Is it Fascist to be Anti-Communist?

Answering the above question is extremely important, since it is a Communist tactic to immobilize their adversaries by calling them Nazis or Fascists.

BENITO MUSSOLINI, THE ITLIAN FASCIST LEADER.

We will prove that one who is truly against Communism, must also be against Fascism, for the two ideologies are similar. Likewise, one who is truly against Fascism must also be against Communism for the same reason.

Someone could object that if this is the case, then Communists should call themselves Fascists. We answer that, in the rigor of logic, they should be synonymous for Fascism and Communism are similar, not only in their secondary aspects but also in their essential aspects. This is precisely what we are going to prove.

I. Philosophical Concepts

We have lined up statements from the principal mentors of Nazi-Fascism with statements from the most important ideologies of Communism. The resemblance between the two is patent.

NAZI-FACISM
COMMUNISM

They obey common ideologists:
Marx and Hegel.

"The National Socialist movement has one single master: Marxism." - Goebbels¹

"Mussolini likes to affirm that Marx is his spiritual father."²

Croce and Gentile, the ideological mentors of Fascism, resort to Hegel in the elaboration of Fascism.

"We are Communists, disciples of Marx and Engels."⁷

The Marxist affiliation of Communism is evident.

Marx for his part drew his dialectics from Hegel.

Both have an atheistic doctrine.
"We want no other god than Germany" - Hitler³
"God is the personal enemy of the Communist society." - Lenin⁸

Both have a dialectical doctrine.
"Struggle is the origin of all things, because life is full of contrast." - Mussolini⁴
"The law of contradiction, which is inherent to all things, to all phenomena, is the fundamental law of dialectical materialism." - Mao Tse Tung⁹

Both have an evolutionist doctrine.
"We know that there is no definitive state, that there is nothing durable, that there is only a perpetual revolution." - Rauschning⁵
"There is nothing definitive, absolute, or sacred. The only thing that exists is the uninterrupted process of the future and the transitory." - Engels

Both have a revolutionary doctrine.
"The program of the conception of the world has the sense of a declaration of war against the order of things which exist, against the state of things which exist, in a word, against the structure of the world which presently exists." - Hitler⁶
"Everything which exists must die." - Engels.

¹Goebbels, Kampf um Berlin, page 19.
²Mussolini y el Fascismo," in Que sais je. (in Spanish), page 31.
³Bayrischer Kurier, May 25, 1923.
⁴Mussolini, "Le Fascisme," in Discursos al Politeoma Rosetti de Trieste, 9-20-1920, Ed. Denoel et Steele, Paris.
⁵Rauschning, Hitler Said to Me, 1937.
⁶Hitler, Mein Kampf, page 508.
⁷Thorez, M., Discurso del 28 de Octubre de 1937. Ed. Comite Popular de Propaganda.
⁸Ousset, J., "Carta a Gorki (dicembre de 1913)" in Le Marxisme-Leninisme, page 132.
⁹Mao, On the Question of Contradictions.

II. Concept of the State

NAZI-FACISM
COMMUNISM

Both are heralds of a totalitarian state.

"Everything in the State, nothing against the State, nothing outside the State."- Mussolini¹

"The State is the continent and the race is the content." - Hitler²

"The dictatorship of the proletariat (the name given to the State) is domination unrestrained by the law and based upon force." - Lenin³

The State absorbs the family and property.

¹Mussolini, "A la Camara de Diputados 9 de diciembre de 1928" in Discursos de 1928, page 333.
²Hitler, Mein Kampf.

³Lenin, State and Revolution.

III. Economic Concept

NAZI-FACISM
COMMUNISM

They promote socialism.
"We are socialists and mortal enemies of the present capitalist economic system."¹
"It is evident that Communism fights for the destruction of the capitalist system and the implantation of socialism."

They promote the abolition of property.
"Socialism is the concept of the world of the future which can only be realized in the socialist state." -Goebbels²
"We can sum up our doctrine in this proposition: the abolition of private property." - Marx and Engels³

Where the right of private property does not exist there is no justice. Socialism distributes only misery.

¹Der Nationalsozialismos, die Weltanschauung des 20. Jahrhunderts.

* Capitalism in as much as it is based on private property and free enterprise is not in itself condemnable. But its abuses are condemnable.

² Goebbels, Die Zweite Revolution.
³ Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto.

IV. Methods of Action

A cult of violence.
Nazi-Fascism and Communism both promote a veritable cult of violence; the brutality of their methods has become legendary. It could not be any other way: Nietzche (for the Nazi-Fascists) and Lenin or Mao (for the Communists) did not going to allow themselves to be held back by the "bourgeois prejudices" of a morality. Accordingly, with neither God nor law, they were prepared to sacrifice all things in the interests of their nefarious ends.

V. Concept of the Family

NAZI-FACISM
COMMUNISM

Children are torn away from their families.
"The children are educated in common by experienced educators in special nurseries. The youths from the time they reach six years of age, in boarding school for boys. The "reproductive" mother lives supported by the "House of Maternity." - Dr. Dupre¹
"They reproach us with wanting to abolish the exploitation of children by their parents. Well then, we confess that crime." - Marx and Engels³

The dissolution of the family.
"Monogamy for the whole of life is anti-natural, and a degradation of the species." - Dr. Bergman²

"Positive propositions in view of a future society...
Abolition of the family, of private gains..." - Marx and Engels⁴

Without the family there is no morality.

¹Weltanschaung and Rassenzuechtung.
²Erkenntnisgeist and Muttergeist.
³Marx and Engels, Communist Manifesto.
⁴Marx and Engels, Socialismos utopicos y Socialismo Screhtifico. Ed. Socialis, Paris.

The comparative tables above show clearly the similarities between Communism and Nazi-Fascism. Both systems, being inspired by the aberrations of Karl Marx, have as a consequence an erroneous dialectical and evolutionist interpretation of society. Their doctrines are fundamentally similar, having atheism and materialism as their basic postulates.

From these postulates, they deduce a socialist socio-politico-economic system, which, annihilating all of the organisms that should exist in a society (the family, unions, etc.); raises upon its ruins the omnipotence of the state, in one case called the dictatorship of the proletariat and in the other, the Third Reich. Everything is sacrificed to that Moloch; individual rights disappear; parents are even deprived of their rights over their children.

The work of the Nazis; in tearing father from son, and mother from daughter, is also done by Communism. It is the same abomination which presents itself under different labels, two faces of the same coin. The reasons that lead a person to oppose Communism must lead him also to oppose Nazi-Fascism, because everything that is abhorrent and anti-natural in the one is to be found in the other. They are sons of the same father, Marx, and have the same end: the destruction of civilization.

Someone could object by pointing to the conflicts in word and deed that occurred between the Nazi-Fascists and the Communists. Such an objection is easily answered by analyzing the nature of these disputes, which have very little about them of real conflict and very much that is operetta.

Even a partially informed observer perceives the deceit, for there has been no struggle between Nazi-Fascism and Communism, but between Nazi-Fascists and Communists who engage in fights and disputes that do not challenge their common doctrines and methods.

These "conflicts" have been skirmishes between "brothers," bypassing that which is most essential - their doctrine. They even provide mutual support for each other, since in that incautious person, believing in a real opposition in the two ideologies, joins one in order to combat the other.

Thus, credulous persons who were crystallized against the aberrations of the Nazis joined the Communists, and others crystallized against the Communists joined the Nazis. Accordingly, it can be seen that Communism and Nazi-Fascism are two sides of the same pincer, two jaws of the same beast.

But if anyone doubts that the Communists are being cynical who to call their true adversaries "Fascists," we ask them to meditate on this sentence of the masters of Communism: "For the revolutionary, everything that contributes to the rebellion is moral and everything that impedes it is immoral and criminal." (Marx and Engels, Obras, Berlin, 1962, Vol. 28, page 427).

How to Avoid Falling into the Traps of Communism

1. Have a clear knowledge of the Communist doctrine, its ends and methods, in order to able to combat it with efficiency, without falling into a false anti-communism, such as Nazism or Fascism.

2. In order for the action to be complete, know the principles and final ends of anti-communism, because no one fights for an ideal that he does not know.

3. We ought to have a love for the cause that gives us heart, abnegation, and willingness to sacrifice for the combat, because without this, however true our ideals may be, we shall never conquer.

Catholic students gather for the March for Life and serious reflection

From January 22 – 24 TFP Student Action held its annual March for Life Student Conference.

Young men from as far as California and Louisiana came together to march in defense of the unborn children slaughtered by abortion and to prepare themselves for the intellectual and spiritual challenges of 2009. Talks ranged from the coming chastisement as foreseen by Our Lady of Fatima to the legendary Marine Corps hero Col. John Ripley, USMC (Ret).

Conference participants used study circles to discuss and debate ideas developed during the lectures.

The highlight of the event was the March for Life in Washington D.C., which was blessed by the presence of the miraculous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

She graced the event and was carried by four members of the TFP delegation and escorted by the conference participants. The constant flow of pro-lifers marching up Constitution Ave. seemed endless. In fact, Jeanne Smits, editor of the French Catholic daily newspaper Présent was one of many who affirmed that 300,000 were present.

On January 23, Mr. Stephen Ripley spoke of his father, a war hero, and his exploits in Vietnam. He defined heroism as the willingness to sacrifice everything for something you know is right, without expecting any reward or recognition in return. Col. Ripley’s example of moral courage inspired listeners to defend the truth even when doing so might be unpopular or controversial.
Participants visited the battlefield of Gettysburg.

The imponderables of this battlefield evoke great heroism. Watching the sunset from Little Round Top, one felt solemn atmosphere over the fields where so many died fighting. The tomb of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in nearby Emmitsburg, Md. was also visited.

All did pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton to pray for America.

Hungry from the afternoon’s excursion, homemade brick oven pizza at the TFP headquarters awaited and the candlelit dinner was filled with jubilant and enthusiastic conversation. “I liked the pizza so much,” said Jonathan Ruff of New Jersey. The evening closed with a video presentation on Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira and his Crusade in defense of Christian civilization.

Even the eyes feasted on the home-made brick oven pizza at the TFP Headquarters!

A talk on devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary conveyed a very important lesson: To the degree that our hearts are united with hers, our spiritual and intellectual combat in defense of Truth will be effective.

This point inspired participants to have more devotion to Our Lady. (Some made resolutions to pray a daily rosary, and others, to consecrate themselves to her.)

What gripped everyone’s attention was a talk on Our Lady of Fatima’s message and the chastisement. The speaker cited a very impressive graph published by the Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels recorded a drastic increase of natural disasters from the year 1900 to the year 2000.

Two thought-provoking talks on Islam clearly demonstrated the necessity of defending the remants of Christian culture of the West.

After a delicious dinner, suddenly, trumpets blasted and “King Henry V” entered the hall fully armored and thundered the St. Crispin’s Day speech by Shakespeare. Each participant was then called forth and the fiery king gave to each participant a picture of Emperor Charlemagne on horseback, flanked by two peers, with a quote of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira:

“When still very young I marveled at the ruins of Christendom, gave them my heart, turned my back on all I could expect, and made of that past so full of blessings my future.”

William Sweeney of West Virginia enthusiastically receives a memento of Charlemagne at the closing banquet.

Like a newly forged “band of brothers,” students departed ready to oppose the cultural revolution more than ever.

The young men pose with Stephen Ripley who gave a talk on his legendary father Col. John W. Ripley (USMC) Ret.

Today, please pray to Saint John Bosco -- it's his feast day!

                 

I've found that Saint John Bosco is a saint to whom one can go in tight, emergency situations and find real help.

Perhaps that is because in his earthly life, he was always in tight situations himself; persecuted by the enemies if the Church, low on funds, surrounded by hundreds of indigent boys in need of material and spiritual assistance.

Saint John Bosco was also favored by God with vivid and accurate dreams about the souls of his boys, heaven, hell, etc.

Visions of Saint John Bosco

Unlike the Early Christian, modern man (and Christian man) seldom thinks of Heaven. Indeed from the French Revolution to our days, the topic is unfortunately ignored.

So we greatly benefit by reading the accounts of two visions of Heaven by one of the world's most popular saints, Saint John Bosco (1815-1888) who was an apostle of youth and founder of the Salesian Fathers and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.

His life was punctuated by supernatural intervention.

"Mamma Margaret"

It is well known that St. John Bosco's mother played an important role in his formation and greatly assisted his work. Thus everyone affectionately called her, Mamma Margaret.

After her death, Mamma Margaret appeared to Saint John Bosco. He wrote about this vision in his Biographical Memoirs:

In August 1860, for example, he dreamed that he met her near the shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, along the wall surrounding Saint Anne's Monastery at the corner of the road as he was on he way back to the Oratory from the Convitto Ecclesiatico. She looked beautiful. "What? Are you really here?" Don Bosco asked. "Aren't you dead?"

"I died but I'm alive," Margaret replied.

"And are you happy?"

"Very happy." After several other questions, Don Bosco asked her if she had gone straight to heaven. Margaret answered negatively. He then inquired if several boys - whose names he mentioned - were in heaven, and he received an affirmative reply.

"Now tell me," Don Bosco went on, "what is it that you enjoy in heaven?"

"I cannot explain that to you."

"Give me at least an idea of your happiness; let me see a glimmer of it!"

Mamma Margaret then appeared radiant with majesty and clothed in a magnificent robe. As a large choir stood in the background, she began to sing a song of love of God that was indescribably sweet and went straight to the heart, filling it and carrying it away with love. It sounded as if a thousand voices and a thousand tones - from the deepest bass to the highest soprano - had all been blended together masterfully, delicately, and harmoniously to form one single voice, notwithstanding the variety of tones and the pitch of the voices ranging from loud to the barely perceptible. Don Bosco was so enchanted by this most melodious singing that he thought he was out of his senses, and he was no longer able to tell or ask his mother anything. When Mamma Margaret had finished singing, she turned to him and said: "I'll be waiting for you. The two of us must always be together." After speaking these words, she vanished.¹

Saint Dominic Savio
St. John Bosco had another vision of Heaven in the form of a dream, which he related to his boys during one of his famous "bedtime talks."
In 1876, his recently-deceased disciple Saint Dominic Savio appeared to him in a dream.

As you know, dreams come in one's sleep. So during the night hours of December 6, while I was in my room - whether reading or pacing back and forth or resting in my bed, I am not sure - I began dreaming.

It suddenly seemed to me that I was standing on a small mound of hillock, on the rim of a broad plain so far-reaching that the eye could not compass its boundaries lost in vastness. All was blue, blue as the calmest sea, though what I saw was not water. It resembled a highly polished, sparkling sea of glass. Stretching out beneath, behind and on either side of me was an expanse of what looked like a seashore.

In St. John Bosco's dream, St. Dominic Savio appeared in a Paradise of grand gardens and indescribable beauty.

Broad, imposing avenues divided the plain into grand gardens of indescribable beauty, each broken up by thickets, lawns, and flower beds of varied shapes and colors. None of the plants we know could ever give you an idea of those flowers, although there was a resemblance of sorts. The very grass, the flowers, the trees, the fruit - all were of singular and magnificent beauty. Leaves were of gold, trunks and boughs were of diamonds, and every tiny detail was in keeping with this wealth. The various kinds of plants were beyond counting. Each species and each single plant sparkled with a brilliance of its own. Scattered throughout those gardens and spread over the entire plain I could see countless buildings whose architecture, magnificence, harmony, grandeur and size were so unique that one could say all the treasures of earth could not suffice to build a single one. If only my boys had one such house, I said to myself, how they would love it, how happy they would be, and how much they would enjoy being there! Thus ran my thoughts as I gazed upon the exterior of those buildings, but how much greater must their inner splendor have been!

As I stood there basking in the splendor of those gardens, I suddenly heard music most sweet - so delightful and enchanting a melody that I could never adequately describe it. Compared with it, the compositions of Father Cagliero and Brother Dogliani are hardly music at all. A hundred thousand instruments played, each with its own sound, uniquely different from all others, and every possible sound set the air alive with its resonant waves. Blended with them were the songs of choristers.

In those gardens I looked upon a multitude of people enjoying themselves happily, some singing, others playing, but every note, had the effect of a thousand different instruments playing together. At one and the same time, if you can imagine such a thing, one could hear all the notes of the chromatic scale, from the deepest to the highest, yet all in perfect harmony. Ah yes, we have nothing on earth to compare with that symphony.

One could tell from the expression of those happy faces that the singers not only took the deepest pleasure in singing, but also received vast joy in listening to the others. The more they sang, the more pressing became their desire to sing. The more they listened the more vibrant became their yearning to hear more…

As I listened enthralled to that heavenly choir I saw an endless multitude of boys approaching me. Many I recognized as having been at the Oratory and in our other schools, but by far the majority of them were total strangers to me. Their endless ranks drew closer, headed by Dominic Savio, who was followed immediately by Father Alasonatti, Father Chiali, Father Guilitto and many other clerics and priests, each leading a squad of boys…

Once that host of boys got some eight or ten paces from me, they halted. There was a flash of light far brighter than before, the music stopped, and a hushed silence fell over all. A most radiant joy encompassed all the boys and sparkled in their eyes, their countenances aglow with happiness. They looked and smiled at me very pleasantly, as though to speak, but no one said a word.

Dominic Savio stepped forward a pace or two, standing so close to me that, had I stretched out my hand, I would surely have touched him. He too was silent and gazed upon me with a smile…

At last Dominic Savio spoke. "Why do you stand there silent, as though you were almost devitalized?" he asked. "Aren't you the one who once feared nothing, holding your ground against slander, persecution, hostility, hardships and dangers of all sorts? Where is courage? Say something!"

I forced myself to reply in a stammer, "I do not know what to say. Are you Dominic Savio?"

"Yes I am. Don't you know me anymore?"

"How come you are here?" I asked still bewildered.

Savio spoke affectionately. "I came to talk with you. We spoke together so often on earth! Do you not recall how much you loved me, or how many tokens of friendship you gave me and how kind you were to me? And did I not return the warmth of your love? How much trust I placed in you! So why are you tongue-tied? Why are you shaking? Come ask me a question or two!"

Summoning my courage, I replied, "I am shaking because I don't know where I am."

"You are in the abode of happiness," Savio answered, "where one experiences every joy, every delight."

"Is this the reward of the just?"

"Not at all! Here we do not enjoy supernatural happiness but only a natural one, though greatly magnified."

"Might I be allowed to see a little supernatural light?"

"No one can see it until he has come to see God as He is. The faintest ray of that light would instantly strike one dead, because the human senses are not sturdy enough to endure it."²

Here ends his dream of Saint Dominic Savio referring to Paradise.

“Could You Not Watch One Hour With Me?”

Thanks be to God, you and I still profess the Faith that so many have abandoned and betrayed.

But what use do we make of it?  Do we love it?  Do we understand that our greatest happiness in life consists in being members of the holy Church, that our greatest glory is the title of Christian?

          

If we respond in the affirmative — and how rare are those who, in good conscience, could so respond — are we ready to make every sacrifice in order to preserve our faith?

Before answering with a romantic yes, let us take a moment to examine our consciences honestly. Do we ever seek occasions that might put our faith at risk? Do we enjoy worldly pleasures that are — at best — indifferent to it?

Do we read or view materials that violate its standards? Do we welcome the company of those who disregard or even disparage it?

By virtue of their instinct of sociability, all men are prone to conform to popular opinion, to accept the conventional wisdom around them. Today’s dominant opinions contravene the teachings of the Church in philosophy, sociology, history, science, art — ultimately, in everything.

Our friends quite likely follow the trend. Do we have the courage to stand against it? Do we guard our hearts against any penetration of erroneous ideas? Are we of one mind with the Church in everything? Or are we content with negligently going about our business, taking in everything the spirit of the times instills simply because it instills it?

Perhaps we have not expelled Our Lord from our souls, but how do we treat this Divine Guest? Is He the object of all our attention, the center of our intellectual, moral, and affective life? Is He our King? Or do we allot Him only a small space where He is tolerated as a secondary guest, a rather uninteresting and inconvenient guest?

When the Divine Master groaned, wept, and sweat blood during His Passion, He was tormented not solely by physical sorrows, nor just those sufferings occasioned by the hatred of those who persecuted Him then. He was also tormented by everything that we would do against Him and the Church in the coming centuries. He wept because of the hatred of all the evil men, every Arius, Nestorius, and Luther. But He also wept foreseeing the unending procession of lukewarm souls, apathetic souls, that, while not persecuting Him, do not love Him as they ought.

This is the innumerable multitude of those who spend their lives neither hating nor loving and who, according to Dante, remain at the gates of Hell because not even Hell has sufficient place for them. Are we among these?

This is the great question that with God’s grace we must answer in the days, weeks and months ahead in 2009.

Our Lady gives Her faithful servant the grace to hold the Infant Jesus

Year: 1594.  Day: February 2.  Place: Quito, Ecuador. 

Mother Mariana was praying in the high choir.  Prostrate with her forehead touching the floor, she implored help for her community and mercy for the sinful world.

                 

She then heard a sweet voice calling her name. Rising quickly, she beheld a most beautiful lady in an aura of light. On her left arm she held the Child Jesus and on her right a crosier of the purest gold adorned with such precious stones as are not to be found on this earth.

“Who art thou, beautiful lady?” she asked, “and what dost thou wish? Dost thou not know that I am but a poor nun, filled with love for God, true, but suffering and tried to the utmost?”

The lady answered: “I am Mary of Good Success, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Precisely because you are a religious soul full of love for God and for His Mother who now speaks to you, I have come from heaven to sooth your burdened heart.”

Then the Mother of God showed her how her prayers and penances pleased God. She explained that she held the golden crosier in her right hand because she wished to govern the convent herself, and that the devil would do all in his power to destroy the convent by means of some ungrateful daughters of hers dwelling there.

“He will not attain his goal,” she continued, “because I am the Queen of Victories and the Mother of Good Success. Under this invocation I wish, in the centuries to come, to perform miracles for the preservation of this, my convent, and its inhabitants.

“Until the end of the world I will have holy daughters, heroic souls, in the obscure life of their convent, who, suffering persecutions and slanders from within their own community, will be much loved by God and His Mother… Their lives of prayer, penance, and sacrifice will be extremely necessary in all times. After having spent their lives unknown to all, they will be called to heaven to occupy an exalted throne of glory.”

She then revealed to Mother Mariana that hers would be a long and suffering life, but she bid her never lose courage.

Saying this, she placed the Infant Jesus in the humble virgin’s arms. Clasping Him tightly to her heart, Mother Mariana felt the strength to suffer all for His honor and glory and the good of souls.

Our Lady was to appear several times to Mother Mariana under the title of the Mother of Good Success. During some of these apparitions she prophesied many things about the twentieth century.

My Guests and I Were Amazed at the Beauty of Our Lady of Fatima

    Mr. Gamez of Corpus Christi expressed the above sentiments upon seeing the beautiful statue of Our Lady of Fatima in his home.

    He also commented on how impressed he and his guests were with the custodian.  He said that the image of Our Lady and the custodian made for a wonderful, blessed evening.

    He closed his remarks by asking us to please contact him again the next time that the statue is brought to his area.

    Mrs. Lorfing also of Corpus Christi commented on, "how very nice, very respectful and very good" the custodian was.  She also mentioned how informative the audiovisual was.

    Some of her guests were so impressed they called our scheduling office right away to try to schedule a visit for their home.

    Finally, a Mrs. Martinez of Corpus Christi as well, had 31 guests present!

    If you would like to see about having the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima visit your home, please call us toll free at (888) 460 - 7371.

Pro-lifers know the law and stand their ground to defend the preborn...

 

Know the law, stand your ground

(From California Catholic Daily)

Security guard calls police on pro-lifers outside Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in San Diego, but officers make no arrests once law is explained to them

News from the Trenches
By 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24, two members of Helpers of God's Precious Infants were starting their rosaries and litanies on the sidewalk in front of Planned...

Full story at:  http://calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=0d45361e-75ae-4504-9948-6dba83ccf2f8

The immense love that Our Lady has for each one of her children...!

I have crossed situations in my life in which I thought I was in a dead-end situation, without any way out.  I bet you have too.

After praying and begging Our Lady for help, help came and the dead-end opened up.  It's was amazing!

A reader of this went blog through the same type of dead end situation, begged Our Lady for help, and received help -- and sent a message to to us about the happy outcome. 

Please read this inspiring testimonial to Our Lady's maternal goodness, and always pray for help!

"Blessed Mother, thank you for hearing my cry.  I called out when two situations looked completely hopeless.  You have answered one of my prayer requests and now I am waiting for an answer to the other problem.  With God, nothing is impossible.  I am truly amazed at your love and I give glory to our Lord forever.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Then, please read this quote from a saint:

"Heap together all of the love of mothers for their children, all of the love of husbands for their wives, and all of the love of the Angels and the Saints for their clients. The total could never equal Mary's love for even a single soul!"  - Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696 - 1787)

And Saint Louis de Montfort wrote that Our Lady loves her children "more tenderly than all the mothers in the world together. Take the maternal love of all the mothers of the world for their children. Pour all that love into the heart of one mother for an only child. That mother's love would certainly be immense. Yet Mary's love for each of her children has more tenderness than the love of that mother for her child."

"I believe Our Lord knew where to send His Blessed Mother to visit."

    Mrs. Vidaurri of Corpus Christi, Texas wrote:

    "We were very blessed to have the Lady of Fatima visit our home.  My twin brother passed away at the end of December on the same date as our forty-fifth wedding anniversary.  My husband suffers from alzheimer's.   Also, my daughter and her husband have been married for seven years and have not been able to conceive a child.  Three days after the visit she called to tell me that she is expecting."

    It was very hectic leading up to the visit with so many difficulties, but Mrs. Vidaurri stated that in her heart she could hardly wait for the visit.

    "I believe Our Lord knew where to send His Blessed Mother to visit."

    Mrs. Hernandez of Robstown, Texas described her visit as more that what she expected.  She felt so happy that Our Lady was there, that she stood up and told everyone how happy she was.

    She commented on how her guests constantly had their eyes on the statue of Our Lady.

"If I did not pray my rosary for even one day, I would fear for my eternal salvation...”

When St. Alphonsus of Liguori was already old, sick, and in a wheelchair, a lay brother used to wheel him around the cloister of his monastery in the evening so he could take some fresh air.

Engaging the brother in conversation, St. Alphonsus asked him:

“Did you pray your rosary today?”

“I don’t remember,” the  brother answered, “Then, let us pray it now,” the Saint said.

“But you  are already so tired. What difference does it make if we don’t pray the rosary for one day?” protested the brother.

St. Alphonsus answered: “If I did not pray my rosary for even one day, I would fear for my eternal salvation.”

More quotes from Our Lady, Popes, and Saints 

“Continue to pray the Rosary every day.”
Our Lady of Fatima to Sister Lucia

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.”
Saint Louis de Montfort

“You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.”
Our Lady to Blessed Alan de la Roche

“Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.”
Pope Blessed Pius IX

“If you persevere in reciting the Rosary, this will be a most probable sign of your eternal salvation.”
Blessed Alan de la Roche

“The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.”
Saint Francis de Sales

“When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer.”
Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Holy Rosary is the storehouse of countless blessing.”
Blessed Alan de la Roche

“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.”
Saint Dominic

“If you say the Rosary faithfully unto death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, ‘you will receive a never-fading crown of glory’ (1 St. Peter 5:4).”
Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Rosary is THE weapon.”
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)

“You must know that when you ‘hail’ Mary, she immediately greets you! Don’t think that she is one of those rude women of whom there are so many—on the contrary, she is utterly courteous and pleasant. If you greet her, she will answer you right away and converse with you!”
Saint Bernardine of Siena

“Recite your Rosary with faith, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance.”
Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God…and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”
Pope Saint Pius X

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day become a formal heretic or be led astray by the devil.”
Saint Louis de Montfort

“Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.”
Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”
Sister Lucia dos Santos, Fatima seer

“When you say your Rosary, the angels rejoice, the Blessed Trinity delights in it, my Son finds joy in it too, and I myself am happier than you can possibly guess. After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there is nothing in the Church that I love as much as the Rosary.”
Our Lady to Blessed Alan de la Roche

“‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!’ No creature has ever said anything that was more pleasing to me, nor will anyone ever be able to find or say to me anything that pleases me more.”
Our Lady to Saint Mechtilde

Marching with Confidence Against Abortion

If anyone thought that the recent electoral setbacks had dampened the spirit of the pro-life movement, they had only to go to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. this January 22 to find out.

They would have seen throngs of people packing the mall, streets and sidewalks as they marched upon the capital. Adversity only seems to have stiffened their resolve as pro-life America was out in full force – some estimate as many as 300,000 – to send the message that the pro-life movement is here to stay.

Thousands of marchers crowded the streets.

Vibrant signs of life could be seen as busload after busload of Americans of every age and walk of life offloaded for this 36th annual March for Life. Bishops, priests and religious were also there as parishes and schools came to protest the slaughter of the innocents.

The march has served as a national thermometer to measure the health of the movement. The verdict is in. The anti-abortion national groundswell is alive and well. Its marchers were determined and confident. Its banners and signs were colorful and plentiful. Its opposition nowhere to be found – save by persistent liberal media.

Escort in TFP ceremonial habit.

A Visit of a Queen

This year’s march had a special guest. For the first time in the march’s history, the original International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was present. It is fitting that in the midst of pro-abortion storm, Our Lady would be together with those who are devoted to her. As a true queen and mother, she was there to give courage and solace for the dark and hard days ahead.

She watched as the whole march passed by and entered at the end of the march up the hill toward the Supreme Court. At a time when political help seems less likely, her symbolic presence added a note of hope for divine assistance.

Massive Turnout

The hundreds of thousands of marchers that thronged into Constitution Avenue as they headed to Capitol Hill could not fail to impress. The event, so ably organized by March for Life president Nellie Gray, also brought together a veritable who’s who in pro-life America with cardinals and bishops, senators and congressmen and other notables.

The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) and America Needs Fatima was present with a contingent of over 120 hundred members, supporters and friends, who carried banners and eighteen-foot TFP standards and distributed this year’s TFP statement: “Going Beyond the Humanly Possible in our Fight Against Abortion.” (Click here to read the statement)

Four TFP members, wearing the TFP ceremonial habit, served as an honor guard for the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue. The entire student body of the TFP-staffed St. Louis de Montfort Academy of Herndon, Penn. was also present.

The American TFP was also pleased to host contingents from organizations from Italy, Germany, and France. (Voglio Vivere, SOS Lieben, and Droit de Naitre)

The band

Nearly 20 participants at a TFP university student seminar joined the march as part of the program. As in past marches, the TFP’s Holy Choirs of Angels marching band played a selection of patriotic hymns and American marches. The ensemble included brass, fifes, drums and bagpipes, which were greatly appreciated by the passing crowds.

Confidence, Confidence

The theme of the TFP message was confidence in Providence. This was expressed on a banner that read: “The more human help becomes improbable, the more Divine intervention is certain!”

To those who complain that the pro-life movement has done the humanly possible to little avail, the TFP message stressed that our small progress is all the more reason to “intensify our efforts but uniting it with a great confidence, having in mind that we look to God alone for the efficacy of our action.”

1. Californian Walk for Life
2. French Marche Pour la Vie with Mr. Julio Laredo, TFP spokesman

Protest All Over the Country

The March for Life in Washington was not an isolated event but rather the largest of many similar events held nationwide to protest the sad and tragic anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

One such protest that is gaining steam is the Fifth Annual Walk for Life West Coast that gathered over 30,000 participants – 5,000 more than last year. Despite a chance of rain, Californians – who just showed their commitment to traditional marriage in November -- showed plenty of enthusiasm and excitement as they walked from Justin Herman Plaza along the Embarcadero to Marina Green in San Francisco on January 24.

Many TFP Supporters, led by TFP member Philip Calder, joined a crowd that was taunted by pro-abortion radical activists along the march route.

Confident Action Will Triumph

Over the years, the pro-life movement has organized, protested and prayed. It has challenged the unpopular pro-abortion movement and put it on the defensive. What is needed now is confident public action to finish the task at hand.

As this year’s TFP pro-life statement aptly put it: “We are confident that all our pleas are not in vain. God has taken us this far. We are confident that he will complete His work—if we do our part. We must thus redouble our efforts and prayers since the final victory is assured in the words of the Savior who declared on the eve of His death: ‘Confidence! Confidence! I have overcome the world!’” (John 16: 33)

                      

As if to confirm her Son’s words, Our Lady herself, represented in her miraculous pilgrim statue, came to march with those who confide in her.

Why devotion to Our Lady of Good Success is so important

One day in the year 1582, Sister Mariana de Jesus Torres prayed before the Blessed Sacrament in the choir of her convent in Quito. Suddenly, she heard a terrifying rumble and saw the church enveloped in a thick, smoke-filled darkness.

                        

Mother Mariana of Jesus Torres y Berriochoa.

The main altar alone remained illuminated, as if in broad daylight. There, the tabernacle door swung open and our crucified Lord came forth, nailed to a life-size cross. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist, and Saint Mary Magdalen stood by, as on Calvary. Our Lord was agonizing.

The young nun heard a voice: “This punishment is for the twentieth century.” Then she saw three swords hanging over Our Lord’s head, each with an inscription. On the first was written, “I shall punish heresy”; on the second, “I shall punish blasphemy”; and on the third, “I shall punish impurity.”

             

Then the Blessed Virgin addressed the young nun: “My daughter, do you wish to sacrifice yourself for these people?”

“I am ready,” responded the nun. At that, the three swords plunged into the nun’s heart, and she fell dead by the violence of the pain.

Is this a fairy-tale? An incredible allegory? The fantastic figment of someone’s fertile imagination? No, these are facts.

God occasionally visits the earth with the “magic touch” of His omnipotence. By Divine discretion He makes an exception to the earthly standards of everyday and introduces the extraordinary. We learn of His interventions and miracles as if the veil of Faith is lifted a little, and we get a glimpse of Heaven, helping us feel closer to our celestial home.

Many claim to have received this magic touch, yet just a few bear the august mark of authenticity, which is usually a purifying process of the favored soul through acute suffering.

For the complete story on Sister Mariana and Our Lady of Good Success, GO HERE.

Comments About America Needs Fatima's Home Visit Apostolate

    Recently, we have received a good number of written comments from hosts and hostesses from home visits with a statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

    Mrs. Martinez of Stinton, Texas wrote, "it was very touching. the video was great, I learned something new."  She also commented on how moved she was upon crowning her lady.  She also complimented the custodian and his professional and very knowledgeable manner.  She also commented on how happy her guests were and how much they liked knowing that their written petitions would be taken to Fatima.

    Mrs. Valdez from Corpus Christi, wrote, "the presentation was excellent, the video was very good - the whole program was very interesting and very informative."  The number one question of her sixteen guests was, "how did you get Our Lady to visit your home?"

    Tomorrow, more comments.

The Three Falls of Our Lord and the Three Degrees of Tiredness

Knowing that nothing happens fortuitously in the New and Old Testaments, it is according to the good rules of exegesis to ask why Our Lord fell three times.

This was not mere chance, like a plumber who falls three times while carrying a very heavy pipe. He fell once because he stumbled on a stone, another time because he was really tired or a third time because he was lazy. It was not something accidental.

Since Our Lord fell three times, the number three must correspond to high considerations and elevated reflections about weariness, suffering and even the number three itself. Therefore, I will try to draw conclusions from the fact that the tiredness of Our Lord Jesus Christ was manifested in three falls as He carried His Cross.

I cannot investigate this matter as an exegete, but rather as a reasonable man with common sense.

Legitimate and Illegitimate Tiredness
Clearly, there are two forms of tiredness. One is illegitimate, which Our Lord did not have. The other is legitimate tiredness that Our Lord did have.

Illegitimate tiredness exists when a person lacks love of God and carries his burden unwillingly. This is the tiredness of the slothful.

For example, a man who is accustomed to sleeping twelve hours a day, wakes up tired and spends the whole day tired, because he is lazy. Obviously, Our Lord never had this tiredness since He was Perfection Itself.

True Tiredness Has Three Degrees of Intensity.

The First Degree: When Common Energies Become Exhausted
Common experience teaches us that there is also the tiredness of an active or dedicated man, which has three degrees of intensity. There are also three corresponding degrees of exertion and human resistance. Thus, it is reasonable to imagine that these three degrees relate to the three falls of Our Lord.

The first degree of tiredness is when a man carries a burden until all his common energies are exhausted and falls under its weight.

The very act of falling causes him to recover a bit and he has a second inspiration, whereby he mobilizes his more profound energy. Admirably controlling his body, he calls upon all the latent strength inside him. Although not accustomed to mobilizing this energy in daily life, he harnesses it and forges ahead.

During the first fall, man reasons: “This is terribly difficult! I cannot do it. However since it must be done, I want to carry this burden and make this effort despite its difficulty. I want to make this act of dedication and accomplish my mission.”

He reflects: “If I really dig deep, maybe I can summon new courage and find the strength I need to continue.”

Thus, there is a second mobilization of the soul’s energy. The soul makes a greater effort and moves on until the next fall: the second degree of tiredness.

The Second Degree of Tiredness:
The Soul Makes Use of All It Has and Falls Again
In this second degree, the soul reflects: “I mobilized all that I had and did all that I could. Still, I have fallen again under the weight of this burden. Now, my energies are more exhausted than during the first fall. Nevertheless, I have already drawn from myself more than I ever imagined possible and I still want to move forward. I don’t want to give up.”

Tempted to discouragement, he considers: “Although my mission is noble and worthwhile, the weight of my burden has increased.” He has no more energy, so he increases his prayers and turns to Our Lady, saying: “My Mother, thou seest that, on my own, I can go no further. Either thou wilt help me more than before, or I will be unable to do what thou biddest me.”

Observing himself more closely, groping honestly through his energy reserves, he finds that there is still something left to sacrifice. His prayer has been answered. Besides the energy of which he was unaware, he finds new supernatural strength that permits him to continue. He rises a second time and advances, supported more by the angels than by himself.

He realizes that there was something more to give. Though unable to walk, he can still drag himself along. He has decided to accomplish his mission, even if he has to ask God for a miracle.

The Third Stage of Tiredness:
Everything Is Exhausted
In the third stage, he falls once again. He is a wreck and realizes he no longer has any capacity to resist. His available energies are completely exhausted. Still, he does not give in. He turns to himself and says:

“I must hope against all hope. Although I only have energy to stand, I must at least get back on my feet and try to take one step. Beyond this, everything is blind confidence, a dark night and total exhaustion, but I will walk no matter what. I will arrive at the end.”

He gets back on his feet and walks. In so doing, he gives something from the very depth of his being that he never imagined he possessed. He exhausts what truly is the last breath of his soul and performs the most complete act of love. Only then, when he gives himself entirely does he attain the clearest vision of his ideal.

He rises from the third fall, and takes a few more stumbling steps to arrive at the place of sacrifice. There, he is nailed to the cross and utterly immolated.

The Three Degrees Summarized
These are the three degrees of tiredness, which correspond to the three stages of human dedication. In the first stage, one expends the energy that he knows he has. He asks for Our Lady’s help and the common assistance of grace.

In the second stage, he expends energy he scarcely thought he had and asks Our Lady with greater insistence to send special help, because he doubts that he can continue to walk with only the common assistance of grace.

In the third stage, he gives something far beyond what he thought he had. He finds a capacity for dedication and effort, beyond what he thought was possible. He advances amid total darkness, more by a miracle and absolute faith, than by any natural means.

Nevertheless, he continues to move forward. Finally, he fulfills his mission by a truly miraculous action. He is completely united with the supernatural.

When the Soul Has Given All It Can, It Attracts Souls

To the degree that he rises after each legitimate fall, man increasingly exudes the beauty of self-denial. This increases his capacity to attract others, because men loath egoism and flee from it. Men only follow those who deny themselves. Thus, only the man who has reached this ultimate point of self-denial and given all he can, is ready to attract souls.

This is why Our Lord, after having fallen three times, was ready to be shown to all peoples from the height of the Cross. He had already passed through this interior immolation. He had been despoiled of everything.

Still, the inexpressible sublimity of the Crucifixion takes place after the sacrifice is made. Our Lord had already carried the Cross all the way to Calvary and there, with even greater pains, allowed Himself to be crucified. His suffering increases until the moment He pronounces the “Consummatum est.” However, with the Crucifixion, He ceases to carry the Cross. From the moment He is nailed to it, the Cross carries Him.

There are stages in the spiritual life of every man, where he must carry his cross. Moreover, at times Our Lord calls man not only to accept what befalls him, but also to seek out what is terrible, tragic and apocalyptic and advance towards it. Only then, is he ready to go where Our Lord wishes. Then, he is ready to be nailed to the Cross and unite himself with Christ for all time.

Therefore, there are two stages and three dimensions of suffering. The first stage is to meet the Cross. The second is to let oneself be nailed to it. In the first stage, man goes to the apex of renunciation, successfully despoiling himself. In a second stage, having arrived at the apex of renunciation, he disposes himself to remain in it throughout his life and the cross becomes his support.

Can Only Church Art Be Christian?

Through tall stained glass windows comes abundant but soft streams of light.  This light is reflected everywhere: on the floor, the polished metal of the weapons and suits of armor, and the bronze and crystal of the immense candelabras.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It even seems to touch with difficulty the ceiling ribbing and paintings overhead.  The strong yet elegant columns, with their coherent, distinct, and suave lines, open up like immense palm trees that protect the hall with their fronds of stone.  The hall is strongly impregnated by a special ambience that invites one to repose without idleness or dissipation.  Rather, it is a repose imbued with gravity, reflection, equilibrium and strength.

The armor and the stuffed deer enrich this ambience recalling the prowess of the hunt and the battlefield.  The carved wood paneling with its elegance and warmth breaks the austerity which the stone alone perhaps would have had to the extreme.  In the back on a pedestal is a statue of a saint which draws one’s thoughts toward Heaven.

This hall undoubtedly reflects a mentality that may be pleasing to some and perhaps displeasing to others.  However, it expresses an admirable arrangement of colors and forms.  It is a hall designed for daily use in civil society which presents an ambience in which most of us would feel at ease living our daily lives.

The Sainte Chapelle in Paris was constructed in the thirteenth century by Saint Louis IX, King of France, to house some of the thorns from the Crown of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  It expresses the same mentality as the hall even though it is not turned toward daily life in society, but rather toward prayer.

(Photo by Ricardo André Frantz;  User: Tetraktys)

Its note of elegance touches on the sublime.  These differences however do not cause it to lose any of its plenitude of strength, equilibrium, gravity and recollection.

Over the centuries, religious, artists and pilgrims have seen an archetypal expression of the Christian soul in the Sainte Chapelle. This is seen in the ambience contained therein.  It can also be discerned in the mentality so well expressed in its lines, colors, forms, and general design.

Both the hall and the Chapel are Christian.  What makes them Christian is not only the effect of the religious images and symbols found there.  Rather, it is more by the ambience that one imbibes there and the mentality that is the basis of this ambience.

From these observations, one arrives at a broad concept.  A work of art is not Christian by simply being covered with symbols of our Holy Religion, just as a man does not become a monk by simply wearing a habit.

See the Sainte Chapelle in the right upper part of the painting.

To be called genuinely Christian, the pulsating soul that shows through in the work of art must be Catholic.  And a Christian ambience does not only impregnate buildings destined for worship, but any place where one sees in its design that unmistakable mark expressed by a truly Christian soul in everything that he does.

Being Modern: Apostasy or Sacred Obligation?

Fra Angelico: Annunciation

In this article we discuss four pictures, two works of art from the fifteenth century, and two others from our times.
The two paintings - "The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary" and "Saint Dominic in Prayer" - are the work of the famous fifteenth century artist Giovanni da Fiesole, better known as Fra Angelico.

The work in metal, also representing the Annunciation, was done in our times by the artist H. Breucker. The sculpture was done by A. Wider, another contemporary artist, who has attempted to portray Saint Benedict, patriarch of Western monasticism.

H. Breucker: Annunciation

Such striking (if not shocking) differences in the rendition of the same and similar subjects, i.e., the Virgin Mary and saints of the Catholic Church, demand some commentaries.

The famous scene of the apparition of the Archangel Saint Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin constituted a moment of grace for mankind. Heaven, which the guilt of Adam had closed, opened and a spirit of light and purity came down in angelic form, bearing a message of reconciliation and peace. This message was addressed to the most beautiful, most noble, most innocent, and most benevolent creature ever to be born of the race of Adam. The Gospels recount the elevated and ineffable simplicity of the dialogue between the two.

The artist's task, challenged by such a theme, consists in expressing the moral values of that incomparable event in his rendition of the faces, attitudes, gestures, and setting as well as in his choice of colors and shapes.

Since this is printed in color, our readers can gauge Giovanni da Fiesole's success in this objective. The nobility befitting the angelic nature, his light and totally spiritual fortitude, his intelligence and purity - all are admirably mirrored in this figure so highly expressive of Saint Gabriel.

The Blessed Virgin is less ethereal, less light. One could almost say less intangible. This effect is reasonable since she is a human creature. Nevertheless, something angelic is perceived in the whole composure of the Queen of Angels. Her facial features surpass those of the heavenly emissary himself in spirituality, nobility and innocence.

Something else is to be noted here; the attitude of one toward the other: By nature, the angel is superior to Our Lady. The Virgin, however, is superior to the angel by her sanctity and by her incomparable vocation as Mother of God. This accounts for the elevated dignity found in the rendition of both the Virgin and the angel and the reciprocal veneration with which they address each other.

There is, yet, a more profound reason for this attitude. Although unseen. God still manifests His Presence by a supernatural light that seems to radiate from both personages-a light that washes over all of nature with a splendor of pure, peaceful, and virginal happiness. One almost feels the most pleasant temperature, the very light and fragrant breeze, the joy that permeates the whole atmosphere.

How could a moment of grace be better painted? With a profound sense of the whole, Fra Angelico knew how to create the lines and colors needed to express all the theological and moral content of this Gospel episode famous a thousand times over. Indeed, his picture is more than just a painted scene. It is comparable to a sermon because it forms, elevates, and stimulates one who contemplates it toward the good.

A garish opposite is Breucker's modern "Annunciation." If a feeble minded person or someone delirious with a high fever were to ramble about the Annunciation, he might have conceived something like this. See how extremely extravagant the work is. It lacks the most elementary values and is devoid of any expression that would denote not only that which is elevated and supernatural but anything balanced or healthy as well. In short, everything works together to make this modern work a brutal and shocking antithesis of the picture from the fifteenth century. One is a marvel of spirituality and faith; the other, a product of a mentality that only knows how to see what is material-a psychology closed to the supernatural, a temperament that finds pleasure solely in horizons without beauty, nobility or anything which provides light, oxygen, life, and hope of eternity for the soul.

In his allocution on May 24, 1953, the Holy Father Pius XII defined the so-called modern spirit as "materialistic thought transposed into actions." In like manner, the example of art depicted here can be classified as materialistic thought transposed into art.

Fra Angelico: St. Dominic

Now, look at the picture of Saint Dominic. Elements of the spiritual shine admirably forth in it. It is more a portrait of the soul than of the body. The effort of thought, the exertion required for reading, the serene but strong strain of intellectual work, a countenance befitting one who understands and takes pleasure in understanding all, ultimately, are expressed here with unequaled discretion, intensity and veracity.

And still other aspects of the soul appear: the liveliness and exuberance of a young man, the equilibrium, innocence, piety, and temperance of a perfect religious.

In comparison to this second masterpiece from the fifteenth century, consider the statue from the twentieth century. Certainly there are considerable factors bearing on such a comparison: a) the materials of a painting and those of a sculpture are not the same; b) the talents and temperaments of the artists are also different; c) finally, the spirit of the two subjects. Saint Dominic and Saint Benedict also differ.

A. Wider: St. Dominic

Is there a shock, a violent contrast? By no means. Does Wider's sculpture merit the censures that we made of the work by Breucker? No. On the contrary, Wider's statue expresses-with much propriety, precision and strength-the idea that one may have of the patriarch of Western monasticism, who was a model of gravity, austerity, manly tranquility, profound recollection and great wisdom.

No one can deny that this sculpture corresponds satisfactorily to the requirements of an authentic artwork marked by orthodox and well-balanced piety.

Are we against the modern? By this word one understands that which not only pertains to but is typical of our times but rather something a) inherent to it b) different from the past, and c) distinct from the future.

More and more - not only in the field of art but in other areas as well - clever, pertinacious, and all encompassing propaganda is introducing a certain spirit of materialism, sensuality, and delirious extravagance. The style animated by this spirit masterminds the construction and reconstruction of entire cities; it marks the external design and interior decoration of the majority of new buildings of great, medium, or even small importance, in all parts of the world. It exhibits its works in universal art expositions, and so on.

The man in the street instinctively reacts against it ... but only slightly. Thus, this spirit already is - or is on the way to becoming-the style of our twentieth century, which distinguishes it from the past, and God willing, from the days to come.

If it is this and only this that one calls modern, if to be modern is to accept the mark or stigma of materialism-not only of radical materialism but also of "moderate" materialism with all its hues and misrepresentations-then it is undeniable that we are anti-modern because we are Catholic.

However, if one takes into account that alongside this offensive current of our century there are still artists animated by another spirit, and if one means by modern that everything contemporary is modern-whatever be its inspiration, then we cannot be anti-modern because we are not idiots. There is no other name for anyone who, in the ocean of cultural productions of the twentieth century, would judge everything preconceivedly and indiscriminately bad-both the works engendered by the children of light and the works influenced by the neopagan spirit, that is, the spirit of darkness.

Considering these two definitions of modern, which is the more true? It is a problem of semantics. However, one thing is certain: if the materialistic style should not be called "modern," then another name should be devised for it, which has not happened yet. And this name ought to take into account that the modern torrent contains not only the materialistic ingredients we are talking about, but also gnostic and satanic elements (which are the subject matter for another article).

To give a name to this current is an interesting assignment on which we invite our readers to test their wits. However, naming this phenomenon is not the most urgent thing. The twentieth-century man in the street still does not accept the "modern" in the depths of his soul. Let us preserve him from this disgrace. Let us be "modern" in the sense that we behave in accordance with the problems and dangers of our century.

This is what we are trying to do in these articles, amidst the clamor of much applause and to the muffled and furious snarls of hatred of some-certain though, whatever the case, of fulfilling a sacred obligation.

Why suffering is so important for our sanctification

by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira

Most souls only develop detachment and love of God through suffering.  Saint Francis de Sales expressed this well when he called suffering the “eighth sacrament.”

I was speaking one day with Cardinal Pedro Segura, Archbishop of Seville.  He recounted a conversation he had with Pope Pius XI.

Photo of Cardinal Segura.

The Holy Father was bragging that he had never been sick, when Cardinal Segura smiled and said: “Then Your Holiness is lacking the sign of the elect.”

The pope was startled and the cardinal continued: “All the predestined were sick or afflicted, and seriously so, for at least part of their lives.  If Your Holiness has never been sick, it is a bad sign.”

Some days later, Pius XI had a massive heart attack.  From his sick bed, the pope wrote a note to Cardinal Segura that read: “Your Eminence, now I have the sign of the elect.”

Truly, sickness and suffering of every order are signs of the elect.

Novena to Our Lady of Good Success: January 25-February 2

Hail Mary Most Holy, Beloved Daughter of God the Father
Through the intercession of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, grant thy good success to this request (name request)...
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be... Saint Michael, pray for us.

Hail Mary Most Holy, Admirable Mother of God the Son
Through the intercession of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, grant thy good success to this request (name request) ...
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be... Saint Gabriel, pray for us.

Hail Mary Most Holy, Most Faithful Spouse of the Holy Ghost
Through the intercession of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, grant thy good success to this request (name request) ...
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be... Saint Raphael, pray for us.
Hail Mary Most Holy, Temple and Sacrarium of the Most Holy Trinity.

St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, pray for us.

Our Lady of Good Success, thou who art the all-powerful intercessor before the Most Holy Trinity, deign to hear and answer my request - so long as it contributes to the salvation of my soul and the glory and exaltation of Holy Mother Church.
Salve Regina…(Hail holy Queen...)

Beyond the Humanly Possible In the Great Cultural Battle Against Abortion

I have no doubt that we will see Divine Intervention in this great cultural battle.  Confident prayer obtains everything.

TFP members in the TFP ceremonial habit carry the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue at the 2009 March for Life in Washington, DC.

It is with the spirit of confident prayer that we must continue our struggle against abortion.  Too often we have confided in the promises of men and politicians who have failed to fulfill their promises.  Now is the time when we must confide all the more in Providence.

TFP banner at the 2009 March for Life in Washington, DC reads:  "Prolifers: The more human help becomes improbable, the more Divine Intervention becomes certain.  Have confidence, I have overcome the world."

Let us publicly manifest this confidence in events like the March for Life.

As an act of public confidence, the American TFP and America Needs Fatima was proud to help coordinate 3,500 Public Square Rosary Rallies last October 11.

Tens of thousands of Catholics gathered in public places nationwide recognizing the failure of men to solve so many problems and confiding in Our Lady’s promises at Fatima for solutions to put an end to abortion and so many other moral evils.

We are confident that all our pleas are not in vain.

God has taken us this far. We are confident that he will complete His work—if we do our part.

We must thus redouble our efforts and prayers since the final victory is assured in the words of the Savior who declared on the eve of His death: “Confidence! Confidence! I have overcome the world!” (John 16: 33)

And at Fatima, Our Lady promised "In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph!"

To sign up as a Rosary Rally Captain in 2009, please call 866-584-6012.

Pictures of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue at the March for Life in DC yesterday -- simply awesome!

I've always loved to see pictures of this miraculous statue taken outside rather than inside where the light of the sun underscores her radiant beauty and grace-filled presence.

Words just don't do Her justice!

A maternal invitation to union of soul with God.

The Queen is watching over her subjects.  The Mother is protecting Her children.

Picture from the 2009 March for Life in Washington DC

This is the first row of marchers.

The delegation from the American TFP.

The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima carried by TFP members.  The America Needs Fatima banner is in the background.

TFP band members help enliven the march with music.