The Practical Parson

 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...

 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...

 Recently, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC has taken it upon himself to fully implement the Motu Proprio "Traditionis Custodie" of the late Bishop of Rome.  Apart from banishing all adherents of the Latin Mass to a single parish as of July 8th, which won't even open until late in the Fall; an even more disturbing document was leaked from the bishop's office this week.  In the letter that Bishop Martin had planned to issue to the diocese, he makes a multitude of uninformed and personal liable claims against traditional liturgy and people who worship in that manner; as well as theological arguments which have no basis in Catholic teaching, and would be more at home in a Baptist church than a sacramental one.  He has a desire and plans to ban every semblance of tradition from all parishes in the diocese: From banning altar rails, to telling priests they cannot cross their stoles or say vesting prayers for specific vestments (which he claims cau...

 Yesterday the news broke that the US Episcopal Church had refused to assist in the resettlement of 59 refugees from South Africa.  Of course the media and the church are making an incredibly big fuss over the situation in general, and there is no headline about the refugees that fails to mention that they are WHITE South Africans.  My first gripe with the situation is that this is the only time in the entire saga of refugees BS over the last 10 years that the Media have been not at all discreet in labeling an ethnic group of refugees entirely by their skin color.  Can you imagine the outrage if they had reported articles over previous years about "Black Haitians", or "Latino Mexicans" as refugees?  The liberal world's heads would have exploded in fury.  But yes, because the South African group are ethnically pale-skinned, the press has no qualms at all about just labeling them "white".   Secondly, I hesitated responding to the Episcopal Church's ...

Recently, the new president of the United States attended a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.  The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the District of Columbia decided a service of prayer was as good a time as any to public berate the new president for what she perceives to be his shortcomings on matters of social justice she clings to.  While it is certainly within her right to promote whatever message she seems appropriate, given that the current state of the Episcopal church seems less based on faith and more on social order or disorder; It is entirely fascinating to me that a woman who encouraged and promoted physical violence and destruction for the summer of 2020, denied the resurrection of Christ during her Easter sermon, and actively promotes anti-Semitic and anti-Christian ideals- should be the one to presume to lecture anyone about morality from a supposedly Christian position.   Is it not ironic that those who demand "mercy", are the leas...

 Recently in Rome, the Bishop of Rome was wheeled into an audience hall to admire a nativity scene given the title "The Nativity of Bethlehem".  In true heretical fashion, the scene itself as well as those who gifted it and the fat man in white receiving it; glossed over the truth of what the scene represents.  THIS scene depicts the Holy Family as Palestinian people, with textual and visual representations of a purely "Palestinian" design.  Nativity scenes have always been an expression of the people and places in which they are created, so that fact might ordinarily be forgivable; if not for the one, glaring and obvious thing in the scene which makes it disgusting:  the figure of the newborn Christ resting on a Palestinian Keffiyeh.  For those of you who may be unaware, the Keffiyeh is an Arabic headdress worn by Arabs, and was known as the "crown of the Arabs"; and in previous generations, was forbidden for Jews to wear on pain of death.  The Arabs ...

 Recently, I was in town.   The town nearest my home is in many ways the epitome of small town America; a town in the shadow of a former manufacturing plant for Tobacco, with a community that isn't the smallest, but where everyone still seems to manage to know most everyone and everything going on in town at a given time.   Indeed, it was even a stop for country music star Justin Moore almost a decade ago when he was on his "Small Town USA" tour.   I have lived here for my entire life, and know intimately the community and many of the people; all good sincere people who have always had a place in my heart.   Judge my shock and dismay as I have borne witness over the last 3 years, as my hometown community has been forced into a situation that I am reliably well-informed, is not unique; given the current political and economic climate of our nation.  There have always been poor people in our community, our Lord himself said "the Poor you h...

There is currently a building campaign going on in the heart of Rural North Carolina, which strives to rebuild the church and Christendom; which have both suffered much loss as a result of the excesses of the past 50+ years. I will tell you all about this project from the fundraising site: The Missionary Diocese of the Sacred Heart was established in 2016, in response to the loss of faith that the Church has seen over the past several decades. Its mission is to provide truth to a fallen world, a home for those forgotten, and a place where all may encounter Christ at the foot of the cross in His holy sacraments. Our diocese is blessed to be experiencing growth and expansion of our missionary outreaches; and we seek to build physically so that the work we carry out in the name of the Lord may have permanence and a home. To this end, we are seeking to build a (relatively) small cathedral at our Bishop's seat in Ruffin, North Carolina; which will be the mother church of our diocese. It...

 Most Sacramental Christians in the English Speaking world have by this point in time heard of the case of Father Philip Johnson from the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina.  Last year, Fr. Philip was publicly accused and denounced for allegedly "violating the sixth commandment" with the mother superior of the Arlington Carmelite convent in Texas.  Bishop Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth was vehement in his public pronouncements of Fr. Philip's guilt, despite claiming the investigation was still ongoing; and did all in his power to destroy both the career and reputation of a brother priest in the church of God.   Now that a year has passed, there is good news for Fr. Philip and the church as a whole.  Despite Olson the Odious' best attempts to destroy him, the Diocese of Raleigh, NC has determined that he is completely and utterly innocent of ANY and ALL the accusations made against him by the bishop of Fort Worth (as of June 25, 2024).  Though Fr. P...

  If you've lived in the south long enough, you've been pulled over for a traffic stop at some point most likely.  When the officer/ trooper explains their reason for stopping you, there is always a "tell" that indicates they really only pulled you over because they could: and that is the famous point, usually given at the end of a brief list, that you "were swerving a little".  It's the accusation that gives a ground for every other thing they may want to write you a ticket on, because it is the one point which NO ONE is capable of proving incorrect.  Simply put, there is no human being on the face of this earth who is capable of driving a motor vehicle perfectly parallel to the street lines at all times.  Even if every other accusation they level at you falls by the wayside; they still have that one "gotcha" they can fall back on. Recently, the Bishop of Rome decided to sack the Bishop of Tyler, Texas.  When giving his justifications for doin...

  In Church circles these days, one hears a lot of discussion about tradition, with particular emphasis on liturgical tradition and its effects on popular piety and faith.  The Latin Mass loving Roman Catholic faithful seemingly lead the charge in this, dedicating documentaries, podcasts, art; all for the sake of promoting a return to the traditions of holy faith, as known by our forefathers.   That being said, it is unfortunate that a number of the same Roman Catholic faithful seem to think that they somehow are the sole proprietors of sacred tradition; hardly surprising in light of numerous papal documents claiming so over the years.   Holy Tradition though is not the sole property of the Roman Church, nor is it only to be found within the confines of Rome; Holy Tradition can be found in all churches which maintain a line of patrimony to the first apostles.  These churches are those with historical ties to western or eastern Christianity, and co...

  Ever since the Pan-Amazonian synod in Rome, which saw Idols of pagan deities especially the one known as "Pachamama" carried in procession to one of the holiest places in Christendom; there has been a concerted effort on behalf of the Vatican and South American bishops and cardinals to pagan-ize the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.  The latest brain child to come of this is a recommendation for the Vatican to approve so-called "Mayan Rites" for South American priests to include; which demote the central act of Christian worship in the Eucharistic service, and would focus more intently on pagan inspired prayers, dances, and lay-led activities in the sanctuary.  The cardinal who has been pushing these rites has even gone so far as to claim that these are the only ways in which the indigenous people are able to encounter the Divine.  So, 5 centuries plus of missionary work, sweat, blood, and effort have done... Nothing? your Eminence?   Do you...