“No man can say the Lord Jesus but by the Holy Ghost,” 1 Cor. 12:3; and no man can say “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” except by the Holy Ghost. “And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and cried out with a loud voice, and said: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,” St. Luke 1:41-42. Mary herself, because of the great thing the Lord had done to her, was compelled to admit, “From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, because he that is mighty hath done great things to me,” St. Luke 1:48-49. Thus it follows that only those who have the Spirit of God will bless Mary together with her Son. St. Louis de Montfort says,” The Church along with the Holy Ghost blesses Mary first and Jesus second. This is not to say that Mary is higher than God or even equal to him. This would be intolerable heresy. But in order to bless Jesus more perfectly, we begin by blessing his mother.” Now let us say devoutly the Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The devil is always working against the Blessed Mother and her children. God foretold this enmity in Genesis 3:15 after the fall of Adam and Eve. He warned the devil, in the form of a serpent, “I will place enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed. She shall crush thy head, while you shall lie in wait for her heel.” Drbo.org. This is why you see in many images of the Blessed Mother a serpent under her feet, and her foot is on his head. Her seed was first Christ and then us, her spiritual children, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. St. Louis de Montfort explains: “As Mary is the mother of Christ, the head of the Church, (Eph. 1:22-23), she is also the mother of the body and its members, (Eph. 5:30). We see this enmity in Apocalypse , chapter 12, (Revelation), “the dragon persecuted the woman,’’ ‘’waiting to devour her son,’’ ‘’and she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod (Jesus Christ): and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne,” vs. 5; after failing to swallow her up with a river (vs. 15-16), ‘’the dragon was angry against the woman and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (vs.17). We are the other seed of Mary. What a glory and privilege to be spiritual children of this most holy of all women, whom the Lord himself was so pleased with, that He chose her to be His mother. As one man said, “If God had chosen your mother to be his mother, wouldn’t you expect people to honor her in a special way?” As St. Louis de Montfort explains, the first man born in Mary was Jesus Christ, the God-man born naturally; the second is a mere man born spiritually, “This man and that man were born in her.” Ps. 86:5. “This,’’ he said, ‘’is according to the early Fathers of the Church.” “Thus,’’ says St. Alphonsus, ‘’the prophet David, although she was not yet born, sought salvation from God by dedicating himself as a son of Mary, and prayed; “Save the son of thy handmaid,’’ Ps. 85:16. “Of what handmaid,’’ asks St. Augustine, and he answers, ‘’of her who said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord.’’ St. Luke 1:38.
It is interesting to note that also in the book of Psalms,2:9, God the Father refers to his Son again as one who will ‘’rule them with an iron rod.’’ A rod of iron usually represents a strict taskmaster. So what does this mean? I do not know but I can only surmise it refers to the damned in hell, who refused to love and serve so good a God, that He created us for everlasting happiness, and even gave up His good son in horrible torments and death to save us, and we rejected him for sinful pleasures here on earth. Would you give up your son for an evil man? No man can touch a red hot burner without being burnt. How is it that God threatens us with eternal fires in hell, and we still do not fear? St. Augustine said, “He who believes in God and is not converted, has either lost his sense, or lost his faith.” As Father Michael Mueller said, “The devil takes away our shame when we are about to sin, but gives it back to us when we go to confession.” – THE SINNER’S RETURN TO GOD. In the early 1990’s, there is a true story about the Russians doing earth research in Siberia. They drilled about 9 miles down, and their drill starting spinning freely. They were surprised, and they put a microphone down the hole and could hear terrible screaming. A phantom also came out of the hole and said, “I have conquered!” They had also put a heat tester down the hole and it tested 2,000 degrees! Many of the men were so unnerved they quit their jobs. When you search, ‘’Screams From Hell” on the internet, it will come up. Video recording of the screams from hell. This was talked about on the Art Bell show many years ago. When one man heard it on the radio, he thought it was the silliest thing he ever heard, but he said when he got back to Norway, it was all over the papers in Norway! Yes, hell is real, and it’s in the center of the earth. When Our Lady of Fatima showed the little children a terrible vision of hell, she opened up the earth and they could see damned souls there, thieves, immodest women, adulterers, fornicators, child killers and murderers, pornographers, heretics, greedy people, birth controllers, evil politicians, and even bad priests and bishops. When God punished Core, Abiron, and Dathan, he opened up the earth, and they were swallowed alive into hell. They didn’t even die. They were swallowed alive into hell! Numbers, chapter 16.
The Channel of Grace. St. Alphonsus says, “The devil, like Holofernes, who in order to gain possession of the city of Bethulia, ordered the aqueducts to be destroyed, exerts himself to the utmost to destroy devotion to the Mother of God in souls; for if this channel of grace is closed, he easily gains possession of them.” Fr. Hugh Thwaites noted that when families no longer prayed the rosary, the faith soon collapses. – From THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMILY ROSARY, AVAILABLE FROM OLRL.ORG. One of the promises of the rosary is that it will overcome heresies, but if the rosary is given up, then oftentimes heresy overcomes them. How many Catholics who were devoted to Mary and gave it up, have apostatized, and are now in protestant churches. Mary is the channel of grace through which Jesus came into the world, and she is the channel through which He wishes to continue to give us other graces. All graces come from the Father, through Jesus Christ, and through Mary. Protestants may object, but I ask, “Did not Jesus come to us through Mary?’’ And does not the scripture say,he has given us all good things through his son, [32] ‘’He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things?’’ Romans 8. And does not the scripture say all good things came to me, together with her? “Now all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches through her hands,” [Wisdom 7:11].
Mary is the channel, as a mystic neck spoken of in the scripture. St. Bernadine says, “She is the mystic neck through which the vital spirits, that is, the divine help which preserves in us the life of grace, are transmitted from Jesus Christ the head to us the faithful, who are members of the mystic body of the Church. “Thy neck is as a tower of ivory.” Cant. 7:4. An example: Mary is not the life, but the channel. Your water supply comes through the channel. Destroy the channel and your water supply is cut off. Or the water you do receive is very little compared to what you get through the channel. Also, devotion to Mary can be compared to a faucet. The more the faucet is turned on, the more water you receive. The greater your devotion to Mary, the more graces you receive, and a more perfect union with Jesus Christ, our last end.
Satan knows that in order to keep the Son away, he must get rid of the Mother. Again St. Alphonsus says, “For this reason the devil does his utmost with sinners in order that, after they have lost the grace of God, they may also lose devotion to Mary. When Sarah saw Isaac in company with Ismael, who was teaching him evil habits, she desired that Abraham would drive away both Ismael and his mother Agar, “Cast out the bondwoman and her son.” Gen. 21:10. She was not satisfied with the son being turned out of the house, but insisted on the mother going also, thinking otherwise the son coming to see his mother, would continue to frequent the house. The devil, also, is not satisfied with a soul turning out Jesus Christ, unless it also turns out the mother: Cast out the bondwoman and her son. Otherwise he fears that the Mother will again, by her intercession, bring back her Son. “And his fears are well grounded,’’ says the learned Paciuchelli, ‘’for he who is faithful in serving the Mother of God will soon receive God himself by the means of Mary.” And how often do we see this, the frequent communicants of Jesus in Holy Communion, are usually always devoted to His Mother. Would that the clergy would always preach devotion to Mary and her rosary, and they would see sinners coming back to God, just as she instructed her faithful son St. Dominic. The devil well knows we will find the child with his mother, “And going in they found the child with Mary his mother.” St. Matthew 2:11. St. Alphonsus again said, “Whoever wishes to find the fruit must find the tree. Whoever wishes to find Jesus must find Mary. ‘And going in, they found the child with Mary his mother.” Those in Bethlehem who were turning away the mother were turning away the Son. And experience sadly proves that those who have no devotion to the Mother of God have little or no devotion to her Son in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Their Communions are either lukewarm or sacrilegious, and they rarely or never visit him in the tabernacle. Of course, a lot of this is the fault of the clergy. When was the last time you heard a priest talk about the importance of visits and Holy Hours to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament? St. Alphonsus de Liguori said: “Oh what torrents of grace have the saints drawn from their time spent with Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament!” “You shall draw waters with joy out of the saviour’s fountains:”
[Isaias (Isaiah) 12:3]
St. Francis Borgia always doubted the perseverance of those in whom he did not find particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin. On one occasion, he questioned some novices, inquiring as to the saints to whom they had special devotion, and perceiving some who had it not towards Mary, he instantly warned the Master of novices, and desired him to keep a more attentive watch over these unfortunate young men, who all, as he had feared, lost their vocation and renounced the religious state.
The pro-life champion, Joseph Scheidler, R.I.P., said the abortionists had admitted that, “When only one person was outside a mill praying the rosary, it was chaos inside.” Why? Because, Blessed Alan de la Roche said, “At the words, Hail Mary! Satan flies and hell trembles!” If this is so, then hell must suffer something similar to an earthquake when the whole rosary is said. Fr. Gabriel Amorth, R.I.P., had a colleague who heard the devil say in an exorcism, ‘Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head! If Christians only knew how powerful the rosary is, it would be my end!” Reverend Fathers, did you hear that? Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray the rosary every day. Why aren’t you preaching the rosary day in and day out? Satan has a great fear of the Blessed Virgin because of the great power she has been given by God to crush his proud head. “She shall crush thy head!” In the revelations of Venerable Mary of Agreda regarding the birth of the Blessed Virgin, she says, “The Most High sent innumerable angels to bring her body and soul to heaven…” Her name was given to her by God himself. “The holy angels heard a voice from the throne speaking in the Person of the Father. “Our chosen one shall be called MARY, and this name is to be powerful and magnificent. Those that shall invoke it with devout affection shall receive most abundant graces; those that shall honor it and pronounce it with reverence shall be consoled and vivified, and will find in it the remedy of their evils, the treasures of their enrichment, and the light that shall guide them to heaven. It shall be terrible against the powers of hell, it shall crush the head of the serpent, and it shall win glorious victories over the princes of hell.” “She shall crush thy head!” Some question whether it was ‘he’ or ‘she’ but St. Alphonsus said that, “In the Vulgate, which alone was approved by the Sacred Council of Trent, we find She, and not He; and thus it was understood by St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and a great many others.” It seems the curse put on man, “By what things a man sinneth, by the same also is he tormented,” Wisdom 11:17, was also put on Satan. As he, in his pride, overcame a woman, so he, for his humiliation and confusion, is overcome by a woman. “She shall crush thy head!”
If we wish to save our souls, let us never fail to be devoted to the Mother of God, who is also our mother, as has already been demonstrated. As in the order of nature, the father gives life to the sons by means of the mother, so also in the order of grace, the Father through the Holy Ghost, gives life to His spiritual sons by means of the Blessed Mother. St. Louis de Montfort again says, “He who wishes to have the fruit of life, which is Jesus Christ, must have the tree of life, which is Mary. He who wishes to have the operation of the Holy Ghost, must have the divine Mary, who makes him fertile and fruit-bearing.” If we wish to save our souls, and those of others. St. Bonaventure said, “Those who neglect the service of our Lady will perish in their sins, and be damned!” Those who have an aversion for her and speak evil of her, love death. “But he that shall sin against me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate me love death.” [Proverbs 8:36]. This doctrine taught by the Church was reaffirmed by Our Lady of Fatima to the three children: “In order to save souls, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I ask is done, many souls will be saved.” But dearest Mother, I ask, How can we do what you ask when the clergy never speak of Fatima? Very few people know about Fatima, and fewer still have paid any heed! Mary confirmed the truth of these revelations by a great miracle of the sun on October 13th, 1917, before an estimated crowd of 70,000 people. “The Lord confirmed the word with signs that followed.” St. Mark 16:20. Therefore, we should pray our rosary every day, for souls and for peace in the world, and wear the Brown Scapular. Mary promises special protection to those who pray the rosary and wear the scapular. The pilots in one platoon, in the 2nd world war, were all taught to say the rosary by their commander, even the non-Catholics. One of the non-Catholics later told a nun later it was noted, at the end of the war, theirs was the only platoon that never lost a plane, nor never lost a man.
The Germans call the scapular, ”A grace garment,” because you get special graces just by wearing it. If you do not wear it, you lose many graces. As Mary wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes in Bethlehem, she also wishes to clothe us in the scapular. As the devils once admitted, “All those who die wearing the scapular, die piously and escape us.” The old adage is very true: Keep Mary in mind, and Jesus will grow in your heart. Were the early Fathers of the Church devoted to Mary? Listen to St. Ignatius of Antioch, who it is said, was a disciple of St. John, “A devout client of Mary shall never be lost.” Are you a devout client of Mary? Do you pray her rosary every day? Do you wear her brown scapular? [32]’’ Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. [33] Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. [34] Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. [35] He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord.’’ “They that hold her fast shall inherit life.” Amen.
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