In Search of
The Authentic Life
“Pater Meus Servat Vineam”
“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell
July begins with a celebration of the Most Precious Blood on the 1st, in the trad calendar. We give thanks for this great Gift of Our Lord at the Last Supper, which becomes present to us at each Holy Mass. We must not forget the wine which transforms into the Precious Blood, began as grapes in a vineyard…so connected to the land is the practice of our Holy Faith, in accord with God’s will, in accord with an Authentic Life.
So what did we pick out of the plastic cup this time? The Catholic Encyclopedia. That means for the Precious Blood of Jesus, we will look at what this famous volume has to say. The Catholic Encyclopedia was completed in 1914 and has been added to, numerous times since then. It remains widely used, despite its out-of-date language. It is at times a tedious read (and quite exhaustive)…but in the case of this month’s theme, the content is brief, though does get into the theological weeds, as is to be expected. Please see the link above at New Advent, for more info and also for the complete, updated content. This site is also a great resource for Catholic news and other offerings.
The entry on the “Precious Blood” draws on the writings of Pope Benedict XIV and other well-known theologians. The first sentence states simply:
That does not leave much to misunderstand, does it? Here are some excerpts, broken down into readable segments for meditation:
1) “Jesus, at the Last Supper, ascribes to [His Blood] the same life-giving power that belongs to His flesh.”
2) “The Apostles, St. Peter…St. John…and above all St. Paul regard it as synonymous with Jesus's Passion and Death, the source of redemption. The Precious Blood is therefore a part of the Sacred Humanity and hypostatically united to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.”
3) “Viewed as a part of the Sacred Humanity hypostatically united to the Word, the Precious Blood deserves latreutical [of or pertaining to latria, the highest form of worship*]…adoration. It may also like the Heart or the Wounds from which it flowed, be singled out for special honour, in a way that special honour was rendered it from the beginning by St. Paul and the Fathers who so eloquently praised its redeeming virtue and rested on it the Christian spirit of self-sacrifice.”
4) “…the lives of the saints are replete with devotion to the Precious Blood. In due course of time the Church gave shape and sanction to the devotion by approving societies like the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; enriching confraternities like that of St. Nicholas…attaching indulgences to prayers and scapulars in honour of the Precious Blood; and establishing commemorative feasts of the Precious Blood…”
The Catholic Encyclopedia gives us food for thought during this month when we give praise to the Most Precious Blood. May we also seek to make reparation for the sins against this extraordinary Gift.
We pray especially on the 4th for the United States of America…for peace, liberty, restoration of the sanctity of life and the triumph of Holy Church through our Patroness, the Immaculate Conception.
Notable feasts in July, from both calendars…
2nd-VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
3rd-Saint Thomas, Apostle
6th-Saint Maria Goretti, Martyr of Purity
11th-Saint Benedict, Founder of Western Monasticism
14th-Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks (USA)
16th-OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
22nd-Saint Mary Magdelan
25th-Saint James, Apostle
26th-Saint Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin
29th-Saints Martha, Mary & Lazarus
31st-Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits
Your community and the Church are going to need you in the coming days. What will you specialize in that will be a significant contribution? Every prepper tends to develop a skill or two that is specialized. What interests you? What is a “sustainable” skill that will have value even in a grid-down (no electricity) situation? Do you already have a skill? Can you improve it? Can you learn a new one? Think and pray about it!
*From Wiktionary
Excerpt from CNBC:
“We’re approaching unheard of inventory levels,” said Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman at a conference hosted by Bernstein in New York.
“I mean really, really low levels,” Chapman warned. “You can debate whether that’s going to hit, those really low levels, in two weeks or three weeks. Once you get to that point, then you’ll see price shoot up.”
…The IEA [International Energy Agency] warned earlier this month that inventories are being depleted at a record pace.
Well, let’s look at that article, also from CNBC:
Excerpt:
“More than ten weeks after the war in the Middle East began, mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace,” the IEA wrote.
…“The petrochemical and aviation sectors are currently most affected, but higher prices, a weaker economic environment and demand-saving measures will increasingly impact fuel use.
…“That this is the largest oil supply disruption in the history of the oil market is neither an exaggeration nor controversial,” Martijn Rats, commodities strategist at Morgan Stanley, told clients in a Monday note.
Don’t believe the propaganda that there is no oil problem in America, you are being lied to! Continue to prepare for general inflation and supply disruption. That means: STOCK UP NOW.
From Zero Hedge.
[Edited since posting.]
Note what Mr. St. Onge does not say: It is true the US is the largest exporter of oil, however, we still import quite a bit. Don’t be lulled into thinking there is no potential problem in America. Don’t believe that propaganda.
Here’s more info from the US Energy Information Administration. This site has tons of material on these topics. I assume it is fairly accurate, but nothing seems to be tainted from propaganda anymore. Interesting excerpt…
“Saudi Arabia is also the greatest source of U.S. petroleum imports from Persian Gulf countries. About 12% of U.S. total petroleum imports and 12% of U.S. crude oil imports were from Persian Gulf countries in 2022.”
Note: Chris Martenson’s most recent audio presentation, “Wake -Up Call #14” refutes the assertion that the US is a net oil exporter (claimed in the link above). He claims we are actually a net importer, when you take into account all of the complexities involved in the analysis. He’s been doing this research for a long time and has written several books dealing with these topics. It is possible that the link above is technically correct, but it is not simply petroleum that is the important issue, it is the grade and its usage that really matters.
Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar has been bombed by Iran. This facility produces nearly 30% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG). Qatar has suffered other damage to its LNG in the past several weeks.
Here are some facts from my research:
Europe gets about 20% of its LNG from Qatar. In particular, Germany, France and Italy all rely on Qatar since cutting off Russian gas.
Japan is already scrambling to find alternative LNG.
Cambodia just started panic-buying fuel from Singapore and Malaysia.
South Korea, India and Pakistan are all massive Qatar LNG buyers.
All of this will result in higher LNG prices, electricity bills, manufacturing costs, food costs, shipping costs, heating and cooling costs…and the list goes on.
There will be an inflation shock that central banks will have to navigate.
This will also result in currency instability and a capital flight to hard assets.
This is a global energy crisis at this point and LNG is only part of the story. Prepare accordingly.
Special thanks to a crypto expert named Chen on X, who works for Binance.
…As of 10 years ago, when I posted it on this blog…
O Saint Joseph, Guardian of Our Lord and Our Lady, intercede for us before the Divine Majesty. O holy and humble carpenter, pray for God's children in all our great need. We pray this in the Name of the Christ Child, once held in your loving arms.
Amen.
This prayer has been received well and it is about time for a PDF! Here it is…
Here is the original post, where I explain why I wrote it: A New Prayer to Saint Joseph!
BONUS PDF…not too late to start this for the month of March…
“Iran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and threatened to fire at any ship passing through it. The narrow waterway is a vital chokepoint for global oil and gas, but also for other commodities such as fertiliser. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks with Noam Raydan, a maritime risk expert at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, about the potential impact of the Strait's closure and how Iran could further escalate the situation.”
Watch video…
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