Archive for the ‘catholic devotions’ Category

Don’t Poke the Bear. Catholic Edition

Posted: November 26, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, catholic devotions
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There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at with no result.

Winston Churchill

Two days ago I was taking a quick peek at Youtube in between the work/sleep cycle that the seven to fourteen days that black friday entails when I saw this video from Christine Niles who I recognized from Church Militant:

This was the first I had heard of Michael Voris resignation from Church Militant. I watched his statement when I did it reminded me of something a particular priest once mentioned in passing. That it was during Mass when he prayers the Eucharistic Prayers that he finds himself most attacked by the devil and that brings me to one of the most basic facts about the war for souls, something that my pastor and spiritual advisor has said move and over.

Don’t poke the bear.

One of the real dangers in deciding to take part in the war for souls is that the closer to the front lines you get the more you’re under the fire from the enemy. To a regular person the battle for your soul might be almost invisible. To the faithful and to those who struggle against sin it is more apparent but how much more for a religious?

A novice might be a target and struggle but the nuns are a bigger one and the target an individual nun is nothing compared to a Prioress whose call can bring down others.

A seminarian might struggle but a bigger target is a priest tending his flock or the Bishop who is over dozens of priests or a Cardinal and the biggest target is always the Pope and those who surround him because if you can bring down the top so many may be crushed beneath them by the fall.

It is the same in law ministry or apostolates the higher you go, the more prominent you are in the fight the more vulnerable you are to a fall, and the thing to remember is that it’s a battle of attrition.

And while there is nothing more exhilarating then watching the devil run when you meet him face to face the real victory doesn’t come from that transitory moment, it comes from the persistence in prayer and the trust in Christ that keeps him at bay.

Niles noted that Voris stopped leading the group in prayer as he once regularly did and that one of the first signs of trouble for a soul is when it walks from prayer. For the lay person prayer is an indispensable part of the life of faith how much more so for one on the front lines confronting the works of the enemy daily? That’s when the foothold is established and C. S. Lewis noted the results of such a situation:

If such a feeling is allowed to live, but not allowed to become irresistible and flower into real repentance, it has one invaluable tendency. It increases the patient’s reluctance to think about the Enemy. All humans at nearly all times have some such reluctance; but when thinking of Him involves facing and intensifying a whole vague cloud of half-conscious guilt, this reluctance is increased tenfold. ‘They hate every idea that suggests Him, just as men in financial embarrassment hate the very sight of a pass-book.

Screwtape 13

The first duty of a person is to secure their own soul. Until that is done it’s almost impossible to help secure others as Christ put it:

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

Matt: 7:3-5

Based on Voris video and this post that followed:

I suspect he put off with dealing with an issue or tried to do it handle it himself rather than turning to Christ in prayer and the sacraments.

How will it end? I don’t know, there are plenty of people, particularly those who don’t want scrutiny that will enjoy his fall hoping it takes the apostolate with him. For me I’ll be praying for the lot and keeping this as a object lesson to remember the wise words of my pastor.

Don’t poke the bear.

Eight Days of Indulgences and the November Indulgence Calendar as Well

Posted: November 1, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, catholic devotions, Church doctrine
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It’s the first of the month so it’s time for the Indulgence Calendar at DaTechGuy Blog for any and all who wish to pray for and help out the souls in purgatory.

It’s also All Saints Day a holy day of obligation for Catholics as we honor the saints in heaven, the Church Triumphant who have fought and won the good fight that we the church militant are still fighting on earth.

Because it’s All Saints Day it also means that there is a special series of indulgences that we have earn every single day through November 8th either for ourselves or for the Church Suffering (the souls in purgatory).

Beginning today, continuing tomorrow on All Souls Day ( where the church remembers the souls in purgatory) and throughout the octave of this Holy Day of Obligation a Plenary indulgence is available each day for anyone who visits a graveyard and prays for the dead.

These indulgences are available under the normal rules: which are:

  1. Communion the day of the indulgence (covers all indulgences that day)
  2. Prayers for the intentions of the Pope (covers all indulgences that day)
  3. Confession within 20 days before or after the day of the indulgence (covers all indulgences during that period of time)
  4. MUST be in a state of grace at the time of the indulgence (no unconfessed mortal sins)

Also be aware that unless your death is imminent you can only gain one Plenary Indulgence a day so if you earned for say:

  • Visiting the Blessed Sacrament for a half hour or more
  • Reading scripture for a half hour or more
  • Praying a group Rosary

then the indulgence you earn will be only partial.

Finally a plenary indulgence automatically becomes partial if you have any attachment to sin (that’s why they are so hard to get).

So if you’re a Catholic take advantage of these next 8 days, your soul and the souls in purgatory will thank you.

Anyways here is this month’s indulgence Calendars to download if you want.

indulgence-calendar-nov-2023Download

That the full calendar the blank one is next

indulgence-calendar-blank-nov-2023Download

Indulgence Calendar for Sept oh and Where Does the Church go for THEIR Apology

Posted: September 1, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, catholic devotions
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It’s the start of the month so of course it’s time for the indulgence Calendar. First the full one:

indulgence-calendar-sept-2023Download

and of course the blank if you want to fill things in.

indulgence-calendar-blank-sept-2023Download

The Indulgence Calendar is one of the many different devotions of the Catholic church used to help people find Christ. These devotions were taught by many missionaries in Catholic schools around the world.

However there is nothing like contesting with the world to produce wrath and in Canada such wrath was unleashed a few years ago as claims were made concerning the treatment of Indians in Catholic schools including stories of mass graves.

The outrage was huge even to the point of producing an apology from Pope Francis for these actions of a century or more ago, but then a funny thing happened this year. People actually starting to excavate the areas where the “mass graves” were supposed to be there seemed to be one thing missing, Bodies.

After two years of horror stories about the alleged mass graves of Indigenous children at residential schools across Canada, a series of recent excavations at suspected sites has turned up no human remains.

You mean what people were claiming about the Catholic church wasn’t accurate? Amazing

“I don’t like to use the word hoax because it’s too strong but there are also too many falsehoods circulating about this issue with no evidence,” Jacques Rouillard, a professor emeritus in the Department of History at the Université de Montréal, told The Post Wednesday.

Well I can’t speak for other people but when you spread a giant calumny about the faith and the church creating a giant moral panic and causing people lose their positions for questioning the claims, Yeah that sounds like a hoax to me.

And now that there seems to be a distinct lack of bodies in these supposed mass graves don’t you think it might be time for the people who had no trouble pushing these claims to apologize to those they slandered?

I sure do.

The Feast of The Passion of John the Baptist Playing Out Daily in America Against an Army of Woke Herodians

Posted: August 29, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, catholic devotions, culture, Uncomfortable Truths
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Today is the feast day of the passion of St. John the Baptist.

As a rule the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of saints on the day they die. John the Baptist is the only saint where this is not the case, like Mary and Christ himself both his birth day and the day of his death (or in Mary’s case the Feast of the Assumption) are feast days of the Church. We celebrate St. John the Baptist’s birth in June and his death today.

It’s very fitting to ponder the feast of the beheading of John the Baptist because he was slaughtered for the same crime that many in America are now being punished for: Telling the truth.

You see John called out Herod for marrying his brother’s wife while he was still alive. This was a pretty good deal for Herodias as it gave her power and position and she never forgave John for publicly calling Herod out. Meanwhile even though Herod imprisoned John he not only didn’t kill him, but would go to the dungeons and listen to him. He didn’t have the courage to release him, nor did he have the courage to repent and give up his elicit marriage but he understood John was right.

So when Herod in front of his entire court made a injudicious promise to give Herodias’ daughter anything she the daughter at her mother’s prompting demanded on a platter the head of John the Baptist and Herod knowing it was wrong but not having the wisdom of Abe Lincoln who said: “Bad promises are better broken than kept.”, promptly had him executed and the head delivered to the girl who gave it to her mother.

Put simply John was executed for publicly saying aloud the truth that threatened the power of Herodias and Herod went along because he feared for his public reputation more than he honored truth.

This is America today.

We have not reach the “promptly executed” point in the US but if things don’t change it’s only a matter of time.

You see when we say basic truths like:

  • No amount of surgery can make a man a woman
  • A child is not competent to make life altering decisions about themselves
  • It’s a good idea to jail people who rob and loot and support police when they enforce the law
  • People should enter the country legally and the federal government should enforce the law
  • Children should not be sexualized
  • If you make it easier to cheat in elections they can’t be trusted
  • The government should not be used to jail their political enemies
  • If you’re going to give billions of dollars to someone they should be accountable
  • Drugs that have already been approved for people are safe to use vs COVID

We find an army of woke Herodias’ outraged not because those statements are false but because those statements challenge their delusions or their profits or their power bases and that army of woke Herodians put pressure on an army of Herod who they have granted their political, financial or even in some cases sexual favors to in their quest to get what they want.

Thus many institutions or pols, or business knowing that those making those statements are right but fearful of the wrath of the army of woke Herodians buckle. but not all.

There are still some who either because they still retain some backbone or fear the masses of the people more than the army of woke Herodians (who are actually much smaller then they appear) decide to reject them and side with the people and each time they it strikes fear in the hearts of the woke Herodians because they know their power is dependent on the fear of their Herods and the indifference of the masses.

There are John the Baptists out there. Tucker Carlson who faced the wrath of the woke Herodians but thrived despite it, Riley Gaines who refuses to bend the knee to Transgender Inc. Joe Rogan who talked openly about ivermectin to be used in Covid cases, Ron DeSantis who didn’t give in to either the COVID hysteria or the Disney/woke crowd on sexualizing children and yes Donald Trump as well who refused to bend the knee even as he is treated like an enemy of the state for being an enemy of dishonest elections.

I’m sure when the tyranny falls as all eventually do, first slowly and then all at once, millions will suddenly declare that they were with us just as many Frenchmen declared they were with the resistance as soon as the Germans were gone but till then who do you wish emulate? John the Baptist who spoke truth aloud and is remembered by two feasts of the church or Herodians who would with Herod would eventually die in exile?

Choose wisely.

Update: Tucker Carlson nails it:

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