In the Church's prayers, we address Mary as Queen. St. Alphonsus explains her queenship. As Our Lady's merits exceed that of all the saints and angels, so too does her glory. Let us dedicate ourselves to the service of our Heavenly Queen.
The mission of the Holy Ghost is to give testimony of Jesus by leading men into all truth and bestowing that grace which divinizes souls, forming Jesus Christ in them. But He does not do this work alone. He does it in union with the Blessed Virgin Mary. This pattern is clearly seen at the Incarnation and at Pentecost. He descends in response to Mary's prayer, faith and love. With the Holy Ghost, Our Lady forms Christ in souls, enabling one to think and act like her Son. With the Holy Ghost, Our Lady always witnesses to the truth. For example, [...]
The mission of the Holy Ghost is to bring Christ's work of redemption to fulfillment. He brings to souls the grace merited by Our Savior in His Passion and Death. He judges the world as to wether one believes and accepts - or rejects - Christ. Just as our Lady cooperated uniquely with Christ in Redemption, so she cooperates uniquely with the Holy Ghost in His mission, particularly through her apparition at at Fatima. She comes to warn the world of sin and judgment. She also brings the grace of her Son in a beautiful and special way, through devotion to [...]
Motherhood is under a terrible attack by the diabolical errors or Russia. Using typology we can look to the Ark of the Covenant (Our Blessed Mother) for eight points which help heal the wound in woman caused by Eve. These points of reflection include teaching, correcting, compassion, chastity, modesty, self-effacement, and others. Dear Mothers, know and take up your place, mirroring the Ark of the Covenant: to raise up saints to help the Church in this time of need. You may not be known in this world but many will say of your children, 'You must have had a good mother."
No matter how old we are, we owe devotion to our mothers for all they have done in forming and loving us. One must also have devotion to Our Lady. We all owe her our very salvation. Unlike with the saints, devotion to Our Lady is NECESSARy for salvation. Without her we would not have the Mass, the Church, nor salvation in Jesus Christ, true God and man. She is a most tender Mother and worthy Queen. May we confidently entrust to her all things that are ours; our joys, our troubles, our hopes—especially as more difficult times fall upon the [...]
Christ is Risen. He descended into the realm of the dead, freed the imprisoned, and broke the bonds of death. Yet the devil and his followers are always trying to lockup and imprison Christ. Do we not feel the noose closing about the Church now? Yet they always fail. They dig a pit and fall into it themselves. One such terrible pit is gnosticism. It ebbs and flows with the occult. It has been around since the first centuries of Christianity, but today spreads rapidly under the guise of 'new age.' Even worse, its primary tenants have become mainstream in modern [...]
At the year’s start, for forty days, we look upon the Holy Family in the manger scene. At the Wedding at Cana, Christ establishes marriage as supremely sacred (man can’t alter it). A great tragedy is that so many misguidedly think they, or ‘their love,’ is the foundation of their marriage. Wrong! On account of our fallen condition, we have very little genuine and sincere love (symbolized by having no wine). Christ is the foundation of marriage; pray Him to bring His divine love into your marriage. Seek our Lady’s intercession, and keep her words in your heart throughout the year: [...]
Our Lady is immaculate and pure in every respect. Sin never touched the body or soul of most holy Mary. The Mystery of the Immaculate Conception instructs us in many ways, but let us focus on two foundational principles of the spiritual life. [1] When God elects a person to a certain office, He grants the person all the necessary graces for that office. [2] All things that are ordained for God should be holy and free from stain. We see these truths embodied in the Immaculate Conception. They also apply to the priesthood and to each of the faithful, especially [...]
Advent is God mercifully providing yet another grace-filled opportunity for you to labor with renewed zeal for the salvation of your soul. It is impossible that a servant of Mary be damned, provided he serve her faithfully and commends himself to her maternal protection. Listen to the saints expound upon this teaching and use this time to grow in devotion to Our Lady. St. Alphonsus provides ten ways we can fervently practice Marian devotion.
Despite having a highly developed civilization, the Aztecs demanded human victims as tribute from subjugated tribes for their demonic rituals. However, Christ conquered this barbaric kingdom for Himself. First, Hernan Cortez, who allied himself with many indigenous who despised the Aztecs, conquered militarily. Next, the Spanish Crown outlawed human sacrifice and sent many good missionaries. Yet despite the great efforts of Church and State, the ordinary means of evangelization only bore modest fruit. Something more was needed. The Queen of Heaven herself would have to bring the true u2018Son Godu2019 for the full spiritual conquest of Mexico. Sadly, these demons have [...]
