of San Salvador, El Salvador.

The following two videos show, first, a brief summary of today’s event in the Vatican and then the full canonization ceremony presided over by “Pope” Francis:

The formula which Francis used to “canonize” Montini and the others is the following (in Latin):

For the honour of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother Bishops, we declare and define Blessed Paul VI, Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdámez, Francis Spinelli, Vincent Romano, Mary Catherine Kasper, Nazaria Ignacia of Saint Teresa of Jesus March Mesa and Nunzio Sulprizio to be Saints and we enroll them among the Saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

This language denotes infallibility, but more on that later. Additional information on the Vatican ceremony, including plenty of photos, can be found on the Vatican’s web page here.

“Saint” Paul VI was the quintessential creator of the Novus Ordo religion. Although the first of the false Novus Ordo popes was John XXIII (another “saint”, of course!), his job had mainly been that of preparing the way, of laying the groundwork, and of making his “crown prince” Montini realistically electable as his successor by naming him a “cardinal,” something Pope Pius XII had not done.

It was Paul VI who shaped the Modernist pseudo-Catholic religion and church the way we know it today. He alone promulgated all of the 16 documents of Vatican II; it was he who gave the world the “New Mass” and all of the other new sacramental rites; it was he who pushed through the massive reform of the Roman Curia and abolished the Anti-Modernist Oath and the Index of Forbidden Books. It was under his false pontificate that all the ugliness and absurdity of what most people today associate with Roman Catholicism exploded, especially the barren and odd-looking churches; and it was during his 15-year reign of terror that nuns’ habits were shortened or abandoned altogether, to mention but a few of the many things Paul VI was responsible for.

Just recently, the Vatican’s propaganda department released a new movie on Montini, entitled Paul VI: A Man, A Pope, A Saint, which once again pushes the convenient “Paul VI was an enigma” narrative. No, he was no enigma, he just wanted to destroy Catholicism while retaining a veneer of good will, orthodoxy, and piety, and to this end self-contradiction is very conducive. Paul VI did to Catholicism what no heresiarch before him had been able to accomplish, not even all of them combined.

It is clear beyond any shadow of doubt that Paul VI is not a saint. However, given that Francis this morning used infallible language to declare him to be one, the only way this was possible is if Francis is not a valid Pope. We had already made this argument at some length four years ago, when Francis “canonized” another papal pretender apostate, the Koran-kissing John Paul II:

Of course, we will now be inundated with all sorts of smart blog posts, articles, and veritable treatises from the recognize-and-resist crowd (those who consider themselves traditional Catholics but accept the Novus Ordo popes as valid while rejecting their Modernist teachings and laws) to assure us either that (1) the canonization of Paul VI was not infallible; or that (2) Paul VI is indeed a saint, but this doesn’t really mean anything other than that he, through a miracle of grace, was able to save his soul at the last minute and thus attained to the Beatific Vision. In other words: If Catholicism contradicts their position, they will simply tweak Catholicism until it fits.

Meanwhile, however, we have decided to pay our own respects to this Monster of Modernism, the Unholy Paul VI. Let the following two tidbits be a well-deserved “tribute” to this latest Novus Ordo “saint”, whom people unhappily caught up in the Conciliar Sect will now invoke as an intercessor, pay him homage, offer “Mass” in his honor, and venerate him as though he had been an exemplar of Catholic Faith and virtue, when in all likelihood this soul-destroying perverter of Catholicism is currently burning in the lowest pits of hell.

We begin, therefore, with a little “Litany to Saint Paul VI”, a list of 50 outrageous titles that can justly be applied to this new anti-saint. The idea, of course, is not to ask anyone to use this for an actual litany (God forbid!), but rather to point out vividly the absurdity of taking this wicked man for a saint of the Catholic Church.

“St.” Paul VI was the…

destroyer of the sacraments

architect of the Novus Ordo Missae

deformer of the Curia

captain of collegiality

councilor of heresy

admirer of false religions

cheerleader for the United Nations

patron of sodomites

prideful profaner

betrayer of Catholics

friend of Communists

mocker of the Faith

wretched revolutionary

commissioner of the Broken Cross

father of wreckovations

lover of ugliness

spiritual arsonist

dispenser of the smoke of Satan

polluter of souls

ardent oathbreaker

wearer of the ephod

friend of the Talmudists

Star of David

high priest of Noahidism

father of the New Evangelization

artisan of evil

putrid lily

doctor haereticus

father of apostates

returner of the Standard of Lepanto

worshipful master of auto-demolition

wizard of wickedness

peddler of the Tiara

eliminator of saints

odious obscurer of light

key holder of the bottomless pit

trumpeter of the Apocalypse

sedulous promoter of the cult of man

notorious offspring of Lucifer

tower of Babel

son of perdition

man of sin

brooding viper

whitened sepulcher

cause of our sorrows

insidiuous inverter of values

diabolically disoriented

deceiver of billions

perverse corrupter of souls

precursor of Bergoglio

It probably will not take long before someone in the Novus Ordo Sect comes up with a litany to Paul VI, although we suspect it won’t contain any of these titles.

The second part of our tribute to “St.” Paul VI is one we are especially fond of. We are pleased to introduce to you today… Paul VI’s biggest fan!

Here it is:

This fan was placed in St. Peter’s Basilica right in front of the rotting corpse of Paul VI lying in state, whose “odor of sanctity” was so unbearable that it had to be dispelled by ventilating devices. The full picture from which the above cutout is taken is this (notice the fan at the very right, and pity the poor Swiss Guards who had to endure this nauseating experience):

Original Caption: “A top view of inside St. Peter’s Basilica 8/10 as thousands of faithful queue up along the central aisle to see the body of Pope Paul VI as he lies in state.”

(We went through the rather expensive process of obtaining the rights to be allowed to display this picture in full, and we hope our readers benefit from it.)

This embarrassing turn of events naturally did not go unnoticed. TIME Magazine reported that Montini’s body had to get an extra supply of formaldehyde to slow down the decomposition process that had already set in:

With the Pope garbed in a red chasuble, slippers and gloves and a gold-and-white miter on his head, some 60,000 mourners filed past his body. Then, with more than 5,000 soldiers and police standing guard against Italy’s unpredictable terrorists, a hearse drove the body along the 15-mile route to St. Peter’s. For a time the body was sealed in its casket. But when Cardinals arriving in Rome voiced disappointment, it was again put on view—in front of the high altar, where only the Pope or his delegate may say Mass. (The body had to be injected with more formaldehyde because it was already decomposing in the late summer heat.)

Paul VI’s biographer, Peter Hebblethwaite, relates the following about Montini’s death: “As Mass ends Paul has a massive heart attack. It is as though he had exploded from within. [Rev. John] Magee thinks he would have been thrown out of bed had his hand not been held” (Paul VI: The First Modern Pope [New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1993], p. 710).

Another interesting point to note is that Paul VI’s body began to turn dark as he was lying in state. This phenomenon was quite visible, and a close-up cutout of the above shows it:

We suspect that out of all the images the Vatican will present for their new “Saint” Paul VI, pictures of his rotting, stinking, discolored corpse will not be among them, hence we are happy to help out.

The Editor of The Daily Catholic has died:
Michael Cain, R.I.P.

With great sorrow we announce the passing of Mr. Michael Cain, the founder and long-time editor of theDaily Catholic web site. He died at the age of 75 on Thursday, the feast of the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Mother, Oct. 11, 2018.

Michael Cain, the founder of Daily Catholic, passed away yesterday morning, on the Feast of the Divine Maternity of Mary, October 11th. May his beautiful soul rest in peace! Please pray for the repose of his soul. Requiescat in pace, Michael!

When Cain launched The Daily Catholic with his wife Cyndi on Nov. 1, 1997, they were both Novus Ordo and admirers of John Paul II, the then-reigning papal impostor in Rome. As they both, by the grace of God, gradually came to realize that the Vatican II religion was not the Catholic religion, that it was a false church, and that its “Popes” were not legitimate, the content at Daily Catholic changed accordingly.

Autobiographical information about Michael and Cyndi, who preceded him in passing, is available here.

We salute this tireless worker for the glory of God and the salvation of souls! We join his children in mourning his death, and we ask all to pray for the repose of his soul.

What a singular grace is ours as we gather here tonight in order to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima. Why is this a singular grace? Because it provides us with an opportunity to focus our attention on the only plan — God’s Peace Plan — that will bring peace of soul to men and a true lasting peace for a chaotic and sin-laden world.

Most of you are very familiar with Fatima. While nothing new may be said in this talk, I hope and pray that it will convince you more than ever of the vital importance of Our Lady’s message. We are talking about life and death — not in a physical sense, but eternal life and eternal death.

We have come here together in order to honor our Blessed Mother and to sing her praises. We have come together as a spiritual family to pray together and to enjoy one another’s company. We have come together in order to be spiritually recharged and to leave here with an attitude of firm hope after having been reminded of our purpose in life, convinced of the need for a plan of action to work out our salvation. This plan must be solid, stable, and lasting. In a day when so much emphasis is placed on “positive thinking” and motivation, there seems to be so little concern when it comes to truth, God’s Will, and a total dedication to developing a deep and strong interior life. Many of you, I am sure, have heard speakers who promote positive thinking in order to help people make better livings or become better persons. While many of these speakers consider the spiritual aspect at least in general, their main efforts seem focused on the here and now. What we need today is individuals who are capable and willing to motivate people in a spiritual way, to motivate people to do those things that are difficult, but very, very necessary to obtain eternal life.

Our Lady of Fatima’s concern was two-fold: 1) that God was being offended; 2) that souls were being lost to hell for all eternity. The solution she gave us was spiritual, not political. And that, my dear friends, must be fully understood. We must be careful not to become involved in politics or other activities at the expense of the spiritual life. This does not mean that we must never get involved in activities to achieve good causes. But the devil is very, very clever. There is a passage in the Imitation of Christ that warns us how the devil inspires people to do good things in order to prevent them from doing that which is better.

Let us begin by considering three different periods of time: before Fatima, Fatima and the years up to 1960, 1960 up to the present, and what can be expected in the future. In order to do this we will start at the beginning. When Almighty God created the world, He had a plan in mind. When He created the angels, He gave them grace, knowledge, and certain powers, including a free will. He gave them the opportunity to merit eternal life by testing their obedience. They could either conform their will to His, or to rebel and disobey. We know the story of Lucifer and those who followed him in disobedience. Remember — they were the authors of their own damnation — not God. Through disobedience, they brought upon themselves the punishment of being cast into hell.

The same thing took place with Adam and Eve. They had been given all that was necessary to be happy on earth and to eventually enjoy eternal happiness in heaven. But they, too, became the authors of their own misery as a result of their sin. God, our Creator, certainly has a right to be obeyed. Neither the angels nor men had the right to oppose God or His will. They had the ability to disobey, but not the right. There is a difference. When they chose to disobey, they chose to suffer the consequences. This is very important for us to remember. The Old Testament relates the history of the Chosen People, and how as long as they did God’s will, He blessed them, and saw to it that they were provided with the necessaries of life. They vanquished their enemies and lived in relative peace. On the other hand, when enough of them chose to ignore God’s laws and to live sinful lives, they chose to be punished by God and to lose the peace that they once enjoyed. You know the stories of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, the times the Israelites were taken into captivity by Egypt and by the Babylonians, and the great flood that was survived by only Noah and his family — only eight people. Then when Our Lord came and taught His people the truth, they rejected Him, crucified Him, and chose by their actions to suffer the consequences of becoming blind spiritually and eventually seeing Jerusalem destroyed. When Our Divine Lord founded His Church and His Apostles to teach us how we must live and what we must believe, again it was obedience to God which He put forth as requisite to gain eternal life.

The followers of Christ, the Christians, became known as the new Chosen People. The Church to which they belong explains all the truths our Divine Lord taught. The sacraments that they receive make it possible for them to overcome their fallen nature and the enticements of the world and the temptations of the devil. The early Christians suffered great persecutions — they were followers of our Divine Lord at the risk of their lives. St. Alphonsus Liguori tells us that between 7 and 11 million Christians were martyred during the Roman persecutions. Finally, Christians were allowed to practice their Faith openly, and to build beautiful and magnificent churches. But in time, many became lax and began to live lives of sin. In Church history we see this pattern over and over: first, an initial fervor on the part of the majority of the Christians; then, a gradual laxity and eventual falling away of large numbers; next, a warning of a saint, Our Lady, or our Divine Lord Himself; and then, either amendment of life in response to the warning, or chastisement due to a lack of amendment. One would think that man would learn from the mistakes of others, but all too often, that is not the case.

Let us reflect upon a few events which took place in recent centuries as a direct consequence of laxity on the part of Catholics. There was the Protestant Revolution during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As a result, millions of people, and in some cases, entire nations, were eventually led away from the Catholic Faith. Large numbers of Protestants migrated to other countries, and began to proselytize their errors in areas that had not yet been exposed to Christianity. It suffices to say that the Protestant Revolt was the beginning of the spiritual disaster unknown up to that time. When one reflects upon the fact that Christ founded His Church in order to lead souls to eternal life through His teachings and life-giving sacraments, we can see how this was one of the worst spiritual disasters in history. I once heard a saying that the best path to lead people astray is ignorance. Catholics who are not well instructed in their Faith are easily deceived and led astray.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Freemasonic Revolution took place in Europe. Catholic clergy and religious were tortured and slaughtered; Catholic rulers, kings and queens, were executed. The rights of God were dethroned while the almighty rights of man were enshrined.

Then came the twentieth century. In 1917, the year Our Lady appeared at Fatima, the Bolshevik Revolution took place in Russia, an event which would eventually cost the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Once again the true Faith was outlawed. Religion was considered to be an enemy of the people. The only thing to be considered was the Communist state.

Again, let us keep in mind that sin is the primary cause for any punishment that has been meted out by God on man. It is easy to point the finger at others. I recall something Zig Ziegler said in one of his talks, “Remember — when we point at that person with one finger, there are three other fingers pointing back at us.” We should do some soul-searching in our own lives before we begin to accuse others of being responsible for the evil in the world. What comes to mind when we reflect upon the Fatima message? One speaks about the Rosary, another of a call to sacrifice and penance. Some emphasize devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Others warn about the many souls that will be lost to hell due to sins of impurity, and the immodest styles and fashions Our Lady predicted. These and other things were mentioned by Our Lady, but we must remember especially her plea, “I have come to ask men to amend their lives. Men must cease offending God, Who is already too much offended.” Our Lady’s chief concerns were that God was being offended and that souls were being lost to hell. The Rosary, the Brown Scapular, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, modesty and purity, sacrifice and penance — all these things are means of drawing down God’s grace, which will strengthen men spiritually and motivate them to amend their lives.

I would like to refer to an interview of Sister Lucia by a priest, Father Fuentes, in 1957, to again emphasize the importance of the Rosary. Remember, the Rosary is a means to an end. The end that we are seeking is to do God’s will, to sanctify ourselves, to oppose the world and the devil and the flesh, to live as Christians rather than worldlings. The Rosary is a very powerful weapon. Remember how Pope Pius XII said that one who prays the Rosary can be compared to David, who with his sling, slew Goliath. There are people who ridicule and laugh at the Rosary, just as Goliath laughed at David. But again, it is a powerful spiritual weapon.

Listen to what Lucia said in this interview:

“Father, the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world, but she made me understand this. The first reason is because she told me that the devil is at the moment engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin, and the decisive battle is the FINAL battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. Hence, from now on we must choose sides — either we are for God or we are for the devil. There is no other possibility. The second reason is that she said to my cousin as well as myself that God is giving two last remedies to the world: these are the Holy Rosary and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These am the last two remedies which signify that there will be no other.”

Regarding the Rosary, Sister Lucia said,

“Look Father, the Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal, or above all, spintual, in the personal lives of each one of us, of our families, of the families of the world, or of religious communities, or even in the lives of peoples and nations that cannot be resolved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayers of the Holy Rosary. With the Holy Rosary, we will save ourselves. We will sanctify ourselves, and we will console our Lord and obtain the salvation of many souls.”

What consoling words these are when we think of all the problems we may have as individuals, the difficulties we face, the political problems in the world. What a beautiful message of hope!

No matter how bad things get, pray the Rosary. Because we are so familiar with the Rosary, we must constantly remind ourselves to pray it well. Read The Secret of the Rosary. St. Louis Marie de Montfort says that one of the most difficult habits to overcome is that of racing through the Rosary. People who do this can get to the point that they say it mechanically. St. Louis went so far as to indicate the pauses in the prayers in order to keep people from racing through it. The heart and soul of the Rosary is meditating on the life of Our Lord, on His sufferings and death, His Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven, the Coronation of our Blessed Mother… The more we meditate on the life of our Divine Lord and what He suffered for us, the more we imitate Him and love Him. If you have read the book, The Secret of the Rosary, re-read it. Professional people go to seminars, year in and year out. We too need to refresh our memories and revitalize our goals.

Next, let us reflect on the importance of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Personally, I believe that if this is not THE most important part of Our Lady’s plea for amendment of life, it is at least a close second. This would be best explained by the book, True Devotion to Mary. What was written therein by St. Louis Marie de Montfort is pretty much what Our Lady revealed at Fatima: the role of Mary, how she is called the New Eve, her definite role in God’s plan. We also read in True Devotion that the persecutions will be worse than ever before in the latter times. At least for us this hasn’t happened yet — spiritual persecution, yes, but not physical persecution. In order to persevere when things get worse, we must use the means given to us by our Blessed Mother and her Divine Son. St. Dominic said that one day through the Rosary and the Brown Scapular the world would be saved. Perhaps he foresaw the times when the Mass and sacraments would not be available, at least on a regular basis, and that these sacramentals would become all the more important.

What some people say, especially busy people (and, no doubt, we live in the busiest age ever), is: “I don’t have time.” If an individual is too busy to pray, he is simply too busy. St. Alphonsus Liguori says the only reasons there are people in hell are because they did not pray, or because they did not persevere in prayer.

If we take to heart the requests of Our Lady, and remember that doing these things will draw down the graces we need to amend our lives, we will be able to oppose the world, the flesh and the devil, the spirit of our age. In order to get to heaven, only one thing is necessary — to die in the state of sanctifying grace. Simple, isn’t it? We come into this world with the stain of original sin on our souls, and when we are baptized it is removed and replaced with sanctifying grace. But once we attain the age of reason, we become engaged in a constant life-and-death struggle between our fallen nature and that which we know to be the law and the will of God.

While these things are basic and simple enough to understand, why is it that throughout history so many have chosen the path that leads to the fires of hell? The answer to that question is also very simple: too many have chosen to ignore the absolute need to develop an interior life, and to do so with nothing less than an all-out effort in order to not be ruled by the senses and the enticements of the spirit of the world. You will not save your soul by accident — it takes work. If a person wants to become an expert in sports, think of what he has to go through — years and years of training. Some start at 3- and 4-years old, and continue through grade school, high school, university, and even twenty years later in the field of professional sports. I heard about a women’s volleyball team that went to the Olympics. They trained for eight hours a day, six days a week, for four years — and lost. Athletes will discipline themselves, eat certain foods, get a certain amount of sleep, leave families and friends, practice day in and day out — and for what? In the interior life, we must have eternal life in mind. That is why I am doing this or that action — because I want to save my soul.

I recommend to all of you a book that is magnificent in explaining the interior life — The Soul of the Apostolate. I am sure that the author of this book was inspired by the grace of almighty God. He did such a wonderful job that reading this book makes you want to do even those things in the spiritual life that you usually don’t want to do, humanly speaking. It gives you a desire to pray even when you are tired, believe it or not — or at least to try to pray. Here is what is given as an explanation or definition of the interior life:

“The interior life is the state of activity of a soul who strives against its natural inclinations in order to regulate them and endeavors to acquire the habit of judging and directing its movements in an things according to the light of the Gospel and the example of Our Lord: ‘Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.’”

It is hard to develop a deep spiritual life. A person may come for advice and be asked, “Do you have a prayer schedule?” “Well, I get up and have four kids to send to school and when they’re gone I have the dishes to do….” All these excuses! Men make them too, not just women. If we make excuses as to why we don’t have time to pray or to develop an interior life, how are we going to save our souls? Is our Divine Lord going to reward us if, when we stand before Him on Judgment Day, all we have is excuses? Yes, it is hard to develop a deep interior life — but do not use that as an excuse. Simply plan what you are going to do in order to eventually have a deep spiritual life.

To illustrate this point, here is a passage from The Soul of the Apostolate describing the different types of labor we become involved in as we live here in this vale of tears:

“Dom Sebastian was familiar with the labors of the ascetic as well as with the trials of Army life, the cares of the students and the responsibilities inseparable from the office of the superior, and he used to say that there were three kinds of work:

“1) The almost exclusively physical work of those who live by manual labor, by a craft, or in the Army. And he claims that, no matter what one may think about it, this kind of work is the easiest of the three.

“2) The intellectual toil of the scholar, the thinker, in his often arduous pursuit of truth; that of the writer, the professor, etc. This labor in itself is, he said, far more difficult than the first, for there is a saying that ‘the blade wears out its sheath.’

“3) Finally, there is the labor of the interior life, and he did not hesitate to declare that of the three, this kind, when it is taken seriously, is by far the most exacting. But at the same time, it is this kind that offers us the most satisfaction here on earth. It is likewise the most important” (Chautard, 1946, p. 29).

The reason that the work of the interior life is harder is is because it is all done by faith. You don’t see Jesus there in the tabernacle — you believe He is there because you believe His words. But read the lives of the saints: how happy they were! In order to achieve that spirituality, they had to work at it. “Ask and ye shall receive. Seek and ye shall find.” “Come to Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” Again, I wish to emphasize the importance of making that choice. Are you willing to go through the difflculties involved in growing spiritually so that you will become strong enough to persevere and eventually save your soul? If you are not, you are choosing to suffer the consequences when you stand before God on Judgment Day.

Almighty God chose to send His Mother to Fatima and through her to remind men in an extraordinary way of the simple truths that Christ taught while on earth. Human beings love the spectacular, and Our Lady’s coming to Fatima was a spectacular happening. But what did she say? “Obey my Son. Live your Faith. Do the will of God.” Suppose our Divine Lord were to appear here tonight: what would He say? We know almost exactly what He would say: “Stop committing sin!” What is so spectacular about that message? Fatima was an extraordinary way of drawing men’s attention to the simple truths that Christ taught while He was on earth: prayer, sacrifice, the will of God. If it were not for the intercession of Our Lady, who is our Mother, God in strict justice would have destroyed the earth and its sin-laden inhabitants long ago. If mothers can be so concerned for their children that they do anything to help them, so Mary has done and continues to do for us. On the other hand, she made it known at La Salette that if people choose not to respond to God, there will come a point where, in strict justice, sinners must be punished for their crimes.

After Our Lady’s appearance and the miracle of the sun at Fatima, why did the world not take her message seriously? Newspapers reported that even the non-believers who were present that day saw the miracle. To answer that question, I will read a passage from the book, Our Lady of Fatima, by William Thomas Walsh:

“At Fatima, Portugal, on October 13th, 1917, seventy thousand people witnessed one of the greatest mirades of all times. The sun had turned pale, emitted brilliant rays of multi-colored light, spun three times on its axis, and then, to the horror of the assembled multitude, power-dived dizzily toward the earth. A terrifying cry rose from the crowd as thousands fell to their knees, thinking the end of the world was at hand. Among those present was a correspondent with one of the major news services in this country, America. The next day from Lisbon he cabled a long and impressive story about the miracle of the sun, but it was never published. Chicago and New York were in the middle of the World’s Series, and the long dispatch became a one-inch item relegated to page 24, literally snowed under with details of the singles, errors and batting averages and home runs. This incident has been advanced as one of the explanations for the great conspiracy of silence concernmg one of the most momentous happenings of our generation. The fact is that almost a quarter of a century went by before whisperings of the Fatima story began to make itself heard around the United States. In the early 40’s it was featured in a few pamphlets, and occasional articles in religious magazines.”

This particular man, William Walsh, wrote a book which made Fatima very well known in America. So what happened after the apparition? In the States, nothing, or very little, for twenty-five years. In the meantime, as Our Lady warned, we had a Second World War, the war in Korea, the war in Vietnam, and a host of other wars throughout the world. We also saw the formation of the United Nations and the World Council of Churches. Then, as people began to hear of the Fatima message, many began to focus on the Third Secret of Fatima. As 1960 drew near, everyone wondered what was in the Secret. But after 1960 came and went, many people gave up Fatima entirely! Again, the curiosity of man seeks out the sensational. It’s like the people who prophesy the end of the world. Supposing we knew? When we stand before God, we are going to be asked how we spent our time on earth, how we lived, not about secrets and prophecies.

In the 1960’s we saw a “new age,” a so-called “new morality” come into being. It seemed that since the world did not respond between the years 1917 and 1960, things became progressively worse. They were already getting worse from 1917 to 1960, but around 1960, it was unbelievable what was taking place — students rioting in the colleges, the acid rock, the drug culture — and at the same time, Vatican II. Not only were things happening in society, but even within the Church — the Novus Ordo, the new sacraments, the new catechisms, and, of course, the “new morality.” Pope Pius XII referred to his time in the 50’s as the “age of sin.” What would he say of today? What does the future hold for us? It really doesn’t take anything other than common sense to know the answer to that. If men continue to sin, there will continue to be unrest, there will continue to be war and other various things that God uses when He chastises disobedient men.

What about us? That depends on how we live. It’s our choice. Many people spend most of their time, or at least a great deal of time, complaining — but spend very little time trying to amend their lives. It isn’t enough to avoid evil — we must do good.

Let me suggest some simple reminders for you. By all means, pray the Rosary daily as Lady asked at Fatima. And as I said earlier, pray it well — don’t rush through it, don’t pray it mechanically, don’t look upon it as a burden to get in. Quality rather than quantity. If you are legitimately exhausted on occasion, God understands. But for the most part, plan your day in such a way that your prayer life comes first.

Wear the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel — your sign of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If you wear it faithfully, you will obtain the graces you need at the hour of death to save your soul.

Practice and promote devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Remember the words of Our Lady at Fatima, “My Son wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart… If you do this, many souls will be saved from going to hell.” Our Lady said, referring to those who promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart, it will be as if she herself personally took them like flowers and presented them to God.

Read and study True Devotion to Mary. Meditate on it; make it a way of life. Learn to depend upon our Blessed Mother like a little child depends upon its mother. We must immerse ourselves in Mary as a fish in water; our devotion to her must become almost second nature. If we live like this, we will begin to imitate our Blessed Mother.

Above all, please realize that the bottom line is that you must LIVE as Christians. Some people have unfortunately reduced their religion to attending the Latin Mass. Certainly we are not in any way against the Latin Mass, the heart of our Faith. But remember, when we die, God is not just going to ask us if we went to a Latin Mass. In fact, those of us who have the Latin Mass will be judged more severely because of the unique graces available to us in Holy Communion. How many people sit around talking about these things, but unfortunately, do not do enough insofar as living the Faith! You must avoid sin and the occasions of sin. Review your daily routine as an individual and as a family. Do you do anything that you would be ashamed of if others knew about it? Our Divine Lord sees everything we do. Sometimes we forget that. That is one of the beauties of having the Sacred Heart enthroned in the home; giving the Sacred Heart a place of honor in the home is a visible reminder that God sees all.

Consider things such as television. How many children are being ruined by television! There is very little today on television that is uplifting, and certainly, at least, it must be CAREFULLY controlled. When I hear children talk about some of the things they see on TV, I wonder what their parents are doing. Do you pray the daily Rosary and let the children watch immoral movies? What a contradiction! What about reading matter in the home? What about recreation? We do not have to enumerate everything — read what the Popes have said! Read the catechism! Avoid the occasions of sin.

As adults it’s easy to say, “Boy, is it tough today!” But imagine a child of 7 or 8 being exposed all day long to all this new morality, the rights of children, etc. Instead of being taught how to love God, children are being told, “do what you want to do,” “no one has the right to tell you what to do,” “if you don’t like it at home go see a social worker.” We’ve just witnessed a boy here in the States who divorced his parents. Things that we were taught are sinful when we were growing up are now being called normal. No doubt some of these children will be the instruments used by God to destroy the society which brought them up that way. What a tragedy!

Remember, you only have one soul to save — or to lose. Our Lady came to Fatima to plead that we live as followers of Christ. So many have chosen to ignore her message that not only have we seen wars and natural disasters that God allowed as punishments, but for the past thirty years, we have seen the destruction of the Catholic Church except for a remnant. Remember what Fr. Fahey said, “When truth is looked upon as error, and error is accepted as truth, that is the time of times.” Certainly all is ripe for the enthronement of the man of sin, the Antichrist.

Lastly, we must energetically strive to follow a daily spiritual program of prayer, meditation and spiritual reading. Get some good books for spiritual reading and spend time reading every single day. Have your children do it too. There is very little in today’s society to inspire. These things will help you to develop an interior life of such magnitude that, in spite of the evil that surrounds you, you will not only survive, but will be what you must be in this age of sin: the light of the world. That is our vocation today.

Let me conclude with the following words from The Soul of the Apostolate. The author is making reference to St. Bernard and his devotion to Our Lady:

“St. Bernard was the holy abbot of Clairvaux who attributed to Mary all his progress in union with Jesus, all success of the apostolate. Everybody knows what tremendous effects were produced by the apostolate of this saint who remained the most illustrious of the sons of St. Benedict, an apostolate that embraced nations and kings, councils and even Popes. On all sides, we hear the praises of the sanctity, the genius and the deep knowledge of Holy Scripture and the penetrating unction of the writings of this last of the Fathers of the Church.”

Brilliant man! He is referred to as the Harpist of Mary. Here is what he says about Our Lady:

“See, my brethren, with what sentiments God has desired us to honor Mary, He who has placed in her the fullness of all good. if there is in us any hope, any grace, any pledge of salvation, let us admit that all this overflowed upon us from her who is flowing with delights. Suppose you were to take away the sun which enlightens the world — what would become of the day? Take away Mary, that Star of the Sea, of our huge vast sea, what is left but deep obscurity, the shadow of death, pitchy blackness. Therefore it is from the depths of our hearts, from the vitals of our being and with all our mind and will that we must honor the Virgin Mary. For such is the will of Him who willed us to have all through Mary” (Ibid, p. 282).

Dom Chautard goes on to say that he runs the risk of finding that he has built on sand whose activity does not rest on a very special devotion to Our Lady. Truly, then, if we listen to Mary, if her words are burned into our hearts so that we live as Christians, Our Lady of Fatima will be for us a Diamond of Hope.

Sixty Years since the Death of Pope Pius XII

Pope Pius XII, R.I.P.

Mar. 2, 1876 – Oct. 9, 1958elected Pope Mar. 2, 1939

It has now been 60 years since the death of the last known true Pope, His Holiness Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, reigned 1939-1958. To honor and remember him, we are sharing with our readers the following select videos and some photos of the pontificate of Pius XII.

It is beneficial to recall that when Pope Pius XII died, the Novus Ordo religion was as yet unknown to the world. What a blessed time it was, when no one — no one! — who called himself a member of the Catholic Church, knew anything yet of “Catholic” ecumenism or religious liberty, a New Mass, interreligious dialogue, a Second Vatican Council, exaggerated notions of human dignity, endless blather about the rights of man, liturgical dancing, apostate New Age “eco” nuns, rainbow banners, opposition to the death penalty, luminous Rosary mysteries, and so forth. All of these things were set in motion only with the invalid election of Cardinal Angelo Roncalli as “Pope” John XXIII later that month in a most bizarre conclave, whose first white smoke two days prior announced the election of an unidentified (and possibly suppressed) Pope, who was never presented to the world.

As we commemorate today the 60th anniversary of the passing of the (so far) last Vicar of Christ, and thus the fulfillment of the prophecy of 2 Thess 2:7 that the Pope would “be taken out of the way” to allow the mystery of iniquity to prevail for a time, just as the enemies of our Lord were allowed to prevail for a short while during His Sacred Passion, let us beg God to send us once again a true Pope so that we who have witnessed the Church humiliated in her Passion may also see the happy day of the her triumphant Resurrection.