13th Sunday after Pentecost

I'm going to post for the next few days ahead of time, since we're going out of town. Today will be for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost as well as the vigil of our Lady's glorious Assumption. I have labeled the days for you. See you in a few.

This Sunday is the 13th after Pentecost. We will hear about all the blessings that we each have received, and how few bother to return to give thanks to God. How many of us, after we have received the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself; the One Who judge us at our passing, hardly bother to give thanks afterwards? This is especially noticeable at 'Novus Ordo' masses. It's really sickening and saddens me to no end! Our beloved Abbot Gueranger explains this phenomenon, as he does such an extraordinary job at it, much better than I ever could.

'...we are blessed with graces in abundance: eternal Wisdom has spared us the trials our forefathers had to contend with, by giving us to live in the period which has been enriched by all the mysteries of salvation. There is a danger, however, and our mother the Church does her utmost to avert us from falling into it; it is the danger of forgetting all those blessings. Ingratitude is the necessary outcome of forgetfulness, and today's Gospel justly condemns it. On this account, the Epistle, and here our Introit, remind us of the time when man had nothing to cheer him but hope: a promise had, indeed, been made to him of a sublime covenant which was, at some distant future, to be realized; but, meanwhile, he was very poor, was a prey to the wiles of satan, his cause was to be tried by divine justice, and yet he prayed for loving mercy.'

'...This day last week we were considering how important are faith and charity to a Christian who is living under the Law of grace. There is another virtue of equal necessity: it is hope; for, although we already have the substantial possession of the good things which will constitute his future happiness, the Christian is prevented by the gloom of this land of exile from seeing them. Moreover, this mortal life being essentially a period of trial, wherein each one is to win his crown, the struggle makes even the very best feel, and that right to the end, the weight of incertitude and anguish. Let us, therefore, pray with the Church, in her Collect, for an increase of the three fundamental virtues of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may deserve to reach the perfection of the good which is promised us in heaven, let us sue for the grace of devotedness to the commandments of God, which lead us to our eternal home.'

GOSPEL (Luke XVII. 11-19). At that time, As Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee: and as he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off, and lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus, master, have mercy on us. Whom, when, he saw, he said: Go, show yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, that as they went, they were made clean. And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God, and he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said: "Were not ten made clean? And where are the nine? There is no one found to return, and give glory to God, but this stranger. And he said to him: Arise go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole."

We hear in the Gospel of St. Luke, about the ten lepers who are cured by Jesus, and how just one from that group bother to come back and say thanks. This is like last week, when those of the Jewish persuasion, go past the man dying along the side of the road. Only the Samitarian bothers to stop and take care of him. This week only a Samitarian bothers to come back and give thanks to Jesus. These 'Samitarians' represent us. The blots of leprosy we have are the sins we have on our souls, and these are taken away by going to the Priest in the Confessional, and they are erased. The Jews missed the boat again, and, therefore, we must give thanks to God for all He has done for us. Especially for us who actually have the Faith which God Himself has established. And that is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, which is based in Rome, the eternal city this side of the heavenly Jerusalem. Too bad most who call themselves Catholic don't believe this. We must live up to our vows by stopping and giving thanks, especially for those who don't bother.

Why did the lepers remain standing afar off?

Because it was thus commanded in the law of Moses, (Lev. XIII. 46.) so that no one would be infected by them. From this we learn that we must carefully avoid scandalous persons and houses; for he who converses with lewd, vain and unchaste persons, will soon become like them. (Ecclus. XIII. 1.)

Christ seems to say: "I have shown mercy to many, why do they not come back to me? Why do they not even take one step towards Me by trying to do right?" The only possible answer is that many never deny themselves at all, and especially never practice any inward mortification, without which no one can draw near to Christ.


After this thought enters our heads, I want to enter a sermon from 1882. I consider it worthwhile reading. Therefore, it's here.


Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1882

>"There met Him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off."--Luke 17.

St. Augustine and the other holy fathers remark, that the words of the Holy Gospel are not only instructive, but that the deeds, of which mention is made, have almost always a spiritual signification.

Christ Himself gave us a manifest illustration, when, after the abundant haul of fishes He told St. Peter: That He would make him a fisher of men; also when He caused the tree to wither, because it did not bear good fruit. The holy fathers behold in the leprosy, of which the Gospel speaks several times, an image of sin. The reason for this comparison is very evident. There is a great deal of similarity between leprosy and sin which we should well consider.

Leprosy is one of those diseases which entirely disfigures the human body. It is at the same time a very contagious disease. This accounts for the precautions which the law of the Jews compelled them to take, in order to keep all those infected with leprosy at a distance from the others; on the other hand, we perceive the care and fear of those in health, not to come in contact with the diseased ones.

In the same manner, and still more frightfully, does sin disfigure the soul, and it is also very contagious. How just, therefore, is this warning: Avoid the company of sinners, especially of those sinners whose lives spread the infection by the bad example they give.

In this sermon, I will direct your attention to the kind of lepers you ought especially to avoid, lest the threat of Holy Scripture should be verified in you: With the wicked thou wilt become wicked.

Mary, protect us in our intercourse with evil men, when it is not in our power to avoid them! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater honor of God!

Although the company of sinners, in general, is the source of many dangers, as Holy Scripture assures us, yet there is a certain class of sinners whose company is particularly injurious to us, and whom we have to shun as much as possible. The Gospel of to-day speaks of ten lepers. And I will draw your attention to ten kinds of sinners with whom intercourse must be especially avoided.

To the first class of lepers, parents themselves but too often belong. They are those parents who do not carefully instruct their children in matters of religion, who do not urge them to prayer, who do not guide them in the path of virtue, and do not give them good example; but, on the contrary, give scandal to their own family by their bad example. They are those parents who do not care for the practice of their religion, who are themselves not instructed in matters of faith, who do not pray, nor let their children pray; who, on the contrary, by cursing and swearing, teach their children even at an early age to do the same; those who eat meat on fast-days, neglect going to Mass on Sunday, do not receive Holy Communion for a number of years, ridicule the priests and the precepts of the Church in presence of their children; who encourage them by word and example to care only for the increase of their temporal possessions, to enjoy this life to its full extent; who, perhaps, by intemperance, immoral language, immodest dress, offensive demeanor, sow the seed of the vice of impurity into the hearts of their children.

Who can calculate the number of children, especially in America, that catch the leprous infection of sin from their parents, who are covered with it from head to foot! Poor children! And when it does occur that such a child approaches a priest in the Sacrament of Penance, what is more natural than that he should advise the child: Endeavor to leave your home as soon as possible?

Yes, there are actually such monsters of moral depravity, that we are obliged to exact from their adult children the promise to leave their parental roof, under pain of being refused absolution. Terrible!

To the second class of lepers belong children whose company can not be frequented by those of their own age without danger of corruption. Familiar intercourse with brother or sister may become an occasion of sin. And the same is to be said of neighbors children and school-mates. What pest-houses of leprous children the public schools are, in many instances! and what an account will parents have to render, if, without further inquiry into the state of such schools, they send their children to them!

To the third class of lepers belong those with whom,, sooner or later social relations, bring us into contact as so-called friends, comrades, partners, associates in business, who lead a sinful life.

Fourthly, the old proverb is often verified: "Tell me your company, and I will tell you who you are." And in this respect, we ought especially to avoid the following scandal-giving sinners, namely: Willful infidels or heretics, willful contemners of the religion of Christ those who, although baptized and raised as Catholics, do not fulfill the duties of their holy religion, and encourage others, by word or example, to imitate them. To this class belong those who do not hear Mass on Sunday, never attend divine service; but, on the contrary, spend the Lord s day in idleness, in visiting ale-houses, in going out hunting, or in some diversion or other. Avoid all these.

To the fifth class belong those of other denominations, who make it a point to tempt Catholics to attend prayer-meetings or Sunday-schools, or to send their children. Beware of these.

To the sixth class belong those who are addicted to drink, and whose only thought is the gratification of their senses who pass their nights at balls, theaters, picnics, and other places of amusement. Shun these persons, and also avoid the use of intoxicating liquors of every sort.

To the seventh class belong all those who do not make their Easter duties, even if in other respects they act like Catholics, and wish to be regarded as such. They are persons who, as a rule, care only for worldly treasures and enjoyments, and who stifle Catholic life in themselves and others.

To the eighth class belong those who are wont to remain alone with persons of the opposite sex. If you wish to preserve a pure heart, whoever you are, young man or young woman, heed the following admonition, and follow it inviolably as your rule of life:

Granted that your intention is to marry, still you are never allowed to hold clandestine intercourse with persons of the opposite sex; for, as Holy Scripture assures us: "It is putting fire and straw together." Yes, even if both parties are good and innocent, they can not allow themselves secret meetings, since these are always an occasion of sin. And grant that one does not feel any temptation whatever, still the other party may, and you will be held responsible. And when parties are already engaged, there is still more reason to urge them not to remain alone, so as not to give occasion for false suspicions and insinuations.

Finally, to the tenth, and by far the most dangerous class, belong all those who, by their words, dress, forwardness, or in any manner whatsoever are occasions of temptations against holy purity.

If you value your happiness and the salvation of your soul, shun such persons, and never allow your self, under any condition, to remain near them, or to have any intercourse with them.

Flee! Only then will you conquer, and preserve your heart pure and free from the leprosy of sin! Amen!

(I don't know what happened to the ninth class, but this is the way I found it)



Let us finish with the prayer of the Magnificat:

O Almighty and Eternal God, grant unto us an increase of faith, hope, and charity: and, that we may deserve what thou promisest, make us to love what thou commandest. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns in the Unity of the Father and of the Holy Ghost, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Vigil of the Assumption

SUNDAY


Today I'm going to try to get us ready for the great Feast day of the Glorious Assumption of our Blessed Mother, body and soul, into heaven. I have chosen something from a book I have, entitled, 'Half Hours with the Servants of God', written in 1891. Certain religious people and saints have given us something to think about in every area of Church teachings. The following concerns the Assumption:

"Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun?" Canticle vi, 9.


The Holy Ghost had enkindled so ardent a flame in the heart of the Blessed Virgin, that it was really a continuous miracle that she sustained so impetuous a heavenly fire without dying, and this repeatedly burst forth from her breast. For if St. Ephrem cried out in his desert cell, and placed his hands over his heart lest it should burst and split; if St. Francis Xavier, laying bare his bosom to breathe more freely, and looking up to heaven, beseeched his merciful Lord and Master to be sparing of His favors, and to remind Him that a human heart could not endure such a flood of consoling light; what must our Blessed Lady have felt, she who received more that all the saints put together? How was it that she did not expire at every moment? How was it that she was not consumed with the flames of love divine, more especially as the Son of God, Who is love itself, had willed and chosen to dwell for nine long months in her virginal womb? Cannot we say, with St. Bernard, that her chaste interior was laden with love, that she had neither heart nor life, if we be allowed to say so; but that love was her heart, and to live for God and love Him too, was one and the same thing?

The life of the Seraphim consists in seeing God, in loving Him always, in enjoying an eternity of bliss; and, as St. Gregory observes, wherever they go, they never go out of God--they fly in the bosom of His immensity, they dwell in His heart, they exercise their divine functions in the sanctuary of His divinity.

This was then veritably the life of the Blessed Virgin; she shared the rank of the blessed in heaven, far, far above the state of mortals who lived on earth; her heart was ever near to God, and God was always in her heart; her sleep was one continual dream of love, and she could say with the spouse in the Canticle: "I sleep and my heart watcheth." (chap. v. 2.)

Doubtless the death of Mary was a greater miracle, for to what can we attribute the cause? Who can tell the cause of so wonderful death? Can we attribute the cause to sin? Oh, no; she is innocence itself; her conception is immaculate, her birth was stainless, her life without reproach; and never having been a slave of sin, she needed not to pay the debt of nature. To sickness? No; she was never ill, and her body was exempt from the gradual decay of nature. To agony? No; death would appear to be too welcome to be painful. Is it to the shafts of divine love? But love was the mainstay of her life; how could it have caused her death? To her Son's Cross? But if she was to die, why did she not die on Calvary?

It is certain that never a mother loved her son so much, because no mother had a son who was hers alone--no mother had son so loving, so perfect; there never was a mother who had a heart so inflamed with the fire of divine love. Many a time and oft, many mothers have died either with grief at seeing their children die, or with fear at seeing them on the point of dying.

How was it, then, that the Blessed Virgin did not die at the death of her Son, she who loved Him so, she who saw Him suffer such a cruel death? You will tell me, with St. Bernardine, that to live without Him was a greater martyrdom than dying with Him; because, in dying with Him, she would have been martyred only once, but in surviving Him every moment of her life was simply a torture.

What wonder, then, that her life was a species of death, and that death, thus reversing the order of nature, was a renewal of her life?

It is impossible for any one to describe the excess of glory and the sublimity of the ever Blessed Virgin's throne. We need not be astonished, as Arnold de Chartres remarks, because her glory exceeds that of all others. She has a rank of her own; her pedestal is raised considerably higher than that of the angels; the glory she possesses is not solely a glory like unto that of the Word Incarnate, it is in a certain way similar: Gloriam cum matre, non tam communem judico quam eamden.

O King of glory, it is certain that magnificence and and grandeur are inherent to Your holy habitation; You have given striking proofs of this on the feast of the Assumption of Your holy Mother. You have crowned her Queen of all saints; there is no one but the King Who precedes her. She is so glorious that one would say that it it the glory of God itself, or rather that God had her with His own glory. She is so great and powerful near You that she herself cannot fathom the extent of her power.

Le Pere Nouet, S.J.

ASSUMPTION! of Our Blessed Mother

MONDAY

Today is the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, when she was taken, body and soul, into heaven. It only makes sense that Mary should have her virginal, immaculate body, taken back into heaven where she belongs. She is our model, our help, and our hope in these times. She even helps us when we fail and fall short in doing what we are supposed to do. So, not only is she blessed, but we are too for having her as our mother!


I'm going to, as I do a lot, let our beloved Abbot Gueranger, explain it as no one does. He was instrumental in writing the thesis beforehand in 1854, when Pope Pius IX proclaimed the great Assumption we have been given to think about. The Abbot was also present during the First Vatican Council, when the proclamation of the primacy of Peter and his infallibility was in question. He is truly a saint, if you ask me. Anyway, here is the writing for the Assumption:


The Ancient Coptic Rite Icon of the Assumption states: "Today the Virgin Mary ascended to Heaven; rejoice, for She reigns with Christ forever." The Church will close Her chants on this glorious day with this sweet antiphon, which resumes the object of the Feast and the spirit in which it should be celebrated.

No other solemnity breathes, like this one, at once triumph and peace; none better answers to the enthusiasm of the many and the serenity of souls consummated in love. Assuredly that was as great a triumph when Our Lord, rising by His own power from the tomb, cast Hell into dismay; but to our souls, so abruptly drawn from the abyss of sorrows on Golgotha, the suddenness of the victory caused a sort of stupor to mingle with the joy of that greatest of days. In presence of the prostrate angels, the hesitating apostles, the women seized with fear and trembling, one felt that the divine isolation of the Conqueror of death was perceptible even to His most intimate friends, and kept them, like Magdalene, at a distance.

Mary's death, however, leaves no impression but peace; that death had no other cause than love. Being a mere creature, She could not deliver Herself from that claim of the old enemy; but leaving Her tomb filled with flowers; She mounts up to Heaven, flowing with delights, leaning upon Her Beloved (Cant. 8: 5). Amid the acclamations of the daughters of Sion, who will henceforth never cease to call Her Blessed, She ascends surrounded by choirs of heavenly spirits joyfully praising the Son of God. Never more will shadows veil, as they did on earth, the glory of the most beautiful daughter of Eve. Beyond the immovable Thrones, beyond the dazzling Cherubim, beyond the flaming Seraphim, onward She passes, delighting the heavenly city with Her sweet perfumes. She stays not till She reaches the very confines of the Divinity; close to the throne of honor where Her Son, the King of ages, reigns in justice and in power; there She is proclaimed Queen, there She will reign for evermore in mercy and in goodness.

Among the feasts of saints, this is the solemnity of solemnities. "Let the mind of man," says St. Peter Damian, "be occupied in declaring Her magnificence; let his speech reflect Her majesty. May the Sovereign of the world deign to accept the goodwill of our lips, to aid our insufficiency, to illumine with her own light the sublimity of this day."

It is no new thing, then, that Mary's triumph fills the hearts of Christians with enthusiasm. If certain ancient calendars give to this Feast the title of Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we cannot thence conclude that in those times the Feast had no other object than Mary's holy death; the Greeks, from whom we have the expression, have always included in the solemnity the glorious triumph that followed Her death.

Some authors think that the Assumption has been kept from Apostolic times; but the primitive liturgical documents are silent about it. The hesitation as to the date of its celebration, and the liberty so long allowed with regard to it, seem to point to the spontaneous initiative of divers Churches, owing to some fact attracting attention to the mystery or throwing some light upon it. Of this nature we may reckon the account everywhere spread abroad about the year 451, in which Juvenal of Jerusalem related to the Empress St. Pulcheria and her husband Marcian the history of the tomb which the Apostles had prepared for Our Lady at the foot of Mount Olivet, and which was found empty of its precious deposit. The following words of St. Andrew of Crete in the 7th century show how the solemnity of the Assumption gained ground in consequence of such circumstances. The Saint was born at Damascus, became a monk at Jerusalem, was afterwards Deacon at Constantinople, and lastly Bishop of the celebrated island from which he takes his name; no one then could speak for the East with better authority. "The present solemnity," he says, "is full of mystery, having for its object to celebrate the day whereon the Mother of God fell asleep; this solemnity is too elevated for any discourse to reach; by some this mystery has not always been celebrated, but now all love and honor it. Silence long preceded speech, but now love divulges the secret. The gift of God must be manifested, not buried; we must show it forth, not as recently discovered, but as having recovered its splendor. Some of those who lived before us knew it but imperfectly; that is no reason for always keeping silence about it; it has not become altogether obscured; let us proclaim it and keep a feast. Today let the inhabitants of Heaven and earth be united, let the joy of Angels and men be one, let every tongue exult and sing "Hail" to the Mother of God."

In 1870 an earnest desire was expressed to have the doctrine of Mary's Assumption defined as a dogma of faith; however, due to the Italian civil war, the Vatican Council was suspended too soon to complete our Lady's crown. This was accomplished in 1950, by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII.


Also, I would like to add something which was read in the 'City of God' by Venerable Mary of Agreda, that when Mary died, it was on a Friday at 3pm, like her Son. Her Assumption, again like her son, was on the following Sunday. She copied Him even in death. Also, the Apostles, who were dispersed throughout the world, were transported by angels to be at her side. The Apostles loved her, so what's wrong with protestants?


Holy Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.

Also, think about all of the souls who will be delivered on this day by our Blessed Mother! Maybe someone we know will be among these blessed souls.

ASSUMPTION--Part II

MONDAY

The following is rather long, but it bears reading to help get a better understanding of this great Dogma:

The Assumption: 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother, body and soul, into heaven.


"For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her son, the immortal King of Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." (Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus (§44), Nov. 1, 1950)

On November 1st in the Jubilee Year 1950, the Mother of God was given further honor by the proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption by Pope Pius XII. Nearly one hundred years earlier (1854), Pope Pius IX had proclaimed her to be conceived immaculate.

The dogma of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Mary is an honor resembling a great star illuminating the "sea" of the 20th century, just as the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was for the 19th. The dogmatic definition of the Assumption adds another crown to the Holy Virgin and constitutes another motive which strengthens devotion towards her. The dogma proclaiming that the body and soul of the Mother of God was taken into heaven constitutes a truth revealed by God which had been accepted by the Christian people since the early centuries of the Catholic Church. This dogma represents one of the many appeals of our Lady to her children so that they don't fall into the grasp of her eternal enemy who is trying until the end of the world to infiltrate his evil designs and sink the bark of Peter. The devil calls on his allies to achieve his aims.

It is very important to bear in mind that Marian devotion constitutes a mother's help to protect her children. In addition, the fundamental plan of Divine Providence for the eternal salvation of humanity includes devotion to Mary. Soon after the sin of Adam and Eve, God promised the Redeemer (the new Adam) to come through our Lady (the new Eve) in His address to the devil:

And the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because thou hast done this thing,... I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." (Gen. 3:14, 15)

This magnificent sentence is like a 'milestone' and 'compass' in the history of the Christian religion and Mariology. This extract from Genesis shows clearly the important role of the Virgin Mary in the plan of Redemption for humanity in such a way that one cannot think of the Redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ without thinking of the role of our Lady. Cardinal Billot referred to this prophecy and explained the role of our Lady by saying:

"In the plan of reparation the Virgin Mary occupies the same place of Eve in the order of the Fall: in other words, the prophesy of Genesis teaches us that the whole work of Redemption constitutes a sort of victory over the devil and all that Satan had planned to make us fall. God turned the tables in order to achieve our salvation: in addition to the new Adam who is Christ, there had to be a new Eve who is Mary and who had to be indivisibly united to Him, in order to upset the devil's plans."

Our Lady's title as Help of Christians (Auxilium Christianorum) constitutes an excellent image of the role of our Lady as the one who helps Christians against the designs of the serpent. St. Don Bosco claims:

According to the documentary evidence about the life of Mary we can appreciate the zeal which she shows towards the salvation of the world and the increase in the glory of the Holy Church throughout the ages. She directed and counselled the Apostles and the disciples; she encouraged one and all to maintain the Faith and to keep and maintain grace.... However the most holy Mary started to truly help Christians following her glorious Assumption.

The role of Mary as a Helper of Christians has been demonstrated throughout the ages following her Assumption, however our Lady appears to have wanted to intervene more strongly when the Church was being attacked in regard to the truth of the Faith and to defend the Church from the arms of the enemy.

There were a number of Marian interventions in support of the Church and these include the victory against the Turks at Lepanto (1571) during the reign of Pope Pius V, the liberation of Vienna from the Moslems (1683) during the time of Pope Innocent XI, and the liberation of Pius VII from Napoleonic imprisonment (May 24, 1814). This last event inspired the proclamation of the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians held each year on May 24, the anniversary of the freeing of the pope.

The dogma of the Assumption forms part of this Divine plan, which envisages that our Lady should not only be the Victoress over errors and heresies inspired by the devil but also the source of maternal help to her spiritual children during times of danger.

Dogmatic proclamations regarding our Lady, just as her apparitions at Lourdes, France, and Fatima, Portugal, have coincided with periods when the Church was in danger. In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception to counteract those who denied the supernatural. Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Our Lady to encourage mankind to concentrate on heavenly things rather than earthly matters. He used the dogma of the Assumption to combat materialism in all forms and communism in particular.

On account of the modernist thinking and the resulting "opening" to the world, Marian dogma along with other Church dogma is now perceived as an imposition upon the freedom of Catholic consciences and a non-ecumenical "push" which distances the "separated brethren-—Protestants and the Orthodox—from "Church unity." According to this ecumenical vision, dogma becomes an exaggeration which hinders dialogue with those others who don't believe. The new orientation of tolerance towards error means that our Lady is no longer the one who crushes the head of the serpent, but, on the contrary, the one who enters into a dialogue with the devil. (Is she Eve or a New Eve?!) The most blessed Mary is no longer the helper who helps her children, but the "gentle peacemaker" who opens the door to the enemy! This is an effectual denial of the motherly guide given us by Divine Providence who deigned that Mary be the Victoress over the devil to defend her children from the enemies of the Catholic Faith.

Isn't it true that since the Second Vatican Council, the hierarchy of the Church has been practically penetrated by this new Mariology? Couldn't the Second Vatican Council have offered the opportunity to make us understand our Lady better, perhaps dogmatically defining her privileges further for us? What did it do? Is it true that dogmas are walls which bring about division? Is it true that if we "exaggerate" the privileges of the New Eve we are in danger of hiding the role of our "only Mediator," our Lord Jesus Christ, and force our "separated brethren" away from the Church"? Before we answer these questions, let us consider what is a dogma and how the dogmatic definition of our Lady's assumption was achieved.

A blessing from Heaven

A dogma is a truth directly proposed by the infallible Magisterium of the Church for our belief as an article of divine revelation. The dogma only makes explicit that which is contained in the deposit of the Faith. The deposit of the Faith closed with the death of the last surviving Apostle.

When the Church acts in this way, the Church is following the internal law of its doctrinal development. This doctrine is inspired and guided by the Holy Ghost in order to feed and guide the "flock" of the Church towards the "eternal pastures." According to the First Vatican Council, the role of the Pontifical Magisterium is to guard, explain, and pass on the deposit of Divine Revelation.

When the Holy Church proclaims a dogma like the one on the Assumption, the Church is making explicit that which Christians, preserving the deposit of revelation by faith, had always believed implicitly. This means the early Christians, who believed in the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, also believed implicitly (but objectively) in the dogma of the Assumption despite the fact that they didn't know it explicitly. All Catholics had an explicit faith (personally, subjectively) once the dogma of the Assumption was proclaimed on November 1, 1950, in St. Peter's.

Both the early Christians and those in 1950 have the same faith, but the faith of the faithful of 1950 was enriched by the infallible "explicitation" of the Roman Pontiff. When Pope Pius XII proclaimed this dogma, he strengthened the Faith objectively and increased the true devotion towards our Lady. In addition, the Pope's proclamation also moved the Catholics to hold this truth, contained in the deposit of the Faith, as if God himself had spoken—a true blessing from heaven!
The history of the belief in Our Lady's Assumption

How did this "explicitation" come about?

In the first four centuries the truth regarding the corporal Assumption was not taught explicitly, but it was certainly presented in an implicit way. From the 5th to the 13th centuries, there is plenty of evidence which is explicit. Towards the end of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th, the Church Fathers held a certain and explicit belief in the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. In the West, Pope Sergius I (687-701) ruled that the Feast of the Dormition of Mary (the Sleep of Mary) had to start with a solemn procession. A like rule also applied to the feasts of the Annunciation, Nativity, and Purification. Since the 13th century the bodily assumption of our Lady was considered as certain fact and the denial of this truth was considered 'temerarious.'

The request for a dogmatic definition of the Assumption began in earnest in the middle of the 17th century. In 1849, Cardinal Sterk, Archbishop of Malines, Belgium, and Bishop Sanchez of Osman, Spain, inquired Rome for dogmatic definitions both for the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption.

In 1863, Queen Isabella II of Spain (1833-68), moved by [St.] Anthony Marie Claret, asked Pope Pius IX to publish as dogma the mystery of the Assumption. At the time, His Holiness was absorbed by the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, the definition of which he thought was not timely, though he replied that he was certain there could be a possible definition of the Assumption at a future date. Pope Pius IX answered the letter of the Queen Isabella (Feb. 13, 1864):

"There is no doubt that the manner in which the faithful believe in the Assumption stems from the dogma of the Immaculate Conception; however, all things will come about in due course, and I don't consider myself worthy to publish as a dogma this second mystery. A time will come when the holy wishes of your Royal Highness will be fulfilled. In the meantime, one should continue to pray."

The advancement of the issue of the mystery of the Assumption was interrupted by Vatican Council I (Oct. 1870). A preparatory commission of 204 bishops and theologians had asked for the definition of the dogma. According to the designs of Divine Providence, however, the time would be later for this truth to come to fruition.

Historians of the Assumption claim that following the letter of Pope Pius IX of 1864, a true movement regarding the Assumption gained momentum which culminated in the proclamation of the dogma in 1950. This movement can be divided into three stages:


Years 1863-1900; 1900-20; 1921-50.

The first period was rather uneventful. The second, following a good start, suffered a reversal between 1902 and 1906 due to the hostility to the definition of the modernists who were very active at the time. In 1917, however, the bishops of the ancient Austrian Empire, representing 24 million Catholics, presented a collective petition on behalf of the dogmatic definition.

During the third period and especially during the reign of Pope Pius XI, the movement regarding the Assumption became very strong and spread throughout the whole world through various international committees. Among the outstanding various activities was the Plebescite (1929-37), based in Verona, Italy, which collected a large number of signatures of religious and faithful. The organizers confidently affirmed that "the event has become one of the Faith's most important affirmations regarding Mary."

The encyclical Mystici Corporis of Pope Pius XII (1943) explicitly mentions the corporal and spiritual assumption of our Lady. Immediately after World War II, two large volumes containing the "petitions" supportive of the dogma were published. The movement in favor of the Assumption of Our Lady was soon to reach its climax, the event which on its eve Pope Pius XII claimed would be 'an occasion of great joy.'

The long-anticipated dogma was solemnly declared in the bull 'Munificentissimus Deus', (Nov. 1, 1950), marking a memorable date in the history of the Church. The Catholic world had not witnessed such a joyful event since 1870 when the First Vatican Council had declared the dogma of papal infallibility.

Is this dogma an exaggeration?

This great dogma of the Catholic Church is called an exaggeration by some because, they say, it only increases division and hinders 'full unity.' This is an anti-dogma mentality which is Protestant, modernistic and Masonic (daughters of the same Protestantism). This mentality intends to claim a certain perfection of human morality, a denial in practice of the important link between the dogma and the same morality.

Attacks by those of protestant and liberal mentalities, attacks against the divine tradition of the Church, reared their heads against the proclamation of the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and papal infallibility.

Martin Luther claimed that the celebration of Our Lady's assumption must be suppressed because it was a 'popish' invention, led to idolatry, had no basis in Sacred Scripture, and was an insult to Christ. Another opponent was Anglican bishop K. N. Ross of All Saints in London, who in anticipation of the proclamation of the dogma called the belief "the most surprising example of the indifference of the Roman Catholics in the face of the historical evidence," and "an illusion of devotion for the faithful in the Holy Year."

By 1950, modernist and neo-modernist thought was strong within the Church. As a result of protestant attacks, many mid-century faithful regarded the event as an obstacle to the return of "separated brethren" to the Church. Cardinal Pizzardo referred to this problem during the International Marian Congress held in 1950 (Oct. 23-28):

"These attacks may offer sincere Protestants the opportunity to return if they were to reflect within themselves:

The Pope, acknowledged by the whole world as being a ruler, brings out to light, we can say, from the deposit of the Faith which he must guard, a new dogma. This event comes about at a time when dangerous currents are seeking to weaken this dogma. Through the sign of imposing this dogma upon 400 million Catholics, the sovereign Pontiff is solemnly affirming that he is the successor of Peter, is infallible, an heir to that promise of Divine Assistance which Christ made to Peter and his successors."

A Protestant will have to ask himself:

"Could Pope Pius XII, whom we all acknowledge possesses exceptional qualities of rectitude, sincerity, spiritual nobility, of justice, of charity and sacrifice, be completely wrong? Can we honestly say that he committed a grave error? Could it be that we are in the wrong? Perhaps it would be wise to revise our attitude in regard to the Catholic Church?

We, devout children of Mary and who are happy to possess the truth and to witness the glorification of our Mother, we ask her solemnly on this day to remember our separated brothers so that they may re-enter the family whose Mother and Queen is Mary."

The gist of Cardinal Pizzardo's speech shows us what should be the Catholic attitude in the face of the attacks of the enemy against the dogma. In any case, we should not feel obliged to ask them pardon! Cardinal Pizzardo has shown that the affirmation of dogma which the Pope is duty-bound to guard, does not constitute a 'barrier.' On the contrary, it should be an additional motive for those non-Catholics seriously seeking unity without delusion.

According to his dogmatic bull, Pope Pius XII notes the motives of the importance of the definition:

We... are confident that this solemn proclamation and definition of the Assumption will contribute in no small say to the advantage of human society, since it redounds to the glory of the Most Blessed Trinity, to which the Blessed Mother of God is bound by such singular bonds. It is to be hoped that all the faithful will be stirred up to a stronger piety toward their heavenly Mother, and that the soul of all those who glory in the Christian name may be moved by the desire of their love for her who shows her motherly heart to all members of this august body. And so we may hope that those who meditate upon the glorious example Mary offers us may be more and more convinced of the value of a human life entirely devoted to carrying out the heavenly Father's will and to bringing good to others. Thus, while the illusory teachings of materialism and the corruption of morals that follows from these teachings threaten to extinguish the light of virtue and to ruin the lives of men by exciting discord among them, in this magnificent way all may see clearly to what a lofty goal our bodies and souls are destined. Finally it is our hope that belief in Mary's bodily Assumption into heaven will make our belief in our own resurrection stronger and render it more effective.

We rejoice greatly that this solemn event falls, according to the design of God's providence, during the Holy Year, so that we are able, while the great Jubilee is being observed, to adorn the brow of God's Virgin Mother with this brilliant gem, and to leave a monument more enduring than bronze of our own most fervent love for the Mother of God." [Munificentissimus Deus, §§42-43]

The reasons moving Pope Pius XII to define this dogma are not ecumenical nor naturist, but 'supernatural'. In this way, Pius XII was a sovereign who steered the "boat of Peter" towards the supernatural "harbor" of heaven. Pope Pius XII, a most holy Father, was only educating his children of the Catholic Church in order to guide them more firmly towards those things which belong to heaven, and distracting them from the things of this world. Furthermore, the pope, the Vicar of Christ, was following the command of supernatural charity (God is Charity) which looks firstly towards the glory of God and the salvation of the souls within the Church—the duty of the shepherd—and finally the salvation of those who are outside the true Church.

Pope Pius XII proved that, in fact, he was genuinely ecumenical by attempting to draw towards the Truth the separated brethren by displaying his supernatural convictions, as a loving father towards his wayward children. He rejected the kind of compromise responsible for making not only the separated brethren distance themselves from the Church, but also her very children.

Is the dogma of the Assumption a first step or an arrival point?

The Catholic Church's historical progress from the dogma of the Immaculate Conception to the Assumption has led to a Marian development which has been marked by a true "wave of devotion" on the part of the faithful. Pope Pius XII said in Lent (Mar. 10, 1948):

The most important sign of our times is the ever growing manifestation of the confidence and filial love which leads souls to the most pure and immaculate Virgin Mary. This manifestation is truly magnificent.

If one accepts the historical fact of the parallel progress of dogma and devotion, the following question comes to mind. Has the ever increasing enthusiasm towards our Lady, especially since 1950, been supported by an equally increasing enthusiasm to dogmatize truths about the Virgin Mary? In his speech at the International Marian Congress already excerpted, Cardinal Pizzardo understood the dogma of the Assumption to be simultaneously a point of arrival and a point of departure. He understood it as an arrival point for the preceding two dogmatic declarations regarding our Lady's Divine Maternity (Council of Ephesus, 431) and the Immaculate Conception (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854). However, he also said that the definition of the Assumption would "mark a point of departure," the beginning of a new process of more intense clarification which will allow a more clear and profound understanding of the unspeakable mysteries of Mary which Pius IX described in Ineffabilis Deus as "the peak of all the miracles." Has this process of a more intense understanding come about? Did the Second Vatican Council support further dogmatic clarifications regarding Our Lady? Specifically, did it support a dogmatic definition of Mary as "Mediatrix of All Graces," the next logical step after the dogma of the Assumption? The answer is clearly no. The Council did not want to dogmatically define the title of our Lady as "Mediatrix of All Graces" because in so doing it would have opposed the new ecumenical trend which seeks human agreement with religious separatists, which necessarily excludes dogmatic definitions.

Relative to these facts, 1950 represented an arrival point rather than the first step leading to further dogmatic progress envisioned so hopefully by Cardinal Pizzardo.
He who doesn't move forward will inevitably move backward.

Dogmatic development is part and parcel of the same nature of the Church herself which, having been guided by the Holy Ghost, is called on to make clear His heavenly doctrine in order to pass it on to the faithful. Given this point, it is disobedience to the law of the nature of the Mystical Body of Christ to put a false brake upon genuine doctrinal development. Such disobedience fosters the same anarchy and disorder which results from any form of disobedience against the law.

That Vatican II put a brake on this process of dogmatization on account of ecumenism is to follow Eve's path of disobedience and to fall into the paradox of promoting Mariology without following its laws. Rather than Mariology, we should call it "Eve-ology!"

The liberal wing of Vatican Council II succeeded in bringing about a false notion of the importance of Holy Scripture, putting aside Tradition and the Magisterium as guides for dogmatic development of Mariology and the other theological sciences. Having removed the "leaven" of the Church's Magisterium guided by the Holy Ghost, the "pasta" of her doctrine ceases to develop and gradually dries out. The objective behind this shift was to concentrate on expressions closer to the sources and thereby more ecumenical in order to form a basis which is equally valid for Catholics and all the others. In this context, the traditional Magisterium of the Church, with which not only our separated brothers but also the ecumenical hierarchy are uncomfortable, would constitute an obstacle to a common agreement.

Pius XII, faced with the real danger of emancipation of the role of Tradition and the Magisterium, laid down things clearly in his encyclical Humani Generis:

In theology some want to reduce to a minimum the meaning of dogmas; and to free dogma itself from terminology long established in the Church and from philosophical concepts held by Catholic teachers, to bring about a return in the explanation of Catholic doctrine to the way of speaking used in Holy Scripture and by the Fathers of the Church. They cherish the hope that when dogma is stripped of the elements which they hold to be extrinsic to divine revelation it will compare advantageously with the dogmatic opinions of those who are separated from the unity of the Church and that in this way they will gradually arrive at a mutual assimilation of Catholic dogma with the tenets of the dissidents."

Is the Mary Assumed into Heaven a 'Mediatrix' or a 'Conciliatrix?'
For all those happy to be considered Catholics, the dogma of the Assumption is a true blessing from heaven:

"On this day of great joy and this opening of heaven, there must have been not only a showering upon souls of a wave of angelic happiness in harmony with those of all the Church Militant, but also a deluge of graces and teachings which stimulate an efficacious renewal of holiness." (Pope Pius XII's papal speech, Nov. 1, 1950)

Exactly what kind of insanity afflicted the Second Vatican Council? At the root, we should ask, "Why did they want to change direction when everything was going well? If it worked, why fix it?" A community which changes the things which are going fine is insane! However, this is exactly what the Vatican II did.

Indeed, even the First Vatican Council was on the verge of seconding the movement in favor of our Lady as 'Mediatrix of All Graces.' This further deepening of the theological understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary would have crowned devotion to her universal mediation. A number of popes have presented clear teaching about the matter. This teaching has been reflected in the work of the bishops in their various provincial councils. Cardinal Mercier sent a letter to more than 450 bishops about the matter. Cardinal Mercier established a special commission to study and promote the eventual definition of the dogma of "Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces." This commission was established following the end of World War I.

Fr. Merkelbach, an eminent member of this commission, based his arguments for the definition of a new dogma on the "New Eve" of the Genesis account. As early as 1921, he claimed that the universal mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary could be defined as a dogma of the Faith.[9] In the same year, Pope Benedict XV gave his assent to the introduction of a liturgical feast of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces. The 1942 decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Rites for the canonization of St. Louis de Montfort was in part a confirmation of the existence of the doctrine of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, not only in the tradition of the Church but also in the unanimous acceptance of theologians. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, many Church fathers had asked if a definition would be forthcoming.

At the Council itself, however, our Lady was put aside.

Instead of preparing an individual schema on the dogma as first envisioned by the Council preparatory commission, only a single chapter (two paragraphs long) at the end of the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium was finally published. It was titled, 'Mary, Sign of True Hope and Comfort for the People of God.' On the basis of these paragraphs, the ecumenical spirit which impregnated the Conciliar Mariology is evident:

In the meantime, the Mother of Jesus in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. II Pet. 3:10), a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.

It gives great joy and comfort to this sacred synod that among the separated brethren too there are those who give due honor to the Mother of Our Lord and Savior, especially among the Easterns, who with devout mind and fervent impulse give honor to the Mother of God, ever virgin. The entire body of the faithful pours forth urgent supplications to the Mother of God and of men that she, who aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers, may now, exalted as she is above all angels and saints, intercede before her Son in the fellowship of all the saints, until all families of people, whether they are honored by the title of Christian or whether they still do not know the Savior, may be happily gathered together to peace and harmony into one People of God, for the glory of the most Holy and Undivided Trinity." (Lumen Gentium, §§68-69)

A deliberate effort is made in the Conciliar Mariology to avoid mentioning anything of the errors—or anything leading to the errors—of religious separatists and all others regarding the Church's true teaching on Mary. In other words, a new Marian spirit, made official at the Council, was designed to achieve a false reconciliation with the separated brethren by establishing a minimal common ground. This common ground would be a defense of the essential facts only, and would be an opportunity for understanding amongst the various schools without exaggerations or the creation of "needless" divisions. This was an attempt to "humanize" our Lady in such a way that she would no longer constitute an element of division as in the past. This mentality has brought about the elimination of one of the true treasures of the Church, that is, dogma itself.

The reductionist mentality of this 'new Mariology' attacks two main principles of traditional Catholic belief regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 'new Mariology' has reversed these two principles to the point that it now holds that:


Our Lady should no longer oppose the enemy,

Our Lady should no longer be "too" exalted in her privileges. This is to say, in other words, we need to hide the devil, whom our Lady has under her foot, and to cover the halo that marks her as the one with a special place in the bosom of the Most Blessed Trinity.

On the basis of the first point, the new Marianists no longer want to consider our Lady assumed into heaven as the Auxilium Christianorum who defends the Church against the attacks of the enemies. This has been the constant teaching of the popes and saints. Instead, however, they regard our Lady assumed into heaven as a 'Conciliatrix' who seeks to find an understanding with her enemies in an ecumenical context. In the past, Mary was a sign of Catholic Truth to which there could be no indifference. In this sense, she divided mens hearts to be for or against her Son. Following Vatican II, however, the focus of the Catholic Church in regard to the other Christians and the world has shifted. Antagonism against the enemy is no longer mentioned because how we think about Mary has changed.

At the same time, new Marianists attack the famous Scripture reference (Gen. 3:15), that is the cornerstone of the Mariological tradition. L'Osservatore Romano (Jan. 25, 1996) reported that expounders of the new Mariology "agree that the action against the snake in the Biblical passage cannot be directly attributed to the Woman."

With regard to the second point that we shouldn't exaggerate the privileges of our Lady, the present pope [John Paul II] has said in effect, "Attributing to our Lady 'the maximum' cannot constitute the norm of Mariology" (L'Osservatore Romano, Jan. 4, 1996). L'Osservatore Romano also reported (Jan. 4, 1997) that Marian titles such as "Mediatrix" were considered an "ecumenical difficulty" by the Marian Congress that year in Czestochowa, Poland. In these two points we find a contradiction to the traditional teaching of the Church which regards Our Lady as the shield against all errors and the heavenly Queen who distributes all graces.

There is the common objection that if we honor the role of our heavenly Mother, we lower the role of our Lord Jesus Christ in regard to His role as "sole Mediator" and that Catholic teaching distances the majority of the separated brethren from the Catholic Church. We reply that, on the contrary, common sense tells us that the Son takes pleasure when He sees His Mother so honored. Further, traditional Catholic Mariology on the 'Mediatrix of All Graces' more intensely highlights the role of our Lord Jesus Christ in at least two ways:

The power of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is such that He not only brings about our salvation but also enlists others who cooperate in the work of our salvation. In the case of the Mother of God, this cooperation reaches the highest possible level for without her our Lord could not have taken flesh nor offered it for us.
The mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ who, in giving us graces, avails Himself of a number of means so that the divine is linked to us in a way which conforms to our nature, to our psychology, which He loves because we are the work of His hands, leads to our salvation and perfection.

Contrary to the claims of Luther and Calvin, the exaltation of our Lady as the 'Mediatrix of All Graces' will not dethrone Christ. On the contrary, it elevates and intensifies Catholic teaching on the role of the only Mediator and highlights His power and mercy. In so far as the separated brethren who are in good faith are concerned, it would only be another factor to bring them closer to the Truth or to become members of the Catholic Church.


Conclusion:

The 50th anniversary of the Assumption is a time to increase true devotion to our Lady and our hope of heaven, where we are all called to live in soul and body as the dogma itself confirms. This anniversary must call us to detach ourselves from the 'worldly spirit' in order to attach ourselves to a more fervent desire for heaven.

The worldly spirit is the spirit of the 'prince of this world,' the devil, while the Assumption is only about the spirit of heaven. St. Louis Grignon de Montfort said:

"God has never made and formed but one enmity; but it is an irreconcilable one, which shall endure and grow even to the end. It is between Mary, His worthy Mother, and the devil, between the children and the servants of the Blessed Virgin, and the children and tools of Lucifer. The most terrible of all the enemies which God has set up against the devil is His holy Mother Mary."

Catholic Mariology rests on the "Protogospel" of Genesis 3:15, which shows our Lady as the opposite of Eve. Pope Pius XII asserts in Munificentissimus Deus that the truth of the bodily assumption of Mary into the glory of heaven rests mainly on this passage of Sacred Scripture, as did Pope Pius IX in defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The climate of false peace fostered by the Second Vatican Council has diluted the substance of this foundational Scripture. It is true that our Lady does want peace, but not by means of compromise. In fact, the immaculate purity of the Assumption does not tolerate any type of "meddling" because that would be contrary to its own immaculate nature. Archbishop Lefebvre commented:

"Mary will keep us in the Catholic Faith. She is neither liberal, nor modernist, nor ecumenical. She is impervious to all errors and, with even greater reason, to heresies and apostasy."

If the Assumption, as we have said, is an appeal to distance ourselves from the spirit of the world, we must also renounce the 'spirit of compromise' which at first sight may appear just as attractive as the forbidden fruit to Eve. We are children of Mary and of the Church. We don't want to imitate Eve. We want to imitate our Blessed Mary and all her holy children who make up part of that seed which is a perennial enemy of the slaves of Satan, "the friends of the world."

Pope St. Pius X had the same understanding of things when recalling the fiftieth anniversary of the definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception:

"Oh, how bitterly and fiercely is Jesus Christ now being persecuted, and the most holy religion which He founded! And how grave is the peril that threatens many of being drawn away by the errors that are afoot on all sides, to the abandonment of the faith! "Then let him who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall" (I Cor. 10:12). And let all, with humble prayer and entreaty, implore of God, through the intercession of Mary, that those who have abandoned the truth may repent.... True, even in the future the strife against the Church will never cease, "for there must be also heresies, that they also who are reproved may be made manifest among you" (I Cor. 11:19). But neither will the Virgin ever cease to succor us in our trials, however grave they be, and to carry on the fight fought by her since her conception, so that every day we may repeat: "Today the head of the serpent of old was crushed by her" (Office of the Immaculate Conception, 2nd Vespers, Magnificat). (Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum, §25).

The 50th anniversary of the dogma of the Assumption, seen from the point of view of the Catholic Magisterium, is an occasion of great joy for all the children of Mary. They have another proof of the maternal protection to help them attain, thanks to her maternal help, the heavenly state where she already reigns body and soul.

(If the Pope, along with all of the Bishops of the world would do exactly what Our Lady asked at Fatima in 1917, maybe we could have some normalcy in the world. There have been numerous 'consecrations' to Our Lady, but not one has been done just how she asked. She asked that the Holy Father, along with all the Bishops of the world, on the same day, consecrate the world to her Immaculate Heart, with a special mention of Russia.' This is what she asked, and Russia has never been named. Just think, if it had been named specifically, the uproar that would ensue. "How dare they?"


Regina in caelum assumpta, ora pro nobis!

St. Joachim, Grandfather of Jesus

TUESDAY

Today, The 16th of August, is the day in which we honor the grandfather of Jesus, the father of Mary, Joachim. He is to be revered by us, just as his wife, Anne, is. This feast day has pretty much always been observed, in one way or another. However, in 1879, Pope Leo XIII, who had received the name of Joachim in baptism, raised both the feast of his glorious patron and that of St. Anne to the rank of doubles of the second class. The following is an extract from the decree 'Urbi et Orbi', announcing this decision with regard to the said feast: "Ecclesiasticus teaches us that we ought to praise our fathers in their generation; what great honor and veneration ought we then to render to St. Joachim and St. Anne, who begot the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and are on that account more glorious than all others."



St. John Damascene says: "By your fruits are you known; you have given birth to a daughter who is greater than the angels and has become their Queen."

The Abbot Gueranger adds: 'Now since, through the divine mercy, in our unhappy times the honor and worship paid to the Blessed Virgin is increasing in proportion to the increasing needs of the Christian people, it is only right that the new glory which surrounds their blessed daughter should redound upon her happy parents. May this increase of devotion towards them cause the Church to experience still more their powerful protection.'

Tradition says that Joachim divided his income into three parts: the first for the temple, the second for the poor, and the third for his family.

MOTHER OF GOD: Such is the title which exalts Mary above all creatures; but Joachim, too, is ennobled by it; he alone can be called, for all eternity, Grandfather of Jesus. In heaven, even more than on earth, nobility and power go hand in hand. Let us, then, with the Church, become humble clients of one so great.

Joachim's wealth, like that of the first patriarchs, consisted chiefly in flocks and herds. The holy use he made of it drew down God's blessing upon it. But the greatest of all his desires heaven seemed to refuse him. His holy spouse Anne was barren (a curse among Jews). Amongst all the daughters of Israel expecting the Messias, there was no hope for her. One day the victims Joachim presented in the Temple were contemptuously rejected. Those were not the gifts the Lord of the Temple desired of him; later on, instead of lambs from his pastures, he was to present the mother of the Lamb of God, and His offering would not be rejected.

This day, however, he was filled with sorrow and fled away without returning to his wife. He hastened to the mountains where his flocks were at pasture; and living in a tent, he fasted continually, for he said: "I will take no food till the Lord my God look mercifully upon me; prayer shall be my nourishment."

Meanwhile Anne was mourning her widowhood and barrenness. She prayed in her garden as Joachim was praying on the mountain. Their prayers ascended at the same to the Most High, and He granted them their request. An angel of the Lord appeared to each of them and bade them meet at the Golden Gate; and soon Anne could say: "Now I now that the Lord hath greatly blessed me. for I was a widow and I am one no longer, and I was barren, and lo! I have conceived!"

The descendents of Joachim shall be mighty and blessed in heaven and upon earth. May he deign to exert his influence with his all-holy daughter, and with his grandson Jesus, for our salvation.

St. Epiphanius shall have the last word: "Joachim, Anne, and Mary; what a sacrifice of praise was offered to the Blessed Trinity by this earthly trinity!"

May their united intercession obtain for us the full effect of the sacrifice which is being prepared upon the altar in honour of the head of this noble family.

St. Clare

St. Clare, Virgin and Abbess
by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876

St. Clare, foundress of the Order which bears her name, was born of rich and pious parents, at Assisi, in the district of Umbria, in Italy. She received the name of Clare, which means clear or bright, for the following reason. While her mother Hortulana, was kneeling before a crucifix, praying that God might aid her in her hour of delivery, she heard the words: "Do not fear. You will give birth to a light which shall illumine the whole world." From her earliest childhood, prayer was Clare's only delight. She gave to the poor all the presents which she received from her parents. She despised all costly garments, all worldly pleasures. Beneath the fine clothes she was obliged to wear, she wore a rough hair-girdle. She partook of so little food, that it seemed as if she wished to observe a continual fast.

During this same period lived St. Francis, surnamed "the Seraphic", on account of his great virtues. Clare frequently went to him and confided to him her desire to renounce the world and to consecrate her virginity to God, and to lead a perfect life in the most abject poverty. St. Francis who saw, that besides other gifts and graces, she was filled with the most ardent love of God, possessing great innocence of heart and despising the world, strengthened her in her holy desire, while at the same time he tested her constancy. Being sufficiently convinced that her desires were inspired by Heaven, he advised Clare to leave her home, which she did on Palm Sunday, going to the church of the Portiuncula, where she had her hair cut off, as a sign that she would enter a religious life. She divested herself of all feminine ornaments, and attired in a penitential garb, tied around her with a cord, she was placed by St. Francis in a vacant Benedictine convent. She was at that time just eighteen years of age.


When her parents heard of what she had done, they hastened to the Convent, to take Clare home, declaring that this choice of a state of life was only a childish whim, or that she had been persuaded to it by others. Clare, however, after opposing their arguments, fled into the church, and clinging to the altar with one hand, with the other she bared her head shorn of its hair, exclaiming: "Know all, that I desire no other bridegroom than Jesus Christ. Understanding well what I was doing, I chose Him and I will never leave Him." Astonished at this answer, all returned home, admiring her virtue and piety. Clare thanked God for this victory and was, on account of it, all the more strengthened in her resolution. She had a sister younger than herself, named Agnes. A few days later she, too, fled from her parents' roof and going to Clare, wished to be invested in the same habit and to serve God in the same manner. St. Clare received her joyfully, but as all her relatives were provoked beyond measure that she, too, had entered a Convent, twelve of them went and forcibly tore her from her sister's arms. Clare took refuge in prayer, and as if inspired by the Almighty, ran after her sister, loudly calling her by name. God assisted her by a miracle. Agnes suddenly became immovable, as if rooted to the ground, and no one possessed strength enough to drag her from where she stood. Recognizing in this the powerful hand of God, they opposed her no longer, but allowed her to return to the Convent. Meanwhile, St. Francis had rebuilt the old church of St. Damian and had bought the neighboring house. Into this house he placed his first two religious daughters, Clare and Agnes, who were speedily joined by others, desirous of conforming themselves to the rule of life which St. Francis had given to Clare. This was the beginning of the Order of Poor Clares, which has since given to the world so many shining examples of virtue and holiness, to the salvation of many thousands of souls.

St. Clare was appointed abbess by St. Francis, and filled the office for forty-two years with wonderful wisdom and holiness. Her mother also, together with her youngest daughter, took the habit and submitted to the government of St. Clare. The holy abbess enjoined on her order the most severe poverty, and when the Pope himself offered her some property as an endowment, she humbly but earnestly refused to accept it. She was, to all in her charge, a bright example of poverty. In austerity towards herself she was more to be admired than imitated. The floor or a bundle of straw was her bed ; a piece of wood, her pillow. Twice during the year she kept a forty days' fast on bread and water. Besides this, three days of the week, she tasted no food, and so little on the others, that it is marvelous that she could sustain life with it. The greater part of the night she spent in prayer, and her desire for mortification was so great, that St. Francis compelled her to moderate her austerities. She nursed the sick with the greatest pleasure, as in this work of charity, she found almost constant opportunity to mortify and overcome herself. Besides all her other virtues, she was especially remarkable for her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She sometimes remained whole hours immovable before the Tabernacle, and was often seen in ecstasy, so great was her love for the Saviour it concealed. She sought her comfort in Him alone in all her trials, amidst all her persecutions; and how great were the graces she thereby received, the following event will sufficiently illustrate.


The Saracens besieged Assisi and made preparations to scale the walls of the Convent. St. Clare, who was sick at the time, had herself carried to the gates of the convent, where, with the Ciborium, containing the Blessed Sacrament, in her hands, prostrating herself in company with all her religious, she cried aloud: "O Lord, do not give into the hands of the infidels the souls of those who acknowledge and praise Thee. Protect and preserve Thy handmaidens whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood." A voice was distinctly heard, saying: "I will protect you always." The result proved that this was the voice of heaven. The Saracens (of the 'peaceful religion'), seized with a sudden fear, betook themselves to flight, those who had already scaled the walls, became blind, and flung themselves down. Thus were St. Clare and her religious protected and the whole city preserved from utter devastation, by the piety and devotion of the Saint to the Blessed Sacrament.

We must omit many miracles which God wrought through His faithful servant, in order to relate her happy end. She had reached the age of sixty years, during twenty-eight of which she had suffered from various painful maladies, though she had not been confined to her bed, or rather, her bundle of straw. Her patience while suffering was remarkable, and she was never heard to complain of the severity or the duration of her sickness. The contemplation of the Passion of Christ made her own pains easy and even pleasing to her. "How short," said she one day, "seems the night to me, which I pass in the contemplation of the Lord's suffering!" At another time, she exclaimed: "How can man complain when he beholds Christ hanging upon the Cross and covered with Blood!" Having suffered so long and with such noble resignation, she saw at last, that her end was near. She received the Blessed Sacrament, and then exhorted all her daughters not to relax in their zeal to live in poverty and holiness.

When her confessor conversed with her on the merits of patience, she said: "As long as I have had the grace to serve God in the religious state, no care, no penance, no sickness has seemed hard to me. Oh, how comforting it is to suffer for the love of Christ!" The hour of her death drew near, and she saw a great many white-robed virgins come to meet her, among whom was one who surpassed all the rest in beauty. She followed them and they led her to see the Almighty face to face. Several who had read in the depths of her heart, said that she died more from the fervor of her love for God than from the effects of her sickness. Her holy death took place in 1253. The great number of miracles wrought after her death through her intercession, and the heroic virtues which made her so remarkable, induced Pope Alexander IV., only two years later, to place her in the number of Saints.


Maybe we all could imitate St. Clare in remembering the 5 Wounds of our Lord:

Prayers of St. Clare of Assisi to
the Five Wounds of Our Saviour

I. To the Wound in the Right Hand

Praise be to Thee, O Jesus Christ, for the most sacred wound in Thy right hand. By this adorable wound, and by Thy most sacred passion, pardon me all the sins I have committed against Thee in thought, word, and deed, and all negligence in Thy service, and all sensuality for which I have been to blame whether asleep or awake. Grant that I may be able to recall with devotion Thy most pitiful death and sacred wounds; grant me the grace to mortify my body, and so to offer a pledge of my gratitude to Thee, Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen. Pater Noster, Ave Maria.



II. To the Wound in the Left Hand

Praise and glory be to Thee, O sweetest Jesus.Christ, for the most sacred wound in Thy left hand. By this adorable wound, have mercy on me, and deign to root out of my heart everything displeasing to Thee. Give me the victory over Thy perverse enemies, so that with Thy grace I may be able to overcome them; and by the merits of Thy most pitiful death save me from all the dangers of my present and future life; and then grant that I may share Thy glory in heaven, Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen. Pater Noster and Ave Maria.



III. To the Wound in the Right Foot

Praise and glory be to Thee, O sweet Jesus Christ, for the most sacred wound in Thy right foot; and by that adorable wound grant me grace to do penance for my sins. And by Thy most pitiful death I devoutly beg of Thee to keep me, Thy poor servant, united, night and day, to Thy holy will, and to remove afar off every misfortune of body and soul. And when the day of wrath shall come, receive me into Thy mercy, and lead me to eternal happiness. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen. Pater Noster and Ave Maria.



IV. To the Wound in the Left Foot

Praise and glory be to Thee, most merciful Jesus Christ, for the most sacred wound in Thy left foot; and by this adorable wound grant me the grace of a full pardon, that with Thine aid I may deserve to escape the sentence of eternal reprobation. I pray Thee, moreover, by Thy most holy death, O my loving Redeemer, that I may be able before my death to receive the sacrament of Thy body and blood, after confession of my sins, and with perfect repentance and purity of body and mind. Grant that I may merit also to receive the holy anointing, for my eternal salvation, O Lord, Who liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen. Pater Noster and Ave Maria.



V. To the Wound in the Sacred Side

Praise and glory be to Thee, most loving Jesus Christ, for the most sacred wound in Thy side, and by that adorable wound, and by Thy infinite mercy, which Thou didst make known in the opening of Thy breast to the soldier Longinus, and so to us all, I pray Thee, O most gentle Jesus, that having redeemed me by baptism from original sin, so now by Thy precious blood, which is offered and received throughout the world, deliver me from all evils, past, present, and to come. And by Thy most bitter death give me a lively faith, a firm hope, and a perfect charity, so that I may love Thee with all my heart, and all my soul, and all my strength; make me firm and steadfast in good works, and grant me perseverance in Thy service, so that I may be able to please Thee always. Amen. Pater Noster and Ave Maria.



V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
R. Because by Thy death and blood Thou hast redeemed the world.

Let us pray:

Almighty and everlasting God, Who by the five wounds of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, hast redeemed the human race, grant to Thy suppliants that we who daily venerate those wounds, may, by the shedding of His precious blood, be freed from sudden and everlasting death. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Indulgence of 300 days--Leo XIII, 1885

St. Laurence

Today we honor and remember St. Lawrence, deacon of the Church of Rome in the early years. He saw the Holy Father martyred, and was told by him that he too shall have great things happen to him. When arrested by the Emperor of the time, Valerian, he was told to bring the riches of the Church to him, since this new Church had so much within it. Lawrence went out and got the homeless, the poor, the blind and weak, etc. Lawrence told the ruler that such as these were the riches to God. The ruler was furious at this pompous show. He ordered Lawrence tortured, and when that didn't seem to make him see his errors in not worshiping the gods, ordered him to be grilled alive. Lawrence did NOT cease to praise and thank God for all he had been given. Lawrence even told the torturers to 'turn him over and eat, since one side was done'. We are all called to be courageous in trying times, and, hopefully, we can be as strong as St. Lawrence. Maybe, if we get the chance, we could ask him for his help. I'd like to end with a prayer from the Mozarabic liturgy:

O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst enable the most blessed Lawrence, burning with the fire of Thy Charity, to overcome the heat both of passions and of sufferings: for he trampled alike both on gold and the fire, and was found liberal in giving to the poor and faithful in the burning of his body; grant us, through his intercession, that being kindled by the breath of the Holy Spirit, we may overcome the flames of concupiscence and may be consumed by the fire of all sanctity, so that after our passage through this life, our lot may be found among those saints for whom we now offer Thee our homage.



Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
from the Liturgical Year, 1909



"Once the mother of false gods, but now the bride of Christ, O Rome, it is through Laurence thou art victorious! Thou hadst conquered haughty monarchs and subjected nations to thine empire; but though thou hadst overcome barbarism, thy glory was incomplete till thou hadst vanquished the unclean idols. This was Laurence's victory, a combat bloody yet not tumultuous like those of Camillus or of Caesar; it was the contest of faith, wherein self is immolated, and death is overcome by death. What words, what praises suffice to celebrate such a death? How can I worthily sing so great a, martyrdom (Prudent. Peristephanon, Hymn ii)."

Thus opens the sublime poem of Prudentius, composed little more than a century after the Saint's martyrdom. In this work the poet has preserved to us the traditions existing in his own day, whereby the name of the Roman deacon was rendered so illustrious. About the same time St. Ambrose, with his irresistible eloquence, described the meeting of Sixtus and his deacon on the way to martyrdom (Amber. De offic. i. 41). But, before both Ambrose and Prudentius, Pope St. Damasus chronicled the victory of Laurence's faith, in his majestic monumental inscriptions, which have such a ring of the days of triumph (De Rossi, Inscript.ii. 82).

Rome was lavish in her demonstrations of honour towards the champion who had prayed for her deliverance, upon his red-hot gridiron. She inserted his name in the Canon of the Mass, and moreover celebrated the anniversary of his birth to heaven with as much solemnity as those of the glorious Apostles her founders, and with the same privileges of a Vigil and an Octave. She has been dyed with the blood of many other witnesses of Christ, yet, as though Laurence had a special claim upon her gratitude, every spot connected with him has been honoured with a Church. Amongst all these sanctuaries dedicated to him, the one which contains the martyr's body ranks next after the churches of St. John Lateran, St. Mary's on the Esquiline, St. Peter's on the Vatican, and St. Paul's on the Ostian Way. St. Laurence outside the Walls completes the number of the five great basilicas, that form the appanage and exclusive possession of the Roman Pontiff. They represent the patriarchates of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Jerusalem, which divide the world between them, and express the universal and immediate jurisdiction of the Bishops of Rome over all the churches. Thus through Laurence the eternal City is completed, and is shown to be the centre of the world and the source of every grace.

Just as Peter and Paul are the riches, not of Rome alone, but of the whole world, so Laurence is called the honour of the world, for he, as it were, personified the courage of martyrdom. At the beginning of this month, we saw Stephen himself come to blend his dignity of Protomartyr with the glory of Sixtus II's deacon, by sharing his tomb. In Laurence, it seemed that both the struggle and the victory of martyrdom reached their highest point; persecution, it is true, was renewed during the next half century, and made many victims, yet his triumph was considered as the death-blow to paganism.

"The devil," says Prudentius, "struggled fiercely" with God's witness, but he was himself wounded and prostrated forever. The death of Christ's martyr gave the death-blow to the worship of idols, and from that day Vesta was powerless to prevent her temple from being deserted. All these Roman citizens, brought up in the superstitions taught by Numa, hasten, O Christ, to thy courts, singing hymns to Thy martyr. Illustrious senators, flamens and priests of Lupercus, venerate the tombs of Apostles and Saints. We see patricians and matrons of the noblest families vowing to God the children in whom their hopes are centered. The Pontiff of the idols, whose brow but yesterday was bound with sacred fillet, now signs himself with the cross, and the Vestal Virgin Claudia visits thy sanctuary, O Laurence (Prudent)."

It need not surprise us, that this day's solemnity carries its triumphant joy from the city of the seven hills to the entire universe. "As it is impossible for Rome to be concealed," says St. Augustine, "so it is equally impossible to hide Laurence's crown." Everywhere, in both East and West, churches were built in his honour; and in return, as the Bishop of Hippo testifies, "the favours he conferred were innumerable, and prove the greatness of his power with God; who has ever prayed to him and has not been graciously heard (Aug. Serm. 303 and 302)?"

Let us then conclude with St. Maximus of Turin that, in the devotion wherewith the triumph of St. Laurence is being celebrated throughout the entire world, we must recognize that it is both holy and pleasing to God to honour, with all the fervour of our souls, the birth to heaven of the martyr, who "by his radiant flames has spread the glory of his victory over the whole Church. Because of the spotless purity of soul which made him a true Levite, and because of that fullness of faith which earned him the martyr's palm, it is fitting that we should honour him almost equally with the Apostles (Maxim Taurin. Homil. 75 and 74)."

The August sun has set behind the Vatican, and the life and animation, which his burning heat had stilled for a time, begins once more upon the seven hills. Laurence was taken down from the rack about mid-day. In his prison, however, he took no rest, but wounded and bleeding as he was, he baptized the converts won to Christ by the sight of his courageous suffering. He confirmed their faith, and fired their souls with a martyr's intrepidity. When the evening hour summoned Rome to its pleasures, the prefect re-called the executioners to their work; for a few hours' rest had sufficiently restored their energy to enable them to satisfy his cruelty.

Surrounded by this ill-favoured company, the prefect thus addressed the valiant deacon: "Sacrifice to the gods, or else the whole night long shall be witness of your torments." "My night has no darkness," answered Laurence, "and all things are full of light to me." They struck him on the mouth with stones, but he smiled and said: "I give Thee thanks, O Christ."

Then an iron bed or gridiron with three bars was brought in and the Saint was stripped of his garments and extended upon it while burning coals were placed beneath it. As they were holding him down with iron forks, Laurence said: "I offer myself as a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness." The executioners continually stirred up the fire and brought fresh coals, while they still held him down with their forks. Then the Saint said: "Learn, unhappy man, how great is the power of my God; for your burning coals give me refreshment, but they will be your eternal punishment. I call thee, O Lord, to witness: when I was accused, I did not deny thee; when I was questioned, I confessed thee, O Christ; on the red-hot coals I gave thee thanks." And with his countenance radiant with heavenly beauty, he continued: "Yea, I give thee thanks, O Lord Jesus Christ, for that thou hast deigned to strengthen me." He then raised his eyes to his judge, and said: "See, this side is well roasted; turn me on the other and eat." Then continuing his canticle of praise to God: "I give thee thanks, O Lord, that I have merited to enter into thy dwelling-place (Adon. Martyrol)."

As he was on the point of death, he remembered the Church. The thought of the eternal Rome gave him fresh strength, and he breathed forth this ecstatic prayer: "O Christ, only God, O Splendour, O Power of the Father, O Maker of heaven and earth and builder of this city's walls! Thou hast placed Rome's sceptre high over all; thou hast willed to subject the world to it, in order to unite under one law the nations which differ in manners, customs, language, genius, and sacrifice. Behold the whole human race has submitted to its empire, and all discord and dissensions disappear in its unity. Remember thy purpose: thou didst will to bind the immense universe together into one Christian Kingdom. O Christ, for the sake of thy Romans, make this city Christian; for to it thou gavest the charge of leading all the rest to sacred unity. All its members in every place are united, a very type of thy Kingdom; the conquered universe has bowed before it. Oh! may its royal head be bowed in turn! Send thy Gabriel and bid him heal the blindness of the sons of Julus that they may know the true God. I see a prince who is to come, an Emperor who is a servant of God. He will not suffer Rome to remain a slave; he will close the temples and fasten them with bolts forever."

Thus he prayed, and with these last words he breathed forth his soul. Some noble Romans who had been conquered to Christ by the martyr's admirable boldness, removed his body: the love of the Most High God had suddenly filled their hearts and dispelled their former errors. From that day the worship of the infamous gods grew cold; few people went now to the temples, but hastened to the altars of Christ. Thus Laurence, going unarmed to the battle, had wounded the enemy with his own sword (Prudent).

The Church, which is always grateful in proportion to the service rendered her, could not forget this glorious night. At the period when her children's piety vied with her own, she used to summon them together at sunset on the evening of the 9th August for a first Night-Office. At midnight the second Matins began, followed by the first Mass called of the night or of the early morning (De nocte, in primo mane: Sacramentar. Greg. apud H. Menard)." Thus the Christians watched around the holy deacon during the hours of his glorious combat. "O God, thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night, thou hast tried me by fire, and iniquity hath not been found in me. Hear, O Lord, my justice; attend to my supplication"(Introit, wx Ps. xvi.: Antiphona apud Tommasi)." Such is the grand Introit which immediately after the night Vigils, hallowed the dawn of the 10th August, at the very moment when Laurence entered the eternal sanctuary to fulfil his office at the heavenly altar.

Later on certain churches observed on this feast a custom similar to one in use at the Matins of the commemoration of St. Paul; it consisted in reciting a particular Versicle before repeating each Antiphon of the Nocturns. The Doctors of the sacred Liturgy tell us that the remarkable labours of the Doctor of the Gentiles and those of St. Laurence earned for them this distinction (Beleth. cxlv.; Sicard. IX., xxxix.; Durand. VII., xxiii. Pent. IV).

Our forefathers were greatly struck by the contrast between the endurance of the holy deacon under his cruel tortures and his tender-hearted, tearful parting with Sixtus II., three days before. On this account, they gave to the periodical showers of "falling stars," which occur about the 10th August, the graceful name of St. Laurence's tears: a touching instance of that popular piety which delights in raising the heart to God through the medium of natural phenomena.

Our beloved Abbot Gueranger adds: "No doubt our weakness will not be called upon to endure the ordeal of a red-hot gridiron; nevertheless, we are tried by flames of a different kind, which, if we do not extinguish them in this life, will feed the eternal fire of hell. The Church, therefore, asks on this feast of St. Laurence that we may gifted with prudence and courage."




St. Lawrence, pray for us