Fireside Reflection. Thankful for this Moment in My Life.

I Love Fireside Reflections:

There is something primordial and soulful about quietly sitting in front of the fireplace, with a pipe or fermented beverage in your hand, staring into the flames in a state of wonderment.  

Men have been doing this since our first parents were kicked out of Paradise, no doubt.

Tonight I do so, in Thanksgiving for some personal achievement as of late, that was really God working through me.  

Except for me this warm August evening, my only available substitute for a real fire is the fireplace projected onto my screen via Netflix.  It will do for now.

And the central thoughts of life come to mind.   Ponderings about the state of things, both in one's personal life and the state/Church outside of the domestic home.  Nothing on this side of the grave compares to what God plans to reward us with, if we are holy.  

But He does give us a few consolations to remind us on a natural level of the heavenly Paradise.   Does He not?   Just as after a long, hopefully sainted life, when one enjoys what "eyes have not seen nor ears have heard," so, God sometimes gives us now a taste of that reward at the end of a hard day or period of labor.

To me, a quiet sit in front of the evening fire, maybe with a smoke or a drink, talking or silently musing about either the Creator, or anything in Creation in light of the Creator, either directly or indirectly, is a fitting Catholic form of leisure, and my own personal ideal.   

Give me just a few quality things to enjoy a bit, and I'm there.  No need of much more than that, materially speaking, not to say I don't or wouldn't have more costly material possessions, according to my state in life, socioeconomic status, and what is most prudent for me and mine.

In the meantime, I'm able to rest, sitting back in my Okie Armchair, sipping R&R whiskey, and staring into the flames.  

What I think About:

I think of the past.  My father who has since passed away, of his life, his own gifts and personal trials.  I think of my great-grandfather who brought his Irish Catholic family to Oklahoma to start a lumber business.  I think of the simplicity and humility of their lives, before 65 inch Smart TVs.   

I think about how my father's family growing up lived across the street from their Catholic parish, such that very early daily Mass was a habit, and their Irish Redemptorist pastor often enjoyed an evening conversation and a pipe on my grandparents' front porch.

St. Anthony's Catholic Church

Okmulgee, Oklahoma

There was no universal state of modernist Crisis in the Church back then.  Priests and bishops were generally trustworthy.

But I take a sip and think back to Adam and Eve's Fall, how this whole History of Salvation business, truth be told, is, for every person alive, a Valley of Tears.  Even for the most privileged, healthy, and popular individuals.   Life is a struggle for all of us, a battle against disorder, and a daily state of suffering on some level.

I reflect how original sin takes on a life of its own in each family tree, including my own.  Looking back on mine, I have to consider it a singular grace I am a believing, practicing Catholic.  What grace and good habits I have, it's less than 1 percent me, and 99% God's Providence, and still I often fall into sins.

I think back on the last several years of my life, which were like climbing up a steep mountain.  I have to be thankful to God for the grace to persevere to achieve a certain degree of success where I am now at in my short life.  

My Idea of "Success."

But as I pause looking into the fire, I ask, what is the nature of the success I achieved?  For me, it is not only my talents realized in my chosen profession, or the financial gain that is secured by that, but in finding a quiet place in my life of inner security, so to speak, to feel more peace.

It is not as much a peace that comes from economic stability (which in the natural order does help), but in being reminded that God is always with me.  He always provides, sustains, and delivers what he promises, in this life and especially in the next, if we work for Him.

Conclusion.

To conclude my "fireside" meditation, I feel at this moment in my life, having achieved recently a certain milestone in my own professional life, content, thankful, blessed, and assured in God and by God.   I am sure my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather would be proud, and likewise join me for a glass.   

It is these moments we achieve in life that prefigure "what God has planned for those who love Him."

My prayer then is I use my gifts for the greater glory of God, for His Will to be done, in this world and in the next.  

And may we all do the same in our vocations and avocations in life.

Cheers!

Tulsa Priest trying to end Diocesan Latin Mass Community?

Laramie Hirsch commented recently on a kind of public announcement Fr. Mike Knipe gave last month to Sts. Peter and Paul's Latin Mass Community, in an article over at Vox Cantoris.

LINK

Father reportedly said he prefers just the Novus Ordo for the parish, with no Latin Mass, and suggested the community instead go to the FSSP parish, while criticizing their amount of financial contributions.  The last time he complained about that, that same Sundays' bulletin attributed 24% of Sunday collections to the traditionalists, while 60% of the parish, Hispanics, give less per capita, Hirsch stated.

This story is public, verified, and calls into question the future of Catholic Tradition here in our local Church.  I've had similar accounts related to me directly by parishioners there, that verifies this report.  If substantial info comes forth to the contrary, I will edit this post.

My Commentary.

Where to begin?  First, knowing many of the families there, I highly doubt anybody did or said anything uncharitable, in a serious way, to aggravate the pastor.   The statement suggests he does not approve of the Latin Mass in a mainstream parish, wants trads quarantined off to the unseen countryside, and is advising them to leave.

Second, if they leave, who will make up for the financial loss of the 24% of collections lost?  The exact number doesn't matter, or who is giving more, the Anglo trads, or the impoverished Hispanics.  The poor Hispanics will carry the new burden, if the Latin Mass Community is pressured to leave.   Less $ to pay for food, housing, and medical bills.

By simple rules of physics and natural philosophy, that govern the chain of cause-and-effect, it is certain Fr. Knipe's pastoral move, if successful, will result in greater financial hardships for his Hispanic parishioners, both collectively, and at the level of families and individuals.

No bueno.

That is quite ironic on many levels, considering how the diocese has helped Hispanics so much for the past decades, including Fr. Tim Davison, now on sabbatical, who devoted decades to tireless Hispanic ministry, while promoting the sacred treasures of our Faith.  

It was several years ago that Fr. Tim started a Latin Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul, the community growing for many years.  But now established members are being shown the door.  

And I'm as certain as I am that the sun will come up in the morning, that very few if any non-Latin Mass attending members there have a problem with the traditionalists, the Latin Mass, or the 24% of weekly income they bring in.

Except one man, according to his public statements.

Solutions?

I support Latin Masses in diocesan parishes, as part of the wider effort to restore our Sacred Tradition, but if the laity aren't able to work this out with the pastor and bishop (a big IF), then maybe it's time to get out of Dodge.  

There's the FSSP parish, the Maronite rite, Clear Creek, FSSP/SSPX in OKC, and younger diocesan priests who know how to say the Latin Mass (one told me he is open to help).

Establish a paper trail, maintain charity, write the bishop, appeal to Rome if you must.   But let's face the music.  The modernist powers that be in the Church hate what we stand for, and are ready to keep chopping away at the traditional Faith.  

Random Thoughts to Start the Week

I'm on vacation, so I've had more time to blog these past days.  Deo gracias, I passed a certain milestone in my career, and am deeply thankful for all God's blessings.  Our life will certainly change soon, which brings all sorts of plans and aspirations in the months and years just ahead, and a renewed outlook.  Onward and upward!

Lately I've been thinking about the death penalty issue, our health care system, the crisis in the Church, recent and planned summer outings, my eagerness for Fall, etc.  So why not channel some thoughts about each of these topics in one blog post?

By the way friends, if you like to write, and think you have anything of substance or something helpful to share on any subject, I highly recommend starting your own blog.  It is quite catharctic, fun, and leisurely.

A blog about anything:. Gregorian chant, adopting children, the shooting range, whiskey, liturgical customs, camping.  Any topic can promote the good, true, and beautiful.

The death penalty.  So it seems Pope Francis has caused many people to Google the word "inadmissible."  I'll raise my hand and admit I googled its definition, for clarity sake, even though a logical breakdown of the word makes obvious its meaning.   "Not able to be admitted legally." Speaking to the universal Church through the CCC, which is a universal catechism, he is saying without qualifier that in no country on Earth today is it morally licit for the State to use capital punishment, under any circumstance whatsoever.  Ever.

So if a dictator were to commit genocide in his country, and "ethnically cleanse" millions of a certain race, if imprisoned he absolutely could not make restitution for his crimes by being put to death, because it would violate his dignity as a human being.   If a 21st century version of Adolf Hitler were brought to trial, the pope is forbidding any judge to consider the death penalty.   

Unbelievable, both figuratively and literally. 

Our health care system.  It can be characterized as a mine field, somethings good, many not so good or outright bad, which you have to navigate to find good health care, or if you work in health care to work in a truly professional, ethical, and therapeutic environment.   The culture of life vs culture of death, as it were.

I find that health care professionals who are committed to clinical and ethical excellence, in treating the whole person, in keeping with the noble ideals of a Christian medical ethic/care of the sick, are in the minority.  Afterall, you really have to do your homework to find a 100% pro-life doctor who treats in accord with nature.  Yet if you can navigate around the mines, you will find countless good, caring, and effective health care people and establishments.  The key I think is for believing Catholics who work in the health field, to do so according to Catholic, Christian standards, to be first and foremost a model of excellence, clinically, ethically, and spiritually.  The "restoration of all things to Christ" in all professions and trades begins with us, right?

St. Camillus
A patron saint of those who 
work in Health Care

The crisis in the Church.  It's part of our daily news.  Almost a hobby to follow.  An integral part of the discussion at any Traditionalist gathering.  We are trying to psychologically and spiritually cope with papal gas-lighting, while being forced by circumstance to unnaturally retreat from most parts of our Church, leaving us in a state of Ecclesiastical PTSD.   Our sympathetic nervous systems are perpetually in over-drive, in a "fight or flight" response.  We flee to our Trad enclaves, ever ready to fight, yet trying through prayer and abandonment to God's Providence to maintain a state of spiritual peace.  Quite the challenge God has given us.

Our summering outings.  Blue Hole spring, Flint Creek, Grand Lake, and the Verdigris River.  We enjoy parking our car in the shade, grilling, soaking up the beauty of nature, and maybe a swim or fishing.  Wanting to go back to Blue Hole spring.  An oasis.  Just east of Salinas, OK which is north of Locust Grove.

Eagerness for Fall.  I try and appreciate all the gifts of God's creation, including each of the four seasons.  But when Oklahoma enters the deep heat of July and August, I start counting the days until Fall.  Something about high heat and humidity is not good for my temperament, which is why I feel I "come back to life" once temps go back to the 70s or less.

Wishing you all a good week.

Okie Trad bill for Tulsa Diocese: for travel expenses to traditional Mass

I was wondering today, how much $ have I spent these past 18 years driving across town to a Traditional Latin Mass, because my territorial parish down the street does not offer a reverent, rubrical, and orthodox celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?

So when I got home I grabbed a pen from a drawer, whipped out a calculator, and wrote down all the extra miles I've put on vehicles to keep Sunday truly holy the last two decades.  Average say $2.50 a gallon, plus 50 cents per mile for wear and tear on the vehicle, factor in inflation and some reasonable interest, then the dollar figures start to really grow.

37,720 miles
Average 25 miles per gallon
Average $2.50 per gallon
1508 gallons
$3,722 gas
50 cents per mile wear and tear
$18,860 wear and tear
$1000 inflation
$ 10,000 compounded interest over 18 years
$ 5,000 collection fee

Grand Total owed me by my Diocese:

$ 38,582.  Man that's a lot.

Now if the say 75 households in Tulsa who drive to Sunday TLM, are owed even just half that, say $19,291 (while many families actually drive far distances every Sunday) then the Tulsa Diocese would owe us collectively...drum roll please...

                          $ 1, 466, 116

Wow!  Somebody send the bishop our bill. 

In all seriousness though, this is our penance, and a small one for most budgets considering most Catholics in the world don't have ready access to the Mass of the Ages.  When the status quo in diocesan parishes is banality and objective sacrilege, that state of affairs forces us to drive to out of the way places, to gather together and worship outside of the parochial mainstream.   

So be it.  Is what it is.

Francis' Teaching on the Death Penalty

So, let me get this straight.  If a third world prison is overflowing with violent criminals, according to His Holiness a first degree murderer who rapes his victims and never shows remorse, must receive life in prison, and never today the Death Penalty, no matter how humanely it may be carried out, because to do so would "violate the dignity of the human person"?   

In any country on Earth, no matter how extreme the circumstances?  Never, ever??  For real?

Instead they must be allowed to live in prison, absolutely always, even if they may murder and rape their fellow inmates?

If an ISIS terrorist were to behead a dozen Christian school children, and sit in his cell smiling awaiting his reward from Allah in heaven, according to Francis he absolutely cannot receive capital punishment, as a just, proportionate punishment, to deter future crimes, even if the murderer is quietly put to sleep with lethal injection.  Such an act is "inadmissible."   According to this pope, and the new catechism he today edited, there is now no circumstance in the modern world that could justify capital punishment.

I suppose we could write the CDF with these questions, but good luck with that.  Francis' new teaching is plain and clear enough.

Not if a prison is overcrowded, a country too poor to adequately imprison murderers and rapists, no matter how heinous the crime, or harmful it was to the victim's family and society.

So here in Oklahoma if a terrorist beheads someone (this actually happened somewhat recently), then according to the pope and new catechism, the Death Penalty would necessarily be sinful, inadmissible, unacceptable.   I would now be required by the pope to stop supporting the Death Penalty in my state.

While apostolic exhortations and catechisms are not strictly infallible, ordinarily we must give them religious submission.  In this crisis though we must resist every statement that contradicts the Faith.   

We traditional Catholics must resist another doctrinal error of a conciliar pope.  Great, thanks for that.  As if our consciences weren't already grappling with a long list of other doctrinal errors to be resisted.

All of this is part of the ever evolving conciliar Revolution, a reminder the enemy has taken over the papacy and the hierarchy today, that we must be faithful to Tradition, all the Popes, and to Eternal Rome.  

The Francis papacy forbidding all cases of the Death Penalty, is simply the Revolution marching forward shooting down one doctrinal truth after another.  They are trying to dismantle the entire framework of Tradition, not only on points of faith/liturgy/discipline, but now on basic fundamentals of Catholic morality always taught before by the universal Church.

Ok modernists, bring it on.   As for me and mine, we resist Francis' heretical errors, and hold fast to the Faith of the Scriptures and our Sacred Tradition.  Whatever apparent or real errors that invade fallible documents, that violently contradict the sensus fidelium, will be resisted and rejected.  Instead the Catholic truth will be studied, defended, and shared for the salvation of souls, for the love of God.

Praying God will convert Francis and his followers.

Did the St. Gallen Group Invalidate the 2013 Conclave? Bishop Gracida still Calling Upon the Cardinals to Consider this Question

I must say I love my morning constitutional, which keeps me both up-to-date and "regular" at the same time, as it were.  I wash my face and sit for a spell with my phone in hand, checking the Drudge Report, Canon 212, Yahoo science/tech news, and my emails.  I suspect some of you have similar daily habits.

This morning I noticed among the ever-nauseating church reports about the latest hierarchical sexual abuse scandal, which I tend to not delve into because they have become so incredibly common, another link to Bishop Rene' Gracida's blog.  

He is offering something that to me is both simultaneously very serious but hopeful, a reminder yes of the chaos, but a booster shot in the arm that we still have courageous shepherds, to remind us Christ will preserve the Church.  We really need frequent booster shots.

This good, tradition-minded bishop continues to call into question the validity of the 2013 conclave that elected Cardinal Bergoglio to the Chair of St. Peter, because he defends and loves the Church.  LINK   I myself interviewed Gracida back in May about his argument HERE.  I support his call to the Cardinals to consider the questions, but I personally draw no certain conclusion.

So was the 2013 Conclave Invalid?  Is Pope Francis truly the Supreme Pontiff?

I am not a sedevacantist, but I think considering the unprecedented doctrinal paradigm shift from this pontificate, and how traditionalists and conservatives are rightly observing how the Francis Revolution is plunging the conciliar crisis to deeper depths (cue the German hierarchy, for example), that these are at least legitimate questions to be discussed.

And, as Bishop Gracida underlines, while we the laity can and should express these concerns to the hierarchy, in the end it is only the Cardinals who have the actual authority to take up our concern and in the end consider a remedy.  Or not. 

But the historical evidence, as presented by many reliable sources, is that the St. Gallen Group did conspire to elect Bergoglio, and that their machinations at the 2013 conclave did violate conclave legislation.  

Cardinal Burke himself, as the de facto leader of the conservative Cardinals, a canon lawyer, and former head of the highest court in the Church (!), seems to be in the most opportune position to consider the canonical facts of what went down.  Likely he has by now at least heard about Gracida's argument, if not already given it consideration.

Additional Points in Bishop Gracida's Argument:

Reading his new blog post, presenting what appears to be a formal theological argument for us all to consider, and comparing it to the original thesis he circulated months ago, you can see how he also addresses counter-criticisms.

On the superficial surface, one of the main, indirect objections seems to be basically "Bishop Gracida can't be taken seriously since he is 95 years old," as if being that age necessitates senility.  But if you watch more recent interviews of Gracida, and read the logic and organization of his argument, it is clear to me he is demonstrating that he is not senile, but a man of clarity, logic, intellectual fairness, and wisdom.  Whether or not he is correct in his conclusions, he is a reliable source as one of the most senior, tradition-minded, and still active prelates in the Church today.   He demonstrates that well in his writings.

"Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding 
in length of days"  - Job 12:12

He also explains how the conclave legislation of John Paul II renders a conclave's result null and void in several ways, which the 2013 conclave, he argues, violated.   It is only the section forbidding simony under pain of excommunication, that allows the result to remain still valid;  yet, all other illegal maneuverings invalidate the election.

Bishop Gracida also raises an additional point, that would make the Cardinals' consideration even more serious:  if Francis is not a valid pope, his appointed Cardinals are not valid Cardinals, while many of the Cardinals present at the 2013 conclave, who remain valid Cardinals, will soon not be eligible to vote in a future conclave once they reach the age of 80.   If Francis' papacy is invalid, then eventually there will be no eligible Cardinals to elect a future pope.  

Not a good paradigm, I'd think.  Doesn't it seem more sane and less dramatic for Cardinals to sit down right now and consider if we have an anti-pope, vs. facing the possibility of a string of anti-popes and invalid conclaves for decades or centuries to come?   

When you have a group of progressivist Cardinals elect a heterodox Cardinal, to advance a new, outright heretical system of reform, is that not exactly why past popes actually drafted legislation to deal with both invalid and illicit papal elections?  If the Cardinals cannot actually question the validity of a papal conclave, what was the point of the conclave legislation in the first place?  

Conclusion:

That is as much as I can say without going above my pay grade as a lay Catholic.  This is one bishop, one who by the way celebrates the Ancient and Venerable Rite of the Mass daily, asking the Cardinals to consider a remedy to the current papal crisis, and putting it out there on the Catholic blogosphere for our consideration.  Fair enough?

In the meantime, we have cause for hope that the good, true, and beautiful is still protected within the human element of the Church. We have good bishops like Bishop Gracida, Schneider, Burke, etc.  We have priestly fraternities, monasteries, convents, parishes, and homes keeping the traditional Faith, with a special devotion to preserving our Sacred Tradition.

The Comment section is open.  

Leisure: the Basis of Culture

The title of the Thomistic philosopher Joseph Pieper's must read about the Christian meaning of leisure.

Not mere amusement or Epicurean stimulation, but a contemplative, re-creative activity.

Such was our attempt this blessed Sunday.  Holy Mass, lunch with discussion on matters of faith, then sitting down at home enjoying a Belgian ale, then a trip out to Flint Creek to picnic and swim.

The conversation, communion with nature, and the simple beauty of the country drive across northeast Oklahoma reminded me of the Divine source of all our lives.

Wishing you had an equally leisurely Sunday.

Renewed Goals for The Okie Traditonalist Blog

Happy Saturday!  I just finished a self-imposed two month sabbatical from writing more polemical and critical posts.  The demands of work were extraordinary, so I was lately using the blog more as a comical, stress-relieving, re-creative outlet, while waxing and waning on a variety of subjects. 

But now I have more time and mental energy to write about subjects that are hopefully more thought-provoking and informative.  The kind that gets picked up by websites like Canon212.  Thanks to Frank Walker for checking in here to see what he thinks is worthy to be circulated.

First things First:

But let's be clear, this is just a blog.  I am no expert, saint, cleric, or authority figure.  I am just one lay traditional Catholic guy with a blog.  A blog is not an organ of the Magisterium, after all.  It is literally a "website" + "log" of one's thoughts about any subject.   Hence the word blog.   

Website + Log = BLOG

By now my regular readers hopefully appreciate that I try and keep these writings at that level, rather than trying to be a self-appointed, pontificating, professional theologian.

At the same time, I believe the power of a "Catholic blog" is that it becomes part of a critically needed, online network, voicing shared concerns, perspectives, and catechesis to help the Church and a Christian society.  Not a substitute for the hierarchy, but one of many places to voice the point of view of lay Catholics (who compose 99.999% of the world's 1.18 billion Catholics).    

After all, Canon Law no. 212 says (LINK):

The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.§3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful

And I did not find a canon law that forbids Catholics from "making their opinions known" using the internet, or a blog.  A Catholic blog is, I think, a fitting way for the laity to participate in evangelization, to share their knowledge of Catholics truths, which has always been a shared responsibility with the hierarchy.  To bring people to Christ and His Church.

Renewed Goals for the Blog:

In light of all the really great experiences I've had these last two years of blogging on "The Okie Traditionalist" blog, connecting with many different people from all sorts of places and backgrounds, but also in light of the nuttiness, infighting, and downright dark ugliness I not rarely encounter, I am renewing the goals for this hobby of mine:

1.  I will continue to use humor, irony, satire, and reference to modern media and language, to shed light on truth, because that is my personality.  But I plan to tailor my style to be more focused and effective in conveying my points, while polishing up my spelling, grammar, and writing skills.   

My target audience is both moderation-loving traditional Catholics, and any human being even remotely disposed towards traditional Catholicism.   So I'll still be using words like "cool," or "pee your pants laughing," or referencing mainstream movies, or saying traditionalists as a group need to drink more alcohol, because we are not angelic spirits living in the Garden of Eden.  We are flesh-in-blood human beings living in the 21st Century world, so while our salvation depends upon grace, "grace builds upon nature."  

From now on if you comment in the comment section obtusely complaining about my style, or bemoan one singular point I made among many, it will be deleted at my discretion.  Internet trolls are a distraction to the more helpful readers/commentators.  I don't have time for deranged pettiness, but want to keep the comments section open to make the blog experience more lively and actually helpful for the masses who read this blog every day.  Fair enough?

Fair enough, Okie Trad!

Thanks, GK!

2.  At the same time, I will continue to call out the extremes and abuses of both the liberal left, and from time to time the traditionalist/conservative right (of which I identify).  I love our Catholic tradition, and support the Latin Mass movement, but pharisaism is also a damning force that tempts traditionalists, that needs to be sometimes addressed, not only evils of the flesh and modernity.  

If you frequent this place, odds are you appreciate me voicing these concerns.  


3.  I will continue to share information with readers to help build up my local Church.   I will be discreet and very careful of any negative information I might share, and it will be factual, public, verified, and respectful if conveyed.   If the sacrilege of modernism rears its ugly head in my own diocese, I may report about it and comment in the future.  

If the local presbyteral council tries to publicly undo another traditional work of retired Bishop Slattery, I reserve the right speak about it, but matter-of-factedly and with concern.  That said, when I blog about something local, the focus will be on what is good, true, and beautiful, on what is being done here in Oklahoma to "restore all things to Christ."

Sounds like a plan!

4.  I want to write about my personal experience as a traditional Catholic, here in my own local Church, and living in Oklahoma, as a microcosm of what is happening everywhere in the world.   I get emails often from people in other states and countries, relating to my experiences here, which indicates to me my method is working.   

But I intend to develop that style more as I go.  On one hand, I am thinking of the overall positive feedback of local traditionalists here, that there seems to be a good deal of Okies who look kindly on this endeavor.  On the other hand, most readers do not live in Oklahoma, but many are attracted to the more local, Okie flavor of how I sometimes write, so I will be writing to both audiences (which requires some mental gymnastics in imagining what you want to say, and how).

Microcosm

5.  I will write about topics related to subjects I have degrees in, and professional experience with:  science, education, Catholic philosophy, and health care.  I also want to talk more about my personal interests:  nature, outdoor adventure, gardening, cooking, movies, and helping others.

And at the same time, I will speak about these things from the perspective of being a traditional Catholic...which I think fits well into the parameters of what defines a "blog" in the first place.  A personalized place to voice ideas in writing about serious topics, but also not-so-serious topics, to be true to life and reality.

If that makes your anal sphincter muscles contract in fear or anger, then there are literally 439,999,999 (LINK) other blogs on the world wide web you can read.  Fair enough?

The Comment Section is open.  Feel free to comment if you support this blog, or have any constructive criticisms how I can improve this little work.  

(near future topics:  the graces of swimming, the meaning of "success," Tulsa diocese's new dress code for permanent deacons, my wife's cooking)

A Blog Post Designed to Literally Make You Pee Your Pants Laughing

Happy Saturday!  We made it to the weekend! After a week of Ora et Labora.  Or odds are working in today's "live to work, vs. work to live" proletariat culture, it was oppressively heavy on the Labora.  

It seems very stressful for us traditional Catholics in today's world.  We have to pay the bills like anybody else, but under the pressure of subtle or even overt disenfranchisement for our Catholic identity, not to mention being gas-lighted by the Catholic hierarchy for our attachment to Tradition. No wonder some trads fall into puritanism.  This includes me at times in the past, mea culpa.

So this Saturday morning tonic is just for you. 

Goal:  make you laugh so hard you literally pee your pants, to help us uncoil.  

It's something called "urge incontinence."  When you experience a truth on an emotional level (example: the truth that we live in a dark age), sometimes it arouses the region of the brain responsible for laughter -->  which results in laughter --> which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system --> which relaxes the bladder muscles.  Hence how humor can shed light on truth, to the point of you literally pee your pants. Or at least a trickle.

Here goes:

To make you pee your pants laughing, it is vital you follow my advise, otherwise you may not laugh, at least out loud, or actually pee your pants. You may be tempted to set aside my instructions, to see what is so funny, but then I promise you, you won't get the full, therapeutic effect.

This video is a discussion between a liberal priest/bishop/nun, who are members of what is called the Independent Catholic Movement.  In the first 15 minutes, they discuss how they are similar to Roman Catholics, but are inclusive of the divorced-and-remarried, gays and lesbians, transgenders, yada yada, even praising our beloved Pope Francis' approach to ministry several times.  It is a window into the mind of religious liberals, both outside and inside the actual Catholic Church.

Instruction:   

First, you have to rewind to the beginning.  DO NOT fast forward to Time 15:04.  You may be tempted to, but please wait, and I assure you, when you reach that point, you will thank me for maintaining the suspense, which will make the moment of humor even more intense.  I encourage just watching the first 15 minutes, 3 seconds.  It will pay off.  If you are stretched for time, you could fast forward through parts of it, but slow down to hear their liberal views.  Notice the priest and bishop are up to that point oddly dominating the conversation, the nun not saying a word.  After Time 15:04, the humor begins but there is more suspense.  The peeing should actually commence at Time 15:26.  Okay, here is the video.  

So...did I make you pee your pants laughing, as I did?  I hope at least I made you laugh out loud!  Let me know in the comments section, where we can laugh about the video.  

The times we live in.  We laugh lest we cry, is the approach I try to take here at this blog!

Random Midweek Thoughts

Blue Hole Spring.   In the general vicinity of Locust Grove, OK.  Went there Sunday after going to the Maronite rite (somewhat traditional, but love the priest).
Wow and double wow.  55 degree spring water will lower your body temperature for hours, which feels relaxing.   Highly recommend it for your next summer, family outing.

Arby's curly fries.  Man those are good, but I really need to get back on strict low carb.  Best way to loose weight, imho, if you're horizontally challenged like me. But their curly fries are literally the best.  So crispy and well seasoned.  Deo gracias.  All things in moderation, right?

Pope Francis.   Too busy to read the headlines.  Would rather be canoing the Illinois River.  Who is game?   We can leave real early one Saturday morning, canoe just a short trip, and be back after lunch.

That blog post about trads and alcohol.  People, it was hyperbole.
I don't literally think you should "spike the baby bottle." But I suspect you all knew that.   The two alcoholic contrarian commentators, absolutely yes, don't drink alcohol, but do something to unravel the tightened cords of religiosity and scrupulosity.   How about an enema?  Just ask your local pharmacist what aisle.

It's almost the weekend fellow Okie Trads and Beyond!  Thinking of all you who read this little weekly log of my thoughts.

Traditionalist Catholics need to Drink more Alcohol! I agree!

Disclaimer: If you struggle with past or present alcohol abuse, I encourage you to seek the counsel of a good, traditional priest.  

I tip my hat to Okiepapist, past contributor here, for his observation many trads need to drink more spirits, figuratively was my point, but his point was we need to literally be drinking more!  Not in excess, but that trads would greatly benefit from upping our consumption of fermented beverages.  I'm compelled to raise my glass in agreement as I ruminate and reflect on this intervention.  I've heard the same admonition before from within other trad quarters.  It seems to be a recurring theme, that begs the question about the religious temperament of the Latin Mass community as a whole.

Ja, Das ist richtig, Okie Trad!

This advise goes for yours truly as much as any ecclesiastically gas-lighted, over-wound Catholic out there trying to keep the Faith (and our sanity).

Start 'em young I say, spike the baby bottle! Nothing will teach a little youngster as much about the virtue of moderation, and indirectly all virtues, than by learning the value of moderating drink. A few ounces of wine at the Sunday dinner table will help your eight year old appreciate the fruits of the Earth, and that alcohol, like all other sources of nutrition, is not sinful but sustaining.

When Jr. has received the sacrament of Confirmation, and is able to endure the physical hardship of carrying a heavy backpack for a ten mile mountain trek, he should be handed the whiskey bottle when it is, later that night, passed around the campfire.

My Current Go-To

He will be far less likely to become an adult alcoholic, or addicted to anything. I guarantee Our Lord enjoyed some local brew with his foster father St. Joseph, at the end of a hot Mediterranean day of hard physical labor.

The next time your church circle is tempted to form its own informal parallel parish within a parish (I've heard too many stories of intra-parish trad rebellions to shake a stick at), instead turn your basement into a bar lounge, and invite your clique over to theologize, laugh, and play. Stock up on vodka, whiskey, wine, and beer, and invite Padre over for a drink, to respectfully hash out issues.

The next time your trad priest preaches a seemingly watered down sermon, or swings the other way and chastises families from the pulpit by name for owning televisions (I've witnessed this), don't rush home and stew in your chair in anger. Instead, hit up the local Irish pub on your way home from Mass, and make it a tall Guinness. Let your anger be quenched by ethanol and fermented, nutrient-dense grains!  Far more healthy than the toxic, defensive, anti-social tactics that you'll see play out within trad circles.  

Kilkenny's Irish Pub in Tulsa. 

Minutes from any local Latin Mass.

Are your church gatherings growing stale? Mixed with boredom, petty quarrels, or insularity? Nothing will open up the group, get the sphincter muscles to relax, and the stress hormones to dissipate more than installing a full bar in your parish hall!  I'll be the first to volunteer to bartend. "Father, can I convince you to have another beer?"

There's no better cure for pseudo-Catholic religious fundamentalism (or Jansenism, or whatever you want to call it), than a Boiler Maker. Stop abusing the gift of language, please, and instead of chastising the seeming worldlings among your ranks beneath you for not following Amish rules of conduct, drink that tall beer. At the bottom of the glass is a shot of whiskey you gulp down.  Grace builds upon nature, after all.  

Let us trads install full, liquor bars in our home, to accompany our family altars, libraries, wood burning stoves, and pianos.  The next time you go to the bookshelf to read yet again another book about the evil New World Order, take a break and read The Rule St. Benedict, with classic commentary.  The Rule was/is a tonic for all things extreme in Catholicism.  It prescribes daily wine for the monk, after all.  Or at least make yourself a White Russian to go with your next conspiracy theory.

Planning to buy something like

this in a few months

After all, St Paul recommends drinking wine everyday. It's right there in the Bible folks. And old St Paul could get pretty hard core.

Tomorrow night I'll be relaxing with my favorite R&R whiskey, and checking the comments below to see if you agree.

Have a good weekend. Cheers!

I am a Traditionalist; and I am NOT a Traditionalist

First off, happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans, and those who reside in territories governed by the USA.  Happy 4th of July!

First, I am a Traditionalist:

I adhere to the canon law that states "custom is the best interpreters of laws."   Ecclesial tradition rules supreme over all particular laws drafted for a certain period.  The rule of ecclesial tradition of 2000 years of Church history stands above as a commander and guide to all new laws.   As a traditonalist, I adhere completely, and explicitly to this eccesial tradition.

The Beauty and Wonder of Ecclesial tradition

At the same time, in so far as this ecclesial tradition (distinct, but not inseparable from the divine "upper-case 'T'" Tradition of divine Revelation) is now universally undermined by the modernists and progressivists since the wake of the revolutionizing Second Vatican Council, I absolutely oppose their universal movement in the Church.  

Simultaneously, I continuously support with reservation what is called the "traditionalist Catholic movement," which promotes the so-called Tridentine Latin Mass (the truly "extraordinary form" of the Mass), and all those traditionalist societies, parishes, and chapels that do the same, in so far as they avoid schism to the right and indifference to heresy/banality to the left.

But, secondly, I am NOT a Traditionalist, in the following senses:

1.  I absolutely reject traditionalist parishes and chapels acting like closed-off private clubs/enclaves, treating newcomers with irrational suspicion and fear, and their own community like a society for the religious elite and enlightened.  That is snobbish hogwash.   I have my own mini-library/shelves of traditionalist literature, mixed with The Joy of Gardening and Grimm's Ferry Tales, but the wonder of Catholic tradition is still for me as much an open book to discover and enrich as it was the first time I stepped foot at a Traditional Latin Mass.  Catholic tradition is a heritage and birthright to be OPENLY shared with every newcomer.  Hello.

Whatcha talkin' 'bout Okie Trad?

2.  I completely reject the psycho-social-extreme dimension of Traditionalism, in so far as it turns the Latin Mass movement into a secret society of individuals chosen by divine fate, accessible to those who happened by chance to learn about the traditional Mass, and directly or indirectly embraces the errors of pseudo-Jansenism and rigorism.  In short, I absolutely reject anything that overtly resembles a "Catholic fundamentalism."  You know it when you see it, and it is everywhere in Traddom, just according to degrees.


3.  That said, my quiet observation, ironically, is that the majority (over 50% at least) of trads have the same thoughts and perspective.   They are sick and tired of the fundamentalism/cliquishness, and looking to the trad clergy to remedy it, or better yet for the universal hierarchy/papacy to one day re-normalize the Church, rooting it again clearly in ecclesial tradition.  

Until that time, I am a traditionalist, while also shunning traditionalist fundamentalism in all its shapes and sizes!

Going swimming today, then BBQ, then fireworks, then two more days of super-focused, hard work.  Again, Happy 4th!  Deo gracias.

Email Question about Clear Creek Monastery & 3rd Order Oblates. My Thoughts.

Got a cordial email inquiry from a New York man who is at this moment attending with his wife the Idea of a Village Conference out at Clear Creek monastery here in Eastern Oklahoma. 

He reads the blog, and my blog post about that event perked his interest, wanting to pick my brain about the Third Order Oblates of Clear Creek.  So I thought that would make a good Saturday blog post, per his suggestion, to hit two birds with one stone.  Just finished some work, and I'm in need of some good weekend R&R.  Blogging usually does the trick.

Clear Creek.  Third Order.  Oblates.  Laity attached to Clear Creek.  To benefit from their spirituality, if not also to become an associate member of the wider community of Villagers (Abbot Anderson's term he used in his conference talk HERE).  

Okay, here goes.

The devil has struck the shepherd; the sheep are scattered.  We cannot presently trust the person of the Pope, Bishops, and Priests under them.  Generally speaking, ANY of them.  We are the sheep looking up from the rocky, lifeless soil of the "conciliar church," which was once a fruitful pasture of "amber waves of grain"

Patriotic, 4th of July song reference intended. 

We look up to the hilltop where the attentive, sober, serious, and authentically pastoral shepherd once sat.  In his place is a listless, somnolent, disoriented, servile, clericalist who is not consistently leading as Christ commanded in Sacred Scripture, or in a Christ-like way.

Instead, traditional, faithful Catholics, look for alternative sources that run contrary to the norms of Church history.  We look away from the parochial hierarchy to traditionalist societies of priests, and traditional orders of monks and nuns for guidance.  

The traditionalist/conservative religious and priests are, by default, leading by example, at least in their orthodoxy, devotions, and external attachment to ecclesial traditions.  In the case of an Abbot, he pastors not only the members of his monastery, but 3rd Order lay members attached to it.

I personally think it is a good idea for some laity to be 3rd Order lay members of a traditional monastery or other religious institute, including Our Lady of the Annunciation at Clear Creek Abbey in Hulbert, OK, as long as their reasons are balanced.  I would also recommend considering being an Oblate under Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in Silver City, NM, which, in my opinion, is even more faithful objectively to the Sacred Tradition of the Church.

Or for that matter, perhaps consider being a THIRD ORDER member of the Society of St. Pius X, or a member of the Confraternity of the Fraternity of St. Peter.

But flip the coin to the other side, as I often do on this blog.  The Crisis is everywhere, including trad circles.  I absolutely do not support laity trying to escape the world as if they were monks in the Egyptian deserts of the Early Church, which some are doing who try and set up homesteads in the deep woods around Clear Creek.  

If that is the mindset, then I personally would discourage the person from becoming a lay Benedictine.   Better just to have morning and evening prayers, go to Mass on Sundays, while offering your daily humiliations according to the demands of work in the world of men.

But I'm just one individual with a blog.

Okay, I'm off to the pool for a swim, and then an evening of beer, Netflix, and lap time with my canine buddy Peanut.  Tomorrow a group of us go swimming/picnicking out at Blue Hole Spring oasis.

My next blog post will be patriotic, on the 4th of July.

More Random Thoughts

Every person is an onion.   You really have to peel back the layers before you can even begin to understand them.   Their temperament,  personality,  personal life. 
In short,  we need real personal connections with eachother.   I think the final nail on the coffin of human relations,  replaced by transhumanistic,  existential absurdity,  was the advent of social media and the smartphone. 

Case in point.   I sat in the cafeteria for lunch today where I work.   I made eye contact and said hello to the people around me.   And after eating my lunch, I just sat back and watched the crowded room of people.   Most of the people were spending the majority of the time looking at their smartphone screen.   I don't expect a congress of philosophical discourse,  but every social interaction in the room was at best shallow and artificial. 

My dog Peanut.   Loyal,  obsessively attached to me wherever I go,  giving me deep,  longing looks every day,  locking eyes with me,  conveying genuine love.   Her will is not free,  but she has a will,  and ironically this little mortal animal is more genuine and caring than 95% of Homo sapiens I encounter in the mainstream. 

I remain mystified and detached.  I continue to work hard and progress.   But only the likes of poetry,  music,  whiskey,  and sitting in front of a fire can give clarity and perspective about the wasteland.

Can you relate? 

Some Random Thoughts

It's Saturday evening, and I'm enjoying a whiskey while I sit back in my Okie armchair.   I started a couple different blog posts on subjects I'm interested in of late:  how alcohol can help trads who suffer from fundamentalism overcome that ailment, and the integral importance of a parish in the life of a Catholic.  But those will take some time to ruminate and reflect about.  So I'll just throw out some random thoughts for now.  Various ponderings that have entered my mind as of late.

Nursing homes.  In my opinion, 70 percent or more of bed-ridden residents could be enjoying a relatively active life, moving around, walking, doing some little chores and hobbies, going on field trips, if they had the proper physical therapy, more nurse aides, and better paid to provide more activity for the resident.  I've never heard of such a place.   It seems virtually every nursing home is at best a place to take care of the basic needs of the body--bed mobility, transfers, dressing, grooming, and feeding.  At best, most of the residents are left in a stupor pretending to play Bingo.   It's a shame, and something needs to be done about this culture of death for our old, sick loved ones.

Blue Spring swimming hole.  Bar none, the most idyllic, refreshing place to go swimming in eastern Oklahoma.  A large spring.  Very cold water. And nice, shaded picnic spots.  If you're in Tulsa, head east on 412, take the Locust Grove exit, go north through that town to Salina, take a right at the first stop sign, and drive through the hills a few miles until you get there.  It's an oasis, and we're thinking maybe to go tomorrow after Mass.

Okies.   The love-hate dichotomy I have for this place has lately been pressing on my frontal cortex.  Hillbilly-speak and idiotic drivers on the Tulsa freeway haven't irritated me lately.  It's been the complete lack of humility and civility that often accompanies ignorant and backward behavior.   I can tolerate ignorance, but when you combine it with overt, cantankerous pride, it is like trying to cover up gasoline smell on your gym uniform with cologne (a 9th grade memory).  It makes the foul smell even more strange and offensive.  Okies.  Technically, geographically, I am one of them.

R&R Whiskey.  $12 a bottle.  Not bad for a decent Canadian whiskey. Wishing you could have one with me tonight.

Cheers.