No Decisions to be Made, Only Commandments to be Obeyed

by Thomas A. Droleskey

Letters. Oh, how I get letters. Many of the letters and notes I get via e-mail are very nice, if not consoling, little jewels that are much appreciated. Others express wishes for my demise and/or for harm to come to my wife and daughter (yes, we get those from people now and again). Yet others are written without the proper form of salutation that I learned in, say, fifth grade at Saint Aloysius School in Great Neck, New York, under Miss Greta McCarthy (later, Mrs. Michael Foley). That is, one uses the salutation "dear" and then a proper formal title indicating the person's professional accomplishment and/or state-in-life (Doctor, Mister, Miss, Missus, Reverend Father, Reverend Monsignor, Your Excellency, Reverend Sister, Reverend Mother, etc.), closing a letter with "Sincerely yours" or "Very Truly Yours" or something along those lines.

Alas, e-mail has destroyed the art of proper letter-writing. E-mail has fed into the egalitarianism that is of the essence of the Americanist heresy. Complete strangers believe that they are free to address someone they have never met in person by his first name. Catholics were taught until the age of conciliarism, my friends, that they were not to address anyone they did not know by their first name until and unless they had been invited to do so by the person they were addressing. Isn't it maddening to have bill collectors address you by your first name even though they might thirty-five years your junior? This is all an effort to belittle one who might have missed a payment, an act of condescension on the part of corporate America in dehumanizing those who must pay usurious interests on such things as automobiles and other necessities, as though to say, "Serf, we own you. You don't have a title in our eyes. You are our slave." On the part of most correspondents, however, the omission of a proper title or closing (some people don't even close by typing their own full names) is simple thoughtless born of the slothful age in which we live.

This is all prelude to discuss an unsigned note sent to me by an anonymous person who was trying to defend Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul's decision to prescribe the birth control pill when he was practicing medicine as an obstetrician/gynecologist in the State of Texas. The anonymous letter-writer explained that Dr. Paul was an experienced enough to "develop judgments" about this matter on the basis of his medical background. My response to an obviously well-meaning inquirer, albeit one who did not know much about the proper form of letter-writing, was as follows:

One does not "develop" moral judgments. One submits entirely to the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. Contraception of any sort is evil. It denies the Sovereignty of God over the sanctity and fecundity of marital relations. Whether or not a particular contraceptive is also an abortifacient (most of them are) is irrelevant. Contraception is evil. Period.

Alas, Dr. Paul is well-meaning. Well-meaning, however, does not make one's judgments correct. Protestants must live in a world where they have to fend for themselves, rejecting the Received Teaching of the Divine Redeemer as they come to "judgments" about Scripture and ethics based on their own individual interpretations. Here we see the evil consequences of Martin Luther and John Calvin and Thomas Cranmer and John Wesley and John Knox and thousands of others of "well-meaning" people. Each man and each nation needs the direction of the Catholic Church, without which men are lost in a sea of fog and confusion, perpetually arguing over things that God Himself has settled for us once and for all.

 

In a nutshell, therefore, the very well-meaning person who wrote to me without a proper salutation or closing provided a textbook example of why the anti-Incarnational, naturalistic, pluralistic world of Modernity with which Modernism has made its "official reconciliation" will never "resolve" a single human problem by means of the Judeo-Masonic governmental and electoral systems it has spawned.

Protestantism is of its very false nature a rejection of the existence of a visible, hierarchical Church that was founded by Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ upon the Rock of Peter, the Pope, arrogating unto individual believers in the "invisible church" the "right" to interpret Sacred Scripture, which is considered to be the only source of Divine Revelation, as they see fit. This leads inevitably and inexorably to mutually contradictory conclusions about the meaning of various passages from Sacred Scripture, which leads to the endless proliferation of various "sects" led by alleged visionaries who believe that their own particular conclusions are the "correct" ones that have been received from the hand of God Himself. The proliferation of these sects results in the acceptance of religious indifferentism as the only foundation for "civil peace" in a religiously pluralistic world, a phenomenon that was seized upon by the scions of Judeo-Masonry to advance the cause of "universal brotherhood" while putting aside various denominational "disputes" as "irrelevant" to the establishment and maintenance of social order.

Protestantism and Judeo-Masonry, therefore, leads men by different, although not unrelated, paths to believe that there is no Divinely-instituted and visble hierarchy on the face of this earth to which men and their nations must subordinate themselves in all that pertains to the good of souls. Almost everything in public policy is thus up for "grabs," left to the "free determination" of the "people" by means of the ballot box and/or as expressed by the officials who are elected to represent them in various institutions of civil governance. Public policy, rather than being rooted in an understanding of the binding precepts of the Divine Positive Law and the Natural Law as they have been entrusted by Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to the infallible teaching authority of the Catholic Church He Himself founded upon the Rock of Peter, the Pope, is rootless, shifting from one administration to the next, from one generation to the next, from one naturalistic "idea" to the next. Instability and unpredictability are thus the inevitable consequences of such an anthropocentric view of the world, which is to be shaped, the "common wisdom" teaches us, by the "will of the people" as it is expressed in two or four year intervals at the ballot box.

Many Catholics, desirous of "doing" "something" for the "betterment" of their nation, permit themselves to be plunged headlong into this quicksand of naturalism and pluralism, believing that some inter-denominational or non-denominational way can be found to ameliorate problems that have their origin in fallen human nature and can be addressed only by the reform of individual lives in cooperation with the Sanctifying Graces won for men by the shedding of every single drop of the Most Precious Blood of the Divine Redeemer, Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and that flow into our hearts and souls through the loving hands of Our Lady, the Mediatrix of All Graces. These Catholics believe that it is both opportune and necessary to leave their Catholicism at the door, so to speak, in order to make it possible to get a "respite" from the encroachments that have been made by the statists of the false opposites of the naturalist "left" and the naturalist "right." In other words, man well-meaning Catholics believe that it is possible to fight naturalism with naturalism, secularism with secularism, engaging in a sort of political "ecumenism" that places them in perfect ideological accord with Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and the whole anti-Catholic ethos of conciliarism, which rejects the immutable teaching of the Catholic Church concerning the obligation of the civil state to recognize her as the true religion and to subordinate public policy to the pursuit of man's Last End.

Although various candidates for the presidency, such as Patrick Buchanan in the past and Dr. Ron Paul at present, have enunciated most correct positions on a number of individual issues, especially those pertaining to national sovereignty and a foreign policy that seeks not to engage in needless foreign wars so as to enrich American corporations and to serve the strategic interests of other nations while our own citizens are put at risk and our financial resources strained well into the future, no one has used the opportunities given them by God to speak to the fullness of His Holy Faith as the one and only foundation of all personal and social order. Mr. Buchanan, a Catholic, chose not to do so. Dr. Paul, a Protestant who supports a libertarian view of civil governance that is not at all in accord with Catholic Social Teaching, is incapable of doing so.

Mind you, this is not to condemn either man. This is only to note the simple fact that the hour is late. Over four thousand babies are being killed every day by means of surgical abortion in the Untied States of America alone, over 20,000 worldwide each day. It is wrong to assert, as Dr. Paul does, that human institutions of civil governance at the state level have the authority to permit or restrict child-killing according to the "will" of the people in an individual state. No such authority exists in the Divine Positive Law and the Natural Law. And while it is true that the civil state cannot outlaw every social evil, grave evils such as abortion and the promotion of "rights" for those engaged in acts of perversity in violation of the Sixth and Ninth Commandments can and must be prohibited and criminalized. It is further necessary to understand that while Holy Mother Church has said that she may have to tolerate various evils in pluralistic countries until they are converted to the Catholic Faith, she condemns such evils as "freedom of speech" and "freedom of press" and "freedom of religion" that are championed by Americanists and libertarians and conciliarists alike. No one who exalts these false freedoms as fundamental "human rights" is correct. Such a person is indeed quite mistaken. He believes in concepts that are injurious to the rights of God and have thus been condemned by the Catholic Church on numerous occasions, including the following pronouncements by true popes:

But a much more grave, and indeed very bitter, sorrow increased in Our heart - a sorrow by which We confess that We were crushed, overwhelmed and torn in two - from the twenty-second article of the constitution in which We saw, not only that "liberty of religion and of conscience" (to use the same words found in the article) were permitted by the force of the constitution, but also that assistance and patronage were promised both to this liberty and also to the ministers of these different forms of "religion". There is certainly no need of many words, in addressing you, to make you fully recognize by how lethal a wound the Catholic religion in France is struck by this article. For when the liberty of all "religions" is indiscriminately asserted, by this very fact truth is confounded with error and the holy and immaculate Spouse of Christ, the Church, outside of which there can be no salvation, is set on a par with the sects of heretics and with Judaic perfidy itself. For when favour and patronage is promised even to the sects of heretics and their ministers, not only their persons, but also their very errors, are tolerated and fostered: a system of errors in which is contained that fatal and never sufficiently to be deplored HERESY which, as St. Augustine says (de Haeresibus, no.72), "asserts that all heretics proceed correctly and tell the truth: which is so absurd that it seems incredible to me."

But We ought no less to wonder at and grieve over the freedom of printing guaranteed and permitted by Article 23 of the constitution; by which indeed the experience of past times itself teaches, if anyone could doubt it, what great perils and what certain poisoning of faith and morals are encouraged. For it is quite clear that it is principally by this means that, first, the morals of people were depraved, then their faith corrupted and overthrown, and finally seditions, riots and rebellions stirred up among them. Given the present state of great corruption of mankind, these most grave evils would still be an object of fear if - which may God prevent - the free power were permitted to anyone of publishing whatever he pleased (Pope Pius VII, Post Tam Diuturnas, April 29, 1814.)

Now We consider another abundant source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained. Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive this deadly error far from the people committed to your care. With the admonition of the apostle that "there is one God, one faith, one baptism" may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that "those who are not with Christ are against Him," and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. Therefore "without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate." Let them hear Jerome who, while the Church was torn into three parts by schism, tells us that whenever someone tried to persuade him to join his group he always exclaimed: "He who is for the See of Peter is for me." A schismatic flatters himself falsely if he asserts that he, too, has been washed in the waters of regeneration. Indeed Augustine would reply to such a man: "The branch has the same form when it has been cut off from the vine; but of what profit for it is the form, if it does not live from the root?"

This shameful font of indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims that liberty of conscience must be maintained for everyone. It spreads ruin in sacred and civil affairs, though some repeat over and over again with the greatest impudence that some advantage accrues to religion from it. "But the death of the soul is worse than freedom of error," as Augustine was wont to say. When all restraints are removed by which men are kept on the narrow path of truth, their nature, which is already inclined to evil, propels them to ruin. Then truly "the bottomless pit" is open from which John saw smoke ascending which obscured the sun, and out of which locusts flew forth to devastate the earth. Thence comes transformation of minds, corruption of youths, contempt of sacred things and holy laws -- in other words, a pestilence more deadly to the state than any other. Experience shows, even from earliest times, that cities renowned for wealth, dominion, and glory perished as a result of this single evil, namely immoderate freedom of opinion, license of free speech, and desire for novelty.

Here We must include that harmful and never sufficiently denounced freedom to publish any writings whatever and disseminate them to the people, which some dare to demand and promote with so great a clamor. We are horrified to see what monstrous doctrines and prodigious errors are disseminated far and wide in countless books, pamphlets, and other writings which, though small in weight, are very great in malice. We are in tears at the abuse which proceeds from them over the face of the earth. Some are so carried away that they contentiously assert that the flock of errors arising from them is sufficiently compensated by the publication of some book which defends religion and truth. Every law condemns deliberately doing evil simply because there is some hope that good may result. Is there any sane man who would say poison ought to be distributed, sold publicly, stored, and even drunk because some antidote is available and those who use it may be snatched from death again and again?

The Church has always taken action to destroy the plague of bad books. This was true even in apostolic times for we read that the apostles themselves burned a large number of books. It may be enough to consult the laws of the fifth Council of the Lateran on this matter and the Constitution which Leo X published afterwards lest "that which has been discovered advantageous for the increase of the faith and the spread of useful arts be converted to the contrary use and work harm for the salvation of the faithful." This also was of great concern to the fathers of Trent, who applied a remedy against this great evil by publishing that wholesome decree concerning the Index of books which contain false doctrine. "We must fight valiantly," Clement XIII says in an encyclical letter about the banning of bad books, "as much as the matter itself demands and must exterminate the deadly poison of so many books; for never will the material for error be withdrawn, unless the criminal sources of depravity perish in flames." Thus it is evident that this Holy See has always striven, throughout the ages, to condemn and to remove suspect and harmful books. The teaching of those who reject the censure of books as too heavy and onerous a burden causes immense harm to the Catholic people and to this See. They are even so depraved as to affirm that it is contrary to the principles of law, and they deny the Church the right to decree and to maintain it. (Pope Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos, August 15, 1832.)

 

Americanists, libertarians and conciliarists each believe in the contention, condemned by Pope Gregory XVI in Mirari Vos above, that "the flock of errors arising from them is sufficiently compensated by the publication of some book which defends religion and truth." Pope Gregory XVI explained that no sane man would "say poison out to be distributed, sold publicly, stored and even drunk because some antidote is available and those who use it may be snatched from death again and again." Yet, however, this is precisely what Americanists and libertarians and conciliarists each believe. No one who believes this, no matter his personal sincerity and the depth of his own personal convictions, is speaking the truth. Such a person, no matter how correct he might be on other issues, is fundamentally flawed in his view of God, man and civil government and cannot contribute, despite his best and most sincere intentions, to the "betterment" of society as false premises are never the foundations of personal or social order.

Once again, it is one thing to concede that a particular situation is what it is and that the Church must "coexist" in an imperfect environment based upon false premises while instructing her children in the truths of her Social Teaching and exhorting them to use the opportunities made available to them to convince others of those truths. It is quite another to contend that the false premises condemned by Holy Mother Church are themselves essential constituent elements of the "just" society and the means by which to respect and promote "human dignity," as Americanists and libertarians and conciliarists do with respect to "freedom of speech, "freedom of press" and "freedom of religion." Pope Leo Leo XIII put the matter this way in Immortale Dei, November 1, 1885:

To hold, therefore, that there is no difference in matters of religion between forms that are unlike each other, and even contrary to each other, most clearly leads in the end to the rejection of all religion in both theory and practice. And this is the same thing as atheism, however it may differ from it in name. Men who really believe in the existence of God must, in order to be consistent with themselves and to avoid absurd conclusions, understand that differing modes of divine worship involving dissimilarity and conflict even on most important points cannot all be equally probable, equally good, and equally acceptable to God.

So, too, the liberty of thinking, and of publishing, whatsoever each one likes, without any hindrance, is not in itself an advantage over which society can wisely rejoice. On the contrary, it is the fountain-head and origin of many evils. Liberty is a power perfecting man, and hence should have truth and goodness for its object. But the character of goodness and truth cannot be changed at option. These remain ever one and the same, and are no less unchangeable than nature itself. If the mind assents to false opinions, and the will chooses and follows after what is wrong, neither can attain its native fullness, but both must fall from their native dignity into an abyss of corruption. Whatever, therefore, is opposed to virtue and truth may not rightly be brought temptingly before the eye of man, much less sanctioned by the favor and protection of the law. A well-spent life is the only way to heaven, whither all are bound, and on this account the State is acting against the laws and dictates of nature whenever it permits the license of opinion and of action to lead minds astray from truth and souls away from the practice of virtue. To exclude the Church, founded by God Himself, from the business of life, from the making of laws, from the education of youth, from domestic society is a grave and fatal error. A State from which religion is banished can never be well regulated; and already perhaps more than is desirable is known of the nature and tendency of the so-called civil philosophy of life and morals. The Church of Christ is the true and sole teacher of virtue and guardian of morals. She it is who preserves in their purity the principles from which duties flow, and, by setting forth most urgent reasons for virtuous life, bids us not only to turn away from wicked deeds, but even to curb all movements of the mind that are opposed to reason, even though they be not carried out in action.

 

No one has the "civil right" to promote evil under cover of law. The civil state, although autonomous in its own particular sphere of competency, has an obligation to pursue even the administration of temporal justice and the maintenance of a just social order in light of man's First Cause and his Last End. The civil state furthermore has an obligation to recognize the true religion and to concede to Holy Mother Church the right, exercised rarely and judiciously after the exhausting of her Indirect Power of preaching and teaching and exhortation, to interpose herself with its officials in grave matters when the good of souls demands her motherly intervention.

Pope Saint Pius X summarized the right relationship between Church and State in Vehementer Nos, February 11, 1906, smashing the beliefs of Americanists and libertarians and the Modernist ancestors of the conciliarists to smithereens:

That the State must be separated from the Church is a thesis absolutely false, a most pernicious error. Based, as it is, on the principle that the State must not recognize any religious cult, it is in the first place guilty of a great injustice to God; for the Creator of man is also the Founder of human societies, and preserves their existence as He preserves our own. We owe Him, therefore, not only a private cult, but a public and social worship to honor Him. Besides, this thesis is an obvious negation of the supernatural order. It limits the action of the State to the pursuit of public prosperity during this life only, which is but the proximate object of political societies; and it occupies itself in no fashion (on the plea that this is foreign to it) with their ultimate object which is man's eternal happiness after this short life shall have run its course. But as the present order of things is temporary and subordinated to the conquest of man's supreme and absolute welfare, it follows that the civil power must not only place no obstacle in the way of this conquest, but must aid us in effecting it. The same thesis also upsets the order providentially established by God in the world, which demands a harmonious agreement between the two societies. Both of them, the civil and the religious society, although each exercises in its own sphere its authority over them. It follows necessarily that there are many things belonging to them in common in which both societies must have relations with one another. Remove the agreement between Church and State, and the result will be that from these common matters will spring the seeds of disputes which will become acute on both sides; it will become more difficult to see where the truth lies, and great confusion is certain to arise. Finally, this thesis inflicts great injury on society itself, for it cannot either prosper or last long when due place is not left for religion, which is the supreme rule and the sovereign mistress in all questions touching the rights and the duties of men. Hence the Roman Pontiffs have never ceased, as circumstances required, to refute and condemn the doctrine of the separation of Church and State. Our illustrious predecessor, Leo XIII, especially, has frequently and magnificently expounded Catholic teaching on the relations which should subsist between the two societies. "Between them," he says, "there must necessarily be a suitable union, which may not improperly be compared with that existing between body and soul.-"Quaedam intercedat necesse est ordinata colligatio (inter illas) quae quidem conjunctioni non immerito comparatur, per quam anima et corpus in homine copulantur." He proceeds: "Human societies cannot, without becoming criminal, act as if God did not exist or refuse to concern themselves with religion, as though it were something foreign to them, or of no purpose to them.... As for the Church, which has God Himself for its author, to exclude her from the active life of the nation, from the laws, the education of the young, the family, is to commit a great and pernicious error. -- "Civitates non possunt, citra scellus, gerere se tamquam si Deus omnino non esset, aut curam religionis velut alienam nihilque profuturam abjicere.... Ecclesiam vero, quam Deus ipse constituit, ab actione vitae excludere, a legibus, ab institutione adolescentium, a societate domestica, magnus et perniciousus est error."

 

Those who have been given access to reaching people via mass media and/or who choose to enunciate their positions by means of campaigns for public office have a solemn obligation to make the most of the opportunities presented to plant a few seeds for the conversion of individual souls to accept the simple fact that social order is entirely dependent upon order in souls, and that order in individual souls is entirely dependent up a submission to the Deposit of Faith that Our Lord has entrusted to the Catholic Church and upon a belief in, access to and cooperation with Sanctifying Grace. There is no other reason for one to present himself to the public as an advocate of the common temporal good. The common temporal good is premised upon the eternal good of human souls. It is that simple. Anything else, my friends, is a complete and utter waste of time and serves to advance nothing other than the interests of the forces of organized naturalism which revel in the fact that the Holy Name of Jesus Which we honor this very day, January 2, 2008, is never invoked in public as the one and only Name given to men by which they can be saved.

Pope Leo XIII explained our duties in this regard very clearly:

The chief elements of this duty consist in professing openly and unflinchingly the Catholic doctrine, and in propagating it to the utmost of our power. For, as is often said, with the greatest truth, there is nothing so hurtful to Christian wisdom as that it should not be known, since it possesses, when loyally received, inherent power to drive away error. So soon as Catholic truth is apprehended by a simple and unprejudiced soul, reason yields assent. Now, faith, as a virtue, is a great boon of divine grace and goodness; nevertheless, the objects themselves to which faith is to be applied are scarcely known in any other way than through the hearing. "How shall they believe Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? Faith then cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." Since, then, faith is necessary for salvation, it follows that the word of Christ must be preached. The office, indeed, of preaching, that is, of teaching, lies by divine right in the province of the pastors, namely, of the bishops whom "the Holy Spirit has placed to rule the Church of God.'' It belongs, above all, to the Roman Pontiff, vicar of Jesus Christ, established as head of the universal Church, teacher of all that pertains to morals and faith.

No one, however, must entertain the notion that private individuals are prevented from taking some active part in this duty of teaching, especially those on whom God has bestowed gifts of mind with the strong wish of rendering themselves useful. These, so often as circumstances demand, may take upon themselves, not, indeed, the office of the pastor, but the task of communicating to others what they have themselves received, becoming, as it were, living echoes of their masters in the faith. Such co-operation on the part of the laity has seemed to the Fathers of the Vatican Council so opportune and fruitful of good that they thought well to invite it. "All faithful Christians, but those chiefly who are in a prominent position, or engaged in teaching, we entreat, by the compassion of Jesus Christ, and enjoin by the authority of the same God and Savior, that they bring aid to ward off and eliminate these errors from holy Church, and contribute their zealous help in spreading abroad the light of undefiled faith.'' Let each one, therefore, bear in mind that he both can and should, so far as may be, preach the Catholic faith by the authority of his example, and by open and constant profession of the obligations it imposes. In respect, consequently, to the duties that bind us to God and the Church, it should be borne earnestly in mind that in propagating Christian truth and warding off errors the zeal of the laity should, as far as possible, be brought actively into play. (Pope Leo XIII, Sapientiae Christianae, January 10, 1890.)

 

Men such as Dr. Ron Paul at present (and Patrick Buchanan in the past) have been given great natural abilities to speak to the truth on certain individual issues. Alas, this is not enough. Men need to hear the fullness of the truth that comes only from an understanding and complete and total acceptance of the Catholic Faith, including Catholic Social Teaching, from which no Catholic may dissent legitimately, as Pope Pius XI noted in Ubi Arcano Dei Consilio, December 23, 1922. The advance of evil will never be thwarted with partial truths wrapped in the mantle of naturalism and covered with the rot of many of the errors of Modernity (including "freedom of speech, "freedom of press" and "freedom of religion"). Our Lord has given us His Holy Faith as the shield against evil. We must use this shield without delay and without compromise, girding ourselves for the battle against the errors of naturalism and pluralism that have been embraced by the counterfeit church of conciliarism by making use of Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary, which has converted heretics and turned back the Mohammedan hordes.

Although I have written this in the past, I will write it again: the more we enable the so-called "lesser of two evils," ladies and gentlemen, the higher and higher the dose of the so-called "lesser evil" becomes over time. The more we become inured to increasingly higher doses of evil will be the more we look to fatally flawed naturalistic premises as the foundation of a "better" world or, at the very least, as the means of "stopping" some potentially "greater" evil, such as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton or Senator Barak Obama from advancing to the White House. Those who permit themselves to become wrapped up in this process lose sight of the fact that evil advances no matter which party controls the two houses of the Congress of the United States of American and no matter which individual wins the Presidency of the United States of America.

Indeed, the "lesser of two evils" argument was made over and over again by Catholic enablers of naturalism and careerism eight years ago. Then Texas Governor George Walker Bush was said to be the "lesser" of two evils. Oh, really? It is precisely because George W. Bush was perceived to be a "conservative" and "pro-life candidate that he has been able to advance the agenda of statism in ways that his predecessor, William Jefferson Clinton, could never do given his preoccupation with, shall we say, bread and circuses. George W. Bush and Vice President Richard N. Cheney have been deadly serious about the business of restricting the legitimate liberties of citizens in the name of "national security," endorsing policies of "enhanced interrogation" and protracted detention without trial that rival the very policies of the man whose mythical weapons of mass destruction and authoritarian rule over Iraq was used as the pretext to launch a "liberation" that has turned into a costly occupation now going on some five years.

All the while, of course, babies continue to be slaughtered in this "civilized" nation at the same rate now as they were seven years ago when these "lesser" evils took office, "lesser" evils who have done nothing to reverse the Clinton administration's decision to market the human pesticide, RU-486, and who have actually endorsed the sale of the Plan B "emergency contraceptive" on an "over the counter" basis to women over eighteen years of age. Ah, yes, the "pro-life" administration. I forgot. How silly of me. How silly of me to assert that there is no difference between the past immediate First Lady of the United States of America and the current First Lady of the United States of America, both of whom have stated their belief in "safe" ways for Americans to commit immoral acts and to avoid the conception of children.

Anyone--and I mean anyone--who is stupid enough and asinine enough to use the "lesser of two evils" argument at this late date in the degeneration of a country founded on false, anti-Incarnational, semi-Pelagian principles will never come to understand that we are not retarding social evils through the ballot box and that no political campaign waged on naturalistic grounds, no matter how well that campaign might do in a given state at a given time or what level of enthusiasm it generates among a certain segment of the electorate, does even one blessed thing to advance the only goal for which we as Catholics must be working: the Catholic City.

Once again, to Pope Saint Pius X in Notre Charge Apostolique, August 15, 1910:

But, on the contrary, by ignoring the laws governing human nature and by breaking the bounds within which they operate, the human person is lead, not toward progress, but towards death. This, nevertheless, is what they want to do with human society; they dream of changing its natural and traditional foundations; they dream of a Future City built on different principles, and they dare to proclaim these more fruitful and more beneficial than the principles upon which the present Christian City rests.

No, Venerable Brethren, We must repeat with the utmost energy in these times of social and intellectual anarchy when everyone takes it upon himself to teach as a teacher and lawmaker - the City cannot be built otherwise than as God has built it; society cannot be setup unless the Church lays the foundations and supervises the work; no, civilization is not something yet to be found, nor is the New City to be built on hazy notions; it has been in existence and still is: it is Christian civilization, it is the Catholic City. It has only to be set up and restored continually against the unremitting attacks of insane dreamers, rebels and miscreants. omnia instaurare in Christo.

 

Stand outside of any public high school. Take a look at the boys in hoods and the girls with their immodest and inappropriate attire and tell me if these young people, who are dear to Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His Most Blessed Mother, the future voters of the United States of America, are going to change their inchoate adherence to all manner of naturalistic concepts (selfism, nihilism, materialism, hedonism, relativism, positivism, feminism, egalitarianism, environmentalism) on the basis of naturalistic political debates? These young people need the Catholic Faith. Although I have withdrawn from the active political process myself and have made a judgment, which is not received from the hand of God but is based upon a reasoned understanding of the fatally flawed nature of our governmental and political systems, that the electoral process is simply a tool of the devil to keep us "busy" and 'excited" and agitated" so that we can waste our time and our money and our effort on endless political sideshows rather praying Rosaries and studying the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church, the only purpose for one to run for public office is to speak to the truths of the Catholic Faith and to be done with it, trusting that the seeds planted will be used by Our Lady for the good of souls that will be made clear to us only in eternity.

Does this mean that we stand aside and "do nothing." No. Praying is not "doing" "nothing." Forming our families in the Catholic Faith is not "doing nothing." Enthroning our homes to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary is not "doing nothing." Learning more about the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church is not "doing nothing."

People are going to believe what they want. They are going to act as they will. All well and good. I thought that Patrick Buchanan's victory in the New Hampshire primary twelve years ago on February 20, 1996, "meant something." I was wrong. There will be those who think that it will "mean something" if Dr. Paul finishes third or fourth in Iowa tomorrow evening, which is certainly possible according to various polls. They will be as wrong now as I was twelve years ago. Patrick Buchanan got 3,184,943 votes in the primaries and causes in 1996, good for twenty percent of the total number of votes cast in those primaries and caucuses. How did that change anything? Ask one of those hooded boys or immodestly dressed girls coming out of a public high school if they know anything about Patrick Buchanan or his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 1996. American electoral politics is like sand passing through the proverbial hourglass. Political runner-ups in the United States of America fade quickly from public view. The "people" go back quickly to other sideshows to "entertain" them.

I love my country. I will her good, the ultimate expression of which is her Catholicization. We must be about the business of proclaiming the Social Reign of Christ the King and of Mary our Immaculate Queen. Please don't tell me that the "people" aren't "ready" for this. They will never be "ready" unless we pray for their conversion and then seek to effect that conversion by inviting them into the true Church, outside of which there is no salvation, explaining to them that the Catholic Church is indeed the one and only means of personal and social order. The Apostles went out into a disbelieving world on Pentecost Sunday. We live in the same kind of world. Can we do any less than the Apostles did, that is the proclaim the Holy Name of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as It has been entrusted to Holy Mother Church?

Pope Pius XI, writing in Quas Primas, December 11, 1925, gave us our call to arms:

If We ordain that the whole Catholic world shall revere Christ as King, We shall minister to the need of the present day, and at the same time provide an excellent remedy for the plague which now infects society. We refer to the plague of anti-clericalism, its errors and impious activities. This evil spirit, as you are well aware, Venerable Brethren, has not come into being in one day; it has long lurked beneath the surface. The empire of Christ over all nations was rejected. The right which the Church has from Christ himself, to teach mankind, to make laws, to govern peoples in all that pertains to their eternal salvation, that right was denied. Then gradually the religion of Christ came to be likened to false religions and to be placed ignominiously on the same level with them. It was then put under the power of the state and tolerated more or less at the whim of princes and rulers. Some men went even further, and wished to set up in the place of God's religion a natural religion consisting in some instinctive affection of the heart. There were even some nations who thought they could dispense with God, and that their religion should consist in impiety and the neglect of God. The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences. We lamented these in the Encyclical Ubi arcano; we lament them today: the seeds of discord sown far and wide; those bitter enmities and rivalries between nations, which still hinder so much the cause of peace; that insatiable greed which is so often hidden under a pretense of public spirit and patriotism, and gives rise to so many private quarrels; a blind and immoderate selfishness, making men seek nothing but their own comfort and advantage, and measure everything by these; no peace in the home, because men have forgotten or neglect their duty; the unity and stability of the family undermined; society in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin. We firmly hope, however, that the feast of the Kingship of Christ, which in future will be yearly observed, may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior. It would be the duty of Catholics to do all they can to bring about this happy result. Many of these, however, have neither the station in society nor the authority which should belong to those who bear the torch of truth. This state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight courageously under the banner of Christ their King, then, fired with apostolic zeal, they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts that are bitter and estranged from him, and would valiantly defend his rights.

Moreover, the annual and universal celebration of the feast of the Kingship of Christ will draw attention to the evils which anticlericalism has brought upon society in drawing men away from Christ, and will also do much to remedy them. While nations insult the beloved name of our Redeemer by suppressing all mention of it in their conferences and parliaments, we must all the more loudly proclaim his kingly dignity and power, all the more universally affirm his rights.

 

Are you up to this task? Are you ashamed of Christ and His doctrine before men? Will you be a party to the suppression of the Holy Name in the conferences and parliaments of men and their nations? Will you "loudly proclaim His kingly dignity and power, all the more universally" affirming His rights?

Let us beseech Our Lady through her Most Holy Rosary as the consecrated slaves of her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart to put aside naturalism and to advance the cause of Catholicism as the one and only foundation of all social order. People need to her Catholic truth, not naturalist half-truths and whole lies. May we, as the loyal clients of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, do what we can to bring others to understand that a nation that prays the Rosary together is a nation that stays together under the banner of Christ the King and Mary our Immaculate Queen.

 

Viva Cristo Rey!

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

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.

Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, pray for us.

The Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus

Lord, have mercy on us R. Christ, have mercy on us.	Kyrie, eleison. R. Christe, eleison.
Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us. R. Jesus, graciously hear us.	Kyrie, eleison. Iesu, audi nos. R. Iesu, exaudi nos.
God the Father of Heaven, R. have mercy on us.	Pater de cælis, Deus, R. miserere nobis.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, R. have mercy on us.	Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus, R. miserere nobis.
God, the Holy Ghost, R. have mercy on us.	Spiritus Sancte, Deus, R. miserere nobis.
Holy Trinity, One God, R. have mercy on us.	Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Son of the living God, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, Fili Dei vivi, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, splendor of the Father, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, splendor Patris, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, brightness of Eternal Light, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, candor lucis æternæ, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, King of glory, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, rex gloriæ, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Sun of justice, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, sol iustitiæ, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, Fili Mariæ Virginis, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, most amiable, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, amabilis, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, most admirable, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, admirabilis, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, mighty God, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, Deus fortis, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Father of the world to come, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, pater futuri sæculi, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, angel of great council, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, magni consilii angele, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, most powerful, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu potentissime, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, most patient, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu patientissime, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, most obedient, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu oboedientissime, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, mitis et humilis corde, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Lover of Chastity, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, amator castitatis, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, lover of us, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, amator noster, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, God of peace, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, Deus pacis, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Author of life, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, auctor vitæ, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Model of virtues, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, exemplar virtutum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, zealous for souls, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, zelator animarum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, our God, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, Deus noster, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, our Refuge, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, refugium nostrum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Father of the poor, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, pater pauperum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Treasure of the faithful, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, thesaure fidelium, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, good Shepherd, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, bone pastor, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, true Light, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, lux vera, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, eternal Wisdom, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, sapientia æterna, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, infinite Goodness, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, bonitas infinita, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, our Way and our Life, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, via et vita nostra, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, joy of Angels, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, gaudium Angelorum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, King of the Patriarchs, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, rex Patriarcharum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Master of the Apostles, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, magister Apostolorum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, Teacher of Evangelists, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, doctor Evangelistarum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, strength of Martyrs, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, fortitudo Martyrum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, light of Confessors, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, lumen Confessorum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, purity of Virgins, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, puritas Virginum, R. miserere nobis.
Jesus, crown of all Saints, R. have mercy on us.	Iesu, corona Sanctorum omnium, R. miserere nobis.
Be merciful, R. spare us, O Jesus.	Propitius esto, R. parce nobis, Iesu.
Be merciful, R. graciously hear us, O Jesus.	Propitius esto, R. exaudi nos, Iesu.
From all evil, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Ab omni malo, R. libera nos, Iesu.
From all sin, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Ab omni peccato, R. libera nos, Iesu.
From Thy wrath, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Ab ira tua, R. libera nos, Iesu.
From the snares of the devil, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Ab insidiis diaboli, R. libera nos, Iesu.
From the spirit of fornication, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	A spiritu fornicationis, R. libera nos, Iesu.
From everlasting death, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	A morte perpetua, R. libera nos, Iesu.
From neglect of Thy inspirations, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	A neglectu inspirationum tuarum, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per mysterium sanctæ Incarnationis tuæ, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Nativity, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per nativitatem tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thine Infancy, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per infantiam tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy most divine Life, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per divinissimam vitam tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Labors, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per labores tuos, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thine Agony and Passion, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per agoniam et passionem tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Cross and abandonment, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per crucem et derelictionem tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Sufferings, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per languores tuos, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Death and Burial, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per mortem et sepulturam tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Resurrection, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per resurrectionem tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thine Ascension, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per ascensionem tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy institution of the Most Holy Eucharist, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per sanctissimæ Eucharistiæ institutionem tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Joys, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per gaudia tua, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Through Thy Glory, R. deliver us, O Jesus.	Per gloriam tuam, R. libera nos, Iesu.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, R. spare us, O Jesus.	Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, R. parce nobis, Iesu.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, R. graciously hear us, O Jesus.	Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, R. exaudi nos, Iesu.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, R. have mercy on us, O Jesus.	Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, R. miserere nobis, Iesu.
Jesus, hear us. R. Jesus, graciously hear us.	Iesu, audi nos. R. Iesu, exaudi nos.
Let us pray; O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast said, "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you": grant we beseech Thee, unto us who ask, the gift of Thy most divine Love, that we may ever love Thee with our whole hearts, and in all our words and actions, and never cease from showing forth Thy praise.	Oremus; Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti: Petite, et accipietis; quærite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis: quæsumus, da nobis petentibus divinissimi tui amoris affectum, ut te toto corde, ore et opere diligamus, et a tua numquam laude cessemus.
Make us O Lord, to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy Holy Name; for Thou never failest to govern those who Thou dost solidly establish in Thy love. Thou who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.	Sancti Nominis tui, Domine, timorem pariter et amorem fac nos habere perpetuum, quia numquam tua gubernatione destituis, quos in soliditate, tuæ dilectionis instituis: Qui vivis et regnas in sæcula sæculorum. Amen

 

Pope Saint Sylvester I, pray for us.

Saint Thomas a Becket, pray for us.

The Holy Innocents, pray for us.

Saint Elizabeth, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us.

Saint Thomas the Apostle, pray for us.

Saint Andrew the Apostle, pray for us.

Saint Barbara, pray for us.

Saint Francis Xavier, pray for us.

Saint Peter Chrysologus, pray for us.

Saint Bibiana, pray for us.

Saint Sabbas, pray for us.

Saint Nicholas, pray for us.

Saint Ambrose, pray for us.

Pope Saint Melchiades, pray for us.

Pope Saint Damasus, pray for us.

Pope Saint Pius V, pray for us.

Pope Saint Pius X, pray for us.

Saint Sylvester the Abbot, pray for us.

Saint Gertrude the Great, pray for us.

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.

Saint Benedict, pray for us.

Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for us.

Saint Dominic de Guzman, pray for us.

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

Saint Hyacinth, pray for us.

Saint Peter Nolasco, pray for us.

Saint John Matha, pray for us.

Saint John Bosco, pray for us.

Saint John of God, pray for us.

Saint Philip Neri, pray for us.

Saint Francis Solano, pray for us.

Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us.

Saint Brendan the Navigator, pray for us.

Saints Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, pray for us.

Saint Anthony of Padua, pray for us.

Saint Peregrine, pray for us.

Saint Leonard of Port Maurice, pray for us.

Saint John Fisher, pray for us.

Saint Thomas More, pray for us.

Saint Peter Canisius, pray for us.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us.

Saint Francis Borgia, pray for us.

Saint John Francis Regis, pray for us.

Saint Genevieve, pray for us.

Saint Casimir, pray for us.

Saint Hedwig, pray for us.

Saint Louis IX, King of France, pray for us.

Saint Stephen of Hungary, pray for us.

Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us.

Saint Brigid of Kildare, pray for us.

Saint Patrick, pray for us.

Saint Martin of Tours, pray for us.

Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us.

Pope Saint Gregory the Great, pray for us.

Pope Saint Gregory VII, pray for us.

Saint Boniface, pray for us.

Saint Meinrad, pray for us.

Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

Saint Bernardine of Siena, pray for us.

Saint Louis de Montfort, pray for us.

Saint Joseph Cupertino, pray for us.

Saint Joseph Calasanctius, pray for us.

Saint John Damascene, pray for us.

Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, pray for us.

Saints Isidore the Farmer and Maria de Cappella, pray for us.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us.

Pope Saint Damasus I, pray for us.

Saint Jerome, pray for us.

Saint Basil the Great, pray for us.

Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

Saint Louise de Marillac, pray for us.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us.

Saint Antony of the Desert, pray for us.

Saint Bonaventure, pray for us.

Saint Turibius, pray for us.

Saint Isaac Jogues, pray for us.

Saint Rene Goupil, pray for us.

Saint John Lalonde, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel Lalemont, pray for us.

Saint Noel Chabanel, pray for us.

Saint Charles Garnier, pray for us.

Saint Anthony Daniel, pray for us.

Saint John DeBrebeuf, pray for us.

Saint Irenaeus, pray for us.

Saint Polycarp, pray for us.

Blessed Rose Philippine Duchesne, pray for us.

Saint Rita, pray for us.

Saint Philomena, pray for us.

Saint Therese Lisieux, pray for us.

Saint Athanasius, pray for us.

Saint Bonaventure, pray for us.

Saint Philip Neri, pray for us.

Saint Peter Damian, pray for us.

Saint Peter of Alcantara, pray for us.

Saint Stanislaus, pray for us.

Saint Stanislaus Kostka, pray for us.

Saint Dominic Savio, pray for us.

Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, pray for us.

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, pray for us.

Saint Adalbert, pray for us.

Saint Norbert, pray for us.

Saint John Chrysostom, pray for us.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria, pray for us.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, pray for us.

Saints Cosmas and Damian, pray for us.

Saints Gervase and Protase, pray for us.

Saint Cecilia, pray for us.

Pope Saint Clement I, pray for us.

Saint Tarcisius, pray for us.

Saints Fabian Sebastian, pray for us.

Saint Lawrence the Deacon, pray for us.

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, pray for us.

Saint Eustachius and Companions, pray for us.

Saints Pontian and Hippolytus, pray for us.

Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us.

Saint Agnes, pray for us.

Saint Agatha, pray for us.

Saints Perpetua and Felicity, pray for us.

Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us.

Saint Scholastica, pray for us.

Saint Margaret of Scotland, pray for us.

Saint Peter Lombard, pray for us.

Saint Albert the Great, pray for us.

Saint Augustine, pray for us.

Saint Monica, pray for us.

Saint Augustine of Canterbury, pray for us.

Saint Anselm, pray for us.

Saint Canute, pray for us.

Saint Clotilde, pray for us.

Saint Brendan the Navigator, pray for us.

Saint Coleman, pray for us.

Saint Maria Goretti, pray for us.

Saint Mary Magdalene, pray for us.

Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us.

Saint Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us.

Blessed Father Vincent Pallotti, pray for us.

Saint Josaphat, pray for us.

Saint Anthony Mary Claret, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette Soubirous, pray for us.

Blessed Edmund Campion, pray for us.

Saint Saturninus, pray for us.

Saint Gerard Majella, pray for us.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori, pray for us.

Venerable Juan Diego, pray for us.

Venerable Junipero Serra, pray for us.

Venerable Miguel Augustin Pro, pray for us.

Venerable Pauline Jaricot, pray for us.

Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich, pray for us.

Jacinta Marto, pray for us.

Francisco Marto, pray for us.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

 

The Longer Version of the Saint Michael the Archangel Prayer, composed by Pope Leo XIII, 1888

O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil.  Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil.  Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with  the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven.  That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels.  Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage.  Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory.  That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.  These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered.  Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory.  They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude.  Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church.  Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations.  Amen.

Verse: Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.

Response: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.

Verse: Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.

Response: As we have hoped in Thee.

Verse: O Lord hear my prayer.

Response: And let my cry come unto Thee.

Verse: Let us pray.  O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls. 

Response:  Amen.