The Practical Parson

 Recently, the Society of Saint Pius X has garnered international attention and criticism, for seemingly going against the Roman Catholic church in consecrating 4 new bishops to serve their numerous parishes, schools, and other institutions.  The Vatican announced that the entire society was now excommunicated; and publicly charged/ accused the SSPX of an act of Schism.  Now anyone who is connected with one of the historical churches understands and agrees that Schism is something that should be avoided at all costs, as it is a division within the b body of the faithful; something which should always be avoided when  possible.  However, when Schism occurs, the blame game begins; and often it is not who is "in the right", but rather who is LOUDEST that gets to accuse the other of the crime.  I would argue that, far from being the Mother church of Unity, Rome itself is the creator of Schism and division in much of church history.  Now this should not be ...

 This week the Society of Saint Pius X consecrated 4 new bishops for their movement; to ensure that the work they carry out will be able to continue for the foreseeable future.  In response, today the Vatican has announced that not only are the clergy who participated in the consecrations excommunicated, but likewise all the lay faithful who the SSPX ministers to as well.  In the decree of excommunication, Cardinal Victor Fernandez of the "dicastery for the doctrine of the Faith" declared the SSPX and all its adherents to be in schism.   While Schism is indeed a major problem in the church and something to be avoided at all costs if indeed possible; there have been times throughout the history of the faith when schism has occurred, and have changed the church itself- sometimes for better and sometimes for worse.  The great schism between East and West when the Popes of Rome attempted to exert undue authority over the Byzantine church of the East, the Wester...

 So recently the priest who has been serving the Archdiocese of Washington, DC as exorcist for years and built up a good sized ministry there; has been ordered to leave the archdiocese, due to comments he made on a podcast.    Did he criticize the Pope?   No. Did he criticize the Cardinal of DC?  No. Did he make some public denunciation of the church or its teachings?  No. What he DID do, was dare to suggest that potential "extraterrestrial life" (I.E. UFO's) could be demonic activity.  Apparently, the Cardinal thinks it above the exorcist's pay grade to suggest that something that is not an absolute, could be the workings of demonic activity; although one would think that discerning what is demonic activity would rather be what the exorcist's job is, right?  I mean, scripture, tradition, and Christian history tell us that not only CAN demons manifest themselves as physical beings or disguise themselves as something else; they actually DO so ...

 As the clock ticks down to the planned episcopal consecrations by the Society of Saint Pius X on July 1st, there is a lot of philosophical grandstanding taking place across social media and religious news outlets.  The majority of Roman Catholic outlets and clergy seem to tow the predictable line that the SSPX is going to be straying into schism because of 'disobedience to the pope', an assumption presumably confirmed by the current bishop of Rome's own words on the matter this week at Castel Gandolfo.  The entirety of the assumption of schism centers around the SSPX's rejection of the majority of what has come to be attributed to the Second Vatican Council, although no one can ever quite cite what source from the council documents they proclaim the SSPX to be in revolt on.   At the very heart of the matter is, in plain fact; the very issue that the Roman church takes with other sacramental churches: liturgy and intent.  These 2 issues can be summed up qui...

 Recently, the Vatican issued a reprimand of 2 Argentinian bishops who deprived the faithful in their dioceses of the canonical right to receive Holy Communion while kneeling.  While that is something one would not EXPECT to hear ordinarily, it is sadly a sign of the times in the modern era of sacramental Christianity.  Ever since the accursed "council" in the 1960's, the Roman Church's modern proclivities towards sacrilege have sadly infected the other sacramental churches as well; in the spirit of ecumenism, of course.  Yes, rather than being bold in tradition and liturgical worship, our churches have abandoned centuries old practices and observances, in favor of the new and innovative concepts of faith; which are ever-changing and never the same from day to day.  There is an old Latin expression which says "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi" or "As you pray, so you believe".  If we do not worship the Lord with respect, with honor, and with dignity; what ...

 Last night President Trump posted a criticism of Pope Leo, and an image depicting Trump as a quasi-messianic figure was later posted to his account as well.   While we may never know who actually posted the image (as there are multiple staffers who have access so to do),  I think we can all agree that trying to depict yourself in comparison with Jesus is not a GOOD thing.  Yet the hordes of online warriors who have spent the last year A.I.-ing themselves into every manner of conceivable art, having themselves depicted as saints, pagan deities, and even into images with Christ himself; are completely outraged that Trump would dare allow something in the same vein of himself to be posted.  While I disagree with the image in question and would say it is in extreme poor taste; the reason why most people are aghast by it has nothing to do with the IDEA behind the image, as much as it is the PERSON who is in the image.   That being said, I would call t...

 This week, a news report broke which claimed that the Pentagon had demanded a meeting with the Vatican's US envoy, Cardinal Christophe Pierre; wherein they threatened the Roman Church unless the Pope "fell in line" with the President's administration's ideas.  On the surface that seems a fairly salacious and horrifying thing, yes?   But when we read the story further, it begins to fall apart at the seams.  Firstly, it was reported by "Free Press", not known for being a bastion of journalistic integrity to begin with.  Secondly, they name that famous person who knows all, sees all, hears all, as their source for the report- Anonymous Source.  There are no more deceptive words used in journalism than the lines "Anonymous sources report"  and "it is reported".  Neither require proof, they require no facts, they don't even require citation; putting journalistic integrity beneath high school and college term/ research papers, which ge...

 In recent weeks, there has been a growing obsession with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (SSPX), due to the announcement that they will be pursuing the consecration of new bishops for their society in July.   Ever the fraternal, loving, ecumenical, "God wants us all to be together in love" crowd; the mainstream Roman Catholic Hierarchy have taken to staunch denouncements of the society, proclaiming them schismatics, heretics, and worse.  For daring to presume that they have the right to have their own bishops; a number of otherwise intelligent and decent Christian people are quite legitimately threatening the SSPX with the fires of eternal damnation.  The crux of the matter is the breakdown in communications between the society and the prefect for the congregation of the doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Fernandez.  Specifically, it is known that Cardinal Fernandez himself has prevented the SSPX from being able to meet with the Roman Pontiff themselves...

 There is a malignant ideology that pervades our society today; wherein man considers that all that is old, traditional, and past, must be swept away in favor of a new approach to life.  That all that has been before is somehow ignorant, outdated, or invalid; in light of the modern pursuit of the modern concept of "unity".  This is true not only of our churches, but also of our secular society as well. Millennia of Human history and civilization, law and order; we are urged to cast aside in order to "free" the modern man from the perceived bonds of the past.  Yet if one casts aside what has gone before, is one truly Free?  Consider the example of cultures that seek to erase what came before them.  When the system that they establish on this principle is unleashed, it spends a vast amount of time and effort almost solely focused on suppressing the past and oppressing the people until they accept it.   This can be demonstrated in the Draconian estab...

 The Bishop of Charlotte seeks to cement his legacy in destruction and demanding the faithful pay for the privilege of it.   Let's help him out, shall we?

 Recently in the State of North Carolina where I live and conduct my own ministry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Charlotte Diocese has issued new "liturgical norms", pertaining to the administration and reception of Holy Communion.  In his letter, he orders that altar rails and prayer kneelers no longer be used by people who wish to receive communion, that altar rails should be removed, and that the faithful are to be encouraged (if not commanded) to receive communion standing instead of kneeling.   While it is entirely within the Roman Church's capacity to force upon its followers whatever it may deem appropriate; one must keep in mind that forcing the faithful to practices which go against their own tradition and the faith they practice, is a mark of arrogance and irreverent pride.   The Bishop writes that he has chosen to enforce these actions to produce "Uniformity" within the church's liturgies.  Ah yes, the age-old myth of liturgical "Uniformi...

 With the recent election of a Woman to sit in the seat of St. Augustine at Canterbury; the Anglican world is yet again aflame with the half-a-century old debate on women's ordination.  Having written extensively in previous posts on the matter from a theological and philosophical perspective, which are still unconvincing to those most ardent supporters of women's ordination; it would seem a point of futility to argue the point any further.  However a cleric that I have known made the statement recently, that the ordination of men only, was only a "tradition" of the church; and argued that such could be changed by the church.  Unfortunately, this is not only untrue, but it degrades the very heart and essence of the priestly ministry to a position of non-consequence.  If such a thing were indeed true that the church alone created and could change the dignity and nature of the priesthood by popular acclaim, then the promised salvation and ever-abiding presence tha...

 20 days ago a young man was assassinated in front of his own children and a crowd of several thousand people on a college campus in Utah.  Almost spontaneously, our "progressive" brethren broke out in thunderous celebration for the death of this man; posting fictitious quotes attributed to him and calling him every manner of slander the left is capable of summoning as an insult against their opponents.  One of the more fascinatingly ironic facts of that phenomena for me personally, was a massive increase in downloads of/ internet searches for the song "no One Mourns the Wicked", from the titled movie "Wicked" which was released just a year ago.  The lyrics proclaim that the wicked die alone, the wicked's life is lonely, etc.; much to the delight of the liberals who played the song in celebration.   However the irony of them playing this song as a celebration of that man's death is overwhelming to those of us who have seen the movie and know the st...

 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ- Today the world witnessed a horrific act of targeted political violence, in the form of the assassination of a conservative commentator, Charlie Kirk, in Utah.  As people of Christian faith and charity, I ask you all to remember his family and friends in your prayers; and commend to your prayers the intention of the repose of his soul.  Before too long, media outlets will shift the narrative of this day away from the story of what happened, and will begin blaming inanimate objects and victims themselves for acts of horrific violence; in a spectacle that is a revolving circle of self-righteous grandstanding rather than meaningful discourse or transmission of fact.  As both a Bishop but first and foremost a Christian; I have been heartbroken and utterly sickened to see so many people who profess Christian faith and love, actively celebrating the death of a man whom they deemed “the enemy.”  While he may have held views that we...

 In May of 2023 a 28 year old man in Baltimore, Maryland viciously assaulted 2 pro-life protesters outside of a Planned Parenthood facility in Maryland.  The suspect, Patrick Brice; claimed to the court that he was only seeking to debate the initial victim on the concept of 'sin', when he (in his own words) "Just snapped" and decided to tackle the 84 year old man and beat him up.  He then did the same to another man who attempted to stop him; the entire ordeal being caught on surveillance video for the whole world to see.  In most situations and other cases, such evidence and confession from a suspect would be seen as evidence enough to Garner a conviction that would lead to substantial incarceration; however this time was different.  Yes, this time both the judge and the jury seemed unable to determine that any really serious crime had been committed, despite evidence and witness testimony which supported the case.  The problem?  Both judge and jury s...

 In the last few months, there has been much debate about ICE and immigration law enforcement in this country.  While there is a lot of high flying emotion and anger on both sides of the debate, it is important to remember first and foremost that we are all of us, human beings; and not deserving of the manner of filth and hatred that is spewing from the mouths and hands of protesters, both in favor and opposition of the enforcement of immigration law.  That being said, it is an extremely interesting paradox in which the American Democratic party and liberal followers find themselves with regard to the immigration enforcement.   After all, not too long ago we had Democratic governors, mayors, and civic leaders who ordered people to remain in their homes; and arrested people who dared violate "quarantine".  Leaders who ordered SWAT raids and violated people's homes in order to ensure that there were no more than 10 people at family gatherings. Police raids on...

You hear the call to arms from the liberal progressives every day: free food, free housing, free healthcare, etc.  Free?  Is anything in life ever truly Free?  The answer, much to the chagrin of our liberal neighbors, is sadly not.  Nothing in this world is ever free; not even the gift of salvation is truly free, since the price of salvation was borne by our Savior.  Yes we receive it at no cost to ourselves; but the price has been paid and most dearly, by someone else, somewhere else.   This is the answer to the great myth of the "free" anything.  There is nothing in life that does not come without cost, however you try to frame it.  The only thing one can do is to try to mitigate the appearance of the costs, and usually by transferring it to another person, and also usually another person as far removed from ourselves as possible.   In the secular state, 'free' programs are funded by taxpayer investment; which rise and fall accord...

They forced your businesses to close; but we have no kings. They forced you to stay home; but we have no kings. They forced you to mask; but we have no kings. They forced on you the so-called vaccine; but we have no kings. They forced on you social distancing; but we have no kings. They forced on you quarantine; but we have no kings. They forced your children out of school; but we have no kings. They forced you to sit by while radicals burned their cities; but we have no kings. They forced you to sit by while they arrested anyone not staying home; but we have no kings. They forced the elderly and infirm to die alone without family; but we have no kings. They forced the closure of houses of worship; but we have no kings. They forced the banning of family gatherings; but we have no kings. They forced clergy to stay out of hospitals comforting the sick; but we have no kings. They forced families to stay away from their departed loved ones; but we have no kings. They forced the closure of ...