POWIP

One of my very favorite quotes is the following.

Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood. – George Patton

At first blush, many who read this quotation may think it is an overstated celebration of some antiquated notion of manhood.

But I tell you it is not.

I am old enough to know, sadly, that when push comes to shove most people – even those who talk big about principle and what they would do in defense of principle – lilt and retreat from conflicts that have even the slightest possibility of costing them anything of substance.

I’ve seen big men with big ideas and high estimations of themselves become very, very small when things get ugly. I’ve lost friends over it. I’ve been abandoned to my own devices when I’ve found myself on the just side of an unwanted fight. This has occurred in both my professional and private life.

An example would be the following:

Looking out of the window from the bar I see a friend being attacked by two men. My long-time, “close” friends raising beers with me also see the happenings. I get up from the table and make a dash to assist. Lots of punches, kicks, and scrapes later, the attackers flee. I get my wits about me, wondering why the four of us had such a hard time chasing off the two attackers. I take an inventory of our troops. I look back at the bar. And there, in the warmth and safety of our local watering hole sits someone I considered a brother.

Three of us return to the bar, bloodied and aching. I never looked at my dear friend the same way. Why? Because he was/is a coward. And when push came to shove, literally, he sat on his hands and watched. He covered his hide. He lathered himself in yellow.

It was a horrible realization for me. There were men in the world who were not men at all. There were men in the world who I presumed were men who would be great men in battle – who like me would rather die than be shamed. I was wrong. The vast majority of men I know are weak, untested, not worthy of my allegiance.

These may sound like the boasts of a person with an overinflated sense of toughness. But they are not. Anyone who knows me knows I would rather die than be bullied. I would rather die than be intimidated. I would rather die than be silent. I would give my life for Principle and Truth.

Some of these same people – the ones who know this about me – say I can at times be “too intense” or that I am “too harsh” or that I should just “let it go” in order to keep the peace. That I am “making a big deal out of it.” That I “shouldn’t get so riled about” this or that.

But I know a little bit about being alone in a fight. I know a little bit about the value of one man standing up for what is right and good. I know a little bit about feeling isolated, alone, compromised, and seemingly without recourse.

It is a dark, dark, awful place. But I know about that place. I know it very well. It has cost me dearly. And it has cost my family dearly – my wife and my children.

If you have not had your life, livelihood, house, family, peace on the line for being bold enough to take a Principled Stand – with full knowledge of the potential downside – then you cannot understand what it means to be in that place.

If you have turned away a friend, coworker, or even a stranger who asks for (or is in need of) your solidarity in a battle for their life, career, property in defense of what is Right and Just… even if it is likely to cost you dearly with no possibility of return… when defeat and reprisal is likely, then you know plenty about cowardice.

These difficult people who make a fuss and stand up for what is Right and Proper… to the tune of becoming Martyrs – literally or figuratively in the Public Square – these people are Heroes.

These are the people who we owe our comfort to.

When a man is drowning, some people look on in horror, some capture it on video. Another man is diving into the freezing water. He is not reckless, though he imagines his wife and kids thinking so. But the thought of being an on-looker or remaining behind the safety of a camera causes him greater fear.

I don’t know Patterico but in a very small way. I don’t know RSMcCain at all. I don’t know “Aaron Worthing” from Adam.

But I do know that I am proud to know what kind of people they are.

I want to be proud to know what kind of person you are too.

Some things are worth dying for, after all. Those same things very well make life worth living.

I’d rather die than be a coward.

Memorial Day – how will you be remembered?

The guy is a supreme dick.

Holy immortal One:

Please hear the petitions of your lowly servants.

For Shaun M who is in desperate need of healing. May he recover his physical health and may he be strengthened in spirit to overcome his addiction. May he come to know the Mercy and Love of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May he become a soldier of Light and live a long and healthy life. May those who love him embrace him again in this life and have the Fortitude to be patient with him as he struggles. May the Lord cast out any and all demons who deign to possess him. May they flee from this adopted son of yours in the name of Jesus Christ. If he is not to recover, we beseech thee to forgive him all of his sins. Look not on his shortcomings, but as a child in the wilderness. Remember him as he was in his best days. Please, Lord, have mercy on him and on us all for our transgressions. Help this suffering soul, who is friend to many on this Pilgrim’s Road. Do not fail to see his good intentions and fervent hopes and dreams. Remember his kind acts, words, and charity.

For Frank, step father of JoAnn. May he pass quickly and peacefully from this life to the Eternal Life. Lord, we ask that you bathe him in your Infinite Mercy and shield him from the Father’s Justice. Lord, you promised St. Faustina that any in peril and for whom the Chaplet was intended would receive special dispensation at the hour of death. Oh Jesus, we ask with humility and hope that Frank receive your Infinite Mercy at the hour of his death. May he experience Eternal Life.

UPDATE ———-

For Jim’s “cousin’s daughter, Chloe, who in three days will undergo a kidney transplant, donated by her mother. And for her mom, too, of course.”

Oh, Gracious Virgin Mary, be at your child’s side to comfort her and keep her. Please petition your Son, whom never refused you, to see to a successful surgery and speedy recovery. Holy Spirit, fly unto Chloe and her mother and grant them fortitude to persevere. Comfort them and keep them safe.

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Help us to bear our crosses to the best of our ability as Your Will is revealed to us.

We petition thee in the name of your only begotten son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

—– from DivineMercy.org

Jesus said, “If you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith, (which is of course belief and trust) on behalf of some sinner I will give that soul the grace of conversion”. The prayer Jesus gave us to invite Him into the life of another, is a prayer that shows our belief and our trust in His death on the cross to bring Divine Mercy to all mankind especially sinners.

“O Blood and water that gushed forth from the heart of Jesus, as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You”. (Diary 186, 187)

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“Say unceasingly the Chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it, they will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy”. (Diary, 687)

“It pleases me to grant everything souls ask of me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, i will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one. Write this for the benefit of distressed souls; when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of my mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother. Tell them no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul that has placed its trust in My goodness. Write that when they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My father and the dying person, not as the Just Judge but as the Merciful Saviour”. (Diary, 1541)

“At the hour of their death, I defend every soul that will say this Chaplet as I do my own glory. When this Chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God’s anger is placated and His unfathomable mercy envelops the soul”. (Diary, 811)

Jesus said to Saint Faustina, “I desire that this mercy flow out upon the whole world through your heart. Let no one who approaches you go away without that trust in my mercy, which I so ardently desire for souls. Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties, obtain for them trust in my mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least”. (Diary, 1777)

“My daughter, help me to save a certain dying sinner. Say the Chaplet that I have taught you for him. When I began to say the Chaplet, I saw the man dying in the midst of terrible torment and struggle. His Guardian Angel was defending him, but he was, as it were, powerless against the enormity of the soul’s misery. But while I was saying the Chaplet, I saw Jesus just as He is depicted in the Image. The rays that issued from Jesus’ heart enveloped the sick man, and the powers of darkness fled in panic. The sick man peacefully breathed his last” (Diary, 1565)

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The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

by Val Conlon

The following is the passage from the Diary where Jesus explains to St. Faustina how to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. It is important to remember that this is a truly special prayer as it was created by Jesus for us as a special element of the new Devotion to Divine Mercy. Jesus spoke these words to her in September 1935 while St. Faustina was living in her convent in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Jesus told St. Faustina, “This prayer will serve to appease My wrath. (Diary 476)

Begin with:

one Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.

one Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

THE APOSTLE’S CREED

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into Hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

On the Our Father Beads say the following words:

“Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world”.

On the Hail Mary Beads say the following words:

“For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world”.

In conclusion, after the five decades say three times:

“Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world”.

I’ll try to keep it short.

It is very frustrating to have to go over this again and again and again. But I guess we have no choice.

Catholic Theology includes:

The Teachings of the Christ whilst He was hanging out here on Earth. The New Testament.

2000 years of Revelation by the holy Spirit. That is, ongoing enlightenment in God’s own time to the Church vis a vis this and that. We Catholics call this Tradition.

I have written really long-winded essays on the Static nature of Truth. The ultimate Truth, of course, is God. He is Static and unchanging.

So, the Church Militant, which is the Body of Christ on Earth whose faithful are members, expresses that Truth, without regard to polls.

In terms of the HHS overreach, it matters very little that X% of “American Catholics” abide (or even agree with) the Natural Law in its fullness as expressed by the Church.

The problem, it turns out, is that people within one lifetime cannot amass the Wisdom of Christ’s 2012 year old Church. The individual’s perspective is woefully worthless in light of the Cumulative Wisdom (we call it the Treasury or Repository of Faith) of the world’s most brilliant scholars and most holy men and women – and the enlightenment provided by the holy Spirit to the same. Not to mention personal revelation by Our Mother and the Christ Jesus Himself.

It matters not what today’s faithful believe in regard to this or that portion of Truth.

Not one iota.

The Church, for Her part, is not given to pop sensibilities or polls. And the talking heads that cite polls to bolster this administration’s stance that their mandate is acceptable miss the point on plenty of scores.

Not least of which is, again, the nature of Truth. Perhaps they are just Godless. Or simpletons. Or Proggs. Or all three of these things.

In any event, I am sure I will have to write about this again and again and again. It’s… what’s that word… nuanced.

The Church has survived persecutions and nations governed by tyranny for 2012 years. From this perspective, America is really a flash in the pan.

UPDATE

VERY RELATED – Read the whole thing! at the American Catholic.

Finally in our own way we need to educate the faithful that the Catholic Church continues to grow and strengthen as she has done every other time she has been under attack. Jesus promised us that this would be the case (Matthew 16:15-20) and so it is. Sadly the Church sometimes loses her way when times are good, because we often become a part of the world. Jesus warned us that though we must be in the world, we must never be of the world. Thankfully, because we are heeding His words the tide continues to turn!

UPDATE*2

John C Wright – quotes from Bad Catholic at Patheos

So what happened overnight? Why is the Church’s most controversial teaching something that — suddenly — can be affirmed in the secular, public sphere without fear? The teachings didn’t change — they’ve always been awesome. Our culture didn’t change — it continues to suck. No, we owe this shift in disposition to the remarkable act of placing our hands on the desk, pushing firmly down upon it while pushing firmly up with the toes, and straightening the kneecaps until the body is aligned vertically between heaven and earth.

Irony of ironies has it that a select few (an Elite if you will) are today’s Gnostics. In the sense, of course, that they and they alone are privy to some secret knowledge.

Among this knowledge appears to be what is best for people like you and me.

I have oft chuckled at a White Liberals conclusions about what is best for an inner-city, low income Black. You know, those Small People. Those ignorant and helpless former-slaves.

Likewise, Liberals never tire of telling Women what is best for them. Parents what is best for their children. Blue Collar Workers what is best for them. It leaves one to conclude that they really have sussed the whole thing out. That this gnostic insight to which they and they alone can discern is “settled science”.

I am one who is a real fan of opinionated people… even when they are wrong. But with this caveat: they must be willing to be intellectually-honest. I’ve no time for Truth-benders.

A prime example of Truth-bending would be Mr. Gingrich and the MSM purposefully distorting the spirit of Romney’s comment relating to the “Poorest of the Poor”. Anyone who listens to the interview in question can clearly hear what Mr. Romney intended to convey. He didn’t mis-speak as much as said something that could be seized upon by his enemies. But his sentiment was not, as Newt knows full-well, as Newt has twisted it to be. I am no fan of Romney outside of the fact that I would vote for him (or practically anyone) as a no vote to Obambi. But apparently Newt need not bother with Truth. What he is concerned with is the ends he is after. The means be damned.

Progressives (Socialists, Marxists, Statists all) are precisely the same. They do not give a damn about how they attain control (which they swear with words is not the Ultimate Solution). They do not give a damn who is offended (though they are offended by anyone who challenges their secret knowledge). The worst part about their pursuit of power – their desire to impose their religion on those heretics who dare to oppose their instruction and faith – is that they will stoop to any method of achieving the secular humanist caliphate for which they long. Any who fundamentally disagree with the teaching of the Church of State – any who cannot be “reasoned with” or “see the error of their ways” must be brought into compliance by other means. And those other means, if need be and in their perfect world, will be the Law of the Land (where none must bother to convince anyone of anything whatsoever). The heathens will learn or comply… either of which achieves the end Goal of Absolute Power.

All of this these supreme truths which they advance – for which only their clerics (and incredibly sharp East Coast Libs) can understand in totality – are camouflaged most often in sentimental garb. Of course, the sentimental garb is just a means to the end. “It is what’s best for women’s health” after all, that the Catholic Church must compromise its Principles (after all, Catholics are very superstitious people – but they are just stupid enough to take the bait if we appeal to that Social Justice thing).

It gets a bit better listening to Members of the Church of State – such as Mika Brzezinski – defend the Unholy See’s New Dogma. To see her speak on the issue reveals 3 things: 1) she is completely in over her head as it relates to the Church Militant and its Teachings, 2) she underestimates the Church’s staying power (now clocking in at 2012 years), 3) she is willing to be willfully ignorant.

Dog is my co-pilot.

What this means is that she is willing to purposefully miss the point altogether. Since I don’t take her as intellectually lazy, I must conclude she is intellectually dishonest. And if she is dishonest as it relates to this major issue, then is there any issue of significance that could compel her to be less than a water carrier for the Church of State?

But again, given as I am to giving people who are ignorant of Catholic Teaching the benefit of the doubt as they complain and wax on about that silly Straw Man – at once over there and then bilocationally over here at the same time – I have come to realize this is precisely the mode of “charity” that now finds the Bishops with knives in their backs.

I must stop being so charitable. Because the enemy will stop at nothing to achieve their ends.

Or, maybe, I should just take the soup from Daddy. I mean, these are wise, thoughtful and caring people who only want what’s best for little ole me. You don’t think these same people would ever wish me harm? Right? I mean, that’s all in my head, right?

Daddy knows best. I may not agree with him. But really, he knows what’s best for me.

Now, be a good Dog.