Fr. Michael Rodriguez

Low Sunday. Blessed are those who have faith without seeing. We might call this a ninth beatitude upon which the other eight rest. Easter begins with faith. At our baptism, Christ calls us each to “be not faithless but believing.” Today, there is a grave crisis of faith amidst the members of the Church Militant, as so many seek to conform the teachings of Christ to the world (to what we see, experience, feel, and opine), instead of having the world conforming itself to Christ and His teachings. Many have even succumbed to the diabolical deception that pastoral practice may be [...]

God is holy, just and truth itself. Therefore, anything truly Catholic must also be holy, just and true. Holiness is union with God and separation from all else. Justice is the virtue by which we render unto others, at all times, what is strictly their due. Truth is the intellect conforming to reality; we could also say, that which Christ reveals to man through His Church. Every aspect of Catholicism can be evaluated by these three virtues, to see if it is truly Catholic and not a counterfeit. At the root of the crisis today is a rejection of the Catholic [...]

(PART I) Out of fidelity to Jesus Christ and His Church, we must proclaim, propagate and defend the truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). His Church is the pillar and ground of all truth (1 Tim 3:15). God does not change and neither does the truth. If we wish to love God, we must love the truth.

(PART II) In the Church today, truth itself is in crisis. When the truth is set aside, God is set aside. We must remember, that if we wish to be saved, we must persevere in the truth; that is, the Catholic Faith. Our Lady came to Fatima to warns us about not allowing doctrine to be weakened, altered or forgotten. Sadly, many Catholics no longer know or believe the Truth. We find the Truth expressed in: [1] The infallible teachings of popes and councils; [2] the great catechisms approved by sainted popes; [3] the traditional forms of Catholic worship, prayer and devotion.

Crowning a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a way of acknowledging that she is Queen. In order to live this truth – the Queenship of Mary – we must understand it and believe it. The tradition of Catholic liturgy, devotions, saints, and papal teaching teach us the following: [1] Her preeminent greatness and dignity; [2] Her royal, nearly infinite power; and [3] The tremendous efficacy of her intercession. Our Queen is so generous, that she magnificently rewards our most trifling tributes of affection. But we must honor her with [1] souls free of sin and we must [2] persevere in our devotion to her. [The two papal encyclicals cited are Ad Cæli Reginam by Pius XII, 1954, and Adiutricem by Leo XIII, 1895.]

By heeding the testimony of the saints we shall gain a greater appreciation, gratitude, and love for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Thus we will become convinced that there is no more precious time in our life that the moments we spend in His Real Presence (e.g. after Holy Communion and at Adoration). Examples are provided from St. Gertrude the Great, St. Veronica Giuliani, St Thomas Aquinas, St Alphonsus Liguori and others. St. Malachy of Armagh (+1148) brought new life to his diocese by making every effort to make the worship of God as magnificent as possible. He also knew how important the Holy Sacrifice of [...]

Queenship of Mary. Let us confess the following: [1] Jesus is King of all creation; therefore, Mary is Queen of all creation. [2] All who serve God must also serve Mary. [3] All things in Heaven and on earth are subject to God’s dominion; therefore, they are also subject to Mary, Queen of Heaven and earth. The teaching on Mary’s queenship is rounded out with Papal teaching and a brief explanation of Mary’s twelve “Queen” titles in the Litany of Loreto.

Given the terrible crisis afflicting the papacy in 2017, and the historic nature of the filial correction issued to St Francis, we are impelled - by the love of Christ - to address this urgent issue. The Faith itself, the supreme good, is being menaced by the greatest peril, namely that our pope is betraying divinely revealed Catholic Faith. The very salvation of countless souls is at stake. For over a year now, Francis has ignored the formal dubia in which four cardinals presented five clear questions that could be answered by any Catholic in less than a minute. The filial [...]