It's not the Great Gatsby Curve. It's Insanity aka Great Whacky Curve: Divergent Thinking Defficiency

In the age of artificial intelligence we are surrounded by The Great Gatsby Curve. Rachel Kushner's piece on the New York Times titled I Kept Failing to Learn French. This Is What Finally Worked  attributes the Great Gatsby Curve of polyglots to luck. Not hard work. As in 'the harder I work, the luckier I get'. “Every true polyglot I’ve known either had foreign languages at home or went to fancy schools or otherwise had access to learn them from a young age, they weren’t morally superior, just luckier," she writes.

Speaker after speaker at the Democratic National Conventions blamed the Great Gatsby Curve on racism, as exemplified by the Washington Post's reporting: "With six words, Michelle Obama rewires America’s conversation on race. Most of us, Michelle Obama said, “will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.”


Earlier this week, Kayla Zhu reported on the Global Gatsby Curve in a piece titled Ranked: The Countries With the Highest Wealth Inequality  and Justin Weinberg's, reviewed  a new study by Ye Sun, Fabio Caccioli, Xiancheng Li, and Giacomo Livan published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, on the existence and extent of an Academic Great Gatsby Curve.

Pew Research blames the Great Gatsby Curve on a number of factors, including  "technological change, globalization, the decline of unions and the eroding value of the minimum wage."

But the root cause of the Great Gatsby Curve or The “Academic Great Gatsby Curve” in Philosophy is Insanity, not racism, technological change or minimum wage. We call this Insanity: The Great Whacky Curve, Divergent Thinking Defficiency.

In 2023, the top 10% of the world owned nearly three-quarters of the world’s wealth, according to the World Inequality Database

Weinberg is a philosophy professor at the University of South Carolina who teaches and writes about a range of topics in philosophy, including questions about the good life, disagreement & controversy, technology, offense, social policy, love, regret, idealism, the future, the nature and value of philosophy, and more. He writes that The Great Gatsby Curve describes the positive correlation between “income inequality” and “intergenerational income persistence” (lack of income mobility). An academic Great Gatsby curve refers to a positive correlation between academic inequality and intergenerational persistence

Weinberg goes on: "The authors take “academic inequality” to refer to “the uneven distribution of opportunity and academic impact”, operationalized in terms of volume of citations, and “intergenerational persistence” as “the influence that a mentor’s status may have on their protégés’ academic success.” That latter quality is determined by measuring “the similarity between the positions of mentors and their mentees in the impact rankings of their discipline: the higher the rank–rank correlation, the more a mentee’s scientific impact is correlated to that of their mentor, the higher the intergenerational persistence.”

Meanwhile, in a speech in 2011, economist Alan Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors introduced The Great Gatsby Curve. It illustrates the connection between concentration of wealth in one generation and the ability of those in the next generation to move up the economic ladder compared to their parents. The curve shows that children from poor families are less likely to improve their economic status as adults in countries where income inequality was higher – meaning wealth was concentrated in fewer hands – around the time those children were growing up.

Can you spot the difference in the description? It's The Great Whacky Curve

Effect.  For example, ask a human resources professional to solve a problem and the answer will generally involve hiring more people. Ask an engineer to solve the same problem and in general, it will involve getting a new gadget.  Ask an accountant to solve the problem, and in general, it will involve money.  Ask a DEI professionals and it will likely involve a DEI hire or new DEI policy. Where a DEI hire is a term that refers to quotas or targets for hiring racial and ethnic minorities, women, and/or people with disabilities for positions of authority and/or power over job competency.

Abraham Maslow's ‘law of instrument’ or Maslow’s Hammer precedes The Great Gatsby Curve and illustrates The Great Whacky Curve - "If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”- refers to an over-reliance on a familiar or favorite tool. While such tools can be very useful at times, over-reliance can result in approaching problems in ways that are not always helpful or even destructive. Such as the current education system in the United States.


Zxx

Whether it is The Great Gatsby Curve, or The Great Whacky Curve, the US Education System has exacerbated the problem. Sir Ken Robinson, argues that our current educational systems are doing what they were supposed to - appropriate for the industrial age, still based on a industrial paradigm of education where education is standardized, is about conformity, and kids, who are living in the most stimulating age in history, fail to see the point of going to school, which is about ‘finding the right answers to pass the tests’ rather than about stimulating divergent thinking. Quite the opposite.

The current crop of philosophers is a stark indicator of the failure to promote divergent thinking: Saint Thomas Aquinas was primarily inspired of course by the Bible and the great Christian theological tradition. But he also read and cited with enthusiasm the pagan philosophers Plato. Aristotle and Cicero; The Jewish Rabbi Moses Meimonides, the Muslim scholars Averroes and Avicenna. Even when he disagreed with a thinker, as he did with Origen and Siger of Brabant, he always did so with respect and without polemics. In this, he's a wonderful model for our time, when over 75% of philosophers identify as Atheists and the religious conversation is so sadly marked by rancor and vitiperation.

The Great Whacky Curve Effect

When asked, 'What has the Department of Education accomplished? It's Fact Sheet dated Jan 20, 2022 reads as follows."The Department also canceled $15 billion in loan debt for hundreds of thousands of students and borrowers, took action to advance equity in education, and made critical progress in creating educational environments free from discrimination or harm. It does not mention that the education system has accumulated a $1.8 trillion in student loan debt and trillions more in useless degrees. Thus the Inequity of the Pursuit of Equity Over Public Health.

When a Degree Meant Something

In the past. a degree meant something: the degree holder was responsible, hard-worker, independent and most of all, was well versed in their field of study.. If that person left and went to another state, that would be a brain drain. It is no longre brain drain but more like dead weight augmentation for the receiving state.

The cost of manufacturing useless college degrees increasing exponentially 

The 2020 Pew Research Report states that Economic inequality, whether measured through the gaps in income or wealth between richer and poorer households, continues to widen.

Then Pew, in a gross misapplication of the Theory of Allocation fails to recognize the Great Whacky Curve Effect.  There's a positive correlation between a carpenter's work  and the use of a hammer, for example: Pew Research  figures that "the rise in economic inequality in the U.S. is tied to several factors. These include, in no particular order, technological change, globalization, the decline of unions and the eroding value of the minimum wage. Whatever the causes, the uninterrupted increase in inequality since 1980 has caused concern among members of the public, researchers, policymakers and politicians. One reason for the concern is that people in the lower rungs of the economic ladder may experience diminished economic opportunity and mobility in the face of rising inequality, a phenomenon referred to as The Great Gatsby Curve.

FBI Director Christipher Wray said that civics education is a national security imperative. Yet civics education was replaced with ethnic studies with dire consequences.  The FBI has determined that patriotic and Catholic symbology may indicate domestic terrorism.

There is also a strong correlation between the new crop of philosophers and AntiChristianism:

There is a strong positive correlation between the replacement of civics studies with Ethnic studies and antipatriotism.

The Great Whacky Curve and Maslow’s Hammer was hinted at 2000 years ago by Saint Matthew: "For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Matt 25

It's not rocket science.  Show me your priorities and I will show you what you need to work on.  Keep pumping money into the education  industrial complex and you can be sure The Great Gatsby Curve The “Academic Great Gatsby Curve” in Philosophy and The Great Whacky Curve will continue to curve.

RELATED;

"The analysis from WordFinderX took a deep dive into the languages of the United States—and revealed some fascinating trends along the way" - Mental Floss

Around two billion people worldwide speak English, and the share is considerably higher among the educated.

 Global leaders should master more than one language- most don't:  Joe Biden, is monolingual, as is the President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, China’s Xi Jinping, and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt.

Today, some of the most well-known leaders of English-speaking countries – the United States, Australia, and New Zealand – are monolingual.

Given the facts, why is it government bureaucracies in the United States require printed material in a dozen languages? 

Answer: it's the Great Whacky Curve Effect aka Divergent Thinking Defficiency 

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Man of the 12th Century & Doctor of the Church

Today, August 20th is the feast day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, patron saint of Cistercians, Burgundy, beekeepers, candlemakers, Gibraltar, Queens' College, Cambridge, Speyer Cathedral, and the Knights Templar. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a French military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the wealthiest and most popular military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 1119 to defend pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, with their headquarters located there on the Temple Mount, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.

Bernard of Clairvaux, venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, adviser of popes, preacher of the Second Crusade, defender of the faith, healer of a schism, Scripture scholar, theologian, and eloquent preacher and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order. Franciscan Media calls him Europe's Man of the 12th Century, yet, Bernard "still retained a burning desire to return to the hidden monastic life of his younger days."

After the death of Pope Honorius II in 1130, the college of cardinals was divided over his successor. A majority of cardinals elected Pietro as successor with the name of Anacletus II, while a minority elected Cardinal Gregorio Papareschi (Innocent II) as successor. The claimants were both consecrated on February 23, leading to a serious schism. Anacletus, backed by most Romans and by the Frangipani, forced Innocent to flee from Rome to France, where he was supported by Abbot St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who attacked Anacletus’ Jewish ancestry. Bernard, a major proponent of Pope Innocent II, argued effectively for his legitimacy over the Antipope Anacletus II. Although Anacletus was allied with the ambitious and powerful Roger II after investing him as king of Sicily (1130), Innocent’s supporters, including the Holy Roman emperor Lothar II and the Byzantine emperor John II Comnenus, were overwhelming.


The eloquent abbot advocated crusades in general and convinced many to participate in the unsuccessful Second Crusade, notably through a famous sermon at Vézelay (1146).



Bernard's theology and Mariology continue to be of major importance, particularly within the Cistercian and Trappist orders. Bernard led to the foundation of 163 monasteries in different parts of Europe. At his death, they numbered 343. Saint Bernard's Prayer to the shoulder wound of Jesus is often published in Catholic prayer books. His views on the Virgin Mary also influenced other saints, e.g. in the classic text on Mariology, The Glories of Mary, Saint Alphonsus Liguori based his analysis of Mary as the "Gate to Heaven" on Saint Bernard's statement: “No one can enter Heaven unless by Mary, as though through a door.” Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" places him as the last guide for Dante, as he travels through the Empyrean. Dante's choice appears to be based on Bernard's contemplative mysticism, his devotion to Mary, and his reputation for eloquence. He is also the attributed author of the poem often translated in English hymnals as "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." He also wrote many letters, treatises, and sermons.

Bernard was canonized just 21 years after his death by Pope Alexander III. In 1830 Pope Pius VIII declaredim a Doctor of the Church.

The Vox' Ian Millhiser nauseating 'reporting' could use Meta, Grok or Google's Gemini - Would be less obvious:

The Inequity of the Pursuit of Equity Over Public Safety, the Inverse Relationship Between Journalistic Malpractice & Adjectives and Ifs and Buts were Adam Schiff and Bots, Everyday Would Be Impeachment Day.







The headline itself is self-evident: 'Republicans ask the Supreme Court to disenfranchise thousands of swing voters.' - It's not. It's asking for election integrity:


Pundits don't matter

Polls don't matter

Who votes don't matter

Only those who counts the votes matters. Voting fraud is so easy a caveman can do it. All that's needed is an Insider with a MOM: Means, Opportunity and Motive. When an Insider is a government official, prosecution is practically impossible.

Security Professionals refer to this as the inside threat. Have you heard about the Secret 2020 Election Day Meeting With CISA, Dominion, ES&S, ERIC, FBI, Leftist Organizations, State Officials, and Others?


What about the Pandora Papers or Panama Papers?

As long as the Inside Threat is not addressed, there won't be election integrity


Back to Millhiser's 'reporting.' He writes: "The Republican Party wants the Supreme Court to weigh in on a nauseatingly complicated voting rights case," and continues, "the case involves an astoundingly convoluted system Arizona uses to register certain voters." The liberal use of adjectives notwithstanding, shouldn't the Supreme Court not weigh in in a 'nauseatingly complicated voting and astoundingly convoluted voting rights case?

"Thus, in response to Inter Tribal, Arizona refused to fully register voters who submitted the federal form without providing proof of citizenship." Millhiser's 'reporting' implies that voter ID should not be required. Claiming that it's burdensome for people to get ID cards is what CNN calls a "successful cynical strategy." No different than Gavin Newsom and progressives claiming community college students are too stupid to figure out which courses to take, so they can transfer to the California Univeristy System.

You see, progressives argue that VoterID places a heavy burden on the elderly, disabled and or needy.

But the elderly, disabled and needy are required to provide a photo ID to be eligible for assistance, including foodstamps, VA benefits, disability, senior assistance & so on.

Unless the applicant uses corrupt intermediaries or are well connected politically, they'll have to jump thru hoops to get the help they need.

Netflix's The Maid, can give you an idea of what the elderly, disabled and needy go through.




"According to an expert who testified in the RNC case, “approximately one-third of a [percent] of non-Hispanic White voters [in Arizona] are Federal-Only Voters, while a little more than two-thirds of a percent of minority voters are Federal-Only Voters. "This racial disparity likely explains why the Republican Party is now asking the Supreme Court to further restrict this small percentage of Arizona voters." This is referred to as the
Pareto Rule of Equity: 90% of those intended to be helped, get the short end of the stick: A study has shown how Black DEI professionals get the short end of the stick. According to a report from Zippia, 76.1% of chief diversity officer roles are held by white employees while 3.8% are held by Black employees, for example.


According to the biography in the aforementioned article, Millhiser is a senior correspondent at Vox, where he focuses on the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and the decline of liberal democracy in the United States. He received a JD from Duke University and is the author of two books on the Supreme Court.



The 'decline of liberal democracy' is like CNN's exclusive 'report' on
'prominent conservative legal scholar' Judge J Michael Luttig, which is like Government Intelligence, which is like Government Fast Response, which is like Congressional Ethics Committee. An Oxymoron!


And like the 'expert who testified in the RNC case,'




Journalists are vested on supporting their bosses' narrative, not on uncovering the truth. Pulitzer Prizes are now given to the best fake news.

Lawyers are paid to come up with the best argument money can buy. Not to uncover the truth. A lawyer will argue that because a wealthy client broke the law, the law must be changed. Explains why the poor are overrepresented in the prison system. Most laws are designed to strengthen the aforementioned culture, including passing laws to control law-abiding citizens with little concern for law breakers: The legislative branch makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies. The Justice System  isn't about justice.
It's about social control.

Politicians are paid to keep people safe. But instead of trying to solve our problems, they are trying to solve their own problems—of which getting elected and re-elected are number one and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind. The fact that so many successful politicians are such shameless liars is not only a reflection on them, it is also a reflection on us. When the people want the impossible, only liars can satisfy. 

Scientists are paid to increase their employers' profitability not to make the world a better place

Just like Archeogists are paid to force-fit narratives demanded by their stakeholders, or as Boin said: "This [discovery] changes everything about how we perceive the pace of social change and our impression of the impact of social and cultural change." Or what about philosophers? David Kyle Johnson Ph.D. writes in Psychology Today: Recently, Gary Gutting interviewed Alvin Plantinga for The New York Times philosophy column. “Is atheism irrational?” the title asked, with the implied answer: “Yes.” Yet among philosophers, a supposedly rational group, 62% are atheists, compared to about half that among all academics and 2% in the general population. When asked why this is so, Plantinga suggested their motivations were psychological, not philosophical. Maybe they are like Thomas Nagel, he suggested, and don’t “want there to be any such person as God” because that means they are constantly being observed, judged and evaluated. Or perhaps, like Heidegger, they desire autonomy and think God’s existence threatens it

"No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace." James 3:17

Mental Health: a political movement, ideological movement or Concern For Human Life

World Health Organizatio's, José Bertolote argues that, more than a scientific discipline, mental health is a political and ideological movement involving diverse segments of society, interested in the promotion of the human rights of people with mental disorders and the quality of their treatment. But is it more of a concern for human dignity?

According to World Health Organization (WHO), it is a "state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and can contribute to his or her community. Whereas, impairment of any of these are risk factor for mental disorders, or mental illnesses, where mental disorder is a subset of mental health.

#GotAddiction? You have free will. Choose the #NYT's solution Or turn to #SaintJude, Patron Saint of the impossible and lost causes. What do you have to loose?

A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. 

You may find those memoirs helpful  - we prefer the alternative.

Divine Office Prayer

Mental Health Prayer to Saints Cosmas & Damian

We suffer from bodily diseases and mental disorders, from physical disabilities and emotional disturbances, from impure desires and from demonic attacks. Help us, Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian, for we are in urgent need of your holy medicine and sacred ointment. With faith in the Almighty and Merciful God, and with hope in your medical aid from Heaven, we call upon you in this manner:

Deliver us, for you are brothers in flesh and in spirit.

Deliver us, for we are distraught in body and in mind.



Deliver us, for you are physicians by training and by the will of God.

Deliver us, for we are stricken by illness and by the stress of society.

Deliver us, for you are gifted with cures and prayers.

Deliver us, for we are perishing with maladies and sins.

Deliver us, Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian, holy brothers and merciful healers of the afflicted.

A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior, often in a social context. Such disturbances may occur as single episodes, may be persistent, or may be relapsing–remitting. There are many different types of mental disorders, with signs and symptoms that vary widely between specific disorders.

It's called self-control, aka Mastery of Self. In the case of addiction You have free will. Choose the #NYT's solution Or turn to #SaintJude, Patron Saint of the impossible and lost causes. What do you have to loose?

In the paper The roots of the concept of mental health, Department of Mental Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, José Bertolote reviews the origins of the current concept of mental health, starting from the mental hygiene movement, initiated in 1908 by consumers of psychiatric services and professionals interested in improving the conditions and the quality of treatment of people with mental disorders. And argues that, more than a scientific discipline, mental health is a political and ideological movement involving diverse segments of society, interested in the promotion of the human rights of people with mental disorders and the quality of their treatment

Bertolote also argues that a clear and widely accepted definition of mental health as a discipline was (and is) still missing. Significantly, the Dorland’s Medical Dictionary does not carry an entry on mental health, whereas the Campbell’s Dictionary of Psychiatry gives it two meanings: first, as a synonym of mental hygiene and second, as a state of psychological wellbeing. The Oxford English Dictionary defines mental hygiene as a set of measures to preserve mental health, and later refers to mental health as a state.


Jay Ruderman in an X post writes  "We all crave a genuine approach when discussing something vulnerable like mental health. Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says she doesn’t always do it perfectly, but striving from a place of integrity will bring us closer to what we need." But 'striving from a place of integrity' spu ds like a meaningless buzzword.

Today, Dymphna is known as the patroness of nervous disorders and mental disease, depression and incest, but she is not the only saint who can help the faithful in times of mental anguish. Those looking for saintly intercession can choose from a pantheon of holy helpers

St. Dymphna is the patron saint of the mentally ill, victims of incest and domestic abuse, and runaways. She inspires us to be resilient against the evils of the world and that God will never forsake us despite any evil we might suffer.


She was born in Ireland in the seventh century, to a pagan king and a Christian mother. Her mother died when she was 14, and her father attempted to marry the young Dymphna. At the advice of her priest, Dymphna fled, ending up in a town called Geel, in present day Belgium.

While there, and attempting to evade her father, she built a sanctuary for the sick. Her father found her eventually and brutally beheaded her.

Saint Dymphna is said to have miraculously cured the mental, emotional, and neurological afflictions of pilgrims to her burial site in Geel, Belgium.

She continues to intercede for the residents of Geel, where people diagnosed with mental disorders still come to be treated. The sanctuary overflowed with guests to the point that townspeople had to start taking people in their own homes. Thus began a tradition that has endured for over 500 years. To this day, people are still welcomed into the homes of Geel’s residents as ‘boarders’ and integrated members of the community.

Judeo-Christian Values

The Christian view is that humans are bodies and souls, created in the image and likeness of God. Every human being has a unique and rational soul that animates his human body, whether in the womb or outside, with or without mental disorders.In its essay Catholic Teaching on Mental Health, the Justice + Peace Office states: All human beings regardless of what ailment they suffer are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) and we are called to love them “as another self” (Gaudium et Spes, 27). Pope Saint John Paul II affirmed in particular that all who suffer from mental illness are also made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) and we are called to love them “as another self” (Gaudium et Spes, 27).

Catholic Teaching on Mental Health, the Justice + Peace Office

According to the social teaching of the Catholic Church, access to basic healthcare is the responsibility of everyone and an essential element of the common good (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 166).


Another principle of Catholic Social Teaching, the universal destination of goods dictates that the poor, the marginalised and all those whose living conditions interfere with their proper growth should be the focus of particular concern. This means that people with mental illness should be treated with a “special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 182).as they have often (and sadly still are) marginalised and excluded. Pope Saint John Paul II directly affirmed this point in his address In the Image and Likeness of God: Always? Illness of the Human Mind to the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health-Care Workers on the problem of mental illness, when he said: “The Church looks on these persons with special concern, as she looks on any other human being affected by illness.”

Pope Benedict XVI dedicated the Celebration for the 14th World Day of the Sick in 2006 to those who suffer from mental illness. In his Message for that day he stated:

“On this occasion, the Church intends to bow down over those who suffer with special concern, calling the attention of public opinion to the problems connected with mental disturbance that now afflicts one-fifth of humanity and is a real social-health care emergency….” He called for a new and better approach in dealing with mental ill-health which called for better medical treatment for people with ill health as well as better treatment of them as persons. He also expressed his hope that the wider community would be more understanding of people with mental health issues and those that care for them many of whom are unpaid as they are family members or volunteers. Refer to Catholic Teaching on Mental Health, the Justice + Peace Office for a more detailed treatment.

The Old Testament Values

This then is the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances,a which the LORD, your God, has commanded that you be taught to observe in the land you are about to cross into to possess, so that you, that is, you, your child, and your grandchild, may fear the LORD, your God, by keeping, as long as you live, all his statutes and commandmentsb which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life.

Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly; for the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!

Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. Take to heart these words which I command you today.

Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them on your arm as a signand let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. - Deutoronomy 6.

A search of Google Books show that the topic 'mental health' was rarely discussed until the late 1950s.







Similarly the term 'mental disorder' reached its peak in 1954, then fell out of favor.



Five years . after progressives got MLK Jr out of their way, they turned his dream into a nightmare: racism has morphed into DEI, the Human Sacrifice Industrial Complex has enabled the Black Genocide, the disintegration of the African-American nuclear family and a fatherlesssness crisis:


Atheists would not understand this. The death of MLK Jr cleared the way for the uber progressive Warren Court’s Decision (1963) – the Court found that teaching children about wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord., charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity was too radical, and all hell broke lose. A decade later Roe v. Wade entered the picture.


Using analysis tools like the Ishikawa Cause-Effect Diagram, the Pareto Rule, Security Professionals’ Attack Tree and or Occam’s Razor, they all suggest that after the uber progressive Warren SCOTUS (1963) decision, we have had A mental health crisis. Infanticide turned into Black Genocide. African American nuclear family has joined the Sea Turtles in the extinct list. 80% of AA kids are raised in fatherless homes. AIDS epidemic. Opiod crisis, We have a fatherlesssness crisis, A Girlhood Crisis, A Trans Crisis, Obesity crisis.

Mysticism, Stigmata, Miracles, Exorcism and Incorruptible Body

Mysticism, Stigmata, Miracles, Exorcism,  Incorruptible Body, Faith & Science Science, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

Mysticism 

Mysticism the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2014) teaches Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called "mystical" because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments - "the holy mysteries" - and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.

In Father Thomas Nathe's August 11th, 2024 Pastor's Column ( Holy Redeemer Parish, Vancouver WA,) on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he writes that the Church has always taught that like her Son, the Blessed Virgin Mary ascended body and soul into heaven, not just soul and refers to two accounts of the Assumption of the BVM, written by saintly mystics: Venerable Mary of Agreda and Blessed of Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German Roman Catholic mystic and stigmatic. Emmerich said that as a child she had visions also referred to as religious ecstasies,  in which she talked with Jesus, saw the souls in purgatory, and witnessed the core of the Holy Trinity in the form of three concentric, interpenetrating full spheres.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, religious ecstasy (called "supernatural ecstasy") includes two elements: one, interior and invisible, in which the mind rivets its attention on a religious subject, and another, corporeal and visible, in which the activity of the senses is suspended, reducing the effect of external sensations upon the subject and rendering him or her resistant to awakening. The witnesses of a Marian apparition often describe experiencing these elements of ecstasy

The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, is a book published in 1833, based on the visions Blessed Anne experienced on the Passion of Jesus, recorded and compiled by Clemens Brentano, a German romantic poet and writer. The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Mel Gibson, depicting the Passion of Jesus largely according to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, along with other devotional writings, such as the reputed visions attributed to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.

In 1892 the cause for Emmerich’s beatification was introduced. The case generated sharp debate among scholars, and in 1928, the Holy Office intervened to call a halt to the process moving toward her canonization because of the seriousness of these questions. Experts analyzed Brentano’s papers and came to the conclusion that only a small portion of what had been published could safely be attributed to Catherine. Based on Brentano's papers, unquestionably attributed to Blessed Anne, Pope Paul VI in 1973 lifted the ban on her process, and six years later the German bishops’ conference formally requested that it be resumed. The cause was reintroduced with the proviso that Brentano's writings be excluded from consideration. List of Mystics. On 3 October 2004, Anne Catherine Emmerich was beatified by Pope John Paul II. The books produced by Brentano were set aside, and her cause adjudicated solely on the basis of her own personal sanctity and virtue. Her cause for sainthood is being handled by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

Stigmata 

A Stigmata is a term used in Christian mysticism to describe the manifestations of bodily wounds, scars and pain in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ, such as the hands, wrists, and feet. An individual bearing the wounds of stigmata is referred to as a Stigmatist or a Stigmatic.





The term originates from the line at the end of Saint Paul 's Letter to the Galatians where he says, "I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." (Gal.6:17). Stigmata is the plural of the Greek word στίγμα (stigma), which means a "mark". It is also the root word for the term stigmatize.

The Church takes a very critical and very rigorous look at specific stigmata cases - not unlike the process of beautification-

before talking about this topic. This is why it has made a positive pronouncement only in a few cases and after rigorous medical and theological studies. Meaning, it is only considered a supernatural happenings, if science cannot explain it.

Everybody is a Saint

So we can all be Catholic saints?  While all of us are called to be saints, not all of us can make it through the rigorous, scientific- based process used by the Catholic Church - just like passing through the eye of the needle.  So how does one become a Catholic saint? According to the US Catholic Bishops website:  All Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.

In official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: a candidate becomes "Venerable," then "Blessed" and then "Saint." Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life.  To be beatified and recognized as a Blessed, one miracle acquired through the candidate's intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or offering of life. Canonization requires a second miracle after beatification.  The pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is not required prior to a martyr's beatification, but one is required before canonization Elizabeth Melimopoulos and Anna Nigmatulina have compiled an extensive list of the process that a Cartholic saint must go through and as always, there is the simpler version.

Stigmata and Science

The stigmata represent a sign of Christ’s sufferings during the Passion, and therefore they constitute a theological statement; that is to say, they are a faithful reproduction in certain people of Jesus’ wounds at the moment of his crucifixion, above all in what refers to the place of the wounds (feet, hands, side and head).

In the cases the Church has approved, the stigmata are a grace of God granted to few saints; the stigmata are physical manifestations of Christian mysticism.
We must keep in mind that when the Church recognizes a phenomenon as authentic, it accepts the phenomenon but in no case does it propose that it be believed as a doctrine of faith.

While there are around 321 generally accepted stigmata and 62 of these people have been beatified, according to 

St Augustine of Hippo Church  Protestants cannot relate this supernatural experiences because they don't have a connection to the apostles and Christ. God gave stigmata only to few holy persons, to let world know and to remind us the reality of Christ's suffering in the cross to save us. That is

 why most of those who experienced a stigmata are Catholics.

 There are no examples before the 13th century. 

Mysticism, Incorruptibility,  Stigmata and Science

The Church teaches that there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason (CCC 159.) "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth." "Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are."

The Church doesn’t canonize anyone just because they have the stigmata. What the Church does when it canonizes is recognize the exemplary Christian life of a saint, whether or not he or she has the stigmata.

The phenomenon of the stigmata is a sign of the reality of Christ’s passion on the Cross. By God’s will, certain saints who have loved and meditated on the sacrifice of Christ crucified have participated in his sufferings. They offer those sufferings with the same spirituality as Saint Paul, who said, "I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church." (Colossians 1:24).

Legend affirms the apostle Paul himself had the stigmata, and that when he says, "… I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body" (Galatians 6:17), he  saying it literally.

For stigmatists, the wounds of Christ on their bodies are an unmerited grace; therefore, if they are a form of grace, God is the one who gives them.

Through the stigmata, God expresses his pleasure in the holiness of life related to the conscious acceptance of the Cross taken up spiritually. It is, then, an experience of suffering colored with joy for the grace received.

A stigmatist receives the mission of being a prophet to remind mankind of the realities that are truly important. They help us to see the extremes to which Christ went to redeem us. They help those who suffer to conform themselves to Christ, offering their own sufferings for the salvation of souls.

Criteria  Church uses to determine authenticity of stigmata.

1. The stigmata are located in the same places as the five wounds of Christ.

2. The stigmata all appear at the same time.

3. The stigmata appear spontaneously while the person prays in ecstasy.

4. They cannot be explained by natural causes.

5. They do not deteriorate into necrosis.

6. The do not give off a bad smell; on the contrary, sometimes it is said they smell of flowers.

7. They do not become infected.

8. They bleed daily and profusely.

9. They remain unchanged despite treatment. They do not become worse.

10. They cause a significant modification of the bodily tissues.

11. They do not close perfectly and instantaneously.

12. They are accompanied by intense physical and moral suffering, as from participating in the sufferings of Christ. (The lack of pain is a bad sign and a cause for doubt.)

If the above were not enough, the entire life of the person involved is also studied. He or she must be a person who practices Christian virtues heroically — in particular, their great love for humility and for the cross should stand out.

Exorcism 

“The job of the exorcist is not to cast out the devil. The job of the exorcist is to find out, ‘Why is the devil there?’” - Father Carlos Martin's.

Britannica defines exorcism as an adjuration addressed to evil spirits to force them to abandon an object, place, or person; technically, a ceremony used in both Jewish and Christian traditions to expel demons from persons who have come under their power.




In the Christian tradition, Jesus expelled demons by a word and stated that this act was a sign of the coming of God’s Kingdom. His followers, and others as well, drove out demons “in his name.” In the first two centuries of the Christian era, the power of exorcism was considered a special gift that might be bestowed on anyone, lay or cleric. About ad 250, however, there appeared a special class of the lower clergy, called exorcists, to whom was entrusted this special function. About the same time, exorcism became one of the ceremonies preparatory to baptism, and it has remained a part of the Roman Catholic baptismal service.

The exorcism of persons possessed by demons is carefully regulated by canon law in the Roman Catholic church, and the elaborate rite is contained in the Roman ritual.

Father Carlos Martins is a priest with the Companions of the Cross, a religious community with the charism and mission of evangelization. A convert from atheism, he discovered Jesus Christ and the Christian faith while he was an undergraduate. He travels internationally as an itinerant preacher.

In an interview with Catholic Vote's Erika Ahern, Father Martin's says that the rise of Satanism is something that is inevitable simply because the notion of Christendom has been eclipsed. And so, with the fall of Christianity within the culture, then there is going to be inevitably a rise of paganism.

And so this neo-paganism is manifesting itself in different ways. One of them is this embrace of this concept, this nouveau concept for many people, which is Satanism.

And so this neo-paganism is manifesting itself in different ways. One of them is this embrace of this concept, this nouveau concept for many people, which is Satanism.

Incorruptibility

Incorruptibility is a Catholic belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies,specifically saints and beati, to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness.

A tomb of a medieval Catholic saint was recently opened last month for research – and the condition of her body stunned those who found her.

Just last month, the Diocese of Avila in Spain, announced the recent opening of the tomb of St. Teresa of Jesus. The saint, also known as St. Teresa of Avila,  a Discalced Carmelite nun who died in 1582. The diocese, explained that the tomb containing most of St. Teresa's corpse, was last opened in 1914 and has reportedly "remained incorrupt since 1582." The analysis of Teresa's corpse is still in the early stages, but it is expected that the project will teach researchers how to better preserve relics. 

The phenomenon is not common, but there are more than 300 saints whose bodies were exhumed decades or even centuries after their death, and showed no signs of physical decay.

St. Cecilia is believed to be the first saint whose body was incorruptible. She was martyred somewhere around 177 – 230 AD. Nearly 1500 years later, during a renovation of the church where she was buried, her remains were exhumed, and her body was discovered to be incorrupt, as if she were asleep in the same position in which she had been buried centuries earlier.

References

Catholic Encyclopedia Online: Mystical Stigmata

Catholic Information Network

Padre Pio web site one of the most recent stigmatics

A short biography of Padre Pio from Catholic Saints Online

Another short biography of Padre Pio From the Capuchin Friars Website


Aleteia | 5 Saints who received the stigmata, and what it felt like when they got the wounds

 Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC) | What is the Stigmata?

 ChurchPOP | 6 Saints Who Received the Mysterious Gift of Stigmata

The First Anti-Pope, First Pope to Resign - Sts. Hippolytus & Pontian: From enemies to brothers in Christ

August 13, Feast of Saints Pontian, Pope and Hippolytus, Priest: From bitter rivals who reconciled. the Church claims them as her saints and martyrs, and honors them, as true brothers in Christ with a shared feast.

Hippolytus was one of the most important writers and thinkers in the Church before the fourth century. He was a learned priest in Rome and renowned for his eloquence. He spoke out against several popes for being too lax with people who strayed from the faith, or for not denouncing heresy forcefully enough. He thought the faithful should be an undefiled body of people.

Hippolytus lays claim to the infamy of having invented the concept of the “antipope.” What began as zeal for dismantling heresy ended in a break with the Church, in which he proclaimed his disapproval of a newly-elected pope in 217 A.D. by having his own followers elect him pope. For 18 years, Hippolytus denied this break and continued living and ruling as the antipope.

Pontian, was elected pope in 230 A.D. He extinguished several heresies in his brief pontificate. He even tried to resolve the schism created by Hippolytus, but nothing worked.

In 235 A.D. during the Sixth Persecution, a new Roman Emperor—Maximinus—came to power, In Cappadocia, the president, Seremianus, did all he could to exterminate the Christians from that province. At this point both found themselves in the inhuman slavery of the mines. There, in the dark, in the damp, in the grit, these two men met and recognized each other. The time was ripe, and through Pontian, God drew Hippolytus back to Himself. Pontian endured the sufferings of exile and harsh treatment in the Sardinian mines is unknown. According to old and no longer existing Acts of martyrs, used by the author of the "Liber Pontificalis", he died as a consequence of the privations and inhuman treatment he had to bear. While the length of time these two holy souls spent in the mines is unknown, the Church claims them as her saints and martyrs, and honors them—as true brothers in Christ—with a shared feast.

Before his arrest, Pontian stepped down from his role as pope so that the Christian community could select another leader in his absence.

The main people who perished under this reign were Pontianus, bishop of Rome; Anteros, a Grecian, his successor, who gave offence to the government by collecting the acts of the martyrs, Pammachius and Quiritus, Roman senators, with all their families, and many other Christians; Simplicius, senator; Calepodius, a Christian minister, thrown into the Tyber; Martina, a noble and beautiful virgin; and Hippolitus, a Christian prelate, tied to a wild horse, and dragged until he expired.

During this persecution, raised by Maximinus, numberless Christians were slain without trial, and buried indiscriminately in heaps, sometimes fifty or sixty being cast into a pit together, without the least decency


As the Catholic Company writes: The papacy is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Church, and can be a big stumbling block for potential converts. Bestselling apologist Patrick Madrid tackles 30 common myths about the papacy in the engaging and readable Pope Fiction, where you’ll learn the truth and how to communicate it to those who have questions.

Prayer to Saint Pontian and Hippolytus

You both served  at a difficult period in which the nature of the Most Holy Trinity was called into question. You defended the truth and taught it tirelessly. As a result of your fidelity, you both died for the faith, reconciled to God and to each other.