Welcome, Guest
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username
  

Password
  





Search Forums

(Advanced Search)

Forum Statistics
» Members: 262
» Latest member: aasonlittle2854
» Forum threads: 6,317
» Forum posts: 11,827

Full Statistics

Online Users
There are currently 288 online users.
» 1 Member(s) | 283 Guest(s)
Applebot, Bing, Facebook, Google, Susannah

Latest Threads
Pope Pius XI : Lux Verita...
Forum: Encyclicals
Last Post: Stone
1 hour ago
» Replies: 1
» Views: 3,702
Feast of the Maternity of...
Forum: Our Lady
Last Post: Stone
1 hour ago
» Replies: 2
» Views: 4,783
Where did those lies abou...
Forum: General Commentary
Last Post: Deus Vult
Yesterday, 01:56 PM
» Replies: 3
» Views: 7,204
Pope St. Pius X's prophec...
Forum: Catholic Prophecy
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 08:51 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 1,696
Holy Mass in Georgia [Atl...
Forum: October 2024
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 08:42 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 51
Holy Mass in New Hampshir...
Forum: October 2024
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 08:37 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 51
Thursday Night Holy Hour ...
Forum: Appeals for Prayer
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 06:50 AM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 469
St. Louis de Montfort: Af...
Forum: Our Lady
Last Post: Stone
10-09-2024, 11:52 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 2,604
Fr. Hewko's Sermons: Feas...
Forum: October 2024
Last Post: Stone
10-09-2024, 11:30 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 80
Please Pray for Bishop Ti...
Forum: Appeals for Prayer
Last Post: Stone
10-09-2024, 04:01 AM
» Replies: 4
» Views: 612

 
  Ten Planks of Communism
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 03:07 PM - Forum: Socialism & Communism - Replies (1)

The "10 Planks" of the Communist Manifesto
Taken from here.


[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.explicit.bing.net%...%3DApi&f=1]


Karl Marx was paid by the "League of the Just" (later named the "Communist League") in 1847 to write the Communist Manifesto, and paid again to rewrite it in 1848.  The Manifesto was intended to incite violent revolution, was a recipe for tyranny itself, and was later used as propaganda (a 'glorious goal' to believe in) to blind followers to the realities of the brutal dictatorships that oppressed all workers and slaughtered millions under Communist rule.  Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and Mao's "Little Red Book" served similar evil and deadly purposes. Many dictators throughout history and today attempt to disguise their tyranny with fancy labels and phony philosophies to make slavery seem somehow just and essential--another example was the earlier doctrine of "divine rule of kings." These 10 steps are just a part of the Manifesto, the full text of which can be found on the web.

Western nations including the United States have gradually implemented virtually all of Marx's 10 key steps toward creating a dictatorship. What are some examples can you find?  Americans would be wise to study the "Ten Planks" and demand that the President and Congress abolish all laws, regulations and agencies which govern these (and all other) unconstitutional seizures of power. Communism was never intended to free man, but to enslave him; indeed the Communist Manifesto promised a "dictatorship of the proletariat" and history proved it always ended up slaughtering and enslaving millions of the proletariat.

Karl Marx's "10 Planks" to seize power and destroy freedom:
  • Abolition of Property in Land and Application of all Rents of Land to Public Purpose.
  • A Heavy Progressive or Graduated Income Tax.
  • Abolition of All Rights of Inheritance.
  • Confiscation of the Property of All Emigrants and Rebels.
  • Centralization of Credit in the Hands of the State, by Means of a National Bank with State Capital and an Exclusive Monopoly.
  • Centralization of the Means of Communication and Transport in the Hands of the State.
  • Extension of Factories and Instruments of Production Owned by the State, the Bringing Into Cultivation of Waste Lands, and the Improvement of the Soil Generally in Accordance with a Common Plan.
  • Equal Liability of All to Labor. Establishment of Industrial Armies, Especially for Agriculture.
  • Combination of Agriculture with Manufacturing Industries; Gradual Abolition of the Distinction Between Town and Country by a More Equable Distribution of the Population over the Country.
  • Free Education for All Children in Public Schools. Abolition of Children's Factory Labor in it's Present Form. Combination of Education with Industrial Production.

Of important mention here is Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals;" much has been written about President Obama's (and Hillary Clinton's) study and use of Alinsky's strategies for seizing power without concern for ethics or the harm caused. Read the book (try Amazon or eBay)--study it and you will better understand Obama's governing strategy and anticipate his actions. Marx and Alinsky both shared a similar desire to seize power at any cost, hence the listing on this page. It should be of little surprise that Alinsky dedicated "Rules for Radicals" to the devil.Excerpts from Rules for Radicals

Print this item

  Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop de Castro Mayer: 1986 Declaration Against Assisi
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 11:24 AM - Forum: Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre - Replies (1)

1986 Declaration Against Assisi
by Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop de Castro Maye
r
Taken from here.

Subsequent to the events of Pope John Paul II's visit to the Synagogue and the Congress of Religion at Assisi



Rome has asked us if we have the intention of proclaiming our rupture with the Vatican on the occasion of the Congress of Assisi.

We think that the question should rather be the following: Do you believe and do you have the intention of proclaiming that the Congress of Assisi consummates the rupture of the Roman authorities with the Catholic Church?

For this is the question which preoccupies those who still remain Catholic.

Indeed, it is clear that since the Second Vatican Council, the Pope and the Bishops are making more and more of a clear departure from their predecessors.

Everything that had been put into place by the Church in past centuries to defend the Faith, and everything that was done by the missionaries to spread it, even to the point of martyrdom, henceforth is considered to be a fault which the Church must confess and ask pardon for.

The attitude of the eleven popes who, from 1789 up until 1958, condemned the liberal Revolution in official documents, is considered as “a lack of understanding of the Christian spirit that inspired the Revolution.”

Hence the complete about-face of Rome, since the Second Vatican Council, which makes us repeat the words of Our Lord to those who came to arrest Him: “This is your hour and the power of darkness” (Luke XXII, 52-53).

Adopting the liberal religion of Protestantism and of the Revolution, the naturalistic principles of J.J. Rousseau, the atheistic liberties of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the principle of human dignity no longer having any relation with truth and moral dignity, the Roman authorities turn their backs on their predecessors and break with the Catholic Church, and they put themselves at the service of the destroyers of Christianity and of the universal Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The present acts of John Paul II and the national episcopates illustrates, year by year, this radical change in the conception of the Faith, the Church, the priesthood, the world, and salvation by grace.

The high point of this rupture with the previous Magisterium of the Church took place at Assisi, after the visit to the synagogue. The public sin against the one, true God, against the Incarnate Word, and His Church, makes us shudder with horror. John Paul II encourages the false religions to pray to their false gods—an immeasurable, unprecedented scandal.

We might recall here our Declaration of November 21, 1974, which remains more relevant than ever.

For us, remaining indefectibly attached to the Catholic and Roman Church of all times, we are obliged to take note that this Modernist and liberal religion of modern and conciliar Rome is always distancing itself more and more from us, who profess the Catholic Faith of the eleven Popes who condemned this false religion.

The rupture does not come from us, but from Paul VI and John Paul II who break with their predecessors.

This denial of the whole past of the Church by these two Popes and the bishops who imitate them is an inconceivable impiety for those who remain Catholic in fidelity to twenty centuries of the same Faith.

Thus we consider as null everything inspired by this spirit of denial of the past: all the post-conciliar reforms, and all the acts of Rome accomplished in this impiety.

We count on the grace of God and the support of the Virgin Most Faithful, all the martyrs, all the Popes right up to the Council, and all the holy Founders and Foundresses of contemplative and missionary orders, to come to our aid in the renewal of the Church through an integral fidelity to Tradition.

-Buenos Aires, December 2, 1986

[Image: archbishop_lefebvre_signature.jpg]


His Excellency Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
Archbishop-Bishop of Tulle


His Excellency Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer
Bishop Emeritus of Campos
In perfect agreement with the present Declaration

Print this item

  Did Klaus Schwab and World Economic Forum Admit The COVID Vaccine Injects Traceable Markers?
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 08:30 AM - Forum: Great Reset - No Replies

Did Klaus Schwab and World Economic Forum Admit The COVID Vaccine Injects Traceable Markers? Their Promoted “COVIDPass” Blood Test Requires Them


Last Refuge | October 16, 2021


An article and video promoted by the World Economic Forum, intended to propose and outline a globally accepted “COVIDPass”, actually reveals stunning background admissions. [Article Here – VIDEO Below]

The basic premise of the proposal is for a global COVIDPass that will be universally accepted permitting vaccinated people to travel around the world and enter all venues and facilities that require proof of vaccine.  However, there is something in the proposal that tells a story all by itself.  First, WATCH the Video:


Don’t get caught up in the esoteric weeds about the COVID passport angle of this; and don’t let yourself focus on the vaxxed vs non-vaxxed aspect.  Additionally, for now do not focus on the privacy aspects or the issues with tracing or tracking.  Instead, focus like a laser on something far more critical in the background of the proposal itself.

The entire premise of the World Economic Forum’s “COVIDPass” is predicated on a blood test being able to identify whether a person has been vaccinated or not.

Think about that carefully.

Think about that deeply.

Right now, all vaccination ID’s, all COVID passports, are dependent on a registration process that takes place at the time of vaccination within each nation’s unique healthcare system:

(1) You get vaccinated, you get registered in a system that shows you have been vaccinated; and that’s how you eventually get to a place where you establish a linked “QR” code to the vaccination registration -most commonly on your cell phone- that grants you permitted access at checkpoints or gateways.

-OR-

(2) You get vaccinated, you get registered in a system that shows you have been vaccinated; and you are given a paper vaccination card to carry on your person that grants you permitted access at checkpoints or gateways.

Those are essentially the only two registration systems for COVID passports currently in place. Both of them are dependent on registration with the healthcare system or provider who then grants you the paper ID; or triggers the authorization process to connect your vaccination status to a system where you download the QR code.

Regardless of which process is followed, the registration is with the healthcare system.

What the World Economic Forum (WEF) is describing is NOT that…. and this is the critical point.

The WEF proposal is based on a blood sample, or a blood test, to prove you have been vaccinated.  The only way that is possible is if the vaccine itself carries some form of marker that permanently stays (at a cellular level) in your body which can then be detected in a blood test.

If the vaccine does not leave an identifiable marker or imprint in your blood, then a blood test for vaccinated status would not be possible.

If you understand that critical point, then keep reading.  If you don’t understand the significance of that point, then it’s best to just quit right here.

♦ If you were to go into a doctors office, blood lab or hospital right now and tell them you needed a blood test to prove you have been vaccinated, they would look at you like you’re a crazy person.  Their response would be for you to contact your healthcare provider -where the vaccine shot was given- to get the verification or duplicate authentication you would need to prove you have been vaccinated.

Yet somehow the World Economic Forum knows of a process for testing blood to see if the vaccine is present?

Think about that.

Let’s call whatever is in your blood system a “marker“, because generically we do not know what they would specifically be looking for to isolate blood as vaccinated -vs- non vaccinated.  They are looking for something, so let’s call that a marker.  That means the following points are evident:
  • Whatever that marker is, has to be present in all versions of the vaccine.
  • Whatever that marker is, has to be present permanently.
  • Whatever that marker is, was known by the World Economic Forum to exist prior to this proposal.
  • Without a way to identify vaccinated blood, the entire premise of the COVIDPass proposed by the WEF is moot.
So, the question becomes: what is that marker?

Without extrapolating into conspiracy theory or suspicious imaginings, the basic point to drive home from this WEF proposal is their awareness of a blood test that can guarantee you have been vaccinated.  [The next step, where your blood test is linked to your unique identification for authenticity in society, is another kettle of fish altogether.]

COMMON SENSE – Factually it would defeat the entire premise of the COVIDPass as outlined if your unique id was not being traced/tracked.

If, as an example, I were to use your cell phone QR code at the boarding gate of an international flight, there would have to be some cross referenced database that pulls up your unique identification in order to stop me from traveling under your vaccinated status.

Under the concept of a globally accepted, bloodline-authenticated vaccination ID, there has to be a central database from which your vaccination identification -your blood- was registered to your specific personage.  But that’s going further into the future.

For now, it is worth noting that in mid-2020, even before the various vaccine’s deployed in clinical trials, the World Economic Forum knew that a blood test for a COVID vaccination was the best scenario for vaccine passport identification.  [Article Here]

[Image: covid-pass-1-1024x445.jpg]

[Image: hal-9000-4.jpg]

Print this item

  October 17th – St Mary Margaret Alocoque, Virgin
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 07:36 AM - Forum: October - No Replies

October 17 – St Mary Margaret Alocoque, Virgin
Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger  (1841-1875)

[Image: Santa20Margarita20Mar%C3%ADa20de20Alacoq...1024&ssl=1]

“Among the most striking proofs of the infinite love of our Redeemer is this, that, at a moment in which the love of the faithful was growing cold, the Divine Love proposed himself as the object of special veneration and worship, and the precious treasure of the Church was opened to enrich with indulgences the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge … In that Sacred Heart we must place all our hope, from that Heart ask and expect our salvation.”

The great devotion to the Sacred Heart, of which the Sovereign Pontiff Pius XI thus speaks, and which has been so marvellously extended in the Church since the seventeenth century, is no new devotion. Much research by Catholic scholars has established the fact that there was not one of the great older religious orders but had a tradition of such devotion and saintly souls in their ranks with whom it was associated. This is true of the children of St. Benedict (both of the “Black monks” of the parent stem, and the later Cistercians), of the Carthusians, Dominicans, and Franciscans. St. Bonaventure’s beautiful and tender phrases have supplied some of the lessons for the new office of the feast, while during the octave not only St. Bernard, but one of the greatest of the early Fathers, St. John Chrysostom, exhort us in turn concerning what has been so often described, and even bitterly opposed, as a novelty unknown to primitive days.

The truth is that, in post-Reformation days, a new element in the devotion has been stressed. In the ages of faith, although the devotion was always, as now, closely connected with the Passion, yet it was exultant, glorious, triumphant Love which dominated it. After the rending of the seamless garment of the Church universal, with all its dire consequences, it was the element of reparation, of loving the Heart which had so loved men, but was so little loved in return, which was emphasized; and it is this aspect of the devotion which is thus urged upon the faithful by Pius XI: the duty of reparation for the offenses, the insults, the contempt meted out to infinite Love, in our modern world which knows him not.

The saint of this day is neither the first nor the only soul to whom our Lord revealed the mystery of the Sacred Heart; but she was the one whom he chose as the special instrument of its propagation. He had taught it to others, but he did not command them to preach it to the world or to work for its public cultus. He did so command this simple Visitation nun of Paray-le-Monial, Margaret Mary Alacoque, in an age when Jansenism was chilling men’s hearts, and substituting for love of God a terrible fear, which kept them from the Sacraments and made them “see the Judge severe e’en in the crucifix.”

Not that the devotion, even as formally and finally approved and propagated by the Church, depends upon the revelations, any more than that of Corpus Christi depends upon those of Blessed Juliana of Cornillon. Revelations have only an accessory part in the institution of such feasts; what the Church seeks is, what is useful for souls; and it suffices for her that a devotion is in itself good, and will make for the greater glory of God.

The saint’s own story illustrates the effect of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, rightly practiced. Like all souls specially called to a life of reparation and expiation, Margaret Mary knew much suffering. In her early life she and her beloved mother had much to endure from members of her family. She suffered from unjust constraint upon her actions, from monotony and unkindness. Her religious practices were hindered, partly by her family circumstances and partly by those of the time; she was over twenty-one before she was able to receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Want of proper direction, and more unjust opposition, rendered her vocation a further source of suffering; and when, at last, the convent doors closed behind her, she found trials compared with which what had gone before seemed but trifling. Favored at times, even from childhood, with extraordinary graces, she found herself at the very natural disadvantage caused by such in a prudently-ruled religious house; the more so as the Visitandine spirit was of another sort. It seems ironical that, though she had entered an order in its first fervor, and a house fervent among the fervent, under successive superiors distinguished for their spirituality and their wisdom, she should have been long completely misunderstood, undervalued, and somewhat distrusted. The tendency to scruples, excessive timidity and trouble in spiritual matters, the lack of peace which we notice in the early years, vanished only when the great revelations began. Under the influence of our Lord’s own teaching, and the guidance he further gave her in his holy servant, Blessed Claude de la Colombière, her character steadily developed. Her humility, ever great, became greater, so that she could walk safely in her mystic ways; her judgment and insight in spiritual things became sure. Despondency vanished, and no trials could disturb her peace or shake her confidence till, at the end, the religious of whom once her sisters had thought little stands revealed in her biographies “a true and valiant lover.” Once pre-occupied with self, she became selfless, and all suffering became sweet; and after her has followed an unending procession of those who, again in the words of the great Encyclical of Pius XI, valiantly strive to make satisfaction to the Divine Heart for so many sins that are committed against it, who do not fear to offer themselves to Christ as victims … who not only hate sin and shun it as the greatest of evils, but offer themselves to the divine will, and use every means in their power to compensate for the offenses committed against the divine Majesty by constant prayer, by voluntary mortifications, and by the patient acceptance of all the trials that may come upon them—in fact by living their whole lives in the spirit of reparation.

Quote:Margaret Mary Alacoque was born of a respectable family in a village in the diocese of Autun, and from her earliest years already gave signs of future holiness. Filled with burning love of the Virgin Mother of God and of the august mystery of the Eucharist, in her youth she dedicated her virginity to God and strove above all things to realize in her life the practice of Christian virtues. Her delight was to spend long hours in prayer and in the contemplation of heavenly things. She had a low esteem of herself, was patient in adversity, practiced bodily penance, and was charitable towards her neighbor, especially towards the poor. She diligently strove by all means in her power to imitate the most holy example of the divine Redeemer.

Having entered the Order of the Visitation, her life became at once a bright example to others. She was endowed by God in a high degree with the gift of prayer, together with other favors and frequent visions. Of these the most famous was when Jesus appeared to her while she was in prayer before the most holy Sacrament and, opening his breast, showed her his divine Heart enkindled by flames and encircled in a crown of thorns; and he bade her, in return for his excessive love and in atonement for the insults of ungrateful men, to seek to have established the veneration of his Heart, which he would enrich with the treasures of heavenly grace. When from humility she hesitated to undertake so great a task the most loving Savior encouraged her, at the same time pointing out Claude de la Colombière, a man of great holiness, as her guide and helper. He also comforted her with the assurance of the very great blessings which afterwards accrued to the Church from the worship of his divine Heart.

Vexations and even bitter insults were not wanting to her on the part of those who maintained that she was liable to mental delusions. She not only bore these troubles patiently, but even profited by them, deeming herself through suffering and reproach as a victim acceptable to God and taking them as a means of more easily furthering her purpose. Renowned for religious perfection and becoming daily more united to her heavenly Spouse by the contemplation of eternal things, she took flight to him in the forty-third year of her age, and in the year of restored salvation 1690. She became famous for miracles, and Benedict XV enrolled her name among those of the saints; and the Supreme Pontiff Pius XI extended her Office to the universal Church.

[Image: 1571280779697_M5_width.jpg?resize=676%2C1024&ssl=1]

Print this item

  Mayor of Grants, NM, to Consecrate City to Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 07:29 AM - Forum: General Commentary - No Replies

Mayor of Grants, NM, to Consecrate City to Jesus, Mary and Joseph

The Remnant Newspaper | October 16, 2021


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021
FIRE AND ICE PARK, GRANTS, NM
(near Grants City Hall, 600 W. Santa Fe, Grants, NM)
10:00AM - TRIDENTINE MASS
FOLLOWED BY THE CONSECRATION

The Gabriel Garcia Moreno Association is honored and happy to announce that the honorable Mayor Martin Hicks, Mayor of Grants, New Mexico, will renew the Consecration of his city to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Saint Joseph on October 28, 2021.

One year ago, on October 28, Mayor Hicks consecrated himself, the City of Grants, and all its citizens to Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph, amidst the chaos of the Covid-19 restrictions and lockdown. This act – truly heroic under these circumstances – brought the honorable Mayor many trials and persecution for believing in and acting according to Catholic principles and sound conservative political convictions. 

Nonetheless, despite these trials – even numerous death threats for his integrity in belief and action – Mayor Hicks insists his city belongs to Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph and is readily resigned to Providence.  He is not afraid to speak out in favor of Jesus Christ the King. He is a man who wishes to properly use his authority and lead his citizens by example to an eternal reward.

Mayor Hicks desires to renew the Consecration of Grants this Fall, on October 28, 2021. While civil leaders cower before unlawful and unreasonable restrictions, the time is opportune to rally behind this courageous civil leader to support and encourage his resistance to the trend of secularism and indifferentism while affirming the Divine right of Jesus Christ the King!

Last year nearly 100 faithful Catholics came from several States to join Mayor Hicks and citizens from Grants as he proclaimed of the Rights of God, entrusting the City of Grants to Divine Providence. Following the Mass in honor of Christ the King, offered by Fr. Trevor Burfitt of the Society of Saint Pius X at the City Park, Mayor Hicks consecrated the City of Grants to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and Saint Joseph. This October 28th, on this first-year anniversary of the Consecration of Grants, it is hoped that many more people will support this courageous and devout Mayor who desires to renew this act of homage to God that Christ may reign over the City of Grants. ...

¡Viva Cristo Rey! ¡Dios no muere! (Long Live Christ the King! God does not die!)

Print this item

  Audiobook: The Letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 07:21 AM - Forum: Resources Online - No Replies

The Letters of Saint Ignatius Of Antioch
Full-Length Catholic Audiobook


Seven Authentic Letters

The Letter to the Ephesians,
The Letter to the Magnesians,
The Letter to the Trallians,
The Letter to the Romans,
The Letter to the Philadelphians,
The Letter to the Smyrnaeans,
The Letter to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna.

Print this item

  Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 06:20 AM - Forum: Pentecost - Replies (4)

Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost
From Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year 36th edition, 1880

[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinim...f=1&nofb=1]


At the Introit of the Mass is said a prayer of Mardochai, which may be used in all necessities:

INTROIT All things are in thy will, O Lord: and there is none that can resist thy will: for thou hast made all things, heaven and earth, and all things that are under the cope of heaven: thou art Lord of all. (Esth. xiii. 9, 10.) Blessed are the undefiled in the way: who walk in the law of the Lord. (Ps. cxviii.) Glory etc.

COLLECT Keep, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy family by Thy continued goodness: that, through Thy protection, it may be free from all adversities, and devoted in good works to the glory of Thy name. Thro'.

EPISTLE (Ephes. vi. 10-17.) Brethern, Be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his power. Put you on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil: for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of, the most wicked one: and take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Quote:EXPLANATION The apostle teaches the Ephesians how hard and dangerous a struggle every Christian has to make, not against human enemies of flesh and blood, but against spiritual, invisible enemies, who were at one time powerful princes in heaven, but through sin became princes of the darkness of this world, who govern the adherents of the world, and exercise their evil influence in the air as well as on the earth, as far as God permits them, for our chastisement or trial.

He shows us also the manner in which we can gain the victory in the evil day, that is, the time of temptation, and particularly at the hour of death, when he admonishes us to have confidence in God and gives us the weapons for the contest. We should, therefore, gird ourselves with the girdle of truth, which shows us that honor, concupiscence and riches are vain and useless; we should put on the breast-plate of justice which is made of good works: the shoes, by regulating our lives according to the precepts of the gospel, which alone can give us true peace; the shield of faith, which teaches us how richly God rewards virtue and how terribly He punishes those who succumb to temptation and sin; the helmet of salvation, namely, confidence in God and the hope of heaven; the sword of the word of God, by making use, when violently tempted, of consoling and strengthening expressions of Holy Scripture, by which we can put the devil to flight, according to the example of Christ (Matt. iv.) and the saints. - Let us diligently use these weapons, and we shall be victorious in this spiritual combat, and be crowned with eternal glory in heaven.

GOSPEL (Matt. 18: 23-35.) At that time, Jesus spoke to his disciples this parable: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account one was brought to him that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it, his lord commanded that he should be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. But that servant falling down, besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And the lord of that servant, being moved with pity, let him go, and forgave him the debt. But when that servant was gone out, he found one of his fellow-servants that owed him a hundred pence: and laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest. And his fellow-servant falling down besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not; but went and cast him into prison till he paid the debt. Now his fellow-servants, seeing what was done, were very much grieved: and they came and told their lord all that was done. Then his lord called him, and said to him: Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellowservant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.


Who are understood by the king, and the servants?

The King is God, and the servants are all mankind.


What is meant by the ten thousand talents?

The ten thousand talents, according to our money more than ten million dollars, signify mortal sin, the guilt of which is so great that no creature can pay it; even all the works of the saints cannot make atonement, because by every mortal sin the infinitely great, good, and holy God is offended, which offence it is as impossible for any creature to cancel as it is for a poor servant to pay a debt of ten million dollars. Nevertheless God is so merciful that He remits the whole immeasurable debt of sin, on account of the infinite merits of Christ, if the sinner contritely begs forgiveness and amends his life.


Why did the master order, not only the debtor, but also his wife and children to be sold?

Probably because they assisted in contracting the debt, or gave occasion for its increase. This is a warning to those who in any way make themselves partakers of others' sins, either by counsel, command, consent, provocation, praise or flattery, concealment, partaking, silence and by defending ill-done things.


What is understood by the hundred pence?

By the hundred pence are understood the offences committed against us, and which, in comparison with our debt against God, are very insignificant.


What does Jesus intend to show by this parable?

That if God is so merciful and forgives us our immense debts, we should be merciful and willingly forgive our fellow-men the slight faults and offences, which they commit against us; he who does not this, will not receive pardon from God, in him will be verified the words of the apostle St. James: Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy. (James ii. 13.)


Who are those who throttle their debtors?

These are, in general, the unmerciful, but particularly those who have no compassion for their debtors; those who immediately go to law and rest not until the debtor is left without house or home; those who oppress widows and orphans, if they owe them anything, thus committing one of the sins which cry to heaven for vengeance; (Ecclus. xxxv. 18. 19.) those who even in just lawsuits act harshly and severely with their opponent, without the slightest inclination to come to an agreement with him; finally, rulers and landlords who overburden their subjects with excessive tithes and taxes, and exact their share with the greatest rigor.


Who are those who accuse these hardened men before God?

They are the guardian angels and their own conscience; the merciless act itself cries to God for vengeance.


What is at to forgive from the heart?

It is to banish from the heart all hatred, ill-will and revengeful desires, to treasure a true and sincere love towards our offenders and enemies not only in our hearts, but also manifest it externally by deeds of charity. Therefore those have not forgiven from their hearts, who, indeed, say and believe, that they have no ill-will against their enemy, but everywhere avoid him, refuse to salute him, to thank him, to pray for him, to speak to him, and to help him in necessity, even when they might do so, but who rather rejoice at his need.




INSTRUCTION ON THE VIRTUE OF PATIENCE

Have patience with me. (Matt. xviii. 26.)

Since God has such great patience with us, ought not this to move us to have patience likewise with the faults and weaknesses of our fellow-men, and to resign ourselves patiently in all the sufferings and tribulations sent us from God? What will your impatience avail you? Will you thereby change or ease your sufferings? Do you thereby correct the faults of your neighbor? No; on the contrary, it makes suffering more oppressive, misfortune greater, and the erring neighbor more obstinate, so that he will ultimately refuse even mild and patient corrections. Besides impatience leads to many sins, to cursing, raillery, quarrelling,. contention, and murder. The pious Job gives us a good example of true patience and resignation to the will of God. He was a wealthy, respected, God-fearing man in the land of Hus, the father of seven sons and three daughters, and lived peacefully and happy. God wished to try him and permitted the devil to vent his entire rage upon him. Job was deprived of his children and all his property, and, finally, he was himself afflicted with the most painful disease of leprosy. But in the midst of all these dreadful misfortunes he remained calm. Naked, covered only with a few patches, he sits on a dunghill, a picture of misery, and yet no sound of murmuring comes from his lips, he does not curse, does not blaspheme God, but says resignedly: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: as it hath pleased the Lord, so is it done: blessed be the name of the Lord. To all this misery was added the baseness of his own wife, who came and mocked him, and of three intimate friends, who instead of consoling him, judged him falsely and said, that his misery was a just punishment from heaven.

Still Job did not murmur against God's wise dispensations; with unshaken patience he faithfully confided in God, and he was not forsaken. God rewarded him well for his fidelity and patience; for He restored him to health, and gave him greater wealth than he had previously. See what patience can do, what reward is in store for it! And thou a Christian, a follower of Christ, the patient, crucified Lamb, art immediately irritated, become angry and morose at every little cross which you meet! Be ashamed of your weakness, and learn from the pious Job, to practice the virtue of patience, for patience proves hope, and hope permits us not to be put to shame. Patience always gains the victory, and will be rewarded in heaven.

If you find yourself inclined to impatience, make every morning a firm resolution to battle bravely against this vice and often ask God for the virtue of patience in the following prayer:

O God who by the patience of Thy only-begotten Son hast humbled the pride of the old enemy, vouchsafe that devoutly considering what He has suffered for us we may cheerfully bear our adversities, through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, etc.

Print this item

  Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden to Our Lord in Honor of His Sufferings
Posted by: Stone - 10-17-2021, 06:04 AM - Forum: In Honor of Our Lord - Replies (1)

The Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget to our Suffering Lord Jesus Christ

[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3...%3DApi&f=1]


For a long time, St. Bridget wanted to know the number of wounds Our Lord received during His Passion. He one day appeared to her and said, “I received 5480 blows on My Body. If you wish to honor them in some way, say 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys with the following Prayers (which He taught her) for a whole year. When the year is up, you will have honored each one of My Wounds.”


First Prayer

1 Our Father...

(Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.)

1 Hail Mary...

(Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.)

O Jesus Christ! Eternal Sweetness to those who love Thee. Joy surpassing all joy and all desire. Salvation and Hope of all sinners. Who hast proved that Thou hast no greater desire than to be among men, even assuming human nature at the fullness of time for the love of men, recall all the sufferings Thou hast endured from the instant of Thy Conception and especially during Thy Passion, as it was decreed and ordained from all Eternity in the Divine Plan. Remember, O Lord, that during the Last Supper with Thy disciples, having washed their feet, Thou gavest them Thy Most Precious Body and Blood and while at the same time Thou didst sweetly console them, Thou didst foretell them Thy coming Passion.

Remember the sadness and bitterness which Thou didst experience in Thy Soul as Thou Thyself bore witness saying, “My soul is sorrowful even unto death.” Remember the fear, anguish and pain that Thou didst suffer in Thy Delicate Body before the torment of the Crucifixion, when, after having prayed three times, bathed in a sweat of blood. Thou wast betrayed by Judas, Thy disciple. Arrested by the people of a nation Thou hadst chosen and elevated. Accused by false witnesses. Unjustly judged by three judges during the Flower of Thy Youth and during the Solemn Paschal Season. Remember that Thou wast despoiled of Thy Garments and clothed in those of derision. That Thy Face and Eyes were veiled. That Thou wast buffeted, crowned with thorns and a reed placed in Thy Hands. That Thou was crushed with blows and overwhelmed with affronts and outrages. In memory of all these pains and sufferings which Thou didst endure before Thy Passion on the Cross, grant me before my death, true contrition, a sincere and entire confession worthy satisfaction and the remission of all my sins. Amen.


Second Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! True Liberty of Angels, Paradise of Delights, remember the horror and sadness which Thou didst endure when Thy enemies, like furious lions, surrounded Thee and by thousands of insults, spits, blows, lacerations and other unheard of cruelties, tormented Thee at will. In consideration of these torments and insulting words, I beseech Thee, O My Savior, to deliver me from all my enemies, visible and invisible and to bring me under Thy Protection to the perfection of Eternal Salvation. Amen.


Third Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Creator of Heaven and earth. Whom nothing can encompass or limit. Thou who dost enfold and hold all under Thy Loving Power, remember the very bitter pain Thou didst suffer when the Jews nailed Thy Sacred Hands and Feet to the Cross by blow after blow with big blunt nails and not finding Thee in a pitiable enough state to satisfy their rage, they enlarged Thy Wounds and added pain to pain and with indescribable cruelty, stretched Thy Body on the Cross, pulled Thee from all sides thus dislocating Thy Limbs. I beg of Thee, O Jesus, by the memory of this most Loving Suffering of the Cross, to grant me the Grace to fear Thee and to love Thee. Amen.


Fourth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Heavenly Physician, raised aloft on the Cross to heal our wounds with Thine. Remember the bruises which Thou didst suffer and the weakness of all Thy Members which were distended to such a degree that never was there pain like unto Thine. From the Crown of Thy Head to the Soles of Thy Feet, there was not one spot on Thy Body that was not in torment and yet, forgetting all Thy Sufferings, Thou didst not cease to pray to Thy Heavenly Father for Thy enemies saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Through this Great Mercy and in memory of this suffering, grant that the remembrance of Thy Most Bitter Passion may effect in us, a perfect contrition and the remission of all our sins. Amen.


Fifth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Mirror of Eternal Splendor, remember the sadness which Thou experienced when contemplating in the Light of Thy Divinity, the predestination of those who would be saved by the Merits of Thy Sacred Passion, Thou didst see at the same time, the great multitude of reprobates who would be damned for their sins and Thou didst complain bitterly of those hopeless lost and unfortunate sinners. Through this Abyss of Compassion and Pity, and especially through the Goodness which Thou displayed to the good thief when Thou didst say to him, “This day, thou shalt be with Me in Paradise.” I beg of Thee, O Sweet Jesus, that at the hour of my death, Thou wilt show me Mercy. Amen.


Sixth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Beloved and Most Desirable King, remember the grief Thou didst suffer, when naked and like a common criminal, Thou was fastened and raised on the Cross. When all Thy friends abandoned Thee, except Thy Beloved Mother, who remained close to Thee during Thy Agony and whom Thou didst entrust to Thy faithful disciple when Thou saidst to Mary, “Woman, behold thy son!” and to St. John, “Son, behold thy Mother!” I beg of Thee, O My Savior, by the sword of sorrow which pierced the soul of Thy Holy Mother, to have compassion on me in all my trials and tribulations, both corporal and spiritual, and to assist me in all my trials, and especially at the hour of my death. Amen


Seventh Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Inexhaustible Fountain of Compassion. Who by a profound gesture of Love, said from the Cross, “I thirst!” Suffered from the thirst for the salvation of the human race. I beg of Thee, O My Savior, to inflame in our hearts the desire to tend toward perfection in all our acts and to extinguish in us the concupiscence of the flesh and the ardor of worldly desires. Amen.


Eighth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Sweetness of Hearts, Delight of The Spirit, by the bitterness of the vinegar and gall which Thou didst taste on the Cross for Love of us, grant us the grace to receive worthily, Thy Precious Body and Blood during our life and at the hour of our death, that They may serve as a remedy and consolation for our souls. Amen.


Ninth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Royal Virtue, Joy of the Mind, recall the pain Thou didst endure when, plunged in an ocean of bitterness at the approach of death, insulted, outraged by the Jews, Thou didst cry out in a loud voice that Thou wast abandoned by Thy Father, saying, “ My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Through this anguish, I beg of Thee, O My Savior, not to abandon me in the terrors and pains of my death. Amen.


Tenth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Who art the beginning and end of all things, life and virtue, remember that for our sakes, Thou was plunged in an abyss of suffering from the Soles of Thy Feet to the Crown of Thy Head. In consideration of the enormity of Thy Wounds, teach me to keep, through pure love, Thy Commandments, whose way is wide and easy for those who love Thee. Amen.


Eleventh Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Deep Abyss of Mercy. I beg of Thee, in memory of Thy Wounds which penetrated to the very Marrow of Thy Bones and to the Depth of Thy Being, to draw me, a miserable sinner, overwhelmed by my offenses, away from sin and to hide me in Thy Wounds until Thy anger and just indignation shall have passed away. Amen.


Twelfth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Mirror of Truth, Symbol of Unity, Link of Charity, remember the multitude of wounds with which Thou wast covered from head to foot, torn and reddened by the spilling of Thy Adorable Blood. O Great and Universal Pain which Thou didst suffer in Thy Virginal Flesh for the love of us! Sweetest Jesus! What is there that Thou couldst have done for us that Thou hast not done?! May the Fruit of Thy Sufferings be renewed in my soul by the faithful remembrance of Thy Passion, and may Thy Love increase in my heart each day until I see Thee in Eternity. Thou who art the treasury of every real good and every joy, which I beg Thee to grant me, O Sweetest Jesus, in Heaven. Amen.


Thirteenth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Strong Lion, Immortal and Invincible King, remember the pain which Thou didst endure when all Thy Strength both moral and physical, was entirely exhausted, Thou didst bow Thy Head saying, “It is consummated!” Through this anguish and grief, I beg of Thee Lord Jesus, to have mercy on me at the hour of my death when my mind will be greatly troubled and my soul will be in anguish. Amen.


Fourteenth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! Only Son of the Father, Splendor and Figure of His Substance, remember the simple and humble recommendation Thou didst make of Thy Soul to Thy Heavenly Father saying, “Father, into Thy Hands, I commend My Spirit!” And with Thy Body all torn, Thy Heart broken and the Bowels of Thy Mercy open to redeem us, Thou didst expire. By this Precious Death, I beg of Thee, O King of Saints, comfort me and help me to resist the devil, the flesh and the world, so that being dead to the world, I may live to Thee alone. I beg of Thee, at the hour of my death, to receive me, a pilgrim and an exile returning to Thee. Amen.


Fifteenth Prayer

1 Our Father...

1 Hail Mary...

O Jesus! True and Fruitful Vine, remember the abundant outpouring of Blood which Thou didst so generously shed from Thy Sacred Body as juice from grapes in a wine press. From Thy Side, pierced with a lance by a soldier, Blood and Water issued forth until there was not left in Thy Body a single drop and finally, like a bundle of myrrh, lifted to the top of the Cross, Thy Delicate Flesh was destroyed, the very Substance of Thy Body withered and the Marrow of Thy Bones dried up. Through this bitter Passion and through the outpouring of Thy Precious Blood, I beg of Thee, O Sweet Jesus, to receive my soul when I am in my death agony. Amen.

Print this item

  Sorrowful Heart of Mary Newsletter - August to October 2021
Posted by: Stone - 10-16-2021, 07:31 AM - Forum: Sorrowful Heart of Mary - Replies (2)

[Image: Capture.png]

You can view this newsletter in your browser here or download here
The text of Father's Newsletter follows below.



✠ ✠ ✠



“PUT AWAY YOUR TOYS!”
- Bp. Williamson, November 2014

August-October 2021


Dear Faithful Followers of Christ the King!

If Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre were still on earth, what would he say? What would he do? What advice would he now give to the four bishops he consecrated in order to preserve Catholic Tradition?

The answer is not just in the clouds, mere speculation. He clearly laid down the direction he would take in the future, both in words and action. We have the treasure of his many quotes opposing any further (fruitless) dialogue with Modernist Rome. And not just words, he also founded five seminaries to form the future priests to be holy, sanctifiers of souls through the Mass and sacraments, and battlers against Modernism, the Second Vatican Council and the New Mass.

Never would this great prelate of the Church, Abp. Lefebvre, shoot down the zeal of the faithful, preserving in the Catholic Tradition! On the contrary, he was the one encouraging them to fight harder, to think bigger, to give more generously, to spread the Social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ everywhere; in politics, economics, arts, laws, nations, cities, towns, everywhere, without exception! His spirit was exactly the opposite of the one who said to those faithful, desirous to see Catholic Tradition revive and continue, “Put away your toys!

Quite the opposite! Abp. Lefebvre never looked with scorn or called “toys” the zeal and Catholicity of the faithful, or their desire to see a new generation of priests and making new Traditional apostolates, to replace the compromised ones of the Conciliar-SSPX. Furthermore, rather than tell them to “put away” such thoughts and desires, he encouraged his priests and faithful to fight wholeheartedly for the restoration of Christendom!

Step back nine years ago, after the Revolution of 2012 within the Society of St. Pius X, Catholics clinging to Tradition sought desperately for at least one of the bishops to simply continue the work of Abp. Lefebvre and maintain his sound position. Seeing Bp. Fellay was set on the course of compromise, many hoped that Bp. Williamson would fill-in the gap. But, on the contrary, they were told by him “Put away your toys!

However, if the tables were turned, how would the Archbishop apply these words to his own sons?

First to Bishop Fellay. He would tell him to “Put away your toys!”  - put away these dreams of recognition and acceptance from Modernist Rome. Abp. Lefebvre would tell him to absolutely burn the following: the Doctrinal Declaration of April 15, 2012, the Six Conditions For An Agreement With Rome, the General Chapter Statement of 2012, the delusional praise for the slippery document “Summorum Pontificum” in 2007 (which equates the Tridentine Mass with the Novus Ordo!), the begging that the badge of honor of excommunication of ‘88, be lifted in 2009, the acceptance of jurisdiction for Confessions (in 2015), Holy Orders and Marriages, thus partially inserting the Society under the Modernist bishops which the Archbishop warned is the greatest danger to the faithful, as well as the priests! He would order him to rehabilitate the many good standing priests he expelled, silenced and unjustly punished. God only knows what punishment he would give to the very one responsible for the highest treachery, by compromising Catholic Tradition with the Conciliar Church, contrary to all his warnings!

Second, Bp. Williamson. “Don’t be under any illusion: it’s not going to be me who puts together a new SSPX. No way! The time for that is over. Put away your toys everybody and get with it. Grow up!” Abp. Lefebvre rather would strongly reprimand him, rather than the faithful, to whom this scandalous phrase was directed! What exactly are these “toys”? They are the following: misleading souls by teaching that the New Mass is a source of grace, that it can nourish your faith, that it’s dubious “miracles” should be believed and promoted, seminary vocations should be discouraged as well as seminaries themselves! Choosing the “least contaminated” Masses to attend, even the least dogmatic sedevacantist Masses. Further errors are: the problem with Vatican II is that it’s ambiguous, you can attend Mass at the Indult / Motu Proprio, the Conciliar-SSPX and Feeneyite chapels, no problem. Abp. Lefebvre opposed him on all these points, and saved souls by the clarity of the Truth, not muddling them with confusion and cushioning the New Mass, called by Our Lord the “abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place!” (St. Matthew 24:15). (See list of his errors  here on The Recusant).

Bishops Bernard Tissier de Mallerais & Alphonso de Galerreta, lastly. These two were strongly opposed to the Liberal direction of Bp. Fellay, at first. Many do not know of the excellent rebuttal Bp. de Galarreta made against the proposed Doctrinal Declaration in 2011 (then called the “Doctrinal Preamble”). He warned Bp. Fellay: “We must refuse this path because we cannot do evil that good may come from it (a good that is, moreover, uncertain!) and because this would necessarily also bring about certain evils against the common good that we possess, namely that of the Society and the Family of Tradition...If we make an agreement we will lose freedom of speech, we will have to silence our criticisms of the facts, of the authorities and even some texts of the Council and post-Conciliar magisterium!...For the good of the Society and Tradition, this ’Pandora’s Box’ must be closed as quickly as possible, to avoid the stigma and the demolition of authority, disputes, dissensions and divisions, perhaps with no return!” (cf. Is This Operation Suicide? By Stephen Fox. See entire document here p. 193-197).

There was a time when Bp. Tissier de Mallerais consistently held Archbishop Lefebvre’s position in his words, interviews and books. In the Interview he had on June 1, 2012, with “Rivarol”, the following exchange occurred.

Rivarol: Some believe that the proposed statute of the personal prelature to the Society will provide a sufficient guarantee against the danger of abandoning the fight for the Faith.

Bp. Tissier: That is incorrect. According to the project of the personal prelature, we would not be free to open new priories without the permission of the local bishops and, additionally, all our recent foundations would have to be approved by these same bishops. It would consequently mean subjugating ourselves unnecessarily to an overall Modernist episcopate.

Unfortunately, Bp. Tissier has not taken concrete steps to oppose the undermining of Abp. Lefebvre’s work, perhaps due to ill health or weakness. Bp. Galarreta unfortunately changed positions and was heard to say publicly that if the Superior General decides to seek normalization with Modernist Rome, “Too bad, we will just have to go with it.” This is, moreover, substantiated by his own inaction.

So how would Abp. Lefebvre apply to these two, the notorious phrase “Put away your toys?” He would ask them to abandon their inaction and silent compromise and come back to their former position, and to act upon it! He would remind them that we can never put the organization or institution of the Society or any congregation, above the Faith! “But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity!” (Apocalypse 2:4). They should be leading the Catholic Resistance by simply continuing the position and work of Abp. Lefebvre, which is what the true Catholic Resistance is all about!

So many faces dropped and hearts were soured by the retort made by one bishop to the faithful when he said “Put away your toys!” The scattered sheep, scandalized by the Modernist direction of the New-SSPX, were hoping that at least one of Abp. Lefebvre’s sons would continue the Fight for Tradition, simply, as he had done! Just continue! No new doctrines, no new methods, no new smiling approaches with Modernist Rome, just continue what Abp. Lefebvre passed down to us faithfully, until Rome comes back to Tradition! The graces, growth and good fruits were all there!

So, it is not too far-fetched to conjecture that Abp. Lefebvre, rather than hurl such sarcasm at the struggling souls who expect leadership, and rightly so, from their bishops of Tradition, would on the contrary, direct this phrase to his own bishops and priests in the most severe time of crisis, and say: “Follow what I laid down, continue the work of Tradition without compromise, don’t make excuses for the sterile, fruitless New Mass, sanctify souls and, rather than please men and seek approval from the anti-Christs in Rome, ‘Put away your toys!’ and continue the Combat for the Faith!!” Here are his own words:

My Dear Friends, The See of Peter and the posts of authority in Rome being occupied by anti-Christs, the destruction of the Kingdom of our Lord is being rapidly carried out even within His Mystical Body here below, especially through the corruption of the Holy Mass…The corruption of the Holy Mass has brought the corruption of the priesthood and the universal decadence of Faith in the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

“...This is what has brought down upon our heads persecution by the Rome of the anti-Christs. Since this Rome, Modernist and Liberal, is carrying on its work of destruction of the Kingdom of Our Lord, as Assisi and the confirmation of the liberal theses of Vatican II on Religious Liberty prove, I find myself constrained by Divine Providence to pass on the grace of the Catholic episcopacy which I received, in order that the Church and the Catholic priesthood continue to subsist for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
“That is why...I will bestow this grace upon you, confident that without too long a delay the See of Peter will be occupied by a successor of Peter who is perfectly Catholic, and into whose hands you will be able to put back the grace of your episcopacy so that he may confirm it.” (cf. Letter to the Future Bishops, by Abp. Marcel Lefebvre, August 29, 1987).

Take note, this was 34 years ago! Things are far worse and we seem to be miles away from a perfectly Catholic Pope!

Let us pray for our prelates of Tradition, they can easily reignite the fire of the Faith and prepare Our Lady’s victory if they just do what our Founder did!

O’ Queen of the Holy Rosary, help us!

In Christ the King,
Fr. David Hewko

Print this item

  October 16th – St. Hedwige, Widow
Posted by: Stone - 10-16-2021, 06:06 AM - Forum: October - No Replies

October 16 – St. Hedwige, Widow
Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger  (1841-1875)

[Image: 6.jpg?w=320&ssl=1]


At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the plateau of Upper Asia poured down a fresh torrent of barbarians, more terrible than all their predecessors. The one fragile barrier, which the Græco-Slavonian civilization could oppose to the Mongols had been swept away by the first wave of the invasion; not one of the States formed under the protection of the Byzantine Church had any prospect for the future. But beyond this Ruthania, which had fallen into dissolution before being conquered, the Roman Church had had time to form a brave and generous people: when the hour arrived, Poland was ready. The Mongols were already inundating Silesia when, in the plains of Liegnitz, they found themselves confronted by an army of thirty thousand warriors, headed by the Duke of Silesia, Henry the Pious. The encounter was terrible; the victory remained long undecided, until at length, by the odious treason of some Ruthanian princes, it turned in favor of the barbarians. Duke Henry and the flower of the Polish knighthood was left upon the battlefield. But their defeat was equal to a victory. The Mongols retired exhausted, for they had measured their strength with the soldiers of the Latin Christianity.

It is Poland’s happy lot that at each decisive epoch in its history a Saint appears to point out the road to the attainment of its glorious destiny. Over the battlefield of Liegnitz shines the gentle figure of St. Hedwige, mother of Duke Henry the Pious. She had retired, in her widowhood, into the Cistercian monastery of Trebnitz, founded by herself. Three years before the coming of the barbarians, she had had a revelation touching the future fate of her son. She offered her sacrifice in silence; and far from discouraging the young duke, she was the first to animate him to resistance.

The night following the battle, she awoke one of her companions, and said to her: “Demundis, know that I have lost my son. My beloved son has fled from me, like a bird on the wing; I shall never see my son again in this life.” Demundis endeavored to console her; no courier had arrived from the army, and her fears were vain. “It is but too true,” replied the duchess; “but mention it to no one.”

Three days later the fatal news was confirmed. “It is the will of God,” said Hedwige; “what God wills, and what pleases him, must please us also.” And rejoicing in the Lord: “I thank thee, O my God,” said she, raising her hands and eyes to heaven, “for having given me such a son. He loved me all his life, always treated me with great respect, and never grieved me. I much desired to have him with me on earth, but I congratulate him with my whole soul, for that by the shedding of his blood he is united with thee in heaven, with thee his Creator. I recommend his soul to thee, O Lord my God.” No less an example was needed to sustain Poland under the new task it had just accepted.

At Liegnitz it had raised up again the sword of Christendom, fallen from the feeble hands of Ruthenia. It became henceforth as a watchful sentinel, ever ready to defend Europe against the barbarians. Ninety-three times did the Tartars rush upon Christendom, thirsting for blood and rapine: ninety-three times Poland repulsed them at the edge of the sword, or had the grief to see the country laid waste, the towns burnt down, the flower of the nation carried into captivity. By these sacrifices it bore the brunt of the invasion, and deadened the blow for the rest of Europe. As long as blood and tears and victims were required, Poland gave them unstintedly; while the other European nations enjoyed the security purchased by this continual immolation.

This touching page will be completed by the Church’s story, where the part played by the saintly duchess is so well brought forward.

Quote:Hedwige was illustrious for her royal descent, but still more so for the innocence of her life. She was maternal aunt to St. Elizabeth, the daughter of the king of Hungary; and her parents were Berthold and Agnes, Marquis and Marchioness of Moravia. From childhood she was remarkable for her self-control, for at that tender age she refrained from all childish sports. At the age of twelve, her parents gave her in marriage to Henry, Duke of Poland. She was a faithful and holy wife and mother, and brought up her children in the fear of God. In order the more freely to attend to God, she persuaded her husband to make with her a mutual vow of continency. After his death, she was inspired by God, whose guidance she had earnestly implored, to take the Cistercian habit; which she did with great devotion in the monastery of Trebnitz. Here she gave herself up to divine contemplation, spending the whole time from sunrise till noon in assisting at the Divine Office and the holy Sacrifice. The old enemy of mankind she utterly despised.

She would neither speak of wordly affairs nor hear them spoken of, unless they affected the interests of God or the salvation of souls. All her actions were governed by prudence, and it was impossible to find in them anything excessive or disorderly. She was full of gentleness and affability towards all. She triumphed completely over her flesh by afflicting it with fasting, watching, and rough garments. She was adorned moreover with the noblest Christian virtues; she was exceedingly prudent in giving counsel; pure and tranquil in mind; so as to be a model of religious perfection. Yet she ever strove to place herself below all the nuns; eagerly choosing the lowest offices in the house. She would serve the poor, on her knees, and wash and kiss the feet of lepers, so far overcoming herself as not to be repulsed by their loathsome ulcers.

Her patience and strength of soul were admirable; especially at the death of her dearly-loved son, Henry Duke of Silesia, who fell fighting against the Tartars; for she thought rather of giving thanks to God, than of weeping for her son. Miracles added to her renown. A child, that had fallen into a mill-stream and was bruised and crushed by the wheels, was immediately restored to life when the Saint was invoked. Many other miracles wrought by her having been duly examined, Clement IV enrolled her among the Saints; and allowed her feast to be celebrated on the fifteenth of October, in Poland, where she is very greatly honored as Patroness of the country. Innocent XI extended her Office to the whole Church, fixing it on the seventeenth of October.

Daughter of Abraham according to faith, thou didst imitate his heroism. Thy first reward was to find a worthy son in him thou offeredst to the Lord. Thy example is most welcome in this month, wherein the Church sets before us the death of Judas Machabeus. As glorious as his was the death of thy Henry; but it was also a fruitful death. Of thy six children he alone, the Isaac offered and immolated to God, was permitted to propagate thy race. And yet what a posterity is thine, since all the royal families of Europe can claim to be of thy lineage! I will make them increase exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. This promise, made to the Father of the faithful, is fulfilled once more on thy behalf, O Hedwige. God never changes; he has no need to make a new engagement; a like fidelity in any age earns from him a like reward. Mayst thou be blessed by all, O Mother of nations! Extend over all thy powerful protection; but above all others, by God’s permission, may unfortunate Poland find by experience that thy patronage is never invoked in vain!

Print this item

  German state allows ALL businesses to ban unvaxxed customers, even for groceries & other essentials
Posted by: Stone - 10-16-2021, 05:48 AM - Forum: COVID Passports - No Replies

German state allows ALL businesses to ban unvaxxed customers, even for groceries & other essentials


RT | 16 Oct, 2021

The German state of Hesse has become the first to allow businesses to deny the unvaccinated access even to basic necessities, setting a troubling precedent as its neighbors wrestle with protests against vaccination mandates.

Hessian supermarkets have been granted permission to deny the unvaccinated the right to buy food and other essentials, the state chancellery confirmed to German magazine BILD on Friday. Under the new policy, stores can decide whether to implement the ‘2G rule’, which means allowing entry only to the vaccinated and recovered (‘geimpft’ and ‘genesen’ in German) or the more lax ‘3G rule’, encompassing those who have tested negative for the virus (getestet).

ALSO: ‘It’s about fairness’: Germany scraps Covid quarantine compensation for unvaccinated workers

Minister-President Volker Bouffier somewhat bafflingly told BILD he hoped the new rule wouldn’t be widely implemented, explaining: “We expect that this option will only be used on some days and that businesses which cater to everyday needs will not make use of it.”

“The greatest protection is provided by vaccination. And still it is uncomplicated, unbureaucratic and free to get,” he boasted, noting that masking and social distancing requirements would remain in place for businesses that failed to adopt the more exclusionary 2G Rule. In exchange for admitting only vaccinated or recovered people, 2G businesses are allowed to forgo social distancing and mask mandates – perhaps a tempting tradeoff after 18 months of burdensome face coverings.

In addition to the new 2G option, hospital staff who remain unvaccinated must be tested for Covid-19 twice a week, and students are still required to mask up while seated in class.

While at least eight other German states have opened up the 2G option for certain businesses like bars, restaurants, gyms, cinemas and brothels, Hesse is the first to allow the rule at grocery stores and other retail shops.

Though other European nations like Italy and France have implemented strict vaccine requirements forbidding the unvaxxed from working (Italy) or eating at cafes (France), most leaders have stopped short of directly mandating jabs for their citizens. However, concerns about vaccine passports have sent hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to protest, even while countries like the US begin to reopen for travel – to the vaccinated only, of course.

Print this item

  Fr. Isaac Relyea Comments on the Conciliar SSPX Promotion of Vaccines
Posted by: Ruthy - 10-15-2021, 11:43 AM - Forum: The New-Conciliar SSPX - No Replies

In this video, Fr. Isaac Relyea mentions how he is shocked, that the SSPX, who were once warriors for the faith, under the saintly Archbishop Lefebvre, could promote the vaccine.

https://www.bitchute.com/video/D7ggHNviKuPP/

Print this item

  Covid Facts & Protocol
Posted by: Ruthy - 10-15-2021, 11:36 AM - Forum: Health - No Replies

This is a very good video with some great information from Dr. Bryan Ardis, on covid vaccine. What is does and how to help. If you go to his website: here
He has a protection protocol to download.


https://rumble.com/vn8f7n-dr-ardis.html

Print this item

  Pfizer whistleblower says vaccine ‘glows,’ contains toxic luciferase, graphene oxide compounds
Posted by: Stone - 10-15-2021, 07:35 AM - Forum: COVID Vaccines - No Replies

BOMBSHELL: Pfizer whistleblower says vaccine ‘glows,’ contains toxic luciferase, graphene oxide compounds
Melissa Strickler, a Christian, tells Jim Hale in an exclusive LifeSite interview that Pfizer's jab includes toxic chemicals, after having just been fired by Pfizer. 

[Image: MicrosoftTeams-image-4-810x500.jpg]

Thu Oct 14, 2021

(LifeSiteNews) — Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine vials glow fluorescent blue and contain an enzyme called Luciferase, a quality inspector for the drug company told LifeSiteNews in an exclusive interview this week.

“The vaccine glows, at least Pfizer’s does,” Melissa Strickler, who worked for the pharmaceutical giant for nearly 10 years, said. “It looks like someone took a blue glowstick, cracked it open and put it in the vial, but only if there is light and it is around a dark background.”

Strickler, who worked at Pfizer’s large McPherson, Kansas plant, said she has inspected “hundreds of thousands of units” of vaccines in her career at the company “and never once seen anything do that, not even close.” Usually, the fluid in vials are clear like water, she said, but she photographed vials when she noticed the blue fluorescent tinge to the fluid and inquired about the ingredient to superiors.


Luciferase not on the label

Strickler said she heard a doctor describe codes for ingredients in the vaccines, including the codes SM102 for luciferase, a glow-in-the dark enzyme produced in fireflies, plants and fish that is used in bioluminescence research. Depending on different chemicals that it is mixed with, luciferase will glow different colors.

A bright blue luciferase was identified in a report in the journal Nature Scientific Reports in 2020, for example, and is only visible under UV lights of certain wavelengths.

Strickler told LifeSite that she emailed the company and asked if luciferase was in the Covid vaccine and was told that it was “only used in the testing of the vaccine,” but would not be included in the final product. “But the way I see this is the whole thing is experimental,” Strickler said.

“We haven’t even seen the Comirnaty labels being put on the vials in that plant yet,” Strickler said, referring to the tradename for the vaccine that the Food and Drug Administration approved in August. “As far as I know, everyone is still receiving that Emergency Use Authorization” original product.


Aborted fetal cells in development

In an explosive interview with Project Veritas made public last week, Strickler revealed insider Pfizer emails from high-level employees directing lower- level workers to not discuss the role of aborted fetal cells in the development of its Covid shots with the public.

Vanessa Gelman, Pfizer senior director of worldwide research, sent an email to an employee asking how to respond to a question about the use of aborted cells in its Covid vaccine.

“From the prospective of corporate affairs we want to avoid having the information on fetal cells floating out there. The risk of communicating this right now outweighs any potential benefit we could see, particularly with general members of the public who could take this information and use it in ways we may not want out there,” the email stated.

Other emails from Pfizer vice president and chief scientific officer Philip Dormitzer discussed the role of human embryonic kidney cells (HEK 293 cells) harvested from an aborted baby girl in 1973 and reproduced in a continuous line of cells used in the production of Pfizer’s Covid shot.

Strickler said the cells were chosen because of their ability to grow and are basically “cancerous cells” from an aborted baby.


‘What else?’

“It made me sick to my stomach because, if they’re going to lie about something like this, what else?” Strickler remarked. “It’s actually one of the things that if the public knew, they definitely would care.”

Thousands of people have sought exemptions from workplace Covid vaccine mandates on grounds of religious or conscience exemptions citing the use of fetal cells in the development of Covid vaccines and have been denied their requests. Social media platforms have routinely deleted posts about fetal tissue in Covid vaccine development and mainstream media have “fact-checked” reports as “misinformation.” Strickler said that Pfizer knows this.


‘They’re just deceitful’

“They’re just simply being deceitful. I mean, they could end the conspiracy theories, they could correct the fact-checkers on social media and they remain silent because they know if they do say, ‘yeah, we did use fetal cell lines in the development of this,’ they know that they’re not able to deny the religious exemptions. I think that’s what it’s about.

“It’s wrong in my opinion to benefit from an abortion. I don’t think God would want us doing those things. But it goes deeper than that as to public deceit and they’re trying to give it to children.”


Gene editing

“I thought all this stuff was conspiracy things,” Strickler told LifeSite reporter Jim Hale. She described the deceit from Pfizer as “endless,” however. “I don’t think they’ve been honest about a single thing about this vaccine other than it’s experimental. And that it’s mRNA technology.”

She added that the mRNA technology of the vaccines could be used with CRISPR technology for gene editing and that fact is also being obscured to the public in messages from Pfizer, the mainstream media and government.


Pfizer employees ready to quit

Strickler said that before Covid she had enjoyed her job as a product inspector but that since the pandemic began many employees have “vaccine regret” after getting the shots and “a lot of people refused to get it. In fact, over half of the employees are willing to walk out over this and Pfizer knows that.”

Strickler compared the drug giant with an “abusive, rich husband.” She said the company offers excellent benefits and pay, “but they don’t exactly treat you the best in the sense that they don’t seem to value all their employees equally.”

She described frequent “virtue signaling” emails sent to employees, including one proclaiming Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla “Father of the Year.”

Strickler said she had often wanted to quit after Covid vaccine manufacturing began at the McPherson plant and had prayed about it, but felt compelled to hang on, until she discovered a database of explosive and deceitful company emails that she eventually exposed to Project Veritas.

After the exposé aired, Strickler received a phone call from an employee at Pfizer telling her not to come to work again and a letter from the company confirmed that she was fired.

LifeSite is joining Veritas in raising funds for Strickler in recognition of her bravery in speaking out in defense of truth.


Melissa needs help after being fired by Pfizer – Donate at LifeFunder.com

Print this item

  October 15th – St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin
Posted by: Stone - 10-15-2021, 06:40 AM - Forum: October - No Replies

October 15 – St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin
Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger  (1841-1875)

[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thoughtco.com%2Fthm...f=1&nofb=1]

“Although the Church triumphant in heaven, and the Church mourning here on earth appear to be completely separated,” says Bossuet on this feast, “they are nevertheless united by a sacred bond. This bond is charity, which is found in this land of exile as well as in our heavenly country; which rejoices the triumphant Saints and animates those still militant; which, descending from heaven to earth, and from Angels to men, causes earth to become a heaven, and men to become Angels. For, O holy Jerusalem, happy Church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven, although the Church thy dear sister, who lives and combats here below, ventures not to compare herself with thee, she is not the less assured that a holy love unites her to thee. It is true that she is seeking, and thou possessest; that she labors, and thou art at rest; that she hopes, and thou rejoicest. But among all these differences which separate the two so far asunder, there is this at least in common: that what the blessed spirits love, the same we mortals love. Jesus is their life, Jesus is our life; and amid their songs of rapture, and our sighs of sorrow, everywhere are heard to resound these words of the sacred Psalmist: It is good for me to adhere to my God.”

Of this sovereign good of the Church militant and triumphant, Teresa, in a time of decadence, was commissioned to remind the world, from the height of Carmel restored by her to its pristine beauty. After the cold night of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the example of her life possessed a power of irresistible attraction, which survives in her writings, drawing predestined souls after her in the footsteps of the Divine Spouse.

It was not, however, by unknown ways, that the Holy Spirit led Teresa; neither did she, the humble Teresa, make any innovations. Long before, the Apostle had declared that the Christian’s conversation is in heaven; and we saw, a few days ago, how the Areopagite formulated the teaching of the first century. After him we might mention St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, St. Gregory Nazianzen, and many other witnesses from all these churches. It has been said, and proved far more ably than we could prove it, that “no state seems to have been more fully recognized by the Fathers than that of perfect union, which is achieved in the highest contemplation; and in reading their writings, we cannot help remarking the simplicity with which they treat of it; they seem to think it frequent, and simply look upon it as the full development of the Christian life.”

In this, as in all else, Scholasticism followed the Fathers. It asserted the doctrine concerning these summits of Christian life, even at a time when the weakness of faith in the people scarcely ever left full scope to divine charity, save in the obscurity of a few unknown cloisters. In its own peculiar form, the teaching of the School was unfortunately not accessible to all; and moreover the abnormal character of that troubled epoch affected even the mystics that still remained.

It was then that the Virgin of Avila appeared in the Catholic kingdom. Wonderfully gifted by grace and by nature, she experienced the resistances of the latter, as well as the calls of God, and the purifying delays and progressive triumphs of love; the Holy Ghost, who intended her to be a mistress in the Church, led her, if one may so speak, by the classical way of the favors he reserves for the perfect. Having arrived at the mountain of God, she described the road by which she had come, without any pretension but to obey him who commanded her in the name of the Lord. With exquisite simplicity and unconsciousness of self, she related the works accomplished for her Spouse; made over to her daughters the lessons of her own experiences; and described the many mansions of that castle of the human soul, in the center of which, he that can reach it will find the holy Trinity residing as in an anticipated heaven. No more was needed: withdrawn from speculative abstractions and restored to her sublime simplicity, the Christian mystic again attracted every mind; light re-awakened love; the virtues flourished in the Church; and the baneful effects of heresy and its pretended reform were counteracted.

Doubtless Teresa invited no one to attempt, as presumptuously as vainly, to force an entrance into the uncommon paths. But if passive and infused union depends entirely upon God’s good pleasure, the union of effective and active conformity to the divine Will, without which the other would be an illusion, may be attained with the help of ordinary grace, by every man of good will. Those who possess it, “have obtained,” says the Saint, “what it was lawful for them to wish for. This is the union I have all my life desired, and have always asked of our Lord; it is also the easiest to understand, and the most secure.”

She added however: “Beware of that excessive reserve, which certain persons have, and which they take for humility. If the king deigned to grant you a favor, would it be humility to meet him with a refusal? And when the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth deigns to honor my soul with his visit, and comes to lead me with graces, and to rejoice with me, should I prove myself humble if I would not answer him, nor keep him company, nor accept his gifts, but fled from his presence and left him all alone? A strange sort of humility is that! Look upon Jesus Christ as a Father, a Brother, a Master, or a Spouse; and treat him in one or other of these ways; he himself will teach you which is the one that best pleases him and that it behooves you to choose. And then, be not so simple as to make no use of it.”

But it is said on all sides: “This way is beset with snares: such a soul was lost in it; such a one went astray; and another, who ceased not to pray, could not escape a fall … —See the inconceivable blindness of the world. It has no anxiety of those thousands of unfortunate creatures who, entirely strangers to the path of prayer, live in the most horrible excess; but if it happens, by a misfortune deplorable no doubt but very rare, that the tempter’s artifices seduce a soul the prays, they take advantage of this to inspire others with the greatest terror, and to deter them from the holy practices of virtue. Is he not the victim of a most fatal error, who believes it necessary to abstain from doing good in order to avoid doing evil? You must rise above all these fears. Endeavor to keep your conscience always pure; strengthen yourself in humility; tread under foot all earthly things; be inflexible in the faith of our mother the holy Church; and doubt not, after that, that you are on the right road.” It is too true that “when a soul finds not in herself that vigorous faith, and her transports of devotion do not strengthen her attachment to holy Church, she is in a way full of perils. The Spirit of God never inspires anything that is not conformable to holy Scripture; if there were the slightest divergence, that, of itself alone, would suffice to prove so evidently the action of the evil spirit, that were the whole world to assure me it was the divine Spirit, I would never believe it.”

But the soul may escape so great a danger by questioning those who can enlighten her. “Every Christian must, when he is able, seek out a learned guide; and the more learned the better. Such a help is still more necessary to persons given to prayer; and in the highest states, they have most need of it. I have always felt drawn to men eminent for doctrine. Some, I grant, may not have experimental knowledge of spiritual ways; but if they have not an aversion for them, they do not ignore them; and by the assistance of holy Scripture, of which they make a constant study, they always recognize the true signs of the good Spirit. The spirit of darkness has a strange dread of humble and virtuous science; he knows it will find him out, and thus his stratagems will turn to his own loss … I, an ignorant and useless creature, bless thee, O Lord, for these faithful servants of thine, who give us light. I have no more knowledge than virtue; I write by snatches, and even then with difficulty; this prevents me from spinning, and I live in a poor house where I have no lack of occupations. The mere fact of being a woman and one so imperfect, is sufficient to make me lay down the pen.”

As thou wilt, O Teresa: deliver thy soul; pass beyond that, and with Magdalene, at the recollection of what thou callest thine infidelities, water with thy tears the feet of our Lord, recognize thyself in St. Augustine’s Confessions! Yes; in those former relations with the world, although approved by obedience; in those conversations, which were honorable and virtuous: it was a fault in thee, who wast called to something higher, to withhold from God so many hours which he was inwardly urging thee to reserve for him alone. And who knows wither thy soul might have been led, hadst thou continued longer thus to wound thy Spouse? But we, whose tepidity can see nothing in thy great sins but what would be perfection in many of us, have a right to appreciate, as the Church does, both thy life and thy writings; and to pray with her, on this joyful day of thy feast, that we may be nourished with thy heavenly doctrine and kindled with thy love of God.

According to the word of the divine Canticle, in order to introduce Teresa into his most precious stores the Spouse had first to set charity in order in her soul. Having, therefore, claimed his just and sovereign rights, he at once restored her to her neighbor, more devoted and more loving than before. The Seraph’s dart did not wither nor deform her heart. At the highest summit of perfection she was destined to attain, in the very year of her blessed death, she wrote to the Prioress of Seville, Mary of St. Joseph: “If you love me much, I love you equally, I assure you; and I like you to tell me the same. Oh! how true it is, that our nature inclines us to wish for return of love! It cannot be wrong, since our Lord himself exacts a return from us. It is an advantage to resemble him in something, were it only in this.” And elsewhere, speaking of her endless journeys in the service of her divine Spouse, she says: “It cost me the greatest pain when I had to part from my daughters and sisters. They are detached from everything else in the world, but God has not given them to be detached from me; he has perhaps done this for my greater trial, for neither am I detached from them.”

No; grace never depreciates nature, which, like itself, is the Creator’s work. It consecrates it, makes it healthy, fortifies it, harmonizes it; causes the full development of its faculties to become the first and most tangible homage, publicly offered by regenerated man to Christ his Redeemer. Let anyone read that literary masterpiece, the Book of the Foundations, or the innumerable letters written by the seraphic Mother amid the devouring activity of her life; there he will see whether the heroism of faith and of all virtues, whether sanctity in its highest mystical expression, was ever prejudicial—we will not say to Teresa’s constancy, devotedness, or energy—but to that intelligence, which nothing could disconcert, swift, lively, and pleasant; to that even character, which shed its peaceful serenity on all around; to the delicate solicitude, the moderation, the exquisite tact, the amiable manners, the practical good sense, of this contemplative, whose pierced heart beat only by miracle, and whose motto was: To suffer or to die!

To the benefactor of a projected foundation she wrote: “Do not think, sir, that you will have to give only what you expect; I warn you of it. It is nothing to give money; that does not cost us much. But when we find ourselves on the point of being stoned, you and your son-in-law, and as many of us as have to do with this affair (as it nearly happened to us at the foundation of St. Joseph’s at Avila), Oh! then will be the good time!” It was on occasion of this same foundation at Toledo, which was in fact very stormy, that the Saint said: “Teresa and three ducats are nothing; but God, Teresa, and three ducats, there you have everything.”

Teresa had to experience more than mere human privations: there came a time when God himself seemed to fail her. Like Philip Benizi before her, and after her Joseph Calasanctius and Alphonsus Liguori, she saw herself, her daughters, and her sons, condemned and rejected in the name and by the authority of the Vicar of Christ. It was one of those occasions, long before prophesied, when it is given to the beast to make war with the saints and to overcome them. We have not space to relate all the sad circumstances; and why should we do so? The old enemy had then one manner of acting, which he repeated in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, and will always repeat. In like manner, God has but one aim in permitting the evil, viz: to lead his chosen ones to that lofty summit of crucifying union, where he, who willed to be first to taste the bitter dregs of the chalice, could say more truly and more painfully than any other: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

The Church thus abridges the life of the reformer of Carmel.

Quote:The virgin Teresa was born at Avila in Spain, of parents illustrious for nobility and virtue. She was brought up by the in the fear of God; and while still very young, she gave admirable promise of her future sanctity. While reading the Acts of the holy martyrs, she was so enkindled with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that she ran away from home, resolved to cross over to Africa, and there to lay down her life for the glory of Jesus Christ and the salvation of souls. She was brought back by her uncle; but her heart still burned with the desire of martyrdom, which she endeavored to satisfy by alms-deeds and other works of piety, weeping continually to see herself deprived of that happy lot. On the death of her mother she begged the Blessed Virgin to be a Mother to her; and she gained her request, for, ever afterwards the Mother of God cherished her as a daughter. In the twentieth year of her age she joined the Nuns of St. Mary of Mount Carmel; and spend eighteen years in that monastery, enduring severe illnesses and many trials. While she was thus courageously battling in the ranks of Christian penance, she was deprived of the support of heavenly consolations, in which the saints usually abound, even on this earth.

She was adorned with angelic virtues; and her charity made her solicitous not for her own salvation alone, but for that of all mankind. Inspired by God, and with the approbation of Pius IV she restored the Carmelite rule to its primitive severity, and caused it to be thus observed first by the women and then by the men. The all-powerful blessing of our merciful God was evident in this work; for, though destitute of all human aid, and moreover opposed by many of the great ones of the world, the virgin was able, in her poverty, to build thirty-two monasteries. She wept continually over the blindness of infidels and heretics, and offered to God the voluntary maceration of her body to appease the divine anger, on their behalf. Her heart burned like a furnace of divine love; so that once she saw an Angel piercing it with a fiery darts, and heard Christ say to her, taking her hand in his: Henceforward, as my true bride, thou shalt be zealous for mine honor. By our Lord’s advice, she made the exceedingly difficult vow, always to do what she conceived to be most perfect. She wrote many works, full of divine wisdom, which arouse in the minds of the faithful the desire of their heavenly country.

Where Teresa was a pattern of every virtue, her desire of bodily mortification was most ardent; and in spite of the various maladies which afflicted her, she chastised her body with hairshirts and iron chains, scourged herself with sharp disciplines or with bundles of nettles, and sometimes would often speak thus to God: O Lord, let me either suffer or die; for she considered that as long as she was absent from the fountain of life, she was dying daily and most miserably. She was remarkable for her gift of prophecy, and was enriched to such a degree by our Lord with his divine favors, that she would often beg him to set bounds to his gifts, and not to blot out the memory of her sins so speedily. Consumed by the irresistible fire of divine love rather than by disease, after receiving the last Sacraments, and exhorting her children to peace, charity, and religious observance, she expired at Alba, on the day she had foretold; and her most pure soul was seen ascending to God in the form of a dove. She died at the age of sixty-seven, in the year 1582, on the Ides of October according to the corrected Roman Calendar. Jesus Christ was seen present at her deathbed, surrounded by Angels; and a withered tree near her cell suddenly burst into blossom. Her body has remained incorrupt to the present day, distilling a fragrant liquor; and is honored with pious veneration. She was made illustrious by miracles both before and after her death; and Gregory XV enrolled her among the Saints.

The Beloved, who revealed himself to thee, O Teresa, at death, thou hadst already found in the sufferings of this life. If anything could bring thee back to earth, it would be the desire of suffering yet more. “I am not surprised,” says Bossuet speaking in thy honor on thy feast, “that Jesus willed to die: he owed that sacrifice to his Father. But why was it necessary that he should spend his days, and finally close them, in the midst of such great pains? It is because, being the Man of sorrows, as the Prophet calls him, he would live only to endure; or, to express it more forcibly by a beautiful word of Tertullian’s: he wished to be satiated, before dying, with the luxury of suffering: Saginari voluptate patientiæ discessurus colebat. What a strange expression! One would think, according to this Father, that the whole life of our Savior was a banquet, where all the dishes consisted of torments. A strange banquet in the eyes of men, but which Jesus found to his taste! His death was sufficient for our salvation; but death was not enough to satisfy his wonderful appetite for suffering for us. It was needful to add the scourges, and that blood-stained crown that pierced his head, and all the cruel apparatus of terrible tortures; and wherefore? Living only to endure, he ‘wished to be satiated, before dying, with the luxury of suffering for us.’ Insofar that upon his Cross, seeing in the eternal decrees that there was nothing more for him to suffer, ‘Ah!’ said he, ‘it is done, all is consummated; let us go forth, for there is nothing more to do in this world;’ and immediately he gave up his soul to his Father.”

If such is the mind of Jesus our Savior, must it not also be that of his bride, Teresa of Jesus? “She too wished to suffer or to die; and her love could not endure that any other cause should retard her death, save that which deferred the death of our Savior.” Let us warm our hearts at the sight of this great example. “If we are true Christians, we must desire to be ever with Jesus Christ. Now, where are we to find this loving Savior of our souls? In what place may we embrace him? He is found in two places: in his glory and in his sufferings; on his throne and on his cross. We must, then, in order to be with him, either embrace him on his throne, which death enables us to do; or else share in his cross, and this we do by suffering; hence we must either suffer or die, if we would never be separated from our Lord. Let us suffer then, O Christians; let us suffer what it pleases God to send us: afflictions, sickness, the miseries of poverty, injuries, calumnies; let us try to carry, with steadfast courage, that portion of his cross with which he is pleased to honor us.”

O thou, whom the Church proposes to her children as a mistress and mother in the paths of the spiritual life, teach us this strong and true Christianity. Perfection, doubtless, cannot be acquired in a day; and thou didst say: “We should be much to be pitied if we could not seek and find God till we were dead to the world. God deliver us from those extremely spiritual people who, without examination or discretion, would refer everything to perfect contemplation!” But God deliver us also from those mistaken devotions which thou didst call puerile and foolish, and which were so repugnant to the uprightness and dignity of thy generous soul! Thou desirest no other prayer than that which would make thee grow in virtue. Convince us of the great principle in these matters, that “the prayer best made and most pleasing to God is that which leaves behind it the best results, proved by works; and not those sweetnesses which end in nothing but our own satisfaction.” He alone will be saved who has kept the commandments and fulfilled the law, and heaven, thy heaven, O Teresa, is the reward of the virtues thou didst practice, not of the revelations and ecstasies wherewith thou wast favored.

From the blessed abode where thy love feeds upon infinite happiness, as it was nourished on earth by sufferings, obtain that thy native Spain may carefully cherish, in these days of decadence, her beautiful title of the Catholic Kingdom. Remember the part taken by France in determining thee to undertake the reform of Carmel. May thy sons be blessed with increase in members, in merit, and in holiness! In all the lands where the Holy Ghost has multiplied thy daughters, may their hallowed homes recall those “first dovecotes of the Blessed Virgin, where the Spouse delighted to show forth the miracles of his grace.” To the triumph of the faith and the support of its defenders, thou didst direct their prayers and fasts; what an immense field now lies open to their zeal! With them and with thee, we ask of God “two things: first, that among so many men and so many religious, some may be found having the necessary qualities for usefully serving the cause of the Church, on the understanding that one perfect man can render more services than a great many who are not perfect. Secondly, that in the conflict our Lord may uphold them with his hand, enabling them to escape all dangers, and to close their ears to the songs of sirens … O God, have pity on so many perishing souls; stay the course of so many evils which afflict Christendom; and without further delay, cause thy light to shine in the midst of this darkness!”

Print this item