What People are Commenting
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Bad Smell, Agentic & Women’s Christmas
Exceptional Talents
Re: Fra Angelico (Saint of the Day - Today)
My favorite painter, he was blessed with exceptional talents and profound insight, which culminated in his masterpieces. Unlike most of the other painters, his paintings were totally modest, in line with the Catholic spirit. St. Thomas Aquinas is the perfect match for St. Fra Angelico.
Prof. V.S.N., Cambridge, Facebook
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Discotheque-Churches
Re: Churches transformed into gyms
In Portugal historical churches are turning into discotheques with light shows, it is absurd and very sad, it is common while on Facebook ads are coming thru to that show. See an example here.
F.T., Facebook
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Let Us Campaign against Them
Re: Religious Images on Profane Items
- Please provide the website of the stores selling those flip-flops or, even better, the name of the manufacturer to the large organized Catholic organizations so they may run a campaign to stop the manufacturing and sales of those items.
F.A., Instagram - I wouldn’t wear those sandals. Step on the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Literally? Nope.
L.U.I., Instagram
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Agentic - AI Cyber-Attacks
I received the email below from MalwareBytes, and the news looked interesting, so I thought I would alert you to take this into consideration.
If artificial intelligence achieves what is called an “agentic” model in 2025, novel and boundless attacks could be within reach, as AI tools take on the roles of “agents” that independently discover vulnerabilities, steal logins and pry into accounts.
“These agents could even hold people for ransom by matching stolen data online with publicly known email addresses or social media accounts, composing messages and holding entire conversations with victims who believe a human hacker out there has access to their Social Security Number, physical address, credit card info, and more. And if the model works for individuals, there’s little reason it wouldn’t work for individual business owners.
“This warning comes from our 2025 State of Malware report, which compiled a year’s worth of intelligence to identify the most pressing cyber-attacks on the horizon. Though the report’s guidance serves IT teams, its threats will impact individuals and small businesses everywhere. Remember that just last year a widespread IT outage grounded flights globally, cementing the relationship between companies, cyber-security, and everyday people.”
In Jesu et Maria,
S.B.
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Vatican II Springtime Continues…
This very anxious looking Bishop of Joliet, Illinois, Ronald Hicks, recently announced that 16 parishes in his Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, will be reconfigured into seven parishes, with five churches closing.
“The Church today is not the same Church it was decades ago,” he admits. “The trend against organized religion is gaining momentum. Attendance at Sunday Masses is down significantly, and Sunday collections are down proportionately...”
Read more here
T.H.
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Women’s Christmas
Recently TIA was asked about this Irish tradition of a woman’s day off, called Women’s Christmas, on the Feast of the Epiphany. We sent the question to our trusted supporter in Ireland, Miss C.M., to know her opinion. Below you will find the question and her response.
Dear Miss C.M.,
A reader asked about this, and so we wanted to ask what you know about it: Women’s Christmas. Below is the picture she sent us.
What we would like to know is if and when this became a tradition, and what you think about it. What did the religious that you knew think about it? To what extent is this “tradition” actually traditional in Ireland? Have there been abuses?
Here is another link explaining more: https://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/little-womens-christmas.html
Cordially,
TIA correspondent desk
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Our Irish Friend Answers:
Dear TIA correspondent desk,
Ave Maria Purissima!
Thank you for your email and your interesting question. I never heard of Nollaig ns mBan until 15 or 20 years ago. Bear in mind however, I was in boarding school from the age of 12 and then, in teacher training college and then in the Good Shepherd, so I had little contact with the outside world.
Growing up we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany in the usual way, assisting at Holy Mass, placing the three Kings in the crib and praying the Holy Rosary in front of the crib. We removed the Christmas tree at that stage, but the crib remained, and schools opened again. I believe Nollaig na mBan was celebrated in parts of Cork in the South of Ireland and on some islands off the West coast. I doubt it was ever widely celebrated.
My father could not boil an egg, and he was no different than most men at that time. They were the breadwinners and women were the home makers and housewives so the idea that men cooked dinner and gave their wives a rest, does not stand up. Where it was celebrated the women apparently socialized and had tea and cake together. Now it is being promoted as a way for women to go out to dinner, go dancing and to bars. Very unedifying of course!
I think this is more a myth than a tradition. The prevailing narrative in Ireland among liberal and socialist women is that Ireland was a much more equal society in pre-Christian times, and it was the “nasty” Catholic Church which installed the “patriarchy.” Nollaig na mBan plays into that idea. It is my view that this is a nonsense.
Men have their duties and women have theirs. In preparing Christmas dinner surely the woman was simply doing her job, fulfilling the role God gave her. In those days women did not look for thanks, they were happy to be given the security that their husband provided through his earnings and labour outside the home.
Yours sincerely
C.M., Ireland
Posted February 18, 2025
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The opinions expressed in this section - What People Are Commenting - do not necessarily express those of TIA
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Re: A Revisionist History to Favor the Council
Thank you for your excellent writing in today’s TIA post.
When ‘Mass of the Ages’ first came out I spent about two minutes viewing the first episode. I made a choice; I aborted the page. I could see and smell the Novus Ordo, Vatican II, Franciscan University flavored, smarmy enmeshment, and knew it would continue. Two minutes of this tragic near occasion of sin was enough.
Thank you,
EK