Observations of a Mosquito #10

Loquacity, which is a vice and a form of sloth, is perhaps even more unknown as a vice than is curiousity, which is also a form of sloth; both, however, are very common, and shamelessly so.

Very often men hold fast to errors in matters of religion - as well as in other things - because they dislike the consequences of the opposite opinions; they have, however, exchanged certain inconveniences for far greater ones.

No one has ever been too humble, nor could anyone ever be.

It is far too easy to treat the Holy Eucharist with less care can one would give even to a mere million billion dollar cheque.

If the majority of any parish's budget is spent on things unrelated to Holy Mass, such as the vestments, the altar furnishings, the church's upkeep, and the music, then that parish's budget needs to be altered.

Observations of a Mosquito #9

"My life isn't going well, so I'm going to go to Mass less and avoid Confession," is really, really horrible and self-destructive logic.

At present,  it seems as though many, if not most, priests and religious eat well - some, very well; most if not all Saints ate poorly.

It is not a sin for a diocesan priest to own golf clubs or a good stereo system, but such luxury items, especially if they individually or in toto would be beyond the purchasing power of the median (single) member of his congregation, can spell trouble, and if care is not taken to avoid real attachment to them, his apostolate may be crippled.

Even knowledgeable Catholics tend to have a very limited understanding of the virtue of humility - and how many know that the virtue of religion, as explained by St. Thomas Aquinas, even exists?

In order to appropriate something secular (or pagan, or Protestant) for Catholic use, such as a philosophical construct or even a business or marketing plan, the appropriator(s) must come to understand exactly what of it is of the world and what is not, and, furthermore, what is Catholic (in the supernatural sense) and what it is to be such, and then the part from the world must be thoroughly removed; usually some part of this is not known or not done to the great detriment of the Church and its members... this is not infrequently related to Catholics not realizing that they are appropriating or have appropriated something with, originally, a non-Catholic character.

Observations of a Mosquito #8

It's best to save one's plate for food, and God's plate for everything else.

In their homilies, priests should stop seeming to assume that those in their congregation are generally in the state of grace: most congregations today are full of Catholics who avoid Confession, whose attendance at Sunday Mass is infrequent, and who are either formal or material heretics... it does not seem helpful to preach frequently on the spiritual benefits of receiving the Eucharist - without mention of Confession - to congregations composed in large part by those who should not be receiving Communion.

Some of those persons involved in the creation of the accidental self-satire "Ordain a Lady" may be excommunicated, per the chorus, but how much more damage have orthodox Catholics done to our souls by uncharitably mocking them and their (mistaken) beliefs?

No one is more embarrassed in confessing a mortal sin than he would be in finding himself in Hell on account of it.

If lack of contrition, whether generally or for some specific sin(s), is keeping you from Confession, it is good to go anyway and confess that one is not contrite.

Daily Prayer for All Bloggers

The prayer you will find below was composed by Servant of God His Eminence, the Most Reverend Lord Rafael María José, Cardinal Merry del Val y de Zulueta, better known simply as Cardinal Merry del Val. The prayer itself is known as the "Litany of Humility", and it would be wise for every Catholic blogger (and commenter) to recite it at least daily. In truth, it would be good for every Catholic to pray every day.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, O Jesus.

From the desire of being loved,

From the desire of being extolled,

From the desire of being honored,

From the desire of being praised,

From the desire of being preferred to others,

From the desire of being consulted,

From the desire of being approved,

From the fear of being humiliated,

From the fear of being despised,

From the fear of suffering rebukes,

From the fear of being calumniated,

From the fear of being forgotten,

From the fear of being ridiculed,

From the fear of being wronged,

From the fear of being suspected,

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I,

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,

That others may be chosen and I set aside,

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,

That others may be preferred to me in everything,

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,

Amen.

Observations of a Mosquito #7

He has little right to seek to know the Will of God who willfully avoids doing what he knows of it, such as by avoiding his vocation, spending time in bad company, avoiding the confessional, etc.

There are two steps to becoming a Saint; the first is getting out of Hell.

If you find yourself not praying, you should start.

The idea is "to be holy" rather than "to do holy" for good reason.

You will neither find nor see Christ in anyone if you do not already know Him.

Introducing Culex's Lenten Challenge to All Catholic Bloggers

I have a suggestion for a Lenten challenge for all of my fellow Catholic bloggers. (Perhaps the traditionalists among you could start at Septuagesima.)

It is in two parts. It is very simple and very important - and it doesn't really require much work. Here is what is:

1. No detraction.
2. No mockery.

I plan to expand and explain each of the above in future posts, particularly closer to Lent, but I want to get this out there so that, given my new blog's, shall we say, complete lack of human readers, my challenge will have a chance to become known to at least a few of my fellow bloggers in time for Lent.

Until then, happy blogging!
Culex

PS: Fellow Christians as well as non-Christians are also quite welcome to participate in this challenge. There's nothing 'sectarian' about it!

Observations of a Mosquito #6

It is be amazing how little energy is devoted toward the real sanctification of the spouses-to-be in marriage preparation classes.

How very few Catholic blog commenters, including 'orthodox' and 'traditionalist' Catholics, spend more time reading the Saints on how to save their own souls than blogs on how other people seemingly aren't saving theirs.

Generally speaking, those learned individuals who strive hardest to cause others to have an open mind also strive the hardest to fill it.

The proud man is a liar who even deceives himself.

Even once you have discerned that marriage is your true vocation, to pursue someone of the opposite sex who does not push you toward holiness is spiritual suicide.