ET VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST… “And the Word was made flesh…”

Today is the 7th Day in the Octave of Christmas, and Commemoration of Pope Saint Sylvester I, whose reign saw the end of the Roman persecutions and the blossoming of the Church. He also convened the First Council of Nicaea, which quashed the Arian heresy, and declared Christ co-eternal and of the same essence as the Father. Christ has both a human nature and a divine nature, joined in the Hypostatic Union within the Second Divine Person of the Holy Trinity, and His divine nature is full and infinite, not inferior to the divinity of God the Father in any way. Cheers and Merry Christmas, indeed.

Jesus Christ, fully God and fully Man, came down from Heaven to teach us a thing or two. He explained some astonishing things, and some things that were hard to hear. The two hardest things for which He lost the most disciples over? The truth about the Eucharist and the truth about divorce.

On the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, at the Third Mass of Christmas Day, the Gospel reading is the Last Gospel. That is, the first 14 verses of the Gospel of St. John. These 14 verses are read at the end of every Traditional Latin Mass, but the “reformers” thought it was just too much. It isn’t used in the Novus Ordo at all (it was already removed in the 1965 Latin Missal). There is no way this wasn’t intentionally malicious.

Do yourself a favor: Meditate on these 14 verses; there is so much wisdom to be gained by letting them sink in over and over. The entire Gospel, the entirety of salvation history, up to and including everything going on around us today, is summed up in these words. When you feel alone, lost, losing hope, defeated… come back to these words. When you look at the chessboard of life/country/diocese/Church and your king is seemingly in check… come back to these words.

Happy secular new year, folks. Faith, Hope, and Love. Fast and Pray.

————

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Deo gratias.

The Houston Airport Authority has an important message for the safety and well-being of the traveling public.

“Social distancing during a pandemic saves lives.” Translation: Obey the diktat, or you’re a murderer.

“Maintain six feet distance (four rollaboards width) in all eateries, retail, and gate areas, and a mask is required at all times.”

“Then get on your plane and sit next to strangers literally touching you for five hours and you can take your mask off to eat or drink along side them cuz that’s all coronaproof and these airplane diktats are totally consistent with all our other diktats because science SHUT UP, MURDERER.”

It is nine days to Epiphany, and the counting of Electoral Votes on the Senate floor. A reader has suggested a Novena for the intention of a just outcome. Please join me in adding this petition to the end of your daily Rosary from today to January 6th. Our Lady Undoer of Knots, pray for us. Virgin Most Powerful, pray for us.

And now a word from our President:

---

Today is the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket on December 29, 1170. Thomas Becket was a statesman, a scholar, a chancellor, a priest, an archbishop, and a lion of religious liberty.

Before the Magna Carta was drafted, before the right to free exercise of religion was enshrined as America’s first freedom in our glorious Constitution, Thomas gave his life so that, as he said, “the Church will attain liberty and peace.”

The son of a London sheriff and once described as “a low‑born clerk” by the King who had him killed, Thomas Becket rose to become the leader of the church in England. When the crown attempted to encroach upon the affairs of the house of God through the Constitutions of Clarendon, Thomas refused to sign the offending document. When the furious King Henry II threatened to hold him in contempt of royal authority and questioned why this “poor and humble” priest would dare defy him, Archbishop Becket responded “God is the supreme ruler, above Kings” and “we ought to obey God rather than men.”

Because Thomas would not assent to rendering the church subservient to the state, he was forced to forfeit all his property and flee his own country. Years later, after the intervention of the Pope, Becket was allowed to return — and continued to resist the King’s oppressive interferences into the life of the church. Finally, the King had enough of Thomas Becket’s stalwart defense of religious faith and reportedly exclaimed in consternation: “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”

The King’s knights responded and rode to Canterbury Cathedral to deliver Thomas Becket an ultimatum: give in to the King’s demands or die. Thomas’s reply echoes around the world and across the ages. His last words on this earth were these: “For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.” Dressed in holy robes, Thomas was cut down where he stood inside the walls of his own church.

Thomas Becket’s martyrdom changed the course of history. It eventually brought about numerous constitutional limitations on the power of the state over the Church across the West. In England, Becket’s murder led to the Magna Carta’s declaration 45 years later that: “[T]he English church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished and its liberties unimpaired.”

When the Archbishop refused to allow the King to interfere in the affairs of the Church, Thomas Becket stood at the intersection of church and state. That stand, after centuries of state-sponsored religious oppression and religious wars throughout Europe, eventually led to the establishment of religious liberty in the New World. It is because of great men like Thomas Becket that the first American President George Washington could proclaim more than 600 years later that, in the United States, “All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship” and that “it is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.”

Thomas Becket’s death serves as a powerful and timeless reminder to every American that our freedom from religious persecution is not a mere luxury or accident of history, but rather an essential element of our liberty. It is our priceless treasure and inheritance. And it was bought with the blood of martyrs.

As Americans, we were first united by our belief that “rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God” and that defending liberty is more important than life itself. If we are to continue to be the land of the free, no government official, no governor, no bureaucrat, no judge, and no legislator must be allowed to decree what is orthodox in matters of religion or to require religious believers to violate their consciences. No right is more fundamental to a peaceful, prosperous, and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions. As I declared in Krasiński Square in Warsaw, Poland on July 6, 2017, the people of America and the people of the world still cry out: “We want God.”

On this day, we celebrate and revere Thomas Becket’s courageous stand for religious liberty and we reaffirm our call to end religious persecution worldwide. In my historic address to the United Nations last year, I made clear that America stands with believers in every country who ask only for the freedom to live according to the faith that is within their own hearts. I also stated that global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life, reflecting the belief held by the United States and many other countries that every child — born and unborn — is a sacred gift from God. Earlier this year, I signed an Executive Order to prioritize religious freedom as a core dimension of United States foreign policy. We have directed every Ambassador — and the over 13,000 United States Foreign Service officers and specialists — in more than 195 countries to promote, defend, and support religious freedom as a central pillar of American diplomacy.

We pray for religious believers everywhere who suffer persecution for their faith. We especially pray for their brave and inspiring shepherds — like Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong and Pastor Wang Yi of Chengdu — who are tireless witnesses to hope.

To honor Thomas Becket’s memory, the crimes against people of faith must stop, prisoners of conscience must be released, laws restricting freedom of religion and belief must be repealed, and the vulnerable, the defenseless, and the oppressed must be protected. The tyranny and murder that shocked the conscience of the Middle Ages must never be allowed to happen again. As long as America stands, we will always defend religious liberty.

A society without religion cannot prosper. A nation without faith cannot endure — because justice, goodness, and peace cannot prevail without the grace of God.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 29, 2020, as the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket. I invite the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches and customary places of meeting with appropriate ceremonies in commemoration of the life and legacy of Thomas Becket.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

DONALD J. TRUMP

It’s for Mike Pence to Judge whether a Presidential Election Was Held at All

By Ted Noel http://americanthinker.com

On January 6, a joint session of Congress will open with Vice President Pence presiding as president of the Senate.  His power will be plenary and unappealable.  You heard that right.  As president of the Senate, every objection comes directly to him, and he can rule any objection “out of order” or “denied.”  His task will be to fulfill his oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and to ensure that the laws be faithfully executed.  This is a high standard of performance, and V.P. Pence will have two choices.  He can roll over on “certified” electors, or he can uphold the law.

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution gives state legislatures “plenary authority” as enunciated in Bush v. Gore.  This is key, since the counting of votes is discussed in Article II, the 12th Amendment, and 3 USC 15.  To this we must add the history of counting and objections recounted by Alexander Macris (here and here).  Put bluntly, it’s as clear as mud.  Add to that the fact that the contested states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have sent dueling slates of electors to D.C.  This means that the V.P. has to decide how he will handle the situation when two sealed envelopes are handed to him from any of those states.

Macris points out that in 1800, even with constitutional deficiencies in Georgia, Thomas Jefferson blithely counted defective electoral votes from Georgia, effectively voting himself into the presidency.  This demonstrates that the president of the Senate is the final authority on any motions or objections during the vote-counting.  There is no appeal.  That doesn’t mean there won’t be any outrage.  Whatever Pence does, people will be angry.  But what does the law demand?

Seven contested states clearly violated their own laws. 

…

An election is a process of counting votes for candidates. Only valid, lawful votes may be counted.  A valid lawful vote is:

• Cast by an eligible, properly registered elector as prescribed by laws enacted by the state Legislature.
• Cast in a timely manner, as prescribed by laws enacted by the state Legislature.
• Cast in a proper form as prescribed by laws enacted by the state Legislature.

Any process that does not follow these rules is not an election.  Anything that proceeds from it cannot be regarded as having any lawful import.

…

This leaves V.P. Pence with a dilemma.  He is a gentleman who regards our governmental traditions with a degree of reverence, so he will be reluctant to take any bold action.  But as an honorable man, faced with massive illegality, he must act to protect the law.  Consider how things might go down as the two closed envelopes from Georgia are handed to the V.P.  Rather than opening them, he says:

In my hand are envelopes purporting to contain electoral votes from Georgia.  They are competing for consideration, so it is essential that I consider the law that governs this.  That law, according to the Legislature of Georgia and Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution is the Georgia statute that includes procedures for signature-matching on absentee ballots…

Read the rest at the link up top.

https://youtu.be/Kt1m7sPaRuA

The first Noel the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepards in fields as they lay:
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east beyond them far
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

And by the light of that same star
Three Wise men came from country far
To seek for a King was their intent
And to follow the star wherever it went
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

This star drew nigh to the northwest
O’er Bethlehem it took its rest
And there it did both stop and stay
Right o’er the place where Jesus lay
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

Then entered in those Wise men three
Fell reverently upon their knee
And offered there in His presence
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the kind of Israel!

Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord
That hath made heaven and earth of nought
And with his blood mankind has bought
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!

https://youtu.be/A_iLXNSIaYc

Hark! the herald angels sing:
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled”
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic hosts proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
Hark! the herald angels sing:
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest Heav’n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! the herald angels sing:
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the Heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! the herald angels sing:
“Glory to the newborn King!”

It’s Christmassss time!

I love me some carols, and LURV me some pipe organ.

If you find the urge to cry, due to the beauty of sights and sounds, that’s called Stendhal Syndrome.

Yes, these are Anglicans. Yes, they stole this church from us. Try to hold that to the side for the next eight minutes. (headphones highly recommended)

Merry Christmas! For anyone unable to assist at Mass today, I brought you all with me.

Adeste Fideles, Venite Adoremus!

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning,
Jesu, to Thee be glory given.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze.
We too will thither bend our hearts’ oblations;

There shall we see Him, His eternal Father’s
everlasting brightness now veiled under flesh.
God shall we find there, a Babe in infant clothing;

Child, for us sinners, poor and in the manger,
we would embrace Thee, with love and awe.
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?

Adeste Fideles, verses 5-7: Abbé Étienne Jean François Borderies (1764-1832)

“May our offering on this day’s feast be acceptable to Thee, O Lord, we beseech Thee: That by Thy bounteous grace, through this sacred interchange, we may be found like unto Him, in whom our nature is united to Thee.” Secret, First Mass, The Nativity of our Lord

Gradual Ex. 16:6, 7; Ps. 79:2-3: This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us; and in the morning you shall see His glory. V. Take heed, You who rule Israel, You who are shepherd over Joseph. You who are enthroned above the Cherubim, reveal Yourself to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasses. Alleluia, alleluia! Tomorrow the sinfulness of the earth shall be blotted out, and the Saviour of the world shall rule over us. Alleluia!

Today’s Gospel (Matt 1:16-21) is the revelation of the Annunciation to St. Joseph. You are surely more familiar with the version from Luke, which is from Mary’s perspective. But the account from Matthew has its own importance, as it proves beyond the shadow of a doubt the Mary was never an unwed mother. I wrote something about it a few months ago; reposting here in case this topic comes up at the dinner table:

---

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was NEVER an unwed mother

Originally posted on SEPTEMBER 8, 2020

Today is September 8th, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.

Sometimes you just have to laugh when God so clearly presents you with your task for the day. Remember, He planned for you to be alive in this world at this very moment; you were born for this, and His expectations are not a null set. Incredibly, my task today is to explain ancient Jewish marriage rituals. As it happens, there are Jews in my family, so I have first hand knowledge of how this works. The traditional rituals are virtually the same today as they were at the time of Christ.

But first, may I just say, you really need to get to know your Mother, the glorious and immaculate Virgin. The more love you have for her in your heart, the more room in your heart for Christ, and the more willing He is to dwell there. In the first hour of her birth, Mary bore more glory than all the Old Testament saints, and in that same hour, had already attained more sanctity than all the New Testament saints while they yet lived.

Your greatest confidence is to be entrusted to your Mother, who gave us the wedding at Cana as the first glimpse of her under the title Virgin Most Powerful. Gospel of John, chapter two. Wine runs out, Mary asks Jesus to help, Jesus says no, Mary doesn’t take no for an answer. Nope. GOD INCARNATE OVERRULED BY MOM. Not only does Jesus give in to Mary’s request, not only does He make more wine, really good wine, like the best wine evah, He makes 150 GALLONS OF WINE. Oh how the prots must hate John 2.

Now of course, Mary knew perfectly well that her request was aligned with Christ’s divine will, and that He would carry it out accordingly. God, being perfect, cannot act against His own will, and a creature cannot order God around. But here we have Christ as a model of the Fourth Commandment, even as he is yet God. This same dynamic plays out today, inside the Beatific Vision. Let’s just say the Holy Mother of God is… influential. He listens to her, and she wants to obtain and deliver great graces for you.

Folks, pray the Rosary every day.

So here is the deal with Mary’s marriage to Joseph. In the Jewish tradition, there are three steps to the marriage ritual. Today, all three steps happen on the same day. In ancient times, there could be long periods of time between the steps, especially the last two steps (up to a year). But the key point is this: The spouses are really married, lawfully married, at the very first step. This is the signing of the Ketubah, the marriage contract, which is countersigned by the parents.

The next step is espousal/betrothal in the Kiddushin, followed by the final step of Nissuin. Traditionally, these could take place up to a year apart, during which time the couple do not yet live together. This was the case for Mary and Joseph. Today the two rites take place minutes apart in the same ceremony, with the couple standing together with their parents under the huppah.

But what does the bible say?

Part of the confusion comes from our encounter with the Annunciation, which appears only in Luke. After explaining the miraculous conception of the Forerunner, Luke lays out the Annunciation and the Visitation, followed by the Nativity of St. John. The only term used in the first chapter of Luke is “espoused/betrothed,” which people misconstrue into thinking they were only “engaged.”

However, if you turn to chapter two and the birth of Jesus, you will see in Luke 2:4-5:

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child.

WIFE. That is why Joseph, before he was visited by the angel, had decided to quietly divorce Mary (under the old law). You don’t divorce someone you’re not married to.

But the bigger clincher is from Matthew:

And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations. Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost. Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.  Matt 1:16-20

“JOSEPH HER HUSBAND”

So there you go. Please feel free to use this as the need arises. Happy Feast!

December 23, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, in a new interview with LifeSite, comments on LifeSite’s report that since the first coronavirus lockdown in March, Pope Francis is not anymore using the papal altar in St. Peter’s Basilica for his public Masses, an altar which is situated on top of St. Peter’s tomb. Instead, the Pope is using another altar at the basilica. For Viganò, this papal act is symbolic in light of the fact that Pope Francis himself ordered during the closing Mass of the October 2019 Amazon Synod that a bowl of plants dedicated to the false goddess Pachamama be placed on that very papal altar at St. Peter’s. Not long after that act, the Pope also decided that he would no longer use the title “Vicar of Christ” in the 2020 Vatican Yearbook.

Edit: It’s worth noting that Antipope Bergoglio doesn’t even claim the Vicarship for himself; he formally renounced it. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. He announced this on 2 April 2020, the 15th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. Now, if the purported Roman Pontiff comes right out and tells you he’s not the Vicar of Christ, isn’t that a good sign that something is amiss?

Viganò states that “whoever refuses to be called Vicar of Christ apparently has the perception that this title does not suit him, or even looks with contempt at the possibility of being the Vicar of the One whom by his words and actions Bergoglio shows that he does not wish to recognize and adore as God.”

“In my opinion,” Viganò writes, “what we are witnessing represents the general rehearsal for the establishment of the kingdom of the Antichrist, which will be preceded by the preaching of the False Prophet, the Precursor of the one who will carry out the final persecution against the Church before Our Lord’s definitive and crushing victory.”

All these papal acts taken together are seen by Archbishop Viganò as a development toward apostasy and sacrilege, that is, demon worship.

“I believe that the premises that have been laid down up to this point – which in good part go back to Vatican II, but also to later events such as the Interreligious Prayer Meeting in Assisi – will inexorably lead in an ever more explicit way towards a ‘profession of apostasy’ by the leaders of the Bergoglian church.”

“The Church does not belong to the Pope, and even less does she belong to a clique of heretics and fornicators that has succeeded in coming to power by deception and fraud.”

“Therefore, we ought to unite our supernatural faith in the constant action of God in the midst of His people with a work of resistance, as counseled by the Fathers of the Church: Catholics have the duty of opposing the infidelity of their Shepherds, because the obedience that they owe them is aimed at the glory of God and the salvation of souls. We therefore denounce everything that represents a betrayal of the mission of the Shepherds, imploring the Lord to shorten these times of trial. And if one day we are told by Bergoglio that, in order to remain in communion with him, we must perform an act that offends God, we will have further confirmation that he is an impostor, and that as such he has no authority.”

The full text can be found at the link up top.