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Monday, September 12, 2022
Why Progressives Undermine Civilization
Why Progressives Undermine Civilization: From electricity and psychiatry to criminal justice and meritocracy, center-Left political leaders are dismantling the institutions our forefathers created. Why is that?
Sunday, September 11, 2022
The COVID Pandemic and the mRNA Vaccine: What Is the Truth? Dr. Russell L. Blaylock - Global ResearchGlobal Research - Centre for Research on Globalization
The COVID Pandemic and the mRNA Vaccine: What Is the Truth? Dr. Russell L. Blaylock - Global ResearchGlobal Research - Centre for Research on Globalization: The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most manipulated infectious disease events in history. Official lies in an unending stream led by government bureaucracies, medical associations, medical boards, the media, and UN agencies.
From Fr. Tom at St. Bartholomew's Church, Needham, Massachusetts
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
℟: (Luke 15:18) I will rise and go to my father.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion
wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me. ℟
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me. ℟
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God,
you will not spurn. ℟
Psalm 51 is the great psalm of contrition attributed to King David when he repented for taking Bathsheba for his wife after having her husband killed. Nathan the prophet admonishes David for having greatly sinned, and with this psalm David turns back to God in repentance. David prays for a clean heart, which God alone can create for him: A clean heart create for me, O God, / and a steadfast spirit renew within me. This is beyond our human ability to do; we need God.
This psalm is very familiar to those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours: priests, deacons, monks, nuns, religious brothers and sisters, and laity; because it the first of three psalms prayed every Friday during Morning Prayer. The other psalms and canticles of Morning Prayer rotate on a cycle, but Psalm 51 is ordinarily the first psalm each Friday, because Friday is a penitential day.
According to the law of the Church, “The penitential days and times of the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent” (Canon 1250, emphasis added). Further, “Abstinence from eating meat or some other food according to the prescripts of the conference of bishops is to be observed on every Friday of the year unless a Friday occurs on a day listed as a solemnity” (Canon 1251, emphasis added). While, as permitted by Canon 1253, the US Bishops have allowed us (except on Fridays during Lent) to substitute another form of penance instead of abstaining from meat, Fridays throughout the year remain penitential days on which we are to choose another suitable penance if we do not abstain from meat.
As the Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 50 responds to the First Reading from the Book of Exodus, in which the Israelites turn away from the covenant that God had made with them: that they will be his people, and he alone will be their God. Instead, they make a calf of out gold, worship it, and make sacrifices to it. Israel’s response to God’s rebuke should have been the Responsorial Psalm: a response of contrite repentance. Instead, Moses had to intercede with God on their behalf to save Israel from destruction.
In addition to responding to the First Reading, Psalm 51—David’s great psalm of contrition—also anticipates the Gospel reading, which includes the parable of the prodigal son. In fact, the refrain is the son’s decision to correct his situation: “I will rise and go to my father” (Luke 15:18). God the Father is always searching the horizon, watching and waiting for us to come back to him, so that he can welcome us home with open arms; but like the prodigal son in the parable, we need to make the decision and take the initiative.
May I suggest that the first step in returning to the Father is to observe each Friday as a day of penance in preparation for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. Together with the whole Church praying the Liturgy of the Hours, pray this psalm meaningfully and intentionally on Fridays, and avail yourself of the sacrament of Confession on Saturdays to prepare yourself to worthily receive the Eucharist on Sundays.
God bless you,
Fr. Tom
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Saturday, September 10, 2022
Covid-19 vaccine boosters for young adults: A risk-benefit assessment and five ethical arguments against mandates at universities by Kevin Bardosh, Allison Krug, Euzebiusz Jamrozik, Trudo Lemmens, Salmaan Keshavjee, Vinay Prasad, Martin A. Makary, Stefan Baral, Tracy Beth Høeg :: SSRN
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NATO chief warns Ukraine could collapse — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union
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All Eyes on Gov. Newsom as California Looks to Pass Nation’s First Law to Punish Doctors for COVID ‘Misinformation’
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Queen Elizabeth II: Life in Photos, From Winston Churchill to Platinum Jubilee
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