Strange Lights in the Sky

This story is linked to prominently today on the Drudge Report, so perhaps you've already seen these pictures of unusual and inexplicable columns of colored lights in the European night sky. But I just want to add that this phenomenon of strange lights in the sky is unsettlingly reminiscent of what the Blessed Virgin Mary promised to the three children at Fatima   in 1917: namely, that when the world saw a "great light" in the sky, a terrible war would soon commence. This startling phenomenon was observed across Europe on January 25th, 1938. The war started the following year, and tens of millions perished.

Just . . . something . . . to . . . think . . . about.

More on the Fatima Apparitions. 

Gay Episcopal “bishop” invited to pre-inauguration event in DC

This deplorable story brings Proverbs 14:7 to mind — “Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge,” and also Proverbs 17:7 — “Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.”

Gene Robinson, a divorced Episcopalian who abandonded his wife and children and now lives with his homosexual consort, is a hugely controversial bishop in the Episcopal Church. His selection to be made a bishop, not to mention his antics before, during, and after that elevation, have riven his denomination and caused many Episcopalians to rethink their allegiance to a Church that can do something so blatantly wrong. I've personally met a number of Episcopal converts to the Catholic Church who identified Gene Robinson's selection as a bishop as the catalyst for their decision to investigate the claims of the Catholic Church. (Futher evidence that God can bring good out of evil.)

And our new Lider Maximo has invited him to say a prayer at the Lincoln Memorial during one of the inauguration events:

New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson will deliver the invocation at an event on Sunday to kick off inauguration festivities. His selection follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama's decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration. Warren had backed a recent ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in his home state of California.

Robinson has said he was stung by Warren's selection, but still believes Obama will be the most supportive president ever for gay-rights causes. "There's no question in my mind that he is the president who understands our issues and comes out of a background knowing what it's like to be discriminated against because of who you are," Robinson said Monday. "I think for the first time in a very long time we'll have a friend in the White House." (source)

The “we” he's speaking of here is the homosexual/gay lobby. And I'm afraid that, as wrong as Gene Robinson is about so many things, he's right about that last point. Time will surely tell.

 

 

Eucharistic Adoration (Reverse Momentum)

My thanks to a Anna Arco for finding and posting this nicely done video on Eucharistic adoration:

 

Members of the Religion of Peace Go for a Walk

This shows, as clearly as anything could, why England, like the rest of Europe, will soon be swept into the maw of radicalism. At least 50 London cops are cowed into submission. Where was the police effort to send in reinforcements and take a stand against these people?

Hey, United States and Canada. Are you paying attention? This stuff is coming here. (Courtesy of Jihad Watch.)

Lucid Posts and Comments

Hello all. My name is Fr. Bud Pelletier, I am pastor of a parish in the Diocese of Phoenix. Patrick has asked me to be an occasional contributor to his blog. Who am I to say no to a man who wants to drag his new-media communication tool into the ground.

I'm sure you will all expect lucid posts, witty comments and deep spiritual insights - all of which are beyond my abilities. I think Patrick asked me to help to provide comic relief.

But I'm here now, he's given me access, and the world shudders in terror.

Fr. Bud

Check Out This New Podcast, Even Though I'm On It

Parts one and two are loaded up here: http://www.fullnessoftruth.org/podcast/FOT_No_2.mp3

Here's My “Open Line” Radio Show From Last Thursday

http://ewtn.edgeboss.net/download/ewtn/audiolibrary/ol_01082009.mp3  

And behold, this day I am going the way of all flesh (Joshua 23:14)

We Don't Always See What We Think We See

Rotating Illusion — Pink Eye Trick

Are you sure you really see it disappear?

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, the dots will remain only one color: pink. However if you stare at the black “+” in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black “+” in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see only a single green dot rotating.

It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear. Proof enough that we don't always see what we think we see . . .

(source)

Muslim History, Muslim-Style

It's a long but interesting and well-done depiction of what Muslims claim happened in the aftermath of the murder of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, grandson of the founder of the Muslim religion. 

Something Lutheran Happened on the Way to Rome

You know me, I love conversion stories, and right now I'm enjoying part 2 of my friend Karen William's serialized account of her journey to the Catholic Church. Check it out!

At the same time, one of my girlfriends, Wendy, invited me to her church - St. Paul Lutheran. I took her up on it one fateful Sunday and was immediately taken with the whole church concept and started attending on a regular basis. It was as though someone turned on the God faucet and my mind was opened to the constant stream of His love and mercy. Pastor Mike told me to read a little book on the Gospels called "The Way" and I attended Pastors Class faithfully every Sunday. I was on the fast track. By April of that next year, I was to be baptized (yea!) and confirmed in the Lutheran Church.

St. Paul was a large Lutheran Church in Trenton Michigan. It belongs to the Missouri Synod which leans more conservative than the other branches. The church was traditional, baroque with a communion rail and a large glorified Jesus behind the high altar. It had one of those suspended ambos that was elevated from the rest of the sanctuary by stairs. Pastor Pohl (head hancho), had a beautiful sermon delivery and would always conclude his sermons with "And so far". I really don't know if that makes grammatical sense, but it sure sounded cool and everybody respected him. The music at St. Paul was a big deal. Every Easter we'd hire a local orchestra, mix in our own musicians and vocalists with them (I played first chair trumpet at that time) and go crazy on Handel etc. It was a blast. (no pun). The performance would always engender tears and ovations. I lasted at St. Paul until I went away to college. Pastor Pohl stayed on until retirement, Pastor Mike (the younger assoc who ran the Pastor's class) defected to the charismatics and was basically shunned. 

Something curious was happening in my soul. Something really glorious. Of the things I managed not to discard, I saved my senior year scrapbook which includes a page entitled "One Important Person". The page is not devoted to any one person, but to . . . (read more)

No Planet X

A friend sent me a link to an interesting article which rebuts the persistent and ubiquitous theory of an inbound rogue planet/star/object that will pass close to the earth in the next few years and will, the theory holds, wreak great damage on earth. The author of this article basically says, “Ain't gonna happen.”

I love getting good news!

My Face on FaceBook

I recently discovered (actually, someone from my parish whose initials are “Thomas Deliduka”) told me) that there's a new Patrick Madrid “fan page” on Facebook. 

Weird. Flattering, but weird.

And when, a couple of months ago, I discovered that I was the very last person on earth not to have a Facebook page of my own, I broke down and created one. No big whoop. Check it out if you're interested in that sort of thing.  I find that I am becoming increasingly interested in that sort of thing — not fan pages, but the ability to communicate widely and quickly and with many people through the medium of things like Twitter, FaceBook, and the rest of it. It's amazing and at times startling to realize just how interconnected we have become through this technology. Makes me wonder where it's all headed and how fast we'll get there.

Just imagine how utterly different the world would be now if the Internet and all its positive accouterments, such as e-mail, blogs, etc., had been available to the public back in the 60s and 70s, when I was growing up. That's a bit like trying to imagine what the world would have been like and how differently things would have turned out for, say, Japan and China, if only St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier had had fax machines.

A Cartoon From Christianity Today

Update: WELCOME! all my new visitors who are coming here from Father Z's blog! I appreciate your taking a look here and I hope you'll come back. God bless you all, and thank you, Father Z, for the link. — Patrick Madrid


 

It's the Stupid Economy

Watch this . . .

. . . and then see (if you haven't already) my earlier post about PeterSchiff's predictions. I report, you decide.