Month: July 2025

Across the transom. This is from a long time Trad priest who is known to me, currently affiliated with one of the Ecclesia Dei communities. It is brief and to the point. He wishes to remain anon for this post, but I can’t help but encourage it be shared with other “full communion” priests in those orders, and their lay faithful, with the knowledge that this is written by one of their own (NOT a Sede priest). The crux of his argument: Since it is already quite evident we are dealing with another heretic on the seat, is no one concerned for the soul of  Robert Prevost? Well, why the hell not? His soul is in danger. Does Fraternal Charity not compel us to call this out? Isn’t it for his own good? You’re not crazy for hearing and seeing what is plain to hear and see from Hagan Leo 14. As our Lord said, “Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen.” (Matt 11:4, Luke 7:22) -nvp

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Mark, forgive me for dumping this on your desk, but I thought NVP could expose a glaring lacuna in Trad Inc. media. Here goes:

Why aren’t Catholics and, in particular, Catholic influencers calling a spade a spade? Here’s what I mean. When an authority in the Church fails freely, consciously and gravely in his duty to shepherd his flock and promote and protect the true good of souls and the true interests of Our Lord and His Church, he is gravely dishonoring Our Lord and harming the Church and souls.

Why, then, isn’t this grave dereliction of duty called plainly what it is, namely, mortal sin, worthy of eternal damnation for him who commits it and who leaves this world unrepentant. The more weighty his responsibility and lofty his position in the hierarchy, the greater will be his eternal punishment. Is this truth just too hard for them to handle?

Perhaps you could consider calling out Trad Inc. media for their strange timidity. We’re not looking at a hierarchy today that exists for our entertainment. Nor is the hierarchy merely and innocently playing politics or making administrative blunders or, for that matter, blowing us away with crafty moves akin to some holy game of 5-D chess. No, we’re dealing here with effectively evil prelates and pastors sliding headlong into the eternal abyss of Hell-fire and brimstone awaiting them.

Simple and obvious case in point: Pope Leo XIV’s continuing to keep the heretical and perverted Cardinal Victor Manuel “Tucho” Fernandez in his curial position as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

I need not illustrate the obvious eternal consequences for the soul of Pope Leo XIV. Any man of solid Catholic understanding knows the unpleasant outcome. Horror, anyone? Is no one horrified at the prospect of Leo‘s damnation? Is there anyone out there in Catholic media? Hello?

Sincerely,

X

Again, if you aren’t following Chris Jackson’s epic new substack, what are you waiting for? -nvp

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By Chris Jackson

Well, that didn’t take long.

Not even two months after the white smoke, and already the Vatican’s top doctrinal officer has made it crystal clear: the controversial Fiducia Supplicans, Francis’s infamous 2023 document that legitimized blessings for same-sex couples, will “absolutely” remain in force under Leo XIV.

So much for reform.

The Lavender Curtain Doesn’t Close

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, still head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told Il Messaggero’s Franca Giansoldati:

“The Declaration will remain… Fiducia Supplicans will absolutely not fall into oblivion.”

Not “revised.”

Not “reconsidered.”

Not “suspended pending further synodal reflection.”

Nope. Just reaffirmed, defended, and permanently installed.

This follows Fiducia Supplicans’s literal text, which opens the door to “blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples” under the guise of “non-liturgical” gestures. As if wrapping modernist rebellion in the language of nuance somehow justifies the theological rot.

Austen Ivereigh boasted the same on X:

“The blessings of gay people in relationships… will remain.”

Rich Raho added,

“Received in audience just 2 days ago by Pope Leo, DDF Prefect Cardinal Fernandez forcefully says Fiducia Supplicans ‘will remain’…”

So let’s be honest: Fiducia has not just survived the Francis era, it is being institutionalized under Leo. That means any traditionalist pundit, bishop, or blogger still claiming we’ve entered a new era of “reform” is either naive or willfully blind.

Trad Inc. Did a 24-Hour Pivot and Now We See Why

When Leo XIV was elected, many Trad Inc. voices, who just days earlier warned about Fernandez, LGBTQ blessings, and Francis’s doctrinal chaos, suddenly pivoted to a hopeful, even glowing tone.

“Maybe this is our Benedict XVII!”

“Let’s give him time.”

“His voice is so pastoral!”

That sudden shift wasn’t based on any doctrinal clarification or papal repentance. It was based on papal aesthetics, low expectations, and above all, a desperate hunger for permission to cling to Rome no matter how corrupted it becomes.

They told us Leo might rein in the synodal madness. That he would at least walk back Fiducia Supplicans. That he wouldn’t double down on Francis’s worst excesses.

Wrong on every count.

Trad Inc. sold you a fairytale. And they did it fast, within hours of Leo’s election, because they didn’t want to be caught on the wrong side of papal access, TLM favors, or Vatican press credentials.

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Fernandez: Still in Power, Still in Charge

This whole debacle proves something more disturbing: Fernández is still the gatekeeper of doctrine. The man who ghostwrote Amoris Laetitia, shoved Traditionis Custodes down our throats, and gave us Fiducia Supplicans: he’s still calling the shots under Leo.

“Absolutely not,” he said, when asked if Fiducia might fade away.

That’s a full-throated affirmation of Francis’s theological revolution.

And remember, Leo could have fired him.

So far he hasn’t.

Final Thoughts: The Real Continuity

They said Leo would restore continuity with tradition.

They were right, but not in the way they meant.

This is continuity with Vatican II. Continuity with Amoris. Continuity with Traditionis Custodes. Continuity with Pachamama. Continuity with rainbow stoles on rainbow altars and the deconstruction of Catholic moral theology in real time.

It’s the continuity of apostasy.

Let’s be blunt: Fiducia Supplicans is no longer a temporary anomaly, but the new normal in the conciliar church. And Leo XIV has just signed off on it.

You were warned.

You were mocked for saying it.

And now you’re watching it unfold.

So what will Trad Inc. say now?

Will they issue a correction?

Will they admit they were wrong?

Don’t hold your breath.

https://bigmodernism.substack.com/p/the-lavender-legacy-continues-leo

Full crosspost from Laura Wood at Thinking Housewife. If you don’t follow her, you should. -nvp

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NOT long ago, I bought two salvia coccinea plants. I knew from experience that the tubular, scarlet-red flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds.

I have had this variety before, but never ones so breathtakingly gorgeous. The blossoms on the vertical stems were so huge they weighed down the slender, green supports. They were deep red. I imagined a whole summer with these superior specimens and with happy hummingbirds. I put the plants in a new wooden planter and fertilized them. Then, I thought, “Maybe just a little more.”

I wanted so eagerly that these heavenly plants retain their spectacular blooms — and so I did it. I used more fertilizer than I normally would.

Since then, those first flowers have expired, replaced by ones that are shriveled, have tiny black spots and do not open.  And these are usually such easy plants to grow!

I blew it. I loved them too much.

It’s a familiar experience. I’ve been around this block before. I’ve sung this tune before. I’ve waved this flag more than once.

Love is such a good thing, you would think more would always be better. But it’s not. We can love too much. We can love an idea too much. We can love an object too much. We can love a person too much.

In the case of an idea, we may become over-enthusiastic and impractical — a crusader  or utopian fanatic instead of a realist. With an over-loved object, we are dragged down to earth, not elevated by the nobility we crave to possess. It’s possible even to love one’s country or one’s people too much and fail to place them in the long sweep of history.

All kinds of problems result from loving another person too much: unrealistic expectations, being the most common. We may lose our independence of judgement and drift away from our very being. I once knew a woman who loved her father very much. She loved him enough to tell him the truth. He ended up disinheriting her, and she lived out her days in poverty. Had she loved him too much? I know a man who gave a young woman everything she wanted, delaying their wedding for years because she wanted a certain kind of event. She left him a few months after their big party. He had definitely loved her too much.

For some people, loving too much can be so painful, they may give up loving at all. Goodbye, and done with that.

Obsession destroys. The worst kind of excess, of course, is loving one’s self too much. Excessive self-love is so common it’s fair to call it a universal experience. How many idols can a single human being erect in a lifetime? More than we can count. Some are such minor deities; others are destroying, rampaging gods, leaving nothing behind but tawdry and false admiration.

There is only one thing in this vale of tears we can’t love too much. And that is God…

We can love him in the wrong way, but never too much. A scrupulous person loves God in the wrong way, failing to understand that God knows we live in this world and can only do so much. A sentimentalist loves God in an overly-emotional or an entirely emotional way. But feeling is not more important than simple obedience. It is possible to love God well with very little sentiment and even through the deliberate mortification of our feelings. It may be that our fondest consolations must go.

Those red flowers would be so impressive and patriotic this beautiful July Fourth Day. Drat. I am reminded in this trivial matter of my own limits once again. Must I play this record so many times? And you, dear fellow patriot?

I am reminded that in the end, there is only one thing we can never love too much.

https://www.thinkinghousewife.com/2025/07/loving-too-much/#

h/t Dr Mazza.

Back to the Future. Released in theaters July 3, 1985. I’m at a loss to write about what it felt like at that time. Peak Reagan, though we found out decades later that that was quite the Blue Pill.

Released for Fourth of July long weekend, but the movie is set in the Fall. School had to be in session, of course! The opening sequence, which contains a most unfortunate blasphemy, takes place on October 26th. Muslim terrorists have their plutonium stolen, and it was permitted to portray them on-screen. Imagine.

Marty goes back to 1955, and the entire premise of the film hinges on the cultural shockwave that immerses the viewer. Truly, a different world. But if the movie were made today, he would go back to 1995. Aside from smartphones not existing yet (though cell phones did), really the only thing that would stand out? Awful drab brown fashion, Nash Bridges and Frasier most famous examples? For the record, the best thing on TV during the mid-90s was Whose Line is it Anyway. Look for the reruns, and thank me later. Now, enjoy a little Huey.

 

Originally posted June 14, 2018

Today is the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus in the pre-1955 liturgy, Thursday within the Octave of the Sacred Heart. This feast was not merely downgraded, but rather completely suppressed (as was the Octave wherein it resided), while the Feast of the Sacred Heart was retained as a Solemnity, yet not transferred to Sunday nor made a holy day of obligation. +Bugnini had already become head of the liturgical reform by then, and almost surely not believing in Eucharist nor the Sacred Heart, his diabolical intent is all over this. However, by divine will, I just happen to be in possession of a 1948 Bugnini-free missal, so let’s learn about His Eucharistic Heart.

“I understood that devotion to the Sacred Heart is a last effort of His love towards Christians of these latter times, by proposing to them an object and means so calculated to persuade them to love Him… This devotion was the last effort of His love that He would grant to men in these latter ages, in order to withdraw them from the empire of Satan which Jesus desired to destroy, and thus to introduce them to the sweet liberty of the rule of His love, which He wished to restore in the hearts of all those who should embrace this devotion.” St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, vision of the Sacred Heart, 1673

“An object and means so calculated.” Thus did St. Margaret Mary introduce to the world a special weapon reserved for these latter days. It is very compelling as a means of amending your life. Have you ever set aside time and reflected on the Sacred Heart? On what it means? How it so fully expresses God’s love for us, in a very special way? Spend some time on it, because it’s really helpful. It’s a deeper meditation on the reality of the Incarnation: That God himself stitched together His own physical human heart, with the specific intent of having it pierced by us, for our sake.
Pierced by you, for your sake. You can find a good article HERE.

“The sweet liberty of the rule of His love.” The heart is where we discover the intimacy of Jesus’ love for us. It is very important to understand that this love is not simply for all mankind collectively, but for each one of us individually and specifically. He loves you personally, one-on-one, and more than anyone else loves you. His love is not just in real time, but throughout time. He loved you before He created the universe, He loved you from the Cross, and He loves you now. He desires to have His love reciprocated. We do this by adoring him in praise and thanksgiving, and by ordering our lives according to His Word. If you’ve never understood that thing about having a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” this is exactly what it’s all about. When you really love someone, you try really hard not to hurt them, especially in the things They’ve told you hurt Them most.

“The heart stands for love. The human heart of Jesus stands both for His human love and for the infinite love of His divine Person. His love was not just a shimmering, dreamy softness; it was wisely strong and true to its eternal purposes. Despite the anguish of Gethsemane, His love yielded His human life to crucifixion. His love had all the majesty and fullness of God, a height and a depth that make paltry the wisdom of men. Every mystery of His life, every miracle, sermon, and kindness, was a new revelation of divine love that enlightens and warms mankind.” (quote from a hand missal, Feast of the Sacred Heart)

His love for us burst forth physically in the spilling of His Sacred Blood. Not just in a general sense all through His Passion and death, but rather acutely as the lance, the Spear of Destiny, pierced his side and reached His heart. That lance is you.

“They dug therefore, and they dug through not only His hands, but also His feet, yea, and His side also; and the very recesses of His most sacred Heart, they pierced with the spear of rage, though it had already been wounded with the spear of love. ‘Thou hast wounded,’ says the Spouse in the Canticles of love, “thou hast wounded my Heart, my sister, my spouse.’ O Lord Jesus, Thy spouse, Thy love, Thy sister has wounded Thy Heart. Why then was it necessary that that Heart should be wounded further by Thine enemies?” -St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Vitis Mystica

Here is our Lord again instructing St. Margaret Mary; note whom He cites as hurting Him most:

“Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love; and in return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what I feel most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me, that treat Me thus.”

The thing that most strikingly ties these two feasts together is the ontology of the Eucharist itself: Not only is it truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior, but it is literally the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of God. Yes, that’s right, and there have indeed been examples of the host turning into visible flesh, and this flesh has been confirmed scientifically as actual heart muscle. Reflect on this as you read Pope Benedict XV on the institution of the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, 9 November 1921:

“The chief reason of this feast is to commemorate the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the mystery of the Eucharist. By this means the Church wishes more and more to excite the faithful to approach this sacred mystery with confidence, and to inflame their hearts with that divine charity which consumed the Sacred Heart of Jesus when in His infinite love He instituted the Most Holy Eucharist, wherein the Divine Heart guards and loves them by living with them, as they live and abide in Him. For in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist He offers and gives Himself to us as victim, companion, nourishment, viaticum, and pledge of our future glory.”

And finally, a short reflection on the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart from a priest at a Benedictine Priory who apparently has permission to celebrate it:

“The adorable mystery of the Eucharist sums up, contains, and communicates to us the entire mystery of Christ: His incarnation, life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. If you seek the open Side of the glorious ascended Christ, you will find it in the Eucharist. If you seek the pierced Heart of Christ, beating with love for the Father and with mercy for sinners, you will find it in the Eucharist. The Communion Antiphon of the Mass of the feast is meant to be repeated and treasured. It is, at once, a promise and an invitation: “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world”” HERE

You can read about Eucharistic miracles and the human heart muscle HERE.
History of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart HERE.

“O Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast poured forth the riches of Thy love for men in instituting the Sacrament of the Eucharist: help us, we beseech Thee, to love Thy most loving Heart and ever to make worthy use of so great a Sacrament.” -Collect for the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus

“We learn from the lessons of the office formerly composed for this feast, that the object of its institution was, as Urban conceived it, to obtain the cessation of the schism then desolating the Church. The Papacy, exiled from Rome for 70 years, had barely re-entered it, when hell, infuriated at a return which crossed all its plans, had taken revenge by ranging under two leaders the flock of the one sheepfold. So deep was the obscurity wherewith miserable intrigues contrived to cover the authority of the legitimate shepherd, that numbers of churches, in all good faith, began to hesitate, and ended at last in preferring the deceptive staff of a hireling. Thicker yet was the darkness to grow, till night should be so dense, that for a moment the conflicting mandates of three Popes would simultaneously spread through the world; whilst the faithful, struck with stupor, would be at an utter loss to discern accurately which was the voice of Christ’s true Vicar. Never had the bride of the Son of God been in a more piteous situation. But Our Lady, to whom the true Pontiff had turned at the first rising of the storm, did not betray the Church‘s confidence. During all those years while the unfathomable justice of the Most High let the powers of hell hold sway, she stood for the defense of holy Church, trampling the head of the old serpent so thoroughly under her victorious foot, that in spite of the terrific confusion he had stirred up, he was unable to sully the faith of the people. Their attachment was steadfast to the unity of the Roman See, whosoever might be, in this uncertainty, its veritable occupant. Thus the West, divided in fact, but in principle ever one and undivided, reunited herself spontaneously as soon as God‘s moment came for the return of light…”

https://stlouiscatholic.wordpress.com/2022/07/02/the-visitation-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/

“It is granted to few to recognize the true Church amid the darkness of so many schisms and heresies, and to fewer still so to love the truth which they have seen as to fly to its embrace.” -St. Robert Bellarmine

Not exactly, but I couldn’t help but be reminded. Probably because I was stuck in a hotel a couple weeks ago, and got sucked into Heathers (1989) while I was channel clicking. Dark, campy, sophomoric, it was terrible of course, but also an instant cult classic. The antithesis of John Hughes’ Gen X feel-good 80s fare. Could not be made today, not by a long shot. Sadly, here it is in real life, except with fifth graders:

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SURPRISE, AZ (AZFamily) — A newly released police report reveals disturbing details in a murder plot involving 5th-grade students in Surprise.

A group of 10 and 11-year-old girls is accused of devising a plan to kill a boy at school. Documents said the friends devised the plan during lunch and recess on Oct. 1, 2024.

“Just end him” was the goal, according to the police report, which said the motive may be about a recent break-up and cheating allegations.

According to the police report, four 5th-grade students at Legacy Traditional School’s West Surprise campus planned to lure a classmate to the charter school’s outside bathroom and stab him in the stomach.

Each girl had a role to play to get away with it. One would bring the knife, another would forge a suicide note to make it seem like he took his own life, and someone would act as a lookout while the other carried out the stabbing.

To avoid fingerprints on the murder weapon, they would wear gloves.

Legacy administrators worked with the school resource officer to investigate when students who overheard the murder plot came forward.

All four children were arrested on charges of threatening and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

The police report said three students showed remorse, but the fourth would smile and laugh while making excuses for their actions…

https://www.azfamily.com/2025/06/25/surprise-police-report-reveals-disturbing-details-murder-plot-involving-5th-graders/