The Blessed Virgin Mary united herself to her Son's Sacrifice in an all together unique way. Her participation in His Passion and Death was so profound, that she truly merited the title of Co-Redemptrix. Her thoughts and actions, as detailed in the Mystical City of God, provide an ideal model for how we are called to truly participate at Mass.
Three important September Marian feasts highlight the profound union between Jesus and Mary. Their Holy Names are inseparable. Her nativity, like the Morning Star, prepares us for His coming. She suffered her Son's Passion and her Sorrows are part of His Passion. The strongest inclination of Mary is to unite us to her Son; and the strongest inclination of the Son is that we should come to Him through His holy Mother. May we ever keep in our minds and hearts the bitter passion of Our Lord and sorrowful sufferings of Our Lady.
Divide and conquer is an age old strategy. It is frequently used in politics and now we see it in our beloved Church. The goal is to make groups disagree and fight with one another so they don't unite against the real enemy. A fictional reality is propagandized to vilify part of the group, a 'crusade' is launched against them, and people are forced to choose. As the president seeks to divide a political party, so certain hierarchs strive to divide traditional Catholics from the general Catholic population and against each other. Yet to advance forward, under God's providence, one must [...]
St. Paul exhorts us to "walk in the Spirit" which is another way of saying "be devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary." The Twelve Fruits of the Holy Ghost are a perfect description of Mary's Heart. Choose one of those gifts (e.g. benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, etc.) and ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to form this virtue in your heart in her likeness. Like the Mass, Our Lady's Heart is an altar. Christ's Sacrifice is renewed therein as she offers her Son and herself with unspeakable love. At Mass, we too must offer Jesus - truly present - [...]
Liberalism has always been condemned by the Church and today's libertarianism, gaining support among conservatives and even traditional Catholics, is still liberalism (under a modified name). Libertarian errors include a division between public and private morality, an absolute right to private property, that law is only meant to preserve personal rights, all is permitted to consenting adults, and the state may be abolished in favor of anarchy. It even degenerates into considering greed a virtue and justifying parental neglect unto infanticide. Many don't realize the field of economics was pioneered by Catholics and always considered a part of ethics, for it [...]
