The Raramuri are a tribe of Native Americans inhabiting the extremely rugged, mountainous region of western Chihuahua in the Republic of Mexico. Those outside of the tribe commonly refer to them as "Tarahumara" and the mountains they inhabit are referred to as the "Sierra Tarahumara."  An integral part of the Raramuri culture is running. For the Tarahumara, running is more than simply sport, although it is certainly that. For them it is also wrapped up in their indigenous religious beliefs and ceremonies.

The Tarahumara are not native to these mountains. In pre-Colombian times they inhabited the more docile and more fertile areas that spread out in the plains to the east of these mountains. Pressure from European and Mestizo settlers who moved into these areas forced the Raramuri into their current climes, and they have adapted fairly well. They largely depend upon subsistence agriculture to survive. Drought and accompanying famine is a familiar scenario for these people.

[Note: Ascension Thursday is the day we begin the Pentecost Novena prayers—not on Sunday! This is yet another “novelty” from the Conference(s) of Catholic Bishops, and another bitter fruit of the Spirit of the Second Vatican Council. A disgrace to not only Christ, but to the Paraclete, Who came to confirm the teachings of Christ, showing us how to love God, His Church, and all that She teaches.]

AT THE FOOT of Mt. Olivet He had suffered; from its summit He ascended into heaven. There, on Mt. Olivet, He appeared to them, more gracious and irresistibly attractive than ever. He surely must have permitted them to kiss His sacred wounds in loving farewell. First His Blessed Mother must have come, then St. Peter, St. John, and the other Apostles and disciples. “And lifting up His hands, He blessed them.” (Luke 24:50.) He raised His hands on high, to show that the blessing He would give was of heaven. We may believe that He made the holy sign of the cross. We do not know what words He used in blessing them. Perhaps those tender words of the prayer after the Last Supper, “Holy Father, keep them in Thy name,” bless, protect them, “whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one as We also are.” (John 17:11.)

This is not the title of a satire. Instead, it succinctly describes the absurd state of the Church of Vatican II. In yet another hypocritical and unjust move, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz of the Congregation of Religious put the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate under Apostolic Visitation (investigation) as of May 19, 2014.  According to the Pray4TheFriars blogsite:

The general house located near Frattocchie (Rome area) is now ‘chaired’ by Sr. Fernanda Barbiero – Institute of Teaching Sisters of St. Dorothea. I don’t have exact infos on her stances, but at a first glance and for what I read from her, she seems moderately progressive-leaning. Whilst Sr. Fernanda has just a visiting tenure, it seems she’s been provided with vast power to rule the Order.

The Sisters’ crime? According to Fr. Fidenzio Volpi, who is currently busy destroying the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, the Sisters are guilty of a “distorted mentality.”

The scientific community has very subtly but surely replaced God in the minds of academia by evolution. It is only when the enormity of this achievement is realized that the current situation in the Church can begin to come into perspective. Until then there is no hope. 

There are few dissenters. Virtually, all agree. The Faith is in free fall and has been for some time. How much longer can it go on before reaching rock bottom? Who’s there to stop it? Not Rome, since the Church is the victim! But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8).

Much thought has been spent to determine when it started, and particularly why. Until quite recently the consensus amongst traditional Catholics was that it stemmed from Vatican II. Closer study reveals this was a conservative estimate and, in fact, it went back decades to the beginning of the twentieth century. The Church has always had its opponents, but they were generally identifiable, and contained within discernible geographical limits.

 “...the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution...It may be said to have neither force nor will, but merely judgment...” Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #78

It is cherry blossom time, and tourists from around the country and the world are walking the streets of the District of Columbia in large and small groups, winding their way through the crowded streets. Others, especially those on school trips, arrive in buses that seem to be as tall as two-story buildings. It is a busy time in the nation’s capital, but an eerie silence greets you when you enter the area that houses the chambers of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Scalia’s secretary greets you with a warm smile, asking about your trip. The outer office is cavernous with large bay windows providing a great deal of light, and the carpet muffling any delinquent sounds that might arise in the corridor. There are paintings of former Justices on the wall, and law books that line the shelves.

Noah removes the arrow from the stricken animal and then murders the three hunters—PETA justice! At this point in the movie I began to gnaw away on a thick chunk of beef jerky, while the vegans in the theater munched down on buttered popcorn.

What do the actor Russell Crowe and the president Barack Obama have in common? They both sought private audiences with the Bishop of Rome for promotion of themselves and their personal agenda. Crowe wanted a photo op to bump up the numbers at the box office and Obama wanted a photo op to bump up the numbers at the ballot box.

ROME – In a famous speech to the participants of a European People’s Party symposium on March 30, 2006, Benedict XVI called upon Christians to safeguard what he termed “non-negotiable principles”, as part of the protection and promotion of human dignity in the public square: the protection of life from conception to natural death, recognition and promotion of the natural family as based on the marriage between one man and a woman, protection of the parents’ rights as primary educators of their children.

Traditional Catholics attending a Traditional Latin Mass during WWII? 
No, just Catholics attending THE Mass during WWII

That today there are Catholics denominated “traditionalist” is a development unexampled in the entire previous history of the Catholic Church. Even at the height of the Arian crisis—the closest analogue to our situation—the Church was not divided between traditionalists and non-traditionalists, but rather between those who had not embraced the heresy of Arius and those who had.

But what exactly is a traditionalist? A look back at the way things once were might convey the meaning of the term more effectively than the usual attempts at a formal definition: