Back in 2014, My oldest son, Fr. Benjamin was ordained in Rome. But his first personal Holy Mass was celebrated in a Dominican church on Mount Mario in Rome. Only our family was present. Fr. Benjamin celebrated ad orientem with his brother, Patrick, serving. But at the end of that Holy Mass we actually prayed before this painting of Mary. There was a book there that allowed pilgrims to write in petitions, and I listed MOG forum so the precious Dominican nuns could pray for you all. How special to think that this portrait might be the very one painted by Luke! The other special happening that occurred on the previous day of Ordination was getting to personally meet Padraig!
Interesting; regarding the painting's name, Advocata, there is a certain prophetic expectation that this prerogative of Mary will be officially recognized as a new Marian dogma in the future.
One thing that greatly surprised me this year was discovering that the dogma of the Assumption of Our Lady was already professed in the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary before its formal proclamation by Pope Pius XII in 1950. Similarly, the Marian title of Advocate is always professed in the prayer 'Hail Holy Queen' and may be formally recognized as a new dogma in the future.
I have often contemplated the face of Our Lady on the holy tilma of St Juan Diego. I never tire of it. I am sure this is her actual image just as the shroud is the actual image of Jesus. Her eyes and mouth are definitely the same in these two paintings.
I’m working on a new report that the Shroud is written information for us. Just like icons are not painted they are written. The same with Our Lady of Guadalupe.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/...-brazil-church-roof-collapses-authorities-say I ask for prayers, especially for the victims and their families. This is the type of tragedy that, unfortunately, leads many people to question the existence of God and His protection over His children; I speak from personal experience within my own family.
An early school leaver, I'm far from being well educated. I'm just an old woman far more concerned with working out my salvation in fear and trembling than being popular on the internet. When I meet Jesus face to face, I don't want Him to remind me that I was silent when I should have spoken out against evil. I suspect that "But Lord Jesus, I had you and getting angry would have upset my peace, and I was silent because I had faith and hope that you would find someone else to speak out because my voice would have changed nothing" won't get me fast tracked into Heaven. Genocide and the sadistic treatment of that Palestinian child are not just any old wrongdoing, My Catholic conscience tells me that they're the kind of evil that demands righteous anger from every Catholic, and failure to raise our voices against it is a sin of omission. My understanding is that we're supposed to oppose evil with the sure and certain hope that God will give us the grace to persevere against all those who would silence us. Sadly, the silence of so very many Catholics in opposition to the genocide and the perversion of Christianity leaves vacant the high moral ground to be occupied by non-believers and those who would lead astray idealistic youngsters horrified at what their country is doing. Yes, the two great evils give the impression of being at war with each other but they will sooner or later combine to attack Christ's Church Money and the power it buys in a materialistic world is their greatest love. The foot soldiers whose strings are being pulled may never have set foot in a Lodge or claimed allegiance to Communism. They don't need to be card carrying members when they've already been deceived into calling evil good and good evil.
This is true. "And they were all of them, deceived..." Those two great evils have already combined in many places. Governments (politicians) & Unions (public servants) are one small example. As someone who constantly fights against a terrible anger, deep down, I can only say that getting horribly angry has never helped me at all, and no matter how much truth there may be in what's said, people generally just tune out and walk away.....But that's me......my days of shouting from the rooftops are over. I am not perfect, have received what I call a "bogus" jesuitical education from a "premier" eastern Canada university, and am now paying the price......so leaving the righteous anger to God is the only way for me to work on humility and meekness. The "religious politicians" (not my description), whether they be inside the Church or outside the Church, have lost their religion, or simply gave it up. All the anger in the world cannot/ will not change that ~ it's gone too far, imho. That's my take on it all, right or wrong. By all means speak your peace, but keep your peace when doing so....God bless you ~
I deleted this post because some of it was harsh and petty which are symptoms of rage rather than righteous anger.
And may God bless you too. I can understand that people don't speak out for all sorts of reasons, be they fear or feelings of helplessness. It's easy for me because I've lived my life and any years I have left are a bonus. I also don't have children and the fear that they will suffer for my opinions. I just wish that those who don't raise their voices against Israel's evils wouldn't resort to victim blaming. But me no buts on genocide. I'm sorry for disturbing your peace.
Don't let the triumphalism of others dampen your patriotism. Despite my constant harping that America has never been a Christian country, I'm well aware that there have been and are now many wonderful American Christians.. Patriotism is a virtue and, often despite some dreadful leadership, very many young Americans have given the ultimate sacrifice out of genuine patriotism. There's no denying that America and Europe are in a bad situation now but that hasn't always been the case. I'm thinking especially of the years when it was America that gave hope to countries suffering from Soviet communism. Patriotism is a virtue. Here's a good Catholic article explaining how it comes under the heading of Justice: https://catholic-link.org/virtue-of-patriotism/
What scares me most is that so few Catholic apologists are willing to present a robust Catholic refutation of it. Priests declaring themselves to be Zionists makes my jaw drop to my chin. I finally found one Catholic (Well, two since it's a discussion) willing to address the heresy. Here's a video from Crisis Magazine where Eric Sammons discusses the Catholic position with a Dr. of Theology from Christendom College. There's a brief period at the start where they touch on the beginnings of the Zionist movement and what they mean by Zionism. I think it's a rather rosy take on political zionism but the Professor gives an excellent Catholic explanation on the fulfilment of the Old Testament covenant, the promised land, the Temple and sacrifice and the error of religious Zionism. Here's a link to the article discussed in the video https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/against-catholic-zionism . At the end of the video, the Professor also mentioned another article. I think this is the one he means: https://adoremus.org/2024/05/saint-athanasius-on-divinization/ I haven't read either article because I'm waiting to get my cataracts done and just glancing at the length of them hurts my eyes: Yes, some of the clearest, bravest and most articulate opponents of it are Americans, including American Jews. Sadly, far too few Catholics. I'm beginning to understand now how difficult it must be for Catholics, especially those whose jobs may be at stake or who have children who could be singled out for discrimination in schools, especially college age children. Now that Eric Sammons has stepped up to the plate, maybe other apologists will follow suit. I'll give it a rest now. Apologies for the succession of posts. I urge everyone to watch the video.
