My dear friends, It has been quite awhile since I last wrote to you. Know that in these intervals of time I am praying for all of you, and offering up my sufferings for the salvation of souls.
Through June, I contemplated the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and continued contemplating Him in this month of July which is dedicated to His Most Precious Blood.As we complete this month we arrive at the last week where we celebrate several feasts of saints who put their prayer into action and were, to say the least, on the move.
This year we begin with Saint James the Greater who traveled to many places, most notably Zaragoza in Spain where the Mother of God was carried by the angels on a pillar to call him back to Jerusalem. Now that's the way to travel. The very next day we focus on Our Lady's mother Saint Anne whom God chose to bear His living Tabernacle to eventually house the Messiah Jesus Christ. What a responsibility that bore and how wonderfully dear St. Anne carried through in every way.
Later in the last week of July we celebrate the feast of St. Martha and it is she whom I would like to highlight today in cooperation with God's graces and the example she set for those who accompanied Our Lord to the house of Lazarus so many times during His three years of public ministry.
Though I have written on St. Martha in the past, such as a few years ago in treating both she and her sister Mary, the latter being the contemplative one, I would like to show how she could very well have influenced the apostles on hard work and perseverance, aside from what they all learned from their Master and His mother.
Her example had to have had an effect on every apostle for it was through them that the faith was carried to the far regions of the earth. Aside from the Holy Ghost, do you really think they could have accomplished what they did without the work ethic they had? The very work ethic exemplified by St. Martha who was constantly busy in accommodating guests and making sure they were welcome and comfortable without patronizing them.
St. Martha knew her role and carried out her duties to perfection without feeling that she was entitled to sit back and let someone else do the work. As Lazarus' sister she could easily have said, "Listen, Laz, why not hire someone to do this? You can afford it." That's often the mindset of today's generation and why the immigration problem we face today. Americans have grown lazy because they have lost the art of the work ethic.
This era of entitlement has robbed so many of what we need to do to get to Heaven: toiling by the sweat of our brow and helping others. That means not relying on government or others to solve our problems, but taking the responsibility to carry out our responsibilities. We have grown soft today because we look for the easiest way and that is the devil's way.
I have been thinking, meditating, and contemplating the twelve apostles. Here were twelve weak men, afraid for their lives, and they had been with Our Savior for three years or more. They knew the Blessed Mother. They knew the close friends of Theirs, most notably Lazarus and his sisters. They had learned hard work in the various industries they had been skilled in before turning their back on their chosen careers and following their Master.
Still, these twelve macho men shook with fear, their tongues were tied, their limbs could not move when all they had hoped had supposedly gone sour. With the exception of Saint John, the beloved disciple, all abandoned Jesus when push came to shove. They cowered and fled, leaving Our Lord to suffer alone from the Garden through His inhuman treatment during His Passion. Only three stood by Him at the foot of the Cross: His mother, Mary Magdalen and St. John.
You see the apostles possessed a trait we all have: fallen human nature. Christ knew that and forgave. They had a second chance, yet they still had very little clue at the time.
Then came the Holy Ghost upon Peter, Andrew, James the Greater, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the Lesser, Thaddeus, Simon and Matthias, and in an instant they were transformed into the apostles that spread the gospel, the One True Faith to the ends of the earth. And they did this wearing one garment, carrying one cloak, one pair of sandals on their feet, and a walking staff. That is all Christ commanded them to take. He taught them that if they entered a home and offered His Peace, and it was accepted by the householder, they should stay there until their mission was complete. The standard for this had to be the home of Lazarus and the response of St. Martha in assisting those who entered.
They were also taught by their Master that if their greeting of peace in Christ's name (pax Christi) was rejected, then they must leave at once to find another dwelling. Think about that. How easy is it when we get rejection? We may react rather than respond. We may stomp off and leave an impression that would not be very positive in winning the trust and conversion of the rejecters at a later time, in God's time.
You see, we don't know when something we said or didn't say could be a factor in either bringing someone back to the One True Faith or driving them away. Often times, fearing both, we could very well become complacent and do nothing. When we do, we quickly fall into that category considered lukewarm and we know from Apocalypse 3: 16 what God thinks of the pathetic lukewarm. Apathy does not win souls for Heaven. It does wonders, however, for the prince of the world who has racked up an impressive number of souls over the last century by making it easier for us. Remember narrow is the way that leads to eternal life whereas the path to hell is wide and paved with good intentions.
Easy? That's not how the apostles thought. That's not how Martha thought. Indeed, that's not how the martyrs and saints thought. What if Christ had taken the easy way and said, I'll just snap my fingers and I'll redeem mankind? Who would know? Who would care?
However, if He not only talked the talk, but walked the walk even to Calvary and then rose from the tomb, everyone must know and, yes, everyone must care. But back then how could everyone know? There was no such thing as instant communication, nor such monster as instant gratification. Thank God.
Think about it. Here you had these twelve men, and some disciples who walked to foreign, distant lands, not afraid because there was no instantaneous language translation, or reservations they could make ahead of time. They walked. I'll repeat that, they walked. No planes, trains or automobiles. There were few roads and they did not have comfortable walking boots or Nikes or any arch supports. No cool drinks or a places to stop and shower off. More than likely they stunk from sweat and grit that had to cake their feet, hands, their entire bodies. Such conditions in hygiene were widespread and because everyone most probably encountered the same problems, few noticed or held their noses. How spoiled we have become today. We have not only closed our noses to the normal scents of sweat and toil, but our eyes from the truth, our ears from the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences against our Sovereign King Jesus and the offenses against Mary, our Immaculate Queen. In so doing, we have closed our minds to what it takes to earn salvation.
Yes, I said 'earn' for while it's true we can only gain Heaven through the merits of Jesus Christ, He expects us to do our part. If not, why would He have said do good to others, love thy neighbor as thyself?
This was the message the apostles carried with them. As they walked they spoke of the Gospel to every passerby, and to every town, city, and hovel they encountered. And from their efforts the Catholic Church arose from the blood of martyrs.
Now imagine, if you will bear with me, the scenario of the same twelve apostles in today's world. Simple garments they would still wear, although the majority would immediately place them in the "homeless person" category. Yet, at the same time, they might have at their finger tips one of the new iPhones. Think about that for a minute, and bear with me on this hypothetical, even ridiculous journey.
Try to imagine the scene: Peter wakes up at the crack of dawn stretches, and reaches for his cell phone to call someone. There are several ring tones. Then he speaks.
"Hi, John. Peter here. So, how is it going there? Just where are you."
"Oh, Peter, so glad you called. I'm on my way to Rome, to do homage to the seat of Christianity which you, as the Vicar of Christ, have established."
"I'm grateful for your patronage, but I do not think the time is right for you to come. Oh, John, hang on a minute, I've got another call coming in."
"Yes, this is Peter."
"Peter, so glad you answered. Wanted to let you know I'm in India. I've preached to thousands in all the eastern countries on the way. There have been many conversions."
"Well done, Bart. Where are you headed next."
"To Armenia. That is going to be a tough one."
"I agree. Listen, I've got John on the line, so I'll get back to you later tonight."
Peter switches off the call from Bart, and resumes with John.
"I must say these new phones are amazing, don't you agree, John?
"Definitely. We are able to keep in touch with one another, and when we arrive in a town, the people can hear us speak the Gospel, but our very words are translated on the screen in their language."
"I am thinking," said St. Peter, "that we might finish our mission to preach to the ends of the earth far sooner than we anticipated."
"We still have some northern territories left, and the people there are quite hostile."
Peter pauses, scratches his beard, and ponders. "Well, John, it is not your mission to travel there. So, if the Holy Ghost is prompting you to head toward Rome, then you must do it. I do warn you that you will not be met with joyous greetings, but rather with the eye of one looking for a traitor."
"And the Christian Community there?"
"Quite large, actually. Yet, most are in hiding. In fact, they are urging me to leave Rome before Nero can arrest me as a Christian."
"Hmm, I see," pondered John. "It will take me several days to arrive there, Peter. I must first stop at Antioch, then Crete and Cyprus, Greece, and several more places to make certain the people are devoutly practicing the Faith."
"Keep in touch, John. Oh, I must go. I'm receiving a text message about Matthew. I believe he is in Egypt, or more precisely the southern regions of Egypt. God bless and keep you, John."
"You, too."
Peter hangs up from the call and reads the text that is appearing on the screen of his phone. It's not good news. The message reads, "Matthew martyred in Ethiopia while saying Holy Mass. We will bury his body before the authorities can hack him to pieces."
In reply, Peter texts. "Ah, one more of us in Heaven. When will our turn come?"
Imagine throughout the rest of the day, no matter where Peter went, his cell phone might have kept ringing, the other apostles asking if it was true that Matthew was martyred. It would take a lot of Peter's time to answer these calls, and to send text messages to all who were loyal followers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thus, when evening would be nigh, and Peter, exhausted by the day's events, might just have found a niche inside a wall, and would have crawled into it and sunk down upon his cloak, the only pillow available, and would have been sound asleep in seconds.
Oh, there's a lesson here for had that happened, do you really think the apostles and disciples that had gone into the world to announce the Good News of the Gospel, then to baptize those who believed, would have been as successful because so much of the time was spent on the phone, and with texting?
Ask yourself, "Why were these twelve men, sinners all, able to carry forth their mission to the ends of the earth, walking, riding a donkey, a mule, or a camel, or traveling by ship? They had no phones, no instant messaging, no texting, no app for translating into a foreign dialect, no internet to publish the Word or YouTube to record their talks.
All they had was the Holy Ghost. What else did they need? They didn't. And, in a perfect world, neither do we. But this isn't a perfect world and we must use the technology available to us today to use it for the honor and glory of God and striving to fulfill Christ's command in the gospels. But we cannot without your help.
I have asked myself this question repeatedly: Are the gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost, received at baptism and brought to fruition at Confirmation on fire within us, or are we too preoccupied with the challenges of daily life?
Is it possible that we, in this generation, especially those among us who grew up in the True Faith, take for granted such gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost? Do we even bother to ask the Holy Ghost for them? Do we truly want them? Or, are we satisfied in our secure world where we have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sundays, and more often if we are lucky to have a priest that is in the vicinity.
Have we forgotten the apostles' work ethic? Have we forgotten the example set by St. Martha? Do we look for the easy way at the expense of our soul and the souls of others?
How many homes did the apostles enter where they were rejected? We know that the last place each went, all but John, were rejected. How do we know that? They were martyred for Christ and the True Faith. Yet, there were many who saw these simple but sincere men imbued with the Holy Ghost, accepted them into their homes and then went out in imitation of their mentors and spread the faith, many of them arriving at the same rejection the apostles encountered. Yes, as we know, from the blood of the martyrs rose the seeds of Christianity.
What about today in our times? My dear friends, I appeal to you from the bottom of my heart. I most humbly ask first for your prayers, that this apostolate can continue. Second, and equally important, I implore you to realize that without donations, we are not going to be able to break through that barrier satan has erected between the True Faith and those trapped in the conciliar church, most of whom do not realize the True Faith still lives, that the True Mass, the Traditional Latin Mass still exists and there are true priests ready to go to the ends of the earth and to hear confessions, administer the sacraments in carrying on the example of the Apostles.
We must care about the salvation of every single person trapped in the apostasy, schism and heresy of the Novus Ordo. We must pray as if our own salvation depended upon their conversion, because it does.
Our true priests and bishops are stretched so thin that they truly have no time to convert the masses so lost in lies and liberal ideas. In fact, most just steer clear of them, thinking they are a lost cause.Yet, I beg to differ. Christ died for these poor unfortunate souls trapped in apostasy, and He seeks the repentance of those in the hierarchy who are the very architects of this Great Apostasy. Many complain that we don't have enough priests or chapels to accommodate those who would flee the conciliar structure. If enough truly did come, God would see to it that there would be enough priests and bishops to guide His sheep. We can't wait for something to happen, we have to will it to happen by our prayers and hard work. Just remember when the pupils are ready, the teachers will appear.
My friends, I beseech you to continue that work ethic that we strive for. We cannot do what we do without your financial donations. It's really hard to have to ask, because we have been mendicant for twenty years now. Without such financial support we cannot cross that barrier to reach those in apostasy, schism, and heresy; we cannot hope to reach one Buddhist, one Hindu, one Muslim, or any other "ism" that is out there, which the Vatican II robber barons have put on an equal footing with the 'Catholic' Church.
Time is precious. Time is running out. We must labor and sacrifice until it hurts. If it doesn't hurt, it's not a sacrifice, and not very pleasing to Almighty God. Know that whatever donation you send, God will reward you a hundred fold now and in eternity. And when you donate, do so in the name of one of the Apostles, who labored till their dying breath for the spread of the One True Faith.
In our parish, our pastor has called for the parishioners to strive for holiness. In compliance to that call, the same that the Apostles called for in their mission to spread the faith, Mike and I set aside an hour an every evening for Holy Hour, and I can actually feel the change in both of us, and I can also sense how angry satan is. We urge all to help the devil get even madder by joining us in setting aside an hour a day devoted to God. After all, He's given us 24 hours. Can we not watch one hour with Him?
These many weeks have led me to contemplate the lack of conversions to the True Faith. Why? Are we spending too much time bickering among ourselves instead of banding together through prayer to help move mountains? We're not going to get anything done by wishing. Only by prayer, penance and hard work.
Hard work. What has happened to us? Why do we go about wondering why there are no conversions when we are huddled together in our little missions, satisfied with what we have by the grace of God. Are we not also our brothers' keepers?
Let us, in this month dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Savior, call down upon ourselves, and upon the whole world His Most Precious Blood. It is truly a miracle that we can reach into over 120 countries today, touching who knows how many souls. Yet, in doing so, we have discovered that so few want us to stay in their home for they offer nothing in return. Many log on, many stay and browse, but so few respond with a donation that we know not whether to shake our sandals or to ask again, are we reaching souls or are they looking for a free ride, you know, the easy way?
No one likes to beg for money. My husband hates doing so with a passion, yet in our mendicant state which we willingly accept, it is necessary just as our parishes depend on donations and tithing to keep going, to build and flourish. So also this apostolate. We can't pay our bills on IOU's and we can't expand or reach more without the necessities to make that possible. We all know that the laborer is worthy of his wages and yet so many in the traditional movement, those fighting on the front lines against the deceivers, are greatly hampered because the rest of the flanks won't provide reinforcements and nutrition to carry on. If you do not have a true Catholic parish you tithe to, can you not tithe to a traditional Catholic apostolate such as ours?
Back in May we sent out an emergency S.O.S. for funds for we faced dire straits. Only a handful out of the tens of thousands of readers responded. We are so grateful to those who did contribute, but the $2000. total aggregate we received stemmed the tide for May and June but now we are coming to those same straits again because we do not have a steady stream coming in for which we can budget. Without having that tithing or guarantee coming, we cannot expand or improve our technical problems, but also face the scenario of not being able to continue on the web, not being able to maintain our apartment which serves as the offices of SANCTUS and The DailyCatholic. Like the Apostles, we would be forced to shake our sandals and move on, depriving countless souls of the truth in a world fast turning toward perdition.
Why? Ask yourself this: Are we not more pagan now than in the time of the apostles? Look around you. Lapsed Catholics who believe in Universal Salvation. Most have no time to listen to the Truth, for they are too preoccupied with their iPhones, Droids, iPads, notebooks, Twitter, their bluetooths, and other assorted gadgets all designed to keep us so stirred up within we cannot hear the voice of God in our hearts, and thus we have grown lukewarm.Remember the danger signs of being lukewarm?
One way to avoid that harbinger and to assist the apostles of these end times is to help support traditional apostolates and parishes. With this in mind, we have patterned the apostles in a fund-raising campaign that will establish pledges on twelve levels according to your charitable affordability so we will be able to budget and survive. Please see In their footsteps anddonate whatever you can, make a pledge to make that same donation every month in the name of the Most Precious Blood of Our Savior, and of one of the apostles who, imbued with the Holy Ghost, converted a pagan world.
As August begins and continuing in all the succeeding months, I humbly ask that you donate what you can, even the widow's mite if that is all you can afford. We know times are tough. Economics aside, I have absolute confidence in the Providence of Almighty God to provide for us, His children, as long as we are striving to do His Will and willing to do the hard work.
There are no other words to express this plea. I can but hope and pray that it touches your hearts, and you will be as generous as possible. Like the apostles, we derive no profit from any donations. Rather, they are earmarked for the expenses of continuing this apostolate and sustaining us with our daily bread as the laborer is due his just rewards.
May The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Most Sorrowful and Immaculate of Mary help you to understand the urgency of this plea and to respond from the depths of your love for Our Lord. Can any of us do less than worship and adore Him? We need more to do so. That's where you can help through giving of your treasures so that we can continue to donate our time and talents to carrying on the work of the apostles through the example of the hard work ethic exemplified so wonderfully by St. Martha.
May God bless and keep you. Yours in Jesus through Mary,
