Jesus Emoji

Volume XXIII, Number 9 – November 16, 2019

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

Thank you for reading this. Early next month you'll receive our annual Christmas Appeal. It ain't complicated: without your participation, CatholiCity will cease to exist. Our "Christmas Exchange" gifts are particularly special this year, so keep your eye on your inbox in early December.

Today I have Emoji Injustice, nifty online prayer resources, heroes and heretic quotes, podcast recommendations, and, of course, our powerful group prayer.

The Emoji That Doesn't Exist

In the early days of texting, I avoided using emojis for years, perhaps because I prefer using words (and still do), but mostly because I am a man. I have been sucked into using them over the years, but cannot help but notice that the secular cell-phone makers refuse to provide the two and a half billion Christians in the world with an emoji of the face of Our Lord Jesus Christ. (I am aware there are Catholic emoji apps out there, but a tiny number of people use them.)

Surely an emoji of the face of Jesus would instantly become the most popular emoji on the planet.

Your Treasure in Heaven

Did you know that through your work and generosity, CatholiCity has distributed several million Rosary recordings, including now in streaming formats. Just the other day, a longtime CatholiCity Citizen ordered a new Rosary CD because she had worn out her old one. I didn't know you could wear out a CD, did you?

Thus, tens of millions of Holy Rosaries have been offered to heaven because of your three simple ways of being a part of our mission:

-Your prayers for those who read and hear our materials
-Your distribution of books, CDs, and booklets
-Your financial sacrifices to keep our doors open

Remember, the smallest prayer, even a few words crying out from your heart, "Jesus, Have Mercy!" changes the world. As one of our citizens, every one of those millions of Rosary prayed is treasure in heaven for you!

I am so grateful.

I believe that Our Lady, bolstered by the many millions of these rosaries, will deliver our beloved Catholic Church from the corrupt leaders (and their false teachings) who have contributed to so many of our friends and relatives abandoning the Faith. (A reform movement for Catholic apostolates and the laity, along with the forthcoming book I mentioned last month, will be a theme of my Messages in 2020.)

Three Unique Resources

Since 1996 we have had one of the most popular Catholic Prayer webpages on planet earth, which lists the most common Catholic prayers while offering free Rosary CDs and our extremely effective Powerful Prayers booklet (which many of you have distributed in your parishes).

We also have a very helpful page called the Catholic Grout List designed to help converts and reverts understand the little things (the "grout" between the "tiles") that only practicing Catholics raised in good families grow up learning: for example, praying the Hail Mary when you drive by an accident scene or if you should wear your scapular in the shower.

In fact, when I composed and first posted the Grout List, I advised that while you do not have to wear your scapular in the shower, I half-jokingly recommended hanging it nearby so you could grab it in case you had a heart attack. One of our CatholiCity Citizens wrote to me that her husband passed away from a heart attack while taking a shower, and because he kept his scapular on the bathroom doorknob, she was able to place it around his neck while she prayed with him during his dying moments. So it's no joke. Feel free to suggest more "Grout" ideas, by the way.

I know that some of you are struggling financially and I want to help you save and make money. Every few years I like to remind you about our unique one-page online Negotiating Course, which has helped thousands of people save a lot of money on large and small purchases--from home buying/selling to yard sales. It's fun, it really works, and you should read it and print it out for every family member!

Our Gals Are On the Job

I mentioned last month that I'm moving forward with a short, electrifying free book (in several languages) calling upon our pontiff to reform the worldwide Catholic Church. It features a sincere, respectful, and blunt New Jersey-style open letter to the Holy Father. (The draft brought one of my friends to tears.)

Once or twice a year, I send a letter to the mother superiors of every Poor Clare, Carmelite, Dominican, and Benedictine monastery in the United States and Canada. There are 145 in all! I pour out my heart and ask them to pray for you and your families. (They write back with the sweetest letters.)

Last month I begged the sisters to implore the Holy Spirit to guide every word I write, especially in my letter to Pope Francis. It is sometimes difficult for all of us to keep in mind that the most powerful human force for good in the world are these humble, contemplative religious women, who spend their lives in mystical unity with Jesus. They are brides of Christ!

So, my friends, I want you to know that when you pray for your friends and relatives, our girls are praying with you. Have confidence! (The word "confidence," you'll recall, literally means "with faith," from the Latin "con fide.")

Hero and Heretic Quotes

"The history of the Church should properly be called the history of truth."
Blaise Pascal

"O almighty and everlasting God, who savest all, and willest not that anyone should perish, look down on the souls of those deceived by the wiles of the devil, that the evil of heresy being removed from their hearts, the erring may repent and return to the unity of the faith."
Roman Missal, Good Friday, Gelasian Circa 5th Century

"The heretic (who is also a fanatic) is not a man who loves truth too much; no man can love the truth too much. The heretic is a man who loves his truth more than truth itself. He prefers the half-truth that he has found to the whole truth which humanity has found."
G.K. Chesterton

"The tree is known by its fruits. If you want to understand the social and political history of modern nations, study hell."
Thomas Merton

"A heretic who pertinaciously (with perverse or tenacious persistence) disbelieves one article is not prepared to follow the teaching of the Church in all matters. If he is not pertinacious, he is not in heresy, but only in error. A pertinacious heretic, however, is without divine faith in all the other articles of the Creed, but assents to them from his own opinion."
Saint Thomas Aquinas

"Calculation never made a hero."
Saint John Henry Newman

"Heresy is like pornography. We know it when we see it. High intelligence does not prevent addiction to it. Everybody tries to ignore how it manifests everywhere. Its moral premises condone sexual license. And it's artless and boring."
Joseph Wood

"Christian heroism has not the same sources as heroism of other kinds. It has its source in the heart of a God scourged and turned to scorn and crucified outside the city gate."
Jacques Maritain

"Since Christianity broke the heart of the world and mended it, one cannot really be a pagan--one can only be an anti-Christian."
G.K. Chesterton

Recommended Podcasts

I listen almost exclusively to podcasts when I drive nowadays, and thought you might appreciate some Catholic recommendations. Most of these can be found on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, etc.

For general apologetics, you can't beat Trent Horn from Catholic Answers.

Patrick Coffin also has a nice way about him and a wide range of Catholic guests. Find episode #115. The actual data on priest abuse and the prevalence of same-sex attraction among the clergy with Father Paul Sullins, PhD., is both depressing and eye-opening.

I always learn something from Jordan Peterson (we need to keep praying for him to accept the grace of conversion--and I have those 145 monasteries praying for him, as well). His recent lecture "Set Your House in Order" is intense.

For analysis of the latest problems in the Church, I rely on Taylor Marshall and his frequent guest, Timothy Gordon.

For political and cultural insight, I enjoy our fellow devout Catholics, Michael Knowles and Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire.

I do not agree with everything everyone says, but we're all adults here, so use your own judgment. I listen to secular podcasts quite frequently, as well, often disagreeing with the hosts and guests, but find it an excellent way to examine the false thinking of the other side.

Pray with Tens of Thousands

Please join me and your fellow CatholiCity Citizens in the only prayer, the best prayer, our mutual prayer, for our loved ones, and at every Mass, and during every Rosary...

...In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

Jesus ... Jesus ... Jesus ... Jesus ... Jesus ... Jesus ... Jesus ... Jesus!
Amen.

Thank you for reading this, for being a part of my life, for your prayers, and for forgiving me for anything that was dull, or worse ... actually, for me, as a writer, nothing is worse.

With Immaculate Mary,

Bud Macfarlane
Founder