Our Goal: To Resemble Christ

Published in German in 2012, 
English translation in 2015

Revolutions are meant to overthrow existing order.  Most revolutions are the work of a disgruntled populous and are led and directed by a small circle of people who use the discontent of the masses for their own gain.  The sexual revolution however, is different.  The masses have not called for this, but they have been led by people like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henri de Saint-Simon, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, C.G. Jung, and Alfred Kinsey to believe that the world no longer needs God or the prohibitions a moral code would put on their passions.

In the book, The Global Sexual Revolution, Destruction of Freedom in the Name of Freedom, author Gabriele Kuby says,

“With the abdication of Napoleon in April 1814, the return of King Louis XVIII, and the rehabilitation of the Jesuits by Pope Pius VII, the first sexual revolution spent some time buried under the ashes of the political restoration.  However, it merely smoldered there for 200 years to become a global conflagration ignited by the strategist of today’s global sexual revolution.

Nabi Sayeth: A New Year Blessing on the Feast of the Most Humble One

She is Always Our Blessed Mother, in both joy and sorrow!

She embraces and shares her child with us in the joyful moments of life.

Guest Post by Fr. Tom Collins -- Mary as Co-Redemptrix Part II: The Mystery of Redemption

Editors Note: See the Premises and Foundations for this article here and Part I here. 

From this covenant perspective, a beautiful dimension of the mystery of the Redemption becomes more evident. Scripture is quite clear in stating the fact that Jesus died for us because God loved us (John 3:16, Rom. 5:10, I Jn 4:19). Jesus' death on the cross did not cause God to love us, since God is beyond the control of the cause-effect dynamic. Thus the Redemption is not an act of appeasing the anger of a wrathful God, but rather the epiphany of the merciful God in the midst of the mercy-less condition that festers in the heart of sinful humanity. This condition of the human heart is the consequence of our free choice to reject a covenantal life with God and with one another. In the mystery of the Redemption, each human person is given the opportunity to break away from the power of sin and, by God's mercy, be restored to the status of membership in His covenant family. In the process, the redeemed are given the strength to break away from the corrupting "covenant" of sin; i.e., the tendency to commit one's self to the perverted fellowship of complicity with the spirits of evil, such as lust, envy, pride, avarice, anger, gluttony and sloth for the sake of some transient pleasure or advantage. 

Have you seen my son?

Jesus is found by His mother, Mary

The gospel on Sunday was about Jesus missing and his parents in a rush to find him again.  I don’t know if you have ever lost a child temporarily or not, but I have and the overwhelming fear and panic that you experience is like nothing else.  The longer they are beyond your reach, the more terror stricken you become.  It is only holding them in your arms again that can calm your fear. 

I have experienced this with my son, who is now 44, on three different occasions and each time the thought crossed my mind that I might never see my child again.  You would think I must be a bad mother or that I had a very disobedient child, but I like to think neither was the case, as I believe Mary and Joseph were also attentive loving parents.  The fact is, with kids strange things just happen.  Our son was first lost in a store while in the care of my mother, who agreed to keep an eye on him while I went alone to the toy department to buy his Christmas gifts and hide them in the trunk of the car without him seeing them. 

The two of them were browsing the greeting card racks together and when Mother walked around the end of an aisle in the store she assumed he was by her side.  When he looked up, however, she was not in his sight, so he went directly to a cashier and said, “I can’t find my grandmother.”  He was four at the time and had been told NEVER EVER EVER leave the store without me.  The store made an announcement on the PA system for Chad’s grandmother to please come to check stand #4 to meet her grandson.  Hearing the announcement, I knew there was a problem and I dropped the toys in the aisle and made a bee line to the check stand.   I was there before my mother and there was Chad, happy as you please, waiting to be rescued.  My mother arrived shortly in tears saying, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.  One minute he was there, the next minute he was gone.” 

Feast of the Divine Motherhood of Mary, January 1

From the Marian antiphon of the Christmas season, Alma Redemptoris Mater, we pray these words: "You, in the wonder of all creation, have brought forth your Creator, Mother ever virgin."

The Virgin Mary of the Sign
15th century fresco
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption
Cordoba, Spain

Guest Post by Fr. Tom Collins -- Mary as Co-Redemptix, Part I: The Covenant

Mary, Mother of the Savior, Pray for Us.

Editor's Note: Read the premises and foundation for Mary's title as Co-Redemptrix here. 

Mary and the Incarnate Lord Jesus are so closely united it's hard to think of one without the other. Jesus dwelt in Mary's body for nine months. Her "fiat" is what began the central chapter in salvation history and the opening of the doors to heaven. Those who believe devotion to Mary insults or lessens Jesus' as Savior of the World, fail to understand the profound humility of Mary and God's desire for us to be little, humble souls. 

When we come to Jesus through Mary we imitate Jesus Who came to save the world through Mary. God used a woman to send his Son to earth. What is surprising about using that same woman to bring us to her Son's cross holding us close while we are washed in the Blood of the Lamb before going to the Father. Mary "magnifies the Lord." Why would we not want to imitate her?

THE COVENANTAL NATURE OF MAN: A REFLECTION ON THE MEANING OF MARY'S MINISTRY AS CO-REDEMPTRIX

Catholics Under Attack

A news story that may not have caught your attention amid the government shutdown and the lunatic climbing the national Christmas tree reveals another subtle attempt to eliminate Catholicism and its followers from public life.  The link here reveals that a judge from Nebraska is being severely scrutinized by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee who question his membership in an (HOLD YOUR BREATH!!) all male organization associated with the (LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS) Roman Catholic Church.  This link is to a Democrat page that outlines exactly why he should be opposed.  Clearly, it is because he is Catholic, though they don't mention religion specifically.  

Muhammad the Paraclete with a Mole on His Back

Muhammad
(the mole on his back not
visible from this angle)

"Jesus, the Son of Mary, said, 'O Children of Israel, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Muhammad." - Quran 61:6

But I tell you the truth: it is expedient for you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you: but if I go, I will send him to you. - John 16:7

However, by "Paraclete" or "Comforter", Moslems here mean Muhammad and say that the very name of Muhammad, both here and in five additional places in the Bible, was expressly mentioned but that Christians, out of malice, blotted out Muhammad's name thereby corrupting the Bible.

Double Trinity - Happy Feast of the Holy Family!

Double Trinity with Saint Augustine and Saint Catherine of Siena
Cuzco School, c. 1700-30. Museo de Arte de Lima, Lima, Peru

Happy Feast of the Holy Family!

Baltimore Catechism, 

Lesson 5: 48-49, p 31

48. What is man?

Man is a creature composed of body and soul, and made in the image and likeness of God. 

49. Is this likeness to God in the body or in the soul?

This likeness to God is chiefly in the soul [spirit-mind-will]. The likeness to the Blessed Trinity is found chiefly in man's soul, but there is a resemblance in the body too - not however in the body of one man alone, but in man and woman united in marriage and the child which is the normal fruit of the marriage.

Comments: 

Therefore, since only Man-Woman-Child (in marriage) is the image and likeness of God in man's body, homosexuality - man/man or woman/woman - is a mortal sin and will never be recognized by God as being 1) a marriage, 2) a family, 3) good or 4) holy.

THE FAMILY is a reflection of the image and likeness of God as the earthly trinity. 

THE HOLY FAMILY is the epitome of the earthly trinity.

Guest Post by Fr. Tom Collins On Mary as "Co-Redemptrix": Premises and Foundation

Editor's note: With Mary's big feast day coming in a few days I thought Fr. Tom's article on Mary as Co-Redemptrix was timely. Today I'm publishing a pre-article which gives the foundation for her title. Each of Father's points is well worth meditating on, "pondering in our hearts." Drawing close to Mary is key to drawing closer to Jesus. He was as close to her as a person could be. Doesn't it make sense that He wants us to draw closer to Him through her? The demons hate Mary because of her humility. When we come to Jesus through Mary we exhibit a humility that shines like the star of Bethlehem. I'll be pondering all these points over the next few days. I hope you'll join me. Our Lady, Mother of the Savior and Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.                 


PREMISES FOR THE DOCTRINE OF MARY AS CO-REDEMPTRIX