This is a brief follow up to Steeped in the Erros of Americanism and Conciliarism Through No Fault of Her Own and focuses upon an answer about leaving her faith “aside” in response to a question posed by United States Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday,  October 13, 2020, the Feast of Saint Edward the Confessor.

We are beginning another fifty-four day Rosary Novena today, October 15, 2020, the Feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus, that will end on the Feast of Saint Ambrose and the Commemoration of the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The intention of this Novena is to pray that Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will shorten the time by which a true and legitimate Successor of Saint Peter will be restored to the Holy See. The inspiration for this intention is based on Saint Ambrose’s observation that Our Lord speeded up the time of His Resurrection so that His Most Blessed Mother would not suffer His absence longer:

Saint Ambrose says that the grief of the Blessed Virgin without her Son was so great, that to soften it, our Lord hastened His resurrection. I to will show myself a true son of Mary by making haste to rise again to grace, by means of a good confession, if by misfortune I should ever fall into sin. (Saint Ambrose of Milan.)

Here is a reminder about the structure of a fifty-four day Rosary Novena:

Day 1 of the Novena: Joyful Mysteries.

Day 2 of the Novena: Sorrowful Mysteries.

Day 3 of the Novena: Glorious Mysteries. 

Day 4 of the Novena: Joyful Mysteries.

Day 5 of the Novena: Sorrowful Mysteries.

Day 6 of the Novena: Glorious Mysteries.

Day 7 of the Novena: Joyful Mysteries.

Day 8 of the Novena: Sorrowful Mysteries.

Day 9 of the Novena: Glorious Mysteries.

The pattern is repeated from Days 10-18, 19-27, 28-36, 26-45 and 46-54. 

Thank you.

A reflection on the life and work of Saint Teresa of Avila can be found by scrolling below.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Teresa of Jesus, pray for us.

This is a reflection of the life and the incomparable work of Saint Teresa of Jesus, the indomitable, incomparable reformer, foundress and model of spiritual perfection 

Another original article will appaer within fifteen minutes of this posting. The home page preview of the article will contain news of another fifty-four day Rosary Novena that begins today and ends on the Feast of Saint Ambrose and the Commemoration of the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Teresa of Jesus, pray for us,

This reflection, which was written three years ago, on the message of Our Lady of Fatima includes brief reflections on the liturgical feasts that took place (or were to take place in the future) on each of the dates of Our Lady’s apparitions to Jacinta and Francisco Marto and Lucia dos Santos in the Cova da Iria near Fatima, Portugal.

Work on the next original article for this site will resume on Wednesday as I have been completely consumed with finishing the text for Volume 6 of To Live in Light of Eternity, which has been uploaded and should be available for purchase within twenty-four hours.

Also, I have spent time fixing problems in Volune 1 of To Live in Light of Eternity, which was published today in a revised 6x9 format, a change that was necessitated a Supplemental Edition because of the original 8.5x11 pagination. These volumes are now available for purchase.

Importantly, Mrs. Randy Engel has published an incisive commentary about the Knights of Columbus's embrace of "consensus" policy on the surgical assassination of the innocent preborn that I recommend to readers of this site: The Cases Against An Abortion Consensus.

Now, I would like to request prayers for the repose of the soul of the late Dr. Brendan McGuire, a professor of history at Christendom College, who died after a valiant nine-year battle with cancer that he accepted with equanimity as coming from the hand of God and that did not deter him in the fulfillment of his teaching duties up to Thursday, October 8, 2020, just hours before he died around 3:00 a.m. on Friday, October 9, 2020, the Feast of Saint John Leonard and the Commemoration of Saints Dionysis, Eleutherius, and Rusticus. 

I met Dr. McGuire when he was eleven years old in 1994 and played a very small role as a teacher of his in a homeschooling program from then until he and his fraternal twin brother headed off to Christendom College at the age of sixteen in 1999. He was a remarkable student in 1994 and first-hand reports I have received from those we know have told us how remarkable he was as a classroom professor and mentor.

Even though the circumstances in which we find ourselves now in this time of apostasy and betrayal resulted in a lack of contact since 2004, there has never been a day that I did not pray for Dr. McGuire, his own wife and children, his exemplary Catholic parents and many siblings, one of whom has brain cancer and has told those who know him to just pray that he can save his soul, and I will not fail to pray for the repose of his immortal soul until I am called unto my own Particular Judgment.

Please join me, therefore, in praying for the repose of the soul of Dr. Brendan McGuire and the consolation of his wife, childen, parents, and siblings--as well as the many thousands of those who were influenced by his teaching and good Catholic example of accepting suffering with joy. 

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Saint Edward the Confessor, pray for us.

Today is the Feast of the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.) declared Our Lady to be the Mother of God. This is a doctrine that that the devil particularly hates, which is why he has raised up all manner of Protestant sects to attack it with a fury, requiring us to defend the doctrine of the Divine Maternity of Our Lady with all of the graces that she sees fit to send us through her loving hands as the Mediatrix of All Graces.

As Father Benedict Baur, O.S.B., explained in The Light of the World, Volume II:

"Fifteen hundred years have passed since Nestorius, a Patriarch of Constantinople, launched the heresy which taught that the person of Christ was different from the person of the Son of God. Nestorius asserted that Mary did not conceive nor bring forth the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, but only the man Christ. According to his teaching she was not the Mother of God, not a God-bearer, but only the mother of a mere man, in whom God dwelt only as in a temple.

A few years later after the beginning of the Nestorian heresy, a council was assembled at Ephesus (431 A.D.), which proclaimed that Mary had given birth to Jesus, who was, at one and the same time, God and man, having two natures but one person. God does not live in Him merely as in a temple, but the man Jesus is at the same time God. Mary is mother, not only of the humanity of Christ, but of the Son of God also. She is the Mother of God. The people of Ephesus awaited the decision of the council hall were opened and the decision was made known, the people greeted the Fathers with great rejoicing and accompanied them to their dwellings with flaming torches, crying out: 'Mary is the bearer of God; Mary is the Mother of God.' 

Today, fifteen hundred years later, we make the same joyful confession. "Mary is the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. The Gospel recounts an incident of His childhood during which He first refers to His divine origin. When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice. 'When they returned, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents knew it not.' They believed Him to be in the company of relatives. But they were mistaken. After a long and anxious search they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors of the law. 'And His mother said to Him: Son, why hast Thou done to so us? Behold Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.' This rebuke shows the concern of a mother who has borne suffering with love. But Jesus meekly answers: 'Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?' He refers to His Heavenly Father, for He is Son of God. He was conceived, not by the power of man, but by the power of God (Offertory). When the angel had first brought the message to Mary, she had answered: Behold the handmaid of Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1: 38). And at her word, the only-begotten Son of God was made flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mother. We pray tribute to this mystery at the Communion, when we confess, 'Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father.' Blessed art thou, O holy Mother of God, who wert united to the Son of God in a most intimate union when thou didst bear Him in thy womb. "Mary provided the body for the Son of God, and he in return Christ filled the soul of Mary with the fullness of His spirit. Mary became wholly absorbed in Him and became like Him. She became united to Him in a most intimate union. 'Alleluia, alleluia. Virgin Mother of God, He whom the whole world cannot contain, enclosed Himself in thy womb, being made man, Alleluia.' 'Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.' " 'As the vine, I have brought forth a pleasant odor, and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches' (Epistle). The blossoms on this vine are the precious virtues of faith and humility which the Virgin exhibited when she received the message of the angel. She was resolute in her attachment to her virginity: "I know not man" (Luke 1: 34). Yet she is obedient to the will of God and speaks her fiat: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word" (Luke 1: 38). "My flowers are the fruit of honor and riches," Christ the Lord. "There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse," Mary, who is sprung from the house of David; "and a flower shall rise up out of his root," Christ, the Son of Mary (Gradual). Humanity and divinity are united in this one person. 'Come over to me, all yet that desire me, and be filled with my fruits' (Epistle). Mary does not keep her child for herself; she bequeaths Him to us when He is born at Bethlehem, when He is offered in the Temple, and when He offers Himself up on the cross. She gives Him to us again daily in Holy Communion. Mary has borne Christ for us. Together with her Divine Son, she has given us salvation and an abundance of grace. She stands even today at the throne of God as our advocate and or all-powerful intercessor, armed with irresistible intercessory power, the mother of all those who are in the state of sanctifying grace. "We renew our faith in the mystery of Mary's divine motherhood. 'Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.' God is thy child, having taken His humanity from thy flesh. " 'Come over to me . . . and be filled with my fruits,' for it is Christ Jesus whom I give you. He was first given to us when we were reborn through baptism: He is given to us today at Mass and Holy Communion: 'Hath He not also with Him given us all things?' (Rom. 8: 32.) Since Mary has given us all things through Christ, we today express our gratitude to her." (Father Benedict Baur, O.S.B., The Light of the World, Volume II, B. Herder Book Company, Saint Louis, Missouri, 1954, pp. 440-442.) 

Finally, the past week has been spent finalizing the text for Volume 6 of To Live in Light of Eternity, upon which a bit more writing needs to be done before I can publish it on Monday or Tuesday. I will have another orignal article for this site soon thereafter. although I will say that it is more gratifying to provide readers access to some good resources on the lives of the saints rather than to have to write yet again about Modernity and Modernism. Oh, yes, I will return to that mundate task. However, the lives of the saints teach us how to strive for perfection in this passing, mortal vale of tears. 

A blessed Feast of the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary to you all!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us

We must never tire of reminding our fellow Catholics that Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary is, after the perfect prayer, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the most powerful prayer we have to make reparation for our own sins and those of the whole world as we seek the conversion of all men to the true Faith, the Catholic Faith, before they die and to fight the heresies of Modernity in the world and Modernism in the counterfeit church of conciliarism.

We must promote the Rosary and pray it with fervor and devotion. Our Lady implored us at Fatima to pray the Rosary daily. How can we refuse her?

Finally, although I have not solicited for non-tax-exempt donations on this site in quite some time, I need to do so now as our property's septic tank pump died five days ago after six years, eight months of use. It is a long story, replete with well-deserved penances, but suffice it to say that we had to pay $250 to a very fine Catholic man who owns a company that cleans out septic systems, followed by another $850 to a friend of his who builds such systems and installs septic pumps. This is the sort of unexpected expense for which we have no margin at all, and I was only to pay those bills by postponing payment on other bills as the septic pump took priority. Thus, I would very much appreciate it if a few readers could help us at this time by making a non-tax-deductible donation to us. 

Once again, I do not resort to these public appeals much any longer. However, I must do so now. 

Thank you.

A blessed Feast of Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary to you all.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Pope Saint Mark I, pray for us. 

Saints Sergius, Bacchus, Marcellus, and Apuleius, pray for us.

As promised, here is my commentary about certain aspects of Samaritanus Bonus, which was released by the conciliar Congregation for the Destruction and Deformation of the Faith on September 22, 2020, the Feast of Saint Thomas Villanova, O.S.A.

This commentary is necessarily detailed as Samaritanus Bonus is a product of the double-minded, self-contradictory nature of Modernism that was critiqued by Pope Saint Pius X in Pascendi Dominci Gregis, September 8, 1907.

Work will now resume on the original writing that is necessary to complete before the publication of volume six of To Live in Light of Eternity within the coming week. I will have another original commentary on this site as time permits within the next three or four days.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

Today,Sunday, October 4, 2020, is the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the Commemoration of the Seraphic Saint, Saint Francis of Assisi, who was born as Giovanni di Bernardone in 1182 (some say 1181).

This revised article is a poor way to pay tribute to the follower of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who gave up earthly riches to embrace Lady Poverty, earning himself eternal riches in the process, eternal riches that helped to save the Church Militant on earth from falling down at a time of great clerical corruption. It is my hope, however, that this poor tribute to Saint Francis, a saint of profound Eucharistic piety and deep, tender devotion to the Mother of God who rejoiced in the midst of trials and sufferings and insults and even the rejection of his own father and brother, will provide some food for meditation about the glorious life of this joyful saint of prayer and penance.

The writing of my commentary on Samaritanus Bonus has been completed. As there is yet another two or three hours of formatting work to be done prior to posting it on this site and it is now past one o'clock in the morning, the commentary should appear at some point tomorrow afternoon, after which I need a few days to complete the writing of original material for volume six of To Live in Light of Eternity. Thank you.

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us!

A blessed feast day to our friends to all Franciscans, including those of the Third Order.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

Marie-Frances Therese Martin was born to the holiest of parents, Louis and Zelie Martin, who endeavored to shield their children as much as possible from the influences of the world.

The sacrifices made by Louis and Zelie Martin produced five vocations to the consecrated religious life. Zelie Martin's prayers from eternity after her death assisted her husband as he raised one canonized saint and four other daughters who served Holy Mother Church as brides of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The simplicity and love of the Little Flower teaches each of us to pursue holiness as befits redeemed creatures, seeking the things of Heaven in this life so that we may spend our Heaven doing good here on earth. Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face was raised in a family that stressed the importance of withdrawing from the world. Louis and Zelie Martin were very protective of their daughters, making sure to instill within them a firm commitment to the Virtue of Modesty.

Indeed, Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face, Marie-Frances Celine Martin, was shocked at the immodesty that had overtaken France with the Allied bombing of Normandy forced the cloistered Carmelites of the Carmel out of their cloister and into the world in June of 1944. She noted this in a letter to Mother Agnes Mary that was dated July 7, 1944:

"After fifty years of eremetical living, to find myself all of a sudden uprooted and thrown into the midst of the world, with veil raised, is a true martyrdom for a recluse like me. It seems to me as if we're in a station where everybody is crowding around and intermingling. We sleep fully clothed on benches; we take our meals in haste, standing up in the dark; we look with astonishment and grief at the feminine styles stripped of all dignity." (As quoted in Celine: Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face, Sister and Witness of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, by Father Stephane-Joseph Piat, O.F.M., p. 130.)

What would Saint Therese and Sister Genevieve say today about the feminine attire that is considered "modest" and "acceptable" in Catholic chapels all across the vast expanse of the ecclesiastical divide where some version of the Immemorial Mass of Tradition is offered or simulated?

They would not have been approving, and that is because their holy parents taught them Catholic right from wordily wrong.

Why is this so difficult for many traditionally-minded Catholic parents to understand, accept and abide by today?

Work on the next original commentary for this site is still ongoing. Its writing is nearing a conclusion. After working until around 1:30 a.m. yesterday morning, however, I will resume work on it this afternoon and then send it out for vetting before returning to the work of finalizing a few new entries for Volume 6 of To Live in Light of Eternity.

Please continue to pray for the recovery of President and Mrs. Trump and, more importantly, to pray for the president's conversion and for Mrs. Trump's return to the true Faith.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Therese of Lisieux, pray for us!

This reflection on our Holy Guardian Angels is brief. Our devotion to and reliance upon our Guardian Angels, however, must be lifelong.

Although I have another full day of writing the final part of my commentary on Samaritanus Bonus, a project that requires great effort to illustrate the insidious nature of this document's text, I will not post it until its final draft has been sent out for vetting. This project has delayed finishing up work on Volume 6 of To Live in Light of Eternity, and I must return to that project after I am completed with the writing of the piece about Samaritanus Bonus. Thus, commentary on the Cleveland slugfest will have to wait until next week. 

Finally, let us pray to Our Lady, Health of the Sick, for the recovery of the president and the first lady from the coronavirus.

Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, pray for us.

Holy Guardian Angels, pray for us. 

Although I can no longer stay up late hours on a regular basis, which is how I could produce upwards of thirty articles a month as late as seven years ago, there are times when I will do so, and it was to complete this commentary on Judge Amy Coney Barrett that I have done so presently.

This commentary, which is relatively short by my standards, reviews some of the attacks made against her and a defense of her written by John Yoo, the legal mind behind the use of waterboarding during the George Walker Bush administration, emphasizes that Judge Barrett would never place her Catholic Faith above her duty to the Constitution. Obviously, I provide some antidotes to such idiocy.

Additionally, the commentary discusses two cases on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in which Judge Amy Coney Barrett concurred with decisions that are troubling.  

A reflection on today’s Feast of the Dedication of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel is archived at: On the Feast of the Dedication of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel .

Finally, I am aware that there is some kind of colloquy, shall we say, that will take place at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. I do not plan on watching this exchange between Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., and President Donald John Trump. However, I will review the transcripts later this week and have a commentary by Sunday, October 4, 2020, the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost and the Commemoration of Saint Francis of Assisi.

In the meantime, though, work continues on my commentary about Samaritanus Bonus and on the finalizing Volume 6 of To Live in Light of Eternity.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for, defend and keep us.