Catholic; American (Filipino Dad/mixed-European Mom); supports the Social Reign of Christ the King; space geek; #NASASocial vet; Phillies phan. Viva Cristo Rey!
Washington, DC Region
Joined May 2009
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Today is the 4th anniversary of my elderly mother’s life-altering fall, which severely limited her ability to care for herself.
Please continue to pray the health of her entire being; & please add prayers for my immediate family. Thank you graciously!
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
“Why is virtually every old Catholic liturgical tradition a treasure, except for the old Roman liturgy?” His Excellency asked.”
Bishop Rob Mutsaerts responds to Cardinal Roche’s interview
Bishop Rob Mutsaerts has published a response to Cardinal Arthur Roche’s recent exclusive interview with AdVaticanum, addressing his remarks on the Traditional Latin Mass
✍️@NiwaLimbu1988
advaticanum.com/article/bish…
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
Finally found the limit they'll put on asylum claims.
Totally unsurprising that it's "being conservative."
Losing an election is not grounds for asylum.
Yet the Trump Administration is giving Flávio Bolsonaro safe haven in the United States. In Brazil, he is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and currency evasion, and was ordered to surrender his passports.
The Trump Administration owes Congress answers on its role helping Bolsonaro flee Brazil in contravention of Brazilian law.
apnews.com/article/brazil-fl…
Those who think whites are the most racist have never dealt with nationalists from parts of East Asia (& I knew about this phenomenon before the Internet).
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
This controversy is absolutely nuts. The Mao revisionism is *wild*, with state media demanding that foreigners bend the knee to an excrescence who killed tens of millions of their own ancestors. This ridiculous headline, together the humiliating capitulation of the sports world. Mbappe said something that anyone who has had a passing glance at history knows: Mao was not merely a dictator, but the biggest killer of the last century.
In case anyone was wondering about PRC influence in sport, you have your answer. And in case anyone was wondering about how quickly “private” Chinese companies (sponsors) can be mobilised to do the bidding of the Party State, voilá. Getting the picture yet?
This is the Whole-of- State approach in action people. Everything is the Party, and nothing can challenge it.
Major brands in China have dropped Kylian Mbappé over a clip in which the French football megastar appeared to mock Mao Zedong, China’s modern founding leader.
vist.ly/5q5xz
The OP is bleak: “You're an attractive 29-year old woman in L.A. who did undergrad at Arizona. You obviously have had sex with guys on first dates.” That’s quite an assumption.
The only solution (& it’s long term) is monogamy. “Sex liberation” has only left devastation.
This is called making assumptions. But the most revealing part is the excuse: “I don’t make the rules.”
You invent a woman’s sexual history, decide she owes you the same access you imagine other men received, and call sex a “return on investment.”
Then you blame society for how you chose to treat her.
Gentlemen, if this is how you view dating, women, and intimacy, consider what you are allowing resentment to make of you.
Even if every assumption were true, her past would create no debt for you to collect.
That is the poison: a worldview where decency is conditional, intimacy is a commodity, and every perceived wrong gives us permission to wrong someone else.
It teaches people to surrender responsibility for their character while congratulating themselves for understanding how the world works.
How much ugliness are we willing to excuse in ourselves by saying society made us this way?
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
It's a major black mark on the Catholic Church that we've allowed Fernando III of Castile and Leon (1199-1252) to be almost forgotten. He's one of the greatest men ever to pick up a sword—and a canonized saint.
Fernando never lost a battle. He took back more territory from the Moors than any other Spanish king during the Reconquista: Cazorla, Úbeda, Córdoba, Niebla, Huelva, Écija, Lucena, Oriheula, Murcia, Arjona, Mula, Lorca, Cartesian, Jaén, Alicante, and then Sevilla. Along the way he reclaimed the Bells of Santiago de Compostela taken by al-Mansur a couple centuries before. In battle he always took the lead, declaring he'd never expose his vassals to more danger than he exposed himself.
By the end of his campaigning only Granada remained, and they were paying tribute to Fernando. El Santo planned an expedition to North Africa to finish the job completely, but died before he could launch it.
And, like I said, he is a saint, known during his lifetime, as El Santo. Fernando often worried his men with his habit of keeping all-night prayer vigils before a battle. His efforts liberated countless Christians from Moorish and rescued souls from apostasy.
On top of all this, he was a great lawgiver, patriarch, and friend—really the complete man, not the kind you allow to be forgotten.
Art by Antonio Palomino—
This is a point I haven’t seen much over the past 60 hours or so. Has there been substantial change in the personnel since last year? On the other side, organizers should never assume that the other side is on the ball.
The X factor is why the Secretariat of State got involved.
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
My unsolicited advice would be, stay in the City and do a thorough housecleaning.
Pope Leo XIV's visit to Latin America Nov. 6-17 will go ahead as planned after his doctors give him the all clear, @HolySeePress confirms:
"Two weeks after the surgical procedure undergone by Pope Leo XIV, the Holy See Press Office confirms that the Holy Father's recovery continues to progress, in accordance with the favorable assessments communicated by his medical team.
As previously reported, the surgical procedure was successful and without complications. Subsequent medical examinations confirmed that the condition was localized and that no further oncological treatment is necessary.
Since returning to the Vatican, the Holy Father has gradually resumed his activities, adjusting his daily schedule in consultation with his doctors to prioritize his recovery while continuing to fulfill the responsibilities of his ministry. He has maintained important appointments and public engagements, remaining attentive to the needs of each day and allowing for appropriate periods of rest.
The Holy Father remains deeply grateful for the prayers and affection he has received from throughout the world and for the dedicated care of the medical professionals who have accompanied him during his recovery.
Dr. Luigi Carbone confirms that the Holy Father’s recovery after the surgery continues, and the latest medical examinations attest to his good health and favorable clinical condition. Based on his current clinical status, as well as the instrumental and laboratory tests performed, there are no contraindications that would prevent him from undertaking his upcoming apostolic journey to Latin America as planned. The Pope is following medical recommendations with great care and diligence, and with a deep determination to continue serving the Church.
In this respect, the Holy See Press Office confirms that the Apostolic Journey of Pope Leo XIV to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, scheduled for 6–17 November 2026, will proceed according to the programme previously published.
The Holy Father looks forward with great joy and enthusiasm to this journey, which will offer opportunities to strengthen the bonds of communion with the local Churches, encourage the faithful in their mission, and bring a message of faith, hope, and peace to the peoples of Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru, encountering the faith of their peoples, and sharing with them the hope and peace that Christ brings to our world: 'I am looking forward to returning to the continent where I’ve experienced so many moments of my life. May this journey be an occasion for us to open our hearts to one another, strengthen our communion as brothers and sisters, and renew our commitment to proclaiming the Gospel with joy.'”
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
I’m at Disneyland and just heard a woman complain, “There’s too many kids around!”
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
A pro-abortion billionaire is being given a prominent award by the @archchicago because he's "well-respected" in Chicago and the Jewish community. In defending the choice, @CardinalBCupich plays the antisemitic card, saying, "Refusing to honor or engage with Jews solely because they hold conflicting religious or political positions can risk mimicking historic patterns of antisemitism through exclusion and bigotry, which, frighteningly, is on the rise."
Solely? The sole issue is Mr. Sacks' financial support (reportedly $600,000) of abortion initiatives. Surely there are prominent pro-life Jewish leaders in the Chicago area? Also, what if, theoretically, it were discovered that Mr. Sacks had given money to a pro-MAGA group? Would the antisemitic card still be used?
Please read Cardinal Cupich's statement on the Nostra Aetate Award
ow.ly/4wB351012Cc
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
🚨BREAKING: Prince William County Circuit Court Chief Judge Petula Metzler granted bond at $2,500 for Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano. The illegal immigrant is accused of beheading and damaging the Iwo Jima statue in Quantico, Virginia.
It was revealed in court this morning that ICE lodged a detainer against the illegal immigrant accused of beheading and damaging the Iwo Jima statue.
You got to love all of the “conservative” talking heads who are congratulating the two of them. None of them truly believe in the sanctity of marriage.
Fox News stars Ainsley Earhardt and Sean Hannity tied the knot on Saturday at the historic Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, returning to the place where Hannity proposed over Christmas in 2024.
Surrounded by their children, relatives and closest friends, the couple exchanged vows in a heartfelt ceremony that reflected their shared faith and the importance of family in their lives.
Get the full details on Ainsley and Sean's wedding and the personal touches that made their big day memorable: foxnews.com/media/ainsley-ea…
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
Blessed Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ!
The feast proclaims Christ as King over all nations and peoples. It was established by Pope Pius XI in the Jubilee Year of 1925, after the upheavals resulting from the First World War and in response to the rise of atheism and secularisation.
In his encyclical, Pope Pius XI writes:
"These manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; that these had no place either in private affairs or in politics: and we said further, that as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations. Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ."
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Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui in dilécto Fílio tuo, universórum Rege, ómnia instauráre voluísti: concéde propítius; ut cunctæ famíliæ géntium, peccáti vúlnere disgregátæ, eius suavissímo subdántur império.
Almighty and everlasting God, Who didst will to restore all things in Thy beloved Son, the King of all creation: mercifully grant; that all the families of nations, scattered by the wound of sin, may become subject to His most gentle rule.
Christe Rex, miserére nobis!
Matthew Balan ن retweeted
The organisers of the Ad Petri Sedem Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage told me this evening that they were offered no alternative dates or possibilities to celebrate the Pontifical Mass today in St Peter's Basilica, neither in the August 7 letter from the Secretariat of State that denied them the possibility, nor in the weeks and months leading up to the Vatican's decision. They were simply told the basilica was unavailable. The Vatican also made no mention of any other events taking place at the same time in the basilica that could clash with the Mass.