Let us not forget that the escalating and diversifying assault on Christianity in general, and most specifically upon Catholicism, is a mark of its Truth. All the Church's enemies claim to hate Her because they are the ones who are in possession of the Truth. Yet, none of these enemies, despite all being diverse from each other, direct such hatred upon ideologies other than the Church. All we can see is obsessional hatred and violence being directed against Jesus Christ and His Mother, Mary Ever-Virgin, by all manner of groupings who claim that neither exists, or do not in the sense claimed by Catholicism. As the phrase goes, "methinks they doth protest too much". We know it, and they know it too in their deepest recesses while fighting as hard as they can to suppress it; God's on our side and Victory is ours-we must just pray to God for the grace to hold our nerve. Unfortunately, while the final result is inevitable, the casualty list is undetermined. We must also pray for this list to be shortened as much as Divinely possible.
Diabolical: Islam’s Past and Present Attacks on European Churches As explained in this recent article, all around Western Europe, churches are under attack. Along with arson attempts, typically—and rather with diabolical intent—altars are desecrated, crucifixes broken, statues mocked and/or beheaded, and the churches set aflame. Sometimes fecal matter is smeared on the churches. Last February in France, for instance, vandals plundered and used human excrement to draw a cross on the Notre-Dame des Enfants Church in Nimes; consecrated bread was found thrown outside among garbage. One week later, vandals desecrated and smashed crosses and statues at Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur; they mangled the arms of a crucified Christ in a mocking manner and an altar cloth was burned. While European authorities and media usually obfuscate over the identity of the desecrators, demographics offer a clue: true to “Islam’s Rule of Numbers,” Western European nations that have large Muslim migrant populations tend to witness the most attacks. MORE: https://pjmedia.com/faith/diabolical-islams-past-and-present-attacks-on-european-churches/
Why Were Authorities so Quick to Rule out Arson in the Notre Dame Conflagration? I feel I must hand it to those stalwart souls investigating the devastating conflagration at the Cathedral of Notre Dame Monday. The flames were not quenched at the 12th-century masterpiece of Gothic architecture when the authorities announced that they had ruled out arson as the cause of the blaze. (Some reports hedged their bets by adding “for now”; most were more apodictic.) That was an extraordinary, not to say amazing, piece of forensic prognostication. Not only were the flames still lapping at the timbers of the cathedral when this conclusion was announced, but also think about the context. The fire broke out on Monday of Holy Week, the apex of the Christian religious calendar. For Catholics, Notre Dame is a focal point of what remains of the religion in a country besotted for decades by its adherence to “laïcité,” to aggressive secularism. For France generally, however, I suspect that the important thing is that Notre Dame is home to some 13 million tourists per annum, all armed with fist-fulls of dollars, euros, and yen. In any event, the holocaust at Notre Dame was by no means unique. Last month, a fire broke out at Saint-Sulpice, the second largest church in Paris. Within a day or two, the authorities had determined that the fire had been deliberately set. You didn’t read about it in The New York Times, but what happened at Saint-Sulpice was only one of the most destructive acts of vandalism directed against Christian churches in France. Over the past month, in fact, there have been at least twelve reported acts of vandalism against French churches: statues smashed or beheaded, altars desecrated, human excrement smeared on church walls in the shape of a cross and decorated with communion hosts. France, like many countries in Western Europe, is swaddled in a nervous silence about the inroads made into their society by militant Islam. They, like many Americans, are terrified of being accused of “Islamophobia.” Yet the Ministry of the Interior reported that in 2018 there were recorded 541 anti-Semitic acts, 100 anti-Muslim acts, and 1063 anti-Christian acts. Auric Goldfinger, in the Ian Fleming novel, dryly observes to James Bond that “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action.” The French investigators have such extraordinary powers of forensic penetration that they can dispense with all such inductive aids to inquiry. Here they have not one, not two or three, but twelve acts of violent desecration in the past month, including an arsonist attack against the second largest church in Paris. Then Notre Dame catches fire—and what a fire it was—on Monday of Holy Week. Even before the fire was brought under control, the authorities ruled out arson. Has the world ever seen a more potent demonstration of investigative prowess? https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/wh...le-out-arson-in-the-notre-dame-conflagration/
I just watched this, thanks for the link. That video contains an excellent explanation regarding LaSalette, probably the best I’ve heard.
Good analysis. I've always said to my non or anti Catholic friends/family that one of the many signs of the authenticity of the Church is that people who hate each other agree on their common hatred of the Church. In this they find "harmony" like Pilate and Hetod who though enemies became friends over the crucifixion of Jesus.
https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/headline-news-around-the-world/item/4437-stabat-mater-notre-dame-has-survived STABAT MATER: Notre Dame Survived Written by Michael J. Matt | Editor The Paris fire brigade knew exactly what they were doing. They knew they could not save the roof, and so they went inside and saved the building. And, voila! It worked. Incredibly, it begins to appear at least from preliminary reports, that the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is going to need a lot of love and a new roof. The City Hall of Paris released photos of the interior today which show massive amounts of debris and an 800-year-old wooden-beamed roof that, sadly, is no more. Still, the anonymous medieval stone masons' genius saved Notre Dame some 800 years after she’d been built. The roaring flames quickly compromised the many-ton wooden structure of the attic, which collapsed onto the actual roof, threatening to fall through and down into nave below, just as the iconic spire had done. But the great gothic buttresses and flying buttresses did their job. They held, until the fire had burned itself out. “The fire was really limited to the roof, and because it’s conceived structurally as a separate system, it can burn without affecting what’s underneath it to a large extent,” said Kevin D. Murphy, professor of art history at Vanderbilt University Many are calling this miraculous, and indeed it well could be. But at some point, perhaps we should also admit that the Paris fire brigade knew exactly what they were doing. They knew they could not save the roof, and so they went inside and saved the building. And voila! It worked. It's now official: Even though the flames swept over the cathedral so intensely, much of the interior was saved Notre Dame's two medieval bell towers were still intact, and its stained-glass rose windows appeared mostly unscathed. After a lot of speculation, rumors and fake tweets about a government-sponsored "reconstruction project" that would be in conformity with "diversity" and "multi-cultural" secularist standards (whatever that means), one wonders how much architectural leeway would even be possible, given the facts that the walls still stand, the buttresses held, the towers are secure and the interior was saved. Five years and a billion dollars to restore Notre Dame? Sounds fairly reasonable at this point. But given the horrors we all witnessed just two nights ago, is it really so absurd to suggest miraculous intervention? Even the "experts on TV" said the fire could well spread across the Ile de la Cite and that there was really no hope of saving the Cathedral. Fox News' Shephard Smith said Notre Dame would 'burn to the ground." And, indeed, that is exactly how it looked. And, yet, here she is--Notre Dame--wounded and weeping for her wayward children, but still standing like a stone metaphor of a mother waiting for her lost little ones to come home. And as long as she stands in silent, if charred, maternal reminder, there is hope for them and for us all. Chez soyez Reine, nous sommes a Vous! Staba Mater dolorosa iuxta Crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat Filius.
What exactly are the 'techniques and goals' of our era that the French PM would like the new spire to reflect? The destruction of Catholicism? Wow, no time was wasted coming up with this 'contest' nonsense; they jumped right on it before the ashes had barely cooled. ND was built to glorify Our Lord, not an era.
I think, Beth, that we must be careful not to follow in their footsteps. That they dragged Christ's Church into the mire of one party's politics doesn't give anyone the right to do the same with another political party. We need to distance ourselves from them rather than following their demonic example. Jesus told us that He knows his own sheep and His sheep know him. Jesus didn't conspire with Caesar to promote Caesar's false gods. In a way, we can thank Pope Francis and his band of conspirators for bringing good Bishops to the fore, although that's probably the last thing they wanted to happen. I'm paying attention to Cardinal Sarah and Bishop Schneider. I hear the word of God from them. I wouldn't have known about Cardinal Sarah, Bishop Schneider, Cardinal Burke or any of the other faithful Bishops had it not been for this scandal ridden papacy. I would never have been fortunate enough to hear this homily from Bishop Vigano: I hear God speaking through the Bishop in that homily. As to Notre Dame, I don't care whether it is rebuilt. The Church is merely a tenant there, serving at the whim of politicians. Our Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith transcends any man-made structure no matter how magnificent it is. And the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not some cheap theatrical production put on to lend atmosphere to any building. France has been on borrowed time since the revolution. Perhaps the fire was a warning that time is about to run out. Perhaps it was a warning to our hierarchy and to all Catholics, especially in Europe. If so, few will get the message. The Church in France will work closely with the Government and the financial backers to turn Notre Dame into a fitting centre for the pleurality of religions we are told is willed by God. Having watched some of the BBC's early coverage of the Notre Dame fire, I agree with this: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/e...ism-crushing-ignorance-of-christianity-at-bbc They had their Religious Affairs expert on for part of the problem. I don't know who he was but it was clear that he hadn't a clue about Catholicism. Then again, I also watched snatches of CCN's coverage and I'm still not sure whether the ignorance of the BBC's religion correspondent was worse that the act put on by CNN's cafeteria catholic Cuomo.
I completely agree that the church should not advance the politics of any puticular party Dolours, they do not advance faith. I am gravely concerned about the global agenda the Vatican seems to be embracing and using politics to that end. Like you, I’ve heard the ignorant coverage of the tragic ND fire and their attempt to explain the historic catholic heritage of the cathedral. It’s obvious that many relied on rookie network interns for their script. Not that I’m any expert, but I don’t pretend to be either. The silver lining in this tragedy may be a reawakening of the daughter of the catholic church. I won’t slam France either. The USA is rapidly headed down that same path...if it isn’t there already. It will be hard to watch this once truly historic cathedral remade to limit its catholic origins into a patch of a quilt reflecting numerous false faiths. How much dilution of our catholic faith are we to swallow? It’s a bit too much for me to suck up. Regardless, I know how it ends...thank God for that!
Yes that would be lovely, much appreciated. I am keen to hear about Jahenny, I value her. Jahenny spoke of Paris mostly as the "center", so the quote surprises me.
Frank, I just found this...it might help. I haven’t read it through yet...it’s long. Maybe you’ll want to read it now. It’s looks very interesting. Glad I found it. http://todayscatholicworld.com/rare-mjj-prophecy.pdf
I’m reading it now. It is really very interesting! I’ve heard of her, but really didn’t know much about her. I hope this source is credible! It’s so good!
