Charlie Gard

It has been one day short of a week since Charlie Gard's death.  His first birthday would have been tomorrow.  I never knew him, never knew his parents.  But I have prayed countless prayers for a medical miracle, that hardened hearts would allow his transport to the United States for treatment, and eventually for the repose of his soul and for his grieving parents. 

When I first read news of his death I was at work.  I had to leave my desk several times and lock myself in a single-person bathroom whilst I wept.  I probably wept for a good twenty to thirty minutes before I could bring myself to go back to my desk around others.  I wept even more later that night as I prayed a rosary for that sweet little boy.  Then I prayed to him, not for him.  As a baptized infant his soul went straight to Heaven.  I prayed to him that he would intercede to God for his parents, that they might not lose faith in their grief, that they would turn to God for solace.  I prayed to him that he would ask God to protect my two little girls from the murder he suffered at the hands of the almighty and godless state.  And I prayed to him that he would pray for the salvation of my soul, and if I make it to Heaven that he would seek me out and greet me as a brother.

Little Charlie was a victim of murder.  A murder sanctioned by a court system that sees value only in human life that can economically contribute to society.  A victim of society that offers little to no protection to the most vulnerable amongst us.  A victim of a state that strips parents of their God-given rights to look after the best interests of their children.  As sad as this case is I fear Charlie will not be the last victim of this modern godlessness.  At times like this, I wonder if it might not be best for Western civilization to be destroyed so we can start anew.

God forgive those who murdered little Charlie.  God forgive us all. Although he is not a canonized saint, he is surely in Heaven.  Pray for us Charlie.  Pray for us.

Would that we had an Emperor

Below is a link to a great article on Rorate Caeli arguing the benefits of having a lay power exercise power the pope in the form of the Holy Roman Emperor.

Intervention against a disastrous Pope: When Emperor Otto the Great saved the Church

69 Years!

Happy anniversary to Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Philip on the occasion of their 69th wedding anniversary!  Not many couples can last this long, let alone royal ones.  So if you're looking for a good example of how to make a marriage last, here it is!

Why this Monarchist is voting for Trump

The above is an actual picture of my mail-in ballot that I turned in just yesterday (Washington state is entirely a mail-in ballot state).  Why would a staunch monarchist who believes this republic was a grave mistake support an American presidential candidate?  I don't believe in republicanism or democracy, so how do I justify this action?  How do I explain the undeniable enthusiasm that has been growing in me over the past couple of months for Donald Trump?  The sleeping (and teething) baby in the next room prevent me from elaborating as much as I would like, but I will attempt to explain my choice--not just my choice in voting at all but also my choice of Donald Trump.

Firstly, I am a Catholic.  Traditional Catholic teaching has always been that any legitimate form of government is acceptable as long as that government serves the common good.  But, and here is a big but, the Church has traditionally always preferred monarchy--Catholic monarchy.  We don't have a monarchy here in the U.S.--Catholic or otherwise--so it is within my Catholic rights to participate in this republic.  While I don't believe in this republic it is my duty to do what I can to make this republic serve the common good, such as voting for political candidates who are pro-life, pro-marriage and respect the Church's liberty.  Donald Trump has stated that he is pro-life (and the only candidate I can ever remember saying he thinks women who have abortions should face some form of punishment) and that he will appoint pro-life judges.  He has also stated that he will repeal the Johnson Amendment which prevents clergy from preaching for or against political candidates (and it seems sometimes issues) or lose their tax-exempt status.  Pro-life and pro-Church liberty?  Sounds a whole lot better than his opponent who (thanks to the WikiLeaks email scandal) it has become known hates Catholics and of course we all know wants abortion on demand.  I have a Catholic duty to prevent crooked Hilary Clinton from doing more harm than she has already done to our unborn and our nation--it is my Catholic duty to vote for a pro-life candidate.  Trump--if he becomes President--could disappoint, but I must take him at his word just as I would any other candidate.

Secondly,  I've found myself agreeing with much of what the alt-right argues.  The vast majority of Republican candidates have proven themselves to be nothing but a bunch of cucks (look it up if you don't know what a cuck is) who bow down to political correctness and whatever the Democrats and the social elites demand of them, all to stay in power.  Donald Trump represents a change from all the other cucks from whom we have to choose, a punch in the nuts of the establishment that has disappointed conservatives in this nation for decades now.  You can keep fixing your broken car knowing that it is just a matter of time before it breaks down again, or you can junk it and buy a new one.  The Republican Party as we have it now is a broken car that is beyond fixing.  It's time to junk it and buy a new one.  Trump is that new car.

I don't trust the mainstream media.  I don't trust the pollsters who work hand-in-hand with the media, so I don't know just how close this election really is.  I hope and pray that Trump wins on Tuesday by a landslide.  If Hilary Clinton wins, I say to her anathema sit.  She'll probably take us into World War III with Russia, but maybe then they'll kick our collective asses and we'll be in a better condition because of it. 

Brexit

I wanted to write a long post about my thoughts on the Brexit referendum tomorrow (or rather today as of the writing of this post in the UK), but I  ended up having to work from home late today and don't have the time for anything but a short post.  Nothing I could say about the possibility of Brexit hasn't been said by millions of others before me, so this will have to suffice.  The people of the United Kingdom have two choices:  leave the European Union and regain control over your own destinies or continue to be ruled by godless bureaucratic overlords in Brussels for years to come (at least until the EU finally dies, which it will Brexit or no Brexit).  To anyone who may be reading this in the UK, vote Leave (#VoteLeave).  You only have this one chance!

War

In the happy days in Europe before the First World War, intellectuals and military leaders argued that Europe and European society had become stagnant.  Although many nations were experiencing industrial, commercial and scientific progress at levels never before experienced, it was argued that war was needed to wake Europe out of its cultural slumber.  War would cleanse Western society from the decadence and moral and nationalist apathy which infected the great capitals of the continent.  What the intellectuals and military leaders were not prepared for was the level of destruction and loss of human life that would ensue from a war waged with Twentieth Century technology. 

I have been thinking a lot recently about how this historical call for war could be applicable in our own day.  Now before I go any further I must say that I do not relish the idea of war (and the necessary loss of human life and misery that would result of any war), but at least in the abstract is not war sometimes necessary as a cleansing agent?  When I was a child and got a deep scratch, my parents would pour hydrogen peroxide on the wound to clean it of any dirt and to help prevent an infection.  It hurt like hell, but I understood that the pain was necessary to prevent a possible future (and greater pain) of infection.  Could not war be the hydrogen peroxide of Western society, a tool to cleanse society from the dirt that has invaded the body and prevent infection?

As I look around at the world in which I live, I see that Europe has been invaded by millions of Muslims (not just the ones who are supposedly “refugees” and who travelled from supposedly war-torn nations over the last two years).  The Muslims don’t assimilate:  they don’t adopt the (nominal) Christian faith of their host nations, they don’t accept the values or culture of their host nations—indeed they call for their host nations to not only respect their own values but to adopt them (e.g. calls for Sharia Law to be adopted in European nations).  Many of these Muslims are young men.  What is the nationality/religion/age of those men who (with increasing numbers of occurrences) assault white women?  And in the face of all of this, what do most European leaders do?  Make excuses and call for greater acceptance/tolerance of Muslims and calls for more asylum grants for “refugees.” 

I see that in the U.S. so-called transgendered individuals are applauded for rejecting the very bodies and natures that God gave to them from the moment of their conception.  School districts are being coerced to let teenagers (who cannot even legally drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, vote and in some instances not even drive a car) use whatever bathroom or locker room that corresponds to their “gender identity.”  Self-righteous and oh-so-enlightened parents happily support whatever form of deviancy their underage (and I must stress:  underage ) children feel inclined to experiment with at the moment.  Americans have periods of near apoplexy when a lion named Cecil is hunted or a gorilla name Harambe is euthanized to save the life of a toddler, yet millions of unborn babies are murdered legally each year.

I don’t glory in war, but I think war is about the only thing that can cleanse the West of the filth that has become so common in our cultures.  I think it’s past time the Great Catholic Monarch of myth and legend rise up and bring that war on the enemies of God and His Church.  If it’s the Muslims who bring that war, let us pray that what’s left of the faithful remnant wins and has the Church’s backing to re-build what’s left of the West when it’s over.

Happy 90th Birthday!

I wish I warm and heartfelt happy birthday to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  What other figure can we bring to mind in recent years (90 years old or otherwise) who show as much dedication, service, honor and integrity as Her Majesty?  Happy 90th birthday, and many, many happy returns!

The West and ISIS

Much has been said about the terrorist attacks on Paris last week.  The pundits on the left and right continue to analyze the causes and offer opinions on what the West should do in response.  Here's my observations in a nutshell:  What the hell did European governments think would happen when they welcomed with open arms hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants into Europe?  What the hell did they think would happen when decades ago they started granting asylum to Muslims with no expectations that they convert to Christianity or assimilate to European culture?

Europeans will continue to slowly kill their own cultures by allowing more and more Muslims across their borders.  The Muslim horde will not be defeated with understanding or tolerance, nor the sword of republican and democratic governments.  They will only be defeated by the sword of the Faith.  Just as the Muslims were defeated at the battle of Lepanto with the help of Our Lady, so too can they be defeated today.  This is a war of religions, and can only be defeated with religion.

Pope Francis and Captain Kirk

Readers of my blog over the past two plus years know that I am not a fan of our Holy Father Pope Francis.  I submit to him as a loyal son of Rome, but it is my opinion that he has done a great deal of harm to the Church during his pontificate.  I will, however, give credit where credit is due.

This morning I pulled into my employer's parking lot and did a quick check of the blogs I frequent daily.  The first post I saw on Rorate Caeli was thrilling:  Pope Francis has granted all SSPX priests the faculty to validly and licitly absolve sins during the year of mercy.  While the SSPX has long argued that they have faculty to absolve sins, I do not think their arguments hold water, but regardless this gesture of kindness and mercy from the Holy Father towards the SSPX is unprecedented.  Fr. Z often has said that just as only Nixon could go to China, perhaps only Francis could reconcile with the SSPX and bring them into full union with Rome. 

There is a great line in the movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  Spock is trying to convince Kirk to accept an assignment to meet with the Klingons in the first gesture of peace between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets.  Kirk had a long history of animosity and hatred towards the Klingons (a Klingon killed his son).  Spock tells Kirk:  "Only Nixon could go to China."  Just as only Captain Kirk could reach a peace between the Federation and the Klingons, perhaps only Pope Francis can achieve SSPX reconciliation.