Dear Dr. Horvat,

I am very glad to see you are working on funeral information. It is very timely for us, as my opinions on appropriate Catholic behavior in this matter are very unpopular, to say the least! I suspect it is an area of supreme compromise of otherwise traditional Catholics.

I have learned from Part I and look forward to the rest of your articles.

     Slava Isusu Christu,

     Pamela Dettman

Dear TIA,

Another great article on Funeral Etiquette! I shall copy and send it to my whole family (Spanish ancestry).

I had told an elderly aunt of mine about the embalming process, and how if I had known, I would not have allowed my father and mother (sister of this aunt) to be embalmed in 1995 and 2001.

My aunt died in 2007 at the age of 93, and to my surprise, when I called her daughter to advise her not to embalm my aunt, she told me that she had already received precise instructions from my aunt that under no condition should she be embalmed. Apparently, my conversation with her had alerted her to the abuse of embalming.

    Thank God!

     P.V.



Dr. Horvat responds:

Dear Mr. P.V.,

Thank you for your kind remarks.

Until I traveled to Portugal many years ago and happened on a funeral there, I had no idea the rest of the Catholic European world generally did not embalm. It was what I saw at every funeral that I had been at, and being American, I assumed it was the most up-to-date and correct thing to do, and that everyone civilized followed our example (In Protestant England, it is also common).

What a shock to realize that we Americans were the ones who had taken a very un-Catholic position, based on the desire to avoid facing the realities of death. To make our corpses beautiful and sweet-smelling, we subject our bodies, sacred vessels of the Holy Ghost, to the most demeaning and humiliating procedures.

I think it is a topic that Catholics should re-examine. It was also a nice surprise to find that, despite FDA and every other kind of modern health regulation, it is still possible to have a funeral without embalming.

      Cordially,

    Marian T. Horvat

Dear TIA,

First of all, I want to thank you and encourage you to continue in this struggle for what is true. I have benefited immensely from reading what has been put forth on your website.

Second, I want to ask if all 11 volumes of the work on Vatican II are available, I see only a couple of volumes listed in your Books section of the website.

     God Bless,

     C.J.C.



TIA responds:

Dear Mr. C.J.C.,

Thank you for your kind words about our work. They are very important to us.

So far, the following volumes of the Collection on Vatican II by Mr. Atila Guimares are available:

• Volume 1 In the Murky Waters of Vatican II; its 3rd edition, revised and edited, was published early this year;
  
  
• Volume IV Animus Delendi I (Desire to Destroy I);
  
  
• Volume V Animus Delendi II (Desire to Destroy II);
  
  
• Volume VI Will He Find Faith? released last year.

Besides these volumes, there are also the special editions to the Collection, which are:

• Quo Vadis, Petre? A interpelation to John Paul II about the pan-religious festivities of the Millennium;
  
  
• Previews of the New Papacy A photographic illustration of the crisis in the Church;
  
  
• Vatican II, Homosexuality and Pedophilia Initially an appendix to In the Murky Waters, which was expanded to encompass and analyze the pedophile crisis in the clergy from 2000 to 2004.

These are the works we have published so far.

We ask your prayers for the publication of the next volume at the end of this year.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear Dr. Marian Horvat,

I am a Roman Catholic residing in Mangalore, India. I recently came across your article regarding the orthodoxy of Mother Teresa. I have to say that the article threw light on a lot of things that were unknown to me.

I have a request. I have a hard time in convincing my Catholic friends regarding the truth of the facts mentioned by you. Also the editions of the books that you mentioned are difficult to find here, especially the Case for the Cause. My request is that you please send to me the principal ecumenical quotes of Mother Teresa that are found in this book, as well as any other source that you might have. Please also mention the page numbers, the full titles of the books, the authors, the editions, publishers, etc, as I want to send this apology to as many people as possible, and I want exact evidential statements.

This would be a great help. Please do write me back as soon as possible.

     May Christ bless all your good work!

     R.D., India



Dr. Horvat responds:

Dear Mr. R.D.,

I am pleased the article on the orthodoxy of Mother Teresa raised some questions in your mind. I would suggest that you read the review TIA posted on the book Mother Teresa: The Case for the Cause by Mark M. Zima. In it are many significant quotes with page citations.

Perhaps for a more extensive list of quotes you may purchase the work on Amazon, or contact the author at mmzima@gmail.com

     Cordially,

     Marian T. Horvat

Dear TIA Authors,

Have you and the readers of your website read the book titled: Windswept House by Malachi Martin? Well, it accurately portrays what we are witnessing today in the Roman Catholic Church. The author was a Jesuit Priest who spent years in the Vatican. Well worth a read!

Thanks for an excellent website!

     God bless.

     L.S.



TIA responds:

Dear Mrs. L.S.,

Yes, we did read Windswept House by Fr. Malachi Martin. It is a very enlightening book. We agree with you that it portrays the crisis of Progressivism within the Church very well.

Thank you for your compliments.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Dear TIA,

The article "Are we at the end times?" was very good and helpful. I read an article on the three days of darkness and was wondering where that fits in to everything. Is it something we should believe and prepare ourselves for, as best as we can? Will it happen before the Reign of Mary?

Also, what about a sign first of all that will appear in the sky and the fact that it's all to be foretold ahead of time on the feast of a young martyr of the Eucharist? Any information you can tell me about any of this will be greatly appreciated.

God bless you for all you do.

     A+M+D+G

     M.K.



TIA responds:

Dear M.K.,

Many different prophecies have predicted an enormous chastisement before the Reign of Mary. The two most illustrious and known are, first, the prophecies of St. Louis Grignion de Montfort about the Apostles of the End Times, the purification of the world by fire and the establishment of the Reign of Mary. You may read his Fiery Prayer here.

Second, the known messages of Fatima also predicted a cosmic chastisement would fall over the world if certain conditions were not met the consecration of Russia and a change of immoral customs. Now then, these conditions were not fulfilled, which means that the chastisement should come.

Regarding the three days of darkness, there are also some prophecies from good sources on this topic. Those days would represent the apex of the chastisement referred before. These prophecies say that the only light that will shine on these days will be the light of blessed candles.

To be prepared for this great chastisement, we should increase our devotion to Our Lady, make repation for our sins and those of the world, and follow the present day Passion of the Church. The reading of the books by St. Grignion de Montfort may inspire you to other good actions to prepare for both the chastisement and the Reign of Mary.

We hope this may help you.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondent desk

TIA,

You posted this on your site, with the article saying:

Catholic priests serving Buddhist monks

On December 28, 2006, Archbishop Oswald Gomes of Colombo, Sri Lanka, invited Buddhist monks to his palace as part of the Christmas celebrations. On that occasion a meal was offered to the Buddhists, served by Catholic priests of the Archdiocese, above.

So, instead of honoring the pagan Kings who came to adore the True God in the Manger at Christmas time, thanks to the inter-religious dialogue of Vatican II, we had priests of the true Catholic Faith in Colombo paying homage and service to representatives of a pagan religion. Precisely the opposite of what should be...

And this is wrong ... because...??? Please explain.

     In Christ,

     + B



TIA inquires:

If you would like a reply to your request, please identify yourself. Bishop Basil is a very vague name that may well be a fake.

We are not committed to answer anonymous questions or requests.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk




+B answers:

TIA,

Bishop Basil is not vague at all. Most Orthodox clergymen do not usually use surnames. Like most Orthodox bishops, I use the name of my see city, in this case Phoenix.

It would have taken you less time to answer my question than to have refused to answer it.

     + Basil



TIA responds:

B. Basil,

You may visit this page to find the rationale why Catholics should oppose Buddhism.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

Follow us

  Catholic Funeral Etiquette

  What about the Orthodoxy of Mother Teresa?

  Is Mother Teresa a Saint?

  More Earthquakes and Tsunamis

  Our Lady of Fatima and Her Secret Message

  The Fidelity of the Remnant and the Reign of Mary

  Are We at the End Times?

  The Grace of Contrition and the Reign of Mary

  The Fiery Prayer of St. Grignion de Montfort