"To Have and To Hold from this Day Forward"

I recently read an article about the need for couples to make their relationship a top priority, especially when family life gets hectic and demanding. I couldn't agree more. A husband and wife are married to each other, not to their children. Of course the offspring are important, but, as the saying goes, "The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother; the best thing a mother can do for her children is to love their father." And love doesn't just happen; it needs to be cultivated.

Guest Post: Fr. Tom Collins Shares His Views on Mary as Co-Redemptrix Part B

 Editor's note: See the first part of this article here. Keep in mind as you read this that God made man not only to be an individual made in His image and likeness, but to live in relationship with others. "It is not good for the man to be alone." [Genesis 2:18] The poet, John Donne, put it another way. "No man is an island." We are meant to be in a covenant relationship with God first and foremost, but also to be in relationship with our fellow man, the second great commandment.

The understanding of integral man as a covenantal being helps to bring into focus the profound spirit of self-abnegation (kenosis) to which God the Son committed Himself in the sacred mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption (It needs to be emphasized here that the Incarnation and Redemption are sacred mysteries, and not merely sacred historical events. As mysteries, they continue to engage and transform humanity throughout all of history). If God originally created man as a covenantal being, then the mystery of the Incarnation would require that God the Son take to Himself a covenantal human nature. In such a nature, the work of redemption is a covenantal mission and ministry. (It should be noted that this covenantal human nature, which God the Son embraced, was in stark contrast to the more aloof and hermetically-sealed type of spirituality embraced by many of the Pharisees) And it is shared in such a way that both Jesus and His beloved disciples participate in the struggles, sufferings, frustrations and glorification involved in the mystery of human redemption from the power of sin. 

Can we hope that the government will actually re-open?

Let's hope the obstructionists don't throw more roadblocks up to open the government. Lots of people want to travel for Thanksgiving. Right now air travel is iffy at best. I talked to one of my granddaughters who talked about a recent travel trip that ended in a five hour delay getting home. Multiply that exponentially for the biggest travel days of the year around Thankdsgiving. Note that for some reason after the six minute mark, the video repeats the speaker's statement. Pray for an end to all the nonsense.

Guest Post: Fr. Tom Collins Shares His Views on Mary as Co-Redemptrix Part A

Editor's note. Father's article is challenging but well worth reading. When I read a challenging article I ask the Holy Spirit for understanding. I've highlighted some of the unfamiliar terms Father uses and linked them to definitions. May we all grow in wisdom by immersing ourselves in the truths of the faith. A big thank you to Fr. Collins for his articles. Because of it's length, I've divided this post into two.

Part I

THE ORIGINAL BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN GENESIS AS THE BASIS FOR DECLARING THE DOCTRINE OF MARY AS CO-REDEMPTRIX

By Fr. Tom Collins

Basic premises for these reflections:

1) Only Jesus is God incarnate - both as Person and Mystery.

2) Being and action are the same in God. He does not just love, He is love. Therefore Jesus' saving act is His saving being. Covenant is not only what Christ does, it is also intrinsically Who He is.

Words, words, words! "Abundant word do not yield abundant wisdom!"

Yesterday, I mentioned an article by Chloe Mastour at Chronicles. I'm re-reading it this morning because I think it's so important. It exposes a serious problem in our society -- humanity's submission to shallow consensus thinking. We saw it during COVID. How many people actually did the research on what was essentially an experimental therapy that we see now damaged the immune system and crossed the brain/blood barrier to wreak havoc on the population. [That statement will no doubt get me censored by the Blogger blathering fact checkers. So I'm posting at Substack where people can provide evidence without the facts being labeled misleading and a violation of B's woke guidelines.]

Conservatism Amid the Signal Flood

The Danger of "the Tumultuous Torrent of Fugitive Ideas"

Stop and think!

I always enjoy reading Chronicles magazine. The article I read today described divisions in the political right. It isn't just the Dems who reflect chaos these days. The author made the point that language is being used on both sides of the aisle "less as an instrument of reasoning" and more as a justification for "tribal loyalty" with premises that "remain unexamined" resulting in "impoverished discourse in which both factions retain an appetite for shock and awe but very little for restraint, calibration, or discovery."

Wow! Too true!

What author Chloe Mastour describes isn't just evident in political disagreements. It seems to be the default position today in many areas and is particularly evident on social media. Many adopt fixed and unchangeable positions. No amount of reasoned argument can touch them. And sometimes those with opposite views, are equally fixed and unchangeable. 

Ecumenism Rules: No Titles for Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix

I double post these days because of Blogger's censorship. Check out my free Substack website.

I'm reading the recent document on the Blessed Mother released by the Vatican Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith. If you haven't heard of it yet, this document crushes the movement to declare Mary Coredemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces. How low that office has fallen under its new prefect, the scandalous Cardinal Fernandez of kissing fame. 

Obviously, my expectations were not high considering the source, and it immediately became apparent why the Queen of Heaven is getting short shrift. The second paragraph of the document makes it abundantly clear what drives the dicastery: "a particular ecumenical effort." 

The Winner in Yesterday's Elections? Karl Marx!

Readers can now see my posts on Substack which is friendlier than blogger. See this post there and please subscribe. A fellow member at Substack tells me they have never censored one of his posts. The B in Blogger stands for Bigot. If they dump me altogether, meet me at Substack.

Candidates who illustrate the assassination culture of the Democrat party swept Virginia yesterday. New York and New Jersey did no better. As for California, Gavin Newsom got the green light to gerrymander the state before the midterms to secure and maintain Democrat seats at the national, state and local levels. 

What now? 

From the "Just Gotta Laugh" File

Sometimes ya just gotta laugh. I'm concerned about the advance of Islam in the U.S., but this headline from July caught my eye:

Lesbian woman's outrage against Muslim immigrants in the U.S. goes viral after Pride parade ban.

Silly woman, are you so totally ignorant of Islam that you didn't know they execute homosexuals in many countries where they rule? Poor lady feels betrayed because she helped them get all the goodies paid for by the taxpayers and this is her reward. She will no doubt be happy when they crack down on Christians, but her alphabet allies? That's a horse of a rainbow color.

The Race is On! May all the polls showing it's close in Virginia prove wrong!

 Let the true patriots win.

Winsome Sears

Jason Miyares