Donald John Trump’s “Pope”: Son of the Fuller Brush Man

Before I deal with William Franklin Graham III’s recent attempt to defend President Donald John Trump’s recent attack on Antipope Leo XIV and the artificial intelligence generation blasphemous depiction of himself as Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, perhaps it is best to provide a little review of how his late father, William Franklin Graham, Jr., who took many Catholics out of the Holy Faith, including my own uncle, carved a niche for himself as a “spiritual adviser” to presidents and celebrities.

I beg your indulgence here as the background I am providing, although published eight years ago upon the elder “Billy” Graham’s death is important to review in order to provide context to his son’s obsequiousness to Donald John Trump:

Far from “preaching the Gospel of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” which He has entrusted exclusively to His Catholic Church for its infallible explication and eternal safekeeping, the Fuller Brush Man preached a false gospel and a false theology based on false and blasphemous “King James” and similar heretical versions of Sacred Scripture. William Franklin Graham, Jr., had no mission from Our Lord to serve Him in any capacity, and it is thus offensive to Our Lord and to the blood of the martyrs shed in defense of the Faith against heretics, including Protestants, to eulogize Graham as anything other than a dupe of the devil.

Even some Protestants, believe it or not, criticized Billy Graham during his life for his nondenominational “crusades, but such criticism was misplaced as Billy Graham had his own “church,” the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which continues as a big, worldwide money-making operation to this very day under the direction of one of his sons, William Franklin Graham III. Millions upon millions of people, including many Catholics, have been hoodwinked into making donations to the “BGEA” to enable its mission of spreading a falsified gospel by heretical preachers.

Make no mistake about it, although Protestant “evangelists” were taking Catholics, including my late paternal uncle out of Holy Mother Church in our land of religious indifferentism (“one religion is as good as another,” “who are you to tell me I can’t believe or do what I want,” etc.) in the decades before the “Second” Vatican Council, the counterfeit church of conciliarism’s embrace of false ecumenism gave William Franklin Graham, Jr., the opportunity of a heretical lifetime to take Catholics out of the Faith. Although Graham was viscerally anti-Catholic during the first forty-six years of his life and even held a meeting of Protestant “ministers” in Switzerland in 1960 to urge then to work against the election of United States John Fitzgerald Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) because he was a Catholic, he made “nice, nice” with Kennedy, who “prayed” with him at the so-called “National Prayer Breakfast” on February 9, 1961, the Feast of Saint Romuald and the Commemoration of Saint Dorothy, three weeks after Kennedy’s inauguration (see John F. Kennedy Library Archives and see the photograph in Appendix C below. Appendix D contains a brief description as to how the former rum-runner for the Mafia, the womanizing Kennedy’s womanizing father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., encouraged him to invite Graham) and even went to Rome to make “nice, nice” with Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli/John XXIII.

Ah, but it was the infamous Americanist enabler of the Kennedy clan, the notorious Richard Cardinal Cushing, who was appointed as the Archbishop of Boston by Pope Pius XII in 1944, who was the first American prelate to encourage Catholics to attend a “Billy Graham Crusade,” doing so in 1950 (Pope Saint Pius X would have removed Cushing once he had gotten word of this outrage, but Pope Pius XII left him in place). It was during the “Second” Vatican Council that Cushing gave Graham an even more public elegy of praise:

By 1961, Mr. Graham and President Kennedy prayed side by side at a Washington prayer breakfast. A few years later, in 1964, Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston (who, as archbishop, had even endorsed a Graham crusade in Boston in 1950) met with Mr. Graham upon returning from Rome and the Second Vatican Council, declaring before a national television audience that Mr. Graham’s message was good for Catholics.

Cardinal Cushing said, “God will bless [Graham’s] preaching and crusade.” Mr. Graham responded with gratitude, stating that he felt much closer to Catholics and Catholic tradition than he did to what was more alien to his message: liberal Protestantism. (How Billy Graham Shaped American Catholicism. For a review of some of Cushing’s other outrageous comments, please see Determined Not To Accept the Truth of Truth Himself, Christ the King, part two. Appendix A below contains another example of Cushing’s “adherence” to Catholic teaching and canon law concerning the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.)

Americanist religious indifferentism paved the way for the “Second” Vatican Council, whose embrace of false ecumenism led the formerly anti-Catholic William Franklin Graham, Jr., to find new ways to “reach” Catholics with his heretical preaching of a false gospel.

Even though Graham had met with “Saint John XXIII” and with “Blessed Paul the Sick,” he struck up a close friend with met Karol Josef Wotyla/“Saint John Paul II” in 1981, prompting Graham to praise his partner in false ecumenism as follows upon his friend’s death on April 1, 2005:

“Pope John Paul II was unquestionably the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world during the last 100 years. His extraordinary gifts, his strong Catholic faith, and his experience of human tyranny and suffering in his native Poland all shaped him, and yet he was respected by men and women from every conceivable background across the world. He was truly one of those rare individuals whose legacy will endure long after he has gone.

“It was my privilege to meet with him at the Vatican on various occasions, and I will always remember his personal warmth to me and his deep interest in our ministry. In his own way, he saw himself as an evangelist, traveling far more than any other Pope to rally the faithful and call non-believers to commitment. He was convinced that the complex problems of our world are ultimately moral and spiritual in nature, and only Christ can set us free from the shackles of sin and greed and violence. His courage and perseverance in the face of advancing age and illness were an inspiration to millions — including me.

“I have been invited to attend the funeral service for Pope John Paul II, but I will not be able to go for health reasons. I have asked a member of my family and one of my long-time associates to represent me at that service.

“May his death remind each of us that some day we too must die and enter into God’s presence — and may we each commit ourselves afresh to Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for our salvation.” (Billy Graham Praises "Brother" Karol.)

Yes, yes, yes, the wonders of “ecumenism.”

The late “Father” Richard John Neuhaus, the famous Luther pastor of Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, New York, was an admirer of Graham’s. Neuhaus, who made a “personal decision” to convert to what he thought was the Catholic Church in 1990 even though he did not believe that all Protestants had to follow his example (see Saying Luther's Goal Was One Church, Noted Lutheran Turns to Catholicism), provided a detailed account of “Saint” Wojtyla’s close friendship with the Fuller Brush Man:

Opening his Southern crusades to blacks and cooperating with Roman Catholics, both measures vigorously criticized by many of his supporters, required courage of the kind conventionally lauded as liberal or progressive. It is true that challenging racial segregation and anti-Catholic prejudice were both deemed progressive stances, but I am rather sure that carried little weight with Billy Graham. His singular passion was to preach the saving gospel of Jesus Christ to absolutely everyone.

Many Catholic leaders warmly welcomed his ministry; others were more ambivalent. In New York, the late John Cardinal O'Connor embraced him and urged archdiocese priests to encourage people to come out to hear him. Innumerable Catholics were doubtlessly renewed and strengthened in faith as a consequence of Graham's ministry.

He met with popes from John XXIII to John Paul II, and his friendship with the latter seemed especially warm and deep. After an extraordinary personal meeting of two hours in 1989, Graham reported, "There was a pause in the conversation; suddenly the pope's arm shot out and he grabbed the lapels of my coat, he pulled me forward within inches of his own face. He fixed his eyes on me and said, 'Listen Graham, we are brothers.'"

Already in 1966, only a year after the Second Vatican Council, Graham said, "I find myself closer to Catholics than the radical Protestants. I think the Roman Catholic Church today is going through a second Reformation." On The Phil Donahue Show in 1979, he said, "I think the American people are looking for a leader, a moral and spiritual leader that believes something. And the pope does. … Thank God, I've got somebody to quote now with some real authority." On John Paul's visit to America in 1980: "[He] has emerged as the greatest religious leader of the modern world, and one of the greatest moral and spiritual leaders of this century. ... The pope came [to America] as a statesman and a pastor, but I believe he also sees himself coming as an evangelist. … The pope sought to speak to the spiritual hunger of our age in the same way Christians throughout the centuries have spoken to the spiritual yearnings of every age—by pointing people to Christ." And later, on the pope's message in Vancouver, where Graham preached a month later: "I'll tell you, that was just about as straight an evangelical address as I've ever heard. … He gives moral guidance in a world that seems to have lost its way."

In his statements about John Paul II, as well as about Mother Teresa and the Catholic church more generally, many evangelicals thought Graham had gone overboard or landed in gross heresy. But I am confident that he was driven by a passion for sharing the saving gospel of Christ. In the great encyclical of 2000, Redemptoris Missio ("Mission of the Redeemer"), John Paul envisioned the third millennium as "a springtime of world evangelization." Graham surrendered his entire life to playing a not insignificant part in precipitating that springtime. (The Preacher and the "Popes".)

“Listen, Graham, we are brothers” demonstrates that, despite differences of style and emphases of preaching, “Saint John Paul II” was of one mind with the man he elevated to the “College of Cardinals” on February 21, 2001, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who called Tony Palmer, an Anglican “bishop,” as his “brother bishop” in a video presentation he, the Argentine Apostate, recorded to be played at the “Kenneth Copeland Ministries” rally in Fort Worth, Texas, four years ago last month. (See Appendix B for more information about the Tony Palmer-Bergoglio friendship.)

Well, William Graham, Jr., and Karol Josef Wojtyla were brothers, but in falsehood, not Christianity. Wojtyla reaffirmed the snake-oil salesman who came to the “decision” in 1943 that the Bible was the infallible word of God, in his false “mission” of preaching, and Graham, in turn, was willing to expend capital with other Protestants to obtain permission from the “pope” and his “bishops” to encourage Catholics to attend his “missions” and “crusades.” Conciliarism’s false ecumenism and Billy Graham were made for each other.

Many American dioceses welcome William Franklin Graham, Jr., when he scheduled a “mission” within their territorial boundaries. As noted in the Neuhaus article, cited above, which appears to have been written by the late Lutheran pastor/conciliar presbyter prospectively in anticipation of Graham’s death (Neuhaus himself died on January 8, 2009), the late John “Cardinal” O’Connor welcomed Graham into the Archdiocese of New York. So did the late “Bishop” John Raymond McGann, the nefarious conciliar “ordinary” of the Diocese of Rockville Centre from June 24, 1976, to January 4, 2000, something that I remember very well as organizers of a “Stand Up for Life” rally in September of 1990 at Eisenhower Park in the County of Nassau, New York, got themselves hoodwinked by organizers of a “Billy Graham Crusade” at the Nassau Coliseum into promoting the “crusade” in exchange for their being able to plaster cars in the coliseum’s parking lot with flyers for their rally, which ran from September 19, 1990, to September 23, 1990. The BGEA people, however, reneged on their word, forbidding any promotion of the pro-life rally a few days later.

This should not have come as a surprise as Billy Graham never “preached” on moral issues, including the chemical and surgical assassination of innocent preborn children in their mothers’ wombs. Indeed, he was not “pro-life” as he supported the deliberate, willful execution of the preborn in their mothers’ wombs in the so-called “hard cases.” See for yourself:

Consider the advice that is found in the The Billy Graham Christian Worker's Handbook:

Billy Graham writes: "We should accept abortion in these cases: rape or incest or if the delivery of the child is a threat to a mother's life." (p. 19, The Billy Graham Christian Worker's Handbook, copyright 1997 edition) 

Graham also noted the following in the 2001 printing of the 1996 edition of The Billy Graham Christian Worker's Handbook:

Even sincere Christians may differ on whether or not abortion is ever justified, especially in difficult situations such as rape or incest, or when tests reveal that the unborn child has severe abnormalities. (The Billy Graham Christian Worker's Handbook, p. 21)

Billy Graham has now met Christ the King, the One Whose Holy Gospel he profaned, first of all by rejecting the simple fact that Divine Revelation consists of Sacred Scripture and Sacred (Apostolic) Tradition. Graham, who claimed to preach the “Bible” even though he did not accept the canonicity of what Protestants call the “Deutero-Canonical” books of the Old Testament, knows now that the words of Pope Pius XII condemning abortion under any and all circumstances applied to him and his belief that “sincere” Christians could “disagree” about the direct, intentional killing of innocent human beings:

If there is another danger that threatens the family, not since yesterday, but long ago, which, however, at present, is growing visibly, it can become fatal [to societies], that is, the attack and the disruption of the fruit of conjugal morality.

We have, in recent years, taken every opportunity to expose the one or the other essential point of the moral law, and more recently to indicate it as a whole, not only by refuting the errors that corrupt it, but also showing in a positive sense, the office the importance, the value for the happiness of the spouses, children and all family, for stability and the greater social good from their homes up to the State and the Church itself.

At the heart of this doctrine is that marriage is an institution at the service of life. In close connection with this principle, we, according to the constant teaching of the Church, have illustrated an argument that it is not only one of the essential foundations of conjugal morality, but also of social morality in general: namely, that the direct attack innocent human life, as a means to an end - in this case the order to save another life - is illegal.

Innocent human life, whatever his condition, is always inviolate from the first instance of its existence and it can never be attacked voluntarily. This is a fundamental right of human beings. A fundamental value is the Christian conception of life must be respected as valid for the life still hidden in the womb against direct abortion and against all innocent human life thereafter. There can be no direct murders of a child before, during and after childbirth. As established may be the legal distinction between these different stages of development life born or unborn, according to the moral law, all direct attacks on inviolable human life are serious and illegal.

This principle applies to the child's life, like that of mother's. Never, under any circumstances, has the Church has taught that the life of child must be preferred to that of the mother. It would be wrong to set the issue with this alternative: either the child's life or that of mother. No, nor the mother's life, nor that of her child, can be subjected to an act of direct suppression. For the one side and the other the need can be only one: to make every effort to save the life of both, mother and child (see Pius XI Encycl. Casti Connubii, 31 dec. 1930, Acta Ap. Sedis vol. 22, p.. 562-563).

It is one of the most beautiful and noble aspirations of medicine trying ever new ways to ensure both their lives. What if, despite all the advances of science, still remain, and will remain in the future, a doctor says that the mother is going to die unless here child is killed in violation of God's commandment: Thou shalt not kill!  We must strive until the last moment to help save the child and the mother without attacking either as we bow before the laws of nature and the dispositions of Divine Providence.

But - one may object - the mother's life, especially of a mother of a numerous family, is incomparably greater than a value that of an unborn child. The application of the theory of balance of values to the matter which now occupies us has already found acceptance in legal discussions. The answer to this nagging objection is not difficult. The inviolability of the life of an innocent person does not depend by its greater or lesser value. For over ten years, the Church has formally condemned the killing of the estimated life as "worthless', and who knows the antecedents that provoked such a sad condemnation, those who can ponder the dire consequences that would be reached, if you want to measure the inviolability of innocent life at its value, you must well appreciate the reasons that led to this arrangement.

Besides, who can judge with certainty which of the two lives is actually more valuable? Who knows which path will follow that child and at what heights it can achieve and arrive at during his life? We compare Here are two sizes, one of whom nothing is known. We would like to cite an example in this regard, which may already known to some of you, but that does not lose some of its evocative value.

It dates back to 1905. There lived a young woman of noble family and even more noble senses, but slender and delicate health. As a teenager, she had been sick with a small apical pleurisy, which appeared healed; when, however, after contracting a happy marriage, she felt a new life blossoming within her, she felt ill and soon there was a special physical pain that dismayed that the two skilled health professionals, who watched  her with loving care. That old scar of the pleurisy had been awakened and, in the view of the doctors, there was no time to lose to save this gentle lady from death. The concluded that it was necessary to proceed without delay to an abortion.

Even the groom agreed. The seriousness of the case was very painful. But when the obstetrician attending to the mother announced their resolution to proceed with an abortion, the mother, with firm emphasis, "Thank you for your pitiful tips, but I can not truncate the life of my child! I can not, I can not! I feel already throbbing in my breast, it has the right to live, it comes from God must know God and to love and enjoy it." The husband asked, begged, pleaded, and she remained inflexible, and calmly awaited the event.

The child was born regularly, but immediately after the health of the mother went downhill. The outbreak spread to the lungs and the decay became progressive. Two months later she went to extremes, and she saw her little girl growing very well one who had grown very healthy. The mother looked at her robust baby and saw his sweet smile, and then she quietly died.

Several years later there was in a religious institute a very young sister, totally dedicated to the care and education of children abandoned, and with eyes bent on charges with a tender motherly love. She loved the tiny sick children and as if she had given them life. She was the daughter of the sacrifice, which now with her big heart has spread much love among the children of the destitute. The heroism of the intrepid mother was not in vain! (See Andrea Majocchi. " Between burning scissors," 1940, p.. 21 et seq.). But we ask: Is Perhaps the Christian sense, indeed even purely human, vanished in this point of no longer being able to understand the sublime sacrifice of the mother and the visible action of divine Providence, which made quell'olocausto born such a great result? (Pope Pius XII, Address to Association of Large Families, November 26, 1951; I used Google Translate to translate this address from the Italian as it is found at AAS Documents, p. 855; you will have to scroll down to page 855, which takes some time, to find the address.)

No one but no one, including any supposedly “pro-life” adherent of the false opposite of the naturalist “right” in public life such as President Donald John Trump, is truly pro-life if he supports the deliberate, willful execution of the innocent preborn under any circumstances. Such a person is simply less pro-abortion than those who are apologists for unlimited baby-killing under any circumstances. It was the case long before various states began to decriminalize surgical baby-killing in the 1960s that physicians intent on killing a preborn child used the existence of “exceptions” in state laws as a pretext for doing so, and this remains the case today whenever any kind “exceptions” are permitted in legislation.

Words matter.

Truth matters.

To be “pro-life” is to oppose all abortions at all times—and it is to oppose the denial of the Sovereignty of God over the sanctity and fecundity of marriage by endorsing, if not using, any form of contraceptives, which had the full backing of the “Reverend” William Franklin Graham, Jr.

The "conservative" Billy Graham was in the vanguard of "evangelical" support for birth control as early as 1959. Consider this excerpt from a Time magazine article of December 21, 1959:

Baptist Evangelist Billy Graham agreed. Birth control, he said, is one of the ways of coping with the "terrifying and tragic" problem of overpopulation; there is nothing in Scripture that prohibits its responsible use, and most Americans practice it, "whether they are Protestants or Roman Catholics. (The Birth-Control Debate - TIME, December 21, 1959.) 

Contraception is a grave evil. Over and above the fact that most forms of contraception kill a living human being, contraception is of its very nature a rejection of the absolute Sovereignty of God over the sanctity and fecundity of marriage. God wants human beings to populate this earth so that their immortal souls can be regenerated in the Baptismal font and thereafter give Him honor and glory as members of the Catholic Church as they seek to work out their salvation in fear and in trembling, offering their prayers and sufferings and sacrifices to Him through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His Most Blessed Mother. "Overpopulation" was a myth of population imperialists in the 1950s and it remains a myth today. Most of the "developed" countries in the world are seeing their indigenous populations die off as a result of contraception and abortion.  

Although Graham rarely spoke about any "controversial" moral issues in public and praised effusively pro-aborts such as the Clintons, his quasi-magisterium, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, sought to "clarify" these statements in an e-mail that is sent to people who inquired about The Fuller Brush Man's views on abortion:

Dear Friend,

Thank you for contacting us. Please accept our sincere apology for the long delay in answering, due to the great volume of e-mail received. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your message.

You shared with us your concern about a statement made in the CHRISTIAN WORKER'S HANDBOOK. Let us clarify that the current edition reads: "Even sincere Christians may differ on whether or not abortion is ever justified, especially in difficult situations such as rape or incest, or when tests reveal that the unborn child has severe abnormalities."

In his "My Answer" column, Mr. Graham has stated: "I am opposed to abortion, except possibly in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at stake. I oppose the casual approach to abortion that is so common today, and I believe it is one of the most serious sins of the modern world in the eyes of God." Please note the word "possibly" in Mr. Graham's statement. This is not a recommendation, but a recognition that under certain very limited situations, it might be necessary. You may want to read the portion of Mr. Graham's book STORM WARNING entitled "The Abortion Holocaust." It deals more extensively with his perspective. In the book, he notes, "The Bible makes it clear that God sees the unborn infant not as a piece of superfluous tissue, but as a person created by Him for life." Mr. Graham strongly opposes "abortion on demand" and was instrumental in the founding of the ministry of Care Net, the largest evangelical network of crisis pregnancy centers. Their ministry seeks to provide the most accessible and effective abortion alternatives possible.

Mr. Graham believes that the spiritual condition of man is at the root of the abortion issue. Until man's spiritual condition is changed by the power of Jesus Christ, we will not find a full solution to this problem. It is sin that produces the problem of most unwanted pregnancies, as well as all the other disorders which plague the human race. It is also sin which produces the misbelief that women have a "right" to take the lives of unborn babies.

Life is sacred, and we must seek to protect all human life: the unborn, the child, the adult, and the aged. Several Bible passages tell of the sacredness of life and speak to the subject of abortion. They include Exodus 20:13, 21:22, 23:7; Job 10:8-12; Psalms 22:10, 51:5, 127:3, 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:1-2, 49:5; Jeremiah 1:4-5. All expectant mothers who face difficult issues should prayerfully consider the teaching of Scripture and competent Christian medical and pastoral counsel.

We hope these thoughts provide clarification.

Sincerely,

Lori A. Perz
Christian Guidance Department
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association 

God did not appoint Billy Graham to be an interpreter of the Sacred Deposit of Faith. Billy Graham's "views" about the possible permissibility of surgical baby-killing in some instances were irrelevant. Indeed, those views were from the devil himself as it is only he, the devil, who wants human beings to think that there is ever a circumstance in which an innocent human being may be put to death as a result of an intentional, directly willed act to take his life. While it is very nice that Billy Graham opposed "abortion on demand," he had no right from God to support surgical or chemical abortions under any conditions for any reason whatsoever.

Alas, the Protestant Revolt against the Divine Plan that God Himself instituted to effect man's return to Him through the Catholic Church is of the devil from begriming to end. Protestantism is a revolt against the Divine foundation and maintenance of the Catholic Church and her hierarchical nature. Protestantism is a revolt against the sacramental system established by Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as it has been given exclusively by Him to His Catholic Church. Protestantism is a rejection of the Catholic theology of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and to reject the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is to do the work of the devil himself. Protestantism is evil of it very nature. Evil, and there can never be any compromise of any kind with evil.

This is how the matter was put by Father Frederick Faber in the American preface to The Hidden Treasure: Holy Mass, by Saint Leonard of Port Maurice:

"Where there is no Mass," writes one of the Fathers of the English Oratory, "there is no Christianity." The reason is plain. Christ's life was one of sacrifice--not merely of the figurative sacrifice of praise and prayer, but one of outward act, of suffering and of death. His religion must be like Himself: it must be the continuation of the divine human life that He led upon earth, representing and perpetuating, by some sacred rite, the sacrifice that began in the womb of Mary and ended upon the cross of Calvary. That rite is the holy Mass. Do we always realize it as such? Does the conviction sink deep into us, when offering, or assisting at the adorable sacrifice, that Jesus is re-enacting, in our presence, the mysteries of His life and death?

The altar of the Mass is the holy house of Nazareth, the city of Bethlehem, the Egyptian place of exile, the hill of Calvary, the garden-tomb in which Our Saviour's corpse reposed, and the Mount of Olives from which He ascended. The Passion, it is true, is that which is primarily represented and continued in the holy Mass; yet the prayers and rites of the sacrifice refer, at times, to other mysteries. Thus the dropping of a part of the sacred host into the chalice, before the Agnus Dei, represents the reunion of Christ's soul with His body and blood on the morning of the Resurrection. For a description of the many and beautiful analogies between the eucharistic life of Our Lord and His sacred Infancy, we refer the reader to Father Faber's Treatise on the Blessed Sacrament.

The Mass is truly a "hidden treasure," and, alas, our cold, dead faith allows it to remain so. If we valued it as we ought, we would hurry every morning to the church, ceaseless of the snows of winter and the heats of summer, in order to get a share of the riches of this treasure.

The saints knew the value of one Mass: that it was a dark day in their calendar on which they were deprived of the happy privilege of saying or hearing Mass. Although St. Francis de Sales was overburdened with apostolic work on the Mission of the Chablais, he made it a point never to miss his daily Mass. In order to keep his holy resolution, he had frequently to cross the river Drance, to the village of Marin, in which there was a Catholic church. It happened, in the winter of 1596, that a great freshet carried away a portion of the bridge over the stream, and the passengers were, in consequence, compelled to cross on a plank laid over those arches of the broken structure that had withstood the waters. Heavy falls of snow, followed by severe frosts, made this board very slippery, so that it became dangerous to attempt passing on on it; but St. Francis was not to be deterred, for despite the remonstration of his friends, he made the perilous journey every morning, creeping over the icy plank on his hands and feet, thus daily risking his life rather than lose Mass.

Dear Christian reader! beg this glorious saint to obtain for you and me some portion of his burning love for the most holy and adorable sacrifice of the altar.  (The Hidden Treasure: Holy Mass.)

No, no one who disbelieves in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass practices true Christianity, which is, of course, Catholicism. No baptized Catholic who disbelieves that the Mass is indeed the unbloody re-presentation of the Sacrifice of the Son to the Father in Spirit and in Truth on the wood of the Holy Cross is a Catholic in good standing.

To put the matter in as succinctly as possible, it is good to reprise this quotation from Father Robert Mader’s The Cross and The Crown:

That we are vitally permeated with the actual presence of our King is characteristic of our religion. Catholicism is not merely a marvellous teaching, a wonderful moral system, an unexcelled organization. It is more. It is the real, living, present Jesus with His Mystical Body, i.e., the faithful united with Him. It is not so much a theory as it is something living. A Catholicism that would not be united with Jesus would be nothing but a phantom in the mist, a soulless shell with another name and another outlook than its own.

That is why it is perhaps dangerous to faith if we use misunderstood words like Christianity and Catholicism somewhat too often. Let us repeat: Catholicism is not a theory, not a teaching, Christianity is the invisible but truly living presence of Christ among us, the Kingship of Jesus. To be Catholic means to stand in vital communication, through faith, hope and love, with the invisibly present Redeemer, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Thus it is that there, where Jesus is not present in the Host and no living communication with Him takes place, there can be no living Christianity. In that moment when Luther rejected the Sacrament of the Altar and therewith Christ present, he rejected Christianity.

Christianity equals Christ with the Christians! What does Jesus do when He is with the Christians? The same thing he did for three years in Palestine: be King. We often have no real concept of the life and the effectiveness of Jesus in the tabernacle. We think that because our eyes and ears are too weak to observe the divine-human activity of Jesus in the tabernacle, only the stillness of death reigns there. That is a gross deception.

His activity depends neither upon the greatness of his work room nor the loudness of sounds. What gigantic work is done by sun and nature, although no eye and ear can observe its progress! The Jesus of the tabernacle is the same as the Jesus in the Gospels, the same in Holiness, in Might, in Wisdom, in Omniscience, in Mercy and in Love. St. Paul writes in Hebrews (13:8) that "Jesus Christ, yesterday, and to-day; and the same for ever."

So what is Jesus doing in the tabernacles? He exercises His priestly office. The King prays. He holds perpetual adoration. He holds services in the name of the parish. He celebrates the Holy Mass. The visible Mass is over with the Ite missa est. The invisible Mass continues day and night since Jesus is present in the tabernacle, as an offering of praise and thanks and reparation. The parish priest is obliged by canon law to "read" Holy Mass for the congregation every Sunday. That is called "application." Jesus does more than the visible priest. He prays and makes application for HIs people continually.

What else Jesus do in the tabernacle? He exercises His office Shepherd. He does pastoral care of souls. The King keeps watch. The eyes of the Good Shepherd never sleep. They see everything that happens in the parish, in the houses and in the hearts. The eyes of the Good Shepherd take note of every longing for help and every danger. The Heart of the Good Shepherd beats for all with unending love, and that is the soul of pastoral work.

What else does Jesus do in the tabernacle? He exercises the preaching office, a preaching that penetrates deeper than just to the ears and without the preaching of the clergy in the pulpit remains nothing but sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. The King speaks. The angels are His parish helpers. They visit the individual souls of the parishioners on assignment from the Saviour and with the power of the Holy Spirit. That proves what ought to be proven: that Christianity is not empty theory. Christianity is Christ with the Christians! The King lives!

Christianity should not be anything for us than it was for the Apostles: a living relationship to Jesus present. This personal relationship expresses itself in faith, hope and love for Jesus the King. Above all it is the Christian with Christ through love! Take for example in thought. Love expresses itself in its domination of the entire world of our thoughts. The world of thoughts usually is preoccupied with business, pleasure, the latest sensation, exaggerated worries and often just dirt. It is materialistic, money-grabbing, sensual, alcoholic, worldly. It is the thought of a baptized heathen. If we want to call ourselves Christians, then we ought to think of nothing but Christ Who is present among us. Neither work nor politics, neither the press nor sports ought to occupy us in the least in comparison to the occupation of our memory and our understanding by Jesus. That's Christianity!

The same applies to the world of feelings. Measure your temperature in Church, near to Jesus. It is much lower than when you are in a theater, a restaurant, in the office. That's not normal. You must have a heart defect. And today it seems that cardiac defects have become the mass epidemic of Christianity. We love everything, only not for Jesus. I repeat: that's not normal! A patient whose temperature has sunk so low is very ill. Christianity is the Christian with Christ. Not only with his thoughts and his feelings, but in all his doings must he be with Him. The church, the house where Jesus lives, ought to be a stronger attraction for every genuine Christian than any other house in in town, even during the week. Tell me where I can find you most often, and I will tell you who are are.

We want to be Christians again! Yet a little while, and we shall see Jesus. The Invisible will become visible. The hidden King of the tabernacle is Judge over punishment or reward for eternity! The great movement of decision over heaven and hell has come. What is heaven? The place of blessed happiness in love. It is clear that whoever does not know the great law of Christianity, the law of love between the Christian and Christ, cannot enter into heaven. Not want to love Christ, Who is Love, is the sins of sins! Whoever does not love will be damned. We want to become Christians again. We want to love again, love and die for Christ the King. (Father Robert Mader, Cross and the Crown, edited and translated by Dr. Eileen Kunze, Sarto House, 1999, pp. 92-94.)

Let me repeat one sentence from the passages quoted above:

In that moment when Luther rejected the Sacrament of the Altar and therewith Christ present, he rejected Christianity.

William Franklin “Billy” Graham, Jr., was not a “minister” of the Gospel of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and neither is his son, William Franklin Graham III, nor his grandson, William Franklin Graham “Will” Graham IV.

Protestantism is not Christianity and its phony “ministers” have always done the bidding of their masters in the civil state from the time that Martin Luther revolted against the Divine Plan that Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself instituted to effect man’s return to Him through His Catholic Church.

Thus, William Franklin Graham III, known commonly as “Franklin” Graham to distinguish him from his father and from his own son, has ever shown himself to be an enabler of “conservative” politicians no matter what they so or do, and it is in this context that the son of the Fuller Brush Man’s defense of President Donald John Trump must be understood:

I had received some questions about President 's recent posts, and here are my thoughts:

I do not believe President Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ—that would certainly be inappropriate. I’m thankful the President has made it very clear that this was not at all what he thought the AI-generated image was representing—he thought it was a doctor helping someone, and when he learned of the concerns, he immediately removed the post.

When I looked at the illustration, I didn’t jump to the same conclusion as some. There were no spiritual references—no halo, there were no crosses, no angels. It was a flag, soldiers, a nurse, fighter planes, eagles, the Statue of Liberty, and I think this is a lot to do about nothing. There is so much ill-intended speculation. I think his enemies are always foaming at the mouth at any possible opportunity to make him look bad.

Interjection Number One:

This is pure fiction.

How many doctors dress up in white cloaks and read capes?

How many doctors heal patients by placing their hands on a patient’s head?

How many doctors shine forth light from their hands?

How many nurses pray to the doctors as they lay hands on patients with beams of light flowing from them?

There is no mistake, Franklin Graham.

Donald John Trump sees himself in divine terms.

He believes he has never done anything for which he must seek forgiveness.

He believes that anyone who criticizes him is a “loser” and a “low IQ moron” no matter how much may have supported him previously.

He believes that everyone must believe everything he says or does.’

He believes that he has his “own morality” in his “own mind.”

He is compulsively naming things after himself, praising himself, and building statues and buildings emblazoned with his name, and has gone so far as to have his own signature appear on United States currency in place of the Treasurer of the United States of America.

Humility is a hallmark of the Christian interior life:

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him.  2 And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  4 Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.  5 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

[Bishop Richard Challoner Commentary on Verse 3: "The poor in spirit": That is, the humble; and they whose spirit is not set upon riches.]

 6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.  7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.  8 Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.  9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God.  10 Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: 12 Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. (Matthew 5: 1-12.)

Franklin Graham, do you believe that Donald John Trump is “poor in spirit,” that he is meek and humble of heart?

Oh, you do, do you?

Great, thanks for answering my rhetorical question.

Query, Mister Graham?

Are the following images, which was generated by Donald John Trump on his own initiative, exemplative of the spirit of the Beatitudes?

(Trump shares AI video of his vision for Gaza.)

Moreover, even though it might be claimed that Donald John Trump is a “peacemaker,” the truth remains that there is no peace in Gaza as the Israelis continue to kill innocent men, women, and children there, and the Israelis have even bombed a UNICEF truck carry water to the people of Gaza whom Benjamin Netanyahu has been starving to death as they attempt to live on not-even-subsistence level rations:

We have a statement by the UN children’s agency, or UNICEF, on the killing by Israeli fire of two civilian contractors delivering water in northern Gaza yesterday.

“UNICEF is outraged by the killing of two drivers of trucks contracted by UNICEF to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.

UNICEF said the incident took place at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza, which is “the only operational truck filling point for the Mekorot water supply line serving Gaza City”.

“The incident, in which two other people were injured, occurred during routine water trucking operations, with no changes in movement or procedures,” it said, adding that the point was used “multiple times a day” by UNICEF and its humanitarian partners.

Following the incident, all activities at the filling point had been suspended, it said, urging the Israeli authorities to “immediately investigate” the incident and ensure those responsible are held accountable.

“Humanitarian workers, essential service providers and civilian infrastructure, including critical water facilities, must never be targeted. The protection of civilians and those delivering life-saving assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law.” (Iran war live: IRGC says Hormuz closed until US blockade lifted.)

There can be no peace absent the peace of Christ the King in the souls of men, and that true peace is to be found by means of Sanctifying Grace administered unto souls by His Catholic Church and none other, certainly not the “Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,” and no one can be “peacemaker” while he enables the slaughter of untold hundreds of thousands of innocent children by refusing to enforce a just law preventing the mailing of abortifacients and by promoting the profit-making baby-killing scheme called in vitro fertilization that denies the Sovereignty of God over the just means for the procreation of new human life.

A final point about the Beatitudes concerning being blessed when we are reviled is relevant as Donald John Trump hates being criticized and is one of the greatest revilers, mockers, and scorners the world has ever known. His entire life is built upon reviling his enemies and mocking his critics into utter shame for daring not to accept his word, his policies, and his motives without even a moment of hesitation or doubt as no one Who truly knows Our Lord as He has revealed Himself to us exclusively through His Catholic Church, loves Him with His whole heart, mind, body, soul, and strength and lives to serve Him and obey His Commandments does any of things without being sorry. Donald John Trump, though, once told Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, “Abe, Trump does not apologize.

No one who uses God’s Holy Name in vain nor uses obscenity, whether in public or in private, knows anything about the First or Second Commandments and for Franklin Graham to contend the illustration of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ speaking into the ear of Donald John Trump indicates how the latter listens to Our Lord is just frankly obscene as the Divine Redeemer only the adversary inspires human beings to act rashly, speak vainly, behave narcissistically, and seek to destroy those who criticize him even mildly:

And the illustration from someone else he reposted on Truth Social yesterday, I must say that I like the fact that this is a picture of Jesus whispering in his ear, or at least His hand on his shoulder, guiding him. We all need that—we all need to be listening to Jesus. Again, I think there is an attempt to spin this into something that it isn’t. Remember, President Trump didn’t draw this, he didn’t create it, he reposted it on his social media because he thought it was nice—I would have to agree.

I’m not a Catholic, I’m an evangelical, but I appreciate how President Trump has defended religious freedom for people of all faiths, including millions of evangelicals and Catholics in the U.S. and around the world. He is the most pro-Christian, pro-life president in my lifetime, and he doesn’t shy away from it. I would hope that the President and Pope Leo can meet at some point, and that the Pope would have the opportunity to thank the President for his efforts to protect religious liberty for Catholics and people of all faiths.  (Franklin Graham on X: "I had received some questions about President @realDonaldTrump's recent posts, and here are my thoughts: I do not believe President Trump would knowingly depict himself as Jesus Christ—that would certainly be inappropriate. I’m thankful the President has made it very clear that" / X.)

Excuse me, Mr. Graham, no one is a Christian, no less a pro-life Christian, who supports the evils listed above, and who boasts of  how proud he is of his daughter Ivanka Trump Kushner converting to Talmudism and that he has Jewish grandchildren and no one who insists that he hates his enemies is any kind of disciple of the Word Who was made Incarnate in the Virginal and Immaculate Womb of His Most Blessed Mother:

Yes, William Franklin Graham III, for all your shilling for your supposedly “pro-life” president, who happens believe that, contrary to the binding precepts of the Divine Positive Law and the Natural Law, that is licit to directly intend to kill innocent humans in the so-called “hard cases,”  Donald John Trump has told us in his own words that he hates his enemies.

I will reprise material from Nota Bene, President Trump: Forgivness of Others is Not Optional, which was published over six months ago, to illustrate this point:

Possessing no true self-knowledge nor even the slightest hint of humility, Trump boasted that, unlike his friend Charlie Kirk, he does indeed hate enemies and opponents:

President Trump (24:00):

A lot of it was based on common sense, by the way. Charlie wrote back to the staff member saying, "I'm not here to fight them. I want to know them and love them, and I want to reach them and try and lead them into a great way of life in our country." In that private moment on his dying day, we find everything we need to know about who Charlie Kirk truly was. He was a missionary with a noble srpirit and a great, great purpose. He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them.

(24:38)
That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I am sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that's not right, but I can't stand my opponent.

(24:59)  (Donald Trump Charlie Kirk Memorial Service.)

The worst part of this is that the crowd of over 90,000, which is 20,000 more than the seating capacity at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (police estimated that as many as 200,000 people may have shown up for Roman spectacle), cheered with approval when Trump said he hated his opponent. This just goes to show once again the cult of the “infallible” Trump trumps the following words of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:

You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you: that you may be the children of your Father Who is in Heaven, Who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have; do not even the publicans this? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your Heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 43-48.)

We must be perfect as Our Heavenly Father is perfect. We must forgive others. We cannot go about exacting vengeance or engaging in petty acts of vindictiveness against others. We must forgive as we are forgiven. It is that simple. Each of us deserves to be chastised for our sins. We should be grateful to the ever-merciful God that He sends us others to calumniate us and to speak ill of us just moments after they may have spoken feigned words of greetings to us through gritted teeth and pretended smiles that betrayed a spirit of inner contempt.

So what?

So what?

Our Lord also taught us that we must forgive those who hurt or offend us in one way or another seventy times seven times, meaning an infinite number of times in imitation of His own ready willingness to forgive us in the Sacred Tribunal of Penance if we approach Him with a true contrition for our sins and a firm purpose of amendment:

"Then Peter came unto Him and said: 'Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times.'

"Jesus saith to him: 'I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times.'

" 'Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a king, who would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him, that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewithal to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children all that he had, and payment to be made.

" 'But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." And the lord of that servant being moved with pity, let him go and forgave him the debt.

" 'But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow servants that owed him an hundred pence: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: "Pay what thou owest." And his fellow servant falling down, besought him, saying: "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he paid the debt.

" 'Now his fellow servants seeing what was done were very much grieved, and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him; and said to him: "Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: Shouldst not thou then have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee?" And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt.

" 'So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.'" (Lk. 18:21-35)

That's right, ladies and gentlemen: we will not be forgiven our sins unless we forgive others from our hearts without any trace of bitterness at all! We recite the Pater Noster many times during a day, praying "Et dimmite nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimmitimus debitoribus nostris." "And forgive us our trespasses we forgive those who trespass against us." The martyrs, following the example of Our Lord and His Protomartyr, Saint Stephen, forgave their persecutors. We must do the same.

True, we may not be reconciled fully in this life with those in whose life we may have caused pain or with those who have caused us to suffer. We must, though, seek out forgiveness from others and to give it freely even if it turns out to be the case that there will not be a full restoration of friendship until the glories of Heaven, when all of those who have persevered to their dying breaths will be reconciled one unto the other. An absolute precondition of that happy reunion in Heaven, however, is to have at all times the spirit of forgiveness and prayer that Our Lord Himself taught us many times in His Public Ministry and ratified on the wood of the Holy Cross, the spirit of forgiveness and prayer that Saint Stephen demonstrated at the moment of his own martyrdom.

Consider this example of forgiveness that was offered by the legitimate Queen of England, Catherine of Aragon, to her debauched husband, King Henry VIII, written shortly before Queen Catherine's death on January 7, 1536, at the age of fifty:

My most dear lord, King and husband,

The hour of my death now drawing on, the tender love I owe you forceth me, my case being such, to commend myself to you, and to put you in remembrance with a few words of the health and safeguard of your soul which you ought to prefer before all worldly matters, and before the care and pampering of your body, for the which you have cast me into many calamities and yourself into many troubles. For my part, I pardon you everything, and I wish to devoutly pray God that He will pardon you also. For the rest, I commend unto you our daughter Mary, beseeching you to be a good father unto her, as I have heretofore desired. I entreat you also, on behalf of my maids, to give them marriage portions, which is not much, they being but three. For all my other servants I solicit the wages due them, and a year more, lest they be unprovided for. Lastly, I make this vow, that mine eyes desire you above all things.

Katharine the Queen  (Letter of Katharine of Aragon to her husband.)

And you can't forgive the brother who hasn't written to you in ten years? Think again. Forgive as you have been given. Saint Stephen did. Why can't you?

Our sins deserve far, far worse than anything we are asked to suffer in this passing, mortal vale of tears. None of us or our supposed “reputations,” which exist more in our own imaginations than they do in the objective order of things, are so important as to become arrogant and full of self-righteous sanctimony when our “pride” is wounded and especially when things we would rather not hear about ourselves become more widely known in this life as a preparation for the revelation of each of our private thoughts, words and actions on the Last Day at the General Judgment of the living and the dead. It will only be on that Last Day that the totality of our lives will be seen by others as we saw it at the Particular Judgment, which is ratified and made known to all at the General Judgment to manifest both the justice and mercy of God.

So many people plot and scheme and whisper behind closed doors (or endlessly on their cellular phones) to “protect” their nonexistent “reputations,” fearful that some ill word, whether true or not, will be spoken against them. Meetings are held where tales full of half-truth and lots of positivism are spun to seek reaffirmation from others for a “plan of action” to proactively attack those who know the truth about them and their constant self-seeking.

To what end?

To what good end?

Doesn’t everything get revealed on the Last Day? Why all of the efforts to avoid a little chastisement in this life?

Indeed, much of the chastisement that comes our way could be avoided entirely if we only had more humility to say, “You know what? Boy, I’ve messed up a whole lot. I’ve done some very bad things. I’ve treated people badly. I’ve attempted to make others look guilty in a given situation when I’m the one at fault. You know what? I’m a stinker. Please forgive me.”

Yes, even though Donald John Trump does not believe this, our persecutors and calumniators are really our best friends as they are being used by the good God as instruments to help us to be so purified of self and disordered self-love that we thank Him for helping us to be ground into nothing in the eyes of the "numbers," praying for a good and happy reconciliation for all eternity with Heaven with as those who have sought to persecute and/or speak ill of us even they, not realizing what it is they are doing, are just flat out wrong in their accusations. Everything does indeed get revealed on the Last Day at the General Judgment of the living and the dead. That's all that matters. Nothing else.

After all, Our Lord also said the following when discussing on the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount:

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[11] Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: [12] Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. (Matthew 5: 10-12.)

What a joy it is be counted worthy despite one’s own sins to have others speak ill against us for the sake of the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is both humbling and encouraging to be the beneficiary of being so reviled.

In today’s world, though, forgiveness has become as difficult was it was before the Incarnation of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Virginal and Immaculate Womb of His Most Blessed Mother by the power of God the Holy Ghost:

With the exception of that comparatively small number of heroic men and women who have, from the dawn of consciousness, pursued unfalteringly the path of perfection, Christians as a rule belie the promises of their baptism and continually present obstacles to the increase of divine grace in their souls. Differing in many respects, we are alike in this, that we are all sinners, and that we have not only once, but perhaps several times in our lives disappointed God.

Under the reign of Satan men were hard and unfeeling, without pity or tenderness. The one thing they looked up to was the physical power to dominate, and the one thing they feared was the helplessness of poverty. Their life was divided between pleasure and cruelty. Pride and haughtiness instead of being regarded as defects were regarded as manly virtues. Weakness was almost synonymous with vice, and all this tended to fashion hearts imperverious to the grace of God and to every human feeling. Conversion of heart was for them extremely difficult. What God required on the part of man as a necessary condition of their friendship with Him was to them abhorrent, for the practice of the Christian virtues of submission, humility, and patience would be regarded by them as degrading. They had to learn that what was not degrading to God–since nothing could degrade Him in reality–could not be degrading to them. Turning to God postulated on their part not only a change of heart, but also a change of mentality. Their human values were almost all wrong. In the terse words of St. Ignatius describing the pagan world” “They smite, they slay and they go down to Hell”.

In other words, it is the law of things as they actually are that we must continually suffer from others; it is the condition of our being that we shall be the victims of others’ abuse of their free wills; it belongs to our position that our desires and inclinations should be continually thwarted and that we should be at the mercy of circumstances. And it is our duty to bear that without resentment and without rebellion. To rebel is to assert practically that such things are not our due, that they do not belong to our position. It is to refuse to recognize that we are fallen members of a fallen race. The moment we feel resentment at anything painful that happens to us through the activity of men or things, at that moment we are resentful against God’s Providence.

We are in this really protesting against His eternal determination to create free beings; for these sufferings which we endure are a consequence of the carrying into effect of that free determination. If we expect or look for a mode of existence in which we shall not endure harshness, unkindness, misunderstanding, and injustice, we are actually rebelling against God’s Providence, we are claiming a position that does not belong to us as creatures. This is to sin against humility. It is pride. (Father Edward Leen, In The Likeness of Christ, Sheed and Ward, 1936, pp, 17-18; 182-183.)

Donald John Trump does not realize this, of course, but why is that we think that we are exception to having to suffer from others?

Finally, Franklin Graham’s praise of Donald John Trump’s defense of “religious freedom” misses the point entirely as what president does the next can undo. The heresy of “religious freedom,” which is indeed endorsed by Robert Francis Prevoest/Leo XIV, who has spoken about this during his ongoing African pilgrimage that he used has to attack Trump, albeit without naming him, in many of his allocutions (the two blasphemers deserve each other), even though our true popes have condemned it for asserting that it is God’s positively ordained will for falsehoods to be propagated openly in the marketplace of ideas:

Now We consider another abundant source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained. Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive this deadly error far from the people committed to your care. With the admonition of the apostle that "there is one God, one faith, one baptism" may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that "those who are not with Christ are against Him," and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. Therefore "without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate." Let them hear Jerome who, while the Church was torn into three parts by schism, tells us that whenever someone tried to persuade him to join his group he always exclaimed: "He who is for the See of Peter is for me." A schismatic flatters himself falsely if he asserts that he, too, has been washed in the waters of regeneration. Indeed Augustine would reply to such a man: "The branch has the same form when it has been cut off from the vine; but of what profit for it is the form, if it does not live from the root?"

This shameful font of indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims that liberty of conscience must be maintained for everyone. It spreads ruin in sacred and civil affairs, though some repeat over and over again with the greatest impudence that some advantage accrues to religion from it. "But the death of the soul is worse than freedom of error," as Augustine was wont to say. When all restraints are removed by which men are kept on the narrow path of truth, their nature, which is already inclined to evil, propels them to ruin. Then truly "the bottomless pit" is open from which John saw smoke ascending which obscured the sun, and out of which locusts flew forth to devastate the earth. Thence comes transformation of minds, corruption of youths, contempt of sacred things and holy laws -- in other words, a pestilence more deadly to the state than any other. Experience shows, even from earliest times, that cities renowned for wealth, dominion, and glory perished as a result of this single evil, namely immoderate freedom of opinion, license of free speech, and desire for novelty.

Here We must include that harmful and never sufficiently denounced freedom to publish any writings whatever and disseminate them to the people, which some dare to demand and promote with so great a clamor. We are horrified to see what monstrous doctrines and prodigious errors are disseminated far and wide in countless books, pamphlets, and other writings which, though small in weight, are very great in malice. We are in tears at the abuse which proceeds from them over the face of the earth. Some are so carried away that they contentiously assert that the flock of errors arising from them is sufficiently compensated by the publication of some book which defends religion and truth. Every law condemns deliberately doing evil simply because there is some hope that good may result. Is there any sane man who would say poison ought to be distributed, sold publicly, stored, and even drunk because some antidote is available and those who use it may be snatched from death again and again? (Pope Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos, August 15, 1832.)

As Pope Leo XIII noted in Libertas Praestantissimum, June 20, 1888, it may be necessary for the civil state to tolerate the propagation of error but the more it does so is the more that such error is likely to become institutionalized without any regard for truth whatsoever:

But, to judge aright, we must acknowledge that, the more a State is driven to tolerate evil, the further is it from perfection; and that the tolerance of evil which is dictated by political prudence should be strictly confined to the limits which its justifying cause, the public welfare, requires. Wherefore, if such tolerance would be injurious to the public welfare, and entail greater evils on the State, it would not be lawful; for in such case the motive of good is wanting. And although in the extraordinary condition of these times the Church usually acquiesces in certain modern liberties, not because she prefers them in themselves, but because she judges it expedient to permit them, she would in happier times exercise her own liberty; and, by persuasion, exhortation, and entreaty would endeavor, as she is bound, to fulfill the duty assigned to her by God of providing for the eternal salvation of mankind. One thing, however, remains always true -- that the liberty which is claimed for all to do all things is not, as We have often said, of itself desirable, inasmuch as it is contrary to reason that error and truth should have equal rights.

And as to tolerance, it is surprising how far removed from the equity and prudence of the Church are those who profess what is called liberalism. For, in allowing that boundless license of which We have spoken, they exceed all limits, and end at last by making no apparent distinction between truth and error, honesty and dishonesty. And because the Church, the pillar and ground of truth, and the unerring teacher of morals, is forced utterly to reprobate and condemn tolerance of such an abandoned and criminal character, they calumniate her as being wanting in patience and gentleness, and thus fail to see that, in so doing, they impute to her as a fault what is in reality a matter for commendation. But, in spite of all this show of tolerance, it very often happens that, while they profess themselves ready to lavish liberty on all in the greatest profusion, they are utterly intolerant toward the Catholic Church, by refusing to allow her the liberty of being herself free. (Pope Leo XIII in Libertas Praestantissimum, June 20, 1888.) 

This is not a matter of ethereal speculation having nothing to with the real lives of human beings. Not at all.

The heresy of religious liberty, which is at the heart of the counterfeit church of conciliarism, devastates souls.

The belief that those who belong to false religions have a "civil right" to propagate themselves and that their false beliefs can contribute to the betterment of society make it impossible to exclude those false religions from making their presence felt everywhere in society, especially in "educational" institutions, where the tender souls of the young become ready prey to false ideas that are propagandized by charismatic professors.

This is true in the United States of America and elsewhere in the allegedly "free" world of "democratic republics, and the end result of the heresy of religious freedom will be Antichrist’s own reign of totalitarianism, and it is not for noting to note that the lords of this world and of Modernism in the counterfeit church of conciliarism are all figures of Antichrist, every single one of them.

Enough of this except to say that Donald John Trump may very well spend all eternity in hell with William Franklin Graham III unless each man converts to the true Faith before he dies. We must pray to Our Lady, especially through her Most Holy Rosary, for the conversion of all non-Catholics to the true Faith as well as praying for our own daily conversion away from sin, disordered self-love, and worldliness.

On Good Shepherd Sunday

Today, Sunday, April 19, 2026, is the Second Sunday after Easter, which is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday.

Shepherds in the Holy Land at the time when Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ lived were accustomed to herding their sheep at common at night. Each shepherd taught his own sheep to follow his voice when he sang a particular melody or played a melody on a reed instrument, thereby signaling the sheep to follow him for their next day’s journey.

Father Maurice Meschler, S.J., commented on the historical setting of shepherds and the sheep of their flock at the time that Our Lord spoke of Himself as the Good Shepherd:

The reason why our Saviour speaks of the heads and teachers of Israel as “shepherds” is probably that Scripture very often represents the guidance of the nation by God and His representatives under the figure of a shepherd leading his sheep (Gen. xlviii. 15. Ps xxii. Isa. Xl II. Jer. Xxiii. I. Ex. xxxiv. 1-23; xxxvii. 24. Zach. xi. 17; xiii. 7. Matt. ix. 36). And this was quite in keeping with the character of peace and benevolence which this guidance bore. The simile was equally well-founded as regards the economical conditions of the country, since the wealth of Palestine, especially in the highlands, consisted chiefly in pasture-land, meadows and flocks. These flocks fed in the meadows from spring until winter. In the evening the sheep, which were separated into different flocks by day, were brought into a common fold surrounded by a wall, which was provided with a gate or door and a little lodge. The door was given into the charge of a door-keeper or porter. In the morning he opened the door to admit the shepherds; each of these called the flock belonging to him, and the sheep obeyed the call of their shepherd and followed him to their own place of pasture. Our Saviour now takes the chief figures of His parable from the picture of Oriental rural life.—But the immediate occasion of the parable was given by the Pharisees, through their unjust and unauthorized measures against the adherents of Jesus. Not content with not believing in Him themselves, they wished forcibly to draw away from His those who did believe, and therefore expelled them from the synagogue. They hereby arrogated to themselves the supreme pastoral office, and guarded violently and arbitrarily the entrance to the kingdom of God.  . . .

This whole parable and teaching of our Saviour here is a magnificent and glorious revelation of Himself as the Messias, the supreme Shepherd of all nations, a priestly King, who asserts His rights over all shepherds and peoples, and who will unite them all under His peaceful and beneficent pastoral staff in one great kingdom of happiness and glory, which will arise from His voluntary Death for all. How many glorious prophecies of the Messias, who is to be also the Shepherd of Israel (Ez. xxiv. 23 Isa. xl. II), of the king of nations (Ps. ii. 8); of the redeeming Death of the Messias (Isa. liii. 7); of the great kingdom that will spring from this Death (xxi. 28). All is of tremendous import, yet full of charm; all is perfectly in keeping with the character of our Saviour.

These words of His, spoken with majestic calmness and judicial severity, did not fail of their effect. The enemies of Jesus sought to weaken this effect by calling His sayings senseless and attributing them to possession by a devil (John x. 19 20). Others, again, replied that no demoniac could speak like this; no evil spirit could make the blind to see (John x. 21). And so there was dissension among them.

3. Application of This Figure to Ourselves

The application to ourselves consists in this, that we give ourselves unreservedly to this Shepherd of our souls. The motives are as follows. First, He is our rightful Shepherd, because He is our God and Lord. The pastoral office is only one title and manifestation of his royal sovereignty, which is His peculiar birthright as Man God. —Secondly, He is really and in all the mysteries of His life a Shepherd and the Good Shepherd. In His Incarnation He forsakes high heaven and the bright choirs of angels for our little earth, that He may seek after us poor strayed sheep, and He assumes our nature in order to win us. In His Public Life he is again the Good Shepherd. He hastens after the poor sinners over mountains and vale, through thorns and thickets; He carries them gently back, heals them by His grace, leads them to the good pastures of His teaching and example, and nourishes them with His own Flesh and Blood. In his Passion He dies in our stead, that we may live. In His Resurrection He gathers His sheep together again, comforts them, gives them the Holy Ghost and eternal life. He is everywhere the Good Shepherd. Oh, let us never forget His tender, all-embracing, all-sacrificing, faithful love, and all that we owe to it! Our Saviour is everything to us: fold, door, way, pasture and shepherd. —Thirdly, let us reflect that we must have a shepherd. We must belong to some flock and some shepherd. We have only the choice between Christ and the world or the Evil One. Is there a more selfish and cruel tyrant than the world and its prince? In what powerful and terrifying characters our Saviour depicts its sway! And what a terrible fate it prepares for us, whilst our Saviour promises us life, abundant, beatific, eternal life!

Let us therefore be good sheep of the Good Shepherd. Let us learn to know Him by His word, His example, His footprints. This is a mark by which the true sheep of Jesus may be known, this pleasure, this joy in everything that concerns Him. Let us follow Him, let us permit ourselves to be guided aright, when He wishes to hold us back from the poisonous pastures of worldly joys and from lurking wolves. Let us offer Him the poor gift of or life, our body, our sufferings and our labours. Who deserves it more than He? Let us follow Him everywhere, to Bethlehem, to Thabor, or to Mount Quarantine, Gethsemani and Calvary. If the Good Shepherd is with us, we shall want for nothing. “Dominus regit me, et nihil mhi deerit.” (Ps. xxii. 1.) ((Father Maurice Meschler, S.J., The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Son of God, in Meditations, Volume I, Freiburg Im Breisgau 1928 Herder & Co., Publishers to the Holy Apostolic See, pp. 610-612; 615-616.)

Yes, we must conform everything in our own lives and in our outlook on the world and all that happens in it exclusively through the eyes  of the true Faith as we seek to follow the Good Shepherd, Christ the King, as His consecrated slaves through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His Most Blessed Mother.

To do this, however, we must sake to flee from the hirelings I the counterfeit church of conciliarism as conciliar “popes” and their “bishops” are hirelings who not only flee from danger, as most of them have done when ordered to shutter the doors of the churches by the civil authorities, but are active agents in leading the sheep who have entrusted themselves to their false pastoral leadership and care to perdition by teaching condemned principles, staging sacrilegious and abominable liturgies that are devoid of any sacramental validity or fruitfulness and “accompanying” those living in sin, up to and including the sin of Sodom itself, while refusing to exhort them to amend their lives. This is to say nothing of how these spiritual robber barons support the evils of “brain death,” the vivisection of human beings by means of vital organ donation and transplantation and the not-so-disguised euthanasia that is “palliative care.” Our Lady wants us to have nothing to do with the hirelings except to pray for their conversion as they are as blinded by their own pride and pagan superstitions as the Pharisees themselves.

Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself specifically warned us that there would be wolves in sheep’s clothing who would seek to deceive and mislead the flock that belongs to Him, the Good Shepherd:

Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. [14] How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it! [15] Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

[16] By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? [17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. [18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit. [19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire. [20] Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. (Matthew 7: 13-20.)

Does any reader of this site want to contend that the fruit of the counterfeit church of conciliarism is anything but bad?

Well, there might be some who believe this to be so.

However, the truth is otherwise, and the tree from which this bad fruit has come forth was planted by the Judas priests in the centuries leading up to the “election” of Angelo Roncalli and the “Second” Vatican Council.

As recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul the Apostle warned his own flock that there would come from their own ranks wolves in sheep’s clothing:

[26] Wherefore I take you to witness this day, that I am clear from the blood of all men; [27] For I have not spared to declare unto you all the counsel of God. [28] Take heed to yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Ghost hath placed you bishops, to rule the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. [29] I know that, after my departure, ravening wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. [30] And of your own selves shall arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20: 26-30.)

Many were the ravening wolves and false prophets who just bided their time in the decades immediately the death of Pope Pius XII on October 9, 1958.

Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has pastured us in His Holy Catholic Church, and He nurtures us with the true Sacraments so that we, who are but dump sheep prone to go astray and lose sight of Our Good Shepherd, can lead us homely safely to Heaven as we cling so lovingly and loyally to His Most Blessed Mother, especially by means of her Most Holy Rosary.

Appendix A

Dom Prosper Gueranger on Good Shepherd Sunday

This Sunday goes under the name of the Good Shepherd Sunday, because in the Mass, there is read the Gospel of St. John, wherein our Lord calls himself by this name. How very appropriate is this passage of the Gospel to this present Season, when our Divine Master began his work of establishing and consolidating the Church, by giving it the Pastor, or Shepherd, who was to govern it to the end of time!

In accordance with the eternal decree, the Man-God, on the fortieth day after his Resurrection, is to withdraw his visible presence from the world. He is not to be again seen upon the earth till the Last Day, when he will come again to judge the living and the dead. And yet, he could never abandon mankind, for which he offered himself on the Cross, and which he delivered from death and hell by rising triumphantly from the Grave. He will continue to be its Head after his Ascension into heaven: but what shall we have, on earth, to supply his place? We shall have his Church. It is to the Church that he will leave all his own authority to rule us; it is into the hands of the Church that he will entrust all the truths he has taught; it is the Church that he will make the dispenser of all those means of salvation, which he has destined for the world.

This Church is a society, unto which all mankind is invited. It is composed of two classes of Members; the governing and the governed; the teaching and the taught; the sanctifying and the sanctified. This Society is the Spouse of Christ; it is by her that he produces his elect. She is the one only Mother of the elect; out of her bosom, there is no salvation.

But how is this society to subsist? how is it to persevere through the long ages of time, even to the Last Day? who is to give it unity and adhesion of its parts? what is to be the visible link between its members—the palpable sign of its being the true Spouse of Christ, in the event of other societies rising up and disputing her titles? If Jesus himself could have remained with us, we should have had nothing to fear, for where he is, there also are truth and life; but as he says, he is going, and we may not as yet follow him. Give ear, then, and learn what is the primary quality of the true Spouse of Christ.

Jesus was one day, previous to his Passion, in the country of Cesarea Philippi; his Apostles were standing around him, and he began questioning them about what they thought of him. One of them, Simon the son of John or Jonas, and brother to Andrew, answered in the name of all, and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God! (Matthew 16:16) Jesus expressed his pleasure at receiving Simon’s testimony, which was not the result of any human knowledge, but the expression of a divine revelation there and then granted to him; and he immediately told this Apostle that from that time forward he was to be not Simon, but Peter (which means a Rock). Christ had been spoken of by the Prophets under the name of a Rock, or Stone; (Isaiah 28:16) by thus solemnly conferring upon his Disciple a title so characteristically that of the Messias, Jesus would give us to understand that Simon was to have a something in common with himself, which the other Apostles were not to have. After saying to him: Thou art Peter (that is, thou art the Rock)—he added: And upon this Rock I will build my Church. (Matthew 16:18)

Let us weigh the force of these words of the Son of God: I will build my Church. He has, then, a project in view—he intends to build a Church. It is not now that he will build it, but at some future period; but one thing we already know as a certainty—it is that this Church will be built on Peter. Peter will be its foundation; and whosoever is not on that foundation will not belong to the Church. Let us again give ear to the Text: And the gates of hell shall not prevail against my Church. In scriptural language, gates signify the powers: the Church of Christ, therefore, it to be proof against all the efforts of hell. And why? Because the foundation, which Jesus is to give to it, shall be one that no power can shake. The Son of God continues: And I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the language of the Jews, keys signify the power of governing; and in the Gospel Parables, the Kingdom of Heaven is the Church built by Christ. By saying to Peter (which is henceforth to be Simon’s name), I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, Jesus implied this: “I will make thee the King of my Church, of which thou art to be the Foundation!” Nothing could be clearer. But let us remember that all these magnificent promises regard the future. (Matthew 16)

That future has now become the present. We are now come to the last days of Jesus’ visible presence here below. The time is come for him to make good his promise and found the Kingdom of God—that Church which he was to build upon the earth. The Apostles, in obedience to the order sent them by the Angels, are come into Galilee. Our Lord appears to them on the shore of the lake of Tiberias: after providing them with a mysterious repast, and while they are all attentive to his words, he suddenly addresses himself to Peter: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? (John 21:15) Observe, he does not call him Peter; he, as it were, goes back to the day when he said to him: Simon, son of Jonas, thou art Peter; he would have his Disciples note the connection between the promise and its actual fulfillment. Peter, with his usual eagerness, answers his Master’s question: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus resumes, with a tone of authority: Feed my Lambs! Then, repeating the question, he asks: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter is surprised at his Master’s urging such an inquiry; still, he answers with the same simplicity as before: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee: and as soon as he had given answer, Jesus repeats the words of investiture: Feed my lambs!

The Disciples respectfully listen to this dialogue; they see plainly that, here again, Peter is made an object of Jesus’ partiality, and is receiving a something which they themselves are not to receive. They remember what happened at Cesarea Philippi, and how, ever since that day, peter has been treated by their Master with especial honor. And yet, there is another privilege or office to be added to this of feeding the Lambs. A third time, then, Jesus says to Peter: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? This is too much for the apostle. These three questionings of his love bring to his mind the three denials he had so sinfully made to the servant girl of Caiphas. He feels the allusion to his recent infidelity; and this third time, his answer implies a prayer for forgiveness; his reply bespeaks humility rather than assurance: Lord! says he, thou knowest all things! Thou knowest that I love thee! Then, making Peter’s authority complete, Jesus pronounces these imposing words: Feed my Sheep! (John 21:17)

Here, then, we have Peter made Shepherd by Him who says of himself: I am the good Shepherd. Firstly, our Lord gives his apostle, and twice over, the care of his Lambs; —this does not make him the complete Shepherd: but when he bids him feed his Sheep too, the whole Flock is subjected to his authority. Now, therefore, let the Church show herself, let her take her stand, let her spread herself through the length and breadth of the nations: Simon, the son of John, is proclaimed its visible Head. Is the Church a Building? he is the Foundation-Stone, the Petra, the Rock. Is she a Kingdom? he holds the Keys, that is, the scepter. Is she a Fold? he is the Shepherd.

Yes, this Church—which Jesus is now organizing, and is to be proclaimed to the world on the day of Pentecost—is to be a Fold. The Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, is come down from heaven, that he may gather together in one the children of God, that were dispersed; (John 11:52) and the time is at hand when there shall be but one Fold and one Shepherd. (John 10:16) O Jesus! our Divine Shepherd! we bless thee, we give thee thanks. It is by thee that the Church thou art now founding, subsists and lives through every age, congregating and saving all that put themselves under her guidance. Her authority, her strength, her unity, all come from thee, her infinitely powerful and merciful Shepherd! We likewise bless and thank thee for that thou hast secured this authority, this strength, this unity, by giving us Peter as thy Vicar, Peter our Shepherd in and by Thee, Peter to whom all, both Sheep and Lambs, owe obedience, Peter in whom thou, our Divine Head, will be forever visible, even to the end of the world! (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, Second Sunday after Easter.)

Appendix B

Father Francis X. Weninger’s Three Sermons for Good Shepherd Sunday

First Sermon

In today's Gospel Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, and well does the title become Him. Many other names are given to our Lord in Holy Writ. He is called "God" and "Lord," the "Father of the Family," the "Promised Messiah," the "Saviour and Redeemer of His People." That He deserves them all, every well-instructed Christian readily understands; for He is, indeed, both God and Lord the Father of the family, which, as Messiah, He has redeemed and saved.

One name, however, is especially applicable to Him, that of the "Good Shepherd." Christ calls Himself, emphatically, the Good Shepherd; and it is profitable for us to consider what this title of Christ means, as the elect are frequently typified by our Lord and His Prophets as sheep. The more clearly, then, we realize what the shepherd is to the sheep, the more ready and willing shall we be to follow Christ, our Good Shepherd, as His faithful sheep. Let its, therefore, today consider Christ as the Good Shepherd, and reflect on the qualities that entitle Him to this appellation.

Mary, thou who art next to Christ, the Good Shepherdess of His flock, thou zealous and first follower of the Lord, pray for us, that thy divine Son may acknowledge us as His sheep, and may be to us a Good Shepherd our Redeemer, our Lord! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, for the greater glory of God!

Christ calls Himself the Good Shepherd, and such indeed He is. To prove this, we need only think of the attributes which Christ mentions as belonging to a good shepherd. The first of these is: "To know his sheep." Every good shepherd, of course, knows his sheep; but none know their flock so well as Christ knows His. Even the most careful shepherd is not always able to recognize a sheep that has strayed from the flock, so that he may lead it back to the fold. Christ, however, as Good Shepherd, knows every human soul which He redeemed, and knows it better than the soul knows itself He knows every one. He knows the thoughts, the words, the wishes, and the actions of each all his good and all his evil inclinations. He has a thorough and complete knowledge of each and every man.

A good shepherd calls his sheep, that they may remain near him, and not stray away from the flock and the good pasture; and the sheep know His voice. How perfectly Christ possesses all the qualifications of a Good Shepherd! An inner and an outer voice is continually calling us. He admonishes, instructs and guides us by His voice. We hear it in the depth of our heart, through the inspirations of His grace, and we hear it, too, in the admonitions and warnings of those whom He has installed as His vicars upon earth.

Happy are we it we listen to this voice, if we follow it, and avoid the dangers which threaten our salvation! Happy are we if, when tempted, we make use of all those means of evading the persecutions of Satan which Christ points out to us! The good shepherd loves his sheep, and goes before them. How admirably our Lord fulfilla this duty to us! "I am the way," He cries to us, "follow Me." "I am the Truth and the Life."

The path of virtue and perfection lies before us, glorious in the light ot our Lord's example an example of the perfect fulfillment of the great commandment of loving God above all things and one's neighbor as one's self. If we but follow the voice of Christ, it will guide us in the way of salvation, into the best, the most nourishing of meadows, which is His Holy Word--the instructions and the graces which He imparts to us through His Church. How refreshing, strengthening and delicious is this pasture! Nor is this all; but He does for us what no other shepherd does for his sheep, He sacrifices Himself for us, and nourishes its, soul and body, with His sacramental flesh and blood.

What a Good Shepherd! And, to accomplish this, what does He do for each one of us? He not only leads us by His almighty power and goodness towards heaven, but He also offers Himself up daily for us all in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. "A good shepherd," says our Lord, "protects his sheep." And Christ promised His powerful protection to His Church, which is the flock of the Good Shepherd, when He said: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against her;" nor shall they prevail against any of His children who make use of those weapons and means of salvation which He intrusted to them.

Yes, the most holy name of Jesus alone protects us triumphantly in every danger that threatens our salvation, for no one shall be conquered or lost who pronounces with confidence this holy Name, and with it calls for help. For, to protect and save us, Jesus gave His life, and the last drop of His blood. This Christ did for us His children, His sheep. Never has an earthly shepherd done a work like this; never could it have been done. Where was there ever found a shepherd who was wounded and slain for his sheep? Yet Christ was wounded and slain for us! "He has delivered Himself for me," can every soul exclaim gratefully and lovingly with St. Paul? For me, He was born one cold winter's night; for me, He fled into Egypt; for me, He remained working in Nazareth; for me, He bore all the toils of His apostolic life; for me, He was scorned, scourged and crucified! What a Good Shepherd!

A good shepherd guards his sheep; but still, at the last, every sheep becomes the prey of death. Christ, the Good Shepherd, calls to us: "He that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live." Death, since Christ has redeemed us, is no longer to us what death is to a sheep, namely, destruction. No; through Christ, the Lamb of God, sacrificed for us, we have a right to exclaim: "O death! where is thy sting?"

Oh, the goodness our Shepherd shows to us, especially if we consider the relationship in which this Good Shepherd stands to us! As Shepherd, He is at the same time our Father, who has made us children of God. He is our Brother, and a Brother who has taken to Himself our nature, and elevated it above the choirs of angels. He is our Friend, and what a Friend! He gave His life for us! He is our King, and how generous, how wise, how grand a Monarch, who will place us all on thrones! He is our Bridegroom, and what a union awaits us with Him in the joys of heaven!

Let us follow Him like good sheep, that He may lead us into the fields and meadows of Paradise! Amen!

Second Sermon

"My sheep know Me, and hear My voice."--John 10.

No one doubts that Christ has the right of calling Himself our Good Shepherd, since the qualities which He mentions, when speaking of the good shepherd, are strikingly apparent in Himself. But is it qually clear that we are His sheep? Do we bear the marks which Christ gives us to recognize His sheep? How many, alas! of those who, because they have been baptized and educated in the bosom of the Church, style themselves Catholics, deserve that reproach of Christ, which we find in the Apocalypse: "Thou hast the name of being alive, and thou art dead "(3 - 1).

Reflecting on the marks by which Christ distinguished His sheep, and listening to the secret revelations of our own consciences, let each one examine and see if, perhaps, this reproof of Christ be not directed to himself. In this manner will each one be able to determine whether he belongs or not to the fold of Christ, the Good Shepherd. What, then, are the marks which, according to the words of Christ, distinguish the true sheep of the fold? I will point them out to you today.

O Mary, devotion to thee is one of the signs by which the true sheep of Christ's fold are recognized, pray for us, that we may receive the grace not only to be called Catholics, but also to live a Catholic life! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

In the words: "My sheep know Me," we have the first sign by which Christ describes His sheep. In how few of the many who call themselves children of the Catholic Church can we trace this sign in its full and comprehensive significance? There are multitudes who believe in Jesus Christ, and outwardly fulfill their duties as children of the Church, and yet are strangers to that intimate knowledge which their close relationship with Christ, as souls redeemed by Him, naturally supposes. How many, who, though baptized, live like children of the world, without further instruction, and know Jesus only in name!

They know Him as the Redeemer and Saviour of mankind, but are grossly ignorant of the beneficent and manifold relationship in which He stands to them as the Dispenser of the innumerable blessings of redemption. How many fail to grasp the meaning of the words: "Jesus our Father!" Ah, how loving a Father! It is He that restored to us the glorious birthright of the children of God, which we had lost in the fall of Adam and by our own personal sins, thus becoming children of Satan instead of children of God.

How many understand not the meaning of the words: "Jesus our Lord and King!" and fail to appreciate the happiness of being His subjects, soldiers of the Church militant, fighting valiantly under her standard, and strong in the hope of reigning one day with Christ, the "King of kings!" How many fathom not the meaning of the words: "Jesus our Brother!" Through the mystery of the Incarnation, Christ has become in very deed our Brother! How many consider not the meaning of the words: "Jesus our Friend!" How great a Friend has He not been to us! He has shed the last drop of His blood for us; and we know, according to His own rule, that "greater love no man hath, than that a man lay down his life for his friends!" Finally, as a reward of His friendship, He invites us to share with Him the joys of heaven. How many know not the meaning of the words: "Jesus our Light!" Yet He is "the true Light that enlighteneth every man who corneth into this world." How many ponder not the meaning of the words: "Jesus our Counsel, our Example, our Guide!" Still what a depth of instruction they contain! He is, indeed, our Counsel, our Example, our Guide; and He Himself calls upon us: "Follow Me."

Lastly, how many understand not the meaning of the word: "Jesus our Solace, in all the woes and trials of life; Jesus our Hope; our Strength;--Jesus the Joy of our heart;--our All!" This intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ we secure by prayer, and, especially, by devotion to the blessed Sacrament of the altar. That there is no more effectual means of acquiring a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ than frequent communion with Him present upon our altar, is the testimony of all who have reached that sublime union of which St. Paul speaks, when commending the hidden life through Christ in God.

Therefore, if we consider the lives of the majority of those who call themselves Catholics, how few shall we find among them who can say in the full acceptation of the words: I know Jesus! If we possess this personal knowledge of God, then our lives will be stamped with those other characteristics, which Christ enumerates, when He speaks of the sheep whose Shepherd He is.

He says: "They hear My voice, and follow Me." Doubtless, if our knowledge of Christ be real, it will be inseparable from a desire to please Him, and, hence, to know and fulfill His will. Is that your case?--"They hear My voice, and follow Me." How certain, how characteristic a sign of the true sheep, the true follower of Christ!

In order to understand the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, and to hear and follow the voice of Jesus, we must not only be thoroughly in earnest and filled with a great longing to do His holy will, but we must also be animated with that loving confidence, which is so well symbolized by the sheep following the voice of the shepherd and crowding around him. They hear My voice, and follow Me with true self-abnegation, perseverance and love of the cross, upon the path which I walk before them.

The true sheep of the flock of Christ flee all the occasions of sin, and dread losing sight of Him. They are watchful, and seek the protection of their Shepherd at the slightest approach of danger. The real sheep of the fold of Christ understand how to use those means which He bequeathed to His Church, in order to heal the wounds her children may have received from the wolves of the spiritual life, and they know, moreover, how to guard themselves against new attacks.

As this trait of being with Christ is distinctive of His sheep, so, too, is that abhorrence they experience for those hirelings who seek to corrupt them, and for the wolves of sinful inclinations, which threaten to tear them to pieces. Christ as the Good Shepherd protects them by His gracious providence, and they follow Him as predestined souls towards the pasture-lands of eternal life ! Amen!

Third Sermon

"And other sheep I have that are not of this fold, them also I must bring."--John 10

In today's Gospel, Christ, the Good Shepherd, calls mankind, redeemed and saved by Him, His sheep, and points out several characteristic signs by which they may be known. He says: "They know Me," not only as far as His voice is concerned, but in all those relations in which He stands to them as their God and Redeemer. My sheep both inwardly and outwardly hear My voice, outwardly, in the teaching of My Church; inwardly, through the inspirations of My grace. They follow Me by the imitation of My virtues; and I lead them unto eternal life.

There is, however, still another sign which distinguishes His true sheep, and this one is the most im portant and the surest. Christ does not indeed point to it emphatically, yet it stands sufficiently prominent to remind us, in a forcible manner, of our duty as Christians of assisting Him with zeal, in order that He may have the joy of bringing other sheep, such as do not yet know Him, into His fold, for He says: "And other sheep I have, them also I must bring."

We must endeavor to do all that lies in our power, to convert and save unbelievers and sinners. O Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, thou who desirest the salvation of mankind with all the power of thy motherly love, grant us thy blessing, that we may be instrumental in leading souls to heaven! I speak in the most holy name ot Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

"And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold, them also I must bring." The greatness of this desire of Jesus, and the earnestness with which He wishes our co-operation, become clear to us when we consider why He came into the world and shed His blood for us; why He sent His Apostles throughout the world ; why He instituted his Church, and remains with her until the end of time. His motive for all this was the earnest wish He had to save souls.

His mission was to save mankind, yet not to force or necessitate this salvation. No! man redeemed by Him must undergo the probation of his liberty in the service of Gocl, if he would win heaven by his merits. Christ desired that all who love God sincerely, should share in the work of redemption, in order that heaven may be truly their own by their voluntary participation of divine grace. And this not only regarded the Apostles whom He sent out as the first Heralds of the Faith, but it is likewise true of all the faithful who, until the end of time, may thus find ample means of winning merits for heaven.

Thus the Apostles and first Christians understood His holy will. "If He sacrificed His blood for each one, says St. John to the early Christians, "each one of us should be ready to shed his blood, were it demanded, for the salvation of his neighbor." And, indeed, as history abundantly testifies, the Christians of the first centuries fulfilled this duty with zeal and success, like true and loyal children of holy Church. Every one in his station and calling was an apostle and missionary.

While the priest administered the holy Sacraments in secret to the faithful, the first Christians labored unceasingly to bring other souls to hear the Word of God, and thus win them to the faith of Christ. What the early Christians did it behooves their successors to imitate by seizing every opportunity to labor for the salvation of those who, through irreligion, unbelief, or a sinful life, either have not as yet entered the fold of Christ, or having entered it, have willfully strayed away.

Especially in the time and country in which we live, have the children of the Church a most favorable opportunity of proving themselves, by true apostolic zeal, faithful sheep of the Good Shepherd. But it might be objected, what can I, an ordinary person, do to convert heretics, unbelievers, or sinners, I who am a farmer, an artisan, a merchant, an inn keeper, a soldier?

I answer: Whoever you may be you possess ways and means to aid the Church in the salvation of souls. I will enumerate and classify these ways and means:

First: Live a Catholic life. "So let your light shine before men," says Jesus Christ, "that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

If every husband and wife, every father and mother were to live according to the maxims of their holy faith, what would be the consequence? The fulfillment of the words of St. Paul: "The husband would sanctify the wife; the wife the husband; both would sanctify their children." How many children, unfortunately, are lost to the Church, either because parents do not fulfill their duties as Catholics, or because children heed not the admonitions of parents, and fail in those duties which devolve upon them as Christian youth!

Live as a Catholic should live; and those who are not Catholics, influenced by your example, will perceive the holiness of the Catholic Church, and little by little will be moved to examine her doctrines and to recognize her truth. What is the great stumbling-block to the irreligious, and what prevents them from entering holy Church? The cause is only too often, the miserable lives of bad Catholics.

I say secondly: Instruction, instruction! Profit by the press. Provide yourself with books of instruction, written to evince the truth of the doctrines of the Catholic Church. This will assist your children in keeping their faith. Procure for yourself a small library and make use of it. Read to your children every day something from the lives of the saints, and other devotional books. Thus you and your children will become thoroughly grounded in your holy faith.

Thirdly: Distribute these books among heretics and unbelievers. These books work more good than many a sermon, which is often, perhaps, only half heard and half understood.

Fourthly: Secure for those that are erring an opportunity of speaking with a priest. Be obliging and kind to them, and pray for them.

Oh, if all the children of the Catholic Church acted in this manner, how many of our erring brethren would become Catholics, and how many souls would be led to enter upon the path of salvation! Make use of these means, especially in this country where no obstacle presents itself, and America may become the land, in which are fulfilled those words of Christ: "And there shall be one shepherd and one fold." May the inhabitants of this land confess one God and Father in heaven, one only-begotten Son, the Saviour and Redeemer; and upon earth one true and saving religion, the holy Roman Catholic Church, our Mother! Amen!