Does Original Sin = Guilty Babies?

Sometimes Catholics are accused of teaching "original guilt" rather than "original sin." Are then human babies "guilty" of original sin?  Let's take a look at the Council of Trent.

The infallible Council of Trent (Session V, 5) regarding original sin reads:

If any one denies, that, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is conferred in baptism, the reatum of original sin is remitted; or even asserts that the whole of that which has the true and proper nature of sin is not taken away; but says that it is only rased, or not imputed; let him be anathema.

Many English translations of this anathema inaccurately read "the guilt of original sin is remitted," and this has led to much confusion.

The original Latin of the Council reads "reatum originalis peccati remitti."

This is important because the term "reatus" does not strictly mean "guilt."

• In Roman law "reatus" means liable to or indicted or a penal sentence.
• Alternatively, the Latin word "culpa" means an actual act of wrongdoing. 

Reatus refers state that accrues as a consequence of a culpa. In Justinian legal terminology (subsequently adopted by the Church), these two words have the following meanings.

• Reatus culpa is guilt associated with the sentence (that is, culpability)
• Reatus poena is the penalty of the sentence (the word penalty comes from poena)

For example, if a man robbed a store, the "reatus culpa" would be his personally act of actually stealing the money - he is declared guilty. Now the "reatus poena" would be the penalty or sentence associated with the crime, for example, two years in prison.

Now with Adam and Eve, they incurred the personal guilt (reatus culpa) of original sin and also the penalty (reatus poena).

All their children (i.e. all human babies) receive only the penalty of sin (reatus poena), which is defined as being without grace, subject to suffering and death, etc. If you not convinced, simply note that human babies die, suffer, and become sick. As they attain the operation of reason and language, they universally commit sins. Lamentably, none of us are not living the life of paradise. Each baby is not guilty of eating the forbidden fruit, but each baby does receive the penalty of that sin.

Now then, occasionally you will see some Catholic authors using "culpa" in reference to original sin. Here, however, they usually clarify it by adding "culpa contracta," which is a special phrase and it does not mean personal guilt, but "contracted" guilt by association. So then, cupla contracta = reatus poena.

Your head is probably spinning. I apologize.

Let me break it down in three simple bullet points:

1. Adam and Eve received the personal guilt for the first sin. Babies are not strictly "culpable" for the first sin.
2. However, babies do receive the penalty (reatus poena) of Adam's sin. Babies do not come equipped with sanctifying grace, the preternatural gifts, they die, and they will sin when they are older.
3. The Eastern Orthodox accusation that we Catholics believe in "original guilt" or "guilty babies" is false. Likewise, the Calvinist doctrine of "total depravity" (stating that humans fell from their "nature") is also a grave error.

Leave a comment if you still have a questions or something isn't quite clear.

The Four Sections of Hell (St Thomas Aquinas)

According to Saint Thomas Aquinas (STh Supp q. 69, aa. 1-7), Hell (Latin: Infernus) is divided into four sections or abodes:

1. Gehenna. This is hell in the strict sense, or the place of punishment for the damned, both demons or humans.
2. Limbo of the Children. (Latin: limbus parvulorum) Where those who die in original sin alone, and without personal mortal sin, enjoy natural beatitude without the sensation of pain.
3. Limbo of the Fathers. (Latin: limbus patrum) Where the souls of the Old Testament saints who died before Christ awaited their admission to heaven. Also called "Abraham's bosom." Also a natural beatitude without the sensation of pain. Limbo of the Fathers is now vacant.
4. Purgatory. Where the righteous who die in venial sin or who still owe a debt of temporal punishment for sin, are cleansed by suffering before their admission to Heaven.

This pattern corresponds to Jewish belief at the time of Christ. In 1 Enoch we see a similar fourfold arrangement of "Sheol" - the Hebrew term for the underworld.

Was the Blessed Virgin Mary Baptized?

According to tradition going back to the second century (documented by renowned Scripture scholar Cornelius a Lapide), Christ baptized the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It is true that Blessed Mary was without original sin, and full of grace. However, she had yet received the baptismal character, which is an indelible feature of the baptized. Also, the sacrament of baptism linked her even more closely with the Church of her beloved Son.

If she humbly submitted to Old Law precepts out of humility (e.g. the purification after birth), then she no doubt would also have received the sacraments of the New Law. Moreover, Mary wanted to be like Christ her Savior in all ways. Christ didn't need baptism but He received baptism. No doubt, she desire the same. Mary didn't need to die, but she desired to die in order to be perfectly conformed to Christ. This is a feature of all the ancient Dormition accounts.

Did the Immaculate Mary need to be baptized. No, of course not.

Did the Immaculate Mary want to be baptized. Yes, of course.

ad Jesum per Mariam,

Taylor

Tomb of Apostle Philip Found in Turkey Today!

Saint Philip by El Greco

A tomb believed to be that of St. Philip the Apostle was unearthed during excavations in the ancient Turkish city of Hierapolis.

Italian professor Francesco D'Andria said archeologists found the tomb of the biblical figure -- one of the 12 original Apostles of Jesus Christ.

"We have been looking for Saint Philip's tomb for years," d'Andria told the agency. "We finally found it in the ruins of a church which we excavated a month ago."

The structure of the tomb and the writings on the wall proved it belonged to St. Philip, he added. The professor said the archaeologists worked for years to find the tomb and he expected it to become an important Christian pilgrimage destination. St. Philip, recognized as one of Christianity's martyrs, is thought to have died in Hierapolis, in the southwest province of Denizli, in around 80AD.

Saint Philip, pray for us.

Hat tip: Jordan Low

Baptism by Blood and the Apostle James

The martyrdom of James (grey) and his accuser (white)

The Catholic Church holds that those who profess Christ but do not yet receive the sacrament of baptism nevertheless receive all the benefits and grace of baptism through martyrdom. This is the teaching baptism by blood which has been held by all the doctors of the Church.

Tradition relates that Saint James' martyrdom is the origin of the Catholic understanding of "baptism by blood." The accuser of the Apostle James was so moved by James humility that he was touched by divine grace and desired to die alongside James as a disciple of Jesus Christ. This man received martyrdom along with James the Apostle and the accuser was declared "baptized by blood" and thereby saved and holy.

I may be wrong, but this would have been the first Apostolic recognition of "baptism by blood."

Charlemagne's Discovery of Saint Anne's Relics in AD 792

Saint Anne holding her daughter the Virgin Mary

On Easter AD 792, Charlemagne discovered the relics of Saint Anne with the help of a deaf handicapped boy. It's a wonderful tale for this feast day of Saint Anne.

Below is the account, preserved in the correspondence of Pope Saint Leo III, concerning the discovery of the relics of Saint Anne in the presence of the Emperor Charlemagne.

Fourteen years after Our Lord’s death, Saint Mary Magdalen, Saint Martha, Saint Lazarus, and the others of the little band of Christians who were piled into a boat without sails or oars and pushed out to sea to perish — in the persecution of the Christians by the Jews of Jerusalem — were careful to carry with them the tenderly loved body of Our Lady’s mother. They feared lest it be profaned in the destruction, which Jesus had told them was to come upon Jerusalem. When, by the power of God, their boat sur vived and finally drifted to the shores of France, the little company of saints buried Saint Anne’s body in a cave, in a place called Apt, in the south of France. The church, which was later built over the spot, fell into decay because of wars and religious persecutions, and as the centuries passed, the place of Saint Anne’s tomb was forgotten.

The long years of peace, which Charlemagne’s wise rule gave to southern France, enabled the people to build a magnificent new church on the site of the old chapel at Apt. Extraordinary and painstaking labor went into the building of the great structure, and when the day of its consecration arrived [Easter Sunday, 792 A.D.], the beloved Charlemagne, little suspecting what was in store for him, declared himself happy indeed to have jour neyed so many miles to be present for the holy occasion. At the most solemn part of the ceremonies, a boy of fourteen, blind, deaf and dumb from birth — and usually quiet and impassive — to the amaze ment of those who knew him, completely distracted the at tention of the entire congrega tion by becoming suddenly tremendously excited. He rose from his seat, walked up the aisle to the altar steps, and to the consternation of the whole church, struck his stick re soundingly again and again upon a single step.

His embarrassed family tried to lead him out, but he would not budge. He contin ued frantically to pound the step, straining with his poor muted senses to impart a knowledge sealed hopelessly within him. The eyes of the people turned upon the em peror, and he, apparently in spired by God, took the matter into his own hands. He called for workmen to remove the steps.

A subterranean passage was revealed directly below the spot, which the boy’s stick had indicated. Into this pas sage the blind lad jumped, to be followed by the emperor, the priests, and the workmen.

They made their way in the dim light of candles, and when, farther along the pas sage, they came upon a wall that blocked further ad vance, the boy signed that this also should be removed. When the wall fell, there was brought to view still another long, dark corridor. At the end of this, the searchers found a crypt, upon which, to their profound wonderment, a vigil lamp, alight and burning in a little walled recess, cast a heavenly radiance.

As Charlemagne and his afflicted small guide, with their companions, stood be fore the lamp, its light went out. And at the same moment, the boy, blind and deaf and dumb from birth, felt sight and hearing and speech flood into his young eyes, his ears, and his tongue.

“It is she! It is she!” he cried out. The great emperor, not knowing what he meant, nevertheless repeated the words after him. The call was taken up by the crowds in the church above, as the people sank to their knees, bowed in the realization of the presence of something celestial and holy.

The crypt at last was opened, and a casket was found within it. In the casket was a winding sheet, and in the sheet were relics, and upon the relics was an inscrip tion that read, “Here lies the body of Saint Anne, mother of the glorious Virgin Mary.” The winding sheet, it was noted, was of eastern design and texture.

Charlemagne, over whelmed, venerated with pro found gratitude the relics of the mother of Heaven’s Queen. He remained a long time in prayer. The priests and the people, awed by the graces given them in such abundance and by the choice of their countryside for such a heavenly manifestation, for three days spoke but rarely, and then in whispers.

The emperor had an exact and detailed account of the miraculous finding drawn up by a notary and sent to Pope Saint Leo III, with an accom panying letter from himself. These documents and the pope’s reply are preserved to this day. Many papal bulls have attested, over and over again, to the genuineness of Saint Anne’s relics at Apt.

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How did St James get to Spain? The Full Tradition

Our Lady's Apparition to Saint James in Spain

July 25 is the feast day of Saint James the Greater, the first martyr of the Holy Apostles. Pilgrims from all over the world will be converging at the Basilica of Compostela in northern Spain where the remains of Saint James the Greater are revered.

Traditional Pilgrim Routes to Saint James

(He is called "the Greater" {Major} to distinguish him from the other Apostle named Saint James "the Lesser" {Minor}. Saint James "the Greater" might be called this because he was the first apostolic martyr, or simply because he was taller than the other Saint James.)

According to tradition, sometime after Pentecost, Saint Peter cast lots with the Apostles to determine the portions of the world to which each Apostle would plant the Church. The lot of the Roman Province of Spain fell to the Apostle James the Greater who proclaimed the Catholic Faith to the Celtic people of the Iberian Peninsula.

In AD 40, the Blessed Virgin Mary (while she was still alive in Jerusalem) appeared to Saint James in Spain on the bank of the Ebro River at Caesaraugusta. This is the first Marian apparition known to man, and it is still revered as "Our Lady of the Pillar." The Mother of God, we might suppose, summoned James to return to Jerusalem.

James returned to Jerusalem. No long after, he was seized by Herod Agrippa and beheaded:

“And at the same time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands, to afflict some of the church. And he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.” (Acts 12:1–2, D-R)

Catholic scholars place the martyrdom of Saint James the Greater to year AD 44.

According to the medieval tradition of Compostela, the physical remains of Saint James were transferred from Jerusalem to northern Spain, either by angels or by Spanish disciples of Saint James Padrón to the coast of Galicia who then carried the relics inland for burial at Compostela.

In case you doubt the validity of the Saint James relics in Compostela, Pope Leo XIII verified the relics of Saint James as authentic in his 1894 bull Omnipotens Deus.

Following third century Roman persecutions in Spain, his tomb was abandoned in the third century. The tomb was rediscovered in AD 814 by the hermit Pelayo after the monk observed strange lights in the night sky (hence the name "Campus Stellae" or "Field of Stars"). The local bishop confirmed the miracle and the relics of Saint James. King Alfonso II (791-842) built a shrine on the location. This is the current site of the Basilica of Compostela.

Saint James the Greater, pray for us!

Rejoicing in Tribulations (by St John Chrysostom)

Saint John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church

Saint John Chrysostom was always in trouble and he was repeatedly disciplined and banished by the Eastern Emperor (once he was banished because he publicly accused the Empress of dressing immodestly. That takes guts!). In light of his many sufferings, here is a beautiful meditation by St John Chrysostom ("Golden-Mouth"):

Again Paul turns to speak of love, softening the harshness of his rebuke. For after convicting and reproaching them for not loving him as he had loved them, breaking away from his love and attaching themselves to troublemakers, he again takes the edge off the reproach by saying: Open your hearts to us, that is, love us. He asks for a favour which will be no burden to them but will be more profitable to the giver than to the receiver. And he did not use the word “love” but said, more appealingly: Open your hearts to us. 

Who, he said, has cast us out of your minds, thrust us from your hearts? How is it that you feel constraint with us? For, since he has said earlier: You are restricted in your own affection, he now declares himself more openly and says: Open your heart to us, thus once more drawing them to him. For nothing so much wins love as the knowledge that one’s lover desires most of all to be himself loved. 

For I said before, he tells them, that you are in our hearts to die together or live together. This is love at its height, that even though in disfavour, he wishes both to die and to live with them. For you are in our hearts, not just somehow or other, but in the way I have said. It is possible to love and yet to draw back when danger threatens; but my love is not like that.
I am filled with consolation. What consolation? That which comes from you because you, being changed for the better, have consoled me by what you have done. It is natural for a lover both to complain that he is not loved in return and to fear that he may cause distress by complaining too much. Therefore, he says: I am filled with consolation, I rejoice exceedingly. 

It is as if he said, I was much grieved on your account, but you have made it up for me in full measure and given me comfort; for you have not only removed the cause for any grief but filled me with a richer joy. 

Then he shows the greatness of that joy by saying not only I rejoice exceedingly but also the words which follow: in all my tribulations. So great, he says, was the delight that you gave me that it was not even dimmed by so much tribulation, but overcame by its strength and keenness all those sorrows which had invaded my heart, and took away from me all awareness of them.

- Homily on 2nd Corinthians by Saint John Chrysostom

Norway Killer is a Freemason (Anders Breivik)

Norway Killer Anders Breivik in Freemason regalia

Breivik was was a Freemason not a "right-wing Christian."

“Envies, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:21)

Pray for Norway.

Saint Olaf, patron of Norway, pray for us.

Becoming Anathema for Mary (St John Damascene on Marian Consecration)

Saint John Damascene

Doctor of the Catholic Church

Theologians beginning in the 1950s began to question to the concept of "consecration to Mary." Everyone is agreed that people and things can be consecrated to the Most Holy Trinity, and this true of the Eucharist in a preeminent way, but also true for the priesthood, nuns, and holy vessels, and our baptized bodies as tabernacles of the Holy Spirit (which is the reason that we must retain holy purity and custody of the eyes).

How then could people or items be consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary who is a human person and creature? This question often comes up regarding Our Lady's request for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Some say this is impossible since the Immaculate Heart of Mary is created and therefore not a proper object of solemn consecration.

Saint Louis de Montfort is the saint to answer this question since he shows that all consecrations to Mary (or to any saint for that matter) are ordered to our Lord Jesus Christ through His Sacred Humanity. Since all saints are members of His Body and partakers of His Divine Nature, consecrations to them are relative and are therefore through them to Christ our God. 

The same is true for prayer to saints. We pray to saints but understand that the prayer "to" a saint is relative and not absolute. Absolutely speaking, the intercessions of saints have their final terminus in Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and men.

“For there is one God: and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5, D-R)

Saint John Damascene is one ancient example of "consecration to Mary."

We are present before you, O Lady, Lady I say and again Lady, binding our souls to our hope in you, and as to a most secure and firm anchor , to you we consecrate {anathémenoi} our minds, our souls, our bodies, in a word, our very selves, honoring you with psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, insofar as we are able-even though it is impossible to do so worthily. If truly, as the sacred word has taught us, the honor paid to our fellow servants testifies to our good will towards our common Master, how could we neglect honoring you who have brought forth your Master? In this way we can better show our attachment to our Master.

-St John Damascene, "Sermo Prima de Dormitione," Patroligia Graeca 96, 720C-D, 721A-B.

Saint John Damascene, a Doctor of the Catholic Church, consecrates himself and his hearers to the Blessed Virgin Mary using the word anathémenoi. You will recognize this as the same word from which we derive "anathema" which can mean "set above," "suspended," "banned," and usually "accursed." It is the Greek word used to translate the Hebrew word חֵרֶם {charem} for those people or things which belong to God as either holy or cursed. The same idea is preserved in Latin where "sacrosanctum" can refer to persons who are either "holy" or "cursed." For example, to be "sacrilegious" has the same connotations.

All this relates to things "reserved for God" and this can be a blessing or a curse. For example the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist is the greatest blessing for one receiving It in a state of grace, but also the greatest curse if received in a state of original sin or mortal sin. Sacrosanctity cuts both ways.

Back to St John Damascene. He consecrates himself to Mary in this way by using the term "anathémenoi." This means that he is totally and completely given over and reserved for the Blessed Virgin Mary. (this should remind us of Blessed John Paul II, whose motto was directed to Mary: "Totus tuus" or "Totally yours.") Woe to him if should fail in his devotion to her. Yet this "Marian anathema" also includes the amazingly brilliant graces that he shall receive through her from Christ.

Moreover, this consecration to Mary in the form of an "anathema" is Christocentric (Christ-centered), or as I prefer to say, Christotelic (leading to Christ). Observe how St John Damascene concludes his consecration to Mary: "In this way we can better show our attachment to our Master." Our Master is Christ the Lord.

The whole point of Marian consecration is not to exalt Mary to the level of deity or to place her in competition with Christ. True Marian consecration (as also endorsed by St Louis de Montfort and St Maximilian Maria Kolbe) leads to greater love and service for Christ.

Do you want to consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Mother in this way? If so, I heartily recommend both St Louis de Montfort's consecration, but especially that of St Maximilian Maria Kolbe.

To use the Kolbe consecration in a solemn way, choose a Marian feast day. Fast on the day before (one meal), pray the Holy Rosary and attend Mass and Confession on that Marian feast day, and then recite the prayer of consecration. Renew the consecration annually.

Here's the Kolbe form of consecration.

Our Immaculate Lady, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

Marian books that you should own:

   

Photo Contest: Can you name this Cathedral

Here's the photo. Look very carefully. Which Catholic Cathedral is it?

(PS: If you click on the picture, it will give you a larger version for your inspection and an important hint...)

Your Insurance and Birth Control Pills

More news from the New Babylon:

Virtually all health insurance plans could soon be required to offer female patients free coverage of prescription birth control, breast-pump rentals, counseling for domestic violence, and annual wellness exams and HIV tests as a result of recommendations released Tuesday by an independent advisory panel of health experts.

The health-care law adopted last year directed the Obama administration to draw up a list of preventive services for women that all new health plans must cover without deductibles or co-payments. While the guidelines suggested Tuesday by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine are not binding, the panel conducted its year-long review at the request of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (full article here).

This shows the trajectory of where we are going. It appears that the entire medical industry will soon be forced to be practically pro-contraception and pro-abortion.

It's also sad, because most insurance plans no longer cover "child birth." You can get everything (including the pill), but they won't pay for the birth of a human being.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Homilies on the Culture of Life vs. the Culture of Death (New Jerusalem vs. New Babylon):

• The Errors of Russia: How They Affect Family Life
• The Errors of Russia: Their Plan and the Plan of Heaven
• The Errors of Russia: The Plan of Heaven: Model the Holy Family

Chaput the Capuchin: On Capuchins and Cappucinnos

His Excellency Archbishop Chaput of Denver has been assigned the troubled archdiocese of Philadelphia. Axios!

Archbishop Chaput's father was a French Canadian who was descends from King Saint Louis IX. His mother is a Native American hailing from Potawatomi tribe. Most notably, Archbishop Chaput is a friar of the Capuchins.

So what is a Capuchin?

The Capuchins are a reformed branch of the Franciscans deriving from the 16th century. These observant Franciscans sought to live a life of strict poverty, asceticism, and contemplative prayer. They are sometimes recognized by their "austere and manly beards" (e.g. Saint Padre Pio was a Capuchin Franciscan).

They are called "Capuchins" because their Franciscan habit bears a hood called a "cappuccio" in Italian. This hood is a tribute to the monastic hoods of the Camaldolese monks who gave the Capuchins friars refuge in their early days. Your coffee cappuccino is named after the Capuchins since the frothed milk and espresso produce a color similar to the Capuchin habit. Also, the frothed milk on top of the cappuccino sometimes forms a point, which resembles the Capuchin hood.

May His Excellency Archbishop Chaput continue to teach and maintain the Catholic Faith and may Our Immaculate Lady, Saint Francis, Saint Bonaventure, and Saint Pio earnestly pray for him as sanctifies the diocese of Philadelphia. Let us also commit His Excellency to our prayers.

All Holy Capuchins, pray for us.

Yesterday's Requiem for Christendom (Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg)

The Late Crown Prince Otto 

with his father, Blessed Charles the Emperor

On Christmas day in the year AD 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as the "Emperor of the Romans" and subsequently this empire became known as the Holy Roman Empire. The title "Emperor of the Romans" endured one thousand and six years until 1806. At this time, Napoleon crushed the Hapsburg Emperor and the empire was renamed "Empire of Austria." Thus, the Holy Roman Emperor continued to exist "in form" from 1806 until the death of Emperor Charles in 1922 (Charles was beatified by Pope John Paul II). 

Previously, the Holy Roman Emperor even had the power to veto a papal election and this power was reserved as late as 1904. In fact, Pope St Pius X only became pope because Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria (1848–1916) vetoed the papal election of Cardinal Mariano Rampolla to the throne of St Peter. So the votes turned to Cardinal Sarto...he who became the great Pope Pius X.

Yesterday, the Catholic Church buried the legitimate heir of the Holy Roman Empire.

Crown Prince Otto von Habsburg, may he rest in peace, is not only the son of an Empire, he is the son of a Blessed of the Catholic Church. His death marks the end of 1,200 year era in Christendom. In fact, his death solemnly signifies the official death of medieval Christendom. He is the first legitimate heir of Charlemagne's Catholic throne - but the throne has remained empty from 1922 till today.

In Holy Mass yesterday, our parish priest described the ritual that is observed in Austria for the burial of emperor's in the Vienna's Capuchin Church.

The ancient ceremony of admittance is followed as the hearse arrives at the doors of the church. They announced to the friars that they have come to bury:

"Otto of Austria; former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary; Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria, and Illyria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bukowina; Grand Prince of Siebenbürgen, Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla, Oświęcim and Zator, Teschen, Friaul, Dubrovnik and Zadar; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trento and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenburg etc.; Lord of Trieste, Kotor and Windic March, Grand Voivod of the Voivodeship of Serbia, etc. etc."

The friar responds, "We do not know him!"

The second time he will be introduced as "Dr. Otto von Habsburg" and a

number of his civic achievements, notably as President of the

Paneuropean Union and Member of the European Parliament, mentioned.

The friar responds, "We do not know him!"

The third time he will be introduced as "Otto, a mortal, sinful human being!"

Then the doors are opened and the corpse is admitted.

This is a wonderful reminder that whether you're a homeless man or the heir of Charlemagne - we all go to the same judgment.

Blessed Charles of Austria, pray for us, and pray for your son.

*His full name: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius von Habsburg

Brown Scapular turn 760 years old today

Jesus and Mary with St Simon Stock

in Cambridge, England

Carmelite tradition states that our Christ our Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary granted the Brown Scapular promise to St Simon Stock in Cambridge, England on July 16 1261.

This makes the Brown Scapular 760 years old today.

The Holy See defines the Brown Scapular as "an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer."

- Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. Vatican, 2001.

If you don't wear the Scapular, learn more about it, buy one, and ask your local priest to enroll you in the Scapular (a brief ritual).

  

Once Saved Always Saved? - Salvation and Sports Cars

Most Protestant Evangelicals hold that a Christian is “once saved always saved,” by which they mean that once a person has committed his life to Christ, he can never do anything to undo this gift of salvation. 

The Protestant explanation assumes that since the gift of salvation was freely granted, there is nothing that one can do to lose it. Contrary to this, we know that gifts can be abandoned, rejected, or destroyed by the ill will or neglect of the recipient. A father may purchase a sports car and freely give it to his son as a gift. It is rightly assumed that a gift cannot be “ungifted” or taken away. I am sure that the son would receive the car gleefully. However, the son may turn around and sell the car for drugs, crash the car, or neglect the car so that it no longer functions. The gift was not “ungifted.” Rather, the worth of the gift was rejected through negligence.

Catholicism views salvation in a similar way—a gift is given freely, but it may be spurned and squandered. God never "ungifts" salvation, but humans do reject, squander, wreck this gift. The Father freely gave His Son Jesus Christ to suffer, die, and rise again for our salvation. Through the Holy Spirit, God pours out this love upon us so that we become the children of God. In the words of Saint Paul, we become earthen vessels containing inestimable treasure (1 Cor 4:7). And this salvation is a gift.

If we trash the gift and abandon the twofold charity of love for God and neighbor through mortal sin - it's not God's fault. We are the one's who squandered it, not God. There is no lack God's love. So let us cherish the gift of grace and the gift of the true faith. Even if we've made mistakes before, we can pray for an increase of grace so as to keep our lives pure and lovely for the God who has literally done everything to save us.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Young, Handsome St Joseph vs. Old Gray-Haired St Joseph (Which is it?)

 Young Saint Joseph

or Old Saint Joseph

You may have noticed that there are two competing versions of Saint Joseph in Catholic art and devotion. One is the "gray-haired grandpa Joseph" and the other is the "young handsome Joseph."

Why is this? The two versions relate to the Catholic teaching that our Immaculate Lady is a perpetual Virgin. So then, if our Blessed Mother was the most beautiful lady to have ever lived (something taught by all the saints and lately by Saint Pio), how then did Saint Joseph preserve himself from inordinate passions toward his virginal bride?

There are two ways to account for this. One way holds that he was already an elderly man and therefore did not have the "vigor" of his youth. The second is to hold that although St Joseph was a young man, he had been supernaturally sanctified in the womb and confirmed in grace for the entirety of this life.* Since he controlled his passions perfectly, he did not have these inordinate desires for his virginal bride.

Readers of this blog know that I zealously hold and defend the latter position: St Joseph, as Head of the Holy Family and on account of his intimacy with the Holy Family, was sanctified and confirmed in grace his whole life long. 

No doubt, Saint Joseph was conceived with original sin, but like John the Baptist (and the Prophet Jeremiah), he was sanctified in the womb. Saint Frances de Sales, Bernardine de Bustis, Francisco Suarez, Jean Gerson, Isidoro Isolano, Cornelius a Lapide, and Saint Alphonsus Ligouri also hold that Saint Joseph was sanctified in his mother's womb and preserved from all sin. This entails that all members of the Holy Family were sinless: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

The most ancient artistic representations of Saint Joseph depict him as a youth. Saint Jerome defends the "young Joseph belief" as the traditional belief of the Church and that held by Christians in the Holy Land in the 4th and 5th centuries. Saint Jerome also explicitly says that Saint Joseph lived and died as a virgin (not a widower). This also confirms to the belief of the early Fathers Saint Athanasius (d. 373) and Saint Gregory Nazianzus (d. 390) who taught that Joseph, like Mary, was a perpetual virgin and not a widower.

The "old Joseph belief" comes from the apocryphal Protoevangelium of Saint James (read it here at NewAdvent), which describes Joseph as an old widower who "adopts" the youthful Blessed Virgin Mary through the mechanism of matrimony. Yet this document was repeatedly condemned in the early Church and while it contains truth, it is not to be trusted in every regard - especially regarding the age of Saint Joseph.

So then, I find the evidence tipping toward the "young Saint Joseph" theory. The fact that art depictions before the fifth and sixth century show Joseph as a youthful man further confirm that this is the original and ancient belief of the universal Church.

Saint Joseph, Protector of Two Treasures, pray for us.

ad Jesum per Mariam,

Taylor

PS: The mystic Maria Agreda states that Saint Joseph was 33 years old when he married the Immaculate Virgin Mary. This would place Joseph about 19 years old than sweetest Mother Mary.

* "confirmed in grace" is a term to describe the miraculous preservation from sin - even deliberate venial sin. The Blessed Virgin Mary obviously had this gift, as did St John the Baptist. It is also piously held that the Holy Apostles received this gift on the day of Pentecost.

Recommended book from which contains most of this information. If you want to learn more, just buy this volume:

Video: Padre Pio - More Rare Video Footage of His Life

Here is a nice little video containing video footage from Saint Pio of Pietreclina's life. It's surreal seeing the saint on camera.

For those that don't know about Saint Pio, he bore the sacred stigmata (five wounds of Christ) in his body for exactly 50 years and then died. These unexplainable wounds were verified by skeptics, doctors, and scientists.

Even putting the stigmata aside, Saint Pio's life is filled with sanctity, heroic act, and profound love for Christ and his neighbor.

Please check out the video.

Thoughts?

Recommended Book:

Book of Amos in 4 Easy Points

“I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet.” 

(Amos 7:14)

The Old Testament book of Amos is an important book for Catholics. It describes what happens when God's people turn away from God's divine revelation of Himself - all the way back in 750 BC. Even more, it shows how God is ultimately merciful and plans to perfect and fulfill the Davidic Kingdom with the New Covenant and the Catholic Church (see 9:11-15). 

The most important thing is that Amos informed the definitive decree of the Holy Apostles at the first council of Jerusalem in about AD 49. Saint James quoted Amos to prove that Gentiles were to be included in the Davidic kingdom (the Catholic Church) and that Gentiles did not require circumcision. See Acts 15:16–17.

Amos is only nine chapters so you can knock it out pretty easily in one sitting.

Book of Amos in 4 Easy Points

1) 1:1–2:16. Introduction (1:1f.). Amos identifies himself, when he prophesied and wherein resided his authority to preach, he announces judgment upon the surrounding peoples (1:3–2:3), upon his native Judah and upon Samaria (2:4–16). Judgment falls on the Gentiles for offences against humanity, violations against natural law; Judah and Israel are judged for turning away from divine revelation (2:4, 11–12) with social collapse.

2) 3:1–6:14. Amos proclaims Samaria’s privileges, but the nation’s sinfulness has turned privilege into a ground upon which Amos bases his doctrine of judgment. Privilege involves God’s people in penalty, hence Amos’ insistence that status does not save (3:1–2) and that the ‘day of the Lord’ will bring darkness and not the light (5:16–20).

3) 7:1–9:10. Five visions of judgment, in each of which the judgment is set forth under a symbol: locusts (7:1–3), fire (7:4–6), a plumbline (7:7–9), summer fruit (8:1–14) and a defiled sanctuary (9:1–10). In 7:10–17 Amos reveals himself as a legal prosecutor of God's people

4) 9:11–15. The merciful conclusion which describes the restoration of the Davidic kingdom - the Messiah's Catholic Church.

The feast day of the Prophet Amos is June 15.

Does Mary "magnify" or just "praise" the Lord?

Ghirlandaio's Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth

A friend of mine was sharing the Catholic Faith with a family member and, as usual, the topic of Mary came up. He decided that it might be helpful to read the the Virgin Mary's famous "canticle" in Luke 1:46-55.

“And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed for ever.” (Luke 1:46–55, D-R)

This biblical passage of Mary reveals how the Holy Spirit inspired Mary to sing an infallible and God-inspired hymn of praise to the Lord. Meanwhile, the Lord Jesus Christ is quietly residing within her immaculate womb.

This canticle is called the "Magnificat" because in Latin, it opens with the verb magnificat which means "magnifies."

My friend didn't have a Bible with him, so he borrowed a Protestant Bible and was disappointed to read in it the opening line as "My soul praises the Lord." 

Huh? Praises the Lord? What happened to "magnified the Lord"? Why does the Protestant translation read that Mary's soul "praises the Lord" and not "magnifies the Lord"? Who's right? Catholics or Protestants?

To "magnify" the Lord is saying more than to "praise" the Lord. We Catholics truly believe that Mary is like a living magnifying glass that both enlarges our praise to God and magnifies His mercy and grace as it comes to us. She doesn't change the divine Light, but she allows us to perceive different. Those who have weak eyes (we sinners), need a magnifying glass to read the love of God.

Well the Greek confirms the Catholic translation over the Protestant (mis)translation. In Greek, we read "Μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου." The word μεγαλύνει or megalunei means "enlarge" not "praise." You don't have to be a Greek scholar to see that megalunei relates to "mega" and everyone knows what that means. Mary is saying that he soul makes God appear bigger to us. We earthly see God better through Mary. Her immaculate soul is the telescope by which we can see Christ.

So Mary's love for God truly "magnifies the Lord."

Godspeed,

Taylor

PS: In anticipation of a foreseen objection: Yes, I know that the Magnificat in the Liturgy of the Hours in English reads: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." My answer: This is also a poor translation. The LOTH translation follows neither the Greek {megalunei} nor the Latin {magnificat}. Hopefully, now that the English translation of the Holy Mass is being updated, they will next turn their sights to the Liturgy of Hours in English - which frequently contains "fluffy" translations.

On Cell Phones and Prayers to the Saints

Recently in the comments box, someone named Wayne wrote:

"I can say with 100% certainty that Mary can't hear your prayers. This cruel joke pushed on you by the catholic church has made untold peoples prayer gone unanswered."

Here's my standard reply to these sort of the objections. AT&T can connect my cellphone so that I can talk to a man in India without wires. I can get emails and texts on my cellphone. Through Facebook and Twitter and I can get immediate and live updates from all my friends and family - hundreds of people at the same time.

Are you really suggesting that the Holy Ghost lacks the technology to do the same? Are you suggesting that AT&T, Facebook, or the makers of the iPhone can outscore God in the realm of communication?

So Neil Armstrong can walk on the moon and talk to Houston, but the Blessed Virgin Mary or Saint Paul or Saint Anthony cannot get a text message? This just doesn't make sense.

And just in case you need Biblical proof that that those in Heaven have a "3G Network" with those living down here on earth, here it is:

“And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.” (Revelation 5:8, D-R)

In Revelation, the twenty-four "ancients" or "elders" symbolize the saints of 12 Tribes of Israel (Old Testament) and the saints of the 12 Apostles of the Church (New Testament). They are humans living in the sight of God.

These humans have "golden vials" full of the "prayers of the saints" on earth. In other words, they have access to our prayers and they are actively offering these prayers to the Lamb of God who is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sweet Mary, Mother of Christ and His faithful, pray for us.

Godspeed,

Taylor

PS: Even better than AT&T, within the communion of the saints, your "call" never gets dropped when you're speaking to Our Divine Lord, to His Mother, or to any of his beloved angels and saints. Full signal bars without fail since AD 33.

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Active Participation? Be Like Mary and the Angels in Holy Mass

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a participation in the eternal liturgy of Heaven at which Christ is the celebrant. Prior to Christ's death on the life-giving cross, Heaven was closed to humans. The Old Testament saints remained in the Limbo of the Fathers ("Abraham's bosom") until the death of Christ opened the gates of Heaven. This is why the Old Testament Temple had statues and images of angels within it, but no images of human beings. Now that Christ has bodily entered Heaven and escorted humans into Heaven, our temples or churches now contain statues and images of angels and human saints.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass allows us to participate in the mystical worship of the Holy Trinity. Any so-called theologian or liturgist who does not consider the Holy Mass as a sacrifice and a mystical participation in Heaven is not thinking with the mind or heart of the Holy Church. Saint Paul explains what Christ taught concerning this:

[22] But you are come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, [23] And to the church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, [24] And to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of Abel. [25] See that you refuse him not that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke upon the earth, much more shall not we, that turn away from him that speaketh to us from heaven. (Heb 12:22-28)

The Holy Mass is the enfolding of the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and union with Him now in Heaven. Thus, we who are embodied here on earth must adapt to this mystical reality. The rubrics, music, architecture, and words of Holy Mother Church ensure that this reality (which is impossible to see without the eyes of faith) is illustrated through dignified signs.

The priest, we know, signifies Christ and acts in the person of Christ. What do the laity signify? The Eastern Cherubikon, or Cherubic Hymn, describes the Catholic faithful as "mystically representing the Cherubim":

Greek:

Οἱ τὰ Χερουβεὶμ μυστικῶς εἰκονίζοντες, 

καὶ τῇ ζωοποιῷ Τριάδι τὸν Τρισάγιον ὕμνον προσάδοντες, 

πᾶσαν νῦν βιοτικὴν ἀποθώμεθα μέριμναν, 

ὡς τὸν Βασιλέα τῶν ὅλων ὑποδεξόμενοι, 

ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς ἀοράτως δορυφορούμενον τάξεσιν. Ἀλληλούϊα.

English:

We who mystically represent the Cherubim,

and who sing to the Life-Giving Trinity the thrice-holy hymn,

let us now lay aside all earthly cares

that we may receive the King of all,

escorted invisibly by the angelic orders. Alleluia

If we truly believe the words of this hymn (and the testimony of Saint Paul), then our participation in the Holy Mass will become profoundly angelic. Active participation does not mean moving around physically or carrying things around the sanctuary. Rather, active participation means being aflame with love in the presence of God. Cherubs, in the Old Testament, are not fat babies, but fierce beast-like protectors of God's glory and sanctity. Mary was and is the greatest active participant of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because she co-offered it with her Son nearly 2,000 years ago at Golgotha. She did not speak or move. She united herself. In union with Jesus, she was perfectly actualized with love, reverence, and worship. I wish that I could see what she must have looked like on that dreadful day. Mary is higher than the cherubim and seraphim because she is also the sincere and wounded lover of the Holy Sacrifice.

If we really want to get serious about the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the liturgy, then we need to scrap all the "liturgy workshops" of the last forty years and engage ourselves in Mariology. How can we be more like Mary at the Cross? How can we be more like Mary when we bear Christ in our bellies? How do the holy priests of the Catholic Church best enter into this mystery? To be Marian is to be liturgically sound.

I learned from a holy priest that it was the practice of Bl. Contardo Ferrini, a holy layman, to humbly pray Mary's Magnificat as soon as he received Holy Communion at the altar rail. In this way, he made himself "active" in the mystery of the liturgy. The words of Our Lady's canticle are in fact a perfect post-Communion thanksgiving and instill the humility that we need. Mary was, the saints confirm, the most humble creature that ever lived.

Pope Saint Sixtus I and the Holy Mass

Pope St Sixtus I

Reigned AD 117 to 126

Pope Xystus (Latinized as Sixtus) reigned over the Catholic Church from AD 117 to 126 during the reign of Adrian "a conulatu Nigri et Aproniani usque Vero III et Ambibulo."

The Liber Pontificalis credits Pope Sixtus with two liturgical developments. First, Pope Sixtus stipulated that only deacons, priests, and bishops were allowed to touch the sacred vessels (e.g. paten and chalice). Touching these vessels even outside of Holy Mass was forbidden to the laity. 

Secondly, Pope Sixtus decreed that the threefold Sanctus should be chanted in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.* Apparently, this practice was common in the East, but not yet universal in the West.

Sixtus also decreed that bishops who have been summoned to Rome shall, upon their return, not be received by their diocese except on presenting Apostolic letters from the Pope. This reveals that as early as AD 126, the Catholic Church had recognized that the Pope of Rome could depose bishops.

* The Sanctus of the Holy Mass derives from Isaiah 6:3 and Apocalypse 4:8:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus

Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.

Hosanna in excelsis.

4th of July AD 1187: Christendom lost Jerusalem

Happy Independence Day!

On a less celebratory note, the fourth of July also marks the Battle of Hattin that took place in 1187, between the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Muslim forces under Saladin. On this day King Guy of Lusignan lost Jerusalem to Muslim control.

Video: Kindergartners Defending Latin Chant in the Liturgy

This is a beautiful and touching video from children (Kingdergarten through 2nd Grade) on the importance of liturgical Latin and chant.

I spoke to the pastor, Father Bart Reynolds, and he confirmed that the words of the children were not scripted. They are speaking off the cuff.

“Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger.” (Psalm 8:3, D-R)

Do you agree with the children?

PS: I've written about the architectural renewal of St Theresa's Sugarland in a previous post: Photos of the Best Catholic Church Renovation in Texas (St Theresa's Sugarland)

July = Month of the Precious Blood

July is the month dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. Among devotions to the humanity of Christ (e.g., Divine Infancy, Sacred Heart), the Precious Blood of Jesus has the most biblical precedent since it is mentioned so frequently in the New Testament (over 75 times). Saint Peter, our first Pope, specifically refers to the blood of Christ as "the precious blood {τιμίῳ αἵματι} of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled” (1 Peter 1:19, D-R). In fact, it might even be said that the entire Old Testament is a lesson in "blood sacrifice" as an anticipation of Christ's obedient and merciful sacrifice on the wood of the life-giving cross.

St. Paul could rightfully be called the "Theologian of the Precious Blood." The Apostle even tell us to place our "faith in His blood":

“Whom God hath proposed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to the shewing of his justice, for the remission of former sins" (Romans 3:25 D-R).

This reveals that the Precious Blood of Jesus is not an abstraction, but a true devotion to the Divine Person of Christ.

In Ephesians, the Apostle teaches us that our redemption was purchased "through His blood" (Eph 1:7), and in Hebrews, he teaches that the entire New Covenant is rooted in the Precious Blood of Jesus:

“Neither by the blood of goats or of calves, but by his own blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer, being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? And therefore he is the mediator of the new testament: that by means of his death for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former testament, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9:12–15, D-R)

Saint John the Apostle stresses the love of God and the Precious Blood when he writes: “he hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev 1:5, D-R). Elsewhere, Saint John explains that the Blood of Jesus continues to be applied to us: "But if we walk in the light, as he also is in the light, we have fellowship one with another: And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 Jn 1:7, D-R).

Devotion to the Precious Blood

Below is the Litany of the Precious Blood. Perhaps your family might include this devotion every evening after the Holy Rosary during the month of July. You can print it out or just "bookmark" it on your laptop or iPad/iPhone for easy access during evening devotions. Devotion to the Precious Blood helps to recognize that our salvation was costly for Christ. The New and Everlasting Covenant must be mediated through the Blood of One who is absolutely perfect, sinless, and obedient to God the Father - our Lord Jesus Christ.

Litany of the Precious Blood (one of the six approved Litanies of the Catholic Church)

Lord, have mercy. (Lord, have mercy.)

Christ, have mercy. (Christ, have mercy.)

Lord, have mercy. (Lord, have mercy.)

Christ, hear us. (Christ, hear us.)

Christ, graciously hear us. (Christ, graciously hear us.)

God the Father of Heaven, (have mercy on us.)

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, (have mercy on us.)

God, the Holy Spirit, (have mercy on us.)

Holy Trinity, One God, (have mercy on us.)

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the eternal Father, (response for here and below: save us)

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God,

Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament,

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in Agony,

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging,

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns,

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross,

Blood of Christ, price of our salvation,

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness,

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls,

Blood of Christ, stream of mercy,

Blood of Christ, victor over demons,

Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs,

Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors,

Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins,

Blood of Christ, help of those in peril,

Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened,

Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow,

Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent,

Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying,

Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts,

Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life,

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory,

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor,

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, (spare us, O Lord.)

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, (graciously hear us, O Lord.)

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, (have mercy on us, O Lord.)

Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy Blood. (And made us, for our God, a kingdom.)

Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by his blood. Grant, we beg of Thee, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Do you know the 7 Sorrows of Mary?

Seven Sorrows of Mary

When I became Catholic, I had a hard time appreciating devotions to the Passion of Christ. It was uncomfortable and these devotions made me feel guilty - my sins did this to my Beloved Christ. I was ashamed and I avoided the Passion. The Sorrowful Mysteries were my least favorite part of the Rosary.

All that has changed and now the Sorrowful Mysteries are my favorite. Why?

I learned from Saint Alphonsus Liguori that we the most clearly perceive the love of our dear Christ when we watch His sufferings through the eyes of Mary. All the saints of the Catholic Church were devoted to the Passion and Death of Christ. For example, Saint Paul made the sufferings of our Savior the center and focus of his devotional life:

“For I judged not myself to know anything among you, but Jesus Christ: and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2, D-R).

When I began to walk the Way of Cross with Mary, I took my eyes off myself and was able to appreciate the love of God in these mysteries. My pride-centered shame eroded as I grasped the hand of our Immaculate Mother and she led me along the Way of the Cross. The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary are fantastic if you truly focus on their Marian dimension and ask Mary to show you Jesus. Mary helps mitigate the guilt and maximize the mercy of God.

The Seven Sorrows of Mary are also a wonderful devotion to help the soul love and appreciate the passion of Christ and the compassion of Mary. The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady are:

1. Prophecy of Simeon to Mary: "a sword shall pierce thy soul"
2. Flight into Egypt: poverty, Egyptian paganism, alienation
3. Loss of Jesus in the Temple: she lacked the consolation of Christ's presence
4. Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross: Mary is saddened that she cannot help Him
5. Crucifixion: Mary's heart is pierced
6. Taking Down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross: Mary holds the lifeless body of her Savior, God, and Child
7. Jesus laid in the Tomb: Mary arranges the burial shroud of her Son and is led out of tomb by Joseph of Arimathea

The best book to help you understand the Seven Sorrows (in my opinion) is St Alphonsus Liguori's Glories of Mary. Just skip right the section on the Seven Sorrows and start reading. It's fantastic.

St Alphonsus shows us that Mary is the greatest martyr because her martyrdom lasted for decades. A sword pierced her heart at Calvary and she began to die slowly after that moment. She is like a deer wounded by a hunter's arrow. She bears the wound and lives on until it finally kills her.

September 15 is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and this month is dedicated especially to her Seven Sorrows. Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is also a special day on which to meditate on the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady.

Here is a Scripture that the liturgy assigns to the sorrows of Mary:

“To what shall I compare thee? or to what shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? to what shall I equal thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Sion? for great as the sea is thy destruction: who shall heal thee?” (Lamentations 2:13, D-R)

How wide and deep is the ocean? That is the width and depth of Mary's sorrowful love for Jesus.

PS: I try to write a blog post about our Immaculate Mary every Saturday.