The Death of Liberal Catholicism

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The death of Liberal Catholicism has begun. As of this year, more modernist priests and bishops (ordained in and around the 1970's) will begin to retire in droves, more than ever before. (read more here) Each year after this one will only increase the number of retirees. The baby-boomer priesthood is coming to a close. These were the clergy, around the modern world, who oversaw the most radical departure from tradition and orthodoxy since the Protestant Revolution in the 16th century. This is the very same clergy who oversaw the sodomite abuse cover-up scandal that dragged Catholicism through the mud over this last decade. It is no coincidence that these scandals accompanied the most radically unorthodox clergy in the history of the modern Church.

To be fair, over 95% of these men had nothing to do with the sodomite abuse cover-up scandal. Over 95% of these men never had any accusations leveled against them, and that should be made note of. Please don't think I'm painting with a broad brush here. The sodomite abuse cover-up scandal was a disaster of epic proportions, but it was a scandal caused by a tiny minority of priests, while the overwhelming majority had nothing to do with it. I think this is only fair to point out, because even though I am about to rip into this generation of priests and religious, I don't want to create false impressions. Credit should be given where credit is due, and to 95% of the Modernist priesthood, I give credit for steering clear of the sodomite sex-scandal. As for the other 5%, I know that some of them were falsely accused, but for those who were not, well, I'm sure they will get what's coming to them.

The problem I'm specifically pointing out here has nothing to do with sex-scandal or cover-up. No I'm not talking about what was done behind closed doors. I'm talking about what was done in broad daylight, in front of everybody, for all the world to see! I'm talking about the Modernist changes to the Church that Vatican II never called for, but were done anyway in the name of the enigmatic "spirit of Vatican II." I'm talking about the renovations of chapels and sanctuaries, the removal of the high alters and alter rails, the elimination of all Latin (even forbidden in some places), the extinction of the ad orientem posture, the introduction of communion on the hand, the overly-excessive use of extraordinary Eucharistic ministers, the abandonment of historic tradition at every turn, and even the use of new innovations at mass, which can only be described as "liturgical abuse." I'm talking about those priests who turned the mass into a kind of show, wherein he became the master of ceremonies. and the rest of the parish revolved around his slightest whim. It isn't just the priest though, as some of them were elevated to the level of bishop, and with that came the diocesan-wide implementation of similar structural and liturgical disasters. Many of these bishops neglected the catechises of the faithful and allowed them to fall into the errors of Modernism, embracing abortion, gay-marriage, Marxism and feminism. I'm also talking about many of the religious brothers (monks) and sisters (nuns) of this era who laid waste to the faith, promoting the abominations listed above, and bucking Church tradition whenever possible, even to the point of refusing to wear robes and habits. This is the 1970's generation of clergy and religious. To be fair, certainly not all of them fit this description. Some of them were entirely faithful to the traditions of the Church in every way. However, I think it's fair to say the above described most people who entered the vocations just before, during and immediately after this decade. It was the single greatest "revolution" in the last 500 years of Church history. These people drove millions of otherwise faithful Catholics from the faith. They drove many faithful Catholics into Ultra-Traditionalism as well, some of them even going so far as schism (sedevacatism) with the Church. Worse yet, those who didn't leave the Church, or go the route of ultra-traditionalism, were left to stagnate within the mainstream Church without proper catechises or liturgical formation. An entire generation has now grown up in the Church having never seen a traditional Latin mass, and are scarcely familiar with historical Catholic practices. Most young Catholics today would find it odd to witness one kneeling for communion, and haven't darkened the door of a confessional since their first communion. I cannot tell you how many ulta-extreme Left-wing Marxist I have encountered in my life who were raised in a Catholic schools. I cannot tell you how many former Catholics I've met who left the Church because of the changes in the 1970s and 80s. What these Modernist clergy and religious accomplished during their 40 year reign was nothing short of the complete dismantling of Catholic institutions that had existed for centuries.

Thankfully, their days are beginning to end now. From now on these clergy and religious will begin to retire, and in their place will rise up young new seminarians who are considerably more traditional and orthodox. We've got about a ten year run, before we are finally rid of all these retro-70's dinosaurs, and to be sure, some of them will not leave without making a scene, but their days are numbered nonetheless. So congratulations my readers, the day of reckoning is at hand in the Catholic Church, and those who have brought our faith to ruin are now starting to walk out the door. Would it be too rude for me to say "bon voyage and good riddance?" Perhaps that is too rude. I think perhaps it better to say that we should pray for these priests and bishops as they retire. They can have a change of heart. It is possible. I've witnessed it happen on at least one occasion.

Now the much more arduous task lies before us - the clean up work! As the 1970's crowed exists stage Left, the rest of us remain to clean up their mess. It's going to be a difficult task. Not only will we have to rebuild the institutions of the past virtually from scratch, but we're also going to have to endure the nagging voices of the retro-70's crowed that just won't let go until the last second. There is concern that some of them may attempt a schism, and that may actually happen, but even if they're successful with just pealing away a small percentage of the laity with them, their efforts won't amount to much. Some of them will refuse to retire as well, coming back to haunt us as bishop emeritus and priests in a "working retirement." So be it. We all know what will catch up with them eventually. Regardless of this however, as of this year their influence is waning. They are beginning to become less and less relative. Now all the new bishops need do is clean out their chancery offices of all the old staff, and start over fresh. In addition to that, younger parish priests are going to have to start getting bold with their congregations by setting clear goals toward restoring what was lost, and sticking to them. As for we lay folk, well, the thing to do is keep pressing on. We must befriend our newer and younger priests to encourage them and help them along the way. Yes, this year (2011) Liberal Catholicism begins to die in ernest. It's going to be a slow decade-long death, but it is dying. Nothing can save it now. Thanks be to God!!!! He is beginning to deliver the Church from it's long liturgical nightmare.

Pope's Christmas Message - A Prophetic Warning!

He [the pope] concluded: “To resist this eclipse of reason and to preserve its capacity for seeing the essential, for seeing God and man, for seeing what is good and what is true, is the common interest that must unite all people of good will. The very future of the world is at stake.”

read full story here

Illusions

(WorldNetDaily) - To conservatives, he's the evil emperor in "Star Wars" – the Empire's shadowy and malevolent puppet-master, the real power behind the widespread subversion and destruction of freedom, prosperity and hope.

But to hundreds of organizations on the political and moral left, he is literally their lifeblood, a revered leader, a godfather – almost a god, who provides good things for his children.

Now, in a stunning exposé, the December issue of Whistleblower shines a thousand-watt spotlight on the "dark lord" of the left – billionaire investor George Soros.

"GEORGE SOROS AND HIS EVIL EMPIRE" illuminates the heart and soul of this mysterious leftwing transformer of societies. It reveals how he creates and financially sustains scores of influential and shockingly anti-American organizations – all dedicated to converting America into a European-style, government-controlled, socialist state.

"Soros, like Obama, is wired very differently than most of us," says WND Managing Editor David Kupelian. "He rejects and reviles most things decent Americans regard as good and sacred, and he tends to favor everything rotten: He wants to legalize drugs. He supports euthanasia. He's for socialism and opposes free-market capitalism. He’s for devaluing America's currency, telling the Financial Times last year 'an orderly decline of the dollar is actually desirable.' He supports the destruction of American sovereignty in favor of global governance. He detests conservative talk radio, Fox News and WorldNetDaily, and funds organizations that constantly attack the only free press America currently has."

In short, says Kupelian, "if it's immoral, subversive or harmful to America, Soros favors it, organizes it and funds it. If it's noble and freedom-producing, like free markets and small government, he despises it and creates organizations to undermine and ultimately destroy it. This issue of Whistleblower shines intense daylight on all of this."

read full story here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: What I want to talk about here are illusions. I personally have little interest in George Soros. Though he might appear to be the embodiment of evil in our time, I see him as nothing more than an opportunist. If it were not Soros, it would be some other name. It really doesn't matter who.

What matters is what's going on behind the scenes, and how much Soros may (or may not be) involved is irrelevant. It's not about the man you see. It's about the activities, and one thing that cannot be denied is that hundreds of thousands of people across the United States and Europe are preparing for the greatest illusion of all time. It is the final illusion of the Communist menace, and it is perhaps the culmination of the warning given by the three Fatima seers, as well as other Vatican-approved private revelations. It is the Great Marxist Deception!

A closer look at the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia is key to understanding what is happening around us.   After the fall of the Habsburg monarchy in World War I, American President Woodrow Wilson prompted the creation of a new republic called Czechoslovakia.  The first republic lasted only 20 years from 1918 to 1938.  The second republic lasted only one year (1938 to 1939) before it was forcibly  absorbed by the Nazi Third Reich.  After the liberation of Czechoslovakia at the end of World War II, the third republic lasted only three years from 1945 to 1948.  That's when the communists took over.   This is how they did it.  Communists working within Czechoslovakia knew they could never get the people to approve their plans in the form of a nation-wide vote.  Most citizens were not communists, and had just regained their freedom from the Nazis.  They would never vote for such a thing.  The communists knew they were hopelessly outnumbered, so they formulated a plan to elect stealth communists to the highest offices of the land.  These seemingly left-of-center capitalist politicians were placed in key positions for later use.  In the mean time their function was to maintain the status quo politically.  Once these men were elected, and all things were put into place, the communists began the second phase of their plan.  They organized the radicals and labor unions.  They brought them out into the streets, to riot, and created what looked like the beginnings of an armed insurrection.  Panic set into the general population.  The vast majority of law-abiding (regular freedom loving) citizens begged the national government to step in and crack down on these troublemakers in the streets.  Of course, the stealth communists, elected and appointed to positions of power, were more than eager to appease their requests.  The crack down came, as asked for, and with the removal of the chaos came the removal of all civil and property rights.  The communists, at the behest of the people's request, had taken over.

Now historians will probably look at the above paragraph as an oversimplification of what actually  happened in Czechoslovakia and that's fine with me.  The point of this blog entry is not to be a historian.  The point is to demonstrate a pattern.  It's a pattern of illusion that Marxists sometimes employ to get what they want. A similar pattern is beginning to emerge both in the United States and Europe at this very moment.  I do not know how successful this Marxist illusion will be.  I do not know what the final outcome is.  I do know however, that it is important to remember some things...

1. We (the non-communists) outnumber them ten to one.
2. We surround them, but they are attempting to create the illusion that they surround us, nevertheless it is just an illusion.
3. The communists (socialists, Marxists, Leftists, etc.) in the United States, and other nations, have worked hard to place their people in the key offices of power.  They now have, or will soon have, all the key pieces lined up.
4. They want to play us like puppets, driving us to do their dirty work for them, by begging our Left-leaning governments to step in and put down the anarchy that is about to be dished out in the streets.  This is the trap their illusion sets.  We must be careful not to spring it.
5. Once the frightened masses call upon the government to put down the anarchy, and the government responds, that will be the end of our way of life as we know it.  The trap will have been sprung, and we (the non-communist majority) will have done the bidding of our minority communist puppet-masters.

Only a peaceful oriented movement of faith can stop this from happening, and it cannot be some scattered ambiguous movement.  It must be focused, and only the Catholic Church has the answer.  It's called SUBSIDIARITY, and that is the word that will throw a wrench in this whole communist illusion. It's important that Catholics do take to the streets, peacefully proclaiming the message of Subsidiarity.   It must be totally peaceful.  Not a single window may be broken.  It must be a movement of mothers pushing their baby strollers, and men carrying their children on their shoulders.  It must be a movement of songs and cheer, as well as outrage and disgust.  All the while, the message of Subsidiarity must be central, a constant echo ringing in the background.  Yes, I'm talking about the TEA Party movement, and once again I am calling upon Catholics to take part.  Shame on you if you don't.  It is both your religious and patriotic duty in our nation's time of need.  In the past men were called upon to fight for their countries.  Now you are only called to march.  Will you not rise to the occasion?  This is how you do it. It's easy, inexpensive and it won't hurt a bit.

The message of Subsidiarity is one that we are going to have to live in our personal lives as well, as this will be necessary for our survival in the years ahead.  We must turn back to our friends and neighbors.  Family must become the most important thing in our lives.  We must patron and support our locally owned businesses, and try to keep our money local as well.  Use locally owned credit unions instead of big interstate banks. Network with your neighbors and local parish to form an underground bartering market where people can trade goods without using money.  Give anything in excess you may have to the local poor and needy - particularly clothing and food.  This is where it all begins. We must prepare ourselves for the long haul of national economic hardship.

We must remember that we are NOT the minority.  God fearing people are actually the majority.  We've just been made to think we are surrounded by the enemy, when it reality, it is we who surround them.  Remember that.  Don't trust the mainstream news media.  They're part of the problem.  Don't trust the government.  That's a bigger part of the problem.  When everything seems upside down, and you don't know what to think anymore, just remember WE (not them) are the majority.

Merry Christmas!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

FINALLY! A Bishop With A Backbone...

News Conference at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, Dec. 21, 2010 from Diocese of Phoenix on Vimeo.

Read the Official Text Here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: It took a lot of courage to do this and God bless Bishop Olmsted for having the backbone to do in his diocese what needs to be done to dozens of dioceses all across America. Thank you Bishop Olmsted for this much needed, and long awaited, Christmas gift to the cause for LIFE in this country.

Only in the face of such heroic courage is our nationwide episcopal apathy revealed. Bishop's Olmsted's press conference was not harsh, and he did not come across as some kind of authoritarian dictator. He gently said a state of schism already exists, that the hospital had effectively broken itself from the Church, and that it was his solemn duty, to point out with much regret, that this schism has taken place and the people of his diocese have a right to know. It wasn't hard. He did it. And after making his case thoroughly, and expressing his unwavering support for the Gospel and Canon Law, he actually received a round of applause. This applause came from an audience of reporters that was openly hostile to him with some of their questions. In effect, they may not have liked what he had to say, but they couldn't help but respect him for standing up for what he believed in. Let this be a lesson to every other bishop in the United States.

Attention all U.S. Catholic bishops! You want to know how to regain the respect of the laity in the United States? Look at this bishop. Imitate him! That's how you do it. Or else you can go on your way, pleasing the press and liberal establishment, all the while leading souls to hell through your spineless complicity. This nation (indeed the whole western world) is in a spiritual crisis on a level not seen since the Protestant Reformation. We need LEADERS not bureaucrats!!! May God bless Bishop Olmsted!!!! And may more like him follow.

Now that's I've ripped into the good bishops of this great land, let me say a short word in their defense. Bishop Olmsted pointed out a common problem that should make every bishop in America quake in his mitre. Bishop Olmsted pointed out that for many years he had been deceived by the very people he is supposed to trust. This is a VERY COMMON problem in the U.S. Catholic Church these days. All too often, bishops do not have the control they think they do over their chancery office and advisory boards. All too often the people closest to them tell them what they want to hear instead of what they need to know. All too often bishops in this land are sheltered and kept out of touch with what is really going on right beneath their noses. In their defense I will say that many, MANY bishops in this land are deliberately kept in the dark about any happenings that contradict Canon Law and official Church teaching. This must stop, because after all is said and done, each and every bishop has the proverbial sign on his desk "The buck stops here." It is time for the bishops to get busy, audit their own chancery offices to make sure people are really telling them what they need to know, and then go through every hospital, university and school to make sure Church teaching is being respected. Likewise, it is time for every bishop to have a sit-down meeting with many Catholic politicians and celebrities in their dioceses to explain why they have excommunicated themselves from the Church with their public stand in favor of abortion and gay-marriage.

In this post sex-scandal age the U.S. Catholic bishops are worried about credibility. Well, the sex-abuse scandals don't hold a candle to the scandal that has erupted for many years over Catholic politicians, movie stars and Catholic institution that have contradicted (even deceived) the Church in so many ways. The real challenge of today's bishops has little to do with sex-scandals and everything to do with Canon Law scandals.  Nobody takes seriously an institution that does not follow it's own rules.

The Origin of Christmas

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Each year we deck out our homes in evergreen and lights. A Christmas tree is often displayed with beautiful ornaments. Gifts are exchanged and carols are sung, but do we really know the true origin of Christmas? Most people don't think about it, and among those who do, even fewer actually know the answer to the question. I used to be one of those who thought I knew, that is, until I did a little deeper study on it. Like many people today, I once subscribed to the notion that Christmas was originally a Pagan celebration in pre-Christian Europe. I was under the impression that Christianity commandeered a Pagan celebration and used it to redirect European focus away from Pagan beliefs, and toward the Christian gospel. I couldn't have been more mistaken.



Today, a small but growing number of Evangelical Christians object to the celebration of Christmas. This is because of Christmas' alleged Pagan roots. They'll have nothing to do with Paganism, and so Christmas is out! I wish them the best of luck in this endeavor, because they're gonna need it. Around the world, the Christmas celebration is the most beloved holiday time of the year. Christmas-banning Evangelicals are going to have an uphill fight with their families and children around the holidays. It's easy to say you're gonna ban Christmas in your home, but it's quite another thing when it comes to actually doing it. Sadly, this notion is misplaced, and it's one based on ignorance of the facts.



If I had a nickel for every time I heard somebody say Christmas came from Paganism... well, let's just say I'd have a lot of nickels. There is a partial truth to this, but it is only partial. Indeed, some ancient Pagans did make a practice out of worshiping the sun. This is how the year came to be divided into four seasons: Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. The time when the earth is closest and farthest from the sun is called a "solstice." The time when the earth is about midway from the sun is called an "equinox." The seasons of summer and winter are marked by a solstice. The seasons of fall and spring are marked by an equinox. Knowing and understanding how these seasons worked was essential to farmers in ancient times, so virtually every culture developed an elaborate method of predicting the start of spring, which was optimal for planting crops. These elaborate systems usually involved study of the stars, and especially the careful observance of the sun's movement across the sky. During the winter months, the sun moves across the sky at a much lower latitude than it does throughout the rest of the year. This lowering of the sun's path was viewed negatively by ancient Pagans, who worshiped the sun, simply because it seemed to be a sign of the sun's weakening or dying power. The fact that most vegetation goes dormant during the cold weather of winter only served to strengthen this notion. The point where the sun moves across the sky at the lowest latitude falls on December 20th through the 23rd, depending on the year. The day when the sun began moving upward in latitude again was marked as the winter solstice, and ancient sun-worshipers commenced a celebration called the "Feast of the Unconquered Sun." This feast usually fell between December 23rd through the 27th, depending on the year, according to the Roman calendar.

Caesar Aurelian (270 to 275 AD) did manage to combine the assortment of Pagan worship practices into one, and marked December 25th for their celebration. The exact reason for his specification of this date is not known. It is peculiar because although it was marked as the "Feast of the Unconquered Sun," it was not observed during the winter solstice (Dec. 20-23), and only landed on the actual day of the feast once every four years (Dec. 25). So why would a Pagan emperor do that? Why celebrate a solstice days after it had passed, and a feast that was only accurate to a fixed date once every four years?

 The answer may be surprising. Aurelian was known for his fairness toward Christians. He was by no means sympathetic to Christianity, but he did not persecute the faith either. Instead he held Christians under the law equally with Pagans. Aurelian came to power during a troubling time in ancient Rome's history. He was attempting to unify an empire that was falling apart. One of his methods for doing this was to streamline and organize the pantheon of Pagan religions. A practice that most Pagan religions had in common was sun worship. Because of this, Aurelian tried on many occasions to have sun worship declared the official religion of the empire. His attempts failed, but his dating of the "Feast of the Unconquered Sun" on December 25th did manage to stick, and his choice of date was extremely interesting. While most Pagan religions observed December 23rd through 27th as the celebration of this feast, a rapidly growing eastern religion (Christianity) was observing a different feast at about the same time. Was Aurelian trying to trump this growing Christian celebration by fixing the date of the Pagan feast on the same day Christians were using? Or was Aurelian simply trying to reconcile Christians and Pagans by making them celebrate their feasts together. Nobody can say for sure exactly what was going on in Aurelian's mind. The only thing we know is that he tried to standardize a Pagan celebration, that depends on a moving date for meaning and accuracy, to a particular fixed date (Dec. 25) already being used by Christians for some eastern celebration.

So what was it Christians were celebrating back then? In all probability, it was a Christian modified version of Hanukkah. You see, many of the early Christians were Jews, and it's perfectly reasonable to assume that some Jewish celebrations were carried over into Gentile Christian homes. Hanukkah commemorates the great victory of the Jews, under the leadership of Judah Maccabees, over the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes who tried to destroy the Jewish faith back in 168 BC. After years of fierce fighting, Judah Maccabees was finally able to lead his troops into Jerusalem for victory. There, the Jews began the work of purifying and rededicating the Temple, which had been defiled by the occupation of Antiochus. It is told that when Judah’s men were cleaning out the temple, they found just a single jar of holy oil. It was only enough to keep the menorah before the Holy of Holies burning for one day. There wasn't enough time to make more holy oil, so what they had would have to do. Miraculously, this one jar burned for eight days and nights, the exact time needed for re-dedication of the Temple.

 As a remembrance of this joyous occasion, every year in Jewish homes a special menorah (or candelabra) is lit, consisting of eight candles instead of the traditional seven (together with an additional ‘servant candle’ used to light the rest for a total of nine candles). A new candle is lit on each night of the festival, one candle being lit on the first night, two on the second, and so on. The dead giveaway to the origin of Christmas is found in the liturgical celebration of the Christmas feast in the Catholic Church – the most ancient Christian calendar available. According to the Roman Catholic calendar, the feast of Christmas is exactly eight days long, starting on December 25th and ending on January 1st. It is officially called the "Octave of Christmas." Octave, of course, means "eight days." The end of the octave marks the beginning of the civil new year, according to the Catholic calendar, which is observed by the entire Western world. The Biblical precedence for the early Christian observance of this Jewish feast is found in John 10:22-23 where Jesus observed the "Feast of Dedication" (or Hanukkah), by visiting the Temple in Jerusalem. There he was confronted by the Pharisees who demanded that he reveal his identity as they contended with him over his claim to be the Son of God. The feast of Hanukkah is a time marked by the light of a menorah filling the Temple. From a Christian perspective, this feast could just as easily be observed as a time marked by the Light of God (Jesus Christ) coming into the world. Such was the most ancient celebration of Christmas, (or the "mass of Christ"), an eight day feast, probably marked in the early Church by the lighting of lamps, songs and prayers.

 Yet the question still remains about December 25th. Why would a Roman caesar try to use it to trump a Jewish-Christian celebration that couldn't have existed on December 25, since Hanukkah only rarely falls on that date? To answer that, we must first look at calendars. The ancient Romans used the Julian calendar, similar to what we use today. The ancient Jews used their own Jewish calendar, still used by Jewish rabbis today. Since the Roman calendar is based on the solar year, and the Jewish calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, the months between them almost never match up perfectly. In fact, they frequently overlap with variation. This is why the date marking the start of Hanukkah always seems to change annually. Though it tends to fluctuate on the Roman calendar from year to year; on the Jewish calendar, the date for Hanukkah is fixed, always falling on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. The evening of the 24th day marks the beginning of the celebration because on the Jewish calendar, a day always begins at sundown the previous day, as opposed to midnight on the Roman calendar. Thus Kislev 24 is the "eve" of Hanukkah -- a very special night for Jews. How interesting that Christians also mark the "eve" of Christmas as an especially holy night. During this particular period of time (late third-century) the early Church would have been made up of a growing number of Gentiles and a shrinking number of Jews. The traditions of the Jewish Christians remained, but they would have been slowly taken over by Gentile Christians. These Gentile Christians probably would not have continued to use the Jewish calendar, and so the Roman month that most closely corresponds with the Jewish month of Kislev is December. Thus, the eight-day Christian celebration of Hanukkah would have switched from Kislev 25th to December 25th, and that would explain the growing number of Christian Gentiles adopting a “foreign” feast around the same time as the winter solstice. This may explain Caesar Aurelian's attempt to fix the celebration of the winter solstice, and the 'Feast of the Unconquered Sun," to a specific date. It was a date which just happened to be the exact same date used by Christians in their celebration of the Christian Hanukkah.

 This was intentional, because Caesar Aurelian was attempting to unify the empire by getting everybody celebrating their various feasts on the same day. The point here is that Christians were using the fixed day of December 25th, as their Christian Hanukkah, long before that date was set for a Pagan feast by a Roman caesar. The fixing of the winter solstice, and the 'Feast of the Unconquered Sun,' to an artificial date (Dec. 25), was an attempt to unify the empire and preserve the dying Pagan religions. December 25th was selected as the day because Aurelian knew Christians would not change their own celebration to accommodate an order for some other date (like Dec. 22nd or Dec. 23rd for example). The only people who would obey his decree were Pagans, and so Aurelian ordered that Pagans change the dates of their Pagan celebrations to accommodate the Christians, not vice versa. December 25th was a fixed date for Christian celebration long before the Pagans adopted it, and it remained a Christian celebration long ager the Pagan religions died out.

In the centuries to follow, the Christian Hanukkah came to be known simply as the "Christ Mass" (or Christmas) for the birth of the Christ child, with the first day of the Octave marked by the "Feast of the Nativity" announcing the Light of God (Jesus Christ) entering the world. Some relatively harmless Pagan practices, (such as mistletoe, evergreens and yule logs), did eventually find their way into the Christian celebration. Surprisingly, the Christmas tree wasn't one of them. That actually came from Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation.

 Legend has it that Martin Luther admired the custom of Eastern Orthodox Christians, in which they displayed a fruit tree in the early part of December to commemorate the “Feast of Adam and Eve.” He wanted to do something similar in the Protestant Church of Germany. So he brought a fir tree into the chapel and decorated it with candles, placing a nativity beneath it. The candles were designed to represent the star of Bethlehem and the choir of angles that sang “Glory to God in the highest...” Eventually the Eastern Orthodox custom, and the Protestant Lutheran custom, merged together resulting in the decoration of the tree with round ornaments to represent the Orthodox fruit tree, stars and angels to represent the Lutheran concept.

The modern tradition of Santa Claus is a commercialized version of the original Christian observance of the Feast of Saint Nicholas, which usually falls on December 6th. The original Saint Nicholas was a Catholic bishop who lived in the middle 4th century. He is the patron saint of children, and was widely known for his charitable giving. There are several legends associated with that. The merging of this tradition with the myths of elves, reindeer and the north pole came about as the result of commercial marketers in the middle to late 19th century. The image of Santa Clause as a fat old man was part of a marketing campaign by the Coca Cola company in the early 20th century, and was accompanied by department store “Santas” as a gimmick to bring Christmas shoppers into their stores.

Today, Christians can get in touch with the spiritual roots of the Christmas celebration simply by extending their own observances of Christmas out to the full eight days from December 25th through January 1st.

Rather than trying to cram it all into one day, (as the commercialized celebration has taught us over the last 100 years), we can spread things out a little, giving ourselves some breathing room to actually enjoy the season a little bit more. We could light a candle for each day of the octave, similar to the Jewish practice, which is probably where the Christian celebration came from anyway.  The reason for the whole celebration is remembering that Christmas marks the coming of the Light (Christ) into the world.  That's what the feast is about.  I don't know anybody who believes Jesus was really born on December 25th, and that's not the official teaching of the Church either.  Regular church attendance should be central to the observance of this Christmas Octave, and the continuation of Christmas songs and prayers throughout the week will also help. Of course the end of the Octave is already well marked for us with the celebration of the new year, and isn't it fitting that an eight-day feast marking the coming of Christ into the world should end with a really big party.

GLOBAL WARMING FRAUD: Ice-Age Cometh!

NASA Says Earth Now Entering Long-Term Cooling Stage

NASA Astronaut and Geophysicist Warns of Coming Ice Age

Russian Astronomer Echoes Warning

British and Canadian Scientists Also Sound The Alarm

And Again, We Have More Evidence Building

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  Now all of the REAL weather experts, REAL climate specialists, and REAL astronomical scientists are starting to agree, the whole "global warming climate change" propaganda was a crock! The exact opposite is happening, the earth is cooling, and it will continue to cool, and guess what? It has nothing to do with us!

The reason why the earth is cooling is because every other planet in the solar system is cooling as well. The sun is just now coming out of it's ten-year cycle solar low, and the reduced sunspot activity over the last few years has brought global temperatures down on every planet in the system. This solar system trend will continue for at least the next two or three years.

For earth however, we're about to get a little more of a deep freeze. The reason? Earth's solar orbit changes ever so slightly, just by a few degrees, over the course of a few hundred years. For the last 250 to 300 years, the earth's orbit has been drifting in a direction that angles more of the planet's surface directly toward the sun. However, over the last decade that has started to change, and the orbit is now drifting back into a direction that angles more of the planet's surface away from the sun, so that more solar rays escape off the curvature of the earth's surface. The result of this will inevitably be more global cooling, in effect, another mini-ice-age, similar to the one experienced in the late middle ages through the early 1800s. Of course this trend will likely take a couple centuries to play out, and we shouldn't expect any massive glaciers to invade our northern cities - not yet anyway - not for a long time. Rather, what we should expect are some colder and harsher winters, with only occasional exceptions, for the remainder of our natural lives.

Guess what? We had nothing to do with this. We didn't cause it, and the human race is not to blame. It all has to do with the orbit of our planet around the sun. It's cyclic, and it's been going on for a VERY LONG TIME. If anything, our activity burning fossil fuels on the planet might actually help warm things up a bit, that is, if the global warming science is correct, which all the latest evidence seems to suggest it's not. So man-made greenhouse gasses probably won't make much of a noticeable impact. Forces of stellar proportions are at play here - literally! We can't change the temperature on our planet anymore than we can alter it's orbit around the sun. Sorry. I hate to burst your bubble, but we really aren't as powerful as our politicians would have us believe. So dress warmly, and invest in a good heating system for your home, because odds are, you're gonna need it!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

How To Apply For Membership In The Anglican Catholic Ordinariate In The United States

(S.A.C.S.) - The following information will help you apply as an INDIVIDUAL to the Anglican Ordinariate in the United States. If you are already a member of an Anglican or Anglican Use parish, that is entering the ordinariate as a group, you should consult with your parish priest. However, if you are not currently connected with a parish entering the ordinariate, or your Anglican group is still in the early stages of formation, than the individual method is probably for you. This information is good until the official Ordinary bishop has been installed, at which time the only thing that changes is the mailing address. I have been told that all individual requests for membership in the ordinariate should be made in writing. Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl now serves as the official delegate for the Holy See in regards to matters relating to the U.S. Anglican Ordinariate until the date when the Ordinary bishop is installed (read press release here). I have been told the archbishop's office welcomes such requests from individuals. Below you will see five sample letters. These letters are merely examples, and you don't have to use this format, but if you wish to use one, simply copy the letter that most applies to you. Insert your name and information in the spaces provided. Then send the letter to the provided mailing address. If multiple members from one family are applying, you should fill out an individual letter for each adult family member. However, they can all be sent in the same envelope....

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FOR ANGLICANS or EPISCOPALIANS...

Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl, S.T.D.
Archbishop of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017

{insert date here}

Your Grace,

I am writing to you to express my interest in membership within the Anglican Ordinariate for the United States. I am an Anglican from {insert your church, denomination or affiliation here} and I am applying as an individual.

Sincerely in Christ,

{sign here}

{insert your printed name here}
{insert your address here}
{insert your phone number and/or email address here}

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FOR ANY NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN (OF ANY DENOMINATION)...

Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl, S.T.D.
Archbishop of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017

{insert date here}

Your Grace,

I am writing to you to express my interest in membership within the Anglican Ordinariate for the United States. I am a {insert your church, denomination or affiliation here}. I am applying as an individual.

Sincerely in Christ,

{sign here}

{insert your printed name here}
{insert your address here}
{insert your phone number and/or email address here}

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FOR ROMAN CATHOLICS WHO WERE FORMER ANGLICANS...

Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl, S.T.D.
Archbishop of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017

{insert date here}

Your Grace,

I am writing to you to express my interest in membership within the Anglican Ordinariate for the United States. I am a Roman Catholic from {insert your parish and diocese here}, and former Anglican from {insert your former church, denomination or affiliation here}. I am applying as an individual.

Sincerely in Christ,

{sign here}

{insert your printed name here}
{insert your address here}
{insert your phone number and/or email address here}

{send a copy of this letter to your local bishop}

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FOR ROMAN CATHOLICS WHO WERE CONVERTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS (NOT ANGLICAN)...


Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl, S.T.D.
Archbishop of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017

{insert date here}

Your Grace,

I am writing to you to express my interest in membership within the Anglican Ordinariate for the United States. I am a Roman Catholic from {insert your parish and diocese here}, and former{insert your former church, denomination or affiliation here}. I am applying as an individual.

Sincerely in Christ,

{sign here}

{insert your printed name here}
{insert your address here}
{insert your phone number and/or email address here}

{send a copy of this letter to your local bishop}

-------------------------------------------------------

FOR ROMAN CATHOLICS WHO ARE NOT CONVERTS....

Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl, S.T.D.
Archbishop of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017

{insert date here}

Your Grace,

I am writing to you to express my interest in the Anglican Ordinariate for the United States. I am a Roman Catholic from{insert your parish and diocese here}, and I have a love for Anglican patrimony. I identify with Anglican Catholicism in full union with the Holy See. {If you are already worshiping with an Anglican Use prayer group or mission, than make mention of it here.  Likewise make mention of any other personal connections you may have to Anglicanism.} I am expressing my interest as an individual.

Sincerely in Christ,

{sign here}

{insert your printed name here}
{insert your address here}
{insert your phone number and/or email address here}

{send a copy of this letter to your local bishop}

Capilla Calvario es anti-católico?

EL CABALLERO CATÓLICO: En una palabra, "Sí". Calvary Chapel (www.CalvaryChapel.com) es anti-católico. Ahora la gente buena no lo negaría. Ellos dicen que aman a los católicos, pero odian el "sistema católico romano religioso." Todo eso está muy bien, pero ser anti-católica no se trata de odio, o aversión a la gente católica. Ser anti-católica, por su propia definición, significa estar en contra de la religión del catolicismo romano. Hagan lo que puedan para esquivar la cuestión, Calvary Chapel es una organización anti-católica.

En sentido amplio, podríamos argumentar que todas las iglesias protestantes son anti-católicas en algún pequeño grado, por el simple hecho de que ellos son protestantes. Históricamente, esto sería cierto. Sin embargo, aunque la mayoría de los grupos protestantes y evangélicos no tratan de enfatizar esto, algunas organizaciones han surgido en los últimos años que son mucho más anti-católicas que otros. Creo que Calvary Chapel definitivamente entra en esta categoría. Aunque no estoy al tanto de toda la documentación oficial de las posiciones anti-católicas de la Capilla del Calvario, uno puede encontrar fácilmente que la mayoría de los sermones de Domingo llenos de anti-catolicismo. Un buen ejemplo de esto viene del pastor Chuck Smith, fundador de la afiliación de Calvary Chapel. Lo bueno de Calvary Chapel es que la mayoría de los sermones son grabados y archivados, así que si uno tiene el tiempo para hacer la “pesca”, la evidencia de un flagrante anti-catolicismo no es demasiado difícil de encontrar. Ahora recuerde, estos son los sermones de un pastor a su congregación. Uno pensaría que un pastor debe de ocuparse de la predicación del evangelio, y la aplicación de las enseñanzas del Nuevo Testamento para la vida cotidiana de su congregación. En cambio, este es el tipo de cosas que uno puede encontrar fácilmente en los sermones del Calvery Chapel...

En la cinta de grabaciones numero 5176,, el Pastor Chuck Smith dijo:

El dogma que se desarrolló en la iglesia católica de la virginidad perpetua de María, es pura tontería. Es la invención de los hombres que han pensado para elevar a María a un lugar de deidad. El hecho evidente es aquí ", y no la conocía 'hasta…'" Está claro que después, que tenía las relaciones normales entre esposos, entre sí, o que los hijos e hijas que han nacido de María, también nacieron de una virgen, y que eso arrojaría toda la historia en desorden. El evangelio de Marcos ofrece nombres de los hermanos de Jesús, Jacobo, José y Simón, y menciona a sus hermanas, para declarar que la virginidad perpetua de María no es una verdad bíblica. Se trata de un dogma católico, sin fundamento bíblico, al igual que la mayoría de los dogmas. Pablo dijo: "Guardaos de los perros" (Fil. 3:02), yo digo: "Tengan cuidado con los dogmas!"

En la cinta 5189, Smith dijo:

Porque uno es vuestro padre, que está en los cielos. "Así que el título de padre fue prohibido por Jesús. En mis asociaciones, entre mis amigos he conocido muchos ministros en la Iglesia Episcopal, y también dentro de la Iglesia Católica. Y tengo una extrema dificultad en saber cómo hacer frente a eso. Porque por mi vida no puedo llamarlos padre fulano de tal. Porque Jesús dijo que no, y eso me crea una cosa difícil, en cuanto a la manera de resolverlos, porque suelen ser introducido, "este es el padre de fulano de tal, y sólo tengo la opción de no tratar con un hombre que se llama “padre” en un sentido espiritual. No sé, hagan lo que quieran, pero yo tengo problemas.

En la cinta 5209, Smith dijo:

La Reforma Protestante fue una protesta contra las malas prácticas que han surgido dentro de la Iglesia Católica. Especialmente la venta de indulgencias. El Papa deseaba construir la gran catedral en Roma, San Pedro, y el dinero no venía, lo suficientemente rápido como para construir este monumento glorioso, que estaba deseando poner, como un símbolo para el cristianismo. Y porque a alguien en el consejo se le ocurrió una idea brillante. Todo el mundo le gusta el pecado, ¿por qué no vender el perdón de pecado?. Y se puede comprar una indulgencia, antes de que se entregara al pecado. Así que a medida que entregarse al pecado, está cubierto, porque ya han comprado su perdón. ¿Así es que quieres una pequeña escapada a un lado?. ¿Quieres salir y emborracharse? Bien. Bajar y comprar su indulgencia “borracho”. ¿Usted quiere tener una aventura? Baje y obtenga una indulgencia “adulterio”. Y comenzó a vender las indulgencias a la gente. Y esto enfureció a Martín Lutero, que tuvo en sus 95 tesis, sus objeciones a las prácticas que se habían desarrollado dentro de la iglesia, y los puso en una puerta, y protestó. Y así el nombre de protestante viene de la reforma protestante.

En la misma cinta, Smith también dijo:

Es un triste error de la Iglesia Católica para declarar que Pedro es el fundamento sobre el cual se construyó la iglesia.

En la cinta 5202, Smith dijo:

A veces se produce dentro de los círculos protestantes tal vez una reacción a la posición de que los católicos han puesto a María en el lugar como la intercesora, e incluso algunos hoy en día como la “co-redentora”, y la reacción entre los protestantes es que muchas veces atacan a María para ponerla mas abajo.

En la cinta 5315, Smith dijo:

Y lo vemos en la Iglesia Católica, donde el sacerdote dice: "Tú vienes a confesar tus pecados a mí, y me voy al Padre para remitir tus pecados, y yo me haré cargo de las cosas para ti. Se trata de poner a un hombre entre tu y Dios. Vamos a ver que el sistema se desarrollara cuando llegamos a la iglesia de Tiatira, pero por lo menos en la iglesia de Éfeso dice: “lo odio”, y el Señor dice: “Yo lo odio también”.

Más tarde en la misma cinta, Smith dijo:

Estos son los temas dominantes de la Iglesia Católica: su amor, su servicio, su fe, su paciencia y su trabajo, y la Iglesia tiene muchas buenas obras, y hay gente maravillosa en la Iglesia Católica, muy admirada: Madre Teresa, como una persona poco común. Maravillosa. No está diciendo cosas en contra de las personas, porque Dios tiene sus vencedores. Es simplemente hablar sobre el sistema.

Más tarde, Smith dijo:

“Y a ella he dado tiempo para arrepentirse de su fornicación, y no se ha arrepentido. He aquí, yo la arrojo en cama, y los que con ella adulteran, en muy grande tribulación, si no se arrepienten de sus actos." Aquí está en primer lugar, la indicación de que la Iglesia Católica va a existir hasta la venida de Jesucristo y el rapto de la iglesia, porque Dios habla de los que les permitirá entrar a la gran tribulación.

Estos son ejemplos típicos de los sermones de la Capilla Calvario que fácilmente pueden ser encontrados en cualquier lugar, entre varios pastores de Calvary Chapel en todo el país. En la última cita anterior, Smith compara la Iglesia Católica a la peor forma de iglesia que se encuentra en el Libro de la Revelación. Aunque, por supuesto, los pastores suelen comparar el Calvary Chapel a lo mejor del cristianismo y a algunas de las iglesias mejores que se encuentran en el Libro de la Revelación. En mi propia experiencia, en una capilla del Calvario dirigida por uno de los discípulos directos de Smith, parecía que había por lo menos un pequeño ataque al catolicismo cada semana.

También se pueden encontrar libros especiales y una “serie de audio”, hecha por pastores de Calvary Chapel, diseñada específicamente con el propósito de atacar a la religión católica. En parte, creo que esto se debe a un número inusual de pastores de Calvary Chapel que sí son ex-católicos. La afiliación se inició en el sur de California, una región muy católica de los Estados Unidos, y como resultado, sus bancos están regularmente llenos de ex-católicos que se han convertido al "Evangelio según Calvary Chapel". Un pequeño porcentaje de estos conversos desafectos pasaron a convertirse en pastores de la afiliación.

Usted se estará preguntando por qué estoy tratando con este grupo evangélico-protestante. Hay después de todo, cientos de diferentes organizaciones anti-católicas en Estados Unidos. Entonces, ¿qué tiene de especial este? Bueno, te diré. Yo fui un "miembro" de Calvary Chapel. De hecho, incluso me convirtió en uno de sus maestros. Todo esto fue antes de mi conversión al catolicismo, por supuesto. Personalmente puedo testificar que he escuchado con regularidad, con mis propios oídos, grandes volúmenes de la retórica anti-católica. Como maestro en la “Capilla del Calvario”, he sido testigo de un muy popular pastor de la “Capilla del Calvario” en el sur de California, en realidad llamar a la Iglesia Católica la "Ramera de Babilonia", y al Papa el "Anticristo" en más de una ocasión. Estos sucedieron ante una numerosa cantidad de gente, muchos de los cuales eran ex- católicos. Personalmente puedo testificar que las doctrinas católicas son tomadas fuera del contexto, y representadas falsamente, y difamadas en forma regular en “Calvary Chapel” en toda América. A veces parece que es raro no oir durante una semana determinada, incluso en un solo semon, al menos un pequeño pinchazo en contra del catolicismo.

Como ex maestro de Capilla del Calvario, tengo sentimientos mixtos acerca de esta organización. Por un lado, tengo que dar crédito donde el crédito es debido. Habiendo sido criado en un hogar de protestante no practicantes, “Calvary Chapel” me ayudó mucho cuando yo estaba luchando con mi fe como una persona joven. “Calvary Chapel” me ayudó a comprender mejor las doctrinas básicas de la fe cristiana. “Calvary Chapel” también me ayudó a resolver los hábitos de pecado en mi vida, y me puso en una senda de mayor obediencia al Evangelio de Jesucristo. Además de eso, fue a través de mis estudios pastorales en “Calvary Chapel” que llegue a un conocimiento de la historia de la Iglesia, un conocimiento que eventualmente llevaría a mi conversión católica. Así, por una parte, agradezco a Calvary Chapel, porque sin ella, probablemente nunca podria haber encontrado a Cristo y más tarde haber entrado en su única, santa, católica y apostólica Iglesia. Por otro lado, me siento frustrado con esta organización, porque engaña a la gente sobre la Iglesia Católica de Cristo. Los que no toman el tiempo para hacer el estudio, y de esos hay muchos, que se ven obligados a confiar en lo que simplemente los pastores de Calvary Chapel les enseñan de la Iglesia Católica. Un buen número de esas cosas están mal, y la mayor parte ni siquiera se originan dentro de Calvary Chapel. De hecho, la mayoría del material anti-católico, usado por pastores de Calvary Chapel, no proviene de la propia organización, sino de fuentes externas que se especializan en el anti-catolicismo.

Si usted es un católico que asiste a la Capilla del Calvario, o ha sido contactado por alguien de Calvary Chapel, como un ex profesor de Calvary Chapel, tengo un buen consejo para ti. Parar y hacer la tarea! Hay un montón de cosas que los pastores de Calvary Chapel dicen sobre el catolicismo que simplemente no son ciertas. Muchos de estos pastores son ex-católicos, ellos mismos, y uno pensaría que debería saber mejor. Sin embargo, usted se sorprendería al descubrir lo poco que estos supuestamente hombres "educados" realmente saben acerca de las creencias católicas y la Iglesia Católica. Yo sugiero que hagas un poco de lectura sobre esta lista de temas HERE, donde se encuentra uno de los más exhaustivos recursos de la apologética católica en Internet. Si por el contrario, eres un no-católico que asiste a la Capilla del Calvario, anímate a hacer lo mismo, de modo que tu puedas tener una mejor comprensión del catolicismo directamente de la Iglesia, en lugar de confiar en la información de segunda mano distribuida por algunos católicos descontentos, que más tarde se convirtieron en pastores de Calvary Chapel. Muchos de los cuales obtuvieron su información de fuentes ni siquiera afiliadas a Calvary Chapel. También me animo a tomar el desafío del “Ultimo Protestante”. Creo que es un buen consejo, y usted debe de escuchar a ambas partes de la historia, valorar las pruebas, y aprender la verdad.

********** ********** Actualización 01/12/2010

EL CABALLERO CATOLICO: Así que ha sido más de tres años desde que escribí esta entrada del blog original en contra de Calvary Chapel-catolicismo, y nada ha cambiado. De camino a casa después de hacer unas compras en la ciudad hoy, decidí oír una emisora de radio local de Calvary Chapel transmitido a través de la sindicación vía satélite. (No estoy seguro de lo que me hizo hacerlo.) De todos modos, el administrador de la estación acababa de invitar a Chuck Smith en el aire para contestar algunas preguntas de los oyentes. Una persona que llamó mencionó que su novia es católica, y de vez en cuando asiste a misa con ella. Había una pregunta sobre la aparición de "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe". No era de mas de cinco minutos en el show, cuando Chuck Smith tenia mucho que decir.

En primer lugar, proclamó que "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" no es más que un espíritu demoníaco, y la propia aparición es un engaño del diablo. Aconsejó a la persona que llamaba evitar tener algo que ver con ella. En segundo lugar, , como si eso fuera poco, comenzó a acusar a la Iglesia Católica de la idolatría y la apostasía. Lo hizo en su forma habitual: con voz suave, (que casi se podía oír la sonrisa en su rostro), que yo solía pensar que era la caridad. Doce años después de haber dejado Calvary Chapel, ahora empieza a sonar un poco espeluznante. De todos modos, utilizó un argumento clásico pero muy falso. Él, evidentemente cambiando la enseñanza católica, alegó que la Iglesia pone a María por encima de Cristo. Luego procedió a derribar este falso argumento en contra de la Iglesia que el presento (como si fuera la verdad), diciendo que cada vez que alguien (es decir, la Iglesia Católica) pone a alguien o algo por encima de Cristo, sabemos que no puede ser de Dios. Por supuesto, la persona que llamaba se expreso lleno de gratitud por la “pontificación” del Pastor Smith, y el administrador de la estación a continuación, procedió a aconsejar la radio oyente, mientras tocaba música, que se mantenga alejado de la Misa Católica y, en su lugar, ir a la Capilla del Calvario.

Cuanto más cambian las cosas, más permanecen igual, sobre todo cuando se trata de la lucha contra el catolicismo que sale de Calvary Chapel. Me complace que estas injurias en contra la Iglesia en particular, procedían de la parte superior – del pastor de Calvary Chapel mismo - Chuck Smith - el hombre que comenzó toda la cadena. Demuestra lo que he estado diciendo todo el tiempo en esta entrada del blog. El fundador de Calvary Chapel es un loco anti-católico, y la manzana nunca cae lejos del árbol. La forma en que el fundador se va, también lo hacen los seguidores. Este tipo de anti-catolicismo se puede encontrar entre los pastores de Calvary Chapel de costa a costa. Algunos son más virulentos que otros, pero casi todos ellos buscan al Pastor Chuck Smith como su ejemplo y maestro. Él es, después de todo, lo más parecido a un "papa" que se puede encontrar en la red de Calvary Chapel.

La manera en que el Pastor Chuck Smith trata de tanta deshonestidad con la doctrina católica es inexcusable. Él es un hombre culto que ha estado en el ministerio desde hace décadas. Él es la virtual "cabeza" de una organización internacional sin denominación-afiliación. Tiene misioneros en América Latina y en Roma. Usted no me puede decir que este hombre es ignorante de la auténtica doctrina de la Iglesia Católica. Él sabe muy bien que la Iglesia Católica NO pone el lugar de María por encima de Cristo de ninguna manera. Él sabe que la Iglesia enseña que María está subordinada a Cristo, y que todo lo que ella es viene directamente de Cristo. Sus opiniones sobre las apariciones marianas son sus negocios, pero, decirle a la gente que son demoníacas es, por lo menos, ser ingenuo. Ningún espíritu demoníaco lleva a la gente a Cristo, y si "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe" se suponía que era un engaño satánico, fue un fracaso por parte del diablo, ya que resultó en más de un millón de personas (nativos americanos) aceptaron a Jesucristo como su Señor y Salvador. Desde entonces se ha inspirado en la fe cristiana de decenas de millones. Si se supone que es una mentira del diablo, seguro es que le salió a favor de Jesucristo. Por supuesto sabemos la verdad. María se le apareció a San Juan Diego para llevar su pueblo a su Hijo - Jesús Cristo - y que ella lo hizo de la manera más sorprendente y milagrosa.

¿Entonces por qué usa la falacia del “hombre de paja” (es decir – describir a una persona con argumentos falsos, para atacarla )? ¿Por qué un hombre culto, que sin duda sabe lo que la Iglesia enseña con respecto a María, se pone a distorsionar deliberadamente la doctrina de la Iglesia, de tal forma que fácilmente podría derribar el argumento falso que desarrolla en contra de la Iglesia Católica que él creó? Bueno, no puedo entender lo que se encuentra en la cabeza de Chuck Smith, así que realmente no lo sé con absoluta certeza por qué lo hizo. Pero sí tengo una opinión, y creo que es un ser bastante educado con algo de información en el interior. Mi opinión es que Calvary Chapel comenzó en el sur de California, que es una parte muy católica de los Estados Unidos. La mayoría de las personas que asisten a Calvary Chapel son ex-católicos. No tengo un porcentaje exacto, pero yo diría que al menos la mitad sería una suposición razonable. La mayoría de ellos abandonaron la Iglesia Católica durante los tiempos turbulentos de la década de 1970 hasta 1990. Fue durante este tiempo que Chuck Smith, y sus discípulos comenzaron su ministerio de propaganda anti-católica, y WOW, como creció! Ellos trajeron a decenas de ex-católicos a ser "miembros" en sus afiliaciones con esta tontería, junto con sus enseñanzas apocalípticas sobre la actualidad y sus invitaciones de “venir al altar” para recibir la salvación instantánea. Fue (y sigue siendo) una fórmula que funciona. Cada domingo en el sur de California, Calvary Chapel esta llena de gente parada, y los platos que se pasan entre estas personas se llenan de dinero. Smith y sus discípulos en su “ministerio” han traído su falso "Evangelio según Calvary Chapel" a América Latina, e incluso, hayan sido tan descarados para llevarlo a Roma, hasta abajo de la sombra del Vaticano. La fórmula funciona. Se alejan católicos, y los convierte en contra de Roma de la forma más virulenta. También llena las bancas en Calvary Chapel, así como los platos de colección. En mi opinión, la razón por la cual Chuck Smith no cambia es porque él no puede cambiar. Si alguna vez admite que estaba equivocado acerca de algo que la Iglesia Católica enseña, eso pondría en peligro su organización. En el sur de California, por lo menos la mitad de su ministerio es con ex-católicos. Una admisión de un error, sobre todo después de haber predicado estas cosas durante tanto tiempo, haría que los fieles de Calvary Chapel van a comenzar a cuestionar la totalidad del sistema “Capilla del Calvario”, y eso es algo que ni Chuck Smith ni sus discípulos en su “ministerio” no quieren arriesgar..

OUR LADY OF GOOD HELP - The First Approved Marian Apparition In The U.S.A.

Our Lady of Good Help Shrine

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: It's official. Mary was HERE! On this continent and in this country - the United States of America. She spoke in English. She visited one of our own - an American immigrant girl named Adele Brice in Champion Wisconsin, a small village just outside of Green Bay. There are many claims of Marian apparitions in the United States, but for now anyway, only one is approved and without dispute. It is "Our Lady of Good Help." Here is what we can learn from this. The Virgin Mary saw fit to visit the United States, and she did this in 1859, just one year after she appeared in France to Saint Bernadette Soubirous, in what has come to be known there as the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes. In fact, the similarities between this visitation, and that at Lourdes, are quite remarkable. Clearly this apparition was part of a cascade of apparitions in the middle 19th century, in which Our Lady was trying to communicate a particular message to us. At Lourdes she identified herself as the Immaculate Conception, while at Champion she identified herself as the "Queen of Heaven." As wonderful and exciting as this is, we would be remiss to venerate the apparition without taking into account the message of Our Lady to Adele Brice. It was simple really. There is no complexity to it, no apocalyptic visions of the future, just an instruction and a promise....

"As they approached the hallowed spot, Adele could see the beautiful lady, clothed in dazzling white, with a yellow sash around her waist. Her dress fell to her feet in graceful folds. She had a crown of stars around her head, and her long, golden, wavy hair fell loosely around her shoulders. Such a heavenly light shone around her that Adele could hardly look back at her sweet face. Overcome by this heavenly light and the beauty of her amiable visitor, Adele fell on her knees.

" 'In God’s name, who are you and what do you want of me?’ asked Adele, as she had been directed.

“ ‘I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning, and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners. If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them’

“ 'Adele, who is it?'' said one of the women. 'O why can't we see her as you do?' said another weeping.

“ ‘Kneel,’ said Adele, ‘the Lady says she is the Queen of Heaven.’ Our Blessed Lady turned, looked kindly at them, and said, ‘Blessed are they that believe without seeing. What are you doing here in idleness…while your companions are working in the vineyard of my Son?’

“ ‘What more can I do, dear Lady?’ said Adele, weeping.

“ ‘Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation’

“ ‘But how shall I teach them who know so little myself?’ replied Adele.

“ ‘Teach them,’ replied her radiant visitor, ‘their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing. I will help you.’ "

The manifestation of Our Lady then lifted her hands, as though beseeching a blessing for those at her feet, and slowly vanished, leaving Adele overwhelmed and prostrate on the ground.

The message was simple enough, and it is an instruction that carries through with relevance to this day, now more than ever. That wasn't the end of it though. There is more. Our Lady demonstrated her presence with a miracle exactly twelve years after the initial apparition. By this time Adele had become a religious sister. In 1871 a raging wildfire swept through Wisconsin destroying many of the settlements in the area. It was one of the worst in U.S. history. Rather than flee for their lives, Sister Adele and the faithful rushed to the shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. The fire completely surrounded the shrine, but rather than panic in fear they turned toward Our Lady and prayed. The fire engulfed everything in all directions, singeing the fence around the shrine on all sides, but the shrine, and the small plot of land it stood on were left untouched. There is a message in this for all of us. If we will simply turn to the Lord, and follow the instruction of His mother at Champion Wisconsin, we (the American people) can escape the spiritual. economic and social firestorm that will soon engulf our nation.

It all starts with the family. Parents, teach your children the Gospel and the Catechism. Parishes, do the same, at all costs, educate the children in the faith. It is our lack of sound traditionally orthodox education that has brought our national church, and this nation, to the brink of disaster.

The Catholic Church in the United States names Mary as our nation's patroness - The Immaculate Conception. The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is in Washington DC. In doing this the United States bishops have claimed this nation for Mary. Mary was claimed as the Patroness of America as far back as 1792 by Bishop John Carroll. Then in 1846, the Catholic Bishops of the United States assembled to officially proclaim "Mary Immaculate" as our nation's patroness...

"We take this occasion, brethren, to communicate to you the determination, unanimously adopted by us, to place ourselves and all entrusted to our charge throughout the United States, under the special patronage of the holy Mother of God, whose Immaculate Conception is venerated by the piety of the faithful throughout the Catholic Church. By the aid of her prayers, we entertain the confident hope that we will be strengthened to perform the arduous duties of our ministry, and that you will be enabled to practice the sublime virtues, of which her life presents the most perfect example."

This was a full eight years before the dogmatic proclamation from Rome declaring Mary the Immaculate Conception. Yes, the United States not only has a strong Catholic history, but also a strong Marian history. Our Lady of Good Help is a message to us about help - God's help. The people of this nation are precious to God. He loves us, and he wants to heal our land. Turn back to our Lord and our Lady! Raise your children in the faith - strongly. This is our way out. This is our nation's only help. The fire is coming. What will you do?

December Vacation Supplemental

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Some of you may have noticed that The Catholic Knight hasn't completely vacated on his vacation. I believe I can explain that in two words: "Time Share." Anyway, lets just say if one uses his points wisely, one can easily turn a two week time share into four weeks, but it requires coming back home for short periods of time in during weekends and busy periods. So I'm back home (at the armory) for now, but I'm busily making the place sound for winter. I have had a little time to write, during my vacation, as I find writing enjoyable, so what follows are some supplementals for my readers to chew on over the month of December. Enjoy...

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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: So it's been over three years since I wrote this original blog entry on Calvary Chapel's anti-Catholicism, and nothing has changed. (Not that I really expected it to.) In between jumps to my snowbird hideaway down South, I returned home briefly to keep the Knight's armory running well. On the way home from one of my errands in town today I decided to tune into a local Calvary Chapel radio station broadcasted via satellite syndication. (I'm not sure what possessed me to do it.) Anyway, the station manager had just gotten Chuck Smith on the air for some questions from callers. One caller mentioned that his girlfriend is Catholic, and he occasionally attends mass with her. He had a question about the apparition of "Our Lady of Guadalupe." It wasn't five minutes into the show, but Chuck Smith had plenty to say.

First, he proclaimed that "Our Lady of Guadalupe" is nothing more than a demonic spirit, and the apparition itself is a deception of the devil. He advised the caller to avoid anything to do with it. Second, he then went on, as if that weren't enough, to accuse the Catholic Church of idolatry and apostasy. He did this in his usual soft-spoken gentle manner, (you could almost hear the smile on his face), which I used to think was charity. Twelve years after having left Calvary Chapel, it's now starting to sound a little creepy. Anyway, he used the classic strawman fallacy. He blatantly misrepresented Catholic teaching, claiming the Church places Mary above Christ. Then he proceeded to tear down the strawman by saying that anytime someone (i.e. The Catholic Church) puts someone or something above Christ, we know that can't be from God. Of course the caller was gushing with gratitude for Pastor Smith's pontification, and the station manager then proceeded to advise him, and anyone else listening, to stay away from the Catholic mass and go to Calvary Chapel instead.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, especially when it comes to the anti-Catholicism coming out of Calvary Chapel. I'm pleased that this particular rant against the Church came from the top Calvary Chapel pastor himself - Chuck Smith - the man who started the whole chain. It demonstrates what I've been saying all along in this blog entry. The founder of Calvary Chapel is a raving anti-Catholic, and the apples never fall far from the tree. The way the founder goes, so do the followers. This type of anti-Catholicism can be found among Calvary Chapel pastors from coast to coast. Some are more virulent than others, but virtually all of them look to Pastor Chuck Smith as their example and teacher. He is, after all, the closest thing to a "pope" there will ever be in the Calvary Chapel network.

Pastor Chuck Smith's dishonest dealing with Catholic doctrine is inexcusable. He is an educated man who has been in ministry for decades. He's the virtual "head" of an international nondenominational-affiliation. He has missionary outreaches in Latin America and Rome. You cannot tell me this man is ignorant of authentic Catholic Church doctrine. He knows full well the Catholic Church DOES NOT place Mary above Christ in any way. He knows the Church teaches that Mary is subordinate to Christ, and that everything she is comes directly from Christ. His opinions about Marian apparitions are his business, but to tell people they are demonic is to be disingenuous to say the least. No demonic spirit leads people to Christ, and if "Our Lady of Guadalupe" was supposed to be some Satanic deception, than it was a miserable failure on the devil's part, because it resulted in over a million people (Native Americans) accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It has since inspired the Christian faith of tens of millions. If it was supposed to be a lie of the devil, than it sure backfired on him. Of course we know the truth. Mary appeared to Saint Juan Diego to bring his people to her Son - Jesus Christ - and that she did in the most startling and miraculous way.

So why the strawman fallacy? Why would an educated man, who surely knows what the Church teaches in regards to Mary, deliberately twist and distort Church doctrine in such a way so he could easily tear down the strawman he created? Well, I can't get inside Chuck Smith's head, so I really don't know with absolute certainty why he did it. But I do have an opinion, and I think it's a fairly educated one with some inside information. You see, Calvary Chapel started in Southern California which is a heavily Catholic portion of the United States. Most of the people who attend Calvary Chapel are former Catholics. I don't have an exact percentage, but I would say that at least half would be a fair guess. Most of them left the Catholic Church during the turbulent times of the 1970s - 90s. It was during this time that Chuck Smith, and his ministry disciples began their anti-Catholic propaganda, and WOW did it take off! They brought scores of new "members" into their affiliations with this nonsense, combined with their apocalyptic teachings on current events and typical alter calls for instantaneous salvation. It was (and still is) a formula that works. Every Sunday in Southern California, Calvary Chapels are packed to standing room only. Smith and his ministry disciples have now taken their "Gospel according to Calvary Chapel" into Latin America, and they've even been so bold as to bring it to Rome as well, under the very shadow of the Vatican. The formula works. It draws away Catholics, and turns them against Rome in the most virulent way. It also fills the pews at Calvary Chapels, as well as the collection plates. You see, in my opinion, the reason why Chuck Smith doesn't change is because he can't change. If he ever admits that he was wrong about something the Catholic Church teaches, it would threaten his whole organization. In Southern California alone, at least half of his ministry is to former Catholics. An admission of error, especially after having preached this stuff for so long, would cause the Calvary Chapel faithful to begin questioning the whole system, and that is something that neither Chuck Smith nor his ministry disciples can risk.

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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: I can't help but comment on the video above which has made it's way around the Internet, FoxNews and the conservative talk radio circuit.  It is positively brilliant, and this gentleman from the UK couldn't have possibly said it any better.  The European Union is a Masonic pipe-dream, as is the clandestine North American Union, as well as the State of Israel.  All three are doomed to the dust bin of history.  However, before that happens, there must first be some upheavals, and they will come, perhaps sooner rather than later.  Just a few days after this video hit YouTube, the United States announced that it is willing to bailout the European Union.  (I'm not sure where that money is coming from.)  At this rate the printing presses at the U.S. Treasury Department will likely overheat and melt down.

Be cautious of any upturn in the market, as it is likely to be an illusion.  Whenever Washington promises to spend more money, the market usually goes up, for a little while that is.  We all know what awaits us on the other side of this bubble the Federal Reserve is creating.

The European Union will collapse eventually.  This we can be sure of.  There will be chaos in the streets of Europe too.  This also we can be sure of.  The only questions that remain are these.  Is NOW the time we've been waiting for?  Is this the beginning of what we were warned of in advance by Our Lady of Fatima and all the other approved Catholic prophecies?  Is the time of Great Chastisement here, and the return of monarchy just around the corner?

I don't know the answers to these questions - not yet anyway - but I do know this.  We are called to be a light to the world, not hide in a hole.  The bunker mentality of stockpiling and arming to the teeth will not get you through this.  The coming collapse is going to be too big and all encompassing.  No man can be an island.

If you want to know the way through this, here is is.  First, get involved in your local parish, and make sure you have a close relationship with your priest.  Share your concerns with him, and ask him to help get the parish networked and prepared to be a light in the coming darkness.  Yes, stockpiling a couple weeks (or months) of basic food stuffs is probably a good idea (for any situation really).  Having a gun or two for home defense, probably isn't a bad idea either, if you are competent to handle one and it is legal for you to do so.  However, what is going to get us through this is not pantries and bullets.  What is going to get is through this is a strong network of friends and neighbors.  This is why it is SOOOO incredibly important for pastors to get on the ball and start calling upon their parishes to network and organize.  If your priest won't do it, than start networking in your parish yourself, any way you can, so long as you don't usurp your priest's authority.  Second, remember the key principle of Catholic Social Teaching - SUBSIDIARITY!!!  When everybody else is crying out for centralization and/or government crack downs, remember the teaching of the Church.  Subsidiarity is the one and only political method that will work.  Without it, we are doomed to repeat the errors of the Soviet Union, and we all know where that led them.  Third and finally, cling to your faith.  This is the only thing we all have left when it comes down to the wire.  Practice your faith, pray the Rosary, or the Office, or whatever private devotion keeps you on the straight and narrow.   Go to mass - regularly.  Be Catholic! and be not afraid.

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(Washington Post) - The Vatican on Thursday released documentation showing Pope Benedict XVI sought as early as 1988 to find quicker ways to permanently remove priests who raped and molested children but was rebuffed.

A 1988 letter from then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger could serve as the Vatican's best defense to date that the future pope wanted to quickly remove pedophile priests far earlier than previously known but found himself stymied by church law.

The letter, republished in Thursday's Vatican newspaper, shows that Ratzinger complained that church law made it exceedingly difficult to remove abusers if they didn't request to be laicized voluntarily.

He asked to get around the problem by finding "a quicker and simpler procedure" than a cumbersome church trial to punish those priests who "during their ministry were found guilty of grave and scandalous behavior."

He was turned down on the grounds that the priests' ability to defend themselves would be compromised....

read full story here

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  Once again, for the umpteenth time, the pope has been vindicated.  I am rather pleased to see this story in one of the nation's more liberal publications.  I'm not sure how far it will go beyond that.  I seriously doubt the television news networks will carry it.  They're all to eager to broadcast something negative on this pope, whether true or not, but something positive will rarely ever see the light of day in a television newsroom.

This brings me to a word of caution for my readers, as the now infamous Wikileaks claims it will soon unleash a cache of secret communications regarding the Vatican.  We don't know yet what the nature of these communications are, but I suspect they do not involve internal Vatican communications.  I suspect rather they involve private communications between United States diplomats about the Vatican, and perhaps may give us some more insight into how Washington DC views the pope, the Holy See and maybe even the Catholic Church.  That's just a suspicion on my part, but I think a fairly educated one.  I suppose we'll soon find out.

In regards to the pope and the media, how can I not mention the recent condom fiasco.  I have only two things to say about this.  First, the pope DID NOT change any Church teaching in regards to condoms.  Condoms are still condemned by the Church (and the pope) across the board.  Second, what he did say in this private interview really doesn't matter.  That's right, I said it really doesn't matter.  Why?  Because it was a PRIVATE INTERVIEW!  Nothing contained in that interview bears the note of infallibility, nor does it even resemble an official pastoral teaching.  The pope is simply talking candidly about his own private views.  Now this may startle you a bit, so bear with me.  If the pope had come out and said something like, "personally I don't have any problem with condoms," it again wouldn't matter one bit.  Why?  Because he would be speaking his personal opinion, and not proclaiming the teaching of the Church.  You see, there have even been instances in history where known heretics have occupied the Chair of Peter.  In spite of that however, they never once taught heresy from the Chair of Peter.  That's because the office of the pope is protected by the Holy Spirit.  In private however, when the pope is no longer exercising his pastoral role, he can pretty much say whatever he wants.  That being said however, let me point out that the pope DID NOT condone the use of condoms in any way.  He did not say that condoms were "okay" in certain circumstances.  The mainstream news media has completely and totally twisted this subject out of context, which is typical of course.  I believe no one says it better than Michael Voris....



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THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Finally, it's nice to see some of the major Catholic news outlets coming around to see what I've been telling you for over a year. The TEA Party movement is the greatest opportunity we Catholics have ever had at getting the message of Subsidiarity out to the general population....

(CNA) - This past election season "Tea Party" rallies were held around the country to protest government policy or to call for a new direction for the country. The movement even showed some substantial political clout at the ballot box. But is the movement compatible with Catholic social teaching?

CNA spoke about the movement with Dr. Steven Schneck, Director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America, and Fr. Robert Sirico, president of the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Acton Institute.

Fr. Sirico described the Tea Party as "an amorphous thing" with a lot of variety and as a "populist, spontaneous movement." He thought its common themes include a desire for less government and a desire "to limit the power that politicians have over peoples' lives."

Participants find motivation in a variety of philosophies. Some have "well-developed Catholic sensibilities" while others' sensibilities are "almost anarchistic." He thought it was "remarkable" that the Tea Party could bring so many non-political people into the political process.

The Church's teaching on subsidiarity can meet these people and "augment what they're doing," he said, while also guarding against "the more fanatical edges of the tea party."

Fr. Sirico explained subsidiarity as being the principle that higher levels of society should not intervene in lower levels without "manifest and real necessity," and such intervention should only be temporary....

read full story here