Pope Innocent III calls for a crusade against the "perfidious Saracens"

With the Bull Quia maior Pope Innocent III proclaimed the Fifth Crusade in 1213.

"For how can a man be said to love his neighbor as himself, in obedience to God's command, when, knowing that his brothers, who are Christians in faith and in name, are held in the hands of the perfidious Saracens. . . does not do something effective to liberate them."

Following are excerpts from Quia maior:

Because at this time there is a more compelling urgency than there has ever been before to help the Holy Land in her great need and because we hope that the aid sent to her will be greater than that which has ever reached her before, listen when, again taking up the old cry, we cry to you.  We cry on behalf of him who when dying cried with a loud voice on the cross, becoming obedient to God the Father unto the death of the cross, crying out so that he might snatch us from the crucifixion of eternal death.  He also cries out with his own voice and says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me," as if to say, to put it more plainly, "If anyone wishes to follow me to the crown, let him also follow me to the battle, which is now proposed as a test for all men."

Oh, how much good has already come from this cause!  How many men, converted to penance, have delivered themselves up to the service of the Crucified One in order to liberate the Holy Land and have won a crown of glory as if they had suffered the agony of martyrdom, men who perhaps might have died in their wicked ways, ensnared in carnal pleasures and worldly enticements!  This is the ancient device of Jesus Christ which he has deigned to renew in these times for the salvation of his faithful.

For how can a man be said to love his neighbor as himself, in obedience to God's command, when, knowing that his brothers, who are Christians in faith and in name, are held in the hands of the perfidious Saracens in dire imprisonment and are weighed down by the yoke of most heavy slavery, he does not do something effective to liberate them, thereby transgressing the command of that natural law which the Lord gave in the gospel, "Whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them?"  Or perhaps you do not know that many thousands of Christians are being held in slavery and imprisonment in their hands, tortured by countless torments?

We are sure that, since we ought to put much more trust in divine mercy than in human power, we ought to fight such a conflict not so much with physical arms as with spiritual ones.

Fasting and almsgiving should be joined to prayer, so that with these wings the prayer itself may fly more easily and quickly to the most loving ears of God, who will mercifully listen to us at the appointed time.  And every day during the celebrations of Mass . . . the priest who is celebrating must chant this prayer over the altar:
  "God, who disposes all things with marvelous providence, we humbly beseech thee to snatch from  the hands of the enemies of the cross the land which thine only-begotten son consecrated with his own blood and to restore it to Christian worship by mercifully directing in the way of eternal salvation the vows of the faithful here present, made for its liberation, through the same Christ Our Lord."


The full text of Quia maior can be read here.

A citizen's prayer to St. Michael Archangel

Years ago I clipped this prayer out of a collection of prayers to St. Michael.  I keep it near my desk and pray it often.

"Please protect us, St. Michael the Archangel, against violence, murder and robbery.  In your goodness preserve us today from all the malice of sinful and wicked men.  In your sleepless vigilance watch over the safety and welfare of our homes, and keep guard over our possessions.  Ever hold in your special care, most triumphant St. Michael, the forces of public order against the crimes of evil men, and defend all honest citizens in time of peril.  We ask this of you through Christ, our Lord.  Amen."

The Divine Indwelling in Mary

"The divine indwelling in Mary" is the title of a section of a doctoral dissertation by Rev. Joseph Iannuzzi, granted by the Gregorian Pontifical University Faculty of Theology and authorized by the Holy See.  Fr. Iannuzzi, who has given permission for it to be presented below, has been awarded five post-graduate degrees.  This particular dissertation has recently been published as The Gift of Living in the Divine Will in the Writings of Luisa Piccarreta, by St. Andrew's Productions.

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In her dictations to Luisa, Mary explains how she continuously bilocated her soul among the three divine Persons, whose Divine Will continuously operated within her to form in her God’s «full, complete and perfect life»:

As I took possession of the Kingdom of the Divine Will, its steps within me ended and its full, complete and perfect full life began within my soul […] My Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit longed for me to be in their arms to enjoy their little daughter […] They felt the power and the strength of their Divine Will emerging from me and rendering us inseparable^[i] […]  

I brought myself into the arms of the divinity […] They awaited me and rejoiced in seeing me, and loved me so much that upon my arrival they poured out into my soul more seas of love and sanctity^[ii].

The Divine Will of the three divine Persons continuously engaged in Mary, established in her soul its indwelling^[iii]. To Luisa Mary reveals that immediately after her Immaculate Conception the three divine Persons poured themselves out on her. God the Father poured out in her his power, the Son, his wisdom and the Holy Spirit, his love^[iv]. The indwelling in Mary of the three divine Persons, whose one operation maintained the continuity of her divine acts and established within her the Divine Kingdom, was a phenomenon that Adam forfeited with sin. Because she lived in this Divine Kingdom and knew no sin^[v], Mary’s life in the Divine Will and its effects over the entire human race and creation far surpassed those of Adam and, as noted, of all other creatures combined^[vi]. As in prelapsarian Adam, so in Mary God’s indwelling empowered both her body and soul^[vii]. In examining the singular role of her Immaculate Conception and perfect obedience to the Divine Will that rendered continuous her divine acts, Mary emerges from Luisa’s text as the first human creature from conception to «live in the Divine Will», and she constitutes the paradigm of perfect and complete cooperation with the Divine Will.

 

Notes

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[i] L. PICCARRETA, BVM, day 7.

[ii] L. PICCARRETA, BVM, day 8.

[iii] L. PICCARRETA, XV, December 8, 1922: «It was the power of Our [Triune] Will operating in her [Mary] that, while dominating her, made her the possessor of God himself […] We could see Our divine qualities in her, and the reflections of Our sanctity, divine manners, love, power and all else flow over her like waves. Our Will, which is the center of all of these reflections [...] made itself the crown and bulwark of the divinity dwelling within her [...] We confirmed in her all graces and all gifts to make her surpass all other souls combined».

[iv] L. PICCARRETA, BVM, day 2 (Mary reveals to Luisa): «As soon as the Divine Fiat poured itself over my human seed to prevent the sad effects of sin, the divinity smiled and rejoiced in seeing that my seed was a pure and holy human seed, just like the one that came forth from God’s creative hands at man’s creation. So the Divine Fiat took the second step in Me by carrying my human seed that it had purified and sanctified before the divinity. It did this in order for the divinity to pour itself forth in torrents upon my lowliness in the act of my [Immaculate] Conception. Recognizing in me its beautiful and pure creative work, the divinity smiled with satisfaction and, wanting to rejoice with me, the heavenly Father poured forth upon me seas of power; the Son, seas of wisdom; the Holy Spirit, seas of love. So I was conceived in the never-ending light of the Divine Will. Amidst these divine seas that my lowliness could not contain I, in exchange, formed the highest waves of homage I could by loving and glorifying the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

«The divinity unceasingly gazed upon me and, as if not to be outdone by me in love, while smiling and imparting divine touches, it inundated me with yet more seas that so adorned me, that no sooner was my little humanity formed, than I acquired the enchanting virtue of enrapturing my Creator [...]».

[v] L. PICCARRETA, XVIII, November 12, 1925: «A Virgin was needed, conceived without Original Sin, innocent and holy, enriched by God with all graces, who possessed all the good acts accomplished during the previous four thousand years, and who covered them with her innocence, sanctity and purity. By this means the divinity would see the good acts of all [souls] through the [divine] acts of this innocent and holy soul, who not only embraced all the acts of the ancients, but surpassed them all with her own [divine] acts. Thus she obtained the descent of the [eternal] Word to earth».

[vi] L. PICCARRETA, XIX, May 31, 1926: «Her smallest acts done in the unity of this light were superior to the greatest acts and to all the acts of all souls combined. That is why when compared to the acts of the Holy Queen, the sacrifices, works and love of all other souls can be called little flames before the sun, or little drops of water before the sea». Cf. also ID., XVII, May 1, 1925.

[vii] L. PICCARRETA, XXXIV, March 1, 1926.

Separation of Church and State? Never!

In the light of the many confusing and modernist notions that have emanated from Rome since the Second Vatican Council, it is useful to turn to approved and classic works dealing with various aspects of true Catholic doctrine. For that reason I have re-read Fr. Denis Fahey's The Social Rights of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ the King, which I first studied in 1990. This book was originally published, with Imprimatur, in 1932, and was adapted by Fr. Fahey from an earlier work in French by the Rev. A. Phillipe. In essence, it expounds the Catholic doctrine on the rights of Our Lord Jesus Christ in society.

The following quotes demonstrate the logical progression of Fahey's thought.  They are from the first section of the book, Chapters 1 through 6, which deal with the fundamental doctrine on Church and State. Subsequent chapters are concerned with the errors introduced into the modern mentality by the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” of 1789, and of ways to remedy them.

“Now the first truth – on which all others depend, and which imposes obligations on the creature – is that of the sovereign dominion of God over every creature and the absolute dependence of every creature on God.”   

“We can never lose sight of the fact that man is placed on earth to prepare for eternal happiness. All institutions, divine or human, have for their last end the glory of God and the salvation of souls”

“The constitutions of nations, their legislation . . . must like everything else, on account of this last end, be in conformity with the Eternal Law of God, with the Creed and with the Ten Commandments.”  

“The Sovereign Pontiffs have always taught that there should be a perfect understanding between Church and State. The reason of this is simple enough: Church and State are two institutions established by God.”

“Pius IX and Leo XIII have explicitly condemned the doctrine of the separation of Church and State.”   [Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors and Leo XIII's Immortale Dei and Libertas, are quoted in later chapters of the book.]

“Public homage of adoration and love, thanksgiving and reparation, is in fact owing to Christ in His Godhead. This homage is laid upon Christ as man, and upon all men by Christ as King.”

“It belongs then to His kingship to lay upon men and upon human society those various kinds of spiritual worship, for they are the only means, both for man and for society, to attain their final end, union with God in the Three Divine Persons.”  

“The Divine Master wants His Church to be in the world the instrument for the salvation of souls.” 

 

 “Every Society then must obey the Church as Christ Himself, for the Church is commissioned to explain His mind and will just as much to men gathered in society as to the individual.” 

A nod to the late Fr. Luigi Villa for inspiring the title of this post.

Theologian Upholds Catholicity of "Divine Will" Revelations

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done.

Theologian Stephen Patton (M.A. Franciscan University) has been one of the foremost defenders of the orthodoxy of the writings on the Divine Will transcribed by the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta (1865 – 1947). It was his 1999 monograph on these revelations that successfully responded to the doctrinal objections that had been raised during that decade by many well-meaning critics, including a handful of priests. Now he has expanded on his original work by tackling some of the weightier theological issues raised in Piccarreta's writings. In his new book, which he terms a “study guide,” he attempts to answer any lingering concerns about the compatibility of her work with Catholic doctrine, especially regarding the terminology and expressions that she uses.

Some indications of a more favorable climate in which one can study her writings include the positive assessment of her work given in 2010 by two theologians appointed by the Holy See, the canonization of her spiritual advisor St. Annibale Di Francia, and the recent acceptance by the Pontifical Gregorian University of a doctoral thesis defending her work. In addition, now for the first time a book explaining Luisa Piccarreta's teaching on the Divine Will has been officially cleared for Catholic readers, with the granting by the Diocese of Sacramento of the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur on this important study by Stephen Patton. However, the author advises that while the book “does not contain matter contrary to the Catholic faith and morals, still, these official marks should not be understood as an official adoption or endorsement by the Church of Luisa's writings.”

Stephen Patton, A Guide to the Book of Heaven, Luisa Piccarreta's writings evaluated in the light of Catholic doctrine (2013, Jacksboro TN).  This book can be obtained via the Luisa Piccarreta Center for the Divine Will, 423-566-5178 or email tomfahy@comcast.net.  Coming soon to Amazon.com as well. The complete review of Mr. Patton's book can be read at this link.

Luisa Piccarreta demonstrated an extraordinary level of obedience to the priests and spiritual directors who guided her, giving them authority even over the voice of Jesus that she heard in her visions. She was born in southeastern Italy in the small town of Corato. Luisa had little formal education, was graced with the invisible stigmata, and for most of her adult life was bedridden, and lived almost exclusively on the Holy Eucharist. During a period of nearly 40 years, under obedience from her Confessors, she kept a diary of her intimate visions and communications with Jesus, Mary, and certain saints. The diary comprises 36 volumes, and the title given to this opus by Jesus Himself is: Book of Heaven – the Call of the Creature to Return to the Order, to the Place, and to the Purpose for Which it was Created by God.” The first 19 volumes were officially approved by her Bishop's Imprimatur, for which St. Annibale Di Francia granted the nihil obstat. The purpose of these revelations, as explained to her by the Lord, is to reestablish the Kingdom of His Divine Will on earth and in souls, as it existed before man's fall from grace.

Under the "spell" of the Mass

An excerpt from a letter to his wife by John Adams, second President of the United States:

     "This afternoon, led by curiosity and good company, I strolled away to mother church, or rather grandmother church. I mean the Romish chapel. I heard a good, short moral essay upon the duty of parents to their children, founded in justice and charity, to take care of their interests, temporal and spiritual. This afternoon’s entertainment was to me most awful and affecting; the poor wretches fingering their beads, chanting Latin, not a word of which they understood; their pater nosters and ave Marias; their holy water; their crossing themselves perpetually; their bowing to the name of Jesus, whenever they hear it; their bowings, kneelings and genuflections before the altar. The dress of the priest was rich white lace. His pulpit was velvet and gold. The altar-piece was very rich, little images and crucifixes about; wax candles lighted up. But how shall I describe the picture of our Savior in a frame of marble over the altar, at full length, upon the cross in the agonies, and the blood dropping and streaming from his wounds! The music, consisting of an organ and a choir of singers, went all the afternoon except sermon time, and the assembly chanted most sweetly and exquisitely.
     Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear, and imagination–everything which can charm and bewitch the simple and ignorant. I wonder how Luther ever broke the spell. Adieu."

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"Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear, and imagination." Yes, that truly was the genius of the Old Mass!  But don't worry President Adams - thanks to the aggiornamento of Vatican II and the modernist changes that followed in its wake, we have finally updated the liturgy.  No more Latin mumbo-jumbo, no more pious hocus-pocus and chanting, no richly decorated altars. We have Protestantized the liturgy to accommodate people like you Mr. Adams, rather than the "simple and ignorant." Regarding that graphic portrait of the Crucified Christ, you will be pleased to know that we have downplayed the sacrificial nature of the Mass, emphasizing instead the communal meal aspect. You may rest assured that there is little chance that anyone will ever come under the "spell" of the new liturgy.   

John Adams excerpt thanks to Dr. William Zambrano's "Tribulation Times."  Subscribe here.

Walt Disney the man: pro-life

Every conception is immaculate because a child is involved

Although Walt Disney considered himself to be a religious person, he did not attend any church.  He had a strong belief in God, and respected the religion of others.  Once one of his employees, apparently a Catholic, asked him if he believed in the Immaculate Conception.  He answered that he believed that every conception is immaculate, since a child is involved.

He and his wife Lilly sent both of their daughters, Diane and Sharon, to Sunday school, but did not impose their religious views on them.  When Diane began to attend a Catholic school, Walt wrote to his sister Ruth that Diane seemed to enjoy it, being quite taken up with the various rituals and the catechism. She had not made up her mind on whether to be Catholic or Protestant, but Disney was not concerned about this.  He felt that his daughter was intelligent enough to decide what she wanted, and that it was her privilege to make the decision. 

During his lifetime he never made a religious film, since he did not want to mix religion with entertainment.  Churchmen were seldom portrayed in his pictures.

Based on information from Walt Disney an American Original, by Bob Thomas, 1994, New York, Disney Editions.