The Tears of St. Lawrence (aka The Annual Perseids Meteor Shower)

DID YOU KNOW..."The Tears of St. Lawrence" is another name for the annual Perseids meteor-shower? They are known as such because St. Lawrence was martyred on August 10, 258 A.D.

The History
Due to an edict, issued by Emperor Valerian in early August of that year, commanding throughout the empire that all bishops, priests, and deacons must be immediately put to death, the persecution quickly took place in the city of Rome. Pope Sixtus II was seized in the Catacombs and martyred on August 6 (a date which later became known as the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord). Also on August 6, two deacons met the same fate. Soon enough, four more deacons were soon discovered and also put to death. St. Lawrence was the last and seventh deacon of this time period to suffer martyrdom in Rome.

Best Times to Watch
The annual meter shower is active from July 17-August 24. It usually peaks on August 12 and 13. In 2016, the best observations times will be the pre-dawn hours on the mornings of August 11, 12, and 13.

St. Bernadette: A Life of the Beatitudes, Part 2

Bernadette, the Little Maiden of Lourdes:
A Life of the Beatitudes (Part II)

“I must become a saint. My Jesus wants it.”
– St. Bernadette

by Marianna Bartold

 “At fourteen, not knowing how to read or write, a complete stranger to the French language and ignorant of the Catechism, Bernadette looked upon herself as the most worthless child of her years.” [1]  On Thursday, January 28, 1858, the 14 year-old Bernadette returned to her parents, joyfully exclaiming, “Now at least I shall be able to go to school and Catechism! That’s why I’ve come back.” [2]
 
Circumstances were no better for the Soubirous family, but her parents gave their promise. The next day, Bernadette was in school. Upon hearing the child’s motive and determination, the Sisters enrolled her as a future communicant.
Coincidentally, on Thursday, February 11, 1858 – exactly two weeks after her return because she greatly desired her First Holy Communion - the humble girl was graced to see a “most beautiful Lady.” Bernadette would see this Lady a total of 18 times, the last vision occurring on July 16, 1858.
 
That particular Thursday was a school holiday, so Bernadette was home with her family. Although a bitterly cold day, the air was still and there was no wind under the sunless sky. Shortly after 11 a.m., Bernadette set out on a necessary, tiresome task, accompanying her sister Toinette and a younger, impulsive classmate, Jeanne Abadie. The trio went in search of two things: fallen branches and twigs that they could rightfully take and use in the Soubirous’ fireplace and old bones to sell to the rag-and-bone man. [3] Their expedition led them into a forest and then over a foot-bridge to the Lafitte family’s property, which formed an island. One side was enclosed by a bend in the Gave River, the other by a canal which powered a saw-mill and flour-mill, called the Savy. The extreme point of the triangle was a tall, rocky formation known as “Massabielle” (Old Hump).

Massabielle was “naturally shaped into an arch from which a cave ran backwards, and to the right, about fourteen feet up, there was a small niche where a wild rosebush was growing.” [4]   In the spring season, the bush was “ablaze with white blooms.” This wild outgrowth of rock, with its little oval niche, was also called “the grotto.” In the small space before the grotto, Bernadette was forced to wait, as her healthier companions decided to remove their shoes and stockings, cross the freezing cold stream, and continue their search for dead branches and discarded bones.

They were already on the stream’s other side when, anxious to help, Bernadette resolved to join them. She removed her shoes in anticipation of walking through the water. “I had hardly begun to take off my stocking when I heard the sound of wind, as in a storm.” [5]  (Two days later, Fr. Pomian – an assistant priest to Fr. Peyramele, the parish priest at Lourdes – was particularly struck by Bernadette’s mention of the “sound of wind, as in a storm.” It reminded him of Acts 2:2, when the Holy Ghost descended upon the Virgin and the Apostles: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.”)

Although the trees across the way were not moving at all, Bernadette said, “I had half-noticed, but without paying any particular heed, that the branches and brambles were waving beside the grotto.” She returned to removing her stockings and was already putting one foot into the water when she again heard the same sound of wind, this time in front of her. She looked up and saw the branches and brambles “underneath the topmost opening in the grotto tossing and swaying to and fro, though nothing else stirred around.”

The Lady at the Grotto
It was within the oval niche that Bernadette saw a “golden cloud” and then a beautiful light, instantly followed by “a girl in white, no bigger than myself, who greeted me with a slight bow of the head; at the same time, she stretched out her arms slightly away from her body, opening her hands, as in pictures of Our Lady; over her arms hung a Rosary.” Bernadette described that the Lady was “smiling at me most graciously and seemed to invite me to come nearer. But I was still afraid. It was not, however, a fear such as I have had at other times, for I would have stayed there forever looking at her; whereas, when you are afraid, you run away very quickly.”

The Lady wore “a white dress reaching down to her feet, of which only the toes appeared. The dress was gathered very high at the neck by a hem from which hung a white cord. A white veil covered her head and came down over her shoulders and arms almost to the bottom of her dress. On each foot, I saw a golden rose. The sash of the dress was blue and hung down below her knees. The chain of the Rosary was yellow; the beads white, big, and widely spaced. The girl was alive, very young, and surrounded with light.” [6]
 
When asked for additional details, Bernadette would also describe the girl’s face as oval in shape and of “an incomparable grace.” The Lady’s eyes were blue, and her voice, “Oh, so sweet!” The Rosary held by the Lady was not the usual length for the Psalter of all 15 decades but a five-decade Rosary. As Bernadette prayed the Rosary, the Lady let Her own Rosary slip through Her fingers, silently counting the beads with Bernadette. The Lady, however, did not pray the Our Father or the Hail Mary, but She did pray the Glory Be.

Abbé Trochu, her foremost biographer, noted: “This last detail, which the little one in her ignorance could not have invented, reveals an accurate and deep theological truth. The Gloria, which is a hymn of praise to the Adorable Trinity, and is Heaven’s Canticle, is indeed the only part of the Rosary suitable for Her, whose name Bernadette would not learn for another month. The Pater is the prayer of needy mortals, tempted and sinful, on their journey to the Fatherland; as for the Ave, the Angel’s greeting (to the Virgin Mary), this could be used only by the visionary, as the Apparition had no need to greet Her own self.” [7]

In the first two apparitions, the Lady did not speak to Bernadette, although She greeted the girl with a noble, yet inviting, bow of the head. During the third apparition, the Lady spoke for the first time, asking Bernadette, “Will you do me the favour of coming here for a fortnight?” [8] Bernadette said, “After asking permission from my parents, I will come,” to which the Lady replied, “I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the other” (a literal French-to-English translation).

As Bernadette would soon understand, the Lady did not state that She herself would always appear. Rather, the request applied only to Bernadette.  A brief summary provided by the first inquiry of the ecclesiastical Commission which later investigated the Lourdes apparitions thus states: “Bernadette was faithful to her appointment: she went most punctually to the grotto for a fortnight.  She always obtained the same favours there, except on two days when the Apparitions did not appear.” It was from this time forward that the young Bernadette was “accompanied by an ever increasing crowd. When she had the happiness of seeing the Vision, she forgot everything: she no longer noticed what was taking place around her: she was entirely absorbed.” [9]
 
This World and the Other
As for the Lady saying, “I do not promise you happiness in this world, only in the other,” her words quickly became self-evident. From the first day of the Apparition and until the end of her brief life, Bernadette would suffer misunderstandings, humiliations, false accusations, open derision, and many other trying circumstances.

For example, when her mother, Louise, first heard the story from the younger sister, Toinette, she questioned Bernadette and then took a rod to discipline both girls. At school, a much younger student slapped Bernadette across the face, while some of the teaching sisters taunted her to learn her catechism from the Lady. For many hours, the secular authorities would discourteously treat her, not even offering her a chair while they interrogated her. Even Fr. Peyramele was, at the first, very gruff with Bernadette.

Throughout her life, Bernadette was many times cross-examined about the Apparitions. In fact, she “wrote and signed numerous accounts of her visions In addition, she underwent repeated interrogations by both ecclesial and civil authorities, during which her testimony was transcribed. In none of these accounts did she contradict herself; on the other hand, there is no one single version that includes every detail.” [10]

What is consistent is Bernadette’s fidelity to testifying to the Virgin’s message and in living it. In the total of 18 apparitions, the Blessed Mother only spoke a handful of times. Once, She delivered three secrets that were for Bernadette alone – “a commission which, on her deathbed, she [Bernadette] declared she had carried out.” [11] For the public, however, the main message was one of penance, prayer for the conversion of sinners, and a request that the priests build a chapel and that processions come to the grotto. There was also the Lady’s gift, through the hands of Bernadette, of a hidden spring of water where graces of spiritual and bodily healing are to this day bestowed.

When the fortnight ended, the Lady had still not identified herself. During that interim, Bernadette had, at Father Peyramale's insistence, requested two things of the heavenly visitor – Her name, as well as a sign to confirm that the Apparition’s request for a chapel was truly from God.  On Thursday, February 25, 1858, the Lady had already instructed Bernadette, “Go and drink at the spring and wash yourself in it.” From young girl’s hand, the miraculous spring of Lourdes would come forth.  To the request for Her name, however, the Lady only gave Bernadette a gentle smile.

After March 4, Bernadette felt no inner call to return to the grotto until March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation. When she arrived, she found the Lady was already waiting for her. On this day, Bernadette thrice implored the Lady for Her name.  Then came the final confirmation of Lourdes, for the Lady raised Her eyes to Heaven as She joined Her hands, brought them close to Her heart, and said, “I am the Immaculate Conception.” After the briefest moment, She then smiled at Bernadette and disappeared.

Life after Lourdes
The Holy Communion so ardently desired by Bernadette was received on the Feast of Corpus Christi. Then, on July 16, the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Lady appeared to Bernadette one last and unexpected time. To deter pilgrims, civil authorities placed boards around the grotto, including the spring. Bernadette was by the Gave River when suddenly the Lady appeared: “I saw neither the boards nor the Grave. It seemed to me that I was in the grotto, no more distance than the other times. I saw only the Holy Virgin. I had never seen her so beautiful.” [12]

Bernadette’s actions during the apparitions emphasized both the Rosary and humiliating penance for sinners, but the Vision’s requests also tested her humble piety, fortitude, spirit of penance, and perseverance. Thus her coming years were foreshadowed, for she would continue to practice and interiorly grow in these and many other virtues.

The future saint was well aware that the grace of seeing the Mother of God did not grant her automatic access to Heaven. She would later write in her spiritual diary: “Often remind yourself of this word that the Most Holy Virgin said to you: Penance! Penance! You should be the first to put it into practice. For this intention, suffer trials in silence so that Jesus and Mary may be glorified…” [13]
  
Bernadette learned to read, write, embroider and sew. She became a Sister of Charity and Christian Instruction at Nevers, France, and was given the name of Sister Marie-Bernard. She worked in the infirmary as a nurse’s aide, and was later given the lighter task of altar sacristan. In the convent, she lived a life of both interior and physical suffering. She was often ill and frequently misunderstood and humiliated by her superiors and, on occasion, her fellow sisters. Abbé Trochu noted that “for the space of eleven years – much as she was esteemed and loved by her companions – she had been subjected to an undeserved coldness by those in authority over her. She always refused to speak of her suffering, which was a mixture of bewilderment and pain. She put up submissively with being reprimanded in public and more frequently than was her share.” [14]

Due to Bernadette’s lack of higher education and her frequent illnesses, to cite just two examples, she was called a “good for nothing” and “a lazy lie-abed.” Deeply hurt by such uncharitable comments, Bernadette never retaliated, although on occasion she might respond with a brief, appropriate remark. Once, when a passing superior flung a quick jest that the ailing Bernadette needed to arise and get about her business, the saint calmly replied, “It is my business to be ill.”

St. Bernadette understood that hers was an apostolate of suffering. A brief glimpse into her diary reveals the hidden gem of her interior life: “My divine Spouse has made me desire a humble and hidden life. Jesus has often told me that I will not die until I have sacrificed all to Him. And to convince me, He has often told me that when it is over, He alone, Jesus crucified, will console me.” [15]

At the young age of 35 years, on April 16, 1879, St. Bernadette died an agonizing death from tuberculosis of the bone. She was canonized by Pope Pius XI on December 8, 1933.  Enclosed in a glass casket in the convent chapel in Nevers, France, her incorrupt body sleeps, as it awaits its reunion with her holy soul at the final Resurrection.

What was the secret of Bernadette? She tells us in her own words: “To love what God wills always, to will it always, to desire it always, to do it always: this is the great secret of perfection, the key to paradise, the foretaste of the peace of the saints!” [16]

---In case you missed it, you can also read St. Bernadette: A Life of the Beatitudes, Part I

Notes
   [1] Trochu, Abbé Francois. St. Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1985. Translated and adapted by John Joyce, S.J. First published in France under the same title by Librairier Catholique Emmanuel Vitte, Paris, 1954. English edition copyright 1957 by Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., London. Published by TAN in arrangement with Longman Group Limited, London. Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, June 21, 1957): p. 36.
  [2] Ibid.
  [3] Bones were used “for knife handles, toys and ornaments, and when treated, for chemistry. The grease extracted from them was also useful for soap-making.” Rag-and-bone man, Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rag-and-bone_man]
  [4] Foley, Donal Anthony. Marian Apparitions, the Bible, and the Modern World. [Herefordshire, England: Gracewing, 2002. Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur]: p . 159.
  [5] Trochu, loc. cit., p. 42.
  [6] Loc. cit., pp. 42-43.
  [7] Loc. cit., p. 44.
  [8] A fortnight is 15 consecutive days.
  [9] Trochu, op. cit., p. 63.
  [10] McEachern, Ph.D., Patricia A. A Holy Life: The Writings of St. Bernadette of Lourdes [San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2005. Kindle Edition]:  Loc. 116.
  [11] Foley, op. cit., p. 160.
  [12] McEachern, op. cit., Loc. 2354.
  [13] Ibid., Loc. 573.
  [14] Op. cit., Loc. 284.
  [15] Op. cit., Loc. 330.
  [16] Op cit., Loc. 542.

St. Bernadette of Lourdes: A Life of the Beatitudes

Bernadette, the Little Maiden of Lourdes:
A Life of the Beatitudes

 “Humility is the secret of God’s glory.”
– St. Bernadette Soubirous

by Marianna Bartold

In reading the lives of the saints, St. Bernadette once mused, ““I think that they ought to point out the faults the Saints had and indicate the means they employed to correct them. That would be helpful to us. We would learn how to set about it. But all that is mentioned is their revelations or the wonders they performed. They cannot serve our advancement.” [1]

However, her most famous biographer, Abbé Trochu, did not quite agree. “She failed to add that, even so, these imperfect authors are to be commended for raising the pre-eminent qualities of the Saints, and that she found in them examples to imitate. The Church in its infallible decisions was one day to adopt the well-founded verdict of a Superior General of Saint-Gildard: ‘It is my own opinion that during her life Sister Marie-Bernarde [the saint’s name in religious life] put into practice the virtues that constitute sanctity.” [2]

What is sanctity? It is the “state of Christian perfection,” which is the result of a “fervent surrender of one’s self to God and the practice of virtue. It does not require extraordinary works. The Blessed Mother of God, the most holy of mortals, never performed any extraordinary works to excite worldly admiration.  ‘Love is fulfilling of the law.’ ” [3] 

A saint is a person who “fulfills all the demands of the law” (Rom. 13:10) which is accomplished by charity, the virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbors as ourselves. Charity is considered the queen of all virtues, since it is the one virtue that will always exist in Heaven. In the Beatific Vision, souls will no longer possess any need for the other virtues. Charity, however, will remain, since it perfectly unites God and man, just as it perfectly unites man to man. [4]  Those souls who are canonized as saints by the Catholic Church are those who were known to practice all of the virtues to a heroic degree – i.e., heroic virtue.

What is meant by heroic virtue? Pope Benedict XIV, “whose chapters on heroic virtue are classical,” thus describes it: “In order to be heroic, a Christian virtue must enable its owner to perform virtuous actions with uncommon promptitude, ease, and pleasure, from supernatural motives and without human reasoning, with self-abnegation and full control over his natural inclinations.” The 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia comments,  “A heroic virtue, then, is a habit of good conduct that has become a second nature, a new motive power [that is] stronger than all corresponding inborn inclinations, capable of rendering easy a series of acts each of which, for the ordinary man, would be beset with very great, if not insurmountable, difficulties.” [5]
 
In reading the lives of the saints, time and prayer are needed to assess, study, and contemplate in them the supernatural virtues and the gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost. In addition, “the Holy Ghost also grants certain extraordinary gifts, which are given only on rare occasions and to selected persons. Such extraordinary graces are granted principally not only for the benefit of the recipient, but of others.” Among these graces are included the gift of visions, of miracles, and of prophecy.

In St. Bernadette – handmaiden of the Lord’s Handmaiden, the Blessed Virgin Mary - we will discover all of these things: the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity); the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude); the seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord), the twelve Fruits of the Holy Ghost (charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity) and the extraordinary graces of visions, miracles, and prophecy. Of St. Bernadette’s many virtues and gifts, space will permit that only a few examples can be spotlighted – especially her fortitude and long-suffering.

The Saint’s Early Years
Bernadette Soubirous, the firstborn of her parents, was born about two o’clock in the afternoon, as the bell was ringing for Vespers on Sunday, January 7, 1844 in Lourdes, France, a small market town near the Pyrenees in the country’s southwest.  Her parents had named her Bernarde Marie, but the priest who baptized her kept referring to her and registered the name as Marie Bernarde. Her father reminded the priest that the child’s name was already registered at the Town Hall as Bernarde-Marie, but history shows that the priest never did change the register. Her family, however, considered her first name to be Bernarde, although she was called by the diminutive of Bernadette.

As for the parents, neither had ever gone to school but they were known to be good Catholics who faithfully carried out their religious duties and respectable people of irreproachable integrity. Of the nine children born of the marriage between Louise Castérot and Francois Soubirous, not all lived to adulthood.

In Bernadette’s sixth year, she began to suffer from asthma, which afflicted her until the end of her life. She was small for her age but she was a happy and lovable child with a sweet smile. She easily took to caring for her younger siblings so her parents could work. She, like her parents, received no education.

By her tenth year, 1854, the family was in serious financial straits. For various reasons, their mill was lacking customers and so the father sought odd jobs, as did her mother. Bernadette remained at home, taking care of her younger siblings. (On an important and related note, it was in this same year that Pope Pius IX defined as a dogma the Immaculate Conception.)

In the saint’s 11th year of life, Bernadette became one of many children who were stricken by a cholera epidemic. Since cholera is usually fatal, her recovery truly must have been a miraculous one. In her 12th year, her godmother Aunt Bernarde took her home, where she was fed well but also became nurse-maid to her younger cousins.  Once again, her education was neglected. Her aunt would later say that Bernadette knew the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Credo. However, she had never been taught to read, so her only prayer book was a small Rosary.

By the winter of 1856, Bernadette insisted on returning to her family. By this time, the Soubirous became so impoverished that they were forced to accept the free lodging of a cold, damp room known as Le Cachot (The Dungeon), once used to hold prisoners. Everyone in the town knew the family’s situation, but this “was an age of scant help for the poor. For example, no conference of St. Vincent de Paul was established in Lourdes till 1874 (three years before Bernadette’s death). It was a harsh age when too many of the wealthy, lacking pity because they lacked the Gospel, exploited the labour of the poor; and mothers of large families received only ten sous for a whole day’s work!” [6]
 
Bernadette’s father found work from day to day with the baker or the horse-and-coach service, while her mother worked in the fields, or gathered wood in the forest and later sold it to buy bread, or did the washing and housework for people in town. Previously, Bernadette and her sister Toinette stayed at home, caring for the younger brothers. Now, however, Toinette at age ten was able to attend school with the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, who had come to Lourdes in 1834.

For her part, the 13 year old Bernadette would often say that books were not meant for her, that the Sisters did not know in which class to put her since she could not read and could hardly scratch out a few letters. There was also her asthma and the fact that she was needed at home. Her only real desire for herself was the reception of her First Holy Communion.

Little Shepherdess of Bartres
Louise Soubirous thought of what seemed to be a good solution. In June of 1857, Bernadette was sent to Bartres, to the household of Marie Lagües, who had been Bernadette’s wet-nurse after Louise suffered an unfortunate accident with a candle. As a baby of 10 months of age, Bernadette was brought to live with the Lagües and there she stayed until her 20th month of life. Considering Marie’s supposed affection for the child, as well as her home’s proximity to church and school, Louise had thought it would be easier for Bernadette to attend school and Catechism at Bartres.

In reality, however, Bernadette again became a nursemaid, this time to her former “foster mother’s” four young children. By August, she was also entrusted with the care of the family’s lambs, and so she became a shepherdess. When school opened in September, she was not sent to class. Instead, she was given the additional care of the sheep.

What this meant was that the young girl worked from sunup to sundown, caring for children in the early morning and spending the rest of the day outside, in good weather or bad, with the sheep and lambs. At first, she was allowed to attend some catechism classes and the Sunday Masses and holy days. However, her inability to read and her legitimate exhaustion made it difficult for her to memorize the catechism.

Bernadette was a responsible worker, she never complained, she asked for nothing, and she gratefully accepted whatever was given to her. This made it easy to treat her as an unpaid servant, working for her bed and board. The true purpose for which she was sent to her former wet-nurse was neglected. A priest, the brother-in-law of Mr. Lagües, did intervene on Bernadette’s behalf, telling his sister’s husband that he was not treating Bernadette as one of the family. The reproach had little effect. Rarely was she seen at catechism, and never was she seen in school.

It was during these solitary days as a shepherdess that Bernadette made a stone altar at the foot of an old chestnut tree, setting on top of it a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There she would kneel, praying the Rosary with a gift given to her by her mother – a set of poor black beads, threaded on plain string.  She would play with the flock of lambs and then, resting, her eyes would fall on the valley; her ears heard the rustling of the trees, the occasional bird song and the other sounds of nature. “God made all that,” she would think to herself. She did not know she was in the very early stages of meditation or that God was already preparing her soul. She was to be another handmaiden of the Immaculate Mother of God.

In early January of 1858, Bernadette’s 14th birthday found her still at the house of the Lagües. Circumstances continued as they had since August – she still helped with the children, she still retained the entire responsibility of the flock, and she still was not receiving any form of proper catechesis and education.

In humility, Bernadette did all that was asked of her, and she did it well - but eventually her ardent longing for her First Holy Communion began to manifest itself. At least three times, she asked to be brought home, through verbal messages given to her visiting Aunt Bernarde, a neighbor from Lourdes who was passing through the area, and the Lagües servant who one day took a trip to Lourdes. For the Soubirous, however, the situation was no better, so their daughter’s entreaties fell on deaf ears. Finally, Bernadette took matters into her own hands.

On a Sunday near the end of January 1858, she requested permission to go to Lourdes. Although given consent, she was instructed by the Lagües to return the very next day. She came back three days later, humbly yet forthrightly explaining, “I must go home. The parish priest is going to have the children prepared for First Communion, and if I go back to Lourdes, I shall make mine.” In this one example, one should easily recognize Bernadette’s fortitude, that “moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause.” [7]

Within two weeks upon Bernadette’s return to Lourdes, the Queen of Heaven would appear to this poor, neglected, and uneducated child. She was obedient, meek, and conscientious and had never insisted upon anything for herself – until now. Her only longing was a spiritual one, and that was to receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  Bernadette was humble and set her sight not on material riches but only those of the interior life. At the age of 14 years, her brief life was already one of which Our Lord taught in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [8]

-Continue with St. Bernadette of Lourdes: A Life of the Beatitudes, Part 2

Notes
[1]  Trochu, Abbé Francois. St. Bernadette Soubirous: 1844-1879 [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1985. Translated and adapted by John Joyce, S.J. First published in France under the same title by Librairier Catholique Emmanuel Vitte, Paris, 1954. English edition copyright 1957 by Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., London. Published by TAN in arrangement with Longman Group Limited, London. Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, June 21, 1957): p. 346.
[2]  Ibid.
[3]   Morrow D.D., Most Rev. Louis LaRavoire, My Catholic Faith: A Manual of Religion [Kansas  City, MO: Sarto House. Third edition published from the 1954 edition by Sarto House]:  p. 85.
[4]  Ibid., p.83.
[5]  BENEDICT XIV, De servorum Dei beatificatione et beatorum canonizatione, chs. xxxi-xxxviii, in Opera omnia, III (Prato, 1840); DEVINE, Manual of Mystical Theology (London, 1903); SLATER, A Manual of Moral Theology (London, 1908); WILHELM AND SCANNELL, Manual of Catholic Theology (London, 1906). Cited by Wilhelm, Joseph. "Heroic Virtue." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 6 Jan. 2014 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07292c.htm>.
[6]  Trochu, op cit., p. 17.
[7]  "Divine Mysteries: The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance," Legion of Mary website < http://www.legionofmarytidewater.com/news/news07/may/divinemysteries.htm>
 [8] Matt. 5:3, The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims translation. With revisions and footnotes (in the text in italics) by Bishop Richard Challoner, 1749-52. Taken from a hardcopy of the 1899 Edition by the John Murphy Company.

In the Garden of Gethsemane

“My soul is sorrowful unto death; stay you here and watch with Me.”
   ~Matthew 26: 38

 

Human nature shrinks from suffering and dreads it, but not one of the sons of men was ever so sensitive as Our Lord, Jesus Christ, or had sufferings to endure in any way comparable to His. St. Ignatius teaches us in contemplation to study not only the outward person, but also the inward thoughts; we are allowed to try in our poor way to find out, if we can, what were the chief objects that are presented to Our Lord’s soul which awakened His fear, sadness, and heaviness of heart.

Spiritual writers answer: (1) Fear is awakened by His oncoming Passion; (2) Oppression and most weary tediousness is awakened by the sight of all the opposition He shall encounter from men and devils in His work of redeeming those He loves so much; (3) Sorrow unto death is caused by the sign of sin: sin past, sin present, and sin to come; the offense, the displeasure, the dishonor, the ingratitude, the malice, the treason and treachery all heaped upon Him by sin.

During the Agony in the Garden, Our Lord anticipated all the coming agony of His Passion. He allowed His human soul to feel in all its intensity each detail of the unspeakable suffering that was now close at hand. All His life, the Passion was distinctly present to Him but, in the Garden, it was allowed to take possession of His soul. Now the fear was mortal.

When darkness invades our own souls, we should remember that none is like the deep, black darkness that spread over the Sacred Soul of Jesus. Where should we have gone in our hours of sorrow and agony and weakness had there been no Gethsemane? How generous is Christ’s love for us!

“All that I can do I will do for them” was His motto through life. When the hour had come, He did not what benefited Him but what would help us most: To be like us in all things, except sin, He would meet suffering and death. To be like us in all things, this was His rule from first to last: that having shown Himself like us, He might win us to be like Him, ready to say in the hour of trial, “Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from Me; but yet not My will, but Thine be done.” (Luke 22: 42)

“My soul is sorrowful unto death,” Our Lord so piteously mourned. And what was the relief? It was prayer, just as He had admonished the Apostles: “Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak.” (Matthew 26:41)

Our Lord knew that in all desolation and distress, the best and only plan is to throw ourselves upon the almighty and all-tender Mercy of God. There is no imperfection in asking to be delivered from something we can hardly endure, otherwise Christ would not have asked to be delivered from His Chalice of Suffering. Here is the impeccable, all-holy human will swaying in the tempest, but still ever clinging to the Divine.

In our darkest hours, we, too, can repeat those words with Jesus, for He taught us by His word and His example. Yet we must remember the act of resignation which leaves everything in the hands of God: “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

The Passion of Christ teaches us what real love means. Once more, we are taught the lesson that “Love is proven by deeds.”

The secret of Our Lord’s desire to suffer was His Love…but it was not the suffering itself for which Christ longed. No, it was the result of that suffering - for that joy that was set before Him – for which He endured the Cross.

Like Him, when we suffer, we suffer for a reason but, unlike Him, we may not know why. Still, like the Angel who comforted Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, He comforts us: “So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you.” (John 16: 22)

 

 

 

Why Pray?

"God gives us some things, as the beginning of faith, even when we do not pray. Other things, such as perseverance, He has only provided for those who pray."
~St Augustine

The Rosary: Sign of Salvation

"If you presevere in reciting the Rosary, this will be the most probable sign of your eternal salvation."

~Blessed Alan de la Roche

Who can't appreciate "simple snippets from the saints"? Like one single line from Christ, their words possess incredible spiritual depths about which could be written volumes of books.

Perseverance in praying the Rosary, with its beautiful prayers and meditations, proves not that we have attained holiness but only that we are striving for it, despite our weak human nature.

-The Rosary helps us remember that God has lifted us from nature and that we must live supernatural lives.

-The Rosary allows us to meditate on and imitate the examples set by Our Lord and His Blessed Mother, asking them always for the graces we need.

-Each prayer in the Rosary is a lesson, too. The Apostle's Creed affirms what we believe is true because God revealed those truths. The Our Father is a perfect prayer, given to us by Christ Himself, summing up the Two Great Commandments and reminding us that we have the right to call God "Our Father." The Hail Mary is a liturgical prayer, based on the infallible Gospel, which is inspired by the Holy Ghost. And so it goes with the Glory Be, a prayer to the Holy Trinity. And then there is one and only addition to the Rosary, a short prayer which Our Lady of Fatima asked to be added at the end of each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those with the greatest need of Thy mercy.

The Rosary mysteries encourage us to imitate Our Lady and Our Lord, our perfect models in practicing all the virtues. When the wounds of our fallen nature remind us how weak we really are, praying and meditating on the Rosary will help us remember that ---

"It is not those who commit the least faults who are most holy, but those who have the greatest courage, the greatest generosity, the greatest love." (~St. Francis de Sales)

Viva La Vida - What Does the Song Really Say?

Viva La Vida, by “alternative rock” band Coldplay, is gaining loads of attention these days. One has to admit the musical score is ethereal and surreal, but the haunting lyrics are somewhat of a mystery. Some call Viva la Vida (and other songs on the album, entitled Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends) contradictory. If I may, I would suggest that ambiguous is a more accurate description. Lead singer Chris Martin was quoted as saying just this past spring of 2008, “We're slightly terrified about this record, because we've thrown away all our tricks. The truth is, we tried to find new ones.” Viva la Vida’s theme, however, is clear: Revolution.


The Sum is the Whole of Its Parts
Viva La Vida’s album title, its front cover, the baffling lyrics, and the imagery in the band’s two music videos specifically point to the French Revolution of 1789 and its 'second rising' in 1830. But consider: Why a Spanish title for a song sung in English about the French Revolution - or to clarify, a song about the philosophies that brought the woefully and deceptively misnamed "Enlightenment"? In the end, we have another part as we work together the sum, but it is ambiguous, too.

What is the meaning of Viva La Vida? In Spanish, the word viva means life. The word vida has a few more definitions: life, a lifetime or a life span, a biography of a life, or a livelihood (the way one makes a living). Thus the title Viva La Vida possesses various meanings: “Live the Life,” “Live the Lifetime,” “Live the Way of Life” or “Live the Lifestyle.” It could also suggest the biography of an unnamed individual’s life or the history of a ‘way of life.” Of course, the album’s unusual title about life and death is yet another hint that this song (and others on the album) is definitely about Revolution, which certainly brings “Death and All His Friends.”


The Title.- “Viva la Vida takes its name from a painting by Frida Kahlo, the acclaimed 20th century Mexican artist.” (See Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends ) Objectively speaking, the reference to the female painter Frida Kahlo, while an illuminating clue, is not an inspiring one. Kahlo’s life began three years after the "birth" of the Mexican Revolution - another revolution in which faithful Catholics, priests and laity alike, were pitilessly martyred. However, she publicly stated that she was born in the very year the Revolution began – thus purposely identifying herself with the ideology of Revolution. Due to a congenital birth defect and the life-long effects of a terrible auto accident, her life was full of deep pain, misery and stress. None of these things should be airily dismissed, for they were tragic and deserving of compassion. What is even more tragic is the evidence that Kahlo’s great sufferings did not sanctify her. Instead, she chose to “Live a Way of Life” (and perhaps found a way to end it), which in many points reflected the spiritual and temporal disorder of the ongoing “Revolution.”


The Album’s Front Cover. - While Viva la Vida may take its name from one of Kahlo’s paintings, the album’s front cover is a reproduction of pro-Revolutionary Eugène Delacroix’s 1830 painting, Liberty Leading the People. [For a brief history of the painting and its meaning, please see this entry.] The woman in the painting is the allegorical Marianne, a female personification and a sensible (meaning “understood by one of the five senses”) symbol of the French Revolution. She carries the bright tricolor (red, white and blue) flag of Revolution as she mercilessly steps upon the bodies of the dead. Consider, then, the mammoth hint made by Coldplay in choosing Liberty as Viva La Vida’s album cover, splashing the words across Marianne, and adding small white flecks (rose petals?) that float on the wind. (We'll return to the rose theme later.)


The Videos and the Lyrics:
“Now the Old King is Dead; Long Live the King!” (Viva la Roix!)

Too, Viva La Vida’s first official music video features 'smudged' sections of the Liberty painting, which serves as the band’s predominantly black and red background (although there are splashes of gold or white). At times, the painting moves behind the band like a passing landscape. (If one watches closely, a few figures within it are digitally transformed just before they are gone from sight.) Incidentally, Liberty plays a much more obvious role in the Viva La Vida’s alternative video, in which Chris Martin (the lead singer) carries around a framed copy of this same painting.

Again, the lyrics and the two videos’ mysterious traces are obviously intended to hold a dual-interpretation (in other words, the song is purposefully ambiguous and left up to the individual’s interpretation). The first video has lead singer Martin dressed in a way open to interpretation (the white shirt with the red "V," covered by a jacket, and the thin ropes around his wrists). On the other hand, Viva La Vida’s alternative video leaves little doubt as to who or what the lead singer intends to portray, because Martin is clad as a king.

The Who and the What. - In an exclusive sense, Viva La Vida strongly indicates it is a "collage" of two monarchs: the Catholic, French King Louis XVI (portrait to the left), who in 1793 was martyred at the guillotine, and his much later successor, the “Citizen-King” Louis Philippe (who reigned as “king of the French” from 1830-1848). Louis Philippe was the eldest son of the murdered King Louis XV’s traitorous cousin, the Duke of Orleans (who, after contributing to his cousin's fate by beheading, would later suffer the same fate). Spanning the years 1793-1830, France saw a series of rulers, including two of Louis XVI's relatives (an uncle and a brother), and Napoleon I, self-crowned Emperor. In 1830 (the same year of the Liberty painting), France endured an insurrection, Charles X (brother to the deceased Louis XVI) abdicated the throne and his nephew Louis Philippe took it. (It was also the year in which the Virgin Mary appeared in Paris to St. Catherine Laboure.) During the European Revolts of 1848, France (and many other countries, most of them Catholic) again underwent yet another Revolution. This time, it was Louis Philippe who abdicated (in favor of his grandson). Louise Phillippe then fled to England, where he died two years later, in 1850.

That the “Citizen King” of France died in England may also explain why Coldplay - a British brand – selected him, if not his predecessor, for their Death and All His Friends theme, and that is only if such was their intent. That Louis Philippe died in their home country suggests, however, that it is not necessarily he who is personified in the lyrics, "I sweep the streets alone/Sweep the streets I used to own." (Is it some spirit, either of a person or an idea, that sweeps the streets?)


As for Louis Philippe's predecessor, I do not refer to Charles X, brother of King Louis XVI, for he was not dead when Louis Philippe took the throne. Much less do I mean Louis XVIII (another brother of the deceased king) or Napoleon I, who was an outright usurper of the throne who, in any case, doesn't fit most of the song lyrics. However, those particular lyrics could be personifications of all those rulers - most of them legitimate heirs to the throne, with the exclusion of Napoleon - but to whom do they best apply?

If one is familiar with history, the answer is King Louis XVI, who was in robust health during most of his life. If he and his little son (not to mention Queen Marie Antoinette, who was the youngest daughter of the Emperor and a Hapsburg!) had not been murdered by the Revolutionaries, there is good reason to believe Louis' normal life span would have allowed him the time to right many wrongs, as he was already trying to do. Had he died a natural death, his son the Dauphin (Louis XVII) would have ascended the throne; it would never have passed to the one who was called the “Citizen King.” Thus the line "The Old King is dead; Long live the King!" may be referring to King Louis XVI and his legitimate successors by right of birth, down to Louis Philippe, in contrast to the "new king of the world," which is the spirit behind all Revolution.

Extending this theme to its reasonable conclusion, the song might also be a political vagary about monarchy itself, if not monarchy versus a republic. (After all, a monarchical or a 'republican' government means “Living a Way of Life” – Viva La Vida! - for both the monarchs and the people or the leaders and the people). This possibility only brings forth yet more questions: Is Viva La Vida’s duality an expression of sympathy – an “Ode to the Most Christian Monarch Louis XVI,” as it were - as well as a rather obscure bit of revolutionist poetry in the form of a song, a sentimental “Prose to Louis Philippe”? Is it a protest about the successive tragedies due to the French Revolution - or is it a rallying cry for the continuing Revolt? Or is Coldplay sympathetic to the Revolution’s victims but thinks such deaths are a terrible necessary? Or again, is it some vague sentiment expressing their own confusion about one form of order vs. chaos?

In a broader sense, the first "official" music video Viva La Vida momentarily hints at other manifestations of Revolution. Throughout the initial video, and again at its end, all of the band members are seen in costume. The dress of the first two musicians are cast in deep shadow and therefore difficult to ascertain with certainty, but the third band member is attired in the Union uniform of the Civil War (The War Between the States). That Coldplay chose to symbolize the United States' Civil War as another symbol of Revolution is startling in itself, but it is appropriate if they are implying a statement about republics. In Violet Hill, another song on the same album, the band members dress in the same outfits. Another ambiguous Coldplay song, Violet Hill comes from the soldier’s viewpoint, but what he is really saying is again left to the listener’s point of view.)

Catching Coldplay’s New “Tricks.” - To those who choose to watch both videos, may I first call your attention to the artistic symbolism and themes found within the first one? (I trust the second “alternative” video is a bit clearer in meaning. That is why I will not comment on it for now except to ask – is Martin, as ‘king,’ supposed to be standing at the gates of Petit Trianon?). Also, before sharing both videos with you (links provided within this post, since Youtube has removed the embedding option of the first "official" video), please allow me to identify all the individuals: They are Chris Martin (lead singer) and his band mates Jonny Buckland (guitarist), Guy Berryman (bassist) and Will Champion (drummer). Finally, before viewing either or both of the videos, please be aware that there is a conclusion to this article – found (obviously) at the very end. ;)

In the first video, available at Youtube, please watch for the following:


- The main background colors which come from the Liberty painting – predominantly black and red – are of war, revolt and bloodshed. One will notice that in almost all scenes with Martin, there is a large area of red behind him. The overload of red comes from the tri-color flag seen in the Liberty painting.

- A red V on the side of Martin’s white shirt which seems to be "painted" (it is my understanding that Martin began displaying this red “V” during Coldplay’s live shows on the Viva la Vida tour). Does it symbolize V as in Victory (and whose victory?) or V as in the Vendee, the western region of France peopled mostly by the every-day working-class, all Catholics faithful to ‘altar and throne.’ Almost all of them were brutally murdered - including babies and children - by the “Blues” of the French Revolution.)

- The outline of a bayonet in the background (this comes from the painting Liberty)

- A small white cross in a white cloud (behind and to the right of guitarist Buckland). One does not see a cross in Liberty.

- An arch with a bell, and a close up of a bell being struck. The bell is likely the symbol for both the French Revolution’s and the American Revolution’s cry of “Liberty,” which was redefined in practice to mean “license.” (Yes, there is a difference between liberty and license!) Neither is a bell nor an arch found in Liberty.

- The Revolution’s tri-color emblem on the right arm of lead singer Chris Martin's jacket. It can also be barely seen on the right arm of another band member. The tri-color flag is carried by "Marianne" in the Liberty painting.

- What appear to be thin ropes of leather tied around the lead singer’s wrists. If (and only if) Martin intended to portray the martyred monarch, the thin ropes might represent King Louis XVI’s imprisonment before he was ruthlessly murdered by the Revolutionaries’ ever-thirsty Madame Guillotine. (Moments before he was beheaded, King Louis XVI's hands were bound - after he had already ascended the scaffold. The king at first resisted, for an honorable knight would never "run in terror from the face of death," as Elena Marie Vidal describes the scene in her book, Trianon. But the good and faithful priest accompanying the king urged him to consider it his last humiliation, suffered in union with the Passion of Christ, Who was bound to a pillar before the Scourging. At this holy remembrance, the martyr submitted, saying, "You are right. Nothing less than His example should make me submit to such a degradation.")

- How lead singer Martin somehow seems to be singing toward the heavens, and other times bows his head. In one brief segment, he seems to be stumbling, as though he is standing on uneven ground – or being toppled. In another quick scene, his head hangs and his arms are out, bent down at the elbow - like a limp puppet on a string. Immediately following, his hands are up as if in supplication during the line, “Oh, who would ever want to be king?” At another time, when he is facing to the right, he crosses his hands across his chest - a traditional posture often seen in paintings of saints in communion with God. Near the end of the video, his hands are momentarily placed together as if in prayer. These brief scenes can only bring the pious King Louis XVI to mind; most certainly, they cannot refer to Napoleon or the Citizen King Louis Philippe.

- Other images that look like hearts, scrolls, tubing, and somewhat hazy figures. If the viewer carefully pays attention to the right side of the video, one will eventually see repeated and “muted” images of a red heart. There is even a heart with flames coming from its top (this heart is seen in the close-up of the singer’s palm facing the screen). In Catholic symbolism, this flaming heart represents the Sacred Heart of Jesus, burning with love.

- The cloud interludes. In the 2nd cloud shot, there appears to be a figure standing within it but it is hazy and very muted. In another sequence, this figure (not the cloud) appears in the upper right hand corner, with white rays falling downward.

- A red cross on a white background (in the upper left corner). A red cross on white was undoubtedly a part of the Sacred Heart of Jesus “badge” – to even wear it in the years of the French Revolution meant condemnation by “Death and All His Friends.” The actual badge was a red heart symbol (with a cross on top of it). Unfortunately, the Revolutionaries would eventually employ the image of a heart (without the cross) in their personification of the “new” (anti-Christian) republic of France.

- The video’s very end, in which each of the band members are briefly viewed, representing some aspect of Revolution; the first (the drummer) is all in black, his collar turned up. His right arm also bears a badge, but only bits of red and white can be seen. His arms are down and his hands are crossed over each other. His outfit can barely be seen, but his face turns to the viewer’s left, attracting the viewer’s eye to floating objects drifting by. The second member (the bass player) is seen in a flash but it seems to be the Confederate uniform (U.S. Civil War). The third one (guitarist) is wearing the Union uniform and cap. Last seen is Martin, who reaches out, as if trying not to be pulled away (perhaps by the “wicked and wild wind”) as the small red flecks float adrift.

- The floating red flecks, which seem to be very tiny rose petals. (Consider the opening segment in which a larger rose slowly comes into view). The symbol of a rose is supposed to be a tribute from Coldplay to another British band, Depeche Mode and their song “Enjoy the Silence.” The cover for Depeche Mode's single release (as well as the album Violator in which it was featured) bears a single rose. The rose, in Depeche Mode’s view, is an allusion to the controversial (and rightly so) historical romance, “The Rose of Versailles,” set during the French Revolution. Above and beyond all that, however, the red rose is universally known as the symbol of triumphant love. That the petals of triumphant love (of which the highest form is love of God) are blowing in the wind is a message in itself.

- The rose, as it was symbolically used by these two bands, is purposely intended to direct attention to the history of the French Revolution. [See Enjoy the Silence ] The problem is - do either the songwriters or the listeners know the whole truth of that tragic history, much less the insubordinate philosophies against God that led to it?


Now for the Viva La Vida lyrics:

I used to rule the world/Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sweep alone/Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice/Feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing/ “Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!”

One minute I held the key/Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand/Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

REFRAIN
I hear Jerusalem’s bells a’ringing/Roman Calvary choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword, my shield/My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain/I know St. Peter will call my name
Never an honor word/But that was when I ruled the world

It was a wicked and wild wind/Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sounds of drums/People couldn’t believe what I had become
Revolutionaries wait/For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string/Oh, who would ever want to be king?

[REFRAIN repeats]


A CLOSER LOOK at the Lyrics: Certainly some (but not all) of the lines suggest King Louis XVI, the Catholic king of France. For example:

In the refrain, "Jerusalem's bells a'ringing" could mean the king - thinking of Our Lord, who died on Golgotha (the place of the skull) in Jerusalem - could foresee his own approaching death by unjust political manuevering.

"Roman Calvary choirs a'singing" might imply soldiers of Christ (the Church Militant) who were praying with and for him, but - even more fittingly - they may suggest angels (St. Michael is often depicted in artwork as a Roman soldier; he is prince of the heavenly host - the 'choirs' of heaven who sing before the throne of God.)

---In the first verse, "Missionaries in a foreign field" bring to mind the many Catholic religious orders of France, which brought the Gospel and the sacraments to other countries.

"For some reason I can't explain/I know St. Peter will call my name" expresses the virtue of the true Christian's hope - and King Louis XVI was a Catholic above all else.

"Never an honest word" is another great mystery, for the words don't make clear who never gave an honest word. The words cannot apply to the martyred King Louis XVI, but they would fit the lies of the Revolutionaries who brought about the death of the king and thousands of others.

---The lines of the next stanza, however, could be personifications of both the good king and his legitimate successors (from the family line). Revolution is indeed a wicked and wild wind; it eventually "let in" the tyrant Napoleon, as well as a descendant of the traitorous ancestor, Citizen King Louis Philippe.

Shattered windows and the sounds of drums denote the crowds who besieged King Louis' palace, attempting to kill him and the Royal Family - but they also apply to Louis Philippe, for there had been many attempts on his life.

Revolutionaries wait/for my head on a silver plate clearly point to Louis XVI, beheaded for anti-religious and political reasons (like St. John the Baptist). King Louis XVI was a scapegoat, a figure-head for all that the Revolutionaries hated, treated with the same contempt and brutality as Christ the King: People couldn't believe what I had become. And so it goes..


Still, the question remains: What does the song Viva La Vida really say? Only Coldplay knows for sure - or do they? Perhaps some Muse inspired Martin (the songwriter, as well as lead singer) with a message he himself cannot fully understand. Otherwise, why the refusal to to outrightly declare the intent? Is the band trying to tell youth that the continuing Revolution is the cause of their plight - or egging them to carry its bloody red banner? Is their seeming sympathy for some former way of life a ruse or the real deal? Or is the song Viva La Vida about Martin's own searching for God in all the wrong places? He has, after all, made confusing remarks about religion, all which indicate the real reason for his lyrical laments.

In the meantime, as we consider the Revolutionaries' cries of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity and what those terms really meant, might we also consider the observations of Yves Dupont, who studied prophesy for at least 30 years, and authored many works, including Catholic Prophecy?

“The Reformation in the 16th century, the so-called Age of Enlightenment in the 18th, and the rise of democracy in the 20th were all predicted and called ‘deadly errors.’ The Enlightenment, as a matter of fact, was described as the beginning of an age of spiritual darkness; this is self-evident today. The rise of popular power [sometimes call 'the Fourth Estate' in the prophecies] was defined as being against the natural order willed by God, and it was said that it would end in chaos, anarchy, and bloodshed. We are fast approaching that stage; there is now throughout the world a general revolt against authority that leaves little doubt to the outcome."

"Thus," he continued, "what the vast majority of people today regard as their most cherished values [were] denounced as errors. It is quite possible that many of us have been so influenced by modern ideas that we may find it difficult to accept what these prophecies say. But this is another question, for the prophecies do not ask for our assent; they simply warn us and describe events which, once they have come to pass, will force our assent. Yes, we are free to reject the prophecies, but we do not possess the right to do so. Freedom is not a right; it is a duty or, more accurately, it is a faculty of our make-up which implies a duty. We possess the faculty to choose between good and evil, between truth and error, between God and Satan...our duty is to choose God, truth and goodness. The modern conception of freedom-is-a-right is a distortion of Catholic truth."

[With special thanks to our son, Stephan, who helped with research for this article. Due to previous formatting problems, this article was updated and revised on November 3, 2008. It was again updated July 31, 2009 to provide the Youtube link to the official video, since the embedding option was removed from Youtube and is no longer available.]

In the West, a Pale Light Lingers

Remember, o most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother! To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but hear and answer me. Amen.

~The Memorare of St. Bernard

As a Catholic and as a busy homeschooling wife and mom, I know we are all concerned about our families, friends and neighbors and our collective spiritual and temporal futures. For those reasons, I wish to again mention our ongoing Collegial Consecration Campaign. In addition to the intentions of the 9-Day Rosary Novena, the collegial consecration is an ever greater intention we must not forget. So as we pray for this nation, we should - above all else - pray and sacrifice for the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, every day, all year long. That is the thrust of Keeping It Catholic's Collegial Consecration Campaign, which was initiated in May of this year.

It's very easy to begin: Simply start by praying the Rosary every day (5 decades a day is called a Rosary; 15 decades a day is Our Lady's Psalter) , with the primary intention being the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you are ready, there are two more things you can do: If you are not already doing so, wear the Brown Scapular (please be sure it is blessed by a priest or, better yet, ask a priest to enroll you in the Brown Scapular) and offer your daily duty as a sacrifice for sinners.

Our Lady said at Fatima: "If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace." Years later, Sr. Lucia summed up what Heaven asks of all the people:

Dear Queen and Mother, Who promised at Fatima to convert Russia and bring peace to all mankind, in reparation to Your Immaculate Heart for my sins and the sins of the world, I solemnly promise: 1) to offer up every day the sacrifices demanded by my daily duty; 2) to pray the Rosary (5 decades) daily while meditating on the Mysteries; 3) to wear the Scapular of Mount Carmel as a profession of this promise and as an act of consecration to You. I shall renew this promise often, especially in moments of temptation.

When we pray the daily Rosary we can and should, of course, add other intentions as well: including personal intentions, intentions for all those in their last agony, intentions for the poor souls in Purgatory, intentions in which we ask for the grace of final perseverance. We do not fear that we are asking for too many things when we pray at Mass, do we? Neither should we fear asking for many graces when we pray the Rosary. The Rosary is also a most powerful prayer, the second highest indulgenced prayer of the Church after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Since penance is a necessity for the sins we have committed and confessed, and since we should also sacrifice for the conversion of others, it's well to know that daily duty is the main sacrifice Our Lord asks of us. Heaven made clear to Sr. Lucia that the sacrifice Our Lord asks of us is the faithful accomplishment of daily duty - which means 1) our duties first as Catholics and 2) our duties in our states in life. The Angel of Fatima said, "Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings that the Lord may send you."

Every morning, in order to remember this daily intention, we should say a prayer in which we offer to God our every thought, word and action of the day. This one practice will cultivate the habit of prayer as well as our recollection of God's Presence. It makes us immediately aware of our venial sins and immediately make an act of reparation for them. It helps us guard our thoughts, the words that come out of our mouths, and how we behave. The following prayer is a most appropriate Morning Offering:

O my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary (here kiss your Brown Scapular), I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, present in all the Tabernacles throughout the world, joining with It the offering of my every thought, word, and action of this day.

O my Jesus, I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and I offer them, together with myself,to Mary Immaculate, that she may best apply them to the interests of Thy Most Sacred Heart.

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Amen.

This week, the response to this specific request [praying the Rosary for the Collegial Consecration, as well as the other intentions of the nationwide 9 Day Rosary Novena] has been so heartening! If you haven't yet joined us in the Collegial Consecration Campaign, may I ask:

-Are you too busy to let us know that you are joining us in this endeavor?

-Is it that you don't know 'what' to think about the requests Our Lady made at Fatima?

-Is it that you have given up on ever seeing the era of peace?

-Are you afraid of making a commitment to daily praying the Rosary because you might forget a day or two?

-Or is it that you somehow cannot see the shadow of Mordor extending over this nation and all the world?

But if you can see that pervading shadow - do you still hesitate to pray and work for the collegial consecration out of some fear of disloyalty to the popes - past and present?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Even Inside the Vatican magazine recognizes that now. The historical facts prove the specific collegial consecration of Russia has never taken place - so it is to save the Church, the Holy Father, and the world that we are asking for this grace. The Virgin asked for it, and that should be enough for us.

In the meantime, my fellow Catholics, Mordor is assembling for battle once more. I think most of us feel it, even if we can't see it.

Remember the lines from LOTR (Lord of the Rings): "But in the west, a pale light lingered"? That pale light is Our Lady...She wishes to save not only Gondor [Western civilization] but all of Middle Earth [the whole world]. The Age of Mary must precede the Social Reign of Christ the King. The overwhelming sins of this era make the world most unworthy. In humility, we must heed our Queen and Mother; when we listen to our Mother, God will grant the world this stupendous grace.

Just like the Fellowship, we may be separated in distance and face various dangers but our goal is the same. Like the Fellowship, too, every thing we do [even though we may not know it at the time] means we are somehow helping each other. 'Small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.' That means you and me, dear people ---Catholics who strive to remainin the state of grace, praying and working and sacrificing all over the world -separated in place as we are and yet universal!

Please...won't you join us in the daily Rosary and our special intention for the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Pray much for the Holy Father! Heaven said that the collegial consecration will eventually be done - but it will be late.

We're already there.

Email me and tell me you're joining us - won't you? Or, if you prefer, you are welcome to say you're joining the Collegial Consecration Campaign by leaving a comment on the blog. Finally, would you forward this message to others by using the appropriate 'mail' link at the bottom of this post? It will take just a moment of time, but think of the great blessings we might be given if many people learn of this Campaign and join us!

Btw, I ask you to alert me that you're joining us for one reason and one reason only - to know how many of the faithful we've reached with Our Lady's requests at Fatima, so we can encourage each other in praying and working together for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart.

In the love of Christ and His Virgin Mother,

Marianna Bartold

We're Keeping It Catholic on the Net!

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"...it is necessary for each one of us to begin to reform himself spiritually. Each person must not only save his own soul but also help to save all the souls that God has placed on our path."

~Sr. Lucia of Fatima

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