Overthrow the Social Reign of Christ the King, Live In A World Awash In Hatred and Blood, part two

The effort to overthrow the results of the 2016 presidential election is as relentless as it is openly bold. Although this effort has been aided in very large measure by the intemperate “tweets” of President Donald John Trump himself, it is clear by now that his only “crime” was getting elected and then firing the self-server leaker, James Brien Comey, who was the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from September 4, 2013, to May 9, 2017.

For his part, Comey had carefully set up President-elect Trump when he met with him at Trump Tower on January 6, 2017, in New York New York, by letting him examine the contents of the infamous, discredited “Christopher Steele Dossier” that was filled with lurid untruths and fabrications about a vast conspiracy between Trump and various Russians to influence the outcome of last year’s presidential election. By doing this Comey lulled Trump into believing that Comey was his friend and had his best interests at heart.

Obviously, Comey showed the discredited dossier to the president-election as a sort of “job security” insurance policy in the event Trump ever sought to fire him, an act truly worthy of the nefarious John Edgar Hoover, who headed the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1924 until the time of his death in 1972 and shamelessly used blackmail to keep presidents and members of Congress in line. Trump was foolish to think that he could “deal” with Comey when the latter should have been fired during the transition process. (A very good summary of Comey's treachery can be found at It's Not Watergate and im Comey Is No Mark Felt,which was written by the attorney for Mark Felt in 2005 when Felt came forward to admit that he was the "inside" source for Robert Woodward's and Carl Bernstein's Washington Post reporting on the "Watergate" scandals.)

Thus it is that we are hip-deep in the agitation of another needless controversy that is aimed at effecting a much more blatant coup d’etat than the one waged against President Richard Milhous Nixon in 1973 and 1974. Nixon’s illegalities and lies were many. It is arguably the case, however, that former President Barack Hussein Obama/Barry Soetoro, who helped to set the stage for the false Trump “collusion” with Russia narrative that has paralyzed his successor’s presidency, committed crimes of state far worse than those committed by Nixon. Ah, Obama/Soetoro was fully indemnified by the denizens of “deep state” and he was enabled by the hapless set of naturalists who compose the organized crime family of the naturalist “right,” most of whom were deathly afraid of doing anything substantive against the first black president. 

One can get lost in the muck and mire of this agitation which is going to result in a protracted process of presidential impeachment that will be extended into next year to provide the members of the organized crime family of the naturalist “left” what they think will be the opportunity to take control of both Houses of the Congress of the United States of America, thereby assuring the president’s ouster. Indeed, if the Democrats do gain control of both houses next year one can envision a scenario where an effort is made to impeach and remove Trump and Vice President Michael Richard Pence in order to effect a forced transition to a Democratic Party Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

This makes for great political theatre. However, it should be clear to readers of this site that absolutely none of this has anything do with fostering the greater honor and glory of the Most Blessed Trinity and thus serving the temporal common good in light of man’s Last End. As noted in part one of this series, what we are merely witnessing the collapse of a social order built on a network of false premises.

Although rulers in the Middle Ages had conflicts within their kingdoms and among them, the cause of those conflicts was fallen human nature, not Catholicism. Today’s rulers, however are doomed to perpetual and ever-escalating conflicts precisely because they do not believe in the Faith nor have belief in, access to and cooperation with the supernatural helps to be found in the sacraments of the Catholic Church. With the world awash in a veritable tsunami of unrepentant sinners, the passions of men have run amok. Passions are inflamed on the “left” and the “right,” and passions have pitted “black” against “white” and “Anglo” against Spanish-speakers.

Our world of Judeo-Masonic naturalism is a far, far cry from the time of King Ferdinand III of Leon and Castille seven hundred years. He learned from his mother how to control his passions and to forgive others as Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ forgave His executioners, namely, each one of us, as He hung on the gibbet of the Holy Cross that has become for us the true manger from which we are fed His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in Holy Communion.

It was as a young boy that the future King Ferdinand III learned from how to control his passions in the face of indignities. His holy mother, Queen Berenguera, was treated with great hostility when she entered the town of Coca on the way to negotiate with Don Alvaro Nunez de Lara, who had lost his town to the Queen. The young prince was very upset that his mother had been treated so rudely. The episode is described in The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon:

As soon as Ferdinand realized no one else was present, he rose from his bench and sat on the floor at his mother's feet. She, who was a master in the art of gaining his confidence began, “I truly wish to know how you have attained such a joyful state of mind.”

“Through the ways of a good Christian, Mother. When we arrived at Coca and found the doors closed, I became quite angry at the lack of respect shown to you. But when the sentinel ignored you with such great insolence, and I heard such disrespectful words spoken against you, Mother, anger burst in me with such fury that it even disturbed my sight with its rage. However, I did not want to be consumed by it, for a man dominated by anger is tempted to act against the Law of God. I had to bite my lips until they bled so that the furious words these lips wanted to say against your disloyal vassals would not come out. I also suffered great shame and humiliation because our strength was so small that we could not conquer them by assaults as we had done in Duenas. Immersed in this struggle, my Lord Jesus Christ promptly represented Himself to me in His Passion, and our offenses were nothing compared to His. I understood this well, but I could not control my anger. So I said to Him:

“‘Christ, my Lord, Thou seest into hearts, and knowest how I want to forgive, grant the grace to help' I then realized that a man who suffers and forgives resembles Christ, and with this desire to imitate Him, my anger subsided. The joy was in following my King, victor of all battles, just as a knight enjoys accomplishing wonderful feats before the eyes of his sovereign.”

After a few seconds of silence, during which he stared trance-like at a dark corner where nothing of this world could be seen, he ended ingenuously, “Now, Mother, you know how Christ brought me to this joy.”

“And you have given me a greater joy because of it than if all of the cities of Castile had recognized me as their Queen.” she answered in a low voice, full of emotion.

“Son,” she added, “be always like this, humble and ready to forgive. Pay no attention to the ways of the world that say it is not a man of honor who does not wash with blood the offense received. You must uphold justice because God wants you to be a king, but let holy virtue rather than wicked vengeance move your arm. You will not accomplish this, my son, without great effort and suffering, for it is so difficult for a man to forgive that, on the Cross, Christ commanded it to us' but you will have His blessing, and your reign will be happy, and even more so, your death, if you do as He asks.”

Ferdinand listened to his mother, looking intently at her. When she stopped speaking, he knelt and said to her: “I give you my word, Mother, like the son of whom I am, that with God's help, I want to forgive always, so that He can forgive me.” (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando IIIpp. 37-38.)

This is the difference between a world where men destined to govern other others were formed by their parents to think and to act solely according to the example of the Divine Redeemer Himself and the world in which we live where men who govern do not give any thought about First and Last Things, no less to treating their political adversaries as Our Lord treats us in the Sacred Tribunal of Penance.

The young prince, the future King Ferdinand III, learned the lesson of forgiveness quite well. There were many times he had temper justified anger with a desire to pursue justice without vengeance and to forgive others guilty of grievous crimes with a heart befitting that of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Itself. One such time occurred shortly after his coronation on July 2, 1217, the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Queen Bergenuera had renounced the throne of Castile in 1217 in favor of her son, Saint Ferdinand, and it was at the latter’s coronation that the holy exemplar of the Social Reign of Christ the King showed how much he wanted to imitate Him in all that he did:

With his hand on the Gospels, he swore, as has his mother that morning, to keep the laws of Castile. After the bishop pronounced the last words of the formula: “Re eris si recte facis; si autem non facis, non eris,” an ecstatic look crossed his face. He remained thus a moment. With his eyes fixed on the Crucifix on the altar, his intense gaze said to Christ: “Thou, Lord, knowest how to increase Thy kingdom and to spread the cult of Thy Holy Cross is what I want.” (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando IIIp. 44.)

It should be clear to anyone reading this narrative that we are far, far from such a desire in our world of Judeo-Masonic naturalism, and one should never make the mistake of thinking that the effort to oust a man who knows not the cult of the Holy Cross of Christ the King, Donald John Trump, is anything other than an effort of one set of Talmudic-financed naturalists to out a man who has been financed and controlled by Talmudists his entire life. In other words, God had no part in the cause of any man who has brought down upon his own head all manner of injustices after a lifetime of materialism and sensuality.

The Queen Mother, Dona Buerenguera, marveled at the generosity of God as her young son committed himself so devoutly to the cause of Christ the King:

Seated at the King’s side, the Queen Mother watched the long line of Castilians pass by, promising love and loyalty to her favorite son. She cried as she recalled memories of the past. She saw him as a child, sitting at the feet of his grandfather Alfonso, “the hero of Navas,” listening to the narration of his glorious feats, and she thought of God’s ways, so secret, and so admirable that no one can fully understand them, so magnanimous that He gives even more that we ask, bursting from her grateful heart, the Queen Mother said from the depths of her soul, “How, thy God, thou teachest me to forgive.” (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando IIIp. 44.)

Queen Mother Buerenguera’s admiration of the secret ways of God was shared by her holy son, King Saint Ferdinand, who had to demonstrate virtue in the midst of a series of battles that had begun shortly after he acceded to the Throne of Castile. In what was a bitter sadness for the young king, you see, his own father, King Alfonso IX of Leon, had decided to claim the Throne of Castile for himself. One of Alfonso’s allies, Count de Lara, was defeated by Ferdinand, who treated his captive with mercy rather than revenge:

The action had occurred so quickly that Don Ferdinand was still some distance from the battlefield when the message reached him. He listened to it and lifting his eyes to heaven for a moment, said to those close to him. “Friends, let us give abundant thanks to God. Because of the courage of these good knights, He has delivered to us the Count de Lara, vanquished and imprisoned.”

But Ferdinand felt that a new and tremendous fight was awaiting him: a battle with himself. Facts and memories started to pass through his mind. The man whom they were going to bring before him was the tyrant of Castile, the despoiler of the church, one who did not even respect the right of property. And what was more even painful to him, he was the persecutor of his own mother; he had even slandered her by saying she had tried to poison don Henry so she could become queen and that she forged his seal and signature.

A blind rage inflamed his heart. Blood seemed to have become a strange fluid that caused him a painful physical sensation, almost burning in his veins. “He deserves death!” shouted his passions. “You are not sinning against justice when you condemn him . . . . Is it not your duty to punish murderers? Did he not order the innocent messenger of your mother to be hung? However, something said to Ferdinand in the depth of his soul. “You will not sin against justice if you condemn him, but I, on the Cross, forgave.”

But his rage became more furious without yielding, as Ferdinand recalled his mother's anguished appeal for help which she had sent to the King of Leon and himself, when she was besieged in Autillo. He was livid. Everything disappeared from his sight in a cloud red as blood.

His enemy, stained with mud and his hands ties, was being led before him by two men.

Ferdinand determined to follow the example of “his King,” reached nervously for his sword’s cross to receive courage from its contact and with energy concentrated his will toward  only one idea: “I want to forgive.” Making a superhuman effort, he could speak with a serene almost natural voice: “Don Alfonso and Don Suero, you have acted in a loyal and brave way, and you have done me a great service. You Don Gonzalo Royz, take the prisoner to the city of Palencia and guard him there.”

Ferdinand had completely regained control of himself and remained calm. He did not want his men to believe his pardon, which, in reality was a Christian virtue, to be a weakness because of his youth. So he answered with a strong voice in a manner befitting a king and pointed to the motto on his coat of arms: “I do no fear my enemies as long as my God and Lord is on my side. Vanquish I my passions, that my enemies will be vanquished.”

Ferdinand had developed the habit of remaining in prayer at night before an image of Christ while the others slept. According to legend the image was on of the three copies of Veronica's veil, showing Jesus covered with blood, battered and spit upon. He called Him “his counselor.” The night that followed Don Alvaro's pardon, Ferdinand knelt in front of the wounded Christ. A short time passed and his eyes closed involuntarily, not because he was sleeping, but because he felt very deeply inside of himself something very soft, like a divine voice calling him to His company. It seemed to him that his soul embraced Christ, becoming one with Him, like two branches buning together in a fire. How long was he like this? He did not know. Finally, emerging from the strange rapture, he looked at the hourglass to see how much time was left for him to enjoy his well-cherished solitude. Astonished, he saw that all the grains of sand had passed. Could the hourglass be broken? No.

Sighing, he went to the window to gaze at the star-filled sky. A new surprise left him in admiration. How was it possible that in such a short period of time the stars had traveled twice as fast as other nights. (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando IIIpp. 50-52.)

There is no such spirit in the world today as one set of naturalists assails the other with innuendos and leaks while the other responds with “tweets” and all manner of threats to stop a process that is but the result of the false premises upon which both sides operate.

To be sure Saint Ferdinand III lived in truly tumultuous times in a land that was divided into different and frequently warring Catholic kingdoms and which saw several major cities, including Cordoba and Seville, under the control of the Mohammedans. As has been the case since the Romans were used by Our Lord to disperse them into the far quarters of the world as a punishment for their having rejected Him and for refusing to convert to the true Faith at the preaching of the Apostles, the influence of the Jews, who were frequently allied with the Mohammedans, was very significant. The disputes that occurred among the royal families of Spain make the current climate of political hysteria seem like so much child’s play. As noted just above, one of the disputes that grieved Saint Ferdinand greatly was having to defend himself, then the King of Castile, when his own father, King Alfonso IX of Leon, decided to invade Castile in order to dethrone him.

Alfonso IX’s marriage to Saint Ferdinand’s mother, Queen Berenguera, whose mother was the daughter of King Henry II of England and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, was declared null by Pope Innocent III in 1198 because she was his first cousin once removed, thus invalidating the marital bond because of consanguinity. Alfonso’s marriage to Berenguera in 1197, however, was his second marriage as his first, in 1194 to Teresa of Portugal, had been declared null by a papal legate for the reasons of consanguinity. Queen Buerenguera ruled as regent of Castile and Alfonso as the King of Leon and Cilicia.

Pope Innocent III ordered Buernguera and Alfonso IX to separate, which took place in 1204. Despite the separation, however, Ferdinand always considered himself a good son to his father. He was truly grief stricken when his father attempted to wrest the crown of Castile from him:

It was in this state of affairs that the King received an unusual message one day. He was in his chamber when one of his noblemen quickly entered the room with the strange news that the lord of Vizcaya was waiting outside, disguised as an oxherd and very tire.

Don Lope, disguised! Because it was so unusual, Ferdinand anxiously ordered him to enter immediately. Seeing him, he said, “What is this, Don Lope?”

“I bring you bad news, Lord King,” answered the count, kissing his hand.

Ferdinand sensed, both by his face and his manner of greeting, that the count was coming to him like a shipwrecked person to the shore.

“What has happened to you” he asked, increasingly alarmed.

“Lord, don Garcia Fernandez and other noblemen are besieged in Castrejon and are insistently asking your help.”

By the Count Alvaro?”

“And also by the King of Leon, your father.”

“My Lady Holy Mary, help me! Besieged by my own father!”

As poor Ferdinand, overcome with dismay, covered his face with his hands, Don Lope continued: “I was there with them, and we took counsel among ourselves to decide how to notify you of our predicament. We decided that one of us would disguise himself as a commoner and come to you, as we cannot expect help from anyone else.”

“From the Creator, don Lope, because He has always helped me.” said the young King seriously, in spite of his anguish. “Count,” he added, getting up and taking the hands of the suffering nobleman firmly into his own, “remain assured that I will help my own as I must.”

What would he do? First he would seek light where he had always found it, at the feet of “his counselor.: He sent word to his mother that he would await her at the chapel door.

Dona Berenguera was frightened at this unexpected request, and even more so when she noticed that he was suffering from a profound mental disturbance.

“Mother,” he said simply in a low and disturbed voice, “the King of Leon, my father, has besieged Don Garcia and other noblemen in Castrejon.”

He remained silent, lacking the courage to resolve the dilemma: either take up the sword against his father or abandon his subjects. She joined her hands and lowered her head in dismay, for the first time in her life unsure of what advice to five him. For a few moments mother and son remained like this, mute as if petrified. Finally, Ferdinand broke the silence, saying, “Let us go to my Counselor because He can lead us out of this predicament.”

Kneeling before the altar, Ferdinand looked fixedly and in anguish at Christ. Little by little, his face became more serene, and when, a half hour later, he touched Dona Berenguera lightly on the shoulder to prompt her to leave, his eyes already reflected a firm and certain confidence.

“I repent now of my little faith, as Christ is a very noble King. He does not want me to become discouraged through lack of confidence in Him. I must defend my own, but do not worry.”

A few hours later the King left at the head of his army in direction of the town besieged by the King of Leon. Accompanying him were the Archbishop Ximenez de la Rada and the Bishops Don Maurice and Don Tello. Astonished, the prelates and the noblemen watched their lord, for it was strange and painful to see a son, and such a son, forced to wage war against his father. Ferdinand went enraptured with his eyes fixed on heaven. In that gaze was an intense and constant prayer. As his confidence increased, his attitude became loving and trustful rather than anxious and full of anguish. At first, this calm and serene attitude of their King in the midst of a trial so repulsive to his filial piety confused everyone. But, little by little, he prevailed upon them and won their hearts so that in the end they developed a great respect for his spirituality. They expected, almost without realizing it, that this young King who acted like a saint would perform some wonder. Med of firm and ingenuous faith, they knew how to see the Providence of God in the course of events. And certainly, God never left confused those who trusted in Him. The Archbishop, who had known Ferdinand since childhood, kept studying him attentively. He finally concluded that if he had greatly loved the winner of the Navas, he was going to love his grandson even more. (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando IIIp. 55.)

Saint Ferdinand III sent a delegation to deliver a letter he had written to his father, the King of Leon, to propose terms for a truce. The letter read as follows:

“Lord, Father King of Leon, Don Alfonso, my Lord: What rage is this? Why do you wage war and harm me, when I do not deserve it? It seems that my well being makes you sad. Rather, you should be very happy to have your son as the King of Castile, for it is to your honor. There is a not a ruler, Christian or Moor, that would dare come to me with a plan to do you harm. And what is the reason for this rage? You should remember, that it was you who attacked, and now we have two large opposing armies in the field and, normally, my king in such a position as yours should expect an all-out attack from us. So, I am prepared to sit here and suffer with my troops until you come to your senses.”

No one breathed. Both the Castilians and the Leoneses remained motionless with their eyes fixed on the King’s frowning, grim face. They anxiously followed the struggle that was taking place in the monarch’s soul; the struggle between resentment and ambition on one side and the blood’s voice and the respect for the Law of God on the other. Alfonso saw well that what we would call today “public opinion” was unanimously on the side of peace and favored King Don Ferdinand. Those moments of hesitation seemed like centuries. Finally, the King, lifting his eyes, looked at Don Rodrigo de Toledo, and, still frowning, said with his disagreeable voice: “Archbishop, you will tell the King of Castile that the war is due to the fact that that he has not paid the ten thousand maravedis that King Don Henry [Ferdinand’s brother who had been king before him before dying] had promised to pay me in exchange for Santibanez.

“I assure you, Lord King, that this sum will be paid to you very quickly because I know well the King Don Ferdinand my lord. I am certain that if has not done it, it is because he has no knowledge of it.”

“If that is the case,” concluded the King of Leon, “there will be no difficulty on my part for peace; and I will name the archbishop of Santiago, along with the bishops of Zamora and Astorga, to negotiated it.” (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando IIIp. 58.)

Saint Ferdinand III reacted as follows when receiving the good news from the Archbishop of Toledo:

Ferdinand looked at Our Lady with an expression of love.

I know well, Lady that whatever I entrust to thee will never fail,” he murmured. (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando IIIp. 59.)

How many officials—elected or appointed—in the United States of America and elsewhere in the world entrust their causes to the Mother of God?

Well, I dare say not many, and I can say with certainty there are none—including Catholics—within the Trump White House who seek to petition Our Lady in a spirit of confident assurance that she will grant them what they want. Then again, one must desire to please God first and to seek justice on his terms, not on the terms of naturalism’s one-upsmanship.

It was on June 29, 1236, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul,  that the saintly King Ferdinand III was able to win Cordoba for the Cross of the Divine Redeemer after it had been in the control of the Moors for five hundred twenty-five years, marking this victory one of the most important steps in the Reconquest of Spain that would result in the expulsion of the Moors in 1492 by Queen Isabella I of Leon and Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. As was ever the case with Saint Ferdinand, his only thought was never to abandon the cause of Christ the King, a cause that was attacked by Protestants and then by the scions of Judeo-Masonry, sons of the “Enlightenment” as they deemed themselves to be, and it has been thoroughly abandoned and mocked by the conciliar revolutionaries:

The late winter and early spring weather with its cold, soaking rain caused a great deal of hunger and suffering. With the roads and fields clogged by water and mud, the provisions had difficulty getting through. Finally Dona Berenguera's relief shipments arrived, coinciding with a splendid and joyful spring. The Easter alleluias brought new liveliness to the Christian camp. Seeing himself with enough men, Ferdinand rigorously tightened the siege, and the assaults of the stronghold – which had begun to feel the pangs of hunger – commenced. The Moors were yielding and had started negotiations for the capitulation when a disturbing event delayed victory.

The King's vassals from Leon had been in the campaign for three months, which was their obligation under feudal law. Seeing it fulfilled, they presented themselves to the King to take leave of him. Ferdinand did not reproach them, as they were acting within the law. However, he felt a coldness in his heart watching these men leave his service and casually return to their homes while he, their King, remained there suffering the fatigues of war.

The faithful Castilians watched them leave with indignation and contempt, and the noblemen and their troops scornfully reproached them with biting remarks. During a conversation with the King some days later, the nobles, still indignant over the faithlessness of the indifferent soldiers, blasted them with insults. Ferdinand replied with a seriousness tinged with sadness. “You can see, my friends, how ugly it is to abandon the King in order to avoid hardships and return home to enjoy the comforts and leisure there. May it please God Almighty that we never do that to our King and Lord, Jesus Christ!

The consequences of the withdrawal of the Leoneses were immediate. The leaders of Cordoba interpreted it as a sign of weakness and withdrew from the negotiations. Ferdinand, whose camp was now noticeable smaller, had to negotiate a six-year true with the Moslem king of Jaen, who was more bandit than king. As part of the deal, he had to deliver part of the tribute he had received from the wali of Seville.

However, the people in Cordoba finally saw that even with less men, Ferdinand resolutely maintained the siege. They then asked him once again to surrender under the same terms as before, that is, that they be permitted to leave the city with all the belonging they could take with them. Ferdinand, who was very merciful with the vanquished, granted this. He paid no attention to the angry advice of those who wanted him to enter by force and put all to the sword, and selected the day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul for the surrender.

The morning was splendid and warm; the sun of Andalusia, that terrible sun of fire which centuries later would make Saint Teresa say “that is not like the one in Castile, but much more inopportune” shone, flooding a sapphire sky with its flames. The stiff, dry grass looked like a pale gold carpet; only the Gualdaquirir, sparkling and serene, provided a refreshing note to the burning environment. Still covered with his heavy armor, which he wore even in his sleep to set an example of suffering and mortification, the noble King Don Fernando mounted his horse. Followed by the prelates, noblemen and all the army, he advanced toward the city doors where the unfortunate wali of Cordoba Abul-Hacem awaited him with the keys to the city in his hand. The physical suffering and the cares and responsibilities that the King had undergone in the dangerous occupation of the bridgehead had left a deep mark on his thin face. However, that day it was lit with an expression of piety and joy that transfigured it. This spiritual joy spread to Ferdinand's companions, and more than a few of those strong warriors were affected by this sublime, elevated excitement. At that special moment when he received in his hands the key of Cordoba, he lifted his eyes to heaven, and forgetting the presence of his men, with tears of tenderness, he said in a loud voice:

“Praise forever to Thee, Jesus Christ, my Lord, that by Thy great mercy and the prayers of the Glorious Holy Mary, Thou has chosen to use this Thy servant and knight, and 'by means of my toil' hast won for Thy Holy Law this city of Cordoba.”

For a few moments, he was more in heaven than on earth. Returning to his senses, he ordered the cross and flag of Castile to be planted on the highest minaret of the mosque.

In the meantime, the unfortunate victims were leaving, sad, emaciated and pale with hesitating steps and a deathly look. Suddenly the rays of the sun shone on the silver cross standing on the heights, while at its side bloomed the purple fag like a gigantic lily. An immense chorus rose from the army of the Cross: “Deus in adjutorium meum intende!” and the strong voice of Bishop Don John of Osma intoned the Te Deum that all on the open field answered.

The King planned a solemn entrance into the city for the following Monday. The prelates and priests who were in his army then convened and elected as bishop of the reconquered See of Osio, Friar Lope de Fitero. The King greatly rejoiced hat the election had fallen on “his beloved teacher,” who had shared with him the now glorious labor of the Crusade.

On the afternoon of the feast of St. Peter, Don John de Osma and Friar Lope entered the deserted Cordoba to purify the mosque, which dedicated to Glorious Holy Mary, would be consecrated as the cathedral.

On Monday morning a grave and devout procession would through the streets of the conquered city. The procession, made up of several bishops, the clergy and the military orders, entered the marvelous mosque with Ferdinand at its head. The beautiful columns and arches of wood created in the mind and heart of the holy King the pleasant though that Our Lord and Holy Mary would be pleased in accepting that magnificent palace from his hands. How many consolations he enjoyed in the Pontifical Mass that followed, the first Mass celebrated in the splendid cathedral. Later, he walked slowly through the mosque and discovered, hung like lamps, the bells of Santiago de Compostela, the same ones that Al-Mansure [In 997, Al-Mansur sacked Saintiago and used chained Leonese captives to carry the bells of the cathedral to Cordoba.] had brought to Cordoba on the backs of Christian captives. He immediately ordered that the Moslem captives should return them so that their great bronze tongues could give glory to God in the Cathedral of Santiago where they belonged.

In spite of all this, the suffering that the conquest had caused Ferdinand were not over. He had only rested a few hours in the caliph's palace when some noblemen came to him to ask permission to return to Castile. The next day there were more. Don Ferdinand clearly saw that no one wanted to stay. It was imperative, however, to leave a strong garrison, or it would fall again into Moslem hands. He himself felt a physical exhaustion he had never before experienced in any other campaign, but what did it matter? Was he going to leave his Lord Jesus Christ, true Leader of his enterprises, as the men from Leon had left him? He announced to his noblemen that he was staying in Cordoba until he consolidated the conquest. (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando III, 169-172.)

The conciliar revolutionaries have shown endless respect for mosques. King Saint Ferdinand III denied himself sleep and engaged in many mortifications so that so that the Cross of Christ the King could replace in the minarets in mosques.

The likes of King Saint Ferdinand III are not to be found in the midst of a world awash in the blood of innocent. Perhaps even more sadly, of course, is the fact that likes of King Saint Ferdinand III are mocked by the conciliar revolutionaries as examples of a triumphalism that did not give respect to a false religion that blasphemes the Divine Redeemer by denying His Sacred Divinity and the very fact of the Most Blessed Trinity.

It is my hope that the readers of this website, who are fewer in number than perhaps ever before (this is not a complaint; no, this is just a statement of fact that is made with gratitude to the good God and His Blessed Mother for the few who remain readers), will not permit themselves to be agitated by the turmoil of a time when men have descended into an abyss of madness precisely because they live and die thinking almost exclusively of themselves and never about the cause of Christ the King and His true Church, which is ultimately about the cause of nations who become great because their leaders and people aspire after holiness.

The following reading, found in Matins for today’s Divine Office, complement this reflection upon Saint Ferdinand III’s virtues as Saint John Chrysostom calls those who receive Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in Holy Communion to do so profitably as to quiet all movements of anger in their souls, including the use of foul language which, if reports are to believed, is expressed without any fear of God by almost everyone in the White House at this time with the exception of Vice President Michael Richard Pence, a Catholic apostate, and some members of his staff:

Dearly beloved brethren, it behoveth us to learn the miracle of the Mysteries what the Gift is, and why It was given, and what is the use thereof. "We, being many, are one body," saith [the Apostle Paul, 1 Cor. x. 17, and again] "We are members of His Body, of His Flesh, and of His Bones." Eph. v. 30. Only the initiated will now understand what I say. That this union may take place, not by love only, but verily and indeed, we ought to mingle our own with His Flesh. And this is done by eating that Food Which He hath given unto us, being fain to manifest that exceeding great love which He beareth to us-ward. To this end He hath mingled Himself with us, and infused His Body into our bodies, that we may be one together, like as the limbs of a man and his head are all of one body. Such union do they long for that love much.

When we come back from that Table we ought to be like so many lions breathing fire, dreadful to the devil. Our thoughts ought to be concentrated on our Great Head and the love which He showeth us. Many fathers and mothers there are who give their children to others to nurse, but I, saith the Lord to His children, I am not so, but I feed you with Mine Own Flesh, and join Myself to you, fain that ye all should be sons of noble blood now, and giving you a noble hope of that which ye shall be hereafter. I was content to become your Brother, I for your sakes have taken unto Me Flesh, and Blood, and that Flesh and Blood wherein I am become your Brother, the Same give I in turn unto you.

Let us then, dearly beloved brethren, take good heed to ourselves, as unto the holders of so great mercies, and when any foul word springeth to our lips, or we feel anger taking possession of us, or the sting of any other sinful passion, let us call to mind of What we have been counted worthy, and let that remembrance still the unruly motion. As often as we take that Body, as often as we taste that Blood, let us think how that we feed on Him Who is sitting on high, adored of Angels, at the right hand of the Eternal Power. Ah me, how many a way is open to us whereby we may be saved He hath made us His He hath given His Body to us and we still are not turned away from evil. (Matins, Divine Office, Saturday within the Octave of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.)

This is good advice for us, who are more inclined to evil and worldliness than we may recognize ourselves.

How many people waste their time on the agitation of the moment rather than seeking out Our Lord to adore Him in His Real Presence in the Most Blessed Trinity if, of course, He is available for such worship in a chapel near them?

How many people prefer to listen to the babbling of naturalists on the radio or television or podcasts rather than praying Rosaries?

How many people understand that the conflicts that have been unleashed recently are going to increase all the more as God’s wrath is taken against a nation that countenances blasphemy, impurity, indecency and even atheism under the banner of a “liberty” that permits the innocent preborn and many of the critically injured or the elderly to be “terminated” under the pretenses of “compassion” and “quality of life”?

In all of this, of course, we must have recourse to Our Lady, especially through her Most Holy Rosary, and to trust in her maternal intercession for us with the same childlike confidence that filled the holy soul of King Saint Ferdinand III, who spoke as follows when the city of Seville was captured from the Moors on December 22, 1248, for the cause of the "Kingship of Christ on earth!":

The Virgin’s platform was placed by the mosque's wall and served as the altar where Bishop Gutierre celebrated Mass. The holy King Don Ferdinand knelt throughout the Mass and shed many tears of satisfied happiness. At the Te Deum he felt his heart melt entirely because, during those last days of Advent when the Church reminds us how the Incarnate Word “came unto His own, and his own received Him not,” it was granted to him to offer Him not only lodging but a royal mansion in the richest city that then existed in Spain.

They then processed to the alcazar, the marvelous palace surrounded with dreamlike gardens. Uberto, Pope Innocent III's nephew, was also present at the triumph, suitably impressed by so much magnificence. Considering the wonderful fortune of that man who never went into a battle he did not win or besieged a city that did not fall into his hands, Uberto asked him: “Lord, why is it that you are always victorious, something that cannot be said of any other king?”

Ferdinand answered him simply: “It could be that the others had different motives such as the goal of enlarging their kingdoms, and thus did not accomplish it.” He continued, lifting his eyes, “Thou, Lord, Who seest my heart like everybody else's, knowest that I do not seek my honor but Thine, not the greatness of a perishable reign but the Kingship of Christ on earth!” (Sister Maria del Carmen Fernandez de Castro Cabeza A.C.J., The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and Leon Saint Fernando III, .p. 259.)

May Our Lady, she who is our life, our sweetness, and our very hope, pray for us to stand fast in behalf of the cause of Christ the King and His true Church no matter what it may cost us in terms of human respect and even financial security. A heavenly reward awaits those who persevere to the end by clinging faithfully to Our Lady as the consecrated slaves of her Divine Son through her own Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart.

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament, pray for us!   

Vivat Christus RexViva Cristo Rey!

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us. 

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Saints Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, pray for us. 

King Saint Ferdinand III, pray for us.