Biden pardons thousands and the FBI normalizes high crime rate: What can go wrong?

Today Joe Biden pardoned thousands of individuals convicted of possessing marijuana the news.  While the pardons apply only to federal offenders convicted of simple marijuana possession as well as those charged in the District of Columbia, Biden called on governors across the country to follow suit saying the current system makes no sense sending pot stocks soaring on. Cynics immediately called the action as mere vote-buying. While it is true that sentencing guidelines do not make sense, you might recall that President Trump championed, with little Democrat support – mostly opposition, the First Step Act: His Department of Justice  took a look at prison sentences and found than in certain cases they were unfair, draconian, and arbitrary. The president led the way in reforming that situation. It was superb leadership. It also had disproportionately positive consequences for minority communities. Why no support?  David Kamioner  wrote: “The reason the Left shrieked that canard is because the race card is their go to mantra. Also, they were terrified Trump would make even more inroads with minority groups. So, how does sentencing reform fare today? Mark Holden and Jason Pye have answers. Holden and Pye: In 2018, President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act into law. This was a generational shift on corrections and sentencing policy preceded by years of work in Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas, led by leaders Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Tim Scott (R-SC)”

All models are wrong - some are useful

It is no surprise that pot stocks soared on the news: Promoters in Social Media, particularly LinkedIn continue to glorify the use of cannabis. Kevin Hill, MD, MHS, and Michael Hsu, MD writing in the Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School state that “As of June 2022, 37 US states have passed medical cannabis laws and 19 states have legalized recreational cannabis. Cannabis has proven beneficial for a range of conditions such as childhood seizure disorders, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite in people with HIV/AID.” But Recent research published in The American Journal of Psychiatry closely followed nearly 1,000 individuals in New Zealand from age 3 to age 45 to understand the impact of cannabis use on brain function. The research team discovered that individuals who used cannabis long-term (for several years or more) and heavily (at least weekly, though a majority in their study used more than four times a week) exhibited impairments across several domains of cognition. Long-term cannabis users’ IQs declined by 5.5 points on average from childhood, and there were deficits in learning and processing speed compared to people that did not use cannabis. The more frequently an individual used cannabis, the greater the resulting cognitive impairment, suggesting a potential causative link"

So what is this about the FBI normalizing high crime rate? The FBI just released its 2021 Statistics from the National Crime Data Collection,  with only 63% of the nation’s more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies submitting data for 2021,  the lowest level of participation the FBI has reported since 1979. A question you might ask is why such low level of participation.  After all, the yearly FBI Annual National Crime Report is the most comprehensive view of Crime in the nation. The FBI attributes the low participation on a  change to NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System), the data collection system used by the agency. It  requires greater work, detail and effort in logging crimes. According to the agency, “participation in the National Use-of-Force Data Collection, which began on January 1, 2019, is expected to continue to grow as more agencies become aware of this opportunity. When the percentage of officers represented in the data collection reaches 80% or greater, the FBI may present aggregated use-of-force data” 

 The low participation rate is a major concern.  But the agency has decided to compensate the participation rate with estimates- That is analogous to normalizing high crime rate:  Trend charts are a are used to show trends in data over time. All processes vary, so single point measurements can be misleading. Displaying data over time increases understanding of the real performance of a process, particularly with regard to an established target or goal. Since Participation is voluntary and several of the biggest police departments in the country, including the LAPD and NYPD, did not submit any data at all to the FBI last year, perhaps NIBRS is not the only reason for such low participation rates?  Then there is the trust issue.  According to Marjorie Green trust is a major issue: “The lack of transparency and political bias at the top echelon of the FBI, that is unfolding in the public eye, is deepening the public’s mistrust of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. With the recent news that the FBI somehow “lost” five months’ worth of text messages between FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the public is in an uproar and severely in unbelief as to how these messages were supposedly lost. Sadly, it is stories such as these that deepen negative public perception of those in law enforcement who strive to serve the public and do a good job.  She added “Everyday, men and women of the profession work hard to protect the innocent, while they sacrifice much and sometimes they sacrifice all. It is a shame that scandals such as these may cause damage to how the many good LEOs are perceived. When there are headlines in the news and Congressional leaders such as Representative Trey Gowdy stating, “that is a level of bias that is stunning among law enforcement officers,” unknown damage to LEOs public perception is undoubtedly caused. However there are questions that must be asked.”

 That is analogous to normalizing high crime rate:  Trend charts are a are used to show trends in data over time. All processes vary, so single point measurements can be misleading. Displaying data over time increases understanding of the real performance of a process, particularly with regard to an established target or goal. Since Participation is voluntary and several of the biggest police departments in the country, including the LAPD and NYPD, did not submit any data at all to the FBI last year, perhaps NIBRS is not the only reason for such low participation rates?  Its axiomatic:  All models are wrong, some are useful.

Consider that earlier this year in a meeting with Chiefs of Police "Wray talked about the high levels of violent crime across the country and said the FBI is committed to working closely with local law enforcement partners to combat this disturbing trend" What can possibly go wrong with the new FBI estimations?

We previously wrote that he FBI’s own Hate Crime Statistics Report show who is more likely to commit a hate crime. It shows that parents who show up at school board meetings are not likely to be terrorists.  Nevertheless, Attorney General Garland sends the FBI to “protect” school boards. The FBI knows which public officials spew hate and call for violence against the police: For example, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed her solidarity with the antipolice demonstrations that raged in Brooklyn that included turnstile-jumping and defacing cop cars. The FBI knows that Soros-backed District Attorneys and Prosecutors are way too soft on crime. For example: Mr Anh Le was savagely beaten with a bat by two people in Chinatown. Despite the high Hate Crime rate in the city, The San Francisco DA plea-deal so the  perpetrators did no get jail time – Mr Le had to sue to get justice US Rep. for California Maxine Moore Waters regularly incites violence.  For example, Rep. Maxine Waters called for protesters to “stay on the street” and “get more confrontational” if former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted in the killing of George Floyd.

What can possibly go wrong with the low participation rate and new FBI estimations to come up with the Annual National Crime Statistics Report?

RELATED

FBI Dallas Celebrates Hate Awareness Day - but 

https://cotobuzz.blogspot.com/2022/10/fbi-dallas-celebrates-oct-3rd-as-hate.html

 

FBI Dallas Celebrates Oct 3rd as Hate Crime Awareness Day

In the fall of 2021, the FBI launched a national media campaign with billboards, ads, and radio spots that built public awareness of hate crimes and encouraged crime reporting to law enforcement.

According to FBI Dallas Public Affairs Officers Melinda Urbina and Katie Chaumont, Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI’s civil rights program because of the devastating impact they have on families and communities. As part of its responsibility to uphold the civil rights of the American people, the FBI takes a number of steps to combat hate crimes including investigative activity, law enforcement support, training, and public outreach.

The DOJ's civil rights division, headed by Kristine Clarke is the same one that days after President Joe Biden’s divisive speech to the nation and the FBI designating patriotic symbology as indicative of domestic terrorism,  dispatched more than 20 FBI agents in full SWAT gear to arrest pro-life Catholic husband and father Mark Houck.

You may recall Senator Cotton opposed Ms Clarke's nomination  because "She is extremely partisan. She called Senator Murkowski ``shameful.'' She accused Senator Manchin of being disingenuous. And she casually slandered 200-- 200--sitting, Senate-confirmed judges as ``white male extremists.'..
Ms. Clarke's radicalism doesn't stop with ad hominem insults. It thoroughly infects her professional judgment as well. Ms. Clarke has consistently demonstrated that she is more interested in attacking police and calling everybody a racist than finding the facts or reviewing the evidence. When it comes to racially incendiary cases, she proudly fans the flames of division. Last year, she repeatedly--repeatedly--spread the falsehood that Jacob Blake, who had a knife and was actively resisting arrest, was, in fact, ``unarmed'' when he was shot by the police."

Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley called the radical lawyer "unfit to serve"

In a a previous piece, we said that a business axiom states: “don’t ask for data you won’t use."  Yet All 56 FBI field offices regularly run “report hate crime announcements". Its own Hate Crime Statistics Report shows who is more likely to commit a hate crime. It shows that parents who show up at school board meetings to defend parental rights,  are not likely to be terrorists.  It knows which public officials spew hate and  call for violence. It knows that Soros-backed prosecutors and district attorneys are way too soft on crime. For example: Mr Anh Le was savagely beaten with a bat by two people in Chinatown, but despite the high hate crime rate in the city, San Francisco DA plea-deal so the  perpetrators did not get jail time – Mr Le had to sue to get justice.

Given the facts, the continued FBI Hate Narrative such as the one in the FBI Dallas Office is not productive 

and does not hold up to scrutiny. No wonder tust in the FBI contimues to errode.

RELATED

When I agree with #CNN on #FBI crime statistics reporting, you know there's a huuuuge problem; "The FBI released its crime report for 2021 - but it tells us less about the overall state of crime in the US than ever: -


https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/us/fbi-national-crime-report-2021-data/index.html

Earlier this year in a meeting with Chiefs of Police "Wray talked about the high levels of violent crime across the country and said the FBI is committed to working closely with local law enforcement partners to combat this disturbing trend"


The just released, new FBI 2021 Crime Statistics" basically say: "nothing to see here:



https://www.conservativedailynews.com/2022/05/fbi-director-wray-hosts-listening-session-with-police-chiefs-what-the-chiefs-didnt-say/

 

Feast of the Guardian Angel

October 2, 2024 Today we celebrate the liturgical Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, and the re-open of  the Plenary Session of the Synod of Bishops.

Homily of The Holy Father Francis
After listening to the Word of God, let us take three images as starting points for our consideration: voice, refuge and a child.

I do not know his name. I cannot see him. He has often been with me without me realizing it. Other times I have felt his presence and in retrospective he has seen me through in very difficult situations. 

 I refer to him as my personal Holy Guardian Angel. See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Exodus 23:20

Thursday September 29 we celebrated the Feast of the Archangels.

Today. Oct. 2nd,  we celebrate the Feast of The Guardian Angels. A prayerful and celebratory time. We live in an uber materialistic age where people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions but demand apologies and reparation for atrocities they never experienced, from people who never committed them. They like to cancel art, ideas, symbols, language, and history they don't agree with. We have a secular media and legacy media I refer to as the New Pharisees, because they would easily crucify Pope Francis for doing what Jesus did 2000 years ago. Just last week Reuters "reported" that "Proponents have welcomed the <Synod>  consultations as an opportunity to change the Church's power dynamics and give a greater voice to lay Catholics, including women, and people on the margins of society." The same people would have used Porphyry’s accusation against Saint Jerome 2000 years ago - "that the Christian communities were run by women and that the favor of the ladies decided who could accede to the dignity of the priesthood"

Not too difficulf for the illiminati to dismiss prayer and angels as medieval superstition, something unimportant to our faith, since "as purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness." CCC 330

Skeptics have difficulty believing in miracles or saints, even though the Church uses the scientific method to validate both. Cynics and the illuminati like the New York Times & Washington Post will simply dismiss it all as rubbish.  The New York Times going as far as stating that prayer may be hazardous to your health. So the Angel Concept may be even harder for others to accept.  So are Angels real? Or are angles simply a man-made construct? How do we know they exist? What is the difference between Archangels and Guardian Angels

An Angel is a pure spirit created by God. Discreet but ever faithful, the angels play a vital role in God’s plan for our lives. Created as spiritual beings who mediate between us and God, angels serve as our constant companions, advisers, and protectors, watching over us while standing before God’s throne in Heaven. If you doubt the existence of guardian angels, but, believe in the Bible as the final authority, it should be noted that Jesus made reference to guardian angels in Matthew 18:10. He said once, which is believed to be a reference to children, that “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” He alone “hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto: whom no man hath seen, nor can see (1 Timothy 6:16). The Old Testament refers to Angels as well: Cherubim at entrance to Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:24. Appearing to Abraham, Genesis 18:1-33, Saved Lot and his family, Genesis 19:1-22, Intervened with Isaac, Genesis 22:11-18, Heavenly vision of Jacob's Ladder, Genesis 28:12, Accompanied Israel through the desert, Exodus 23:20 And Numbers 20:16 plus several other references found in the New Testament.

 St. Augustine differentiates between an angel's nature and his responsibility: Angel is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit,' from what they do, 'angel.'" In other words, the office of the angels is one of mission, as messengers of God, while their nature is defined as non-physical, personal spiritual beings created by God. The Church teaches that angels: "With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven' they are the mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word'" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 329; Mt 18:10). 

Holy Scriptures says there are nine choirs of angels, each with a name and a purpose. The Bible also recognizes seven archangels, although just three are known by name, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Whereas Archangels are recognized as leaders, God has assigned a Guardian Angel to each of us - an angel for our very own. John 3:16 tells us "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" As we reflect upon them our Guardian Angels , we are drawn toward a deeper and clearer understanding of God's love for man; for billions of angels, to be sure, are given the personal charge of looking after God's children. 

In the words of C. Austin Miles: " I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses... And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other, has ever, known! He speaks and the sound of His voice, Is so sweet the birds hush their singing, And the melody that he gave to me, Within my heart is ringing . . . 

You may recall that an angel was at Christ’s side in the Garden of Gethsemane, and an angel delivered Saint Peter from prison. The Fathers of the early Church wrote prolifically about the dense realm of the spirit inhabited by angels. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that the angels belong to Christ. “They are his angels” (CCC #331). The Catechism also quotes Saint Basil, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life” (CCC #336). 

The Church teaches that Angels are the protectors against demons, their fallen counterparts. Demons want to sow corruption, sin and evil, and lead you down a destructive path. Theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar suggested we can follow one of two paths: The ego-drama path, or the theo-drama path. In the ego-drama, we write, produce and start in the drama. In the theo-drama, we are merely as upporting cast in a drama written and produced by God. The Church teaches that guardian angels are responsible for physically saving people on earth. There have been numerous stories, for example, of people being rescued from harmful situations by mysterious strangers who disappear without a trace.  While Catholic Online has a number of anecdotes related to angel activities, Church tradition documents saints who walked with Saints, such as Saint Isidore and Saint Germaine. 

Job Versus Steve Jobs If you are the New York Times, The Washington Post or Steve Jobs, you may ask. If Guardian Angels  are the protectors against  corruption, sin and evil, why is it corruption and evil is all around us:  There is the War in Ukraine, the Pakistani Floods, Hurricane Ian and so on and so forth, also referred to as when bad things happen to good people. That is the crux of the matter: It is a mater of perspective. Even after Job had lost everything instead of cursing Good, he exclaimed: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21). Perhaps Burt  F. Bacharach was having a Job Moment when he wrote: Raindrops are falling on my head:  Raindrops ae falling on my head And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed Nothing seems to fit Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling… So I just did me some talking to the sun And I said I didn't like the way he got things done Sleeping on the job Those raindrops are falling on my head, they keep falling… But there's one thing I know The blues they send to meet me Won't defeat me, it won't be long

Till happiness steps up to greet me.." Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes. Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones ( JB 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 ).  No wonder empirically, anecdotally and scientifically, we are a happy bunch!  We claim a personal Guardian Angel!

Say Hello to Your Angel

To mark the Feast of the Guardian Angel, The Catholic Store offers advice from the saints to help you grow in your relationship with your guardian angel:


1. Talk to your angel. Let him know what is troubling you, what brings you joy. Padre Pio was known to always talk to his angel. “My guardian angel has been my friend since my infancy," he said. He even mentioned in his letters of his guardian angel’s great sense of humor.

2. Greet the angels and thank them. We know that angels are in the Mass. St. Josemaria used to thank the angels in the tabernacle for the adoration they give our Lord. Additionally with everyone he greeted, he would first greet their guardian angel and ask them how he could help the person he was meeting.

3. Offer your work to God through your angel. There was a very holy woman who would laugh in her sleep as a toddler. When asked by her mother why, she said “the angels sing around my bed and they sound so funny.” When she grew up and became a religious sister, she was embarrassed by her singing at Mass and in Adoration. Her guardian angel appeared to her and said the one thing he loved most was presenting her song before God. No matter your talent or skill, offer your heart through your work to God and put it in your angels hands

RELATED

The Promise

 never said that I would give you silver or gold
Or that you would never feel the fire or shiver in the cold
But I did say you'd never walk through this world alone
And I did say, don't make this world your home

I never said that fear wouldn't find you in the night
Or that loneliness was something you'd never have to fight
But I did say I'd be right there by your side
And I did say I'll always help you fight

'Cause you know I made a promise that I intend to keep
My grace will be sufficient in every time of need
My love will be the anchor that you can hold onto
This is the promise, this is the promise I made to you

I never said that friends would never turn their backs on you
Or that the world around you wouldn't see you as a fool
But I did say like me, you'll surely be despised
And I did say my ways confound the wise

I didn't say you'd never taste the bitter kiss of death
Or have to walk through chilly Jordan to enter into rest
But I did say I'd be waiting right on the other side (yeah, yeah)
And I did say I'll dry every tear you cry

'Cause you know I made a promise that I've prepared a place
And some day sooner than you think you'll see me face to face
And you'll sing with the angels and a countless multitude
This is the promise, this is the promise I've made to you

So just keep on walkin', don't turn to the left or right
And in the midst of darkness, let this be your light
That hell can't separate us and you're gonna make it through
This is the promise, this is the promise I made to you, oh
This is the promise, this is the promise I made to you

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Brian Gene White / Don Poythress

The Promise lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group

Celebrate the Archangels September 29 and the Guardian Angels Oct 2nd

Updated Sept 29, 2025

The week leading up to today’s Feast of the Archangels and the Guardian Angels is a prayerful and celebratory time for Catholics, despite the likes of Gavin Newsom and the legacy media mocking prayer, comparing to waving a magic wand.

In our current uber materialistic world, a secular media and legacy media aka the New Pharisees it is easy to dismiss prayer and angles as medieval superstition, something unimportant to our faith or as the New York Times might say, it may be hazardous to your health. But this would be a denial of God’s design.

No wonder Catholics scientifically, empirically and anecdotally are happier. While happiness and life satisfaction can be tricky to define, happiness has been discussed ad nauseam by philosophers, thinkers and activists, such as Aristippus, Aristotle, Zhuangzi, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Jeremy Benthan and Bertrand Russell, they all have considered happiness and life satisfaction to be one of the highest goals of human motivation. There are all kinds of reasons to be happy: We are all sinners, yet God still loves us. In the words of Dillan Luke writing for Life Teen: “Our God loves us more than we could ever imagine. So much so that instead of making us reach Heaven, He brings Himself to us here on Earth in the form of the Eucharist´- (D Luke) https://lifeteen.com/blog/catholics-many-reasons-smile/

According to The Conversations’ Daniel Merino “Our findings suggest that Protestants, Buddhists and Roman Catholics are happier and more satisfied with their lives, compared with other groups. Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and the non-religious were in between, while Orthodox Christians were found to have the lowest happiness and life satisfaction rates.” Previous research suggested the “happy person” is young, healthy, well-educated, well-paid, optimistic and extroverted. The same research found the happiest people tend to be religious, married, with high self-esteem and job morale and modest aspirations. It seems your gender and level of intelligence don’t necessarily come into it. Around the world, over 84% of people belong to or are connected to a religious group.

In the Words of James Joyce, the Church can be called Here Come Everybody and the secular world doesn’t like it. Given Joyce's commitment to expressing the fullness of life, it became necessary for Joyce to use apparently complex techniques, such as 'interior monologue' and 'portmanteau words'. Joyce's obscenities and tricks are necessary for his art. “ Purity activists campaigned tirelessly against Joyce's work; his writing was considered obscene and indecent. In the US, Joyce's second novel, Ulysses, was suppressed, confiscated, burned and, ultimately, banned in a 1921 court case. In the UK, no one dared to publish the book as printers could themselves be imprisoned for typing obscenities. In 1922, Ulysses was finally published in (less-prudish) Paris. However, the book was not legally available in the US or UK until the 1930s” (Hannaway C, 2012)






Earthly Lady Bea






And it only gets better. We have angels! Im looking forward to seeing my little angel Lady Bea, a 15 year old cavachon that died a couple of months back. I know it is not biblical, but I still can hope. An angel is a pure spirit created by God. Discreet but ever faithful, the angels play a vital role in God's plan for our lives. Created as spiritual beings who mediate between us and God, angels serve as our constant companions, advisers, and protectors, watching over us while standing before God's throne in Heaven. He alone "hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto: whom no man hath seen, nor can see (1 Timothy 6:16)






Hope to see Lady Bea in Heaven






Angels do not have man's shortcomings, and can therefore act for God and represent Him when communicating with men and women. They bridge the huge gap between the holiness and perfection of God in heaven and the shortcomings of people on this planet. Angels were made immortal. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for angel is malak, also meaning messenger. Although the word "angel" in the Bible, meaning a messenger, nearly always applies to heavenly beings, it can occasionally apply to human messengers. Malachi himself said a priest was a messenger (malak) of the LORD of hosts (Malachi 2:7), and in the Book of Revelation the elders of the seven churches of Asia were called angels (1:20; 2:1 etc.). But when we meet messengers doing supernatural things, there is no doubt they are heavenly beings - God's messengers, working for Him and for the ultimate benefit of mankind.

St. Thomas tells us that the Archangels bear the greatest messages of God to man. They are the chief messengers (arch-aggelos); ruling, as well, over the lesser messengers, or angels, as their chiefs. It is from this latter choir that St. Thomas asserts that the Guardian Angels of individuals are taken.

Seeing Angels: However, the Church has a saint for everyone, not just the young, the healthy or well-educated.  Saint Drogo is a saint for the ugly people and coffee, for example. There is a saint for the bad comedian, the farmer and even the IRS agents! And we are all called to become saints, to be perfected in charity, to grow in holiness (Lumen Gentium, Light to the Nations, 11).  The good news is that we don’t have to move mountains to be a saint. We don’t have to write theological works, be a visionary, or found a religious order. We certainly don’t need any kind of worldly standing or lofty profession. The humblest life can be the pathway to great sanctity.  St. Isidore the Farmer  comes to mind: he was a simple man who worked all his life as a farmer for a wealthy landowner. When St. Isidore, went to Mass in the early morning, his coworkers complained about Isidore being late to work,  but two angels appearing as young men would plow and cultivate his plot and Isidore’s work was always done.

Then there is Saint Germaine.  St. Germaine Cousin was born with a  withered and paralyzed right hand losing her mother when she was only a child. After the death of her mother, her father remarried and St. Germaine was treated harshly by her stepmother and was denied a real place of her own in the family home. She relegated to worked as a shepherdess for the family and slept in the stables. She was denied practically any contact with her stepbrothers and stepsisters. Each morning, St. Germaine would stick her staff in the ground in the middle of her flock. An angel would come to watch the flock while she left to attend Mass. Despite wolves in the area, she never lost a sheep While her homelife was horrible, her inner life was the opposite. She was a pure soul, in constant contact with God, daily praying the rosary and attending Mass. She died at the tender age of 22 and a half century after her death her body was found to be incorrupt.

Then there's The Third Law of Angelic Warfare: In his introduction to The Screwtape Letters, a brilliant work exposing the unseen spiritual warfare taking place around all of us which uses a series of letters between two demons - the older Screwtape, an instructor and the younger student Wormwood - the great apologist CS Lewis wrote - There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. 

Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God and humanity. Other roles include protectors and guides for humans, and servants of God. Abrahamic religions describe angelic hierarchies, which vary by religion and sect. Some angels have specific names (such as Gabriel or Michael) or titles such as seraph or archangel. Those expelled from Heaven are called fallen angels, distinct from the heavenly host. Angels in art are usually shaped like humans of extraordinary beauty. They are often identified in Christian artwork with bird wings, halos and divine light. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel

 

Pope Leo XIII composed the St. Michael Prayer:  “Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen”

He composed the prayer after receiving a terrifying vision of the future of the Church - entrusting the Church to her guardian St. Michael. Most importantly, Jesus himself had deep friendship with the angels who ministered to him in his moments of suffering. And it was the fallen angels who tempted him: The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.  Mark 1:12–13

In the book, Encounters with Angels,  Odile Haumonté combines scripture, tradition, and the testimony of saints who met angels face-to-face to show how to identify the signs of angelic presences here and now, Where angels are present in the Mass and the role they play in your prayers,  about guardian angels and their unique purpose in family prayer and gatherings. How angels help us to nurture our children’s desire for God. And  how to discern the angels' actions in your life.  Haumonté  is a Catholic publisher and is the editor-in-chief of the magazine Patapon, which is designed to enable people to grow as a family with Jesus. She is the author of about fifty books, including biographies and novels.

 

Cheers.  Cheers to Saint Michael, Cheers to all the Angels around us.

 

 

 

War On Life: Mark Houck

You might recall that after the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, there were good news and really bad news for the pro-life movement. The good news were that the judge dismissed seven of the fifteen felony criminal charges against pro-life citizen journalist David Daleiden stemming from his undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood, leaving him facing eight felony counts.

The bad news seemed to be the California Attorney General added a ninth felony charge at David’s arraignment.
Bur the really bad news appeared to be that David may have to stand trial before another San Francisco jury which will decide whether he spends a decade locked away in a state penitentiary.

Why? Because this young man had the courage to lead an undercover investigation that captured video evidence of the abortion goliath conspiring to illegally harvest and sell aborted baby body parts.

But it just got worse:  Days after President Joe Biden's divisive speech to the nation and the FBI designating patriotic symbology as indicative of domestic terrorism, more than 20 FBI agents in full SWAT gear arrested pro-life Catholic husband and father Mark Houck.

According to Congressman Gary Palmer, “If history properly reflects President Biden’s political address to the nation, it will be viewed as one of the most disturbingly divisive speeches from the mouth of an American"  

So why the raid on Mark? Because he was praying outside an abortion clinic and defending his 12-year-old son from being screamed at and chased by a pro-abortion “bodyguard” who tried to stop them from praying.


Contrary to what the DOJ may claim, Mark didn’t commit a single actual crime. He didn’t do anything wrong. All he did was pray and defend his young son from being harassed by a pro-abortion fanatic.


Yet Mark, like David. faces up to 11 years in federal prison on phony, drummed-up charges. So Who approved this outrageous raid? Who decided to put the full weight of the FBI and Department of Justice into targeting pro-life Catholics
And why haven’t the DOJ and FBI arrested one single person responsible for bombing, burning, and vandalizing pro-life pregnancy resource centers and Catholic churches?

Perhaps they wanted this raid to happen. so as to silence the pro-life American who dares to speak out against abortion? 

If you want more information about Mark or want to help his cause, contact the Catholic Vote

St Vincent De Paul, Patron Saint of Charities

In Giovanni Boccacio's stories, Abraham a Jewish businessman converts to Catholicism after visiting Rome. He witnesses the corruption and  concludes "that what these scoundrel clerics so zealously want never takes root." Therefore, Abraham concludes: "It is quite to me your Church must have the Holy Spirit for its foundation & support"

Just like Abraham,  Vincent originally became a priest to pursue a life of leisure, but that changed after he heard the confession of an impoverished dying man;  The deathbed confession of a dying servant opened Vincent de Paul’s eyes to the crying spiritual needs of the peasantry of France. This seems to have been a crucial moment in the life of the man from a small farm in Gascony, France, who had become a priest with little more ambition than to have a comfortable life.

The Countess de Gondi—whose servant he had helped—persuaded her husband to endow and support a group of able and zealous missionaries who would work among poor tenant farmers and country people in general. Vincent was too humble to accept leadership at first, but after working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley slaves, he returned to be the leader of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the Vincentians. These priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages. - The Franciscan Media



Later, Vincent established confraternities of charity for the spiritual and physical relief of the poor and sick of each parish. From these, with the help of Saint Louise de Marillac, came the Daughters of Charity. The Daughters of Charity introduced him to low-income families, and Vincent brought them food and comfort. He mobilized wealthy women in his native France to collect funds for hospitals,  victims of war, and to ransom 1,200 enslaved people from North Africa.

These days St. Vincent de Paul is known as the patron saint of charity, and today we celebrate his feast day.  Renowned for his compassion, humility, and generosity.


Like many saints and by his own admission, Vincent was a hard person to get along—even his friends admitted it. He said that except for the grace of God he would have been “hard and repulsive, rough and cross.” But he became a tender and affectionate man, very sensitive to the needs of others.

Vincent was canonized in 1737. Pope Leo XIII made him the patron of all charitable societies, including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, founded in 1833 by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam.


The Society is a lay Catholic organisation and does not receive any direct funding from the Catholic Church. The Society enjoys a close relationship with the Catholic Church and is assisted through parishes and schools.

Blessed Carlo Acutis, Patron Saint of the Internet

Carlo Acutis, patron saint of the Internet, was noted for his cheerfulness, computer skills, and deep devotion to the Eucharist, which becomes a core theme of his life. He was beatified on 10 October 2020, two days before the 14th anniversary of his death.

At the conclusion of the 27th National Eucharistic Congress Pope Francis reminded Christians there is no eucharistic worship without compassion for the poor

 
Carlo was an English-born Italian Catholic youth and amateur computer programmer, who is best known for documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world and cataloguing them onto a website which he created before his death from leukemia in 2006


He is the youngest contemporary person to be beatified - a path taken by two Portuguese shepherd children living in the early 1900s who were proclaimed Catholic saints; Francisco de Jesus Marto and Jacinta de Jesus Marto were siblings from Aljustrel, a small hamlet near Fátima, Portugal, who with their cousin Lúcia dos Santos reportedly witnessed three apparitions of the Angel of Peace in 1916 and several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Cova da Iria in 1917. The title Our Lady of Fátima was given to the Virgin Mary as a result, and the Sanctuary of Fátima.

EWTN Beatification Mass 

Carlo is set to be the first millennial saint and is already known as the "patron saint of the internet"


Reportedly Carlo's last words:
"To be always united with Jesus, this is my plan of life. living with Jesus, for Jesus, in Jesus. I am happy to die because I lived my life without wasting even a minute of it on anything unpleasing to God”.



10 things about Carlo Acutis

As a teenager, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. He offered his sufferings for Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church, saying “"I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.”

He died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in Assisi, at his request, because of his love for St. Francis of Assisi. His cause for canonization began in 2013. He was designated “Venerable” in 2018, and was designated “Blessed” October 10, 2020.

Carlo's witness of faith led to a deep conversion in his mom, because, according to the priest promoting his cause for sainthood, he “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day.

He was known for defending kids at school who got picked on, especially disabled kids.

He was a programmer and built a website cataloguing and promoting Eucharistic miracles. On the site, he told people that "the more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven."

Happy Feast of Saint Matthew

Today is the Feast of Saint Matthew. Saint Matthew was an IRS agent  for the Romans, not a very popular position with the general public then and certainly not now. He was even less with the Jewish people known as the Pharisees. Jews who held this office were not permitted to marry a Jewish woman nor worship in the synagogue and were generally shunned by civil society.

According to Catholic Culture, St. Matthew is known to us principally as an Evangelist, with his Gospel being the first in position in the New Testament. His Gospel was written to convince the Jews that their anticipated Messiah had come in the person of Jesus. While not much else is known about Matthew. According to tradition, he preached in Egypt and Ethiopia and further places East. Some legends say he lived until his nineties, dying a peaceful death, others say he died a martyr's death. In the traditional symbolization of the evangelists, based on Ezech. 1:5-10 and Rev. 4:6-7, the image of the winged man is accorded to Matthew because his Gospel begins with the human genealogy of Christ.

Today's IRS agents' job description include willingness to use fire arms, even considering that an unarmed IRS agent can be more lethal than 100 armed FBI agents. No wonder tax-collectors are shunned by society, Matthew's life; however. changed when Jesus tells him “Follow me.” Matthew, does not hesitate.  He leaves everything  and becomes a disciple of Jesus, embracing his teachings. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, they quickly criticized Him. Whereupon Jesus answered, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:15–17). According to Luke 5:29, the aforementioned dinner was given by Levi in his house after his call.

Because of Matthew's duties as a public official, the Church has designated him as the patron saint of civil servants and all who serve government in some capacity. He is also patron saint of  Accountants; bankers; bookkeepers; customs officers; security guards; stock brokers and  Salerno, Italy.

Symbols: Angel holding a pen or inkwell; bag of coins; loose coins; halberd; inkwell; king; lance; man holding money; man holding money box and/or glasses; money bag; money box; purse; spear; sword; winged man; young man; book; man sitting at a desk.

Sadly, modern day civil servants, like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez don't view themselves as servants, more like bosses Matthew, pray for all civil servants & government workers