"The comforts and tribulations of this life are momentary and small, but the comforts and tribulations of the next life are everlasting and great beyond measure."
—St. Robert Bellarmine

Someone close to me is coughing up blood, please pray for them.

"Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent" (Proverbs 17:28).

Make sure that you fulfill both your obligation for Sunday and Christmas, details below:

Please take heed! This priest is explaining what to do this weekend.

Merry Christmas!

"Hence we see that these senses are, as it were, five gates through which all kinds of sin can enter into the soul. If, then, we carefully guard these gates, we shall easily avoid a multitude of sins, and therefore we shall be enabled to live well and die well."
—St. Robert Bellarmine, The Art of Dying Well

St. Robert Bellarmine, quoting Augustine, provides the following remedy for temptations to unchastity:

"The holy Father [St. Augustine] thus speaks: 'If you cast your eyes upon anyone, fix them upon no one.' Wherefore, if we do not purposely accustom ourselves to look upon a beautiful person, and should, by chance, cast our eyes upon one, and then quickly turn them aside, there will be no danger to us; for truly does St. Augustine remark that the danger is not in the glance, but in the dwelling upon the object" (The Art of Dying Well, 108-109).

"Peter’s successors in the primacy were unequivocal in testifying to their preeminence and universal jurisdiction in the Church."
—James Likoudis, The Divine Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and Modern Eastern Orthodoxy

"The history of the Church in the first millennium is replete with instances of the Popes deposing heretical patriarchs and bishops, hearing appeals from bishops of East and West, calling local councils, ratifying or annulling the decisions made in ecumenical councils, and making other doctrinal judgments to safeguard the 'deposit of faith,' which Christ gave to the College of Bishops united to their head and center of unity, the Bishop of Rome."
—James Likoudis, The Divine Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and Modern Eastern Orthodoxy

"These great Popes insist that the primacy of the Chair of Peter in the Church was not the consequence of the political status of “Old Rome,” but of the words of power Christ spoke to Blessed Peter."
—James Likoudis, The Divine Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and Modern Eastern Orthodoxy

Must watch video going into the New Year: https://youtu.be/htts50_sSPE

If you want to have a better understanding of how Catholics should approach the issue of race, take a look at Fr. Gregory Pine's video "Should We Love Everyone the Same?" and take the logic pertaining to one's immediate family and apply it to your extended family (racial group, ethnicity).

In his new article, Jackson Fretheim discusses how we often use the platitude "You are fine just the way you are" as an excuse to avoid true transformation in Christ.

https://testamentstar.com/2024/true-transformation-in-christ/

Many of the issues we see pertaining to chastity and modesty stem from an implicit denial of concupiscence and original sin.

"And now the Church must once more reaffirm that teaching authority of hers which never fails, but will endure until the end of time. For that was Our reason for calling this most authoritative assembly, and We address you now as the humble successor, the latest born, of this Prince of Apostles. The present Council is a special, worldwide manifestation by the Church of her teaching office, exercised in taking account of the errors, needs and opportunities of our day."
—Pope Saint John XXIII, Opening Address to the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican

"But one thing must be noted here, namely, that the teaching authority of the Church ... has made thoroughly known its authoritative teaching on a number of questions which today weigh upon man’s conscience and activity, descending, so to speak, into a dialogue with him, but ever preserving its own authority and force..."
—Pope Saint Paul VI, Closing Address to the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican

Clips from Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World Episode #293 on the "miracle" of the holy fire (Full Video: https://youtu.be/jinCx29LWV4).

I think using the "hopeful universalism" language is often unwise and should be generally avoided. Even those who have a fully orthodox view on hell open themselves up to a myriad of issues, including but not limited to:

1. You associate yourself with heretical universalism by using similar language
2. You confuse the uneducated by speaking in a way that can easily be confused with heretical universalism
3. To those familiar with the biblical verses on hell you sound like you are calling Christ a liar
4. You appear to disrespect great theologians and councils that appear to teach there are individuals in hell
5. You sound like you deny the necessity of the sacraments

Many people who use the "hopeful universalism" language are well meaning, I know multiple individuals who affirm the real danger of hell, affirm that outside the Church there is no salvation, etc., who would be better understood, while putting forward the same message about God's universal sacrificial will, by not speaking in ways that can easily lead to this confusion.