Sunday, May 18, 2025

Ohio Bishop: In An Age Of ‘Uninspiring’ Liturgies, Silence And Reverence Are Needed At Mass

 Bishop Earl Fernandes admitted that ‘many of our liturgies are — on the human level — uninspiring, hurried, pedestrian.’

From lifesitenews.com and written by Emily Mangiaracina Fri May 16, 2025 - 6:23 pm EDT: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/ohio-bishop-in-an-age-of-uninspiring-liturgies-silence-and-reverence-are-needed-at-mass/?utm_source=most_recent&utm_campaign=usa

"(LifeSiteNews) — The bishop of Columbus, Ohio, has highlighted the need for silence and reverence at Mass in keeping with the need for “Christocentric” worship.

Bishop Earl Fernandes, who has seen the number of seminarians in his diocese more than double under his watch, penned a commentary published by the National Catholic Register on Wednesday suggesting that many liturgies today aren’t fit for purpose.

Fernandes told how he first encountered the Traditional Latin Mass when he was young at St. Joseph’s in Toledo and realized that he not only craved the traditional liturgy but found it to be more reflective of what the Mass is.

“For me, Gregorian chant at the Mass was much more consonant with what the Mass truly is: the beautiful, unbloody sacrifice of Our Lord. I was young, but I remember thinking, I wanted the old-time religion, just like my father did,” Fernandes wrote.

After he was ordained to the priesthood and became a pastor, he was “somewhat shocked” to find that much of what had drawn him “closer to God” was absent.

“Many people did not genuflect before Our Lord — because they had rarely seen anyone genuflect. Guitars and liturgical dancing were still common. Almost none of the more than 1,000 schoolchildren in my parish had even heard or knew how to sing the hymn Immaculate Mary,” Fernandes recalled. 

He realized that an important part of his task as pastor was to restore a “sense of liturgical reverence.” This is not just a matter of personal preference but of making the Mass Christ-centered, he noted — as it should be. Fernandes came to reflect on how God gave commands for how worship was to be conducted “in both the Old and New Testaments.”

He pointed out that the liturgy is the work of Christ, to which we unite ourselves — it is not our work. Thus, we must ask how we are fulfilling God’s command through our worship of Him. For example, we must re-examine even the choice of hymns used at Mass, Fernandes noted.

“When most of the Communion and entrance antiphons are drawn from the Psalms or other parts of Scripture, why are we replacing them with manmade creations?” the bishop asked. Moreover, the music used during Mass often doesn’t “foster contemplation,” something that not only the laity but the priest himself needs.

On top of this, “many of our liturgies are — on the human level — uninspiring, hurried, pedestrian,” he admitted.

While he maintains that “reverence is not confined to one form of the liturgy,” such reverence is overwhelmingly more present in traditional Masses, such as the traditional Latin Mass, than in the new rite of the Mass, the Novus Ordo. 

For example, in the traditional Latin Mass, the priest bows profoundly before the consecration and genuflects before raising the consecrated host; he bows profoundly during his Confiteor; he makes many more signs of the cross; he bows more; he kisses the altar more; he prays much more in a sign of humility, fervor and devotion; there are more prayers of contrition and supplication from both the priest and the faithful; the voice of the priest during the canon is hushed to show awe and reverence; the faithful receive the Holy Eucharist, God Himself, kneeling and on the tongue; the priest does not afterward make announcements to the faithful and quickly wrap up the Mass as if they have not just received God Himself!

In fact, Fernandes previously celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) every Sunday, according to a 2015 interview with a Catholic publication.

“Most of them are young,” he said of the attendees at TLM. “They’re looking for reverence and beauty, a sense of transcendence, and to be connected to their parents and grandparents, the generations of faith.”'

End of article...

Where have you been, bishop??

Better late than never...

South Carolina Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Law Banning Abortion At Point When Heartbeat Can Be Detected!!

Written by 

"The South Carolina Supreme Court has unanimously determined that the state can continue banning abortion at the point when a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

The law, which the court upheld on Wednesday, bans the procedure at approximately six weeks of pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood had challenged the law in court, arguing that the law should not apply until nine weeks of pregnancy.

According to the law, abortions cannot be performed once an ultrasound can detect “cardiac activity, or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac.”

The Associated Press reports, “The state argued that is the moment when an ultrasound detects cardiac activity. Planned Parenthood said the words after the ‘or’ mean the ban should only start after the major parts of the heart come together and ‘repetitive rhythmic contraction’ begins, which is often around nine weeks.”

The court ultimately determined that the law must be based on the intent of the general assembly, which was clearly to ban the practice at six weeks, not nine.

“We could find not one instance during the entire 2023 legislative session in which anyone connected in any way to the General Assembly framed the Act as banning abortion after approximately nine weeks,” Associate Justice John Few wrote.

The AP report also noted, “And the Supreme Court pointed out Planned Parenthood used the phrase ‘six-week ban’ more than 300 times in previous filings, as South Carolina’s 2021 ban at cardiac activity was overturned in a 3-2 decision in 2023 and then reinstated months later after the General Assembly tweaked the law and the court’s only woman who overturned the ban had to retire because of her age.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling states:

“This Court holds that it is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that the General Assembly intended, and the public understood, that the time frame of the Act would begin around the six-week mark. The moral and ethical issues that this case presents are immense and this Court does not take that lightly. However, as Justice Kittredge noted in Planned Parenthood II, the courts must respect the separation of powers principles and the limited (non-policy) role it is enshrined with, and this Court must approach this case with one single commitment: to honor the rule of law. The South Carolina Supreme Court and the General Assembly have spoken. This Court must listen.”

Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster celebrated the decision, issuing a statement saying, “Today’s ruling is another clear and decisive victory that will ensure the lives of countless unborn children remain protected and that South Carolina continues to lead the charge in defending the sanctity of life.”'

You can email Cassandra MacDonald here, and read more of Cassandra MacDonald's articles here.

End of article...

Please pray for a complete end to the devastating murder of the pre-born worldwide!!

Viva Cristo Rey!  Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...

St. Joseph pray for us!!

Gene DeLalla









Saturday, May 17, 2025

Incredible True Life-Saving Stories And Generosity Of President Trump --BEFORE! -- He Became President!

 Two incredible stories of President Trump long before he became president!

Read and listen to these incidents from those he directly, literally saved from death!!

From thegatewaypundit.com and written by  

WATCH: A Tearful Kathie Lee Gifford Reveals the Incredible Story of How President Trump Saved Her and Her Newborn Daughter from a “Psychopathic Murderer”

"Members of the corporate media ignore President Trump’s stories of heroism and generosity toward his fellow human beings. One recent tale, though, may be the most unbelievable story of all, and it comes from a somewhat surprising source.

Earlier this month, legendary TV presenter Kathie Lee Gifford sat down with Sage Steele to discuss her Christian faith, family and her incredible career. Toward the beginning of their interview, she surprised Steele with an astonishing story revealing how Trump saved her and her newborn daughter from a “psychopathic murderer” just over three decades ago.

This is a story she had never before shared with anyone.

“31 years ago…I was supposed to be going to host the ‘Miss America’ pageant. The FBI called my husband, and they said, ‘Mr. Gifford, we have a problem. There’s this guy. This is a very, very bad human being. Was a psychopathic murderer…a rapist and murderer. And he’s coming to get your wife,'” she explained to Steele.

Gifford, who had just months ago given birth to her daughter Cassidy, went on to say the stalker had r*ped and tortured his aunt though she fortunately had managed to escape and contact the police. After tormenting his relative, he turned his attention to Gifford.

“He left. He stole her keys and told her, ‘Now I’m going to go after Kathie Lee,'” she revealed.

The FBI then asked her then-husband to keep his schedule and hers. But Mr. Gifford would not agree until he made one phone call.

“And he called Donald,” Kathie Lee Gifford said.

WATCH:

Gifford went on to explain that she had always stayed at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, which is how her family knew him.

“Frank called Donald and said, ‘Donald, we’ve got this situation,'” Gifford recalled.

“And this is why I will love this man for my whole life,” she explained while crying. “He said, ‘Frank, don’t you worry about it. I’ve got your girls. I’ve got your girls. And don’t you worry.'”

“And so Frank called back the FBI and said, ‘I called Donald Trump. He says he’s going to take care of my wife and my daughter.'”

Trump later called Gifford, who was unaware of the danger to herself, and told her that he was sending his helicopter to take her to his hotel, which left Gifford shocked, and she tried to talk him out of it. But Trump remained firm.

“I said, ‘Donald, why? He said, “Because you’ve had a baby,’ Gifford said. “I said, ‘Donald, women have babies every day. It’s no big deal. Thank you. But it’s no big deal.’

“And he goes, ‘No, congratulations. So happy for you … I’m sending my helicopter for you and your baby and your nanny.'”

After she arrived in Atlantic City, Gifford revealed that “four major, major, members of Trump’s security team” came to greet her.

‘They said, ‘Mrs. Gifford, Mr. Trump wants you to know that we’re here for you,'” Gifford said. “I didn’t know what they were talking about!”

Gifford explained that she had just had a baby and that “more and more” security guards arrived to protect her in the days leading up to the pageant. She was also stunned that a guy stood outside her hotel room the whole week.

“I just never thought about it, you know?” she said. “I’m just stupid. But he never said a word. Nobody said a word to me.”

But she discovered why Trump went to such great lengths to protect her when she went downstairs and read the newspaper. The truth absolutely shocked her.

“It (newspaper headline) said ‘Kathie Lee Gifford, Death Threat.’ And I went, ‘What!'” she explained.

She then grew defiant and used colorful language when speaking to the pageant organizers, determined to proceed regardless of any potential danger.

“And then I understood everything,” Gifford continued. “I understood what Donald had done. I understood what Frank had done to try to say, you know, not be afraid and all of that.”

Gifford went to the pageant and was taken home a different route. She also later realized that an FBI officer had been protecting her then 3-year-old son Cody at her Connecticut home.

The following day, Gifford received the news every victim prays for. While she and Cody were at a local theater watching a movie, she was informed by the FBI that the stalker had been arrested.

“In the middle of the movie, one of the FBI guys comes over and goes, ‘Mrs. Gifford, we got this son of a b***h,'” she recalled, “I said, ‘Thank you so much.'”


End of first article...

WATCH: Woman Shares Beautiful Story About the Night Donald Trump Saved Her Life During a Chance Encounter in NYC, Long Before He Became President

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/watch-woman-shares-beautiful-story-about-night-donald/

A New York woman shared her story about the night President Donald Trump saved her life by convincing her not to commit suicide during a chance encounter, long before he entered politics.

"The interview was aired on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”

A woman, identified only as Debbie, recounted how years ago she was in a vulnerable state and contemplating suicide near the Brooklyn Bridge, when a chance encounter with Trump saved her.

Debbie has lived in New York for 50 years and told Newsmax, “Trump saved my life, literally.”

“My dad and my mom passed at the same time. I was in a bad place. I was going towards the Brooklyn Bridge, don’t ask me why, but I was.”

Debbie explained that she ran into Trump on her way to the bridge.

“He was at a friend’s birthday party,” Debbie explained. When he saw her passing by in tears, he gently grabbed her arm and asked if she was ok.

“He said, ‘I don’t know what you’re going to do right now, but whatever it is, forget about it,'” she explained. “Take it out of your head, your mom and dad wouldn’t want that,” she recounted him saying.

She said that the future president stayed with her and talked until she had forgotten all about her plan to end her life.

As they departed, he asked to pray for her and slipped a folded-up $100 bill into the palm of her hand.

“He saved my life,” she reaffirmed through tears.

Earlier this year, Kathie Lee Gifford revealed how Trump saved her and her newborn daughter from a “psychopathic murderer” just over three decades ago.

You can email Cassandra MacDonald here, and read more of Cassandra MacDonald's articles here.

End of articles...

Pray for strength and honor!

Viva Cristo Rey!  Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...

St. Joseph pray for us!!

Gene DeLalla 








Ohio Bishop: In An Age Of ‘Uninspiring’ Liturgies, Silence And Reverence Are Needed At Mass

  Bishop Earl Fernandes admitted that ‘many of our liturgies are — on the human level — uninspiring, hurried, pedestrian.’ From lifesitenews...