I must say I was more than delighted when I came across two of my favorite intellectuals conversing with each other!

I’ve been reading the brilliant works of Peter Kreeft for many years now, having stumbled across his book, “Fundamentals of the Faith,” when I was 18 – one year after a life-altering pilgrimage to Medjugorje. It was through Medjugorje that Our Lord, Jesus Christ, by way of His and our Most Holy Mother, Mary Immaculate, had truly and definitively captured, and taken possession of, my heart. Yet, my head was still clouded with questions of every sort. Until this period in my life, I was completely ignorant of the discipline of Christian Apologetics, which consists in the study of logical arguments, which provide sound, philosophical reasons for accepting Christianity as not only sound and logical, in its own right, but truly the best possible belief system for any man or woman. Hence, while Jesus and Mary had captured my heart, they used their gifted son, Dr. Peter J. Kreeft, to convince my head, by answering so many questions that remained – questions to which I had no idea there were answers! Dr. Kreeft’s marvelous above-mentioned book, which just happened to be standing on a small rack of books outside the main office of the Newman Center, on the UMass Amherst campus, caught my eye. The cover of this particular book is very subdued; I now know it was the Holy Spirit prompting me to pick up this book, in answer to my prayer for knowledge, wisdom and understanding, concerning this new reality, which had taken such loving possession of my heart and soul, and which was about to take complete and total possession of my mind, as well!

Fast forward 28 years, and, as a Licensed Mental Health and Pastoral Counselor, my two favorite academics have finally met. My love for Philosophy, Theology and Psychology, for the Mysteries of God and the Human Person, are being discussed by two of the most outstanding and gifted minds of our times. Let us watch, together, the fireworks display that shall below take place!!

Yes, these are serious times; and yes, we should be taking whatever measures necessary to prevent the spread of the Covid19 illness. Yet, after conducting a very small amount of independent research, this reporter has come across some stats that seem to fly directly in the face of the mainstream media’s narrative. For instance, amidst all the panic and fear-mongerig that is taking place on every news station on television, have you heard anything about the actual statistic that literally 98% of Covid19 patients make a full and complete recovery?! That certainly doesn’t square with the panic-inducing, 24/7 media coverage that this “super pandemic” has somehow given rise to. Please, don’t misunderstand me. In no way am I denying the reality of Covid19, or the serious dangers it poses to certain more vulnerable populations – such as the very young, the elderly, and persons with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, compromised immune systems, et cetera. Yet, I did a very simple Google search, using the search terms, “comparing Covid19 to the Flu”. Up came the illustrious John’s Hopkins website, which provided a comparison of the two illnesses, including stats on numbers of those infected over a given span, and numbers of deaths from the respective illnesses over a given span. Here’s what the website says about Infections and Deaths:

“Infections

“COVID-19: Approximately 2,911,209 cases worldwide; 939,249 cases in the U.S. as of Apr. 26, 2020.*

“Flu: Estimated 1 billion cases worldwide; 9.3 million to 45 million cases in the U.S. per year.

“Deaths

“COVID-19: Approximately 203,432 deaths reported worldwide; 53,934 deaths in the U.S., as of Apr. 26, 2020.*

“Flu: 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide; 12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S. per year.”

bit.ly/2S8vx4y

Is it me, or do these numbers seem drastically out of proportion to what mainstream media has been reporting?!

Michael Matt of the Remnant has created a fantastic video on this very issue. I highly recommend that you watch and share this with all your family & friends.

Blessings in the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary!

In view of the collective and  unprecedented challenges imposed upon all persons and nations via the novel Coronavirus-19 pandemic, as well as the potentially catastrophic blow to the global economy that may constitute the aftermath of this heretofore unseen crisis, Bishops of the Catholic Church are collegialy calling upon Pope Francis to exercise his uniquely Petrine charism to dogmatically declare and define Mary as Co-Redemptrix with Christ,  Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate for the People of God.

Certainly, while living in “lockdown” is no fun, it may be just the thing we need, from a spiritual perspective, that is.  It is for this reason that I’ve decided to record a new video version of the Scriptural Rosary, which can be located under the header, The Holy Rosary, or you may simply click on this link: https://youtu.be/fGI5HtcdjFE .  At this time, I’ve only recorded the Joyful Mysteries; but, the Luminous, Sorrow & Glorious are coming, so stay tuned!  May Our Lady keep you and your loved ones protected in the safe Refuge of her most Immaculate Heart, securing for you and your loved ones perpetual health of body, mind and spirit!  Ave Maria!!

Catholic commentator Michael Voris, STB, founder of the popular Catholic media platform, “Church Militant,” explains very succinctly precisely how and why a Sanders’ Presidency is a clear and present danger to our cherished American beliefs and liberties.  Moreover, Voris breaks down the groundswell of support that Sanders has garnered amongst Millennials, who, by and large, are the product of a decidedly liberal public educational system, which has not only failed them miserably, but has placed this entire nation in danger of repeating history’s mistakes.