Category Archives: Spirituality

Spirituality

Male affirmation and the Secret to Purity

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murillo-the-holy-family-c1660

by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

As you can see from this blog, From Rome, I make it a point to write about topics about which I see no one talking, but which need to be spoken about. In this post I will speak to those men who are slaves to the sins of impurity and how to be liberated in Christ. This is the “you” to whom I speak.*

Some of you have been enslaved since your youth, because no one told you in time what was a mortal sin of impurity and so you developed an addiction to sins of this kind. Some of you had such an addiction and broke it. And some of you fell into such an addition later in life.

The first advice I can give you, is not to take advice from someone who is addicted to the same sin. The internet is full of individuals, with or without degrees in pertinent fields, who are obviously addicted to impurity since they openly say there is nothing bad about such an addiction.

The best advice, of all, is to take the counsel of God and His Saints.  This matter is very serious, for as Our Lady says at Fatima, the sins of impurity take the most souls to hell. And Saint Alphonsus says that no soul goes to Hell without the sin of impurity, just like no soul gets to heaven without the virtue of humility.

The second advice I can give you is, that you need to recognize that without Jesus Christ you cannot be saved. There is no self help which can save you, or which you can practice, without Jesus.  That is because, the addiction to the sins of impurity is not just a physical or chemical addiction, but a spiritual addiction.

Why?

Because, the power of procreation which God has given to men and women, is not merely a biological power. In virtue of the fact that this power cooperates immediately and intimately with God’s creative power, in creating new human souls, at the moment of conception, the power of procreation is the one biological power which touches upon the supernatural and is inextricable from the spiritual.

To understand at the most basic level this power, consider that in 80 days each and every individual adult man in the world (even the most chaste) produces enough zygotes to repopulate nearly the entire planet with its present population. God made the man this way to show us how the power of procreation touches upon the Infinite power of the God of Life.

The misuse of such a power, then, is a very spiritual sin, it is not just a carnal sin.

Now many have spoken about what to do to break such a horrible slavery, from the point of view that these sins are carnal. The first things are fasting and abstinence, which in modern times must be said to include reducing the intake of proteins, vitamins and all nutritional sources, liquor and eliminating all stimulants, whether taken internally or used upon the body. The total destruction and removal of all pornography which you keep at home, in your office, in your car, or under your control (if you have the habit of hiding it elsewhere). The mortification of the eyes and imagination. The firm resolution never to commit such sins again. The removal of your person from occasions of these sins. Ending all evil friendships. Corporal mortifications, such as cold showers. — And in this one must recognize that there is no little sin of impurity. That is, there is no venial sin of impurity. Impurity is always a mortal sin. Because impurity as a sin consists in the use of the procreative power in a way in which it is not ordered to the conception of new souls in the womb of your wife. For that is the only reason and purpose God gave you to use this power.**

These are some of the necessary means to break addiction to carnal sins.  Almost every man who has ever asked me counsel about such matters is one which I find, upon interrogation, is NOT practicing the above, or is addicted to self indulgence, as for example, eating too much red meat or using pornography.

But today I want to speak about the spiritual side of this sin. And not simply that a man falls into this sin because he does not have the habit of praying, such as praying the daily rosary. This is true, but why is it true?

Men commit sins of impurity because they are trying to prove something to themselves. This seems at first somewhat of an absurd and abstract statement, but it is not.

This is because, at the human level, we are not pure spirits, nor pure bodies, we are the union of an immortal soul and a mortal body. And often an individual who neglects to recognize this union of extremes in himself, takes action on one level, when action is required on the other level.

Thus, men who consider themselves a failure in anything visible try to compensate by proving that in something else they are a success in something else which is visible. This is why sins of impurity are so common among young men who are in a crisis about who they are to be and whether anyone really loves them in this world, and why they are so common among men who are in a crisis in their marriage or career or job, because they either do not find that they are loved by their wives, or because they think that failure in some other matter, requires them to attempt to succeed by being impure.

I will leave it to psychologists to enumerate all the occasions in which the sense of failure leads immediately to sins of impurity, especially the sin of self abuse, but I will enumerate some.

  1. Failure to win a spot on the team or in the club.
  2. Failure to succeed in a project or mission.
  3. Failure to convince others of your point of view.
  4. Failure to win at some contest.
  5. Failure to distinguish yourself in come accomplishment or talent or in good looks.
  6. Failure to be accepted by someone or group in which you put your hopes for self affirmation.

From the sense of failure most men react by seeking to affirm themselves by some act of impurity. By this they attempt to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to be a man and/or have it more than or better than those men whom they perceive to be their rivals or role models, whether as fathers or as peers.

And this is why only Jesus Christ and the identity He offers you in His Kingdom can save you.

Because only that kind of salvation which is interior and which satisfies that which we need most fundamentally, can rescue us from the real spiritual problem in which we fall, which consists in this, that we recognize that we have failed to be what we were never made to be WITHOUT RECOGNIZING what we are called and made to be.

This is verified in sins of impurity. Because the onset of such sins is nearly always at a time in life in which the individual has in his own eyes failed, because he is seeking to be that which he is not.

And the most common error here, is that a man seeks to be a man who is perfect according to the body, when in truth, we are made to be men who are perfect according to the soul. When we try to satisfy that which Saint Augustine calls, the most intimate desire of our heart, in something else, we find it does not fit, we then consider ourselves a failure, and then we try to make up for the dent or damage to our innermost conception of our own dignity. That is why, as St Augustine says, Thou has made our hearts for Thee, and they are restless until they rest in Thee.

And to be precise, I am not talking here about merely psychological depression. I am talking about ontological depression.

That is why we cannot be saved except by the Most Holy Trinity. Because when you turn back to the Most Holy Trinity, you turn back to the Source of all Order and Identity.  And repentance will be just that: the decision made possible by God’s grace and YOUR collaboration with it, to seek again that which you were made to be and to stop wandering down ever-narrowing dark alleys of existence, in which there is no lasting consolation, but only worsening deprivation and worsening emptiness.

We are called to be the adopted sons of the Eternal Father. We are called to be the adopted brothers of the Eternal Son. We are called to be the adopted temples and soldiers of the Eternal Lord and Vivifier, the Holy Spirit. And I will add, we are called to be the beloved sons and knights of the Blessed Virgin, Our Mother in Heaven.

We are called by a Love which has contemplated our own personal individual existence from Eternity. We are called by this Eternal Love to be loved eternally. We are called by this Love which is God to be loved by everyone in Heaven, perfectly and forever. There, where God will wipe away every tear and sorrow and all shall be gladness and rejoicing. A Beatitude which we will posses in soul, but which also will pour over out of our souls into our bodies.

This is why, the most powerful prayer to break from the slavery to the sins of impurity is the Our Father. Because in this one prayer we can come to understand that our eternal destiny our ultimate and perfect affirmation, consolation, encouragement comes from the Eternal Father and finds its fulfillment only In Him.

This is also why repeated meditations or confessions which focus ONLY upon the eternity of hell and how horrible and terribly we have failed God by sins of impurity, is NOT going to solve the problem. It may even make it worse, because it increases the sense of failure and gives no hope or direction where to find true success.***

So my final advice is to contemplate that throne next to Himself to which God has called you, and for which He has made you and in this way you will find a stable ground upon of grace upon which to step forth from this slavery.  For if you want that throne in which is found all goodness, you must understand that you must give up all impurity. Because just as the power of procreation touches upon the Infinite, so the virtue of purity is the root of immortality.

Because in the task of being something, where it really matters, that is, in getting to Heaven, God Himself with His Eternal Love and with His Omnipotence, has both made you in Christ and empowers you with His Holy Spirit — if you accept the challenge — to succeed eternally and achieve perfection in being eternally loved by everyone in Heaven, and not according to the flesh, but according to who you are, which is that according to which you are unique in all the cosmos, in all time and eternity.

May Our Immaculate and Ever Virgin Mother, who is so saddened when She sees us sin in any way, especially against purity, be your refuge and path back to God. For She who never was in any way impure was rewarded with the greatest joy in Heaven and She wants you, as Her adopted child, to enjoy that with Her, for as a Mother, Her heart can not rest until She sees you with Her in Her home and at Her table.****

________

* And I speak to men, for no other reason, that being a man, I know something about being a man. I will readily confess, that as a hermit and consecrated virgin, I know nothing about women.

** And yes, that means, if you do not have a wife, you should never use this power. To understand this, let me use an example from an entirely different matter. At a gun range, when you practice shooting, you shoot at a target. If you shoot at anything else, you will never be allowed to return and may also be arrested and sent to prison. These are the rules of a gun range.  And God has His own rules, because all Creation is His Range, and God Has an eternal prison, it’s called Hell. And Arresting Angels (not nice people at all), who are the angels of destruction and damnation (a.k.a devils) which take those in mortal sin to Hell.

*** This why I believe it is necessary for Confessors, during confession, not simply to hear the sins of impurity enumerated by the penitent, or simply talk about the eternity of hell which they merit, but to remind the sinner that he is called to a true destiny where he can succeed in arriving, because God is at his back every step of the way.

**** And She has many graces which no one ever asks Her for. One of which, is the grace to be worthy of Her love through a life of purity. For only the pure shall merit to kiss Her hand in Heaven.

Faith, Spirituality

And Despair is for losers…

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by Br Alexis Bugnolo

I recently shared an article on the importance of turning to Our Lady in the times of darkness, because Her example of Faith and Charity are a light for all the faithful when all other lights go out.

But today, I want to point out another great truth, that cannot be left unsaid, but which has been left unsaid for much too long.

That Our Lady is our most powerful example of Hope.

You see, those addicted to sin and all the workers of evil cannot preach about Hope in the world to come, because they have already despaired. For as the Saints teach, one cannot turn irrevocably over to evil, to the dark side, without the terrible sin of despair, which is always mortal.

The danger of despair is more prevalent than we think. It is one of the chief errors spread by both Islam and Marxism. Both systems of thought are fatalistic, because neither knows the path to God.

For Christians, Hope began long before the salvation of each of us, and we hope precisely because God created a Path to Heaven, When He descended to Heaven. That path is Mary. This is the teaching of Saints Louis Marie Montfort and St Maximilian Mary and all the great devotees of Our Lady who are saints.

Yes, Jesus is our Hope, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. But because sin separates us from God and the experience of this separation is what the Devil uses to inspire souls to spiritual sloth, which is the mother of despair, the crucial medicine against Despair is Our Blessed Mother, whom on account of being our Spiritual Mother in Heaven is a path back to God in a way God can never be, because God the Son, as God, was never alienated from God the Father or God the Holy Ghost.

OUR BLESSED MOTHER is also a great example of Hope against despair, because She never lost hope even when it appeared that evil had completely triumphed over Her Son and His work. Even when Her own people persecuted the Church She prayed more fervently for the conversion of sinners, and, as the Saint say, obtained the conversion of Saint Paul, the Great Apostle to the Gentiles.

Without such hope, man tastes a bitter alienation, because his sins separate him from God and the life in God.

And man from the beginning has known this alienation. Yet, as the Fathers teach, just as man became alienated from God in the beginning THROUGH A WOMAN, so did God in the end times provide that man, who is alienated, come back to Him THROUGH A WOMAN.

This is why,

All the Devil needs to purchase your soul, is Despair

Despair is the price of souls, who are damned, just as Hope is the price of souls to be redeemed.

This is because no sin paralyses a soul completely but despair. Without despair, a soul knows there is a possibility of salvation for it IF IT JUST collaborate with grace enough to be moved CLOSE ENOUGH TO GOD to be saved.

Despair prevents the following good works which are necessary for salvation of the individual soul:

  1. Prayer for the grace to repent.
  2. Works of penance for sin.
  3. Avoidance of sin, for souls in the state of mortal sin.
  4. Asking God, Saints and fellow men for help to over come sin and bad habits.
  5. Confessing one’s sins.
  6. Encouraging others in the life of virtue.
  7. Worthy reception of the Sacraments.
  8. Good works necessary to save sinners.

For this reason, the agents of darkness know well that the worst thing they can do is to preach against Despair. They work to spread despair by announcing all their evil triumphs. They promote despair by doing nothing against them. This is the sign of every false Apostle. Sound familiar?

But the worse despair is that which despairs even of seeking the help of Mary, who is our great example in every virtue and who is especially quick to heed the cries of Her children in every need!

Despair, thus, by its very nature cuts the soul off from all hope for redemption, salvation, improvement. This is why…

Despair is like a snake, it does not jump upon you, it slithers into your soul

by means of spiritual neglect. This neglect is called sloath. First you omit one good work, then another, then this or that prayer, then another. Then you stop frequenting Church, you leave off reading Catholic books, or the writings of the Saints. Or if you do you read only prophecies of doom and destruction.

And the next thing you know, you are preaching despair to those around you, because it is the best excuse for doing nothing and allowing the world to go to Hell.

And without realizing it, you have just become an Apostle of Damnation and a card-holding member of the underworld on Earth.

The Danger of Despair is too great

Unfortunately, on Social Media there are an abundance of such false Apostles. That is the chief reason I refuse to publish comments, when they are laced with despair. There is  nothing more against the virtues of Faith and Charity and Hope than to preach that nothing can be done, evil cannot be opposed, the conquest of the wicked is inevitable.

And the really wicked trolls attempt to attack Catholics on social media precisely on this point.

Despair has a more wicked Twin Sister

Despair, I like to say, has an evil Twin Sister: Presumption.  Presumption is the habit of thinking God will give something when you do not merit it. Satan attempted to introduce Presumption twice into the Church. The first time he was crushed by the disciples of Saint Augustine, when he tried to get men to believe that salvation was in their power, they did not need Christ. That was the heresy of Pelagian.

The second time, he succeeded in damning hundreds of millions of souls, through his servant, Luther, who taught that a man is holy, the more he presumes the grace of God. Luther called his vice of presumption, “Faith” to conceal its poison. But those who bought the lies of Luther quickly fell to despair because the system of Presumption, in not having recourse to all the Sacraments, to the Communion of Saints, to Penitence for Sin, most importantly, quickly leads one to realize it cannot achieve holiness except through pretense. This is why protestant churches are always splitting. It is their last attempt for hope. Except they never get rid of Despair’s Evil Twin Sister, and so Despair soon returns to their house.

Catholics need to slap themselves in the Face…

If you accept the presumption of Protestants, or the fatalism of Muslims, then pretty soon you will no longer believe that it is necessary for your own salvation that you do anything to protect others from evil. And with that error embraced by more and more Catholics, the Church would fail.

That is why the truest sign of a true Catholic is that they are dedicated both to prayer and to good works to save others! Because prayer without works is a vain exercise, which God will not answer. And works with out pray is presumption, that God is not or does not have to be in the equation.

And the worse kind of despair and presumption is found among those who believe the Church will be overcome by the wicked. The second, is that “I” personally do not need to do anything to achieve the victory, I can wait and watch for it to happen, as if the Book of the Apocalypse were a TV program or something!

No, the truth is, all those who stand around watching, are already part of the Mystical Body of Satan, because sloth is a mortal sin! Presumption of victory is a mortal sin! And Despair that you can do anything to contribute to the victory is a mortal sin!

Remember, Victory is only attained by those who fight for it

Somehow, I do not know how, but somehow a good number of Catholics got the crazy notion, that the Church in the end will triumph over Satan and the wicked, and that “I” will share in that victory, even if I do not fight.

The problem with this CRAZY IDEA of making salvation history into a sort of soccer or football game which I can watch and still participate in the victory of the winning team is this:

IN MATTERS OF SALVATION, THERE ARE NO ONE IN THE BLEACHERS OR ON THE BENCH.

Everyone is one the field. So if you are watching, you are already on the wrong side of the field, because you are in the League of the Devil. And despair is for losers….

Thus, You can only participate in the final victory, if you are playing on — not cheering for — the right team, NOW, TOMORROW AND FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

The Church of Rome alone is guaranteed the Victory

And if you want to be on the winning side, then you need the Office of Saint Peter, because of all the graces God gave for victory, there is ONLY ONE, the office of St Peter which He promised would never be overcome by the forces of Darkness.

This is why asserting the renunciation of Pope Benedict is valid is SO PURELY AND HELLISHLY DIABOLICAL.

It is diabolical because it leads inevitably to despair through presumption, as if the Church can exist with a heretical pope, or prevail against the Darkness with an Office of Peter which does not produce victory.

But others err in another direction. Namely, they believe that somehow the Anti-Christ will conquer the Church of Rome and that the papacy will cease.

If you have not noticed, Christ promised that His Church would never be overcome. And He gave to His Church the office of St Peter. And that office the Apostle Saint Peter left as an inheritance to the Church of Rome. Hence, the Church of Rome will endure until the end of time and share in the victory. But not every other local Church, for many will be overcome by darkness.

This is why all the Saints had confidence when they fought on behalf of the Pope or the Church of Rome. They knew the means for Victory were there, if they could just put them to use or put them back in working order.

This is what we Catholics who know that Benedict is still the Pope are doing. This is the great merit of being on the winning side and knowing how to achieve the Victory. This is why it is not presumption or foolishness to fight for the Faith at Rome. And this is why I write this Blog.

This is also why winning here, at Rome, for and with the true Pope, Benedict, is so essential for winning everywhere else in the world.

O IMMACULATE CONCEPTION,
OUR HEAVENLY MOTHER AND OUR GREAT SIGN OF HOPE
for when mankind was sunk in the depths of his sins,
God the Holy Spirit worked His greatest miracle of grace:
the creation of your soul!

O Mother of Our Redeemer and most beloved daughter of the Eternal Father,
look with all the tenderness of thy Maternal Love on me
a wretched sinner,
and vouchsafe to once again touch my soul with HOPE,
so that I might return to the zealous practice of the Faith
to which God imbued me in Baptism,
anointed me in Confirmation,
and wants to restore me in Holy Confession.

HELP ME TO REMEMBER ALWAYS

That this is not a battle in which I can remain on the bleachers. Because, you want me to be with you on the winning side, a victory I cannot share in unless I fight for it.

AMEN.

_________

CREDITS: My photo of the Sepulchral Monument to Pope Leo XIII at Saint John Lateran, at Rome. When, with the Papal States ended, all spoke of the imminent disappearance of the Church of Rome, Pope Leo guided the Church in the greatest expansion of faith the world had ever seen, by sending missionaries to all corners of the world and increasing the total Catholic population by several fold.

 

 

Faith, Spirituality

In Her tears, the Church can find salvation from the Apostasy

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by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

Many things in the Church are left unsaid, but should not be. Most of them which come to mind are evil things, horrendous sacrileges and scandals.

But there are many things which are left unsaid, out of neglect, or a lack of appreciation. And most of these are good things, wonderful things, treasures coming down from Heaven.

In this post, I want to talk about the most precious of these gifts: the tears of Our Lady. I speak here of the gifts with a little, “g”, not of the “Gifts” with the capital, which refer to the Eucharistic or Divine Miracles.

If you have not noticed, Our Lady has been crying a lot lately.

First of all, this is Scriptural: that Our Lady endured the most intense sorrow at seeing Her Son rejected by the High Priests and condemned to death by the Roman Authority and rejected by most of Her own people, crucified and executed as vile criminal. This is a matter of faith, “A sword of sorrow shall pierce your own soul” (Luke 2:35), as was prophesied to her by St. Simeon, the day Our Lord was presented in the Temple as a babe.

But whether Our Lady cried at Calvary, is debated among the saints, with some saying She did, others saying She did not, because of the immaculate perfection of Her humanity allowed her to hide her suffering out of humility. The Holy See weighed into this controversy around the time of the Council of Trent, I think, and outlawed images of Our Lady which showed Her overcome by sorrow, collapsing at the foot of the Cross or fainting away, as contrary to Scripture, which says clearly, “Standing at the foot of the Cross was Mary the Mother of Jesus….” (John 19:25-27)

But in the ages after Pentecost many an image of Our Lady has wept: tears of water or human tears, tears of oil of crisim and even of human blood.  During the Reformation a sold white marble Statue of Our Lady wept tears of blood or water 5 times at Ficarra in Sicily. It is thought Our Lady worked this miracle to show Her profound sorrow at the loss of so many of Her children to the evil lies of the Reformers. I had the great honor to walk in the procession of Our Lady, at Ficarra, in 2011. The devout do it with bear feet on the hot pavements of August.

In 1846 on Sept 19, Our Lady cried at La Salette, France, in the French Alps, saying the sins of mankind were now so heavy She could not avert the wrath of God. This was the first of Her great modern Apparitions. It says a lot, that in the first one She show us Her tears. At La Salette She revealed the corruption of the clergy and the downfall of Rome and the rise of the Antichrist. La Salette is the most beautiful setting Our Lady has ever chosen. I can still vividly remember my visit there in 2004. Make sure to get some of the waters from the spring, which confer the grace on many a soul to repent of their worst sins.

Our Lady of Siracuse

Then, in 1953, from August 29 to September 1, there was the extraordinary weeping of a tiny image of the Immaculate Heart at Syracuse, Italy. A shrine stands there to commemorate the miracle.

I have visited this shrine several times in 2010 and 2011, and can assured you, though the Church is horribly ugly, that Our Lady grants tremendous graces of penitence in this Church and other special graces to guide one in the fidelity to their daily duties and vocation. — It is generally thought in Italy that this prodigy was a warning of the tremendous disaster which would occur at Vatican II. Indeed, in 1953 the Freemasons in the Church began their plan to overthrow the Church from within, because they could not endure the Dogmatic definition of the Assumption of Our Lady body and soul into Heaven, to take the seat of their lord, the cast-down Lucifer.

There have been many other occasions of such prodigies: Statues of Our Lady of Fatima, of the Mystical Rose, even of Our Lady of Guadalupe. One image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in New Mexico, USA, which began to weep tears of Chrism on the Solemnity of Pentecost in 2018: a sign I believe refers to Her sorrow that so many unworthy men are being ordained priests and consecrated Bishops.

Another image of Our Lady wept human tears for several years at Fresno, California, beginning about the time of the first Synod on the Family: I sign I think refers to Her tremendous sorrow at the bishops allowing divorce and giving the Most Blessed Sacrament of Her Son to public adulterers.

IF YOU KNOW OF OTHER WEEPINGS, please include a link to information about them in the comments below, so this post can become a treasury of such for Her children who love Her the most.

Why does Our Lady show us Her tears?

The reasons are many. First of all, there is nothing more evocative to a human being than to see their Mother cry. All faithful children want to do whatever they can to assuage the sorrow of their mother.

So we can be sure, since Our Lady is body and soul in Heaven, that She works these prodigies by the grace of God to send us the strongest message possible: that She is horrendously saddened by sin.

Sorrow for sin is not necessarily salvific. It can be if it leads to repentance. If it is just moved by remorse at suffering on account of our sins or not achieving the crimes we wanted to achieve, it is actually worthy of damnation.

But Our Lady’s Sorrow for sin is co-redemptive, because by it She united Herself perfectly to Jesus on the Cross and contributed Her sorrow and Her offering to that Salvific Sacrifice. This is why the Popes call Her, “Corredemptrix”, because by it all that Jesus Merited for us, She also merited for us. Christ merited much more, and in not all of that did She merit, but as far as we are concerned She is most worthy of the title of collaborater in the work of the Redeemer, which in Latin is, Corredemptrix.

By these tears, however, Our Lady’s purpose is to encourage us, too, to weep for sins.

First for our own sins. And with tears of penitence. With a deep and fiery sort of sorrow which plunges our thoughts to how we merited the horrendous eternal punishments of hell, and how we sinned with such disregard for God’s goodness, for the gratitude we own our Creator, Savior and Redeemer, and in utter disregard for all the good things God and the Saints have done us in our lives.

This kind of burning sorrow washes away the punishment of sins (if we are in the state of grace) and disposes us to make a good Sacramental Confession (whether we are in the state of grace or not). It is the kind of sorrow which makes Confession effective. Without this sorrow, our Confessions rarely are, though many presume they are. That is why so many keep confessing the same sins. They confess without the sorrow which goes down into the soul.

In Her tears the Church Herself can find Salvation from the present Apostasy

Everyone is wondering why no one is doing anything about the horrific pontificate of Bergoglio other than saying that we should shut up and endure it.

This is because so many souls have shut the doors of their hearts to sorrow for sin!

Making reparation for sins is good. But you should start with your own sins, and if you were sincere you would have little time left for others’ sins.

The perfection of sorrow of sins is the source of new life in the Church: it drives souls into religious life to do penance. It makes men realize how important it is that they become priests to save souls. It repairs broken marriages, broken vows, broken friendships. It makes reparation for all kinds of sins.

We need to cry at the horror of our own sins. We need to ask for this grace of tears. The great Saints had it. And if we pray to Our Lady to experience this sorrow, whether we cry tears or not, we are doing a good work, because we all could use a lot more sorrow for sin in the Church.

We need to pray in addition that this grace comes upon the Clergy, from Pope Benedict down to the last seminarian in the Church. The clergy have been pretty much doing their own will for 60 years and they have ruined the Church by it. Only if they begin to weep, will they find the way back to God.

For having tasted true sorrow for sin, the soul is made a warrior against sin. And only with such a rebaptism can we fight the Apostasy and the Apostles of Sin.

These tears are most powerful. For they are in a way a sharing in the tears of the Co-redemptrix, as powerful as the Blood of Christ for us, according to the efficacy of their power to bring us back to God when we have spurned the Blood of Christ. — That is why the Agents of Apostasy hate Her under this title, Corredemptrix, and fear Her tears so much. That is also why they so often deny that it is She who is crying.

O My God,
I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee,
and I DETEST my sins
not only because by them I have merited Thy just punishment in Hell,
but most of all because by them I have offended Thee,
Who art the infinite Good and worthy of all my love.

Therefore, trusting in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
I firmly resolve to sin no more,
to avoid the near occasions of my sins,
and to do penance for them. Amen.

CREDITS: Images of Our Lady are, in order of their appearance: Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Syracuse, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Hobbs, NM, USA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spirituality

Saving Souls in the time of Apostasy

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The Statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, at the top of the Castello San Angelo, Rome (click for image credits).

by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

Today I want to confront and address the most urgent and crucial problem for the lay Catholic: the problem of apostasy among the clergy of one’s own local area.

This problem is crucial because without the Church we cannot be saved. And thus without Catholic Clergy we cannot have the sacraments and guidance we need to be saved.

I know of this problem first hand, since I am not a priest, nor do I have any particular talent at convincing priests of anything.

What I say here is for those of you who do not know your local priest well, or who are going to attempt to speak to a priest whom you do not know. For those of you who have a close friendship with a priest or your pastor, you might be able to undertake the core argument (see below) immediately after mass, because he knows you and trusts you already. So do not take my advice as some sort of scrupulous book of rules to follow. It all depends on the priest and your relationship to him AND whether he sincerely and ardently believes the Holy Faith.

Spiritual Warfare: Preparation & Armor

We live in dark times. And the workers of darkness have achieved already notable successes in deluding nearly everyone on earth in one or more error. This is especially true of the Clergy whom we know, nearly all of whom were ordained after Vatican II. Since the Council there has been an organized effort to turn priestly formation into a mind control process whereby, whatever priest who does survive, more likely serves the Club first and is willing to sacrifice God, Church, souls and you and your family for the Club.

Therefore, above all the first weapon we must use is spiritual discernment. And to have this we need first of all to put ourselves in the grace of God by a good confession and firm resolution to take the side of God and to collaborate with Saint Michael the Archangel in everything he may direct us..

This does not mean that he will start talking to us, but if we have confessed ourselves sincerely and show ourselves to be walking on the path of virtue and not of sin and hypocrisy, he will assist our guardian angel to give us little inspirations which lead to greater ones..

I recommend as essential spiritual-military preparations for the prospective spiritual soldier in the legion of Saint Michael, that, in addition to Confession, you do the following:

  1. Consecrate yourself to Our Lady, especially under Her title as Corredemptrix, which She merits on account of her perfect collaboration with the Redeemer in meriting all the graces for us which He merited for us (cf. Fatima Prayer, “O Most Holy Trinity”), a title given to Her by Catholics for more than 800 years and which shows clearly that we have a way back to God when we spurn the graces of Christ; a way back, which He Himself established in His Infinite Mercy for sinners; a way back which was merited by Her surpassing humility and sorrow for sins, the two virtues which are key and essential to the personal conversion of every soul.
  2. Make a pact with Saint Michael to never look upon what is impure and to ask him to protect you from near occasions of sin.
  3. Ask forgiveness of your Guardian Angel for having ignored him throughout your entire life, for having disregarded so many of his good counsels, for having lived your life as if you were to live it on your own and not at God’s direction, for having claimed so many good ideas as your own, when it was he who inspired them, and for having disregarding so many good counsels to avoid sin and to practice virtue. As penance promise to obey his advice in every occasion from now on, and to mortify your mind of all idle thoughts by stop listening to music or the radio all day long, and by spending time each day in daily meditation in silence, keeping a spirit of prayer, by conversing with Jesus, Our Lady, the Saints and your guardian Angel throughout the day, in the silence and sanctuary of your mind.
  4. Say 5 decades of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary daily.
  5. Receive communion worthily when possible.
  6. Offer alms to the truly poor in reparation for your sins. Do works of mercy to which you are invited or see the need as you see the need, but without neglecting your duties first to your family (parents, children, siblings etc.) and work (as contractually required, avoid the excess of making your job your life, as Christ is your real boss).
  7. If your health can bear it, to fast on Fridays for your own sins, especially for following your emotions, passions and vices into sins. Fasting means eating less and less frequently in humble penance for sins. If you have had a bad habit of mortal sin, and are still tempted, make a clean break with your past life by a rigorous series of fasts, several days or every day of the week, for several weeks or months or years. This is especially needed for those who have given themselves up to gluttony, which is a very common vice in the developed countries of the world.

Spiritual Warfare: Ammunition

Now since the battle at hand requires that we achieve victories by delivering souls from the delusion of error, it is necessary that we prepare ourselves intellectually to explain how lies are lies and errors are errors.

The regular readers of my blog have a good head-start, because the whole purpose of my blog is to give this kind of information, which both orientates you, explains what is going on and gives some counsel on how to react to it.

But you need to also make a list of the biggest problems in the Church right now, because such a list is an excellent way to prepare talking points with priests. I will not suggest what you should put on the list, because it is best that you make up your own, because those issues you think most important are the ones you are apt to be able to speak about most sincerely and from the heart.

As for printed information, for priests I believe that not all information is needed or necessary or useful. But I do believe that the information at ppbxvi.org is the essential: The Canonical Argument, the Scholastic Question and the text of the Academic Conference. Having a copy printed out, with you, when you speak to priests is an easy way to leave something to continue the conversation, if he shows signs of openness to the truth. But to orientate yourself for any eventual discussion and to prepare yourself for any eventual objection, I recommend reading all the Article on the Index to Pope Benedict’s Renunciation.

This is because our Ammunition in this spiritual warfare is Truth about what really happened, what the Code of Canon Law really requires, and how the problem of the invalid resignation is not a complaint generated by faithful who dislike Bergoglio, but a real objective error of interpretation which puts those who accept the error in objective separation from the communion of the Church.

Spiritual Warfare: Strategy

In the science of War, there are two aspects which must be kept in mind and developed in a way that pertains to the realities on the ground: Strategy and Tactics. Strategy is the overall goal and plan for conquest. Tactics are the rules for conducing individual battles so that each can be won without dissipating or destroying allied forces, which are needed for other battles.

STRATEGY:  The strategy in this battle is to save the local Church. This requires that we convert Catholics to the truth of what is going on. Now since every military force which is not adept at war is green and needs experience before tackling the most formidable opposition, the best way to start is to chose battles which are easy to win and which, if one fails, will not damage your own forces. Then having learned how to fight by trial and error in small and easy battles, the trained warrior can move on to the more difficult battles, assisted by experience gained and allies won in the first battles. Thus the most difficult battles, that of winning over your Bishop, for example, or getting your entire Diocese to reject the Apostasy, cannot be obtained initially without these preliminary battles. And the best way to practice this warfare, is not to start with priests, but with fellow laymen and laywomen.

INTELLIGENCE GATHERING: The local Church is a society. This society has a structure and way of operation. There are links between persons and persons, between institutions and institutions, of friends to friends and of work associates with work associates. This is the terrain of our warfare. Only Catholics who have lived their lives in the local Church can know of this. And to the extent that we do not know of it, we need to inform ourselves through our personal contacts with faithful Catholics who know better than ourselves. Essential to this initial battle preparation is intelligence gathering of such information. Try to find out who are the best and closest friends of the priest with whom you are going to speak, or which priests he admires most or were instrumental in his own vocation. There are some priests who on account of their learning, piety and sociability are respected by more priests than others are. Approaching a contact first, before approaching the priest, will help you understand whether he will be open to the truth, and will help you acquire, possibly, an ally in the approach, who might recommend to the priest that he speak with you, or recommend to you how to approach him.

The most influential priests in your diocese should be considered the most crucial and important battles to win. You do not want to start the spiritual battle with such a priest unless there is very sound grounds you are going to win it, because the results of a loss will be more devastating, as the enemy will be assisted greatly by recruiting such an ally.

Spiritual Warfare: Tactics

Tactics regards the rules of fighting individual battles of any kind. There are things to be done before initiating combat, things to be done at the start, middle and end of each battle and things to  be done after the fight is won or lost.

BEFORE COMBAT

Prepare yourself spiritually and bring along plenty of ammunition, either in printed form or in memorized information. Essential intelligence gathered should have already indicated that the priest with whom you are about to speak is able to understand what you are going to say and willing to accept hearing it from you, at the time you ask, and in the manner you present it. Your intelligence gathering should already have assured you that this priest will not be afraid of you, or have heard calumny about you, so as to be on the defensive as soon as you approach him.

Pray to his guardian angel and to your guardian angels, to Saint Michael, the patron saints of you and the priest, and to the patron saints of the Parish and Diocese and Church, and those famous saints of your land our country. Explain to these Saints and Angels your intention and how important this fight will be and how you cannot succeed without their intercession and participation.

It makes a big difference, too, whether the priest is a pastor, or merely an assistant pastor: whether he be a diocesan or member of an institute. Some dioceses or institutes are mind-control societies and no free thought is allowed. Some priests are more independent and courageous and are willing to stand for the truth or for their own personal opinions. Do not try to win on a battle field which is unwinnable. If the priest is merely a robot, pray for him. If the priest is manipulative, avoid him. If he does not have a reputation for being faithful to the Church, go on to another priest, because the conversation you need to undertake would be too much for a weak or errant or non-thinker.

STARTING COMBAT

Never do what is done in real warfare: never use surprise. This is because in spiritual warfare, truth enters the soul when the person is relaxed and in the mood to accept information and use his reason. It is important therefore that the time of conversation be one in which the passions and emotions of the priest are lulled, that he has time to speak with you,  and that your presentation does not seem to be too burdensome to him. So never sneak up on a priest for such a weighty conversation as this. Ask to speak with him at a time comfortable to him.

I would, therefore, recommend, that if you know the priest, to approach him at such a time. But if you do not know the priest, to arrange a meeting by asking for an appointment. Be sincere and say that all the scandals in the Church are causing many Catholics to think of leaving the Church and you would like to speak about some of these things to get some priestly advice. If a priest does not accept such a request, then do not nag him. Another way to approach, is if he is hearing confessions, then you can do this during your visit, though make sure not to start an actual confession, because if you do, you will bind him by his priestly duty not to speak or act upon whatever you may say.

When to start speaking to a priest about these things is, thus, more an art of knowing the individual priest, than a fixed rule. Due to the diverse dispositions and work of each priest, when to do this might be in entirely different situations, times of the day, days of the weeks, or locations, whether on parish grounds, or perhaps over a dinner at your house or a restaurant. Most priests are overworked and appreciate an invitation and friendly conversation.

CONDUCTING THE BATTLE: Opening salvos

At all times remain calm, friendly and polite. The objective is to spread truth and this only happens in a climate of trust and respect. If what you say or the way you say it cause the priest to be offended, apologize for upsetting him and explain you are only a layman who is not familiar with how one speaks of such things with priests. Also, make it clear that you are discussing this with him in private. Do not imitate me in my conversations with the Curia, because what I am doing at Rome is for the good of the whole Church to inform everyone. Your battles remember have the strategy of winning over your own diocese, and your tactics have to target individuals and secure victories. Keep your victories a secret and do no publish them. The objective, remember, is that the clergy of your own diocese publicly take a stand on their own initiative and as they think best.

As I suggested, have prepared a list of the major or most serious scandals in the Church today, as you see them. Gently move the conversation to one of these, and point out how damaging it is for the faithful who have increasingly more and more reasons to stop going to Church and stop trusting priests. Ask in a spirit of desiring to understand better and engage the priest in doing something to bridge this confidence gap.

If the priest expresses himself as a believer and as someone who is concerned about the truth and about the imminent destruction of the Church, then begin to point out that as Catholics our faith requires us to be consistent. We cannot believe in private and act as pagans in public. This is particularly true in Church. If we continue to pretend that the Church is communion with those who reject Jesus’s authority, then the faithful will just leave and seek Jesus elsewhere. If we continue to treat Jesus in the Sacrament as a candy to be given to everyone regardless of whether they are His friends, by being in the state of grace, or not, we teach in practice that Jesus does not exist and the the Faith is a joke and a farce.

At this point a priest will make it absolutely clear whether he cares or not. If he does not care, move the conversation on to something else or end it, and express your disappointment gently and with respect. For such priest, ending by saying something like, “I believe in Jesus, I want Jesus, and I do not know where to find priests who love Him as I do.” But chose words the way you speak. You want to make the most of every lost battle by leaving in a way that allows another encounter in the future. For priests such as this, who care not so much about truth, but sentiments, you need to show that he has failed in his conversation with you.

If the priest does make it clear he wants to save souls, then point out to him how important it is for him publicly and in his actions and words to take a stand. Explain that the laity only respect priests when they speak the truth, take a stand for truth, and encourage them to do the same. Many priests have forgotten, by the hum drum daily work they do, repetitious, that the laity want leaders in the path of God.

If he responds positively to this line of conversation, point out how in the past clergy have been heroic leaders in times of crisis. They did not fear to speak and they did not fear to pray publicly and preach publicly in accord with the truth. Point out how in today’s world, it is not infrequent that the battle for souls depends on truth and that journalists and a lot of others are habitually inclined to misrepresent the truth. The very ones who daily decry the Nazis are often the very ones who use his tactic of the Big Lie to deceive the masses. That is why priests who defend the truth are so needed today.

If he does not want to be heroic, ask him about how he feels when he does and says one thing in public, and another in private. Does it not cause an interior conflict or depression at having to pretend to go along with lies against the Faith, but personally believe the truths of the Faith? You can talk about all the hot topics in your diocese, such as ecology, woman priests or deacons, support of persons who are enemies of the Church in their politics or personal life. You can ask him what the final result will be of a life of the priesthood spent saying one thing and believing another, publicly promoting or go along with falsehood but being personally opposed. Point out that the prudent thing is to be consistent and if he wants to save souls to be a leader and preach the truth, not just believe it. Act on it, not just say it.

Don’t sound preachy. Speak about your own life and how important God, Jesus, the Church, the Faith is to you and how it has saved you from so many troubles, how Eternal Life is the prize you are seeking and how you want to know which priests really want to save souls, so you can support them.

If the priest passes these thresholds of faith, continue, otherwise wind down the conversation, or move it to other topics. Leaving a conversation respectfully and politely is much much better than leaving it with open conflict. However if a priest begins to defend error, heresy, immorality or apostasy in your presence you need to respond with faith, truth and believe and point out that he is wrong.

For the priest who passes these thresholds, you might want to continue the conversation on another day, if you have already talked at length. Most priests cannot take too much in at a time, they have do many duties and you are just another faithful talking about problems in the Church which he has talked to in the last x years of his ministry.

But if he seems sincerely eager to speak, since many priests cannot speak about these things with priests, this is the time to open up the discussion of how controversial and scandalous the Renunciation of Pope Benedict was and how the Catholic Church seems to be transforming into another religion under the direction of “Pope Francis”. If the priest begins to defend or excuse Francis, move the conversation back to the resignation. If he does begin to criticize Francis, also move the conversation back to the resignation, and point out the discrepancies.

CONDUCTING THE BATTLE: The core fight

The chief things to speak about in the core fight are these, in regard to the Renunciation:

  1. It took everyone by surprise, so it is understandable that the shock put everyone in a state of mind in which they were not paying attention to the details of what happened.
  2. No pope had resigned in 7 centuries, so it is understandable if no one was prepared to react properly.
  3. Pope Benedict is a theological genius, and it is not surprising if his way of speaking was not precisely understood for what it really meant.
  4. Point out that the Secretary for the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Bishop Arrieta recently affirmed that a Papal Resignation cannot be interpreted by anyone, since no one has the right to do that; that it must be clearly a renunciation of the office, otherwise it is invalid.
  5. Point out then that in this matter the opinion of no one binds the opinion of no one, that what is binding is the requirement of Canon Law, because when the man who is the pope resigns, it is the man who separates himself from the Papal office not the Office which separates him.
  6. Point out that even John Paul II admitted that a papal resignation can be invalid, and that the law refers to this in the Papal Law for Conclaves, and that Canon 332 §2 speaks of this explicitly.
  7. Explain that like every moral or legal act, there is that which is done and that which is the object of what is done: there is thus a verb and and object of the verb. Canon 332 says the verb is “to renounce” and the object of the verb is the Petrine “munus”, which is the canonical and theological term for the Papal Office.
  8. Affirm that common sense holds that you cannot declare something about anything unless you name the anything about which you are making the declaration.
  9. Thus, when Pope Benedict said he was renouncing the ministry which he had received rather than saying he was renouncing the petrine munus, there is a clear problem which many missed, namely, that no one in the Church has a right to interpret that renunciation as a renunciation of office. This is because, to interpret is to explain a verbal expression using OTHER words.
  10. Thus, the principles of law require us to hold that the Pope renounced His ministry, but do not signify that he renounced the Papal munus or Office.
  11. Our status in the Church, indeed the status of everyone in the Church, even of the man renouncing, does not grant us the right to impose upon what was said a meaning other than the plain meaning of the words.  If it was the intention of Pope Benedict to do something else, he should have done that, he could have done that and the Church has the right to tell him so.
  12. In nearly 7 years, Pope Benedict has never said it was his intention to resign the petrine munus, even though in the Act of Renunciation he mentions this munus twice in the Latin text.
  13. The Vatican has known this problem for nearly 7 years, because they published translations of the Act of Renunciation which hide that Pope Benedict mentioned both munus and ministerium, but only renounced the ministerium.
  14. Canon 41 gives every priest the right to examine the Act of Renunciation to determine if it is an act of renunciaton of the munus, and to NOT act on it, if it is NOT. No one in the Church has the right to interfere or block a priest on this.
  15. There is no solution to this problem other than that Catholics recognize that the Act of Renunciation did not effect the loss of the office. Pope Benedict XVI cannot fix this unless he redoes the Renunciation properly.
  16. Since the Office of Saint Peter is not merely useful but necessary for the salvation of souls, and since who is pope is the touchstone or core of the Communion of the Church, those who are not in communion with the man who holds the petrine munus are in formal schism from the Pope and from Christ and From the Church.
  17. The sign of communion and the practice of communion reach their highest apex and summit at Mass when the priest names the man in communion with whom he is offering the Sacrifice. This is the greatest and most important duty of a priest.
  18. A priest cannot avoid this controversy without putting himself and his entire flock in risk of eternal damnation, because those who knowingly remain in schism are in mortal sin and cannot be saved, because by being separated from the Mystical Body of Jesus, they are separated from the Only one Who can save them!
  19. The sin of Schism does not consist in erroneously naming the wrong man as pope in the Canon of the Mass, because you were mislead, but it does consist in naming the wrong man as pope in the Canon of the Mass once you are informed who still holds the munus.
  20. No canonical penalty can be imposed upon a priest who names Benedict in the Canon of the Mass, precisely because anyone who would move to do such would thereby formally and publicly manifest that he is in schism from the Christ, from the Catholic Church and from the man who has never renounced the petrine munus according to Canon 332 §2.
  21. Salvation is not possible for anyone who rejects submission to the true pope (cf. Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam).

Be ready to answer all objections. And be ready to explain the practical consequences.

A faithful and courageous and prudent priest will not need advice on what to do next. And it would be impolite to offer any. A young priest might need some advice.

Basically, the best way a priest could react, would be to investigate everything you said, and study the facts and original documents and law. Then being convinced of the truth, preach about it one Sunday to everyone and explain how the Catholic thing to do in such a controversy is to keep naming Benedict as the Pope for now. Then the faithful will support him and he can name Benedict in the Canon without scandal.

But a priest who does not have the courage to preach the truth, might benefit from advising him merely to name the Pope, without a proper name, because no one will really notice. Especially if he says that part of the canon not directly in front of a microphone or in a subdued voice. If he asks what he will say to others about this, advise only one course, to say exactly what you said to him. The truth.

CONDUCTING THE BATTLE: Clean up operations in victory, retreat strategies in defeat

The best outcome is that a priest agree with all these points and agrees to stop naming Bergoglio as the Pope. But nearly all priests will consider these things in private and no immediately disclose their next course of action. Be thankful that the priest heard you out. And promise to pray for him and support him to do the right thing.

The worst outcome is that a priest will interrupt or allow you to arrive at n. 21 but then violently disagree, by pretending it is all meaningless or by revealing himself as an ally of darkness. How you respond here has more to do with your sense of honor and tact. I cannot advise you. As a hermit I am obliged to say certain things a layman is not obliged to say. And I am expected to say them bluntly, because that is my vocation. But for a layman you have the right to leave the conservation by making some polite excuses but always do so in away that does not make it appear that these 21 points were motivated out of politics or hatred. Make it clear that you believe that God exists, that Jesus is really God, that Canon Law is upheld by Jesus and that objective reality is the world in which we must live. Never concede that anything true is up for grabs or that logical conclusions draw from facts are only opinions.

If you win the priest over to Pope Benedict, know that you will merit your own eternal salvation, because this is the greatest act of charity for a priest as a priest. Offer up the merit of the victory or of the defeat born patiently to obtain the graces needed for the next battle.

The best possible outcome is that you convert the priest to join you in this spiritual warfare. The worst possible outcome is that you make of him an ardent enemy who will zealously oppose the truth and warn priests not to speak with you.

If you do not have the reputation to speak with priests on account of such an evil counter-attack, devote your battles to winning over laymen and laywomen with the objective of turning them into front line fighters in the next battles. Teach them to avoid doing the things that did not work for you, and to do the things that did work.

REMEMBER: If you have failed, do not write off the priest. Catholics tried for years to convince me, and only after 5 years did I pay enough attention to read the original texts in Latin, and thus I instantly saw the problem. If you have failed, try to employ another layman or priest whom you have recruited to the cause of Benedict to try again. Sometimes only in numbers does a priest realize that it is something he should pay attention to and think about. If a whole crowd of parishioners approached him at the same time, or over several days and weeks, that would obviously impress him more than someone he does not know asking for a one time appointment.

Finally, the GREATEST STRATEGY for victory is to devote yourself to forming a local group of warriors to do all of the above and meeting from time to time to improve moral, discipline, strategy and tactics.

May God grant you Victory in this His Cause, and may Saint Michael be with you!

_________

NOTES: The most common attack you will receive in this work is that the Devil will send you a soul whom he has convinced  to despair to such an extent that they have become an apostle of despair working to destroy the Church. They will say that this will not work, you should stop. They will flip categories of truth and say that speaking the truth is hurting the Church, that truth is a lie and that lies are truth, and that preaching the truth is evil. Pity these souls and ignore them and walk with them no more, just as you would block a troll on social media. Despair is the worst of all sins, because it most effectively blocks the work of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Our Lady. Despair is a child of pride, because the person who despairs places himself over the entire order of mercy and providence and declares that God will not help those who do works of mercy.

 

 

 

Faith, Spirituality

May She be a light for you in dark times, when all other lights go out

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Behold your Mother!

by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

These words of Our Divine Redeemer echo throughout the ages. They resound from Mt. Golgotha, from the pages of Sacred Scripture, in the memories of St. John the Evangelist, in the preaching of the Apostles and first evangelists. They are recalled in the divine liturgies of the Church, are meditated upon by the prayers of the Saints, explained in their writings, emblazoned in art and music, in churches and paintings and frescos and statues. They have become the call to arms of saintly founders and are the mottoes of monasteries, convents, priests and bishops and cardinals.

Beautiful words, consoling words, words of confidence and words of hope. I personally think that in their own way, these words of Jesus from the Cross are the most beautiful in all the pages of the Bible — the most encouraging among all the words men have or shall ever hear.

I remember reading a study on the Shroud of Turin, which explained the exact manner in which, according to this holy relic, the Body of Jesus hung from the Cross, and the exact manner of His Death. The study pointed out that when Jesus in the moment of death shouted out and laid down His Most Sacred Head, He did so in a very telling manner. This final position of Our Lord’s Head is recorded in the blood and sweat stains of the Sacred Shroud.

What made this description so poignant was what the author observed about these facts in his summation — namely, that Our Lord Jesus Christ in the very final moment of His earthly life did a thing which remained the only thing He could do: that is lay down His Head in a very significant manner. In such a manner as would enable Him to look straight down to the right hand side of the foot of His Cross.

As I wondered why this was, there came to me a wonderful and most consoling realization. Have you ever noticed paintings of the Crucifixion? I would dare say that most of them depict Our Blessed Lady standing at the foot of the Cross with St. John and Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. But Mary is nearly always under Christ’s right arm, that is to say, on the right side of the Cross.

A conclusion presses itself upon our devotion: that in the last moment of His Life, Christ Our Lord made a decisive effort to make sure that the very last gaze of His mortal life would be filled with the vision of the sorrowful and most compassionate face of His Mother, Mary.

I don’t think we Christians can think of this long without being very much touched at heart by it, and even brought to tears by it, especially if you have made it the habit of meditating on the Passion, as all the Saints recommend us to do, or have at least been awakened to this holy exercise by Mel Gibson’s recent and literally stunning film, “The Passion of the Christ.” I think, weak creatures that we are, that this is especially true if we have had the personal experience of being at the death bed of a mother or father or son or daughter. The reality of how ephemeral our existence is inescapable in such moments. And it is only natural and fitting that we should burst out in tears at such tragic separations – something which is not unfitting, since as our Holy Religion teaches us, death is unnatural – and Jesus Himself cried at such occasions.

Of course being God Almighty, Jesus had no need of consolations in the Hour of Death. Indeed many a Saintly author speculates that to drink the very dregs of the bitterness of His Passion, He forced Himself to look upon the woeful suffering of His Mother in that last moment of His Life, so as to offer the merit of a Son’s Heart torn open at the sight of a Mother’s suffering, as the very last and final oblation to the Father for our salvation.

Yes, I do believe, that in that last moment, Christ received the compassion of His Mother, received Her Sacrifice of Himself, and looked upon Her in His death as if to say, “Look! Since I go now to the Father, I receive and take from Thee all that Thou has borne for My Sake with Me here and throughout all Thy life up to this day, and throughout all Thy life until I call you hence to be with me! I take it with Me to the Father, to offer it to Him forever in union with My Own Sacrifice.”

I think too many of us forget that the very last moments of Christ’s Passion were very Marian. The Holy Spirit Himself teaches us this, when the Evangelists cite the fact that Christ did not say, “It is consummated!” until first He said, “Woman, behold Thy son; son behold thy Mother!”

These marvelous words are, as it were, the “Ite Missa Est” of Golgotha. With them, Christ the High Priest completes and finishes His Sacrifice, and lays down not only His Head but now His whole human Life, accepting death and allowing His soul and body to be split asunder in the Holy Sacrifice of the Cross.

Now just as the Passion of Our Lord is the most central Mystery of our divine Religion, so the final moments and words of Our Lord from the Cross ought to be something very central to our interior life of prayer and meditation. For if Our Lord went to such lengths as to ensure and enable our remembrance of Him by promulgating the Holy Mass and ordaining the Apostles with His own powers as High Priests, saying, “Do this in memory of Me!”, how much must He want that we remember that which He did for us, and especially the very crowning moment of that Salvific Event!

Of course there are many graces, especially of consolation and encouragement for anyone who mediates on Sacred Scripture, and most of all, who meditates on the life of Jesus and Mary. And this is a very exquisite consolation that few find or enjoy in this life, trampled and trammeled as we are by the hubbub of daily life and the plethora of the modern means of mass communication. How sad and tragic, that so many, for example, make it a daily ritual to read the news, yet give not a thought to spending some quite time alone, with the doors of their room shut, or in some solitary place, meditating on all that Jesus and Mary did and said and suffered for our sake.

One of the great truths which we can mine from these final words of Our Lord, by means of meditation, is that which will teach us something of the magnitude of how much confidence we ought to have in the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.

If we but consider that “before the foundation of the world” God had been considering and pondering from eternity all the details of creation — not as an architect who draws up plans and changes this or that, perfecting the project day after day, right up and even often during construction, but as the Infinite Eternal, Omnipotent and Most Wise uncreated Intelligence, Full of Charity and Truth, conceiving in the depths of His Divine Heart the most wonderful and stunning manifestations of His Divinity — we must certainly stop and ponder once again, and more and more, these words of Our Lord, “Behold thy Mother!” For in them are hidden great treasures of grace.

If we but recall the reason why God became Man, that it was to save our sorry souls from the eternal perdition of Hell, to which we all would have voluntarily wandered to by the end of our lives, born as we are, bereft of sanctifying grace, of faith, hope and charity for God, we can taste in mind something, however so small, of the savoriness of the remedy of these words: “Behold thy Mother!” “Thy” here means “you and I”, “each one of us”, “all of us”, “believers and those yet to believe”: “all of us in need of salvation and redemption”, howsoever much grace we have already received.

And since this is why Christ came and suffered and died: this final proclamation of the King of the Ages must have everything to do with the revelation of the ultimate means of salvation.

I believe Our Lord gives us His very own infallible commentary on this passage in the same Gospel of St. John, as He speaks with Nicodemus under the cover of night. “Unless you be born of water and the Holy Ghost…” He says. It is Our Lord Himself who uses the metaphor of birth for justification. It follows that being newborns in grace, we need a Mother.

This conclusion is inescapable, when we consider that the One who uses this metaphor is the Same as the One who created all living things, and who made us male and female, establishing some of us father or mothers for others of us: who in short preordained the human family within the original and individual necessity of our corporal being.

We must ask ourselves, then, “What was Our Lord thinking of when He spoke those wonderful words at the crowning moment of all that He would merit for us?” In His human mind, all the saints tell us that He knew all about creation, past, present, and future; foresaw all of us and all of our sins and good deeds, foreknew all of our thoughts and feelings and all of the movements and inclinations of our hearts. But just as importantly, as Our Divine Master and Teacher, in that final moment He considered all the pious questions of all His faithful who would beg him in prayer to explain something more to them about the meaning of His Life, Suffering and Death, especially at this final moment.

And so, these words, “Behold thy Mother” are without doubt the Answer of Christ to all our questions regarding the meaning and significance and importance of His Passion.

“Have confidence, I have overcome the world!” says Our Lord to the Apostles at the Last Supper. These words find their historical consummation, without doubt, in the Passion and Death, and point to the meaning of these words He speaks to St. John, “Behold thy Mother!” They indicate to us that all that Christ would do would be both truly victorious, and hence that the remembrance of it should be a source of confidence for us.

And we can draw much confidence from these words of Our Lord to St. John. Yes, Christ has died and is Risen, and yet though He has ascended into Heaven, to sit at the Right Hand of the Father, and with Him, at the end of Her earthly life, His Mother, to intercede for us before the Face of God the Father, it nevertheless remains no less true, that He has given His Blessed Mother to us, to be our Mother! Our sweet Mother!

If we but consider the greatness of Mary’s holiness, the spotlessness of Her purity, the inviolability of Her Virginity, the excellence of Her Faith, the magnitude of Her Charity, the strength and firmness of Her Hope, and every other virtue which is Hers beyond the measure of men and angels, and if we but consider that this Wonderful, most Splendid and beautiful of women is now Our Mother! I say, who cannot be encouraged, who cannot be moved, who cannot be warmed at heart, stirred to a sweet delight, stirred to reach out in spirit to Her, to embrace Her and kiss Her and enfold both body and soul in Her embrace, embracing Her with soul and body likewise – to bury, as it were, oneself in Her Maternal Bosom, as a little child does, when seeing its Mother after a long absence, it runs swiftly and immediately up to Her, jumping into Her arms and hugging Her with every affection!

But if we consider even more, that this Woman, is not only Our Mother, but the very Mother of God, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the Daughter elect by the Father, the Queen of Angels and men, the Mediatrix of Grace, the Co-redemptrix of the Universe, I say, who cannot be stirred to confidence, seeing that in Her are the treasures and means to obtain every good thing, every medicine of soul and body.

But what is most consoling and encouraging about the Blessed Virgin, being Our Mother, is that She is always listening to and observing and watching over us, and She is very able and powerful and willing to grant us our pious wishes and prayers, if we but ask with great confidence.

Perhaps you have seen little children who are brothers and sisters vying with each other for their mother’s affection or intercession. If one receives some special favor, the others are not slow in asking, begging, insisting, demanding the how and why of how they obtained it from her. How zealous they are! How innocent! And How Simple! Should not we be similar, when we hear of what Our Lady has done for some of Her children!

Yes, I am sure you have heard at least once of how Our Lady helped some saint: but it is more encouraging, I believe, to consider how She has helped some sinners, even more so than some Saints.

One such wonderful story is that which Our Lady did to a poor mule driver in Spain some 400 years ago. He was a very poor man, and not learned at all. I do not think he could even read or write. All he could do for a living, was lead his mule along the mountain paths nears his village, carrying cargo over the mountain pass for various merchants in the locale. He would rise very early in the morning, pack some food for the journey, load up his burrow, and walk up the mountain, arriving at the end of the day on the other side, where, having unloaded the same animal, and rested at a friends house, he would eat and sleep and rise the next day, to do the same thing, on the return trip.

And so he lived his life and scratched out a meager living for his wife and son and father and mother who lived with him in his two room shed.

But one day, the mule slipped as it clopped its way along the mountain path. And to save it and its load this poor mule driver ran quickly to the other side and did all he could to prop up the animal so that it would not slip and fall. But though he had done this successfully on many occasions, this time he failed, and the animal and all its cargo came crashing down upon him, knocking him to the ground.

He screamed, Oh how he screamed in agonizing pain!

Very soon the other peasants leading their own animals along the way, came running to help him, and succeeded in getting his animal up. It was then he discovered that he could not stand – he had badly injured his leg. The villagers came and took him in a stretcher to his home and to bed.

As the days passed it go no better. And when the local priest came to visit him, he assured him that it would not get better, and that the only hope was to arrange to be carried to the University Hospital at Salamanca.

It was a long a costly journey, but his best friends and relatives did him this favor.

Needless to say, by the time he arrived, gangrene had set in and there was nothing the doctors could do, but cut off his leg at the mid of the thigh.

For a mule driver, this was little better than death, for it meant that he could not work at his trade: and no work meant no pay, and no pay meant that he, though the only bread winner at home, could no longer support his family.

His friends and relatives bore him home and left him at home in his bed. And to add upon all his sufferings, as soon as they had left his home, his wife and parents turned on him with the most bitter and disgusting insults, saying: “What good are you to us now! It is all your fault! We are all going to starve on your account! Did you return home thinking we are going to take care of you!”

And with that this poor man pulled up his blanket, prayed desperately to Our Lady, and went to sleep, filled with the most bitter remorse and sorrow, bereft of any hope and overcome by the pains of sorrow and betrayal no less painful than the surgery wounds of his leg.

But this, thanks be to God, is not where this poor man’s story ends, but rather where a most consoling story begins. For that night, as he slept, he dreamed.

And in that dream, he saw Our Blessed Mother.

And this is what he dreamed: he saw himself sick in bed, and into his room stepped the Blessed Virgin, covered in a shining blue mantle, and looking upon him with such a tender compassion, as if She had come to him, on a sick call. And as he rejoiced at heart to see Her loveliness, She opened Her mouth and said to him, encouraging him as She touched his legs, “Be healed!”

In the morning, the man awoke, and as he had not yet opened his eyes, for it was dark still, he called to mind the dream that had given him such confidence. And he said to himself in his heart with the simplicity of a child, “O, how good you are to me, Blessed Virgin! I prayed to you, when I had no other hope, to help me! And you in your kind charity have given me such a consoling dream to lessen all my sorrows when I have suffered such a tragedy as this!” And so he reposed, until the sun had arisen, and his wife has gotten up and gone out.

After she left, he tried to make himself comfortable in bed. He suddenly felt so odd. The doctors had said that, although they cut off his leg, that it would feel that it was still there for some time still. And so it was: under his covers he could still feel his leg!

But as he looked down the bed, what he saw was all wrong. He saw not one, but two bulging points where his foot should be.

Two?, he thought to himself: Yes, I can still feel my leg, as the doctors said I should on occasion, for it is a trick of the nerves, but I should not still see two feet!

At that the memory of his dream came back to him and he ripped his covers of the bed to find TWO perfectly healthy legs!

He jumped from the bed and began to scream with joy: A Miracle! A Miracle!

Soon the whole village was gathered around his house and word spread far and wide of what the Blessed Virgin did for him.

And for our confidence, it happened that this story came to the ears of the King of Spain, who sent a commission of royal investigators to record and interview all the facts and testimony. They even went to the University of Salamanca and interviewed all who had assisted at the amputation of the peasant’s leg. They even unearthed the coffin in which it was buried. And they found it empty, but for the blood stained wrappings which once bound it fast!

Today, on the sight of the poor man’s bedroom, stands a magnificent Basilica to commemorate this miracle of confidence.

Let us therefore, have great confidence in the Blessed Virgin, who is in truth and has been made so forever, Our Mother! That She does and will and wants to grant us the things of which we or our loved ones, or some poor soul, is truly in need of.

We don’t need to be saints to receive Her favors. We just need to ask with humility, sincerity!

Therefore, let us pray and beseech Her everyday with unbounded confidence! And lest us offer up such prayers as this:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known,
that anyone who fled to Thy protection,
implored Thy assistance,
or sought Thy intercession,
was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence,
we fly unto Thee, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother!

To Thee do we come; before Thee do we stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions,
but in Thy gracious mercy hear and answer us. Amen.

CREDITS: The Image of our Lady, is known as the Theotokos of Jerusalem, and is found at the Church of Her Domition in Jerusalem. See https://medium.com/@ierosolhmitissa/the-true-story-of-the-uncreated-and-miraculous-holy-icon-of-the-most-holy-theotokos-b25e9cfebca5. The title of this post is an adaptation of a line from J. R. R. Tolkein’s, Two Towers.

Spirituality

A Meditation on Proverbs 16 is the cure for the failed Renunciation

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Book of Proverbs: Chapter 16

(Latin text is the Clementine Vulgate. The English translation of each paragraph by Br. Bugnolo)

[1] Hominis est animam praeparare, et Domini gubernare linguam. [2] Omnes viae hominis patent oculis ejus; spirituum ponderator est Dominus. [3] Revela Domino opera tua, et dirigentur cogitationes tuae. [4] Universa propter semetipsum operatus est Dominus; impium quoque ad diem malum. [5] Abominatio Domini est omnis arrogans; etiamsi manus ad manum fuerit, non est innocens. Initium viae bonae facere justitiam; accepta est autem apud Deum magis quam immolare hostias.

1. It belongs to man to prepare the soul, and to God to govern the tongue. 2. All the ways of a man lie open to His eyes; a weigher of spirits is the Lord. 3. Reveal to the Lord thy works, and thy thoughts will be set aright. 4. Each and every thing has the Lord wrought for Himself; the impious, too, for the evil day. 5. An abomination to the Lord is every arrogant (man); even if it be done hand in hand with others, he is not innocent. The beginning of the good way is to work justice; it is, moreover, more accepted before God than the sacrifice of holocausts.

[6] Misericordia et veritate redimitur iniquitas, et in timore Domini declinatur a malo. [7] Cum placuerint Domino viae hominis, inimicos quoque ejus convertet ad pacem. [8] Melius est parum cum justitia, quam multi fructus cum iniquitate. [9] Cor hominis disponit viam suam, sed Domini est dirigere gressus ejus. [10] Divinatio in labiis regis; in judicio non errabit os ejus.

6. By mercy and truth is iniquity redeemed, and in the fear of the Lord does one turn away from evil. 7. When the ways of a man are pleasing to the Lord, He also converts his enemies to peace. 8. Better is a little with justice, than the enjoyment of much with iniquity. 9. The heart of a man arranges his own way, but it belongs to the Lord to direct his steps. 10. Divination is on the lips of the king; in judgement there shall not err his mouth.

[11] Pondus et statera judicia Domini sunt, et opera ejus omnes lapides sacculi. [12] Abominabiles regi qui agunt impie, quoniam justitia firmatur solium. [13] Voluntas regum labia justa; qui recta loquitur diligetur. [14] Indignatio regis nuntii mortis, et vir sapiens placabit eam. [15] In hilaritate vultus regis vita, et clementia ejus quasi imber serotinus.

11. Weight and balance are the judgements of the Lord, and His works all the weights for the measure. 12. Abominable the kings who act impiously, since the throne is made firm by justice. 13. The will of kings, just lips; he who speaks upright words shall be loved. 14. The indignation of the king, the messengers of death, and the wise man shall placate his wrath. 15. In hilarity, the face of the king, life, and his clemency as an evening downpour.

[16] Posside sapientiam, quia auro melior est, et acquire prudentiam, quia pretiosior est argento. [17] Semita justorum declinat mala; custos animae suae servat viam suam. [18] Contritionem praecedit superbia, et ante ruinam exaltatur spiritus. [19] Melius est humiliari cum mitibus, quam dividere spolia cum superbis. [20] Eruditus in verbo reperiet bona, et qui sperat in Domino beatus est.

16. Take hold of wisdom, because she is better than gold, and acquire prudence, because she is more precious than silver. 17. The paths of the just turn aside evils; the guardian of one’s own soul keeps his own way. 18. Pride precedes destruction, and before a ruin the spirit is exalted. 19. Better is it to be humbled with the meek, than to divide spoils with the proud. 20. The learned in word shall find good things, and he who hopes in the Lord is blessed.

[21] Qui sapiens est corde appellabitur prudens, et qui dulcis eloquio majora percipiet. [22] Fons vitae eruditio possidentis; doctrina stultorum fatuitas. [23] Cor sapientis erudiet os ejus, et labiis ejus addet gratiam. [24] Favus mellis composita verba; dulcedo animae sanitas ossium. [25] Est via quae videtur homini recta, et novissima ejus ducunt ad mortem.

21. He who is wise in heart shall be called “prudent”, and the one sweet in speech shall perceive greater things. 22. A fountain of life, the erudition of the one possessing her: the doctrine of fools is fatuousness. 23. The heart of the wise man shall teach his mouth, and shall add grace to his lips. 24. A comb of honey, well ordered words; the sweetness of the soul, the health of one’s bones. 25. There is a way which seems right to a man, and his last steps on it lead to death.

[26] Anima laborantis laborat sibi, quia compulit eum os suum. [27] Vir impius fodit malum, et in labiis ejus ignis ardescit. [28] Homo perversus suscitat lites, et verbosus separat principes. [29] Vir iniquus lactat amicum suum, et ducit eum per viam non bonam. [30] Qui attonitis oculis cogitat prava, mordens labia sua perficit malum.

26. The soul of the one laboring labors for itself, because his own mouth compels him. 27. The impious man digs up evil, and on his lips a fire burns. 28. A perverse man incites arguments, and the verbose sows division among princes. 29. The iniquitous man milks his own friend, and leads him through a way which is not good. 30. He who with stunned eyes thinks of depraved things, as one biting his own lips perfects evil.

[31] Corona dignitatis senectus, quae in viis justitiae reperietur. [32] Melior est patiens viro forti; et qui dominatur animo suo, expugnatore urbium. [33] Sortes mittuntur in sinum, sed a Domino temperantur.

31. A crown of dignity the old age, which is found upon the ways of justice. 32. Better is the patient one to the strong man; and he who dominates his own spirit, than the victorious besieger of cities. 33. Lots are cast into the lap, but they are sorted out by the Lord.

______________

There is more than ample doctrine here to put in proper perspective how evil it would be to presume to dispose of the Petrine Munus in a divided or bifurcated papacy, and how such an act of pride would bring destruction upon everyone in the Church. Also, how humility does NOT consist in being patient with the evils one has brought upon the Church, but rather in undoing the evil done and returning to the example of all previous popes, who served until death, or resigned the whole papal office and ministry, keeping nothing for themselves.

For more information about what I speak, see Ann Barnhardt’s post on Ganswein’s talk at the Gregorian University.

CREDITS: Latin text, from the Clementine Vulgate, online. Photo from https://sspx.org/en/news-events/news/monastic-views-lectio-divina-2162 an article on Lectio Divina, showing a Benedictine monk of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery, Silver City, NM.

Spirituality

Contra Spiritus idolatriae: A short guide to the discernment of spirits

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by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

One of the most useful books that anyone can read to begin the spiritual life is the work by Saint Ignatius of Loyola on the Discernment of Spirits, which is called his book on Spiritual Exercises.

I say for beginners, because that is what the great Saint Theresa of Avila judged it to be, for beginners.

For beginners, because it deals with the first level of discernment: what is truly good and what is truly evil.

What is truly good is all that which leads you to take the side of Christ and live for Heaven, to arrive at Heaven and do all that is necessary to help others get there.

What is truly evil is all that which leads you to NOT take the side of Christ and NOT live for Heaven, to NOT arrive at Heaven and to do anything which impedes you or yourself to get there.

The second level of discernment is for those who have taken the side of Christ.  As St. Ignatius says in his Spiritual Exercises, such persons can only be deceived by devils who APPEAR TO BE GOOD and angels of light, but which are experts in deceit.

So, on the second level, St Ignatius gives indirect rules for discernment, as to whether the propositions of a spirit to your soul leave you in a state of encouragement, light, zeal, or rather in a state of discouragement, darkness and sadness.  He lays down this rule, that for those walking the way of virtue, a spirit from God adds to one’s encouragement, light, or zeal to serve Jesus Christ, and an evil spirit instead leaves one empty in proposing things too great, darker in understanding the will of God, or of less zeal in the things of Jesus Christ. Whereas, for those not on the path of virtue, a good spirit will cause one to lose zeal for serving creatures, see the lies in which one lives and turn aside from the pursuit of creatures, while an evil spirit will increase one’s obsession in the pursuit of creatures incite to the violation of more moral laws etc..

But, at the second level, this indirect rule of discernment of St Ignatius is often difficult, because it is indirect.

Or in other words, the rule of St Ignatius can confound souls, because it appears to fixate on interior states of the subject, how he feels and what he experiences, and thus in an age of sentimentalism and subjectivism is rarely practiced correctly, which is why the Society of Jesus in modern times has lost its path to God.

Rather, the direct rule of discernment at this second level is easier, namely, all which turns us away from loyalty to creatures and or towards loyalty to the service of God, is from a good spirit, and whatever does the opposite is from an evil spirit.

At this level it becomes extremely dangerous to use the imagination, because, just as the true God is the true reality of the spiritual world, so the soul which seeks him cannot find him in the world of imaginations. This is why St John of Cross counsels so strongly against reading novels for such souls. Today, we would say he counsels against watching movies, romances, television.

A soul dedicated to the service of God at this level has nothing to gain by such endeavors. And if tempted to know of them so as to counsel souls, he does better to read the critiques of zealous souls at a lower level than to watch them himself and put himself at risk of losing the grace of God.

At this second level, the key to right discernment is the criterion how to discern Spirits of Idolatry from Divine Spirits, that is evil angels from false ones. Because, as of yet, the evil angels will not manifest themselves, they will study the psychology of their victims and seek a weak point, where they will attempt to turn the soul away from God and towards seeking some satisfaction in creatures.

This is why at this level it becomes more important to fast (so as to break all attachments to food and drink inasmuch as this is inordinate and not necessary to do the will of God), to humble oneself at prayer and in daily life, especially in encounters with others (so as to break the chief vice which is pride), and to scrub one’s soul of attachments, many of which hold the soul back from serving God with a pure heart.

The lessen to be learned at this level is, God is My All, there is nothing I need which is not for His service, nothing which I desire other than to do His Will and remain faithful.

This self reflection is vital, because bad habits can lead to attachments and small deviations can allow the evil spirits to sway the soul back into sin. Here the study of the Divine Law, that is of the morality revealed by God, is vital, because through the smallest holes of ignorance about what is and what is not a sin, a soul can fall into great error, great evil and be transformed into a devil on earth, without recognizing it. So many clergy and religious have fallen from God on this score, and it is a rare soul who having strayed at this second level, returns to the Divine Service.

At the Third Level, a soul which has been faithful, whether for a short or a long time, will be tested to dedicate itself to the Divine Service through some greater work, whether it be by an inspiration to undertake a work of mercy or a work of justice.

These inspirations come most commonly from one’s guardian angel, so it is very important, in a state of grace, to make a promise to one’s Guardian Angel to heed his inspirations in all things, great and small, and to develop the knowledge of discerning when he is giving advice and following it IMMEDIATELY without any DOUBT or criticism. This takes a lot of practice and the soul often goes astray by following suggestions which are not from one’s guardian angel, but rather from the spirits of idolatry, that is of the world, the flesh or the demonic: and so the indirect rules of discernment of Saint Ignatius are a great help. We need to remember the lessons our Guardian Angel gives us and make a habit of doing readily the good works he inspires, because through them He will make known to us what God wants us to dedicate ourselves to and reveal to us our vocation, if we have one, whereby we are dedicated to God or his service.

Our Lady of the Annunciation is the example we need to follow in all our discernment. She showed Herself to be a master of discernment at the approach of the Archangel Gabriel, to know whether he was of God or not. She did not presume, she applied these rules. She also avoided the very common error of thinking that we need to wait in prayer to know what to do. Common knowledge is also a source of information about what good works to do, so as soon as She heard Elizabeth was in need, She packed up her things and headed out to help her. She was not a pietist, who believed prayer solved everything, and She was not a spiritualist, who believed that one only acts on the basis of inspirations had in prayer.

Let us pray for one another, that we be faithful to God, more faithful to God and live to be faithful to God in all we do. Amen. Ave Maria!