Amy Welborn talks in the link about why it  seems (not to put words in her mouth-read it yourself) that people are thinking that it is new and inspiring to hear Pope Francis emphasize social justice so much, when for years (pre-Vatican II even) there was a great emphasis on the Corporeal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

 

I have this to say (some of it may have been said better by her-and note, I make generalizations and don't exclude myself from being part of the problem):

     1. In the past 40 years or so, "love" has been emphasized in formation classes and from the pulpit in the absence of a definition of love.

     2. Works of Mercy have been emphasized in formation classes and from the pulpit without a true or strong connection to God, justice, mercy, but more of a "do-good", "love everyone", "be a good" person" context. (Fortunately this is changing in many places.)

     3. And of course doctrine had become non-existent in most formation classes and from the pulpit (although this is changing as many good priests are starting to inhabit our parishes and pulpits.)

     4. There has been a disconnect and a backlash because of 1, 2, and 3. For some, the "doctrinalists" seem to have no sense of social justice. For others, the "do-gooders" have no sense of God.

     5. However, from the Holy Father (since at least 1978 when I was becoming aware of what the Holy Father said and wrote) there has been no disconnect. Our holy popes proclaimed the Gospel in its entirety. (Afterall who was that "Doctrinally-centered" pope who gave us the Encyclical God is Love (Deus Caritas Est)?)

     6. But there is a disconnect in the media, because they report on what they WANT you to understand about any public figure. They hated Benedict, so they say how different he was from Pope Francis. They even talk about the differences when they did exactly the same thing. (I believe Amy Welborn mentioned some of these things in the first days.) The media likes Francis because they think he is going to "modernize" (i.e. drop certain sexual norms) the Church.

     7. Sure there are differences, part of that is the special charism every Pope has and how he sees his particular mission. I have written here before how I believe St. John Paul II decided to travel the world to proclaim the Gospel because maybe he wasn't sure it was being proclaimed by the bishops in all these countries (?).

     8. I also believe that as Catholics have become middle and upper class that there is a real disconnect from the Gospel. We pick how we want to be Catholic. How many Catholics (of the conservative tilt) really give a good long listen and pray to what our last 3 popes have said about consumerism and capitalism. Have they changed anything in their lives based on it. I hear all about popes not having competency in the field of economics, but no Pope has told us which laws to pass, just moral principles to follow when making economic decisions. These folks lean on their doctrinal faithfulness in other areas to proclaim their catholicity. Others hold out their do-gooding social justice work and ignore the underpinnings of such work-which all of the last 3 popes have also proclaimed.
      9. I am not saying I am the greatest fan of Pope Francis. I am not going to rehash all that here. However, the lesson I believe is that we need to make sure we are reading the real documents, read the Bible, and understand the entirety of Church teach and not get our views and understanding from NPR, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, TIME magazine, or the New York Post.
     10. As Americans we tend to think it is "all about us", but there are many Catholics out there who live in countries in vastly different situations than us.
      11. And we need to pray about these things-and we need to follow Christ! - mea culpa!

One final note (for any who are still reading): I wrote the following on this blog in 2004 and find it true today in adding both Benedict and Francis to the list:

The economic system which has given us unprecedented leisure money has also broken our families. Unfortunately most are not willing to give up societal wealth in exchange for intact families. And most Conservative (and Catholic) Republicans don't understand that the economic system they champion has been instrumental in accelerating the breakup of the family. (Although admittedly, some good things have come out of this system.)

And I think this has been the concern of our Popes from Leo XIII to John Paul II with regard to capitalism, (as well as other economic systems).

(How conceited is that-to quote oneself!)

 

Oremus pro invicem!

 

Mercy and Killing and Justice

In preparation for the coming Holy Year of Mercy (as I need it!) I am reading Pope Francis' Bull of Indiction. The Holy Father quotes the psalms several times at the beginning (I am quoting a different translation, D-R, but the sense is the same):

...the God who keeps faith for ever, who redresses wrong, and gives food to the hungry. The Lord, who brings release to the prisoner,  the Lord, who gives sight to the blind, the Lord, who comforts the burdened, the Lord, who befriends the innocent!  The Lord, who protects the stranger, who defends orphan and widow, who overturns the counsel of the wicked!  (Ps 146:7-9) (in the Bull, the last portion reads: the ways of the wicked he brings to ruin.)

And

he it is that heals the broken heart, and binds up its wounds.  .... The Lord is the defender of the oppressed, and lays the wicked low in the dust.  (Ps 147:3,6)

Note my emphasis: the Lord's mercy is always accompanied by justice for the oppressor. It is interesting that the Pope Francis included these last lines.

*****************

 

I am wondering what the substantial difference is between our bombing a hospital in Afghanistan for over an hour and killing 22 innocents and the massacres we are seeing committed by crazy individuals across our country.

 

It seems to me that neither are justified. All the perpetrators give justifications, but I don't buy any of it. (Note, I am not strictly a pacifist.)

 

With our never-ending military interventions and injections of weapons in the Middle East which create refugees and take many innocent lives, we continually set the stage (create twisted justification) for more and more extreme terrorist groups.

 

How many decades is it going to take us to learn our lesson?

 

The President seems at a loss to define any coherent strategy (other than we need to get rid of all the bad guys), and I get the feeling most of the Republican candidates for president just want to escalate-which has brought us to this point to begin with.

 

*********************

 

Last summer (2014) I reported here about my trip down the very, very low Lynches River, detailing our many portages. That is not the case today. It is flooding over its banks and people are being evacuated.

 

It is nice to have sunshine here-the first in a couple weeks. But many in other areas are still suffering from floods, lack of water, isolation, and destruction-even in the sunshine.

 

**********************
Oremus pro invicem!

 

 



Picked what will probably our last green peppers today. We've never had much luck with them, but this year we had quite a few.

I didn't realize how bad the flooding situation was in Columbia until out of state family started calling to see if we were all right. And then I got a call to look at the news. Wow. Can't believe it.

I have been in touch with some friends in Columbia and they are okay.

Bethune has gotten off very lightly. Our county has cancelled schools and county offices, but I think the road closures due to flooding are in Camden and Lugoff and near the Bishopville line, all of which are 30 minutes or so away.

I had warned Thomas and Bernadette yesterday that if we encountered a flooded road on the way to the Divine Liturgy that we would turn back, but we saw nothing more than a few puddles.

It has been raining several days-making a mess of the livestock pens, but otherwise, nothing exciting to report here.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Back from Texas

Was in Texas this weekend visiting my seminarian. We liberated him from UD campus and seminary and camped out a couple hours away. We hiked some unmarked trails in a Texas State park for about 4 hours. We talked and played cribbage and sat around the campfire. (See pic with Matthew and Thomas.)

 

It was great to see Matthew and great to talk with him about so many things.

 

Thomas and I listened to The Valley of Fear (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) on the road. It has always been my favorite Sherlock Holmes.

 

We also caught Pope Francis' speech to Congress and unfortunately listened to Rush Limbaugh's take on it. I haven't listened to RL for many, many years. Have I changed that much or has he? He is really is pretty ignorant and obnoxious. It seems to me that he has a problem listening to and comprehending what the Pope said. The difference between what IS and what SHOULD BE is significant, but RL doesn't seem to understand. I would expound be am not sure it is worth my time.

 

Glad to be home. We bought a car on July 17th (2015) and have already added more than 12,000 miles on it. Changed the oil in the truck this morning. My bi-weekly trips to York Tech have been putting a lot miles on it also.

 

We have a calf due any day now. We have piglets due tomorrow (I think she will be late-which is good because we haven't moved her to the farrowing pen yet!).

 

Oremus pro invicem!

vanilla, snakes, and other doings

Walking at for 30 minutes at a pace fast enough to raise your heart rate is supposed to be good for you. However, you can raise your heart rate walking a much shorter distance if you almost step on a 6 foot long snake! In this case it was a black snake-commonly called a chicken snake around these parts because they like to hang around the hen house and eat eggs.

**********************

Mrs. Curley made a protein shake for me today and put in a drop of pure vanilla extract. I took one sip and commented on the sweetness. I there sugar in this??? (I am a diabetic.) We looked at the ingredients of the bottle of "Pure Vanilla Extract" : Corn Syrup!!!! How can they mark it PVE and have it full of corn syrup? I could taste it right away.

*************************

No fall garden!!! We planted one, but nothing has come up-nary a radish. This has never happened before. We have been short of rain, but it has rained a bit. Are the seeds bad? I don't know. But I do know we will have no kale, brocolli, beets, radishes, collards, turnips, cauliflower, romaine, etc.

We finally have been getting a few cantaloupes from the summer garden, but not the quality of last year. The okra has come on strong.

 

We do have a few pumpkins coming, but again, not the size or quantity as the past few years.

****************************

 

Saturday evening during my walk, I was contemplating-actually checking off-my accomplishments for the day. Saturday is ALWAYS measured by the accomplishments around the homestead when everyone is free to pitch in. As I checked things off in my mind, the question from Reid Buckley a few years back haunted me. He had greeted me with "What good have you done today?"

 

So I looked back at the day in terms of what I had done for God and what had I accomplished for my family in a spiritual way. When installing the smoke alarm and I got impatient at some action of my helper (I can't actually remember what event caused the impatientce) - how was I really accomplishing anything?

 

I do think what we say really matters to us and what our actions and words tell others what really matters are sometimes different. What is that quote from St. Paul?

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Important to Pray About

I call your attention to the following: Appeal re: Humanae Vitae.


It begins:

An Instrumentum laboris (working paper) was prepared for the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and published on June 23, 2015. It covers a range of topics germane to the Synod’s theme of the family. Paragraph 137 addresses a key document of the modern Magisterium, Humanae Vitae, in a way that both calls the force of that teaching into question and proposes a method of moral discernment that is decidedly not Catholic. This approach to discernment contradicts what has hitherto been taught by the Magisterium of the Church about moral norms, conscience, and moral judgment, by suggesting that a well-formed conscience may be in conflict with objective moral norms.

Please read the whole thing and respond with your prayers.

Oremus pro invicem!

Automation

Chris Tollefsen has a new piece up at Public Discourse entitled In the Cave: How Automation Changes the Way We Interact with Our World.

Of course being a semi-Luddite (not that Dr. Tollefsen is endorsing Ludditism - you should read the article to get his views) this is a topic close to my heart.

 

When I did a lot of woodworking in days past, I would always master a technique or task with hand tools before I tried it with (or even bought) the corresponding power tool. This helped me understand the work I was doing better. I don't decry all power tools, but the understanding helps the craftsman be better craftsman with either types of tool.

 

Likewise as a adjunct science instructor, I daily see how calculators have dumbed the student. I think using calculators are fine. They are a tool to help speed calculations. However, I see many students who can't do the calculations (even simple +, -, x, /) by hand. They don't understand the operations. Here they are in college taking Physics and don't have a clue about the distributive property. 

 

I ran into something similar this week teaching a Physics lab. The data was to be graphed and the experimental value for g to be gleamed from the slope of the two graphs. Those who knew how to use EXCEL were okay. They knew that they just plug in data points and the computer would spit out a plot, a best fit line, and a slope. The few who didn't know or have access to EXCEL were worried. None of them really understand graphs and the significance of the slopes to the data.

 

I could go on an show how pre-automation farmers were NEVER overweight. Farms were smaller then, and each could only feed a small amount of the population-so efficiency is up with today's big-Ag. But we have lost more than thin farmers. We have lost a sense of sharing, responsibility, smallness, shared dependence, and much more.

 

But most importantly I would decry how automation has and is destroying our culture and communities.

In effect automation has allowed us to spend more of our time making and spending money-but not working, living, and doing things together.

Some may argue that these are choices we make-true to some extent, but not entirely, and not fairly.

This automation economy is set up so that if you want to survive in anything but squalor, you must have certain things and maintain them. This acquiring and maintenance occupies an inordinate amount of time over what we really need for a life of simple comfort.

The more things are done FOR us instead of BY us, the less we actually are capable of doing for ourselves. We didn't move to the homestead to be some kind of survivalists or "preppers". We really wanted a fuller life and a place where our children (and us) could learn to do some things for themselves, which in the past were "just taken care of".

So raising, slaughtering and butchering our own meat takes some time, but it is enjoyable and a social event. And the results are more satisfying in taste, health, and again in social time. It may not be efficient, but it is FULL.

Group singing-entertaining ourselves with friends is more satisfying than BEING entertained. However, it takes more effort-and that is the rub.

Not all these examples may fall under "automation", but they are close. Much more to write about, but my totally non-automated homestead is calling for me!

Oremus pro invicem!

 

Saying farewell for now ...

(Farewell, that is, to son Matthew at Holy Trinity Seminary at University of Dallas.)

Oremus pro invicem!

To the Victors ....

On our way back from Texas (dropping Matthew at Holy Trinity Seminary at UD) we stopped at Vicksburg, MS. The campaign to take Vicksburg lasted almost 2 months. There is a National Military Park at the site of the battle. There are numerous (and I mean numerous) memorials for every Union regiment and company which took part in the battle. There are NO Confederate memorials in the park. All the casualties there were Americans.

The remains of the Union metal-clad Cairo is at the park and was very interesting.

Oremus pro invicem!

Another couple goodreads ...

From Anthony Esolen on reform and renewal of the culture:

Build new schools, reform old schools, and abandon irreformable ones.  Are your children attending the sub-pagan schools? Get them the hell out of there. What are you waiting for? It’s not as if the sub-pagan schools actually teach children English grammar and give them facility with numbers and make them familiar with the lands and rivers and seas of our world, let alone introduce them to the great works of western civilization. If your children are in the sub-pagan schools, it will require almost a miracle of God to keep them from becoming sub-pagan themselves. They too will learn to worship the three-poisoned god of our times, self, sex, State. Take for granted that everything in their classes will be sexuality and politics; even in science classes. Shakespeare? Sexuality and politics and nothing else. Get them out. Begin, if necessary, with one room and one teacher and ten children. Begin.

 

Read the rest here .

 

And read JRR Tolkien in a letter to his son on marriage here.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

 

 

 

New Heifer

Our heifer freshened yesterday. She had a heifer. Our older Jersey (light cow in pic) is due to freshen in a few months.

What to do with all this wealth?

Oremus pro invicem!

I have been reading ...

The Shadow of His Wings by Fr. Gereon Goldman, OFM. It is a fast moving and inspirational read.

At one point, Fr. Gereon is in a prisoner of war camp and observes:

And who is praying? An inquiry revealed that hardly five percent would admit that they prayed; those who prayed did so from force of habit, and their prayers were mostly the prayers of children. For most of the men, prayer was a burden or merely a habit; in any case, it was an unpleasant thing, and for a man and a soldier it was considered an embarrassing occupation.

 

And isn't this the case and a fundamental problem of our society?

 

Fr. Gereon goes on:

 

That this (prayer) is not merely something for women and children, but that first and foremost it is for the man, the head of the family ..... (emphasis added)

 

And isn't this the fundamental solution to the problems and "innovations" we are seeing in our society?

 

I was reminded today of Thomas Jefferson's statement:

 

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

 

It is my contention that we are now "any other." Men must lead; lead their own prayer lives; lead their family in their prayer life; and thus lead the country to God.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

 

I tell you, Dr. Anthony Esolen can write; and of course it isn't just style. What he writes always has substance, clearly articulated. Try this: 

Most lately, in Obergefell v. Hodges, Kennedy has insisted that “the opportunity to marry is integral to human dignity,” and that “excluding gay and lesbian couples from marriage demeans the dignity of these couples.” ...

 

Suppose the man whom women leave cold takes up residence with another man. Well, across the street live a middle-aged man and his autistic brother. They love one another, and will be together till death parts them. But theirs is not a marriage. It is a good thing, but we do them no injustice to say that they are not married, regardless of how deep their love is, or how pleasant they are to their neighbors, or how nicely they trim their flower garden.

 

What distinguishes the love of the brothers from the love of the homosexual man and his friend? Is it that the latter perform acts of sodomy, while the former do not? Is the membrum virile then the instrument that delivers that dignity which warms the cockles of Kennedy’s heart? Let us think about this for a moment. What does the sodomy add? Why should we value sodomy as such? Why should we value it so highly that for its sake we will overturn millennia of human experience, the social structure of our civilization, and the last tottering guardrails against judicial supremacy?

 

Read the whole thing here.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

 

I feel rich

Yesterday we got up early to beat the heat and slaughtered a hog. A big hog, but not as big as the one on my sidebar. This morning we got up early and butchered said hog. We have been pork poor for a couple months (which is another story.)

 

Now with a freezer full of pork, I feel suddenly rich!

 

(We were tempted to butcher the hog inside because Mrs. Curley is away, but reason prevailed and we butchered outside in the early morning light.)

 

Deo Gratias!

Update: Ham and bacon curing.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Hope!

 Behold, the time is coming, nay, has already come, when you are to be scattered, each of you taking his own path, and to leave me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.  I have said this to you, so that in me you may find peace. In the world, you will only find tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world. John 16:32-33

Make your children see this one ....

... and it is good to see with your spouse too.  Make Way for Tomorrow

We borrowed it from the library the other day, and (in my Dad's words) it is "a drippy movie"-that is no one will have dry eyes after this one.

The review to which I linked says of marriage:

Our lives appear to us as a story: a story that we tell ourselves about our past, act out in the present and script for ourselves into the future. To share one’s life with someone, then, is to embark on a daring creative venture in shared storytelling. To marry is to say: Let us make of our two lives one story, a story that I will tell to you and you will tell to me. Telling and retelling that story — reminiscing about shared experiences, especially the happy or funny ones — is one of the secrets of happy couples ...

Another one to read ....

Pope Francis Needs Distributism

Oremus pro invicem!

Truth and Reality - GONE!

“At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” Justice Anthony Kennedy (Casey decision – also quoted in Lawrence decision, and certainly alluded to in the DOMA decision)

“What is Truth?” – Pontius Pilot

The new standard of Justice Kennedy is the old standard of Pontius Pilot, who, if you recall, crucified our Lord!

This is why we are now to call men who think they are women, women? same-sex couples who think they are married, married? white people who think they are African American, black? people who can’t decide what they are, they, or zir, or hir, or non-binary or …..?

If I think I am President of the United States, do I get to be the President? (And do other people have to accept my concept of my own reality?)

If I think I am the husband of the woman down the street, do I get to be her husband? (ditto here.) Note to wife: I have no desire to be anyone’s husband but yours!

If I identify myself as a horse, does that make me a horse, and does it require others to treat me like a horse? (Do I really want to be treated like a horse?)

Where is mankind (er, humankind, er they-kind) heading? Can’t everyone see this is just so much nonsense? A child (before the re-education that is now taking place) would certainly see this as nonsense.

Wikipedia (that standard of all fact!) gives the definition of gender identity as: a person's private sense and subjective experience of their own gender. This is generally described as one's private sense of being a man or a woman, consisting primarily of the acceptance of membership into a category of people: male or female.

What????

One dictionary defines identity as: the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.

Another defines identity as: a) sameness of essential or generic character in different instances. b) sameness in all that constitutes the objective reality of a thing.

Get that: “the objective reality of a thing. – not someone’s own perspective of a thing.

Of course, standby for a change in definitions based upon the new reality of no reality.

Am I forseeing a time that the only fact or reality will be the prison cell for those who actually reject the nonsense and hold on to truth?

Oremus pro invicem! (Really!)

The Father's Vocation

Every Saturday night when we do Night Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, we read:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

It occurred to me that this is surely a prescription for the vocation of father. First, there is the universal call to holiness: Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.

 

Then there is the call of the father on how to raise his children: Drill them into your children.

 

Then the father as spiritual head of the family: Speak of them at home ...

 

And finally, the father as the domestic church's face to the world: and abroad ...

 

Of course there is nothing here specific about a father's vocation as husband, but we can go to St. Paul for that ....

Oremus pro invicem!

Work

Work done:

Work to do:

(I think my brother and family are coming at the end of this week - maybe they can help!)

Oremus pro invicem!

Garden

We got a late start this year because of my work schedule and 4-5 weeks without a drop of rain. The chickens kept eating my corn so I found a new place to plant. But the lack of rain means we may get little if any. However, finally okra, cantaloupe, zucchini, and pumpkins are up, but way behind (except the pumpkins which are right on time.)

We are however getting green beans.

And I found the first Roma Tomatoes on our vines.

God is always good!

Oremus pro invicem!

read it!

how-to-identify-a-healthy-culture

We try to do some of this in our own humble way. - Oremus pro invicem!

My dad would have been 95 today had he not passed in 1999. I can't believe it has been 16 years. I still miss him. Here he is with my mother (still going strong) back in the late 50's.

 

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

 

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Prep for the hog roast/graduation

Here some pictures from last nights' hog roast prep. Matthew graduates today. He is headed for Holy Trinity Seminary and University of Dallas for the diocese of Charleston. In order, we have Matthew dispatching the hog and then Connor and Thomas who wanted to pose with it. Oremus pro invicem!

I was in New England picking up my son after he completed his sophomore year at Northeast Catholic College two weekends ago. My youngest daughter made the trip with me. She hadn't been north in 8 years, and, I discovered, had some misconceptions about the Northeast. For example, she didn't think there were ANY rural areas-just congestion and city. We both found the rural East coast very beautiful. Sometimes it makes me long for the region of my youth.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

End of School, Graduation, Work, Plans, Vacation

Mrs. Curley and I had a unique opportunity to spend the weekend at Surfside (near Myrtle Beach). Although it was the last weekend of Biker Rally Week and therefore VERY NOISY and trafficy, we had a great time on the beach, talking, playing cribbage and all that stuff. Once again going to Mass away from home is always a tricky business, but we survive. Back home I have work, and wood, and planting to do.

Stuck in traffic on the way home, we fell to technology and took a "selfie", sort of reminiscent of the photo booth we went to on our honeymoon at Cocoa Beach-although I have many more grays now.

Number 3 son, Matthew is graduating from high school (our school) this weekend. We are very proud of him. You can catch is music on YouTube. He is a talented farmer and (I think) songwriter. But as of now, these things are on hold. He will be attending University of Dallas in the Fall majoring in Philosophy (do you know what that means?-if you don't, I will tell in a future post.)

Glad the Technical College semester is over, but am teaching 2 classes in the summer semester. I am enjoying my 2 weeks off. This morning cutting and splitting wood. This afternoon, some planting (albeit late.)

 

Oremus pro invicem!

A job with the pigs

Warning-pictures below may be upsetting to some people .....

That's my Thomas with his handiwork. Friday evening we went over to help a friend slaughter their hogs. After the first was knocked unconscious, I was about to climb over the short fence to stick the pig, but my friend warned the electric fence was still on! Thomas didn't hesitate, he hopped the fence, sat right on the pig, which though knocked out was thrashing, and stuck that pig. Then he repeated it a few minutes later for the second.

We had these pigs skinned and butchered in 3 hours and 45 minutes-and that included a 30 minute dinner break. Thomas did a great job.

Oremus pro invicem!

Books, CD's, and worms (not bookworms!)

My family came back from a library sale last week with a couple items for me. One was a book The Accidental Pope by Ray Flynn (Catholic, former mayor of Boston and ex-Ambassador to the Holy See.) The other was a book on CD for my long commutes entitled The Third Secret.

 

Both books have similarities: the prominence of the apparitions at Fatima; a Vatican secretary of state who has papal aspirations and is rigid; the promise of "big" changes in the Church, and the issue of priestly celibacy plays strongly in both.

 

I haven't finished The Accidental Pope, so I don't know what "big" changes might be in store. So far it simply a good-natured, but unlikely tale. But I have finished The Third Secret and have a few things to say about it.

 

First, The Third Secret gets some information about the Church very wrong. First the author continually confuses doctrine, dogma, Tradition, and Church discipline. For example, priestly celibacy is presented repeatedly as dogma. Papal infallibility is constantly presented to go much further than reality (at one point the fictional pope remarks that anything he says is infallible.)

 

Even with these faults, the book goes along as a thriller without too much doctrinal controversy for at least the first 3/4's or even more-although towards the climax there are hints that I won't be pleased when all is said and done-what an understatement.

 

The plot is that part of the Third Secret of Fatima was stolen out of the Papal reserva by an aid of Paul VI, who is now the Vatican secretary of state. The book centers around what the secret is. Finally at the very end we find out and also discover that the 10th secret of Medjugorje is identical to the missing part of the Third Secret of Fatima. And what is this secret?

 

The missing "Third Secret" is that it is God's wish, expressed directly by the Blessed Virgin Mary (I hesitate to write this as it is so scandalous) that priestly celibacy is wrong, papal infallibility is not true, that abortion is okay and the choice only of a woman, and that homosexual marriage and relations are pleasing to God ("any kind of love is good if it makes you happy").

 

I can't believe I wasted my time with such rubbish!

*************************

Now to the worms. I was asked below how I worm my pigs. Here is the brief tale. I try to worm my pigs as naturally as possible. This consists of putting garlic powder in their food every few months unless I see a real lack of weight gain, and then I do it more often. In the fall I give them every raw pumpkin seed I am not saving for replanting. Both garlic powder and raw pumpkin seeds are great natural wormers. If I see a real problem after worming naturally, I will use some fenbendazole in the form of pellets mixed with their feed. Since starting with natural wormers a few years ago, I don't think I have chemically wormed more than once or twice.

So now you know.

Oremus pro invicem!

Really?

I got a catalog in the mail today from "The Catholic Company". I couldn't believe this:



 
The plush First Communion bear is a cuddly way to commemorate a young child's reception of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The small bear comes with a miniature bible containing the scripture quote from John 14:6, “I am the way and truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

 

 

Did you get that? It could be interpreted that the BEAR is "the way, the truth and the life". Obviously, most (99.99%) seeing this won't take it this way, but either way, this is just silly!

 

Oremus pro invicem!

New pigs!

Woke up yesterday morning to find that Sam had farrowed her litter. It looks like 8, which is a low for her, but not to worry. We aren't a high production operation! They are big, almost equal the length of the 3-week old pigs of Betsy's litter. Here is the first picture-better ones should come later. (some are under that hay.)

 

 

A comment below about what I am (economically/politically) is too long to answer in a comment box, so I give below a brief (and incomplete) outline. Here goes (most of this has been posted here at sometime in the last 10+ years) ....

I guess you could call me a Distributist, however the name is misleading to some-thinking that it is some kind of socialism, which if most definitely isn’t. Distributism condemns both socialism and unfettered capitalism, in that both big government and big business are ultimately bad for families, local communities, and traditional values, and argues for an economic structure based on the widespread ownership of wealth via strong local economies.

If you ever have a chance to read Catholicism Protestantism and Capitalism by Anmintore Fanfani you may come away with the idea (as I did) that Capitalism has to eventually become Socialism in the final analysis, as the Government has to eventually highly regulate everything to protect the interests of big business. The regulations become so burdensome that the government is the only entity which has the resources to support such a regulated structure. Thus the government has to begin consolidating industries under itself. (Eventually this too will collapse under its own weight.) This is trending in America today-slowly but surely. 

In America we value the ownership of private property. This has become to mean that we own our own home. But few of us really do, as many have found out in recent years (and with property taxes and inheritance taxes, even if you “own” your home, really you are leasing it from the government). 

Ownership of private property also should mean that we own the means to production. The goal should be that as many as possible of the citizens should be owners of property-real property, that is, the means of production: ownership in land, in buildings and equipment, in farms, factories, mines, in commercial enterprises, and in machinery. Workers themselves (Note Well, NOT a socialist or communist government “in the name of workers”)  should own the means of production instead being the tools of production.

Our economic system has come to a point where workers are merely tools for greater profit, to be acquired or discarded as the quarterly numbers dictate. Workers have a dignity which is not respected by too many corporations. Corporations must remember that they exist not just for profits but to provide fulfilling work and wages for their workers.

Increasingly big companies simply use their employees as commodities (even professionals) to be used up and tossed out. Workers often don’t have dignity and respect. Large companies often squeeze and squeeze the benefits and continually do more with less workers. Some of these large companies (effectively subsidized by government policies) only offer part time work so they don’t even have to give benefits.

Politically, I believe in subsidiarity; that is governance should be done at the most local level possible. The role of the government should be in service of man, or if you will, in service of the family. Increasingly central control, whether it be in business, education, or government, robs man of freedom and self-determination. Government in recent years acts more in the service of commerce than in the service of man.

Both major parties favor entitlements: Democrats for the poor; Republicans for the rich in the form of tax breaks and corporate deals and subsidies (think agriculture and roads)-the latter which enrich the owners of the means to production. Government handouts insult the dignity of man, at both ends of the spectrum. 

So we need a system which encourages family unity and encourages the widest distribution of the means of production. These are complementary goals. 

Much more to flesh out, but this is a starting point.

Oremus pro invicem!

Reading ....

Tractatus de Societate by Nathan Freeman.

Quotes to come .....

Update: Just to clarify, the title is in Latin, but the book is in English!

Oremus pro invicem!

Roads in SC

So everyone agrees that the roads in SC are in a state of major disrepair. Governor Nikki Haley proposes that we raise money for the roads by raising the gasoline tax (Of course no one will notice because gas prices are so low!). But Governor Haley insists that any tax increase is offset by a tax cut of the income tax.

Two questions for the Governor:

1. Doesn't it mean we already have $$$ for roads if you are offsetting taxes?

2. Doesn't a raise in the gas tax affect everyone equally, but cutting the income tax help everyone EXCEPT the working poor, who drive to work, but pay little in income tax?

Just asking ......

Oremus pro invicem! 

Those boys!

This morning I had a lot to prepare for class and I had a car with a broken upper radiator hose and needing a new thermostat.

 

I started working on it, but was frustrated that this car with 243K miles on it had never had its thermostat replaced, and thus the original thermostat was staked in.

 

With much to do, I called my boys to finish taking out the hose and then grinding off the stakes.

 

When this was done, I went back out and guided them in replacing the thermostat; they did the hose.

I am proud of them. What responsible and skilled young men I have.

Oremus pro invicem!

Now reading ...

... Paul Thigpen's Final Thoughts of Catholic Saints & Sinners.

This one struck me:

Sir Everard Digby(1578-1606) was an English Catholic convert who was hung, drawn and quartered for his part in a plot to blow up Parliament and overthrow King James I, who persecuted Catholics. When the executioner cut out his heart, and held it up saying, "Here is the heart of a traitor", Digby managed to summon up the strength to respond "Thou liest"

God's Training for us

I am into the last book I got for Christmas: Finding God's Will for You by St. Francis DeSales (Sophia).

Many good quotes, but here is this mornings:

Although the difficulties, temptations, and different events that occur in the course of carrying out our plan may cause us some uncertainty as to whether we have chosen well, still we must remain firm and not consider all such things. ... furthermore we do not know if God wills us to be trained in consolation or in desolation .....

On this feast of St. Joseph, Oremus pro invicem!

Spring Break

It has been a busy few weeks. Last week Connor was on Spring Break from Northeast Catholic College. We also had friends visiting for a few days. We took the opportunity to put our bull down (hoping he had already bred both Mabel and the heifer). We had steaks last Saturday night and it felt distinctly like a non-Lenten meal. (We aged the loin in our refrigerator and hung the rest of the beef in a friend's walk-in refrigerator.)

 

Usually by March I have most of the wood we need for the next winter at least on the property, if not cut, split, and stacked. This year I hadn't even started. But on February 28th, [again with the help of visiting friends-quite possibly they won't be back as we worked them the whole time they were here :)] we cut 4 truckloads of wood from a neighbor's downed trees.

 

This week I am on spring break from my 4-day a week teaching job at the local technical college. More cutting firewood from another neighbor, a little splitting, fence-building (we have a sow due to farrow and needed a new farrowing pen), and some garden tilling. I am hoping to put at least part of the spring garden in today.

 

We also finished butchering the beef yesterday in our friend's cold room.

 

I haven't done this much physical work since the semester started. It makes me yearn for more physical work and less teaching/desk time. But at the same time I have just agreed to teach 2 summer courses.

 

My body is sore with muscles not used to all this activity. But it feels so good.

 

God has provided us another winter with free firewood, beautiful weather this week, great friends, and everything else we need.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Requiem Press

I haven't mentioned Requiem Press in some time - mostly because we are no longer publishing. I still get author inquiries from time to time - more query letters in a year than books sold these days, however.

 

The only reason I mention it at all is because we still have inventory left on a few titles. I haven't pushed them much, but a couple times a year someone finds the website and orders a book or inquires about a book which we've sold out of.

 

The remaining books in inventory each sell and ship for a combined price of $5 - no hidden costs. And if you want a whole bunch of any one title, I will work out a better deal.

 

Titles left are available at the link above or on the sidebar. (The image is of one of our first books - we have plenty of these!)

 

Readers of this blog have been extremely supportive of this effort when we were an ongoing business, roughly from 2004 to about 2008-2010. I still have a few books I'd love to publish in print or electronically, but the family, the homestead and paying work take up so much time.

 

I am working sporadically on two of my own titles-one dealing with the slaughter and butcher of hogs, and the other stories from our life on the homestead (many of these related or alluded to in the archives of this blog.) No doubt I will announce it here first if either comes to fruition.  

 

Now back to regular programming .....

Oremus pro invicem!

The Yield of the Land

Last night I came home to this:

This loin came from a 145 pig we put down on the feast of Cyril and Methodius. So the loin isn't as big as usual. It was sliced open and stuffed with sausage. On the outside (being bacon-poor this week), Mrs. Curley took a couple slices off a ham we had just finished brining and dressed the loin with them.

It was delicious. One shouldn't enjoy such meals during Lent. (Of course if I was a Melkite, I couldn't.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Today's Present

This morning "Betsy" gave birth to 10 piglets. This was her first litter and a mistake. She wasn't supposed to be bred, but the boar scaled fences and defied my wishes. In any event, here she is with her pigs.