Theotokos

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, which we why we must 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.)

As my other work, which probably will not last very long, is all-consuming right now and will remain so for another ten days or so, I have been unable to write about Jorge's having said "God does not exist." Others, including Novus Ordo Watch Wire and Call Me Jorge, have done so. I will try to have something for you by tomorrow, however. My responsibilities at present are what they are, and they require my principal attention at this time. Thank you.

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

Heresy Begets Heresy

This will be a very brief article.

Jorge Builds A Coalition In Support of Evil

One of the many ways in which the anti-Incarnational heresies of Modernity and the counterfeit church of conciliarism's thoroughly Modernist "reconciliation" with those principles has assaulted the sensus Catholicus of almost all Catholics worldwide, including a large percentage of those who rejected the nonexistent “legitimacy” of that false church’s spiritual robber barons, is to label a priest or a presbyter as “pro-life” or “pro-family.” It should go without saying

The Gates of Our Very Souls

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?

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Pope Saint Mark I, pray for us.

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

Jorge Mario Bergoglio: An Apostate Whose Blasphemy Knows No Bounds

As will continue to be the case for another few weeks before the other work that occupies my time becomes a bit more manageable than it has been for the past six weeks, the time available to write detailed commentaries for this site is limited to nonexistent. I regret that this is the case.

From Riches to Lady Poverty to Eternal Treasures

Today is the Feast of the Seraphic Saint, Saint Francis of Assisi, who was born as Giovanni di Bernardone in 1182 (some say 1181). This 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. Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us! A blessed feast day to our friends to all Franciscans, including those of the Third Order.

An article about some of Jorge's latest unspeakable offenses against truth will be posted by tomorrow morning, Sunday, October 5, 2014, the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost and the Commemoration of Saint Placidus. I hope also to have another article published by Monday, October 6, 2014, the Feast of Saint Bruno. All in the "spare time," of course!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

Holiness Unalloyed

The feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, is commemorated today, Rosary Sunday and the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost.

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 were not 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?

There might be an original article on this site on Sunday, a day after the beginning of Jorge's soiree inside the walls of the Occupied Vatican on the West Bank of the Tiber River.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Therese of Lisieux, pray for us!

Put Your Guardian Angel to Work at All Times

This article is a brief, republished reflection in honor of the Angels sent to us by God Himself to help guard us in this passing, mortal vale of tears as they seek to guide us to the glories of the Beatific Vision of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Each of us must have a special devotion to--and daily conversation with--our Guardian Angels, making sure to ask them to greet the Guardian Angels of all of the people we meet each day. Our Guardian Angels have been given to us by God help get us back to Him in Heaven. We should make good use of our Guardian Angels. Unlike many of us who have lazy bones at times, our Guardian Angels want to work hard to help us get home to Heaven. We should put them to work every day! And we should make sure to thank our Guardian Angels at the end of each day for keeping us safe in body and, eternally more important, of course, in soul.

Although I am busy with the other work that keeps me occupied now and for the next two and one-half months, I am working on a project related to Jorge's upcoming festival of apostasy that bills itself as an "extraordinary synod of bishops." Finalization of this project has begun. An announcement will be made upon its completion.

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

Our Holy Guardian Angels, pray for us and protect us.

Putting Love of God Above All Else

This republished article, one of two being posted today (see below for my updating and enlarging of "Sancte Michaele Archangele, Defende Nos In Praelio"), is a brief reflection, written several years ago now, the son of Dalmatia, Saint Jerome, who put the love of God above all else. Consider just one quotation from the work of this prolific writer and translator of the Bible into the Latin Vulgate:

" It is a smaller sin to follow evil which you think is good, than not to venture to defend what you know for certain is good. If we cannot endure threats, injustice, poverty, how shall we overcome the flames of Babylon? Let us not lose by hollow peace what we have preserved by war. I should be sorry to allow my fears to teach me faithlessness, when Christ has put the true faith in the power of my choice." (Saint Jerome, Prologue to the Treatise Against the Pelagians.)

How many traditionally-minded Catholics who are as of yet attached to the structures of the counterfeit church of conciliarism who know for certain that it is not good to praise false religions or to enter places of false worship or to treat the "clergy" of false religions as having a mission from the true God of Divine Revelation to serve and save souls refuse to do what is good, that is, to defend the honor and glory and majesty God and His Sacred Deposit Faith in order to indemnify the author of Summorum Pontificum, Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, whose successor, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has laid bare for all the world to see that he is "worried" by those who "want to return to the past"?

We must always defend what we know to be true as servants of the greater honor and glory of God. Saint Jerome did. What's our excuse?

Finally, I ask for your prayers for my dear wife, Sharon, who turns fifty-one years of age today. Thank you.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us. Saint Jerome, pray for us.

Sancte Michael Archangele, Defende Nos In Praelio

As I have been completely consumed with my teaching responsibilities, I have not had any opportunity to write original articles. This will remain the case for at least until after an eight-week course, which relies heavily on video lectures that I record when I am not preparing written material for the students or driving to teach the courses in distant venues, ends in three weeks. Indeed, I have not had time even to update some devotional articles.

I have, though, taken a few moments to update and enlarge this reflection on yesterday's Feast of the Dedication of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel.

We need Saint Michael's intercession more now than ever before. We need his help in our own daily battles with the forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil. And, of course, we need his help with to remain faithful to the true Faith without making any concessions at all to conciliarism or its false officials who blaspheme God so regularly, so boldly, so repeatedly and with a chorus of bobble heads making excuses for them in their sins against the First and Second Commandments.

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

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us and keep us!

It is now time to update the reflection on Saint Jerome!

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