Still Running Off at the Keyboard

MARY IS GOD MOVEMENT WITHIN CATHOLIC CHURCH

A reader sent in several links to the Mary is God movement. This one which is coming from Philippine Catholicism is bizarre.

MARY-IS-GOD CATHOLIC MOVEMENT, a Marian Movement within the Catholic Church will open a new site on December this year. In a private conversation with FNC, its founder Dominic Sanchez Falar, stated “the need to inform the Catholic World of the truth of the Fatima message amidst satanic efforts in the Vatican to hide the truth for good”.

Dominic claims that the third secret of Fatima states Mary’s divinity and is the reason why it has remained enshrouded with cover-ups and misinformation by Vatican officials. “The problem is that the Fatima Apparition got the Church’s authentication before Church officials then, were able to know the message of Our Blessed Mother. It would have been a different story had the message been known prior to Church investigation of the apparition itself. It was all in accordance to the Will of The Most Holy Spirit”, Dominic stressed.

The creator of that press release has a website on which he declares:

In the light of the election of an ANTI-MARY Pope and therefore ANTI-CHRIST Pope, in the person of Pope Benedict XVI, we fervently urge all CATHOLICS, to exert all legitimate efforts to compel those in authority that have remained Consecrated to the Most Holy Spirit, – to STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR THE TRUE MESSAGE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA.

We appeal most especially to those who have knowledge of the TRUE THIRD SECRET OF FATIMA, to help us PROCLAIM the WORDS of GOD, by offering themselves as witnesses to the TRUTH.

The declaration of Mary is God Dogma will no doubt demand of us faithful servants of The Most Holy Trinity, a burden seemingly too much to bear for any man.

Perhaps Falar has been trafficing in spirits? In any case, the movement has the sound of Sophiology in a very strange form:

September 08, 2000

MARY AS THE CHURCH

(Excerpts from the book, Mary As The Church – The Last Testament, yet to be published).

The MATERIAL UNIVERSALITY of The Church is absolutely ably contained in MARY. This is to say: PRIME MATTER IS MARY. This finds highest fulfillment in JESUS CHRIST, the GODSON-become-GODMAN.


GodSpirit, through his SELF-REPRODUCTIVELY REFLECTIVE REFLEX, formed The Trinity of FATHER and, ultimately, of SON all by himself - in, through and with himself.


When GodSpirit opted to unite himself with matter; and this was Creation; this exacted consequently that matter be co-extensive and co-active INDIVISIBLY INDISSOLUBLY with him.

He claims to be part of The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima. The reader who sent in the links emailed The Blue Army to ask for clarification. There has not yet been one.

You have to feel sorry for someone who has gotten this confused:

Pope John XXIII read the Third Secret but was overwhelmed with fear knowing the opposition he has to face should the Third Secret be revealed. Contemplating on the possible resistance and hostility that may arise from within and from without the Catholic Church against the revelation of the Third Secret, Pope John XXIII concluded that the Church was still not mature enough to receive the Dogma of Mary’s Divinity and that perhaps the next succeeding Popes will be in a more favorable environment for the revelation. Hence, Pope John XXIII said, “This does not concern the years of my pontificate”.

Since Pope John XXIII, all succeeding Popes read the Third Secret of Our Lady of Fatima and yet not one of them obeyed the Most Holy Will of the Most Holy Trinity.

Pope Benedict XVI and his anti – Fatima campaign.

Not known to many Catholics, the present pope, Pope Benedict XVI, before his assumption to the Papacy, was already Our Lady of Fatima’s greatest adversary. All his campaigns against Our Lady of Fatima, the blatant lies and misinformation that he concocted, are all documented. ( Please refer to Father Nicholas Gruner’s FATIMA NETWORK and related links for detailed documents concerning this topic )

He is the one behind those who insinuate that the seers of Fatima where just hallucinating. He was the mastermind of Pope John Paul II’s cover up of The Third Secret of Fatima and he controlled Pope John Paul II’s papacy especially during its last years.

How did he get Fr. Gruner mixed up with this?

In any case, the idea that the Blessed Virgin is Co-redemtrix has been circularing for some time. Has this come out of Sophiology directly and where did the idea originate? I don't really know.

Meanwhile, the Nazorean Essenes believe the Roman Catholic Church has already declared as dogma that the Blessed Virgin is Co-redemtrix; and they object. Strongly. The reason they object so strongly is that they believe that Mary Magdalene is divine and the wife of Jesus. It is Mary Magdalene they would propose as Co-redemtrix...Mary Magdalene, Goddess and female Messiah.

At the EWTN website Fr. Robert J. Levis explains the Catholic teaching on Mary's role in redemption:

Mary is not the Redeemer instead of Jesus. She is not just another Savior. The title we give her is Coredemptrix, and that has to be understood always in relationship to Jesus. And also in subordination and dependence on Jesus. The Plan of the Father was Redemption of mankind thru the Incarnation, i.e. the Son was to have a body which would be sacrificed to the Father for the endless sins of man. Mary supplied that body freely and generously, always stood by her divine Son in all his plans, and remained at the foot of the Cross while he was sacrificed. So we give her a cooperative role, but one that depends on Jesus' role.

When Christ returns, will there be any faith on the earth?

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

VATICANISTA BELIEVES IN E.T.s

According to this opinion at a link sent in by a reader:

Balducci provided an analysis of the Star Visitors which he feels is consistent with the Catholic Church's understanding of theology. Monsignor Balducci emphasizes that extraterrestrial encounters: "1) are NOT demonic, 2) they are NOT due to psychological impairment, 3) they are NOT a case of entity attachment, but 4) these encounters deserve to be studied carefully." Since Monsignor Balducci is a demonology expert and consultant to the Vatican , and since the Catholic Church has historically demonized many new phenomena that were poorly understood, his stating that the Church does not censure these encounters is all the more remarkable.


Msgr. Balducci revealed to a visiting American professional several years ago that the Vatican is closely following this phenomenon quietly. Since Monsignor Balducci started his Vatican career by serving in the Papal Nunciature (Delegation) in Washington, DC., my informant originally surmised that the Vatican is receiving much information about extraterrestrials and their contacts with humans from its Nunciatures in various countries. But subsequent information clarified that the Monsignor has gotten his cases from other sources.


Monsignor Balducci is a member of a group which acts as consultants to the Vatican on various matters concerning humans and spirit or demonic contact. As such, the matter of extraterrestrial encounters could have fallen within their purview. Thus it is significant that he instead makes careful distinctions, separating Star Visitor contacts from demonic possession.

This website includes a picture of Msgr. Balducci and confirms that he believes in E.T.s.

Here, too, the same claim is made:

Summary: This important Catholic prelate was already well known for his previous statement, some time ago, that he believed in the presence of alien intelligences interacting with planet Earth.

What is probably much less well known however is the fact that he is the Vatican's senior Exorcist and Demonologist - and this makes some of his latest remarks and observations surprising - to say the very least!

At the *Second Ancona Ufological Congress, on April 17, 2000, the theme for discussion was "ALIEN CIVILIZATION: BETWEEN DOUBT AND REASON", and he gave an extensive interview there, expressing his opinions very clearly.

He stated emphatically that *of course* the Aliens and their vessels do quite definitely exist. On a number of occasions he had already voiced the highly intelligent view that, in between Man and Angels, there absolutely *must* also exist a considerable gamut - a great HIERARCHY of various other grades or levels of beings - and these might well be the "Aliens" now under discussion. From the theological point of view, he emphasised, there could be no doubt about *that*.

VATICAN ISRAELI AGREEMENT

Israeli and Vatican negotiators met in Israel on November 24, and issued a joint statement announcing that significant progress had been made toward the completion of a juridical pact establishing the rights of the Church in Israel.

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ROBINSON DISAGREES WITH VATICAN STRATEGY ON GAYS

as represented by the media links to the contents of the forthcoming document on ordination of gays to the priesthood:

Gay U.S. Anglican bishop Gene Robinson said on Thursday a Vatican document barring practicing gay men from becoming Roman Catholic priests showed a profound misunderstanding of homosexuality.

The document, due to be published next week, says men with "deep-seated" gay tendencies cannot become priests and that only those who have overcome their homosexuality at least three years before ordination can do so.

"I think the Vatican, or whoever wrote this statement, should spend a little more time listening to its gay and lesbian members rather than putting out statements," said Robinson, having read media reports on the document.

"This strikes me as language from people who profoundly do not understand gay and lesbian people ... who know next to nothing about being gay or lesbian," Robinson, whose ordination as bishop in 2003 plunged the Anglican Church into crisis.

The document reinforces existing Roman Catholic policy that many in the Church believe has not been properly enforced, but Robinson told Reuters during a visit to Stockholm it would only force people to lie about their sexual orientation.

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EUROPEAN BABY BUST

In the cradle of Western civilization, the cradles are empty. From the Atlantic to the Urals, in good and bad economies, in Protestant and Catholic societies, the countries of Europe are witnessing an unprecedented decline in birthrates.
This "baby bust," analysts warn, will affect economic growth, social-welfare programs, patterns of immigration and Europe's ability to pull its weight diplomatically, culturally and militarily in the 21st century.

In 1900, according to U.N. estimates, one out of four human beings on the planet -- 24.7 percent -- lived in Europe.

Today, the European population share is a little more than 10 percent. By 2025 -- with the average woman in the European Union bearing just 1.48 children in her lifetime -- the ratio of Europeans to everyone else is projected to be less than one in 14 -- 7 percent

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Blogger credit to New Oxford Review.

EVOLUTION IN THE NEWS AGAIN

Pioneer Press reports:

VATICAN CITY — Ever since the Roman inquisition condemned Galileo for observing that the Earth revolved around the sun, the Vatican has held back from making sweeping challenges to scientific thought for fear of overstepping its bounds.

So it's understandable that Pope Benedict XVI raised eyebrows when he recently described the universe as an "intelligent project that is the cosmos." Not only did he echo the language of the intelligent design movement, he also waded into a controversy that has blurred the boundaries between faith and science in the United States and beyond.

The debate echoing through Vatican corridors these days, however, is whether the pope has given the Catholic Church's tacit support to intelligent design advocates and their ongoing campaign to debunk Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

"These allusions are fine, but I hope the pope doesn't take a stand," the Rev. George Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory, said in an interview.

Coyne, an astronomer and outspoken critic of intelligent design, said that Benedict "doesn't have the slightest idea of what intelligent design means in the U.S."

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Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

NACDLGM CONFERENCE REPORT

The following is a lengthy but eye-opening article from the Nov. 17, 2005 issue of The Wanderer (not available on the publication’s website), which I am reprinting with the permission of Al Matt, Jr., publisher and editor of The Wanderer. I did not write the article, but I am an occasional contributor to the publication.

(The following “special to The Wanderer” report was filed by a veteran reporter who attended all sessions of the NACDLGM meeting described below. Since The Wanderer first began reporting on these NACDLGM conferences, the NACDLGM organizers have become increasingly hostile, threatening libel lawsuits, to Catholic reporters attending, thus the reporter who offered this account to The Wanderer went “undercover” and has requested anonymity -- Al Matt. Jr., publisher.)

+ + +

SAN JOSE -- While the issue of homosexuality within the Catholic Church roils the Catholic community in the United States, about 150 Catholics -- many, if not most, employed by the Church in one capacity or another -- openly discussed strategies to increase the visibility and number of homosexual men and women in Catholic parishes and social outreach agencies.

Members of the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries (NACDLGM) met here, September 22-25, at the San Jose Hilton, to discuss the conference’s theme, “At Work in the Vineyard -- Planting, Nurturing, Harvesting.” For the most part, participants who were unashamedly “out and proud,” with some priests freely admitting their homosexuality and attendees railing against upcoming seminary visits and the impending approval by Pope Benedict XVI of a document banning homosexuals from the priesthood.

One participant was overheard by this reporter calling the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, “a big queen.”

San Jose Bishop Patrick McGrath gave the welcoming speech on the opening night of the conference.

According to a promotional brochure for the conference, NACDLGM “leads the way in this ministry within the Catholic Church, acting as a network and resource for individuals, parishes, schools, religious orders, hospitals, retreat centers, social justice ministries, family life ministries, and dioceses.

“We help to make people feel welcome in the Church and assisting families to understand that their lesbian and gay members are, as the U.S. bishops have stated, ‘always our children.’ Our Association members are active in creating welcoming communities for gay and lesbian Catholics and their families. We support people in ministry with resources, ideas, and fellowship. We stay in communication with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and with local diocesan bishops.

“Founded in 1994, NACDLGM now counts members in 126 parishes and 52 dioceses in the USA and Canada. NACDLGM membership is not only for those doing ministry, but also for those who support the ministry with public awareness, prayer, volunteer efforts, and financial contributions.”

NACDLGM gave this warning to journalists who would not identify themselves while attending the conference:

“Persons attending this conference as reporter (either staff or freelance) are required to identify themselves and the media outlet(s) they are representing at the time of registration. NACDLGM reserves the right to control access to the conference or portions of the proceedings to media representatives. Failure to disclose media affiliation may result in violation of libel laws.”

Although the Hilton ballroom was set up to accommodate 200 people, most tables were only about half full during the Friday and Saturday morning plenary sessions, and seminar attendance in second-floor conference rooms was sparse.

Display tables were similarly meager. In addition to NACDLGM, organizations that had displays and/or offered literature included the National Catholic AIDS Network (NCAN); the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley; the “Emmaus Community for Gay and Lesbian Catholics, their families and friends” at St. Martin of Tours Parish in San Jose, and a flier advertising “Days of Dialogue” for homosexuals at the San Damiano retreat center in Danville, Calif.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Catholics had a display that included a large cross draped with a rainbow stole; fliers advertising the “Comunidad” homosexual ministry group at St. Matthew’s Parish in Long Beach and the “Gay and Lesbian Outreach Catholic Ministry” at St. Jane Frances de Chantal in North Hollywood; and a pamphlet titled, “How to Start a Ministry of Gay and Lesbian Outreach in Your Parish.”

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If you have children in the primary grades, I would strongly advice you to read the entire report. It contains a lot of detail and closes with these paragraphs:

In each group, the person with the “special youth” role was required to answer the questions according to the scenario given them by Fr. Pedigo; however, the other participants were not told the role details at the time. At the conclusion of the exercise, Fr. Pedigo asked if other members of each group were able to tell anything about gay issues from the answers given by the special youths. In both cases, no one was able to discern the “gay connection” was with their roles. Father then revealed the details of the special roles.

The reason for the exercise, he explained, was to demonstrate that it is necessary to create opportunities for “encounter” in order to “surface” gay and lesbian issues that may be lurking beneath the surface and to provide a venue where trust is created and hospitality is present so that “stories can be honored and surfaced.”

Fr. Pedigo also talked about what kind of church we want to be. “Do we want to be a welcoming church or a church of purification?” Mimicking Pope Benedict XVI, he quipped, “I get nervous when I hear that German accent talk about purification issues.”

Pedigo then asked attendees for ideas on how to create “opportunities for encounter” within youth groups. Among the suggestions offered were to do a community service project or conduct a retreat. Pedigo advised having kids interact together in smaller “pods.”

Kathy Michals, a teacher from the Diocese of Sacramento, talked about how conservative her diocese is and wondered how to introduce homosexual subjects to her classes. One participant recalled that at Sacred Heart in Pittsburgh, he used “national holidays like Harvey Milk Day” to watch a video and incorporate such topics into parish life.

Next year’s NACDLGM meeting will be hosted by the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Blogger credit to a reader for the link.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

THE CANADIAN PRO-LIFE CONFERENCE WENT ON AS SCHEDULED

thanks to the generosity of a Baptist church that provided the facilities at the last moment after the Holy Cross Fathers pulled the plug on their Oratory.

As a result of this change of venue under pressure, press coverage for the conference was favorable and the new facilities worked well according to the story at LifeSite. Now the Holy Cross Fathers may be sued for damages by the pro-life group.

Distinguished CQV lawyer Emile Colas is the consummate professional and he immediately went into overdrive, contacting representatives within the Catholic Church to save the conference at its original venue. When it was obvious that wasn’t possible, he determined that there was no cancellation clause and therefore the Holy Cross Fathers who run the Oratory are responsible for moral, legal and financial damages. The day after the conference concluded, CBC radio featured the event as one of its main hourly stories.

As expected, the pro-aborts and anarchists claimed a great victory, by having us banned from the Oratory. Their focus had been to “abort the conference” as they shouted and proclaimed on their signs. But conference spokesman Richard Bastien countered on CBC Radio saying that their actions resulted in good media coverage and brought the abortion issue once again before the public.

CLC National President Jim Hughes summed up the conference by saying that despite the many challenges caused by the change of venue, the results were overwhelmingly positive. Speakers did an inspiring job and the participants were grateful and delighted to have come to the Montreal conference.

Pro-life gets positive publicity. Catholic priests get negative publicity. This is a mixed blessing at best.

OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS...

If I had a sleigh I could visit Grandma, if I still had a Grandma.

There must have been a reason the song was written, but it's been several years since Thanksgiving was white here. We have about six inches and another 1 to 3 in the forecast for today. I'm not the only one with holiday plans altered. Fortunately I'm not cooking a 25 lb. turkey with no one coming to eat it!

All things considered, though, I still love snow. Especially when I'm looking at it from the comfort of a nice warm house.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

BENEDICT CONDEMNS USURY

Benedict XVI condemned the "social plague" of usury and said that it should be combated through prevention, solidarity and education.

The Pope made his appeal at the end of today's general audience, which gathered more than 25,000 pilgrims, including 2,000 members of the National Anti-Usury Consultancy.

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In the Zenit article he didn't define it. I wonder if he still places the line of demarcation at 10%.

Interesting to have a pope speak on this. I wonder if Mastercard was listening?

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF MY READERS

A lot of someones in Northeast Ohio must have been wishing for a white Christmas, because enough snow has been wished up for the excess to give us a white Thanksgiving--which doesn't bring with it quite the same sort of magic.

I was out doing the Christmas shopping this afternoon. Part of the process was scraping the snow off the car windows after each stop, and sometimes scraping ice as well. It's cold. It's windy. It's winter.

Just yesterday the last of the leaves were picked up off the devil strip. Just yesterday it was fall.

I love snow and especially the snow that covers the Christmas lights strung over trees and shrubs. I saw the lights lit and covered in yards here and there as I was driving around. The Christmas spirit has arrived before Thanksgiving. Christmas music in the mall this afternoon confirmed it. The merchants are in the selling season, whether they call it Christmas or Hanukkah or Quanza.

Since I'm not likely to have time to blog tomorrow unless the predicted blizzard and 27 inches of snow moves a few miles further south than the weatherman predicts and we wake up snowed in, I'd like to post a Thanksgiving homily sent to me in email, because it says better than I could what tomorrow is supposed to be about.

Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, former Dean of St. Vladimir's Seminary
Final words (Fr. Alexander suffered from cancer)

Father Alexander Schmemann celebrated the divine liturgy for the last time
on Thanksgiving Day. This was particularly appropriate since Father
Alexander had devoted his whole life to teaching, writing and preaching
about the Eucharist; for the word eucharist in Greek means thanksgiving. At
the conclusion of the liturgy, Father Alexander took from his pocket a short
written sermon, in the form of a prayer, which he proceeded to read. This
was a strange occurrence since Father never wrote his liturgical homilies,
but delivered them extemporaneously. These were his words, which proved to
be the last ever spoken by him from the ambo in Church.

Fr. Alexander preaching on May 22, 1983

Thank You, O Lord!

Everyone capable of thanksgiving is capable of salvation and eternal joy.

Thank You, O Lord, for having accepted this Eucharist, which we offered to
the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and which filled our hearts
with the joy, peace and righteousness of the Holy Spirit.

Thank You, O Lord, for having revealed Yourself unto us and given us the
foretaste of Your Kingdom.

Thank You, O Lord, for having united us to one another in serving You and
Your Holy Church.

Thank You, O Lord, for having helped us to overcome all difficulties,
tensions, passions, temptations and restored peace, mutual love and joy in
sharing the communion of the Holy Spirit.

Thank You, O Lord, for the sufferings You bestowed upon us, for they are
purifying us from selfishness and reminding us of the "one thing needed;"
Your eternal Kingdom.

Thank You, O Lord, for having given us this country where we are free to
Worship You.

Thank You, O Lord, for this school, where the name of God is proclaimed.

Thank You, O Lord, for our families: husbands, wives and, especially,
children who teach us how to celebrate Your holy Name in joy, movement and
holy noise.

Thank You, O Lord, for everyone and everything.

Great are You, O Lord, and marvelous are Your deeds, and no word is
sufficient to celebrate Your miracles.

Lord, it is good to be here! Amen.

The Orthodox Church, Vol. 20, No. 2, February 1984, p. 1:1

FATHER'S NUDE MALE ARTWORK IS GONE FROM HIS PARISH WEBSITE

according to Dom's blog.

FROM THE MAILBOX

Dave Fleming has sent in a correction to one of my blogs about Wayne Teasdale. I'm not sure which one, since there have been several, and I don't have the time right now to find it, so I'm blogging his email instead.

==========================

Hey Carrie,

If you're going to comment on my book, The Seeker's Way, make sure
you check out your facts; instead of just reading what Ingrid wrote
(which is incorrect). Wayne Teasdale did not author a chapter in my
book. Perhaps reading the book would actually give you a feel for
what is in the book, rather than simply hopping on the bandwagon of
another misinformed blogger.


If you would like, I would be happy to send you a copy of the book
for free. Perhaps then, you could make an informed decision about the
content.


Dave Fleming

===========================================

Thanks for the offer, but if I want the book, I know where to buy it.

I trust this will satisfy the need for correction.

Carrie

SATAN IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE

is the title of an article by Michael McGrade which appeared in the April 2004 issue of "Christian Order." The article contains a summary of what is usually referred to as "conspiracy theory" by those who would have the truth covered up.

There is a segment on Theosophy/Blavatsky which reveals:

Adolph Hitler, Margaret Sanger, William Stead, Thomas Edison, Conan Doyle and many others read her books avidly and embraced her diabolic philosophy. Ostensibly, The Secret Doctrine synthesized Christian, Jewish and Islamic mysticism with the Eastern teachings of Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism, showing their common roots and comparing their sacred texts. In fact, it espouses pure evil.

Why is the Roman Catholic Church also trying to synthesize Christian, Jewish and Islamic mysticism with the Eastern teachings of Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism via the efforts of Basil Pennington, Wayne Teasdale, Thomas Keating, centering prayer, Contemplative Outreach, and Monastic Interreligious Dialogue?

Blavatsky was into channeling. Her ideas came from that source.

There is a segment on Bohemian Grove where you can read the ceremony to the owl god which the author indicates is a revival of human sacrifice to the god Moloch. McGrade quotes British journalist Alex Jones in describing the details which are hairaising.

Among those details are pedophilia and sodomy and ritual murder, and the "children from Omaha and its surroundings [who] were flown from city to city, to be abused at parties." Were any of our clergy or bishops present at any of the parties, one wonders?

Maurice Strong's compound in Crestone, Colorado is called "an international community of spiritualists" which will ultimately support a "one-world religion to substitute for Christianity". Why then, is one of the monasteries located there Carmelite?

The article talks about Freemasonry and the papal cries against it. It quotes Manly P. Hall:

When the Mason learns that the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his Craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands...

In closing McGrade tells us "The war is now!", and indicates one of the defense mechanisms used by the opposition:

The combat is relentless and the odds overwhelming. Moreover, the Lodge is always diverting attention away from its influence, often playing the Semitic card to conceal its agenda.

He closes with a quote from Mel Gibson:

"Imagine: There's a huge war raging, and it's over us! This is the weird thing. For some reason, we're important in this thing. I don't understand it. We're idiots and failures and creeps. But we're called to the divine, we're called to be better than our nature would have us be.

And those big realms that are warring and battling are going to manifest themselves very clearly, seemingly without reason, here, a realm that we can see. And you stick your head up and you get knocked."

To that McGrade appends:

Thre could be no better positive and uplifting note on which to conclude. Because although "knocked" from pillar to post and against all the odds, Mel Gibson vanquished his seemingly omnipotent anti-Christian foes in the media-entertainment industry, the Zionist lobby, academia and within the Church itself. Armed with Catholic truth, fortified by prayer and daily reception of the sacraments and entrusting his project to the protection of Our Lady through the Rosary, he stuck his head above the parapet and with faith, hope and charity faced down the enemy and emerged triumphant!

Which only goes to prove that if the struggle is enduring, so is the blueprint for success. ...

To emulate Mel's triumph in our own personal and corporate battles with Satan, his demonic minions and mortal agents, we must follow his militant lead in living out those abiding requisites for victory.

Let us pray always for this grace through the infinite merits of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who came "to destroy the works of the devil," Who lives and reigns, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

EMAIL FROM LEE PENN

Follow this link to see what one blogger expects the map of Europe to look like in 2015. (This started circulating on the Net during the recent French riots.)

Lee

HOMOSEXUAL ORDINATION

The Boston Globe reports:

VATICAN CITY --The Vatican says homosexuals who are sexually active or support "gay culture" are unwelcome in the priesthood unless they have overcome their homosexual tendencies for at least three years, according to a church document posted on the Internet by an Italian Catholic news agency.

The long-awaited document is scheduled to be released by the Vatican on Nov. 29. A church official who has read the document confirmed the authenticity of the Internet posting by the Adista news agency. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the document has not yet been officially released by the Vatican.

The document said that "the church, while deeply respecting the people in question, cannot admit to the seminary and the sacred orders those who practice homosexuality, present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or support so-called gay culture."

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FRANCISCANS OF ASSISI LOSE INDEPENDENCE

The friars of the shrine of St Francis of Assisi, the world-famous centre of inter-religious dialogue and Christian pacifism, have been brought to heel by Pope Benedict XVI.

The mendicant friars, who welcome millions of pilgrims every year to the burial place of St Francis, have at a stroke lost the autonomy that made them one of the boldest and most adventurous institutions in the Catholic Church. Italian commentators on the right and left have hailed the move or roundly condemned it. The daily newspaper La Repubblica called it "a shocking initiative".

The friars were granted autonomy by Pope Paul VI in 1969, and the picturesque shrine of the saint in the Umbrian hills has since become renowned for its annual peace marches, drawing thousands of participants, and for two Assisi peace conferences, in 1986 and 2002, which caused outrage among conservative Catholics.

The first conference in particular, which saw the participation of native American and African animists as well as Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist leaders, still rankles with the conservatives. At the time the current Pope, then Cardinal Ratzinger and John Paul II's theological adviser, said of the meeting, "this cannot be the model" for ecumenical dialogue.

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Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

PRIEST EXCOMMUNICATED

A NEW South Wales priest excommunicated from the Catholic Church has been stripped of his holy orders and responsibilities by the Pope because of his association with William Kamm's religious sect.

Kamm, known to his followers as The Little Pebble, was last month jailed for at least three-and-a-half years for indecently assaulting a then 15-year-old member of his outlawed Order of St Charbel, at Cambewarra, near Nowra on the south coast.

Malcolm Broussard, who has been with the sect for 20 years, is a self-proclaimed bishop and major superior residing in the Cambewarra community known as Gethsemene.

One of Kamm's staunchest supporters, Mr Broussard was ordained to the priesthood on May 20, 1978, in Houston Texas, for the diocese of Galveston-Houston.

He was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in June 2003 for attempting to have himself consecrated as a bishop without papal consent within the sect.

Mr Broussard has issued repeated calls for support for Kamm, and following his conviction has urged his followers to "go forward" against the "dark forces of evil".

The Chancellor of the Diocese of Wollongong, the Reverend Father Peter Comensoli, today confirmed Pope Benedict XVI had decreed Mr Broussard also be stripped of his priestly title, responsibilities and rights for his "ongoing obstinacy" within the order.

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Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

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UPDATE

This appears to be the line of succession that is being used for the consecration that has been rejected by the Vatican.

Thanks to a reader for the link.

THE ANTI-SEMITISM CHARGE

It seems to be thrown around a lot more often than is warranted in Catholic circles these days. It was indicated by a commenter not long ago that I would fall into anti-Semitism if I continued in the direction I am going. Why the poster thought that was never revealed.

In the November issue of "Culture Wars" Thomas J. Herron discusses it in his article titled "Perfect Fear Drives out Love" in which he claims that the revelation of the sexual abuse scandal is somehow a plot of the Jews to deflect our attention from Cardinal Rodriguez's "Jewish Conspiracy Theory." The article also states that "The ADL has no plans to abandon its jihad against Cardinal Rodriguez any time soon." Excuse me...?!!

The article left me feeling as though I had completely missed a nuclear detonation in my front yard. Yet in looking out the window I fail to detect even a small dip in the ground where this explosion supposedly took place.

The sexual abuse scandal is hardly an invention of a conspiracy. It has always troubled me as to why it burst into the headlines at the particular time that it did, but the reality of it cannot be denied. It had to surface at some time. Yet Herron seems to think that the Boston Globe and the Dallas Morning News ala Rod Dreher were somehow in league with the Jews in deciding when that time would be.

There is a 50% chance Herron is right, just as there is a 50% chance that he is wrong. I could say the same thing about the United Nations, the Masonic Lodge, the Liberal Catholic Church, and my grandmother if she were still alive. Maybe, Mr. Herron, but you have to present some facts to back up the charge; and calling the Philadelphia D.A., Ms. Lynne Abraham, a "short, fat, rather ugly Jewish woman, whose career has gone as far as it will go" sort of tips the ball of innocence into the court of the folks you oppose. The body type of the D.A. has exactly no bearing on the matter under discussion; and in fact, the picture of Ms. Abraham which accompanies the article is a picture of a rather attractive older woman who looks likable.

I don't know who Thomas J. Herron is. That may be a shortcoming on my part that would explain this article if it were rectified. The charge that the scandal was manufactured to injure the Church is not a new one. Laying the charge on the Jews, however, is--or at least is to me. It brings up an issue I've wrestled with for some time.

The Holocaust did not give the Jews a "get out of sin free" ticket. Jewish people have no more escaped the human condition than Irish people or Indian people or French people. Some Jews will sin. Some Jews will join together to further mutual interests. It is not anti-Semitic to point it out when they do. Some Jews may even target the Catholic Church, and that too should be pointed out if evidence of it is uncovered. But I didn't find convincing evidence in Herron's article. All I found was a lot of words about activities unrelated to the present topic--a lot of ancient history which is supposed to bear upon present circumstances.

You have to do better than that if you want to be taken seriously.

THE COMPANY BRO. WAYNE TEASDALE KEPT

What do

*The Dalai Lama

*Hazel Henderson (author, Futurist, Lindisfarne Fellow)

*Robert Thurman (Buddhist Tibetan Scholar)

*Barbara Marx Hubbard (prominent New Ager)

*The Very Rev. James Parks Morton (President, Interfaith Center of New York, Lindisfarne Fellow)

*Elizabet Sahtouris (Prominent New Ager)

*Dr. Riane Eisler (Center for Partnership Studies)

*Jim Kenney (Exec. Dir. of Common Ground)

*Dr. Ervin Laszlo (Founder and President of the Club of Budapest, member of Club of Rome)

*Dr. Robert Muller (Chancellor, U.N. University of Peace)

*Bro. Wayne Teasdale

all share in common? Membership in The World Commission on Global Consciousness & Spirituality, which is associated with The Global Dialogue Institute, co-founded by Catholic Leonard Swidler who is also the President of The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church, a liberal group that was inaugurated to defend Hans Kung and later defended Fr. Bob Nugent and Sr. Jeannine Gramick.

Mighty liberal company Bro. Wayne used to keep. I wonder who will be taking his place on this Commission?

SACRAMENTO'S RESTORED CATHEDRAL

will still look Catholic if this report is correct:

"It is one of the most significant historic structures in Sacramento," said Jim Shepherd, the architectural firm's project manager. "It really serves as a spiritual center for downtown Sacramento, so I think it's wonderful that it will be sort of `reinvented' for another generation."

The restoration of the cathedral's classic European architecture bucks the trend for California cathedrals in recent years. The $189 million Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles, completed in 2002,

and a new cathedral under construction in Oakland, were designed using modern architectural styles.

Such an approach was never considered for the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Murphy said. The New York firm was selected in part because of its experience restoring cathedrals, as well as renovations of Grand Central Station and Ellis Island in New York.

"The word `modernization' is anathema to them," Murphy said. "They want to preserve the original intent of the building."

Blogger credit to New Oxford Review.

POPE BENEDICT FULL OF SURPRISES

Chiesa reports on the Pope's interaction with the world's bishops on their ad limina visits. He remonstrated with the Austrian bishops, encouraging them to defend the faith, and he dropped a little surprise into the lap of the South American bishops:

The topic of their conversation was the upcoming general conference of CELAM, the fifth of these after the previous ones held in Rio de Janeiro in 1995, in Medellin in 1968, in Puebla in 1979, and in Santo Domingo in 1992.

The conference was already set for 2007, but the place and the exact date remained to be determined. The four bishops were prepared to hold it in Rome, in order to ensure the pope’s participation in the work.

But Benedict XVI said to them all of a sudden: “It will be held in Brazil,” and immediately asked what the country’s most venerated Marian shrine is. “The Aparecida,” they replied. And the pope: “In Brazil, at the Aparecida, in May. I’ll be there.”

The four cardinals were taken completely by surprise. And so were the leaders of the Roman curia – the pope hadn’t discussed the matter with any of them. What induced Benedict XVI to choose Brazil may have been what Cardinal Hummes said at the synod a few days earlier:

“The number of Brazilians who declare themselves Catholics has diminished rapidly, on an average of 1% a year. In 1991 Catholic Brazilians were nearly 83%, today and according to new studies, they are barely 67%. We wonder with anxiety: how long will Brazil remain a Catholic country? In conformity with this situation, it has been found that in Brazil there are two Protestant pastors for each Catholic priest, and the majority from the Pentecostal Churches. Many indications show that the same is true for almost all of Latin America and here too we wonder: how long will Latin America remain a Catholic continent?”

But the choice of the Aparecida also left the four cardinals speechless. That is indeed the most frequently visited shrine in Brazil, but it is located in an isolated part of the state of San Paolo, and it lacks the structures capable of hosting a large-scale continental congress.

But none of the four cardinals dared to object. The pope had decided, and his reasons were all too clear. He has at heart a vigorous renewal of the Catholic faith on the Latin American continent, and symbols are very valuable in this regard.

There’s time to build a convention center on the plain of the Aparecida, until May of 2007.

He knows how to use symbols--I read this move as a direct appeal to the Blessed Virgin to help in rebuilding the faith of South America. Since the state of the Church worldwide is very possibly beyond man's hope of recovery, he goes right to the perfect solution. The Blessed Virgin holds the heart of her Son in her hand, as was demonstrated at the wedding feast at Cana. We could have no better advocate.

He also knows how to use surprise--he didn't ask and he didn't prepare them. He demonstrated that he will lead. Thank You God!

Blogger credit to New Oxford Review.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

THE STATE OF THE CHURCH IN GERMANY

George Neumayr writes in the American Spectator about the dismal state of the German Church, its rejection of belief in Satan, and the background for the movie "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." He concludes the article this way:

But while Newsweek mocks the ancient practice of exorcism, at least a few people in Hollywood realize that the only successful movies about Catholicism are the ones that take ancient traditions like it seriously. While modern church "reforms" are good fodder for comedy, they can't command the attention of an audience for a drama. In The Godfather and The Exorcist, and now in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Hollywood recognizes that in order to rivet audiences it has to draw upon ancient traditions of the Church, which contain cultural power because they derive from a comprehension of the reality of evil rather than the liberal fatuousness upon which modern "reform" is based.

Europe, according to Newsweek, is too enlightened for the Vatican's exorcisms. But it is not too enlightened to host a growing number of demonic cults. The Devil's greatest triumph, it is said, was to convince man that he doesn't exist. But this saying needs revision. Europe displays an even greater triumph for the Devil -- not ignorance of his designs but respect for them.

Perhaps this helps to explain the pictures of the Carnival Mass I've linked below.

Blogger credit to Spirit Daily.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

THERAPEUTIC RELIGION

Can the source of the sexual abuse scandal be traced to a shift in our spirituality? One writer, at least, believes it can.

Fred Martinez reports in "Nietzsche and the Church Scandals" at the Catholic Educator's Resource Center website that

Therapeutic approaches have a basic assumption that is not Christian. Their starting point is not the Christian worldview...The denial of original sin and personal sin is, in large part, behind the headlines of the Boston catastrophe and other dioceses. ...

One must remember that whenever someone talks about values in modern America--family values or religious values or place-the-blank-in-front-of values--they are saying there is no real or objective right or wrong--only opinions of the self and its will to power.

That "will to power" is the heart and soul of occultism. There is a reason why so many of the women religious talk about "empowerment" and seek ordination. Once you throw out God, all that is left is you. Answering to no one puts you totally in control. What does a person want when they are totally in control but that their own will be done. The person becomes a sort of mini god in their own mini universe. The occult magician's mindset was coined by Aleister Crowley: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." It's a short hop from the desire to the deed, and the deed is accomplished, or at least attempted, in magic rituals which intend to procure the will of the magician. The pinnacle magic ritual experience is evocation. The accomplished magician brings a spirit into materialization where the sensory response validates that the will has been accomplished. If a spirit is at your beck and call, you are a success.

This thinking is contrary to the way God made us. It is not unusual for the magician to be driven into insanity through this process. Spirits tend to have a mind of their own and power over the magician, as many have learned a little too late. The spirit the magician intended to own ends up owning him.

As chaos magician Peter J. Carroll puts it:

Works on the level of trance, vision, imagination and dream. It opens the magician's subconscious by negating the psychic censor with various techniques. The magician faces considerable danger on this level and may have frequent recourse to sorcery techniques or banishing ritual if it threatens to obsess or overwhelm him.

In spite of the danger, Catholics are being taught at retreats to attempt a sort of trance state by seeking to silence their mind in meditation. Guided meditation can be found in Catholic courses on spirituality. Can Catholics be sure that the benefits outweigh the risks?

The Martinez article continues, quoting philosopher Allan Bloom's summation of Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy as it appears in Bloom's book THE CLOSING OF THE AMERICAN MIND:

Commitment values the values and makes them valuable. Not love of truth but intellectual honesty characterizes the proper state of mind. Since there is no truth in the values, and what truth there is about life is not lovable, the hallmark of the authentic will is consulting one's oracle while facing up to what one is and what one experiences. Decisions, not deliberations, are the movers of deeds. One cannot know or plan the future. One must will it.

This is the occult mindset--the thinking behind the occultism of Carl Jung and Roberto Assagioli--the thinking that is derived from a source other than the Trinitarian God. Martinez continues:

Unlike the Christian worldview, the therapeutic starting point is that the individual must overcome personal unconscious forces, in Freud, and in Carl Jung the person must unite to the collective unconscious, which is shared by all humans.

In both cases, the therapist assists his client to change himself to 'become his real self.' Forgiveness and returning to God are not needed. What is needed are not God and His Forgiveness, but a therapist assisting a self to reach the fullness of its self.

Freud, under the influence of Nietzsche, moved psychiatry away from the mechanistic and biological to the previously "unscientific" model of the "symbolic language of the unconscious."

Freud's pupil Carl Jung took the symbolic language of the unconscious a step further.

Whether you call it the "collective unconscious" or the "Akashic Record," and even if you seek knowledge by channeling a spirit, ultimately the ability to remake yourself (or renew yourself) is contained within you.

Martinez says that

Christian therapist Leanne Payne considers Jung "not a scientist, but a post-modernist subjectivist. Jung's active imagination therapy is hostile not only to the Judeo-Christian worldview, but to all systems containing objective moral and spiritual value. Within this world the unconscious urge becomes god. What the unconscious urge wants is what is finally right or moral. These psychic personae [complexes] are literally called 'gods' (archtypes); and so an overt idolatry of self follows quickly."

Within the modern French Nietzschean schools of thought, a type of Jungian unconscious urge is replacing the old existential conscious self who chooses. The post-modernist is moving from the idolatry of self to the idolatry of autonomous inner "beings" that, according to Payne, are similar to pagan "gods."

Since Eden nothing has changed. The serpent still whispers; and like Eve, sometimes we listen. The conscience can be silenced so that the only voice we hear is the voice of our own sinfulness. This voice of sinfulness was let loose without brakes when psychology invaded religion. Martinez writes:

By using Christian symbols and terminology, Jungian spirituality has infiltrated to a large extent Christian publishers, seminaries, even convents and monasteries.

There is little doubt that it has infiltrated the parish renewal programs. Martines continues:

Many Christians are using Jung's active imagination as a method of prayer. Psychiatrist Jeffrey Satinover, D.D., thinks this is dangerous "because this fantasy life has no moral underpinnings, because it helps to reinforce an experience of autonomous inner 'beings' accessible via the imagination, and because it is a defense against redemptive suffering, it easily allies with and quickly becomes a Gnostic form of spirituality with powerfully occult overtones.

The concept of self-actualization or "will to power" that has become commonplace in the retreats and renewal programs offered throughout Catholicdom are precisely the opposite in concept from Christ's prayers in Gethsemene: "Lord not my will but thine be done."

We all must choose whether we will be in control or whether we will surrender to the One who made us. This is the nature of free will which our Maker gave us. If we choose to reject Him, there are other powers to seek; and those powers are eager for our business. There is a reason why we are repeatedly warned in Scripture to leave occult powers alone. God knew the temptation to self-will would be hard to resist. His experience with His first creation, the angels, demonstrated it. Today as the Christian worldview fades into memory in many places, we are seeing it demonstrated in our day to day encounters, and we have seen it demonstrated in the Catholic priesthood with devastating results.

"Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the Lord, am your God." Lev. 19:31

"Let there not be found among you anyone who immolates his son or daughter in the fire, nor a fortune-teller, soothsayer, charmer, diviner, or caster of spells, nor one who consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead. Anyone who does such things is an abomination to the Lord, and because of such abominations the Lord, your God, is driving these nations out of your way." Deut. 18:10-12

"For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them.' declares the Lord." Jer. 29:8-9 [Incidentally, this passage has been eliminated from the NAB. I checked three different Bibles and it was not there. I had to turn to a Protestant New American Standard Bible to find it even though it is referenced in the CCC.]

"Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will turn away from the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and demonic instructions through the hypocrisy of liars with branded consciences." 1 Tim. 4:1

"Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world." 1 John 4:1-3

"I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. These were demonic spirits who performed signs. They went out to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God the almighty." Rev. 16:13-14

If those passages do not convince, read Ezekiel 13.

We have been warned.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Forbes magazine published an article in September about an attempt by lay Catholics to help the Church reorganize and get on firm financial ground. That's a noble goal. But when I was interviewed for the piece, I was asked whether the answer to matters like declining vocations and declining attendance at Mass could be solved via "modern management techniques." This was not the answer. I said, "we need a return to orthodoxy."

Vocations and church attendance have to do with cultural matters, not managerial ones. The way to increase the numbers is to tap into the cultural reasons why some seminaries are doing well while others are not; it also makes sense to get a profile of those Catholics who attend Mass on a weekly basis.

Regarding vocations, Catholic World Report published an excellent article on the subject in July. Generally speaking, the smaller dioceses tend to be doing better than the larger dioceses, and the more orthodox dioceses tend to be doing better than the more progressive ones. Regarding the latter, Charles R. Morris found the same phenomenon to be true when he wrote his 1997 book, American Catholic: the more progressive the diocese, the less successful they were in attracting young men to the priesthood. Not surprisingly, the same pattern is evident among religious orders of priests and nuns: the more orthodox they are, the less problem they have in garnering new recruits.

It would be hard to find a more orthodox—and courageous—bishop in the nation than Fabian Bruskewitz, the bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska. If orthodoxy sells, then he should be smiling. In fact, he's beaming: the ratio of Catholics to seminarians in Lincoln puts Bishop Bruskewitz at the top of the class—Lincoln has the best record of any diocese in the nation.

Progressive Catholics are certainly aware of such data, but it has had little effect on them. Take, for example, Peter Steinfels, the religion writer for the New York Times. Two years ago, he wrote a book warning that if the Church did not become more modern in its teachings, it would risk going south. This struck many orthodox Catholics as bizarre: hadn't the Church been going south for the past generation precisely because it became unhinged from its traditional moorings? So why would it want to compound the problem by going back to the same well that made us sick in the first place? Since Steinfels' book appeared, Joseph Ratzinger was named Pope Benedict XVI, thus ending the suspense about the future direction of the Catholic Church.

Continue reading...

PICTURES AT CATHOLIC CHURCH CONSERVATION

Go check out the pictures over there. Pictures of "Carnival Mass." As you scroll through them, don't miss the one of teenagers dressed up as devils attending Mass. What could possibly be going through the minds of priests who allow this?

FROM THE MAILBOX...

THE WORDS WOMEN USE

"FINE" - This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

"FIVE MINUTES" - If she is getting dressed, this is half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given 5 more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

"NOTHING" - This is the calm before the storm. This means "something," and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with 'Nothing' usually end in "Fine"

"GO AHEAD" - This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it.

*LOUD SIGH* - This is not actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing"

"THAT'S OKAY" - This is one of the most dangerous statements that a woman can make to a man. "That's Okay" means that she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

"THANKS" - A woman is thanking you. Don't question it or faint. Just say "You're welcome."

Ladies, send this to the men you know if you want to warn them about future arguments they can avoid by remembering the terminology. On the other hand, if you want the language to remain in code so that you get the satisfaction of saying it while they remain clueless, delete the link to my blog for a few days until this one descends into the nether regions.

Oh, and before I forget ...

"WHATEVER !" - Is a woman's way of saying "*! #@ YOU!"

IT GOES HOW MANY MILES PER HOUR ?

A husband was in big trouble when he forgot his wedding anniversary.

His wife told him "Tomorrow there better be something in the driveway for me that goes zero to 200 in 2 seconds flat."

The next morning the wife found a small package in the driveway.

She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.

Funeral arrangements for the husband have been set for this Wednesday.