Saturday in the smoke
Image courtesy of An Internet Globetrotter.
The northern California fires continue unabated. The skies are still heavy with smoke. Every day we have air quality alerts. Some of our friends have left the valley and won’t be returning until the smoke clears; those of us with farm animals are simply stuck. There are hundreds of fires burning in the Coast Range to the west, and in the Sierras to the east, most started from dry lightning. There is more dry lightning predicted this weekend.
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The SSPX has refused yet another offer of regularization, this time with terms that could not possibly be more lenient. Rome asked for no doctrinal concessions, no liturgical compromises, no subjection to hostile bishops – only the Christian respect that is owed by every Catholic to the Vicar of Christ. This refusal, combined with the worldwide restoration that has been launched by Summorum Pontificum, likely means permanent marginalization for the SSPX. It is probable that heavier sanctions will be coming against them. At present their bishops are excommunicated, their priests merely suspended, and the laity more or less free to attend SSPX masses as their consciences dictate. But I would be very surprised if Rome did not view this latest refusal as the order’s final, definitive act of schism which must be finally, comprehensively and definitively condemned – for the good of souls. If I had to guess, I would predict the following: just as Ecclesia Dei Afflicta announced both the excommunications and the indult, so as to provide for those priests who left the SSPX in fidelity to Rome, the next round of discipline may contain both a stick and a carrot, further strengthening the position of the the orthodox/traditionalist movement within the Church.
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“This recession, it’s just beginning”. Things are going to get worse before they get better. Possibly much worse.
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A surprising victory in pro-life South Dakota: Court overturns abortion law injunction.
“A federal appeals court ruled that South Dakota can begin enforcing a law requiring doctors to tell women seeking abortions that the procedure ends a human life … The 2005 law would make doctors tell women ‘that the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.’ Women also would have to be told they have a right to continue a pregnancy and that abortion may cause women psychological harm, including thoughts of suicide.”
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My industrious wife has made her first batch of soap from our surplus goat milk. I washed my hands with it the other day. It works very well, feels great, and is completely odorless. They say it is much better for your skin than commercial soaps. Hmmm, maybe a business idea there? If we manufactured St. Isidore’s All Natural Semi-Organic California Goat Milk Soap, would you buy it?
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“If we manufactured St. Isidore’s All Natural Semi-Organic California Goat Milk Soap, would you buy it?”
I’ll take 5! Wait, what’s the price again?
A) Are you guys in danger from those fires? For goodness’ sake, don’t say I have to _pray_ for somebody in a less cushy and comfortable situation than my own! :-)
B) How’s the goat soap for people with eczema problems–very dry skin? (Why is it only semi-organic?)
That is very sad news about the SSPX.
Alan: Don’t worry about the price. You’re going to be so clean after using this soap your boss will double your salary. We guarantee it!
Lydia: We’re not in any danger from the fires, but the smoke is dangerous and officials are starting to get worried. We could still use your prayers! As for goat milk soap, it is said to be much loved by people with eczema problems (having just looked it up) and much easier on the skin. It is “semi-organic” because all soap has a chemical content, such as lye, which doesn’t qualify as organic. Is the milk organic? I would have to get my pasture “organic certified”, and having just now emptied 5 gallons of herbicide on my electric fenceline, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon!
Zippy: Sad indeed. But perhaps a blessing in disguise?
+JMJ+
I’d buy anything from your farm, Jeff, and hope to be in a position to actually do that soon (!!!), but I suggest you put some more thought into branding. ;)
“That is very sad news about the SSPX.”
On the other hand, Fr. Z. is reporting that Bishop Fellay’s non-response response has been received favorably by Rome. We shall see …
“I’d buy anything from your farm, Jeff, and hope to be in a position to actually do that soon (!!!), but I suggest you put some more thought into branding. ;)”
Hmmm … very cryptic message there! Are you headed for California????
I’m definitely open to branding ideas. Fire away. I think we’re going to give this a shot.
Just don’t put any perfumes in the soap. I would think that anybody who would even consider buying something called “goat’s milk soap” would not want it to be perfumy. It’s sad to think of all the times I’ve thought, “Oh, gee, that smells so nice, I’m sure it can’t do any harm” and then have been awake for hours with runny, itchy eyes from an allergic reaction to the perfume in something…Enough to make one weep. :-)
I always have bought the Pure & Natural soup that some maker makes, at a whopping 99 cents or so for years, just because I like the odorless clean feel I get from it. But, I would gladly order St. Isidore goat soap!
I just wanted to say I’d buy goat milk soap, and also that we continue to pray about the fires. The Table Mountain area fire around Navarro is about 10 miles or a little less from my parents’ ranch. No one is there right now, but a lot of great memories would burn down, and then there’s rebuilding. Mostly I’m worried about the neighbors, and also the fact that this is happening in June. There’s still a few months to go. I hope the smoke clears soon!
+JMJ+
Well, maybe next year, for a cousin’s wedding . . .
*whistles innocently*
Lori is thinking about goat soap too. She was given a book called “Goat on the table” which has a couple recipes. (Haven’t started milking yet-but soon.)
Jeff,
Not only would I buy it, but I would sell it to other folks at St. Margaret Mary’s.
I thought of you as we drove through Orland a couple of weeks ago (pressing obligations made a stop impossible, unfortunately). I have seen fires and smoke plenty of time (California is semi-arid, after all), but never have I left the Bay Area under a smoke cloud and not had it lift before arriving in Redding. When we got to Redding it was 110 and you could not see the sun. I thought that one could salt some beef and hang it on the clothesline to make jerky, but most of the fires around there were too full of pine…alas, there went that silver lining.