Fasting Friday: George Soros and the Revival of Antisemitic Tropes

March 27, 2020 By Mark Shea

John Zmirak recently delivered himself of this ipse dixit to any potential convert to the faith who does not meet his stringent criteria for Truly True Catholicism: Note the “ethnic” part of that, for thereby hangs a tale. When the Cult says “George Soros” they mean “International Jewish Banker”. He is the Authoritarian Right’s (and the Reactionary Catholic’s) Jewish bogeyman for this generation, mysteriously funding stuff like this: (Funny thing: The Legend of the Soros-funded Protester is an Established Fact... Read more

Prayer Wednesday: Joseph Pearce on the Annunciation and the Downfall of Barad-dur

March 25, 2020 By Mark Shea

Joseph Pearce reflects on Tolkien’s destruction of the One Ring on March 25, which one important tradition identified both as the date of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary and as the date of the Crucifixion. Indeed, as I have noted in Mary, Mother of the Son, the data we actually have points, not to the winter solstice, but to a Jewish theory of “integral age” as driving the Church’s dating of both the crucifixion and Christmas. The idea... Read more

Almsgiving Monday: Who Killed the Knapp Family?

March 23, 2020 By Mark Shea

A reader sends along this piece from the Grey Lady, remarking: This is horrifying. A long but necessary read. The United States descends toward Third World status because of unchecked capitalism and really bad policy choices; and we can’t/won’t do anything about because people cry “SOCIALISM!” “They were bright, rambunctious, upwardly mobile youngsters whose father had a good job installing pipes. … Yet today about one-quarter of the children on that No. 6 bus are dead, mostly from drugs, suicide,... Read more

Deep Fake Doctor Who Impressions

March 21, 2020 By Mark Shea

It’s not perfect, but its still pretty amazing. And the guy is really good impressionist: This, like all technology, has the potential for great good–and great evil: In a world where some of the cleverest people are pumping out lies constantly and the dumbest people are chanting “FAKE NEWS” about real news while swallowing lies hook, line, and sinker from the biggest liar to ever occupy the White House, there is no doubt that deepfake tech will flood the zone... Read more

Thoughts on COVID and the Alleged Judgment of God

March 20, 2020 By Mark Shea

Pedro Gabriel (who is, by the way, a Portuguese doctor who knows whereof he speaks concerning COVID-19) responds to the repulsive, unbiblical, anti-Catholic and evil logic of Taylor Marshall concerning the Pandemic and the Church’s extremely wise decisions to ban public Masses: “Apocalyptic thought: This may be the Judgment of God. Pachamama leads to suspension of all true worship of the Blessed Triune God. In the Major and Minor Prophets of OT, God revokes true worship when His people drift... Read more

Fasting Friday: The Spirit and the Letter

March 20, 2020 By Mark Shea

The rules for fasting and abstinence in the United States are: Every person 14 years or older must abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent. Every person between the age of 18 and 59 (beginning of 60th year) must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Them’s the rules. But of course whenever the Church has to start talking about rules, what we are always looking at is the way a parent talks to a... Read more

Prayer Wednesday: Protestant MegaChurch Guy Discovers the Real Presence

March 18, 2020 By Mark Shea

It’s always enjoyable to watch a good-hearted person start to discover the historical Church and what it actually believed and taught. The realization that you’ve got the story almost exactly backwards can be a jolt, but it can also liberating, like a bone popping back into its socket and feeling right for the first time in a long time. The narrative I absorbed as an Evangelical was that Jesus had obviously instituted the Eucharist as a mere memorial: an audio-visual... Read more

Almsgiving Monday: An Argument About the Old “What About Putting Vets, Not Refugees, First?” Lie

March 16, 2020 By Mark Shea

Almsgiving is, above all, about seeing and taking practical steps to care for those who have nobody to look out for them. Jesus Christ tells us that what we do to the least of these–good or evil–we do to him. No sincere effort, even if it means giving only two copper coins, goes unseen by him. But likewise, no insincere lie, calculated to harm the least of these in order to cling Mammon while hiding behind a mask of piety,... Read more

Since it’s Saturday…

March 14, 2020 By Mark Shea

I decided to just post one joke that cracked me up: But then I thought about this, which also cracked me up: and that brought me to this: All dumb. But I like dumb. Read more

Fasting Friday: Ten Meaningful Ways to Fast During Lent

March 13, 2020 By Mark Shea

Here’s a nifty piece that might be of help if you find fasting to be mysterious and frustrating and hard to connect with God and other people: 1. Don’t buy anything that you don’t NEED. If you can live without it, you don’t need it. Give it up for Lent. Put the money that you would have spent into a jar. You will be surprised at how quickly you build up your savings. I even wrote a book about how to save... Read more