1. I have received many emails from people who, like myself, have returned to menial, manual labor after a high-flying intellectual career, and share my sentiments that manual labor is deeply, deeply satisfying and truly good for the soul. Beware the man who declares menial, manual tasks to be “beneath him”. Remember, Our Blessed Lord worked in His foster father’s shop. I’ll bet He did a lot of planing and scraping and polishing of wood – arduous work, especially without sandpaper! And I’ll bet He did a goodly share of the general tidying up, too. Because, even though He is the Second Person of the Triune Godhead, He was also “second banana” to St. Joseph in the shop.
2. I was given a book to read (PDF version), and if the introduction is any indicator, I think I’m going to like it. The book is “Essays on Catholicism, Liberalism and Socialism. Considered in Their Fundamental Principles.” by Juan Donoso Cortes, Marquis of Valdegamas (ARSH 1809-1853). Here is a quote from the introduction:
“…Donoso does not argue or hold discussions with error, to which he denies all rights. Donoso only teaches, and shows error its profound ignorance and contradictions, or points out its deformity to the world; and in teaching one and the other with the authority of truth, whose eloquent organ he is, he needs not to enter on a contest with error in order to conquer it. Whilst other apologists go down into the arena, and contend with dubious victory, Donoso Cortes, like a giant, demolishes error by one stroke of his arm….”
In these days, shrouded in the intellectual and spiritual darkness of hyper-effeminization with its endless, insipid babble about dialoguing, encountering and tenderly caressing every filthy lie, sin and heresy, how can one not swoon like a bobbysoxer at a Sinatra concert in ’43 at the quote above? Error has no rights. LeSigh…. LeSwoon….
3. Speaking of masculinity in culture, I am inclined to repeat an anecdote which I have written of here before long ago, but which bears repeating in light of the current discussion of “free speech”. The bottom line is this: a healthy culture SELF-POLICES and naturally, swiftly and efficiently quashes that speech which should be suppressed. You don’t need the government to get involved – the onus is actually on the people themselves to take care of these things. It’s almost like … SUBSIDIARITY IN PRACTICE, or something.
So here’s the anecdote. Many years ago in the early ’90s, I attended the annual Threshing Bee in McLouth, Kansas. A Threshing Bee is very similar to a county fair, and features antique farm machinery (including operating steam engines), tractor pulls, draft horse competitions, booths, a fairway with games, rides and food concessions – a quintessential rural American family event. One evening we were watching the tractor pull and draft horse competitions, and some drunken idiot in the stands started screaming and yelling all manner of curses and obscenities. This was in the early evening, and there were families and children all around. This went on for about 30 seconds, and then spontaneously, about six men out of the crowd without a word stood up, mustered, and discreetly surrounded and confronted the drunk. One of the men assumed the lead and told the drunk that either he shut his mouth and leave the premises RIGHT NOW, or the men would shut his mouth for him and physically remove him. They didn’t ask him, they told him. His only choice was, do it easy or do it hard, but either way, it was getting done.
This is what I’m talking about. This is subsidiarity in action. There wasn’t even a need to go summon the sheriff’s deputy who was the on-duty security. Why? Because the PEOPLE, in this case a small group of able-bodied men, had not only the ability, but thereby also the duty to self-police and handle the situation. And because they were actual MEN, with their testicles intact, and not residing in a pickle jar on top of their teevee, or in their wives’ purses, the situation was quickly and discreetly handled.
Because no, drunken trailer trash jackasses do NOT have the “right” to scream the f-word at public, family-oriented events. Another example of this that comes to mind is, in fact, teevee. If any of the satanic agitporn trash that passes for prime-time teevee today (think 2 1/2 Men or Family Guy or Real Housewives of…) were to air in ARSH 1957, the era of “Leave It To Beaver”, “Dragnet” and “Gunsmoke”, understand that the American people themselves would have demanded, not just made idle, impotent, five-minute threats about boycotts, but demanded and PHYSICALLY BACKED IT UP that the network and people responsible be held to account, punished, and that it not happen again. I know it is hard to imagine this today, but it is true. The culture was still healthy enough to self-police. Today, we are so far gone and so lacking in any sort of masculine initiative or boundary-setting, that the entire notion of a self-policing, subsidiary social order SEEMS impossible. And so, tyranny you shall have, until such time as you get off your effete, apathetic asses and restore your balls to their proper position.
4. A Jewish man emailed me announcing that he is ready to become a Christian and asked if I would please baptize him. Because proselytizing is NOT “solemn nonsense”. Like the Ethiopian eunuch and St. Philip, how can they possibly understand it if no one explains it to them??
Nipping this in the bud now, NO NO NO NO NO. When you are ready to enter the Church, you need to be baptized, after receiving convert instructions, by a priest. The Old (pre-1965-Asteroid impact) Baptismal Rite is a massively powerful sacrament, including all manner of minor exorcisms. I so regret not having been baptized and confirmed in the Old Rite. But, hey, it all worked out. While it is true that ANYONE can baptize, that latitude exists only because of God’s infinite mercy, especially in regards to emergency situations. A layperson should only baptize in a dire emergency, or if political oppression or some other grave circumstance makes baptism by a priest impossible.
And remember, the matter and form of baptism is to lave the head with true and natural water, whilst saying, “I baptize thee (or This person is baptized) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” And by “Father, Son and Holy Ghost”, one must mean the Triune Godhead, not “space alien #1, space alien #2 and space aliens #3 & #4”, as Mormons do, hence making their faux-baptisms ALL INVALID.
If you are ready to ‘git right wit’ the Lord, and enter His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, I would recommend finding and contacting a parish, or an individual priest that celebrates the Traditional Mass *that is in full communion with the Church*. Yes, even in these dark, rudderless days, you still want to be in FULL COMMUNION with the Church, which remember, is a SUPERNATURAL entity. No matter how bad the pope may be (because remember, we get the clergy and pope we deserve), the Church is still the Body and Bride of Christ, and there is no salvation outside of it. Extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
Here are some resources for North America:
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
The Institute of Christ the King
Ecclesia Dei commission list of Traditional Masses
5. Another selection from the simply outstanding Cox Family, “I Am Weary, Let Me Rest”. Oh, how I wish I could sing. Enjoy.
Kiss me mother kiss your darlin’
Lay my head upon your breast
Throw your loving arms around me
I am weary let me rest
Seems the light is swiftly fading
Brighter scenes they do now show
I am standing by the river
Angels wait to take me home
Kiss me mother kiss your darlin’
See the pain upon my brow
While I’ll soon be with the angels
Fate has doomed my future now
Through the years you’ve always loved me
And my life you’ve tried to save
But now I shall slumber sweetly
In a deep and lonely grave