WiseOne

If you don't know how to respond to something just say How dare you!

[WiseOne @TerryKav]

@profstonge Volkswagen makes shit cars. All of them.

[WiseOne @TerryKav]

@rightscholar @BishopBarron McCarthy was right.

[WiseOne @TerryKav]

Let us recall Pope Pius XI’s encyclical:

Divini Redemptoris (On Atheistic Communism).

The encyclical’s most famous line declares:

“Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever.”

Some key points from the encyclical:
•He called communism a system that “strips man of his liberty, robs human personality of all its dignity” and is built on a “false messianic idea” that promises a worldly paradise while denying God.
•He condemned its materialist view of history and economics, rejecting private property and the family as foundational social institutions.
•He explicitly tied it to the persecution of the Church, citing the Soviet Union and Mexico as examples of communist regimes attacking Christianity directly.
•He criticized Catholics who thought partial cooperation with communist movements (for example, in labor or political alliances) could be acceptable — he insisted there was no legitimate middle ground.

Context worth noting:
Pius XI issued Divini Redemptoris just five days after his encyclical Mit brennender Sorge, which condemned Nazism — making clear the Church was simultaneously rejecting both major totalitarian ideologies of the era, not singling one out.
Later popes continued this line:
•Pope Pius XI’s predecessor and successors reinforced this — Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum (1891) had already laid groundwork by defending private property against socialist theory.
•Pope St. John Paul II, having lived under communist rule in Poland, was deeply influential in the moral and political opposition to communism in the 20th century, though his critique came through a broader body of teaching and action rather than one single encyclical.

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

Like many others, I have been alarmed by the success of certain politicians in our country who identify as extreme socialists or communists.

This is not a matter of classical liberals triumphing over standard-issue conservatives; this is the victory of people who stand athwart the fundamental principles that undergird our country.

There are many reasons why I detest Communism, but I want to draw attention to just one issue of supreme importance.

Karl Marx said that the first critique is the critique of religion. He meant that, before a complete re-working of the politics and economics of a society can take place, religion has to be taken down.

This is because religion, as he saw it, is the “opium of the masses,” a drug taken to dull our sensitivity to the suffering caused by economic exploitation. As long as the suffering populace is lured into complacency by fantasies about God's providence and the promise of eternal life, they will never rise up and throw off their chains.

But there is a second reason why the elimination of religion is of paramount significance for Marx.

Communism aspires to be a totalizing system, involving the government's control over education, entertainment, communication, politics, and especially economics.

What stands resolutely athwart this ambition is religion, which declares that all of these societal expressions are finally under the judgment of God. So, if you want Communism to succeed, religion has to be stamped out.

If you doubt me on any of this, I would encourage you to read the recent histories of China, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Venezuela. Revisit those histories and tell me I'm wrong about the attack on religion.

Might I encourage my fellow believers in God not to be complacent in the face of this very troubling development in the American body politic?

[WiseOne @TerryKav]

@FreddyLA7 Happy to have you. Come back soon. You changed America for the better. You revived our spirit. Thanks.

[Ben Bergquam - Real America’s Voice (RAV-TV) News @BenBergquam]

To all the idiots out there upset about the Supreme Court upholding the law and sending Haitians and Syrian illegals back home… listen up.

And the fake news, stop lying!

The vast majority of Haitian illegals that came across were actually from Chile and Brazil. They had spent years there and only came because of the open borders left who invited them. If you want to be upset at anyone for illegals being deported, be upset at the Democrats and the NGO’s who invited them in and profited off of the undermining of America.

Law & Border @RealAmVoice

[Ryan Visconti @ryanvisconti]

Christianity is the reason women are treated as equally valuable in our society instead of subjugated.

Christianity is the reason that slavery was ended in our society.

Christianity is the reason we allow other religions to exist in our society.

Christianity is the reason we have laws that declare the accused as innocent until proven guilty.

Christianity is the reason we care for the elderly, handicapped, and poor instead of disposing of them.

Christianity is the reason we sacrifice for the good of future generations.

So yah, teaching the Bible in public schools is probably a good idea.

[Gilbert F. Dabari @SkyVirginSon]

HOW TO EXAMINE YOUR CONSCIENCE BEFORE YOU SLEEP

If tonight were the last night God gave you on earth, would your soul be ready to meet Him?

Most people end their day thinking about work, money, or tomorrow’s plans.

The saints ended their day thinking about eternity.

Every night is a gift from God, and every night is an invitation to return to Him. Scripture reminds us that our life is “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). None of us is promised another sunrise. Before you close your eyes, place your soul before the One who gave you life.

Here is a simple Catholic examination of conscience before sleep.

1. Place yourself in God’s presence.

Begin with the Sign of the Cross.

Quiet your heart and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your day as God sees it—not as pride, excuses, or emotion would present it.

Pray:

“Come, Holy Spirit. Give me the grace to see my sins honestly, to repent of them sincerely, and to trust completely in Your infinite mercy.”

2. Thank God before you examine yourself.

Gratitude opens the heart to truth.

Thank Him for every grace you received today.

For every temptation you resisted.

For every hidden blessing you almost overlooked.

For every act of kindness shown to you.

For every breath you took without earning it.

The soul that remembers God’s goodness is better prepared to recognize its own need for His mercy.

3. Review your entire day honestly.

Walk slowly through your day.

Your thoughts.

Your words.

Your actions.

Your omissions.

Ask yourself:

Did I love God above everything else today?

Did I pray with attention or only from habit?

Did I receive or desire the sacraments with reverence?

Did I speak truthfully?

Did I gossip, judge, or wound someone with my words?

Did I forgive those who hurt me?

Did I guard my eyes, my tongue, and my heart?

Did I use my time for God’s glory or waste it on sin and distraction?

Did I fulfill my responsibilities faithfully?

Did I love my family, my neighbor, and even my enemies as Christ commands?

Do not defend yourself.

Do not compare yourself with others.

Stand before God with honesty, because His mercy is always greater than your sin.

4. Repent with your whole heart.

If you are conscious of mortal sin, resolve to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation as soon as possible.

If your sins are venial, ask Christ to purify your heart and strengthen you against future temptation.

Pray an Act of Contrition slowly and sincerely.

God never tires of forgiving those who sincerely return to Him.

The only heart He cannot heal is the one that refuses to repent.

5. Make one concrete resolution for tomorrow.

Do not promise God a hundred impossible changes.

Choose one.

One virtue to practice.

One vice to resist.

One person to forgive.

One act of charity to perform.

One sacrifice to offer with love.

Holiness is rarely built through dramatic moments.

It is built through faithful daily conversion.

6. Entrust yourself completely to God.

Place your life into His hands.

Offer Him your family.

Your work.

Your fears.

Your suffering.

Your future.

Ask your Guardian Angel to watch over you through the night.

Ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to cover you with her maternal mantle.

Then rest in peace, knowing that whether you wake tomorrow or awaken in eternity, you belong to Jesus Christ.

A nightly examination of conscience is not about living in fear.

It is about living in the truth.

The saints were not holy because they never sinned.

They were holy because they never stopped returning to God’s mercy.

So before you sleep tonight, ask yourself one final question:

If Christ called me home before sunrise, would I be ready to meet Him?

Live each day in such a way that the answer can become, by God’s grace:

“Yes, Lord. Into Your hands I commend my spirit.”

[Brigitte Gabriel @ACTBrigitte]

🇺🇸 Let me be clear: the DSA is not a political party. It's a wrecking ball aimed at the heart of America.

35 wins. 75 more on the ballot. Candidates who call for the eradication of America, who use the flag as a napkin, who blame 9/11 on us , these people are heading to Congress.

They don't hide what they want. They want to destroy Judeo-Christian western civilization and rebuild it in their image.

The question is ... are YOU going to let them?

[Vivek Ramaswamy @VivekGRamaswamy]

10 Things I’ll Do for Ohio:

1. Slash your property taxes.
2. Abolish your state income tax.
3. Cut your electric bills.
4. Prosecute Medicaid fraud.
5. Bring higher standards to our schools.
6. Slice your healthcare costs.
7. Bring high-paying jobs back to our state.
8. Put human traffickers in prison where they belong.
9. Teach kids to be proud of our state & our country.
10. Crush crime in our cities.

Coming in 2027.

[Flopping Aces @FloppingAces]

The Democratic establishment deserves a slow clap here.

Really. Bravo.

They spent years building the perfect little political terrarium: NGOs, activist salaries, university grievance factories, donor cash, media protection, blue-city patronage, “equity” rackets, and taxpayer-funded do-gooder laundromats all humming along under the sacred banner of “Our Democracy.”

Then they looked at the radicals crawling around inside and said, “Surely these people will remain manageable.”

Absolutely brilliant, guys.

Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries now look like substitute teachers trying to take attendance during a prison riot. The donors are sweating through their custom suits. The consultants are pretending this is just a “messaging challenge.” The media is polishing the same old turd and calling it “youth energy.”

No, champ. This is not youth energy.

This is the bill.

You told them America was evil.
You told them capitalism was theft.
You told them police were the enemy.
You told them borders were immoral.
You told them every institution had to be “decolonized,” “reimagined,” or burned down and rebuilt by people with sociology degrees and untreated rage.

Now they believe you.

And worse, they want promotions.

That is the humiliation. The party bosses thought they were renting radicals by the hour. Turns out the radicals thought they were being trained to run the place.

Democrats built the hive, fed the hive, defended the hive, and called anyone who noticed a conspiracy theorist.

Now the hive has the keys.

Enjoy the buzzing.
(article below)

[National Fraud Enforcement Division @DOJFraudDiv]

🚨Illegal Alien from Honduras Sentenced for $89 Million Off-the-Books Payroll Tax Fraud Scheme Employing Illegal Aliens: Defendant and His Conspirators Caused a Combined Tax Loss of Over $38 Million and Facilitated Employment of Illegal Aliens

“Today, we held an illegal alien from Honduras accountable for a brazen scheme that stole more than $38 million from American taxpayers to facilitate the employment of illegal aliens,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald. “This case exposes how unchecked illegal immigration fuels widespread tax fraud and underground economies that harm American workers and taxpayers. This sentence sends a strong message: those who exploit our open borders, cheat the U.S. Treasury, and violate federal laws will face justice.”

Read more: https://t.co/c9M7Ia4uAL

[Shane Schaetzel †☧ @ShaneSchaetzel]

Authentic Christianity teaches the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist (communion bread and wine). However, nearly all Protestant denominations (especially Evangelicals) are on record claiming the Eucharist is merely symbolic.👇🏻

St. Ignatius of Antioch (AD 110), Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Chapter 7
“They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again.”

St. Ignatius of Antioch (AD 110), Letter to the Romans, Chapter 7
“I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible.”

St. Justin Martyr (AD 151), First Apology, Chapter 66
“For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.”

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 189), Against Heresies, Book IV, Chapter 17
“He took from among creation that which is bread, and gave thanks, saying, ‘This is my body.’ The cup likewise, which is from among the creation to which we belong, he confessed to be his blood.”

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 189–200), Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter 2
“When, therefore, the mixed cup and the baked bread receives the Word of God and becomes the Eucharist, the body of Christ, and from these the substance of our flesh is increased and supported, how can they say that the flesh is not capable of receiving the gift of God, which is eternal life—flesh which is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord, and is in fact a member of him?”

[Gilbert F. Dabari @SkyVirginSon]

I have come to realize that one of the greatest misunderstandings about Catholicism is that many people think the Church exists to give us rules.

The Church teaches us something far greater than that.

The Church exists to bring us into communion with Jesus Christ.

Everything the Church teaches, every Sacrament she celebrates, every doctrine she defends, and every moral truth she proclaims has one purpose: the salvation of souls and union with God.

The Church teaches us that Christianity is not primarily a philosophy, an ideology, or a moral system.

Christianity is an encounter with a living Person.

That Person is Jesus Christ.

He is not merely a teacher from history.

He is the eternal Son of God who entered human history, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and remains present with His people until the end of time.

The Church teaches us that salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace.

We do not climb to Heaven by our own efforts. God comes down to us first.

Every prayer we make, every act of faith, every movement toward holiness begins with the grace of God working within us.

As Saint Augustine wisely taught, God created us without us, but He does not save us without our cooperation.

The Church teaches us that Baptism is not merely an outward sign of an inward change.

It is the moment when we are reborn in Christ, cleansed from sin, adopted as children of God, and incorporated into His Mystical Body.

The Church teaches us that the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.

The Eucharist is not simply a reminder of Jesus.

It is Jesus.

The same Christ who was born in Bethlehem, preached in Galilee, died on Calvary, and rose from the tomb gives Himself to us under the appearances of bread and wine.

This is why the saints spent hours before the Blessed Sacrament.

They understood that they were not sitting before a symbol.

They were sitting before a Person.

The Church teaches us that prayer is not about changing God’s mind.

Prayer changes us.

The more we pray, the more our hearts become aligned with the will of God.

Prayer is not an escape from reality.

It is an encounter with the deepest reality there is: the living God.

The Church teaches us that suffering is not meaningless.

The world sees suffering and asks, “Where is God?”

The Cross answers, “He is right there.”

In Jesus Christ, God did not remain distant from human suffering.

He entered it.

He transformed it.

And He gave it redemptive value when united to His Passion.

The Church teaches us to love the Blessed Virgin Mary because God Himself chose her to be the Mother of His Son.

Every authentic Marian devotion leads to Jesus.

Mary never says, “Look at me.”

She says what she said at Cana nearly two thousand years ago:

“Do whatever He tells you.”

The Church teaches us that holiness is not reserved for a few extraordinary souls.

It is the universal vocation of every baptized Christian.

God did not create us merely to be successful, comfortable, or admired.

He created us to become saints.

Perhaps the most beautiful truth the Church teaches is this:

God does not merely want something from us.

He wants us.

Before He asks for our service, He desires our hearts.

Before He commands, He loves.

Before we ever searched for Him, He was searching for us.

The Church has preserved this truth through centuries of persecution, division, wars, empires, and cultural revolutions.

Kings have risen and fallen.

Nations have appeared and disappeared.

Ideologies have come and gone.

Yet the Church continues to proclaim the same Gospel, celebrate the same Sacraments, and worship the same Lord.

Truth is not created by majorities.

Truth is received from God.

And Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever.

May we never reduce our faith to a label, a tradition, or a Sunday obligation.

May we seek Christ with our whole heart.

May we receive Him worthily in the Sacraments.

[Bishop Robert Barron @BishopBarron]

In a recent interview, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, former grand chancellor of the John Paul II Institute on Marriage and Family Life, confirmed the worst suspicions that many of us had.

He admitted that the changes he made at the Institute during the Pope Francis years were designed to initiate a "very profound" reform of the idea of the natural law.

Instead of absolute moral norms grounded in a keen understanding of the basic goods, he and his colleagues were proposing a moral theory rooted in historical discernment of subjective and cultural experience--not an "armchair theology" but one operating "within history and within people's lives."

This, of course, is the language of trendy postmodernism, and it is dangerous indeed.

Allow me to illustrate the principle with one example. Is slavery wrong?

Intrinsically wrong? Wrong no matter what public opinion polls say about it, no matter what the current consensus on it might be? I imagine any decent person would say yes.

But that yes is predicated upon precisely what the tradition calls the natural law and the basic goods. There are some values so fundamental that acts repugnant to them are by their very nature wicked.

If you want a highly articulate presentation of this idea, go to St. John Paul II's Veritatis Splendor.

If we say that this is just "armchair theologizing" and that morality is a function of ever-shifting cultural and experiential data, then why couldn't slavery be justified?

One of the very smartest persons that ever lived, the philosopher Aristotle, thought it was; extremely bright and morally upright persons in our country, well into the 19th century, thought it was permissible.

Who is to say whether the consensus might shift back again? Who is to say that "lived experience" might come to justify it?

What any truly coherent moral program requires is the very thing that Archbishop Paglia and his colleagues were endeavoring to eliminate, namely, absolute moral norms.

Ridding ourselves of these in the name of freedom or pastoral sensitivity actually renders moral discourse dysfunctional, just as relativizing the basic principle of logic would render any rational conversation impossible.

The Archbishop's interview, frankly, reminded me of the discussions I had at the Synod on Synodality with some of my German colleagues. Under the rubric of the development of doctrine, they were eager to relativize or radically change the principles undergirding classical morality. If this was and is truly the game, we have ventured onto perilous seas.

Link to the article below.

[WiseOne @TerryKav]

@GlennReib I literally cried laughing at this. Needed that. Thanks.

[Glenn Reib @GlennReib]

Dear American Progressive Elite,
What a transcendent masterpiece of irony it has been watching our oh-so-refined European overlords descend upon this fascist wasteland for the 2026 World Cup like Victorian explorers discovering a lost tribe that somehow invented air conditioning and unlimited ranch dressing. They’re losing their entire minds. A French influencer had a full spiritual awakening in a Buc-ee’s bathroom the size of Versailles, live-streaming herself sobbing over a wall of beef jerky varieties longer than the Champs-Élysées. “Mon Dieu…they have forty-seven flavors of jerky…and a beaver mascot!” she gasped, immediately renouncing her 35-hour work week. The Germans...yes, the same ones whose autobahns occasionally pretend to have speed limits, have been spotted doing donuts in rented Ford F-150s the size of Panzer tanks while blasting Kid Rock at volumes that register on seismographs. One was heard whispering reverently, “This…this is what peak performance feels like,” right before shotgunning a 44-ounce Mountain Dew Code Red like it was holy water. The Italians discovered Costco and immediately declared it the Eighth Wonder of the World. A Roman chef had to be physically restrained from trying to marry a 72-inch pizza and adopt an entire pallet of ranch. “Mamma mia, the samples…they just give them to you!” he wept, abandoning his Nonna’s sacred recipes for a family-sized bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos .Even the reserved Scandinavians have gone feral. Swedes are riding mechanical bulls in cowboy hats the size of satellite dishes, screaming “Yee-haw, motherfucker!” in perfect English while chugging something called “Fireball” that would make their government-issued sadness vodka blush. The Dutch, normally high on legal weed and existential dread, have started every chant with “U-S-A!” and ended it by proposing marriage to the nearest Buc-ee’s cashier.

Meanwhile, you brave keyboard crusaders are having simultaneous aneurysms in your gender-neutral safe spaces because someone had the audacity to enjoy a country without first issuing a land acknowledgment, a trigger warning, and a carbon offset receipt. The Europeans are out here experiencing American abundance like it’s a religious conversion, and you’re still writing 4,000-word Medium essays about how a red Solo cup is settler-colonial violence. Please, keep telling us how irredeemable and terrifying this place is while actual visitors are having religious experiences at Whataburger drive-thrus and treating Walmart as their personal Louvre. The cognitive dissonance is so delicious I want to deep-fry it and dip it in your tears. With maximum theatrical eye-roll and a raised pinky.

P.S. They’ll all fly home soon and resume calling us barbarians. For now, they’re one Monster Energy and mechanical bull ride away from getting “Don’t Tread on Me” tattoos. Cope in 4K, darlings.

[WiseOne @TerryKav]

@FreddyLA7 Visit Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio, go to Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie, visit the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Karl’s Dad was cool